bigted

Yeah sales ain'treally important to Fat Joe, he put out a great album which is the most important thing, probably his best since "Don Cartegena", he really stepped up his game here, Game got all that hype 'cause people been anticipating his album ever since his feud with G Unit over a year ago but it does live up to the hype, I actually had some doubts but he proved that he's in the rap game to stay, 2006 has been a great year for hip-hop from a quality standpoint, a lot of great music been coming out

Game got much more hype right now, that's to be expected, Fat Joe's basically just promoting the album himself so he'll probably go gold like Ice Cube did at best

There's never been a beef like Turntable said, some people are idiots if they considered them to be beefing, and there's only one person Fresh Prince needs to collaborate with right now and that's Jazzy Jeff, there's probably more people out there thinking that JJFP broke up than there is thinking that FP and Em had beef

Hopefully they both go platinum 'cause both albums are fire, I picked up both yesterday

Kool Moe Dee listed Fresh Prince at #23 in his top 50 MCs of all time book and didn't list Eminem on there so I think I'll take his word more than Time magazine, although even Fresh Prince would tell you that Eminem got mad skills and at the same time Eminem will tell you that he was inspired from the Fresh Prince

Well I think Jay and Game got some respect for each other but they're not really friends since Game has beef with Memphis Bleek who's in Jay-Z' click

I feel you there, real hip-hop ain't selling 'cause there ain't enough real hip-hop fans, that's what it comes down to, there's more teenagers making up the market that think Nelly was the pioneer of hip-hop than there is knowledgable fans that know about hip-hop so that's why it don't sell, even those so called hip-hop heads like to talk about how wack 50 Cent is more than talk about how much they like rappers like Lupe, the good news is that at least Lupe outsold K-Fed and sold as much as Chingy considering that you figure more white teenagers would want K-Fed and Chingy than Lupe, lol, but in all seriousness though who gives a f about sales, CL Smooth may not go platinum like Lil' Wayne but he's still a better mc than Lil' Wayne'll ever be, and now Robin Thicke might be able to do what Lyfe Jennings did last year, maybe at this time next year he'll be certified platinum

