did Underachieverz sample "Mystic Brew" as well or am I making that up? I think I'm making it up.

Actually, if we're gonna get picky... Kanye and Cons sampled "Electric Relaxation," which of course features Tribe sampling "Mystic Brew," but they didn't sample Foster directly. :)


Cole (or whoever) sampled "Mystic Brew," directly like Tribe did for "Electric Relaxation" as you said, but didn't sample "ER." And I actually like "Forbidden Fruit" too. Can't really help it. I don't remember anything about Cole's performance from the song, but "Mystic Brew" is such a dope ass track and lends itself to hip hop so beautifully.

Not sure about Underachievers. They really went downhill after Cellar Door. Heads went too far up their asses. And I had such hope!!

Yeah, I know! Did some listening this morning. Fun and cute, with a couple really awesome moments, but it seems like Chance is getting farther away from rappity-rappin'. I find myself just dying to hear him start to rip, but he is doing a LOT of sing-songy talk-singing these days.

Anyway, definitely a mixtape worth hearing.

I listened to Black Star this morning too. Goddamn that is a great album. I really, really, really want to hear Dec. 99th, but I quit TIDAL a while ago. Hopefully -- because Mos Def, and even moreso "Yasiin Bey" — is such a relatively low profile artist compared to the likes of Kanye, Rihanna and Beyoncé -- they'll only make it a TIDAL exclusive until tomorrow.

I can't imagine there's a shit ton of money to made in holding a Yasiin Bey album ransom for weeks/months. His fans have been his fans for nearly 20 years, and TIDAL isn't going save itself by tapping into that particular demographic.

Crossing my fingers and holding my breath for a Friday iTunes/CD release.

I actually love Jeremih. I still listen to Late Nights all the time. But this tape is just cute, pretty underwhelming for both..

This new Migos & Lil Uzi collaboration surprised me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-sJp1FfG7Q

Rob, check it out. I think you're gonna like it.

Hey, so, I previewed some of the Dec 99th tracks (alas it is not for sale on iTunes or on CD yet), and I just want to throw this out there so y'all aren't surprised... it is not what you're probably expecting. There's a pretty pronounced British grime influence, and the songs are dark as fuck and mostly sung. Think more along the lines of a slow-mo Death Grips or an even grimmer Yeezus than The Ecstatic or Black on Both Sides.

Weird. Definitely weird. But I don't hate what I've heard. It's just not what I was hoping for.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention.. I've heard the singles prior to the release. It's an experimental project, with a lot of sung vocals and it sounds really dark like you said. Can't say I'm disappointed though, especially after the Cole album I think it's gonna feel like a breath of fresh air. ;)

Houston Rapper Paul Wal arrested.

Yeah, I'm not disappointed either. But... kinda seems destined to be talked about for about a week and then promptly forgotten.

Sadly, I feel you on that.

Finally listening to "Honor Killed the Samurai". Always better late than never, heh.

Earl is a fan of Ka and I can totally see why. He's kinda like an adult version of him in a way.

It's good though, yeah?

My mind wandered a few times, but yeah. Definitely good.

RTJ3 is out! Surprise release 3 weeks in advance.

http://pitchfork.com/news/70497-run-...e-rtj3-listen/

Whoah, Run the Jewels 3 is out NOW!

Aw you fucker. ;)

Ha. The cover art is pretty awesome.

Honestly.. I don't really know how I feel about it yet.

Need more listens.

Well I've been sick of Run the Jewels for a while now. Not unsick yet.

But hey, I just realized I never listened to the album Open Mike Eagle dropped with Paul white, Hella Personal Film Festival. It's fucking good you guys. Open Mike is dope, and Dark Comedy was one of the most underrated hip-hop records of 2014.

Listen to it on YouTube:

Open Mike Eagle & Paul White - Hella Personal Film Festival (2016)

Where's Rob. "Bad and Boujee" is my fucking song. Can't stop playing it.

Really? It sounds like... well, everything. It sounds like everything.

