bigted

I'll be getting that album, Left Eye's the realest

Now this is what a call a real remix, some heat here: http://allhiphop.com/stories/multimedia__m...3/20521598.aspx

Awesome interview Brandy's one of the best in the game, looking forward to that album

Both Kanye and 50 seem kinda washed up to me, there's many great rappers that deserve more hype than them

Check out his single "She's All Mine" with Bobby Valentino, it's pretty good: http://allhiphop.com/stories/multimedia__m...3/20471009.aspx

NJRebel

I'm keeping the thread going there, I post on that website regularly myself, allhiphop.com is the truth

Ok guys I created the league, just search JJFP MLB 2008 as league name and y'all should be able to get in

http://streetcred.com/?page=features/entry&id=481 Rappin' Receiver: B. Lloyd AKA Brandon Lloyd Posted: 09/25/2008 :: Author: Derek Phifer The NFL season is underway and it’s the most wonderful time of the year for the majority of America. While most of us were counting down the days to kickoff, Chicago Bears receiver Brandon Lloyd was putting the finishing touches on his upcoming album Master of Ceremonies. Trying to evade the stigma of being a baller-rapper like a middle linebacker on a crossing route, B. Lloyd is out to prove that he’s not an athlete trying to rap, he’s just a rapper. Brandon Lloyd sits down to talk with StreetCred.com about his rap career as B.Lloyd, the new NFL season, why he isn't feelin 50 and much more. B.Lloyd on why he's rappin': "I just feel like I’m a better MC. I’m a better rapper than the guys who do it for a living. It should be no excuse why your music is bad. I’m a better MC than the guys who say they rap for a living and prior athletes." --- Derek: So how do you think you guys are going to do this season? You have a lot of questions at quarterback. B. Lloyd: We should be alright. I think the defense will be good. As long as we keep guys healthy we’ll be alright. The year they went to the Super Bowl the offense didn’t have to put up that many points. So, if we protect the quarterback I think we’ll be good. D: What do you think went wrong over in D.C. with the Washington Redskins? Before you got there you were making all sorts of crazy catches. You were coming on as one of the better receivers in the league. B: When I got traded there they said they were gonna throw the ball. We started running Al Saunders’ offense and it wasn’t clicking right away, so Gibbs was like we going back to running the ball. So when I got there I ended up being one of the receivers to free up Santana on the other side and get the double coverage off of him and they went back to running the ball and they just threw the ball to Santana and Chris Cooley and ran the ball a bunch of times. We’d go into games and we’d only throw the ball 13 times in the game. There’s no way I’mma get 70 or 80 catches and I’m only getting 50 balls thrown at me for the year. D: That was crazy. I felt that they overloaded on receivers that year. They brought in a lot. B: Yeah, they brought in Randle El, and actually they delivered him the ball they just kinda forgot about me. D: So how long have you been rapping? B: Man I been rapping, for real, since ’99. It was like my last year in high school I really started perfecting my craft and trying to figure out the direction I was going in. When I first got interested in Hip-Hop it was Master P’s True To the Game double disc. For me, that’s when I was like alright I think I can do this, so I got a karaoke machine and started rapping over instrumentals. Then I got to college and was doing the same thing and guys started liking it, guys on the team. So I started making CDs for guys on the team. I got a little beat making program, Magic Studio 6, from Best Buy and I started making beats and making my own raps and I really kinda got started when I figured out people were liking it. D: On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your lyrics right now? B: I rate my lyrics at a firm 7. Yeah, I got a lot of improving to do and it’s definitely what I’m committed to. I don’t feel right now that I’m the best, but anything I put my heart into I want it to be the best, so I’m gonna continue to work for it. D: Can you freestyle, or are you primarily a writer? B: I’m a writer. I’m definitely a writer. D: No cypha sessions or anything like that? B: Maybe if it was a real talented artist or something I’d jump in on that, but I don’t walk around the locker room rapping all day or anything cheesy like that. D: How has it been trying to get respect as a rapper knowing that you’re an athlete and that a bunch of others tried to do it before you, but didn’t really do anything? B: Well, I think it’s tough. Man, I look at it and I’m a million times better than any rapper who would come and try to play sports. Being an athlete going into rap I look at it like it’s not my fault and it’s not my responsibility to carry the weight of athletes who failed before me. The way I’m presenting my music I’m presenting it to them in a professional manner. I’m not skipping any levels. I’m doing the proper thing as far as coming up as a grass roots artist. I’m not jumping in the game and saying I’m at the top, or jumping in the game and throwing money at everybody to make things happen for me. I’m doing it the proper way and I get more fulfillment out of it this way. D: I first heard that you were trying to rap on the morning show on ESPN a couple years back. B: Exactly, yeah, it was like ’04. D: Yeah, you were going to perform, but I had to go to class. I didn’t stick around for it but… B: You can see it on my website, I got it up there. D: The