bigted

Nas feat. Ron Isley "Project Windows"(Nastradamus, 1999)

The "N Trapp" is probably one of my favorite songs on the album, when you listen to the whole song and the intention of that particular verse really you see it's more of a reference than a diss, he's basically saying that "even though you hitting on white girls on reality shows brotha you still gotta watch your back, black," if you just look at those lines only though you might think it's a diss, sorta like how a snippet from an interview could be taken out of hand, I really like that Ice Cube album like I said earlier, one of my favorites of the year, he should collab with PE again, btw when I listen to Game's album I see on "Remedy" that he's using the same Issac Hayes sample as PE used on "Black Steel In A Hour Of Chaos"

Q&A with Jim Brown By Charles Robinson Yahoo! Sports www.sports.yahoo.com November 29, 2006 Jim Brown looks at the NFL, and he sees a disconnection. With embarrassing off-field incidents becoming an almost weekly part of the league's fabric, and on-field angst bubbling over in a growing fraction of its youth, Brown sees a league that is losing touch with some of its players. With that in mind, the former Cleveland Browns great, currently an advisor to that franchise, discussed the health of the NFL and some of the league's pertinent issues with Yahoo! Sports. Among the topics, Brown shared his thoughts on why off-field conduct seems to be becoming a consistent problem; how rule changes are bogging down the essence of the game; the league's pension issues with former players; and why a cap on rookie contracts would be a healthy move for the league. Robinson: Do you think the game is as healthy as it's ever been? Some people say the product on the field has never been better. Brown: The entertainment is there from the standpoint of the playoff structure, the marketing and the personalities. But the game is way up in entertainment and way down in perfection. The ball is on the ground too much. There are too many unintelligent plays. There's not a lot of discipline. And the rules have gotten to the point where it's almost ridiculous. They're trying to turn it into touch football. The horse collar rule is totally ridiculous. And we've had a few incidents where the quarterback was in the grasp, but the player felt if he threw him down too hard, there would be a penalty (i.e. Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka against the Titans on Sunday). There is hesitation and indecision now in a lot of situations where it comes to players hitting the quarterback. It becomes a ticky-tack kind of thing that doesn't really represent what football is all about. Football is a very physical game, but they've tried to legislate things to a point where there is too much indecision. Robinson: Do you think too much legislation robs football of what makes it great? Brown: Yeah. What you're doing is you're taking away the essence of the game. When you go out on a football field, you are responsible for taking care of yourself. The more rules you get, the less players truly take care of themselves. See, quarterbacks have to be in great condition. They have to make big decisions, which make for greatness. But when they don't get in condition, and you try to protect them – you deal with the slide rule, and you deal with if you're hit in the helmet or your facemask is touched – there are only certain things you shouldn't allow. Your facemask shouldn't be pulled on. … But now you can't hit below the knees, you can't do this or that and there are so many rules where you almost don't know what to do to a quarterback anymore. It's trying to protect the players, but you know, I think it's also an attempt to try to add to the offensive excitement of the game. It's over-legislated and it's not fair to defensive players. It doesn't represent what football is supposed to be. Robinson: You and I spoke before, and you said that money is becoming too much of a central thing in this league. What did you mean by that? Brown: The league is set up backwards. Somehow they have arrived at an agreement that is almost the opposite of what it should be. Players coming out of college have the greatest value. And it's not because they are going to be a great pro. It's because they have played well in college; they have a lot of publicity around them; and there's the draft and all this fan interest. So you give a player coming out of college a $20 million bonus – and that's his money. He hasn't played one down. Then, at a certain point in his career, when he has proven himself and he's actually ready for a major paycheck, then you have to get rid of him. It's like the opposite of what should be happening. It doesn't breed greatness in the league, either. And it's something that is a matter of agents battling for the most money. Then you have guys holding players out and that makes a player's value the first year null and void. He doesn't get to camp on time, then he doesn't catch up, so he basically misses that first year. If he was in camp and signed up early and ready to play, you would at least get that value that first year. So there are a lot of things that money dictates early on that aren't the best thing for the game. Robinson: Would you be in favor of slotting rookie contracts, basically creating a rookie cap like the NBA, with a predetermined amount going to players based on draft position? Brown: I would think something like that would be much fairer to everybody. The incentives in the contracts could work better that way, and later considerations would work better, too. If the (NFL) Players Association and the league got together, they could come up with something that would be an advantage to the owners and an advantage to the players from the standpoint of quality of play, getting to camp on time, and having players who want to