Offset's performance on the song is goddamn great if you ask me.. "Raindrop, top top / Smokin' on cookie in the hotbox / Fuckin' on your bitch she a thot-thot / Cookin' up dope in the crockpot". :D

Then Quavo kept up with him and together they kept setting the bar higher and higher throughout the song. The hip hop head in me lives for moments like this, man.

It was a smart decision take Takeoff off the song (no pun intended heh). However Uzi isn't good enough of a rapper to live up to what they did either, and kind of ruined it, but at least he was funny and entertaining so whatever.

Sorry man I'm not judging you. It's not a bad song at all, and as I've said before I actually kinda dig some Lil Uzi. I just... I don't know... There's like zero emotional resonance to thisnkind of rap. I'm not against it — in fact I had really high hopes for Migos back when they first hit, just as I did for Thugger — but it's starting to feel almost entirely vacuous to me. Devoid of musical or lyrical depth.

Just going hard has never really been enough for me when it comes to hip-hop.

Like, when Commion's album dropped I wasn't that interested at first, but I gave it a shot (based on your recommendation actually) and bought it immediately. It's so full. And it's not just sonically engaging, it's lyrically and technically amazing. I think it's sad that it was so overlooked. All things considered I think Black America Again was the most underrated rap album of 2016.

Shrug. I'm trying to keep the faith bro, but I'm looking for more. ;)

I'm no big Migo fan myself, however I think they have potential and this song is a step in the right direction.. but yeah, if you're looking for stuff like emotion and depth.. well, the Common album is definitely a better answer.

I do agree about Black America Again being the most overlooked hip hop album of 2016. Common is already considered a legend and has nothing left to prove, but he keeps releasing music just because he's so passionate about it, which I can apperciate about him a lot.

I don't know why it's getting such little attention (same with Isaiah's The Sun's Tirade by the way, both fantastic albums). Def Jam could've done a better job at promoting the album, or maybe he should've waited until 2017 to release it.

I listened to Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi and 21 Savage mixtapes in the last few days, just to make sure I'm not missing out.. and my opinion on them remains the same. Kodak is the one and only new kid who sparks my interest, but like I said, the stars have to align for him to fulfill his potential.

Ka's album is pretty damn great by the way. Would've made it to my top 10 if only I had listened to it earlier.

Yeah, I know. It's a good one. I definitely should have listened to it more too, because I almost forgot about it. There were a few records this year that were great, but that didn't get much attention from me because of how much I played TLOP. Just constant, all fucking year, more or less.

I feel like Common's album was almost predicated on a loss for Trump. Its title, content, even the album art (which to me resembles Trump wigs dissolving into the faces of black women) seems to be a reaction to Trump's aggressive push toward a more overtly racist, sexist culture. I remember thinking, "This is what I need to hear right now, but it would sound so much sweeter if things had gone differently on Nov. 8."

The cause feels a bit lost now. The same was true of the Tribe album, which I think also based itself at least partially on the presumption of an HRC win. But with We Got it From Here..., the album itself was an unlikely triumph, and that helped. But ultimately I think Common is a known entity at this point. He won't release major hits, or go multi-platinum, but his fan base will buy whatever he drops without question, so Def Jam doesn't have to worry or think much about promotion.

Isaiah Rashad could have definitely used a boost though. His album was very strong, and deserved more backing from TDE. Poor guy. Destined for cult status it seems.

I didn't really think of Common's album this way but it totally makes sense and I can see it now. Woah.

And yeah, for some reason I can't imagine Isaiah blowing up on a mainstream scale. Although he's great I just don't see him as very marketable.

Yeah, man. I mean, is it not obvious? Maybe I'm way off base.

"Make America Great Again" > "Black America Again"

Looks like he just dropped a single, "Forever," with Pusha, Gucci and BJ the Chicago Kid.

Nobody's gonna listen to that Open Mike Eagle album, huh?

meh

yawn.

non excited.

getting sleepy

fell asleep.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

escaped from boredom. r.i.p.

wake me up before you go go.