first thing I thought was, another one of these dudes trying to rap? Then I listened to your Myspace page and heard She All Mine and was like damn, this is kind of hot. You don’t sound like an athlete trying to be a rapper, you just sound like a rapper. B: Well, I feel I am a rapper. I’m in the industry, I give 100 percent. This is not a hobby for me. I’m really serious. I use my off-season to record my music and I don’t look at it like people are gonna accept me because I’m an athlete. Actually, it’s been a double-edged sword, because I been 100 percent committed to making my music and people are like, ‘Alright, your cool. I like you on the field’, but they don’t really give it the time of day. I just felt like I had to look at it like aight, I just gotta go back into the lab and create music to which they cannot doubt it. I kind of created that She All Mine joint last off-season. When we recorded that song it was like there was no doubt that this song should be played. Yeah, I’m real excited about that song and the response has been incredible. D: So you’ve been getting a lot of burn on the radio with that one? B: Yeah, I’ve been getting upwards of 300 spins a week on that record. It’s been a long road and we still got a long way to go, because as of before the holiday weekend I was number 54 in America. I couldn’t even believe that. The number 54 song in America…by me. I mean, it was cool, but I looked at the chart and it’s like alright, I want to be top 10. I want to be top 40, and then I want to be top 10. I want to be a legitimate artist in this industry. D: What’s going to separate you from the other athletes that tried to go this route? B: My theory on music in general is that people love the entertainment aspect of the music. Being an athlete my lifestyle is not only legal, but it’s a way more glamorous lifestyle than these rappers paint as being drug dealers. And I really play football, you know. The problem was the athletes before me weren’t able to put it as elegantly as I put it. My music isn’t about oh yo, I’m a baller, I make a grip, I play ball, football cleat analogies. D: Yeah that’s what I thought I was going to listen to. B: Yeah, it’s not that, it’s real music. My music is competitive and I’m passionate about it. D: Well what about the everyday rappers? What separates you from them? What do you have to offer that the everyday rapper isn’t putting out there? B: I just feel like I’m a better MC. I’m a better rapper than the guys who do it for a living. It should be no excuse why your music is bad. I’m a better MC than the guys who say they rap for a living and prior athletes. I put it in a way more acceptable way. I paint the picture of me being an artist in a way more acceptable way than the previous athletes before me. D: As far as your influences, I know you said Master P earlier. Let’s also throw out Biggie and Pac, because everybody says that… B: Exactly. I wouldn’t even go there. I think they’re the greatest to do it, but my actual influences…I actually fell in love with Hip-Hop when I heard Nightmare on My Street by DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince. That’s when I fell in love with Hip-Hop. I fell in love with Rap with the True To the Game double disc. I see Rap and Hip-Hop as different. I feel like Rap is more about a lifestyle and Hip-Hop is kind of about life, so that’s how I put my music together. That’s how I put this whole album together. That’s why I named it Master of Ceremonies, because I kind of went everywhere with it. I did Hip-Hop, I hit em’ with life tracks, and I can hit em’ with radio joints, I can hit em’ with the street joints. D: I really never heard anyone break it down like that between Rap and Hip-Hop before. B: Appreciate it. That’s how I kind of look at it. D: So what has to happen for you to consider you rap career a success? B: I just gotta…be accepted. I gotta be accepted in a manner in which I have credibility in the industry, I’m established in the industry, my label, you know, I’m able to get my self off as an artist, and sell records and have a fan base. You know, all that stuff factors in. There’s not an exact number. It’s not like if I sell 30,000 records I feel like I’m a success, because I feel like being successful is an insatiable appetite. Once you get success you want more, so I just want to get myself off as an artist, get my company off, and kind of take it from there. D: So you said you have an album you’re working on. What’s it called again? B: The Master of Ceremonies. It’s complete, it’s finished. I’m distributing it in January through Universal. The She All Mine single will be on the cell phone, on the internet, on AOL and on itunes. D: So besides Bobby Valentino, who else is on the album? B: It’s actually me. I just threw Bobby Valentino on there. We had the song finished and I reached out to him because I thought his voice would sound great. I actually first reached out to Trey Songz, but his manager wouldn’t let him do it. He wanted to do it, but his manager wouldn’t let him do it, because I wasn’t established and probably because I’m an athlete. He probably put that in there. But Bobby reached back and he did the joint. I got 1 more joint and I’ll probably reach that out to Game. We’ve already kind of got the wheels rolling on that. You know, get Game on a record. I got a California joint that’s crazy. I got Gigolo, he produced track 2 on the Buck the World album. He’s down in Arizona. That’s where I train in the off-season. I met him out there and then we basically did the whole album together. I did a rock song with a local Scottsdale rock band called Heavy. They’re