perform. None of this being set financially before you ever play a down, where if you never even play a down, you're still a $20 million guy. That doesn't seem to make sense. Robinson: You told me before that you think there's a lack of social consciousness with players in the league today. Are guys just not socially aware when it comes to issues outside of football or do they just purposely stay away from things? Brown: The issues are not paramount anymore. There's a great competition to make the most money, to make the Pro Bowls and those things. The league has almost become all-encompassing. The social issues outside of football are not as defined as they were earlier, when integration took place and certain rights were legislated. The Civil Rights movement is over. Individuals can buy homes wherever they want, travel first class wherever they want, eat wherever they want. All of these things now are part of the everyday lives of players. But the discrimination and racism in the world now is very subtle. It's poor people that are really suffering from a lack of inclusion. Poor people live in a part of town that most players don't go into, and those people aren't an issue as far as the league is concerned. Basically, the players have become part of the elite part of society. And I mean regardless of their color or anything like that. They are part of the elite part of our society because of money and status. So there's not discrimination based on black and white; it's more of a discrimination based on the rich and the poor. The poor get little consideration. The schools in our country are suffering tremendously. Violence is at an astronomical level and nobody seems to be interested. Robinson: Has the league moved itself away from being accessible and effectual when it comes to the disenfranchised part of society? Brown: The league will do charitable things, but it's not going to be anything that is going to make a major change in the world. They deal with things that are appealing to people. If you help disabled children, it's very appealing. If you help kids with cancer, those are the things you get credit for and those things are beautiful. But when it comes to stopping violence or really putting the time into rebuilding schools, that's just a different kind of project. It takes more than just money to do that. You have to put time and effort and put systems in place and all that. It's not something where you can just donate a check to the Red Cross or you can take a photo op with kids in a hospital and then that's it. When you're talking about rebuilding schools, that's a big project. When you're talking about re-integrating inmates into society to make it safer, that's a big job. When you talk about stopping violence in these neighborhoods all over the country, that's a major job because there isn't just one thing that you can do. Money is a part of it. But then there's a lot of work that has to take place that the league isn't capable of doing. But the league itself suffers because a lot of these kids playing today are from these cultures. And the league wonders why these kids are not in touch and why they aren't in touch with these kids. It's because they aren't in touch with the culture these kids are coming from. So they don't know how to approach these kids and work with them. Even though the money is great and the fame is great, you still have a lot of disenfranchised young men that are participating in the NFL that are not very happy. A lot of them are very bitter. A lot them are very angry. So many of them have had no fathers and no home life, and basically, no education. So, coming into the league, it's the first time they've been able to get anything materially that they want. And all of the sudden, people are looking at them as so-called role models – which I don't believe in – and inside, these kids are very unhappy. Robinson: The league has talked about strengthening the personal conduct policy. There's been a lot of talk about all of the arrests and police incidents that have occurred with players this year and those kinds of issues. Is it a backwards approach to just strengthen the personal conduct policy rather than figure out how to connect with players before the problems occur? Brown: Yes, you're absolutely right. The whole thing with the punishment doesn't work. The punishment is after the fact. It takes education. And the league doesn't reach out to the people that would have the educational techniques to work with these youngsters. The league is a club of its own. If you go and get someone from Harvard, and he's doctor so-and-so, and then you have him go around to teams and give them a two-hour lecture, (the league believes that's addressing the issue). They're not really in touch. They're emphasizing rules once again, and rules are broken all the time. Most of these kids are used to breaking rules. When you have a problem, rules don't solve your problem. It's caring and education. You have to connect properly with these young people and understand there is a psychological problem there. It's not done just because you fine a guy $100,000 or $50,000. The unhappiness shows all over these guys, and the league doesn't seem to be able to understand it. But they like the talent, so they put everything aside and go along with everything that's being done so they can utilize the talent of that person. But when that talent is gone, then it's like a breath of fresh air to get rid of him. I'm saying these things not to knock the league. You have more there than the league. You have the league, you have the agents, you have the managers, the lawyers. You have the kids themselves and what's left of the families. It's all of our responsibility to connect with these young men and do it in a way that allows them to get some inner satisfaction. Only the inner satisfaction is going to make