I was actually listening to some Blackstreet today and I found this interview over at allhiphop.com just now: Chauncey Black: Soul Stirrer By Chris Richburg Chauncey Black could be the personification of never forgetting where you came from. Although he has achieved Grammy-winning status as an R&B singer, Black remains rooted in his gospel beginnings. So much so, that his official upcoming solo debut Church Boy is a nod to his upbringing in the church as the product of minister parents. Black recently signed to Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode record label, and is also upping the ante with a fledging clothing line, Churchwear, and an eagerness to deliver what he believes fans are craving. In an exclusive with AllHipHop.com Alternatives, Chauncey reminisces a bit about his days singing gospel with Jodeci’s K-Ci and JoJo, discusses his new Flip Mode affiliation, and drops the bomb on the real reason Blackstreet broke up. AllHipHop.com Alternatives: You recently signed with Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode record label. How did that come about? Chauncey Black: The way I got signed to Bus’ was I was doing a song called "Everyday Is Your Birthday" with Teddy Riley, and Bus’ heard the record up in New York and he wanted the record for his album. So Teddy called me and was telling me that Bus’ was coming down, but Bus’ didn't relay that he wanted the record, but Teddy kind of knew that he wanted the record. So Bus’ came down. We had a good vibe when we first met. I still wanted to do my solo career, so I kinda took advantage of a situation that came to me. Bus’ came, I got his cell number. I called him up the next day when he came to Teddy’s studio. He was supposed to come back tomorrow, but I called him before he got there. I said "I want to sit down and talk to you about something." So I called - I met him over by his bus, walked in there and he said, "What’s goin’ on man?" I said, "I want you to sign me to Flipmode." He couldn’t believe it. He said "What? You want to sign to Flipmode?!” [imitating Busta Rhymes] “Are you serious son? Are you serious?" You know how Bus’ get hype about everything. [laughs] [resumes Busta imitation] "Yo, it would be my honor, you know what I’m sayin. It would be my honor. We would get it poppin’ immediately." And that’s just how it happened. I got with him, he flew me to L.A. I was doing some more records out there. Three, four months down the line I had a deal with Universal/Motown, so it was an experience. AHHA: You describe this album, at least the vibe of it, as aggressive R&B. What exactly is aggressive R&B? Chauncey: I think aggressive R&B is pushing the limit, getting a little more edgier with your lingo with your writing and really keeping it more real. I got this record called "The Three Of Us." It’s talking about a man that’s in love with two women, and he just wants them all to get along. [laughs] But it’s going on out here. Let’s get along. It’s just the three of us. [laughs] Then I got this record called "A Woman’s Intuition Is Always Right." You have to give them real songs that they can relate to, even if it’s in a negative way. Believe me, those are the songs that win. Like "Every Day Is Your Birthday." Come on. What woman ain’t gonna want everyday to be her birthday and a man telling her that everyday is your birthday? A woman’s intuition is always right. I gotta work you like my nine to five, you know what I mean. I don’t think they’re out there. AHHA: On the new album, we see you reuniting with Teddy. Chauncey: Yeah, yeah. It’s just, you know...the Blackstreet situation was just such a sour situation. And I think I’ma put it out on AllHipHop first of the real deal, you know, like why Blackstreet broke up and stuff like that. The real deal is Teddy left Virginia because he was sleeping with my girlfriend. So me and him got into a little conflict. And I really… I don’t even know what would happen if I see him, you know what I’m sayin’. So I think he just better tread lightly. I even got a song to touch on that, but I’ma give it to AllHipHop first. AHHA: You got him producing a couple of tracks on this album as well as Dr. Dre, two people you’ve had success with in the past. In light of that revelation, how important was it to have these two individuals involved for the album? Chauncey: Oh no. I’m not letting that...I’m giving just due where just is due. Teddy is still one of the greatest producers I’ve ever worked with. It is what it is. His talent speaks for itself. He has the catalogue as well as Dr. Dre. It’s just things on a personal level that I’m not too fond of, you know what I mean. AHHA: So professionally, it was all good? Chauncey: It was all good. He never took any money from me or anything like that, but that’s just on some personal stuff. AHHA: Two great producers. Obviously, two different styles. Can you break down the difference between the two in the studio? Chauncey: Well, I don’t think they’re two different styles. If you can recall "No Diggity," Dr. Dre was on that record. So I think it’s just the respect of both of them that they have for each other, and I respect them both - and to be able to have a Dre record or a Teddy record is definitely an honor for me. I respect both of them well. They both remind me of each other. They’re both precise and when it comes to their production, they want to make sure it’s the right thing that’s on it. AHHA: I understand you sang in a few gospel groups before you got into R&B. Did one of those groups feature K-Ci and JoJo of Jodeci? Chauncey: Yeah, yeah. The Hailey Singers. Yeah. AHHA: How was it doing gospel with them and seeing them develop into R&B singers? Chauncey: It was amazing to all of us because when Jodeci, came out...let’s not even say Jodeci. Let’s go back to the group called Today. Remember the group Today? AHHA: Big Bub and all them? Chauncey: Yeah. We were in the circle of gospel. It was K-Ci and JoJo, the Hailey Singers. I was in a group called the Gospel Highlight Juniors. Big Bub was in a group from Teaneck [New Jersey] called the... I don’t even remember, but we would all used to go to church on Sundays It was just like battlin’ but we was in church. [laughs] For real, that’s how it was. K-Ci and JoJo used to come and wreck Paterson, New Jersey. We used to go to South Carolina and wreck South Carolina. It was like we all knew each other, so when we saw each other in that light, when we saw Today we were like, "Hold