called The Funk Junkies. D: You’ve got a lot on there. That’s pretty versatile with the rock band, Game… B: I make the kind of music that I love to listen to in my car. D: That’s good; you’re not going to do that formula mess that everyone’s trying to do right now. B: You know, that’s cool and everything, I like it, but if I can pull it off I’d do it. I don’t think I can, I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know if I can. D: Are you going to have one of those voice synthesizer tracks on your joint? B: Nah, I didn’t. I didn’t put any on there and I don’t know if I’ll go there. D: Yeah, because everybody’s doing it and I’m getting a little tired of hearing it myself. B: I think it’s creative… D: It is until everybody starts doing it. B: You right. D: That’s what bothers me. I just don’t like when people don’t have a mind of their own. To me that’s T-Pain’s golden child and now everybody’s trying to pick it up and run with it. B: So do you feel like T-Pain’s the innovator for that kind of music then? D: Nah, I know that somebody from the west coast was coming up with that sound before him in that whole G-FUNK era I think. B: Exactly. What was that, George Clinton? He was using that real big…and the P-Funk Allstars. D: Yeah, I know that people came before T-Pain, but he brought it back. It was gone for a minute. B: It was gone for a real good minute. Yea, they picking it up. Not everyone can pull it off though. Wayne been pulling it off pretty good. And now 50 tyrin’ to do it and it sounds horrible. He just needs to stick to the singing, I think. D: 50’s doing it too? B: What, you haven’t heard the record? He did it on the remix to T-Pain’s joint. He did a version with T-Pain and he was doing the voice thing. D: So you say 50 needs to go back to the singing? B: I think when he does the singing it sounds good, but now he’s throwing the voice thing in there and it’s like ehh…I’m not really feeling that vocal thing with him. D: So what do you think about his whole situation? I kind of feel like G-Unit is falling apart. B: I don’t know. From the outside looking in, you know, it’s crazy. I think that 50 just lost his credibility with the success of his albums. It don’t got nothing to do with the Vitamin Water thing, or any of that. It’s just that with the success of his albums now his lifestyle is different, so it’s hard to believe him when he’s talking about the guns, shooting people. It’s like dog, you sold over 20 million records…there’s no way… D: Yeah, I generally feel that when a guy first comes out, that’s when they’re going to put in their best work, because their still hungry. He’s a mega millionaire. He can flop on every album and he still won’t be hurting. B: But it’s still a pride thing though. That’s where he making his money. It’s a huge pride thing, but at the same time he just gotta come more creative. Maybe he gotta start coming off like Kanye West about how fresh and fly he is instead of trying to make these kill up everybody songs. D: Yeah, on his old mixtapes he was coming off hot, and you could definitely hear it. Now it’s more like a lyrical bank statement. B: Exactly, but you know some artists can pull that off. You just gotta be more creative. D: I remember when he first came out and if he got on a song then I had to hear it. Now if he’s on a song I don’t really want to listen to it. B: Before he came out, like in ’01-’02, he was just killin’ them mixtapes. Right before Wanksta had came out. He was punkin everybody. He kind of had it the way Wayne has it right now. If you put out a single, Wayne gonna kill you on the song. He gonna get his hands on that and do it better. That’s the way you used to feel 50 back then. He put out a single, he came out with one flipping it on the girls. Girls, like Destinys Child, came out with a song and he flipped it on them. D: You know that Nas was coming with the “Hip-Hop Is Dead” movement a little while back. Do you feel like it’s good now? B: I don’t feel like Hip-Hop ever left. I just feel like a new genre was formed and it’s called Down South Rap, or Dirty South rap. Whatever you want to call it, it was formed and what happened was that became more popular than the classic Hip-Hop. That’s it, that’s all that happened. Guys just gotta get more creative. Maybe it’s the economy. The economy don’t seem to be affecting Garth Brooks. He sold like 8 million on his last album. Guys just got to come more creative, just got to be more appealing to the audiences, be more creative. The classic Hip-Hop just isn’t working on the audience anymore. D: Going off of that, what type of rapper would you classify yourself as? B: Like I said, I make the music that I want to listen to, so it’s some heavy south beats, West Coast tracks, party songs that are reminiscent of old school Nelly stuff – I kind of classify that as the Midwest swing kind of music, and then I got the Hip-Hop tracks. I was drafted to the San Francisco 49ers, being out in California, spending 3 years of my life out there, and I just love submerging myself in those Hip-Hop cultures and love submerging myself in that music and that’s how I put my records together. D: Is there anything else that you want to get out there? B: The only thing that I want to get out there is that this is not a hobby for me. This is something that I’m passionate about and I’ve loved music my entire life and this is definitely music that I put my heart and soul into. It’s something I take pride in, because this is my life that I put on these records and putting out there to sell to people. It’s music that you’ll get from an athlete that you’ll never expect to hear.