the behavior come up to what we expect of them. Robinson: We spoke before about the lack of father figures in the lives of some players today. If there is something like that lacking, how do you go about making sure players are getting the right guidance in their lives? Brown: Let me be very outspoken with you. I run a program called Amer-I-Can. We've taught in prisons, schools, juvenile facilities and we teach in the community. We have the greatest record from the standpoint of dealing with grade point averages, disciplinary action and attendance in schools. All the quantitative data is there. We deal with gang-bangers who have turned their lives around – which literally means you are saving lives. We have a life-skills program that is as good as any in the country. The year Baltimore won the Super Bowl, we went in and I had two of my guys give a seminar there and we left a lot of materials with that team. The principals of the program are unbelievable. If the league would just reach out and just recognize what is going on and what is needed, we could set a tremendous program that would take about two weeks of the players' time. If each player was basically given the opportunity to attend that life skills management seminar, I guarantee there would be a huge difference in the actions of these young men. We've already proven it with a much tougher audience when it comes to guys like gang members. Those are people that are basically in war-like situations. My point is, there are things that could be adapted by the league that would be a realistic approach to human behavior and how to develop and change human behavior. The things the NFL does now are kind of company things, which you can understand. It's like they are dealing within the family. But I think sometimes you have to reach outside your family to find things that really work. If an organization can go to a prison and stop riots, and you can relate to young men all over the country, then what is the NFL but a lot of young men that come from all walks of life? If you look at Curtis Martin, if you look at Kellen Winslow, Dennis Northcutt, LaDainian Tomlinson – Amer-I-Can training allows us to be able to relate to these young men, and have these young men relate to us. There is a methodology. There has to be caring. There has to be education. You have to approach it in a consistent manner. It can't be a quick fix. The league has an opportunity to institute some things that would really be meaningful and would help in the behavior of these young men. Robinson: There have been some voices from past eras in the NFL that have been disappointed with the pensions doled out to former players, particularly when it comes to the mounting medical bills that exist largely in relation to their playing days. What do you think about the pension issues? Brown: The NFL pension is the worst in the world of business. It's an embarrassment. No, I don't think there should be better pensions. I know there should be. It's an embarrassment and it's unfair. It's a shame. There are some players that make $120 a month. I don't care what the conditions are. No player should be making $120 a month off the pension plan. Robinson: How would you like to see amends made? I spoke to (former Green Bay Packers lineman) Jerry Kramer a few months back and he basically said there needs to be a better mechanism that makes sure former players are taken care of, whether it's paying for medical bills or just simply increasing the amount paid to former players. Brown: Bart Starr and myself, along with Roger Staubach, we spoke to Gene Upshaw. We were supposed to have a meeting, but it was cancelled. We had a telephone conference call with him, and he said there was some room to make it better and that he's going to work on it. The last thing I heard, there should be about a 20-percent increase in pensions which I think would be very, very helpful. And they do have some medical situations to help players. But it really needs to be revisited. The young players of today should really step up. Some of the players are homeless. And as I said, some of them are making as little as $120 a month. Robinson: There has been some talk about banned substances in the league and we've seen some prominent suspensions over the last few years. We've also heard a lot of talk about HGH and reasoning why the NFL isn't testing for it. "Bigger, faster stronger" seems to be the league trend. With that in mind, is it possible that a substance like HGH or even other substances are more prevalent than people realize? Brown: First of all, let me say this about the league: Bigger, fatter, more out of condition and getting hurt a lot. You can quote me on that. I've never seen more fat guys in my life. And I've never seen more injuries in my life. We've got guys that can get out of a game with a broken finger, a twisted wrist, or a high ankle sprain. It's unbelievable. That's basically my answer. I don't see how they could be using too much illegal stuff that's helping them. When I'm in the locker room and I'm looking around, I don't think I'm looking at a lot of guys that are trying to cheat. Every once in a while a guy might come along that's a physical freak and you might be suspicious. But I don't think there is a lot of stuff that's being used, to be honest with you. Robinson: Tell me a little more about Amer-I-Can, so readers can understand why it's so important to you. Brown: It's really not a charity. It's really a movement. I'm not trying to solicit anything from the general public at this time. I'm trying to build assistance. But anybody that has special interest, they can go to www.amer-i-can.org. We're trying to make change. Basically by stopping the violence with these young kids killing each other and upgrading schools. These two things, to me, are the most vital things we can do for our young people.