up. If Bub can do that, shoot we can do that!" Then K-Ci and Jo, the Hailey singers, became Jodeci - and then me from the Gospel Highlights, we were Blackstreet. AHHA: There was a rumor that you were one of the original members of Jodeci. Is there any truth to that rumor? Chauncey: No. What that was was a print, a bad print. They thought it was me and they thought it was David Hollister, because David Hollister used to hang out with them a lot when they were with Jodeci. I think he used to sing background. So he was kind of in that clique and he had a sound like them. So they kind of got it mixed up. But even David wasn’t part of Jodeci. AHHA: Is there a chance of you doing a full on gospel album? Chauncey: There is. It’s probably going to be my next album, a gospel album. And there could be some possibilities of a gospel album from some former members of Blackstreet I might want to put together. I want to give people something that they haven’t seen. They seen Blackstreet in the R&B field, but you know with Blackstreet, we were gospel. We were a religion group, really. So we deserve to give that back. AHHA: Now this may be something a lot of people don’t know. You had put out an album before this. C. Black And The Pirate, a 2005 release. Did you do anything differently this go around? Chauncey: No. I would think that I’ve always tried to stay on the aggressive music, putting the Hip-Hop with it, making it more understandable and giving the people the best of both worlds of the Hip-Hop and R&B. Those records were really test records to see where the market was and how could I be different. And I really got a buzz with it, but then I signed with Bus’ and I got a whole new team now. More aggressive. My team is aggressive, and hopefully I can sell some records out here. AHHA: What can people expect from you on this album? Will there be any hint of Blackstreet in any of the content? Chauncey: Oh yeah. I think "Every Day Is Your Birthday" is a prime example of a Blackstreet record. It’s a hard ballad. It’s an aggressive ballad. You’re just gonna hear real writing, real topics - clever topics and just everyday life. AHHA: You mention that your music will be a departure from the vulgar and booty-shaking lyrics. Was there a time in R&B where these themes may have shifted or was it not as prominent as it is now? Chauncey: Yes. I believe when Hip-Hop came on the scene, it changed a lot of things for R&B. It put a damper on R&B. It made it look like R&B was old. It made it look like Hip-Hop was the new genre of music, but Hip-Hop came from R&B, sampling over R&B records and they rapping on top of them. So for it to be called old, we have to work harder now. We have to get with them, which ain’t a problem, because music is music. But it’s a little harder for R&B people out here now. That’s why you don’t see as many, but you can count 10 rap records on the radio before you can three or four R&B records on the radio that’s hittin’. Not saying Hip-Hop is bad or anything, but that’s just where it is now. AHHA: You’ve had a lot of success as a songwriter - "No Diggity," "Before I Let You Go," "Don’t Leave Me." Will there be any songs on the album that you wrote? Chauncey: I was co-writer on all the songs. You’re gonna feel that Blackstreet vibe, but I think it’s gonna be a little more aggressive, a little more edgier, a little more controversial with features from Rah Digga, Bus’ of course, Spliff Starr, Labba, Papoose, Young Buck, Game. Just a whole squad AHHA: Which do you enjoy more, singing and performing or songwriting? Chauncey: I love singing and performing. I love it. It’s nothing like that, pleasing your audience. It’s just a feeling like "Wow. They love the way I sing." It’s just a passion, just to get out there and to see people love what you do. AHHA: You’re about to celebrate your birthday this month. Do you have any big plans? Chauncey: Well, I’ll be 30 so I might have to give a 30 day bash, you know what I’m sayin'. I might have to just go ahead and do it. I don’t know. And I’m not ashamed to say that. I’m a grown man. AHHA: Many people have fond memories of Blackstreet. Is there a chance the group may reunite at some point and release new music? Chauncey: There’s a possibility. Once me and Teddy sit down and talk about some personal stuff, I think we probably can work something out. Time will tell. AHHA: In your career, have you ever recorded with an artist whose lyrics you necessarily didn't approve of? Chauncey: No I haven’t. I haven’t had that encounter. AHHA: There’s been a trend in the last few years of old school acts coming out again and not achieving the level of success they had back in the day. A prime example is New Edition. Is the attention span of the current R&B audience a concern for you? Chauncey: No. I think it’s really all about what you give them. You got to give them what they want. You can’t go, try to sing young music and you 30 plus in an old group. You got to fit in where you belong, I believe. Just like Blackstreet on our last album, that’s a prime example. Our first single was "Wizzy Wow." Remember that record? That wasn’t a Blackstreet record. People wanted to hear Blackstreet. Blackstreet is known for their ballads, like "Before I Let You Go" and the "Don’t Leave." If we would’ve came out in that, it would’ve worked. But that first impression is what it is, especially being that Hip-Hop has got a lot involved in it now and stuff. It’s a competition. It’s Hip-Hop against R&B and R&B against Hip-Hop. AHHA: You’ve been in the music business for 15 years. You’ve had some highs and some lows. If you could pick a song that best describes your musical journey, from then until now what would it be and why? Chauncey: There’s a song that Blackstreet did on the second album, Another Level. It would be "Money Can’t Buy Me Love" and that was a song that me and Teddy, we just arranged it over. It was a Beatles classic. Money is just the root of evil and I feel that’s what a lot of things are about, this music business and all of what a person can get off of you and your talent. That record right there has just kept me so humble. It’s just expressing the feeling of life. I’ll buy you everything, but money can’t buy you love. Money can’t buy you happiness. It can’t buy you what you want. It can get you a couple of things, but it can’t get you a happy life. If you’re sick, it can’t heal you. And another song on that album, “The Lord is Real.” Those [songs] are real.