Happy B-Day Will, Rock On! :wickedwisdom:

Hip-Hop Caucus Set To Register 50K Voters In One Day Published Tuesday, September 23, 2008 11:30 AM By Ismael AbduSalaam With the most important presidential election in decades looming, the bi-partisan Hip-Hop Caucus is teaming with Radio One for the “Respect My Vote" Campaign, aimed at registering over 50,000 voters on September 30. The ambitious one day voter registration drive will be held in 15 big market cities throughout the country, including Atlanta, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Radio One will utilize 52 stations across the nation to broadcast live from a central location in each city, allowing registrars to set up eligible voters. Radio One Corporate Director of Marketing Barry Macon explained his company is obligated to spearhead this movement due to their years of community activism. “Radio One has been committed for more than 25 years to the community and nothing is more important than being able to exercise your right to vote,” Macon said. “Voting is the most fundamental of all of our rights as American citizens.” Partnered in the event is Hip-Hop Caucus CEO Reverend Lennox Yearwood, co-creator of the memorable 2004 “Vote or Die Campaign” with Sean “Diddy” Combs. While this year’s initiative would like to draw voters from all backgrounds, Yearwood disclosed that their focus is on non-college educated African-Americans ages 18-29, who historically have not played a significant part in past elections. “We are committed to building awareness to the 'Respect My Vote' Campaign,” Yearwood stated. “Our partnership with Radio One will help push the importance of registering to vote in this year’s presidential election to the more than 8 million unregistered African-American eligible to vote nationwide.” The voter registration drives will commence on September 30 in selected cities from 6 AM to 9 PM. For more information visit www.radio-one.com or www.hiphopcaucus.com.