Really? I guess that's what I get for not playin the album enough. How often do you get at Chuck D Ted? Considerin' he's probably mad busy. Well Chuck onlyanswered me back a couple times but he seems to be a humble dude, really PE could never lose credability either, they're just too great, but if Flava keeps doing these reality shows he should keep himself distant from PE 'cause that wouldn't be something that'd really give them any credability, btw the funny thing about Ice Cubeis on one song he says on "Growin' Up", they wanna say f me, well f u 'cause I'm down with Chuck D, really though Chuck D handling Flava Flav sorta reminds me of how Michael Jordan was able to handle Dennis Rodman's antics, that really takes a lot of heart and courage, I actually email Chuck D what his thoughts were about Ice Cube's comments but he never got back to me

I saw Rakim and Luda in the commercials on ESPN the past couple days, I wonder if FP will be in it too? It's only fitting since he played him the movie after all....

Ice Cube said that on the "N*** Trapp", obviously he don't respect Flava much anymore either, he used to roll with PE back in the days too, PE has lost credability, but I'll always respect Chuck D no matter what, he's my man, he answers my emails

I feel you Top Dawg 100%, preach on brother, it's my turn to get on the soapbox: :mad: Yeah the rap game's in a civil war but I think the whole music industry is in shambles, really record sales have been down overall 'cause really there are people getting tired of watered down music, if these record execs don't step up overall in promoting quality music they'll be without a job, Sony's dumping some of their staff during this holiday season, I really did say a lot more that I had to delete just now, overall this topic about record sales is making me miserable, I really don't want to talk about this crap anymore, there's more important things in life to worry about than this for real, btw I think Game'll never be in Ice Cube's league like I said earlier if he don't start doing grown man rap, there's really not much timeless music out there, he got a good flow but he ain't really that deep like Pac and Ice Cube, Frenetic's right basically, I'm just gonna support my favorite artists on the retail and if I like somebody's song that I'm interesting in but I don't really like I'm just gonna buy a used version so I don't have to support artists I don't really feel that much, f the industry since most of these artists are so weak that I could write better raps that could end their careers and one love to the real aritsts that keep me motivated to continue rapping, it's a struggle but we're gonna make it through it, the industry will be falling soon the way I see it anyway, people are just gonna listen to the music they have after awhile and not buy anything new if the industry doesn't step it up

It'd be a shame too if his music fans don't support his movies but there are a lot more of his movie fans who never gave a damn to listen to any of his albums which is an even bigger shame, Will's an all around good guy and a great role model, he's a champion in life, I support him all the way, it's hard to find people in society in general as genuine as him, he's the truth for real

I pray to God that Flava don't do any more reality show, he needs to chill and do some more albums with PE, he's actually tainting PE's legacy by doing this 'cause a lot of people are tearing him down like a coon, it don't bother me personally 'cause it's entertainment but on the real if he keeps it up Chuck D might have a heart attack over this, Chuck's really is a strong man to put up with that 'cause if I were him I'd kicked him out the group, Flava needs to grow up, seeing him on these shows pains my heart too like hearing LL doing an album with 50 Cent 'cause of the fact of all the criticism that's being received, same sell out move really 'cause he's losing the integrity that PE worked hard to get, these guys worked too hard to just throw their credability away

Yeah that doesn't seem to make sense, he wants to be respected as a mature rapper but yet he does the same stereotype video, FP did the same thing though with "Party Starter" though, it was a song with a message but it had a flashy video, I guess that's the only way it'll get some airplay, lol, Nas did a creative video but he probably won't get airplay since it's too much for the masses to consume, lol, btw "Lost Ones" is cool, that was one of the songs I was feeling on there, soulful song

I didn't really like Fat Joe's last couple albums much, his guest spots were better than the albums were, I enjoyed "Jealous Ones Still Envy" out of his popular records, it might be too early to compare this new one to DC but it's a strong record, yeah Diddy's an entertainer, I always respected his performance, he's like the modern Hammer, btw it'd be cool if those two had a danceoff competition, lol, he is an mc 'cause he could move a crowd, Game stepped up flow and his rhyming on this album, great beats too, very versatile record, yeah Volume 2 was the last time I really liked Jay-Z, basically since then his music is love/hate except maybe Blueprint, if you ain't a fan you probably won't like it, basically LL's last few albums been love/hate too, if you ain't a fan of his you might or might not like anything he did since "Mr. Smith" album except "GOAT", maybe that's why LL and Jigga should battle so they could give us classics again