Ben's gotta face the tough Ray Lewis and the tough Ravens D this coming week on MNF so it could be another rough week Tim

Heat!

I agree that the quality of music should be the main focus instead of gimmicks, that's been the main problem with the rap game over the years, btw I heard Janet's leaving Def Jam too now and might sign with Live Nation

What's even more surprising is that Chuck D is featured on Nelly's new album on a new song called "Self Esteem" and it came out really well

http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=23261 Public Enemy: No Matter What Wednesday Jul 23 12:55 PM CDT words by Jayson Rodriguez Public Enemy, one of the most influential and significant rap groups of all time is still bringing the noise to the masses. Twenty years after the release of arguably the best hip-hop album ever made, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Flavor Flav has put a pause on his televised romanticism, reuniting with grand verbalizer Chuck D to celebrate the classic LP. Currently, P.E. is treating fans across the world to an unprecedented recital of the album’s every lyric, break beat and instrumental. Although it’s been two decades since the inception of Nation…, Chuck D and Flav continue to deliver the unadulterated, frank, rebellious and often humorous ideologies the hip-hop community has embraced since making their debut in 1987. In an exclusive press conference leading up to their unforgettable performance at the Festival International De Jazz De Montreal, Chuck and Flav maintain their realness and drop commentary on presidential politics, the troops in Iraq and who’s gonna speak out for the hip-hop generation. So Chuck, what is the latest with P.E.? Chuck D: Well, regarding Public Enemy, we are one of the spokespersons for the whole entire genre of hip-hop where there are like a million artists and only like 15 spokespersons. That’s a goddamn shame! We’ve been looking for more people to speak up. We just got back from 53 countries and a room of about 45 journalists will ask, ‘What have you done recently?’ Well, one thing Public Enemy did was, [being in this group] made us international ambassadors for the genre of hip-hop and rap music. We can’t be geared towards the latest single we drop for a major record label who goes through their publicity machine. I believe now in 2008 that we all realize that whole machine and regime is played out and old. Where we are now are a million artists, all online, doing their thing. And it doesn’t stop there. We develop not just the art but the performance art and developing the music to be more of an act. An act is not going to be weighed and judged by a chart position, marketing campaign, or MTV and BET, depending on who’s going to get paid off. It’s gotta be more than that. These record companies have to develop a new model. MP3 is the way of the world. Flav: You see? This is the reason why Flavor Flav backs Chuck D. He can always backup what he speaks and nobody can prove him wrong. I am always going to back him up until the day I die. For all you non-believers out there, you are nothing but haters and when my partner Chuck D pitches, he’s striking all y’all out! Let jump right into the politics. Break down Obama, Chuck. Chuck D: For one, I support Obama for all of the right and wrong reasons and a couple of them start with a W. The elections are November 2nd or 3rd. What we will see in America will be something the world has never seen before. You will see it all come out on the table. They are talking about how Hillary Clinton supporters will not vote for Obama no matter what. They are saying **** the party and vote for McCain who is a Republican! The racism is just leaking out in an ugly way. My thing is that, number one, you cannot not talk about race because that’s what it’s called, a presidential race. You gotta use the word anyway. To the rest of the world, this is the biggest reality television show – the next six months of Barack Obama and the United States. The rest of the world is waiting on a change with the ****ed-up U.S. and their foreign policy. Everyone is looking for a change. As far as the euphoria going on inside the U.S., this is no party. It is important that if the voters get Obama in, it’s going to take eight-times as much courage to have an overstanding of all the bull**** that is going to go down. I mean, anyone who is going to try and clean up some of the mess [bush] has left is going to have a hard job. Obama is going to have three-times as hard a job, but it’s what he’s asked for. Obama has been holding his weight, but that’s 50 yards. He has 50 more yards to go for the touchdown. That touchdown is in November, but there is July, August, September and October, and let me tell you that you are going to see some **** that you have never seen before or heard before. It’s all going to come out in the wash. The biggest reality show in the world is happening right now. Flav? Flavor Flav: Check this out, speaking about Obama and the race thing, I heard that Senator Obama was on a television show and they asked him if he was Black. He said, yes, I’m black, but not as black as Flavor Flav! Wowwwww!!! Everybody knows that I am renting some space in that man’s mind! As for McCain, he’s named after some potato company, you know what I’m sayin’? Come on, man. He can’t do nothing for me but make french fries! Chuck D: With John McCain, for the age that he is, when he says statements like, ‘We can stay in Iraq for all I care,’ he is saying he doesn’t care about the young lives over there. If you were a prisoner of war, you would feel like, “Hey, that’s what they are in there for.” He is not dealing with the aspect of why a young person decides to be in the armed services. They feel that they have no hope here [America], they are like, “**** it, I will be all I can be. I’m going because the army brought mixtapes to my high school and DJs cutting up [making scratching noises] “Army” and “Navy.” The [government] is thinking hip-hop would bring people into the armed services. So it’s either that, or do a trade; school costs too much. So we need to overstand that this is serious. And you, Flav? Flavor Flav: The first black man to run for president I know of was Dick Gregory in 1968. I would like to see Obama as the first black man in office. Just to say we have a black man running the States for the first time in our lives. Regardless, please beat McCain because McCain is an asshole. Chuck D: We have always been political. Number one, we are black men in America so we have to know what’s around us at all times. You want the world to be the same, but it’s the darkest people who catch the most hell. That’s just the way it is. Speaking about being political, I am sure people ask about P.E. and Flav’s role. What do you say about that? Chuck D: Man, people have to understand that Flav invented his role as a hype man. But other details about what others do in the group people don’t know about including what Professor Griff does, and other P.E. members … We do a lot of serious stuff as well. Flav does what he does. We are all just a diversified family and that is how the world should be recognized. One hand washes the other and everyone plays his part. And as far as the troops’ morale coupled with all of the world traveling P.E. is doing, would you go as far as doing a show for them in Iraq? Chuck D: Man, I want those troops to come back. I ain’t going to Iraq. I’ll wait for them to come back. Flavor Flav: See, talking about Public Enemy and how we are different, Chuck would not go to Iraq, but Flav would. I would go because there are a lot of troops over there and they have been supporting us for a lot of years, know what I’m saying? They can’t come over here and see a good Public Enemy show or meet Chuck and Flav so I would have the heart to go over there. I would do that. Chuck D: [Laughing] But you would have to go over there with Soulja Boy, know what I mean? They are 18 years-old and they want to see Soulja Boy. They ain’t trying to hear, “I got a letter from the government”! [Flav laughs]. They’d say, ‘They didn’t tell me about that song ["Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos"]. I should’ve listened to that one, but now I’m in this bitch … in Iraq!’