And the point is that so called hip-hop heads complain when rappers do pop records 'cause there's no substance in it but when they do a strong record it just doesn't sell as much as the pop records, it's like you have to sacrifice record sales when you do so called "real hip-hop", you could see that with Puffy, Luda, and Fat Joe, even FP's album last year, they gave us "real hip-hop" records but they ain't gonna do the numbers they did on their "pop" records, and with LL it's like he does a mature record last album but people call him soft and not aggressive for the streets, now if he does a street album with 50 Cent he'll be made fun of as the 40 year old trying to act like a gangsta, it's like what the hell do people want? Really though this why the rap game is suffering 'cause people don't know what they want anymore and the artists don't know what way to go to please them, it ain't like before where you could put out a strong record and sell a lot, I guess me and LL are living too much in the past, time has changed....

Now for now I'll just give ratings but later on I'll give in depth reviews for each album, right now the hip-hop records that came recently that I heard: Fat Joe "Me, Myself, and I"(4+/5), takes it back to the streets on this record, could be his best since "Don Cartegena", need to give it more listens, easily better than his last two records Diddy "Press Play"(4-/5), never thought I'd say that but it's quite good, gets away from watered down pop image and gets creative for a change Game "Doctor's Advocate" (4-/5), now that he's gotten away from 50 he's stepped up his "game" for real, great gangsta rap but could still do a lil' more commentary if he really wants to be the next Ice Cube and 2Pac Snoop "Blue Carpet Treatment"(4/5), I haven't heard him this hungry in a long time, he's been on cruise control forever it seemed since his first two records Jay-Z "Kingdom Come"(3.5/5), it doesn't quite stack up to what he's capable of, need to give this more listens like I said earler R&B: Akon "Konvicted"(4/5), cool record Beyonce "B'Day"(3.5/5), like her boo she could do much better than this Janet "20 YO"(4/5), not quite vintage Janet but still a great album, takes time to grow on you Robin Thicke "Evolution Of Robin"(5/5), classic record, album of the year Justin Timberlake "FutureSex/Love Sounds"(4/5), he got good chemistry with Timbaland, lil' overhyped though Btw, that verse that TI did on Pac's Life was hot, the dude could spit man, don't front on him, I'm gonna download some tracks off of Pac's Life when I get a chance, I'd really just rather bump his classics then buy another doctored album, maybe I'll buy another copy of "All Eyez On Me" to show love, lol, btw man Ginuwine's last record was severly underrated, I got all of his albums, he's one of my favorite singers, and I had no idea Tamia's album came out, I have no idea why real r&b ain't being promoted anymore, the state of r&b's much worse than the state of rap, I really don't hear that much soul jams on the radio anymore