I found another article on that website about the Street Desciple poster, btw I bought the CD 4 years ago and didn't get no poster.... Nas` Coded Album covers continued - Streets Desciple Written by This is Scolla Tuesday, 19 August 2008 This is a continuation of the certified platinum article dropped earlier about Stillmatic and Gods Son. Before reading this one you should definetely the one prior... Stillmatic and God's Son Covers I should mention that on the previous article i completely forgot to explain the meaning of the pigeon on the Stillmatic cover. The pigeon represents the ghetto dove. For my Christian heads,you know that Noah used a Dove (or some kind of bird) to look for land after the flood. When the dove would return with a branch or leaf it would symbolise that there was land. You will notice that the doves in the Gods son cover and back cover have nothing in their beaks. Continuing on...The streets deciple cover is on another level. If your a fan of Nas then you know hes deep in the books, astrology, and the 5 percenter knowlege. So before reading this, if you have no knowlege on any of the above your gonna be quick to call it a reach...but do you research...listen to tracks such as `Level 7` add it up and it should make sense. Anyways, my knowlege of those topics is very limited but im learning. This article right here was written by a head DEEP in the supreme mathematics, so read carefully. If the picture looks familiar, thats because its a hip hop version of the last supper Finally the Stillmatic, God Son trinity is completed with Streets Disciple... for this, I'm going to refer to the extended cover featuring King Nas and the full 12 Nas disciples... this is the poster that was included in the Street's Disciple CD EDIT: found a link for the poster.. Streets Desciple poster The cover is grand in its scope and implications... we are in the interior of a stone building with vaulted arches... a single light illuminates the room... a cross is above it... (if you don't have the poster take my word, it's there)... this light is the holy father shining down (the cross implies this). Beneath the arches 13 variations on Nas are gathered around a table, some sitting, some standing... One sits enthroned in the center... he is King Nas, the Nas of Street's Disciple... the other 12 are his various alter egos and personas... 12 disciples that all make up Nas. On the table in front of them is food of various kinds and bottles of champagne. The table is adorned with a golden cloth... Candles are on either ends of the table. All of these items are highly symbolic and will be covered. On Street's Disciple it's safe to say the ghetto dove found land and the flood has receeded. For the first time we see firm ground and a strong stable structure (the wall and ceiling above and behind). This represents Nas' realization as an artist (he is most confidant on Street's Disciple) and as a man (he is now married, he's on his 8th studio album, has his own label, and will soon have a 10 million dollar recording contract with Def Jam). The food on the table is further evidence that the dove found land... this is God's reward to Nas... as the dove brought Noah back vegetation and proof of land in the form of an olive branch, the ghetto dove brings Nas back vegetation/land proof in the form of grapes, oranges and bread... there is also a piece of cake... The piece of cake is a generous portion fit for a king... on it are letters... on first examination the letters appear to read "Nas"... but if one looks closer (visible especially on the poster), it's not "N-A-S"... there's no A, and what looked like an N is really the greek lowercase letter Eta "η" and what looked like an S is the greek opercase letter Omega "Ω"... you better believe that ****'s important... (and no that Eta is not an Alpha no matter how you look at it)... take a better look Before delving into the letters, it's important to note that the slice is part of a bigger whole... there is a whole cake that is not seen, that almost certainly contains other letters and perhaps a greater meaning... In astronomy (of which Nas is a student "line it up with the stars - tarro cards - you can see the pharoah Nas") Eta symbolizes the seventh brightest star in a constallation... (it is the seven letter of the Greek alphabet)... now what does that remind you of... the Seventh Level referenced in Nas and Nashawn song Level 7... Note: This song is taking the 7 level concept and breakin it down in common terms applicable to street dudes and everyday people....Nas and Nashawn are translatting the original context...check back for the science on the original on a later date. without going into too much detail, Level 7 represents the highest possible level of consciousness in various spiritual belief systems (Supreme Mathematics, Theosophy, Bhuddism, etc)... stars are of especial importance in Supreme Mathematics (something Nas, Rakim and other rappers subscribe to, aka Nation of Gods and Earths and The 5 Percenters)... stars symbolize man in Supreme Mathematics (monads in Theosophy) and thus man's consciousness... Before I lose everyone, understand that the Eta on the cake slice represence this SUPREME LEVEL 7 CONSCIOUS... pure being, the height of creativity and understanding... "Welcome to Level 7 - we've entered the life of true game" - Nas Alright, now as many know Omega represents finality... the finite... the end... death... In the Bible's Revelations Jesus declares himself to be the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last".... (the Alpha, symbolizing the beginning may be on another part of the cake)... so being that Omega represents the end... an paring of Eta and Omega reads Level 7, The End... this cake slice basically says that Nas has reached the highest point of the rap artform, after him there is nothing, nothing above Eta, Level 7... Omega serves as a period at the end of the sentence... so the cake slice represents the album Street's Disciple as being the most evolved rap form, the best it gets, nothing better (you may or may not believe that to be true)... The cake slice is linked to Nas and Street's Disciple in that there is a wide sliver missing at one end... It is assumed King Nas has eaten it and thus internalized it and it is now being conveyed to the listener through the album... King Nas is being poured champagne into a golden cup by a shadowy figure... champagne is a celebratory drink, and it is indeed a party... several of the disciples are toasting King Nas. The four candles on the left end of the table represent the four albums that the 5 personas on that end represent... (I Am, Nastradmus, Stillmatic, God's Son)... Going through the left end personas.... on the far left side, holding a cigar, wearing a straw hat and raising a goblet we have Nastradamus the prophet... the raised glass is a toast to the future (the realized prophet)... the cigar represents excess, which the Nastradamus album had plenty of (Nas awknoweldges this "Nastradamus just wasn't one of my hardest - sold over a mil regardless")... the hat represents Nastradamus' link to the past... (the prophet is tuned into time, not just the future but the past and present as well... "the past is gone, the present's a gift, so what's the mystery - the future" - Nas, Some of Us Have Angels, Nastradamus album).... The Nas sitting down with the white baseball hat smiling and looking up is the Nas of Stillmatic... his white jacket is symbolic of the flashiness the Stillmatic cover entailed... as is his crisp white hat... His overall dress is indicitave of New York... grounding Street's Disciple in Stillmatic's NYC's aesthetic... he's smiling because of Stillmatic's importance... he knows it put Nas back on the map... the elle in his hand is his own personal celebration... he's also smiling because it was Nas's revenge album... revenge for the events that went on during I Am (Jay ****in Carmen, all the hate as expressed in Hate Me Now)... this link between Stillmatic and I Am is important... the Stillmatic Nas is making contact with the I Am Nas... the one wearing the gold zip up, holding the bottle of Cristal, dancing with the army hat... the Stillmatic Nas is saying to the I Am Nas.... "I got you son, we showed them dudes... don't worry about it" The I Am Nas is Big Nas Esco... Nas often wore the army hat during that time (check pics from 99)... it's contrasted against the bottle of Crystal... the Crystal represents the comerical songs and aspects of I Am (You Won't See Me, Big Things, Dr Knockboots, Kissing) and the Hate Me Now video where Nas spits Crystal at the camera... the army hat is the street throwback aspects of the album (NY State of Mind 2 and Nas is Like)... Nas' dancing represents the album's comercial success and viability as a club record as well as a street record... God's Son gets double representation... The sitting down in the wife beater and the white doo rag is God's Son from the cover... Nas wore similiar clothing in the God's Son CD booklet... this is the spirtually in tuned Nas, the sparsely dressed meditative Nas... above him is God's Son the man... the seasoned veteran and reigning Ether champion... he is religious as well... his religion is more tied to Judeo-Christian concepts of Christ and Jehova (as seen in the hanging cross around his neck) where the first God's Son is more Islamic (as seen in the doorag / head wrap / kufi)... combined they represent both sides of Nas' religious beliefs... "Islam's a beautiful thing / and Christian and Rastafari helps us to bring peace against the darkness, which is unGodly" - Nas... (Rastafari is grounded in Judeo-Christianity but sees Hallie Sallasie as the messiah)... The characters on the poster represent: -Nas the King, Africa -Illmatic Nas in hood, pre-prophet, precursor to Nastradamus -Grimey Illmatic Nasty Nas -Shadowy Figure - dont know -It Was Written's Escobar, and The Firm's Escobar -Nasir Jones -"in a white-T lookin for wifey" -Nas the General -"salute me" -the strategist, Mastermind, leaves bait for Jay in Stillmatic Freestyle, crushes with Ether -Judas The poster isn`t anywhere on the internet, for all the Nas fans and hip hop fans in general...buy that album...the poster is worth the 16 bucks on its own (Also a double CD). Scolla