"Todd Smith" was a mature rap album too, if people consider that weak then I guess they want him to be an angry battle rapper again right? btw, "Todd Smith did go gold in the US, not 'cause of Jay-Z but 'cause he did his own tour for the album, he went out there and did what he needed to do... Listen to powerful songs like "Best Dress", "Down The Aisle", and "We're Gonna Make It" and tell me that LL's album didn't have substance to it, how is that wack? People need to make their damn mind up, they want mature music but they call it soft, then they complain when all a rapper does is make diss songs, what the **** do people want for real? Like I said earlier, call LL a sellout for working with 50 Cent then I'm sure Jay-Z a sellout for signing Rick Ross right, ain't Rick Ross and 50 Cent both rappers with no substance? Btw like I said neither LL and Jay-Z deserve to be hyped for their recent albums, Ice Cube's album should be the one going multi platinum 'cause that was the album of the year in my view, both LL and Jay-Z need to step it up for real, looking at it from a non bias view, sure both of their recent albums have substance but they weren't lyrically as strong as they're capable of, maybe the battle will force them to step it up, maybe being rich made them relax writing the real strong lyrics that make them greats, they seem to go on cruise control like they ain't that motivated for rapping since they have so many other things they do, it's like they're only scoring 20 points a game instead of 30, maybe they're both slowing down like Jordan on the Wizards, and only promoting rappers like Young Jeezy and Rick Ross proves my point that Jay-Z'll only flood the radio with garbage rappers so he could protect his legacy right? People that only listen will think that Jay-Z the only quality rapper out there, that's why people were so hyped for his album, thinking he's saving hip-hop but he's not, it don't need to be saved, there's great music out there, promote it, stop acting like the only rapper that matters... Def Jam is known for promoting quality hip-hop, Jay-Z' ****ing it up, making it turn into a mother****ing watered down pop label, I want that real hip-hop on the radio again, he ain't no different at dogging artists like Puffy, he should receive as much criticism as Puffy does, he needs to do a better job balancing his career and the other careers on there too, if an arist puts in hard work they deserve to be promoted... Hell even that Puffy album might be better than both LL and Jay-Z' recent efforts, it's a mature album with great lyrics, maybe they need ghostwriters if they can't write strong lyrics anymore, I'm available, lol.... Somebody that cares about quality music being popular needs to take over Def Jam, Jay-Z sucks at that, who knows though maybe after LL doing such a positive rap album seeing him come back all angry might make him receive flack like what happened to Hammer when he actually worried too much about criticism and starting dissing Tribe Called Quest after he used to ignore them dissing him, maybe he should take a couple years off from the rap game and do other things that's he's doing like movies and shows on TV and take his time and take a breather before putting out another record, the more I think about it I actually realise that working with 50/battling Jay-Z probably ain't the smartest thing to do, he has a lot going for himself already, he has to realise that he's a smooth brother and he always gonna get some sort of hate for attracting women since some brothers can't get none, he don't need to be all hard, Jay-Z could probably just nail him for trying to acting hardcore like Mase did after doing so much positive rap, the best thing for LL would be just to spend more time and put more thoughts into making better music before putting out another album, do powerful songs, just make stronger quality to the level that everyone loves him for, I could understand why it'd be hard for FP to too just go after Eminem all hard and cuss him out 'cause if he did that he'd probably ruin his image, LL got an image at stake, he's built himself up to be a positive role model but he can't throw himself away like this, maybe he should talk to Hammer, let's just hope all of this dies down and it's found to be a silly rumor, and if he's gonna work with 50, he should be showing 50 a better way beyond beef I guess.... LL and Jay-Z should just go into the office and talk things out, but I guess if this **** with Jay-Z and the flack for being soft makes him put out a great record I probably won't really give a damn what he sells, bring on another "G.O.A.T." record, I just want LL to be motivated to do another classic bottomline... I think I'm done venting on this topic and more than likely the hype's gonna die down, cooler heads will prevail, at the end of the day both got ego problems sometimes which could be expected since they've been in the spotlight for more than a minute I say and they're both talented, they could probably motivate each other better working with each other in the studio doing powerful raps, it'd probably be better for LL to rap on the remix of "Black Republican" with Jay and Nas instead of working on a battle rap album with 50, the best might be for LL to leave Def Jam if he can't get along with Jay-Z in the longrun, he might need a fresh start, G-Unit wouldn't fit, at this point he should just promote the music himself like Ice Cube does and just do the real music for the fans that he has, maybe sitting down with Jay-Z and talking to him how Def Jam was before might motivate Jigga to work harder as president of Def Jam to protect that legacy and maybe LL might want to stay after all and they might work it out, that's what'd be the best,maybe all of these statements LL made might be a wakeup call for Jay-Z...

I remember seeing on a VH1 special back in 2002 where Luda said that he loved JJFP, he got a good taste in rap music, he's really coming around as an artist too, I'm really feeling his new album, he always had flow but now he's saying some important things, I'm feeling that