http://thisisscolla.com/cms/content/view/4/2/ Let's Pay Homage to a Real Artist: NAS (and his coded messages) Written by This is Scolla Monday, 18 August 2008 For years hip hop has been getting ****ted on, never being respected for the artform it is. Instead they called it a "fad", they called emcees talentless, the music was meaningless. That may have been the case til 1994, when Nas dropped Illmatic. "I drink Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell" The Dr. Seuss, simple rap days were officially over. His lyrics had meaning, the quote above paints a picture of Nas blowing smoke into Medusa's mouth, vivid images. Nas was bringing the art into hip hop, but that was just the beginning. It Was Written back then was considered a sell out album, looking back now we can understand how ahead of his time he was. 'I gave you power' a first in its own right, which was later jacked by Tupac when he made 'me and my girlfriend'. (Pac stans, before you start sending me hate mail just know that i love him too....but the outlawz said he took the concept from Nas in the 'making of makavelli' edition of the Source) Lets fast forward a little. I want to show you some real art that probably went right over your head. We begin in 2001, during the Nas vs. Jayz beef. You probably remember the stillmatic freestyle that sparked the whole beef....but let me shed some new light on it. "My next few albums, instead of projects, There'll be a difficult test inside the cover for the mind's optics" If you recall, Illmatic and It was written had QB in the background. This freestyle dropped before Stillmatic was released, so lets take a look at the covers of the next couple albums and see what he's talking about. Stillmatic 2001 was the bling era. Rocafella and cash money had the game in a choke hold, the art was removed from hip hop. It was all about singles, champagne, and jewlery. Nas has on every single piece of platinum jewlery he every bought, including the infamous QB piece. The New york city skyline is in the background with dark clouds above, looking like theres about to be a bad storm. Pay attention to his right hand, hes got 4 fingers stretched out. These 4 fingers are representing his previous 4 official studio albums (Illmatic, It was Written, Nastradamus, I Am). A pigeon stands next to him, looking right at him. For now, we're still in the dark about what he's trying to say...but going back to the line he specifically said "my next few albums" God's Son Now the message is complete. In 2001 Nas was making a biblical reference with the Stillmatic cover. The dark clouds symbolise a storm is coming, particularly over NYC. That was the bling era when hip hop lost its essence. Jayz and his Crystal raps were coming to an end. It was time for a change. Just as god sent Noah down to earth in desperate times to save Gods creations and start fresh....God's Son was sent down to save hip hop and start fresh. Looking at the God's Son cover, there is a flood in the background. Noah had to build Noah's arch to save the animals during the flood, Nas made this album. All the platinum he was wearing, the fly velour suit, is gone. He is shirtless with 2 pieces of gold jewlery. This symbolises the end of the bling era. Tracks like 'Destroy and Rebuild' show Nas' disgust with the state of hip hop. Written by This is Scolla Monday, 18 August 2008 For years hip hop has been getting ****ted on, never being respected for the artform it is. Instead they called it a "fad", they called emcees talentless, the music was meaningless. That may have been the case til 1994, when Nas dropped Illmatic. "I drink Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell" The Dr. Seuss, simple rap days were officially over. His lyrics had meaning, the quote above paints a picture of Nas blowing smoke into Medusa's mouth, vivid images. Nas was bringing the art into hip hop, but that was just the beginning. It Was Written back then was considered a sell out album, looking back now we can understand how ahead of his time he was. 'I gave you power' a first in its own right, which was later jacked by Tupac when he made 'me and my girlfriend'. (Pac stans, before you start sending me hate mail just know that i love him too....but the outlawz said he took the concept from Nas in the 'making of makavelli' edition of the Source) Lets fast forward a little. I want to show you some real art that probably went right over your head. We begin in 2001, during the Nas vs. Jayz beef. You probably remember the stillmatic freestyle that sparked the whole beef....but let me shed some new light on it. listen to the 1:56 mark: Download This Video "My next few albums, instead of projects, There'll be a difficult test inside the cover for the mind's optics" If you recall, Illmatic and It was written had QB in the background. This freestyle dropped before Stillmatic was released, so lets take a look at the covers of the next couple albums and see what he's talking about. Stillmatic 2001 was the bling era. Rocafella and cash money had the game in a choke hold, the art was removed from hip hop. It was all about singles, champagne, and jewlery. Nas has on every single piece of platinum jewlery he every bought, including the infamous QB piece. The New york city skyline is in the background with dark clouds above, looking like theres about to be a bad storm. Pay attention to his right hand, hes got 4 fingers stretched out. These 4 fingers are representing his previous 4 official studio albums (Illmatic, It was Written, Nastradamus, I Am). A pigeon stands next to him, looking right at him. For now, we're still in the dark about what he's trying to say...but going back to the line he specifically said "my next few albums" God's Son Now the message is complete. In 2001 Nas was making a biblical reference with the Stillmatic cover. The dark clouds symbolise a storm is coming, particularly over NYC. That was the bling era when hip hop lost its essence. Jayz and his Crystal raps were coming to an end. It was time for a change. Just as god sent Noah down to earth in desperate times to save Gods creations and start fresh....God's Son was sent down to save hip hop and start fresh. Looking at the God's Son cover, there is a flood in the background. Noah had to build Noah's arch to save the animals during the flood, Nas made this album. All the platinum he was wearing, the fly velour suit, is gone. He is shirtless with 2 pieces of gold jewlery. This symbolises the end of the bling era. Tracks like 'Destroy and Rebuild' show Nas' disgust with the state of hip hop. Looking at the back of the cover, the Moses comparison is confirmed. In the bible Noah was told to save 2 of each animal...Nas holds 2 doves with 2 pieces of gold on. Doves and gold symbolising purity...bringing back the essence of hip hop. Nas representing the leader and the chosen one. This dude goes much deeper than rap. He is too lyrical to spit anything meaningless in any of his songs, if theres something you dont understand then it has a deeper meaning. I took time to write this blog not only for you to appreciate the man, and learn something new...but to open your mind that Hip Hop is definetely an art. The Beatles had codes and messages in their music along with most Rock n Roll artists. Hip hop is no different, just as with poems, and literature...there are deeper meanings that artists like Nas, Jayz, Ras Kass, Tupac and many others incorporate to make their music meaningful. Appreciate bitches. Hope you enjoyed my first blog, there will be much more to come with similar material, videos, music, so bookmark my ****. comments section coming soon...until then drop me a message, PEACE. you know what to do Scolla

Yesterday was a hell of a day, Mcnabb gave me a scare for a moment when he left the game but he came back and my Eagles won so it's all good, btw I knew the Dolphins would be a better team than people expected, they're gonna win some games this year

LL's saying in a blog that his 1st week sales might be low 'cause Def Jam might've not have sent enough copies to the stores since he's been hearing a lot of people telling him they couldn't find the album when they went to the store: http://youngandthefly.blogspot.com/2008/09...es-low-due.html

Well I wouldn't call myself a fan of TI, the only TI album I have is "King" which had some good songs but didn't really blow me away too much, sure he's better than a lot of rappers out now but he's really average at best on the most part, I do like that he's trying to take a more positive direction lately so maybe I'll get his new album down the line but I won't really be bothered that much if I don't get it. Now that goes for 95% of albums out now even the most better stuff is kinda average compared to how great hip hop used to be back in the day, personally the past couple years I think mixtapes are better than albums, cats ain't hungry to the craft of making a great album anymore, the hip hop game is in a funk right now, needs something fresh to stay on top

Be safe and see you back soon, yeah hopefully there ain't no more hurricanes there

First LL drops his best album in almost a decade, then we hear Queen Latifah's coming back with an album, now Naughty by Nature's coming back, I can't believe it! :wickedwisdom: Naughty By Nature Planning New Album posted Friday, September 19, 2008 4:22 PM | 51 Comments By Tai Saint Louis Two years after officially reuniting, Naughty By Nature is in the final stages of completing their first album as a trio in eight years. Tentatively titled Anthem, Inc., the group exclusively tell AllHipHop.com that music from the album will be available to fans before the end of the year. “It’s all about when the album is done, to be honest with you,” revealed producer DJ Kay Gee, who departed from the group in 2000 over a financial disagreement. “There’s no set date, but before this New Year comes in, you’re definitely gonna be hearing some exclusives, some appetizers to let them know we coming,” added the group’s frontman Treach. “We’re gonna be giving the people stuff to let them know the music is there, the group is there.” According to Vin Rock, the three members of Naughty by Nature have been toying with the idea of releasing a new album for the last two summers, since Kay Gee publicly rejoined the group during a performance by Treach and Vin in New York. While the album was delayed in coming, the three took the time to repair the fractured bond created by accusations of financial impropriety following the release of the group’s fourth major label release, Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature’s Fury. Despite the fact that it has been over five years since even Treach and Vinny released a studio project, the group continues to be as popular as ever, with the two continuing to perform over 100 shows a year. It is that active touring schedule which makes Naughty by Nature confident that their return will be welcomed. “When people are still willing to buy Naughty boxers from us, or wanting to buy Naughty By Nature t-shirts or Naughty By Nature hoodies to this day, that says that you’re still marketable in some type of way,” Kay Gee told AllHipHop.com. “I haven’t been out there with them, but the fact that they’re able to do hundreds of shows per year still, without an album. That says that people are still into your music, people are still into your brand and people still wanna see you. So with that being said, it only makes sense to now feed the brand and give them something that’s current.” As they put the finishing touches on the music and lock in collaborators, Naughty By Nature is turning to the business side of their project. The group has maintained control of their brand since first emerging on the scene in seventeen years ago. Now they say that the release of the album will also hinge on finding the proper partner to make the release a success, an arrangement which will be far from the traditional record deal model. “The industry is going through a little bit of changes,” explained Kay Gee. “But for people like us that have some kind of brand, and where we feel like we could service to just our fans, you have more control over what you can do and what you can ask for. For better or worse, we can’t just go in and do your typical deal anymore.” Naughty By Nature is also currently preparing for next month’s taping of the fifth annual VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, which are set to air on October 6. The New Jersey vets will be celebrated alongside Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Slick Rick and Too $hort with performances and appearances by artists including Big Boi, Biz Markie, Bun B, Ghostface Killa, Kid Rock, MC Lyte, Lil Jon, Lil’ Wayne, Q-Tip, Scarface and Wyclef Jean. While some have wondered why it took so long for the group to be chosen for the VH1 tribute, Treach sees it as an untarnished milestone. “Put it like this: we got Grammys, we got AMAs, we got everything else,” he reflects. “Our folks ain’t seen us yet with none of them awards. So for a Hip-Hop Honors to come out and give us love like that man: I’m overwhelmed. I love it. It’s a Grammy to me. All the way, all day. It ain’t nothing like it’s just a TV show. It’s like a Super Bowl ring for me.”

That's one thing I don't get either, I don't understand with the way the economy is why would this many people run out and waste money buying an album with a bunch of garbage on it :shakehead:

It's gonna another long week my brother since you gotta face me