Method Man's album could sell if more people knew about it, good music could still sell, he went platinum before on Def Jam, he has a fanbase, a lot of them probably been looking for another one of his albums but they don't know it's out there, Russell Simmons proved it in the 80s/90s that classic albums and music could be recognised, LL Cool J's upset over Def Jam 'cause he sees it ain't the same anymore, maybe instead of complaining he should start his own label and just leave there, maybe he should stop worrying about whether people think he's soft for making positive songs and just do his thing, don't worry about Jay-Z, LL album's just barely above average too, I just let my bias opinion get in the way sometimes, he needs to work on his lyrics a lil' bit, he's not the top lyricist in the game at the moment, really the criticism will always be there for doing positive music since some ignorant mother****ers wanna hear gang bang **** all day, he just don't need to stoop to 50's level just 'cause of some critics are calling him out again, although I wouldn't mind a "GOAT"/Get Rich Or Die Tryin', aggressive **** for all the rap heads but LL's not at that point in his career, he's more mature, it's a wonder why he's going back in his life, he should be moving forward, maybe he's the one going through a midlife crisis, he needs to move beyond that and do music on a higher level that he talked about, maybe a gospel rap album with powerful songs like "Power Of God", "Big Mama", "We're Gonna Make It" and "Father" would be kinda cool and better than another "GOAT" where he's just putting others down and talking how great he is, maybe he could cut down on the sex songs a lil' bit, there are a lot of people going through troubles in life and if he could do an album that could lift the spirits it'd be much better than bashing critics, that gets tired, I really always feel motivated by his songs like "Crossroads" than "I Shot Ya", I really like writing a lot of stuff like that too, I try not to be a gangsta, just write about life stuff, that's what I really dig mcs like LL and FP for, the fun songs are cool but "The Rain" and "I Can't Think" are just more relatable, maybe he might need a break, he has a lot on his plate, another album ain't necessary at the moment... btw Jay-Z' album does have a few nice lyrics in it but it's nothing amazing like what he's capable of, come on admit it and the fact is that a lot of rappers stepped their game up this year to higher than they been, I had no idea Ice Cube could come back as strong as he did, it is nice though he does have some mature subject matter, now maybe if he worked on more consistantly strong verses his next album will equal Ice Cube's, btw I don't hate on stuff 'cause it's popular, I liked Fat Joe's "Jealous Ones Still Envy" album even though it sold a lot, Fat Joe flowed well on there, I don't care if artists do some pop songs, as long as it's good music, Game's 1st album took some time to grow on me, really I just downloaded it in the beginning and I only liked like 2 or 3 songs but when I finally decided to pick up the album and listen to it I realised it was better than what I originally thought, I think this album's an upgrade from the last but he might want to cut down on the name dropping and maybe add a lil' more substance, do some street commentary like Ice Cube if he wants to put out a gangsta rap classic, he definately is on the right path... Maybe I'll gradually be opening up a bit more on Jay-Z' album too, honestly 'cause he's so hyped, I only downloaded it and listen to it a few times 'cause I really lost respect for how he's using his ego for his benefit but maybe I should look beyond that too and pick up his album for a cheaper cost and give it some listens and it might grow on me like Game's first album, basically I'm just venting since it's quite upsetting what's being done at Def Jam the way it used to be but maybe I need to accept that it ain't gonna be what it used to be, the golden era's over, I should just enjoy what's there... Now out of Jay-Z popular albums I like "Volume 2" the best, "Black Album" had some cool songs too, "Blueprint" was a great production with some nice lyrics, but really I don't feel Jay-Z that much as a lot of people do, I like Fat Joe better, he should get more credit than he gets, he could rhyme well, flow well, good performer, he's a dope mc, he went back to the more aggressive songs here on his new record, no pop ****, just boom bap hip-hop on "Me, Myself, and I", it's a great record 4+/5(if you like this album, listen to KRS' "Life", that's also another boom bap hip-hop record, just straight up hip-hop, KRS/Fat Joe should collab again), Jay-Z' probably 3.5/5 like LL's record(it ain't garbage but it ain't a classic, probably be above average after it grows for me and basically if you ain't an LL fan you probably wouldn't like his album that much unless you'd let it grow on you too, really basically since LL battled Canibis and Jay-Z battled Nas they haven't been as strong lyrically, maybe they do need to battle each other to see them back on top lyrically again), Puffy's album 4-/5(I never imagine myself saying this but it seems that Puffy finally learned how to put out a respectable rap album, it just shows you how people were so turned off from his pop image that they won't even give it a listen), Busta 4/5, DMX 4/5, Game 4-/5, Snoop 4/5, Ice Cube 4.5/5, Lupe 4.5/5, Luda 4/5(same as Puffy), Rhymefest 4+/5, Outkast 4.5-/5(the creative vision behind this record was incredible, fits well with the movie, I do like this much better than Speakerboxx/Love Below), is the way I view it with some of the records coming out this year, btw I had no idea that Tamia had another album out, I love her, she got such a great voice

Yeah whatever it takes to be motivated, he's just keepin' it real unlike other rappers that lie in their songs, he's a real gangsta :lolsign:

Justin's album is cool but it ain't the only good album out there, I like some popular stuff, I wouldn't listen to LL or FP if I didn't like popular stuff, really I think more parody in the music industry is necessary, when one album's selling millions and another great album sells nothing man that sucks, btw allhiphop.com gave Jay-Z' album 3 1/2 stars just like LL's album, they gave Snoop 4 stars, and Game's 4 stars, so it ain't like I'm the only one feeling that Jay-Z' is overhyped, barely above average like LL's album but not great, both could do better, a battle is what they need to motivate themselves it seems, really Jay-Z' album sales will dip fast since it ain't critically aclaimed, too many strong rap albums out, I don't see it having much legs

Props man, hit or not, it's genious, I'm really hyped for this album

Yeah this is his best album in longgg time, really deserves to be topping the charts, best gangsta rap album since Ice Cube's, I like Game's though too, it's cool but the way I see it the veterans reign still: Ice Cube>>>Snoop>>>Game All of those albums are overhyped, I like Janet's album better than Beyonce's, Robin Thicke's better than Justin's, and a ****load of rap albums better than Jay-Z', I'm a big LL fan and I wouldn't put his in the top 10 rap albums of the year either, it's just that the game's so strong more than anything, great time to be a rap fan again

Lol, LL's streak of platinum albums is still alive, 12 in a row!!! He basically did it on his own 'cause he toured basically most of the year, the hard work pays off, and to think that he's working on a new show, new movies, new book, clothing line, another album and a battle with Jay-Z, he's the hardest working man in show buisiness right now :2thumbs: :1-say-yes:

I think this album already shipped gold and he got his plaque already but it's great to know that there's still word of mouth for this, out of all the great albums I heard this year I think this is the best one, I said it's the best since "Lost and Found" and I still feel that way, the true comeback of the year, LL needs to have an aggressive album like this next year, I re-bought Ice Cube's album recently on ebay to get the DVD, it's incredible, must have for all fans of real hip-hop

I think either Lyor Cohen or Russell Simmons did, they also gave LL his masters though so he makes much more on each album being sold and each time somebody samples him, LL's an artist and he knows that he don't want to jeopardise other artists careers' that's why he didn't take the position, he's a team player, I'm damn sure he was offered the position, maybe if he actually retired from rap for good he'd take it but he still wants to be an artist, he don't want to be like "the big time rap star LL Cool J's rap label", Jay-Z' using the position to hog all the glory the way I see it, especially jumping all these mixtapes and bull**** showing that he wasn't retired, even in his songs he goes "I'm the CEO of Def Jam" and commercials saying "CEO of hip-hop", more of that being promoted than let's say Method Man and The Roots albums for instance, what LL said is the damn truth "Jay-Z is only good at promoting Jay-Z", he won't promote music on a high level 'cause he's scared it'll take away from his legacy

Listen to songs like "Not Your Average Joe", "John Blaze", "Benedicion Mami", "My Fo' Fo", "Make It Rain", "Breathe and Stop", "All I Need", "Get The Hell On With That", "Damn", and "My Lifestyle" that he released after "Jealous Ones Envy" and tell me that Fat Joe can't rap at a high level like Jay-Z, it's a joke that you make it look like only Jay-Z' a great rapper, that's really what's ruining hip-hop, Jay-Z ain't the one man hip-hop show, other greats have to shine too, there's a lot of great rappers on Def Jam that need to promoted and all labels for that matter which ain't his fault that's the industry's fault, but he's gonna catch the heat 'cause not only he's an artist, he's supposed to be the president of the greatest rap label ever, he needs to work what he pays for, he can't only rap and not promote anybody on the label, and besides that as an artist you figure he'd try to help good music sell and protect the legacy of Def Jam, he's not being paid for rapping and ignore promoting the quality artists, he looking no different than the suit and ties that're ruining the industry by shoving garbage down our throats, he needs to show more heart and integrity if he respects the legacy of Russell Simmons and Def Jam, btw not only do KRS and LL got love for Fat Joe, I mean listen to the songs that they did with Fat Joe and tell me that he's not a great rapper, they know firsthand 'cause they worked with him

Well Jay-Z hasn't dropped anything close to Reasonable Doubt either, he's only hyped up 'cause he got popular songs on the radio, it's like Jigga and Em could throw up on records and sell a million 'cause of how famous they are, I mean just look how much "Kingdom Come" and "Encore" have sold, they're nowhere near as good as "Slim Shady LP" and "Reasonable Doubt" that sold less, sales don't mean ****, I love "L&F" much better than "Big Willie Style"