I personally ain't really into either rapper that much but Cam'ron ain't as bad as some people try to say he is, he does have some hot rhymes in between, he could give Jay-Z a good battle, btw Jay-Z also answers Game in there too, "I used to think that rappin' at 38 was uhhh but that was until last year when I made 38 mil what", that's sorta like FP's line to Eminem, "Big Will with another 20 mil, walks right past E", probably more of a reference than a diss though

Thanks for the heads up on that, I'm gonna look into it, btw speaking of Meth I was watching "How High" yesterday

A lot of times I notice it's the same albums on a lot of these lists, most of them deserve to be there though

I'd imagine if the article said Fat Joe and Game diss each other everyone would run to this thread :lol:

well dmx or busta is really his style. dmx is too angry for him.. if you think about it, 50 and LL are both "ladies men" so they can relate on some level. BUt im thinkin your takin it a lil too serious, i do understand what your thinkin cause you love him too much, but its not like he said that 50 ccent is my new lover and he will be on every track. hes producing it, makeing the beats, maybe gonna do the hook on one verse perhaps one verse...hes not saying i wanna be 50, hes saying i want a hot album...hot beats. 50 cent has the hits so i see where the money issue comes in. but i think its more about quailty beats Well that's how I originally felt when I first heard about him wanting 50 to executive produce for him but now I'm ok with it 'cause I see 50's starting to turn it around a lil' bit, I don't have a problem anymore, I think I overreacted a bit when I first heard about it since I thought that LL was gonna rush out an album that was gonna ruin his legacy but now I see he's taking his time with it so I don't think that way anymore, and now the track with Kool G Rap/Premiere is a sign of something great, I'm actually anticipating the album... Now of course if Dr. Dre gets to produce on this album I think that'd be something else to look forward to, and now the main point I wanted to make Lerk is that if you can't say 50 has no talent if you heard "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'", the dude could rap, even if you don't like the style you got to admit that, even KRS-ONE was giving props to 50 around the time that album dropped, 50 had mad credability then...

http://www.mtv.com/news/#/news/artic...game_the.jhtml NEW YORK — It wasn't about East Coast vs. West Coast or young vs. old — it was about unity in hip-hop, period. The Game and Fat Joe came together on Tuesday (November 14) in the heart of Times Square at the Virgin Megastore to buy each other's LPs, both of which dropped Tuesday. Joey Crack took home at least 10 copies of Game's The Doctor's Advocate (see "Game Says Song On New LP Makes Him 'The One-Man N.W.A' "), and Game did the same for Joe's Me, Myself and I (see "Fat Joe On September Release: 'Bet The Kitchen Sink On Me' "). Before entering the store, Game came from one corner, Joe from another, and both MCs met in the middle and held each other's hands up like two champions. "I need more copies. Get me about 10 more," Game said later at the cash register. He stood next to Joe surrounded by fans, the media and several kids dressed in doctor's scrubs (doctor's advocates, apparently). "We're here supporting each other's music," Joe added. "We touching the town. It's legendary; it's unity in hip-hop. I support the Game. His album is a classic. Y'all need to go out there and get that. It's like Christmas right now." "Joe is the King of New York," Game jumped in. "We holdin' it down, going dumb on the album." Afterward, Joe headed over to hip-hop station Hot 97 for an interview, while Game went across the street to a phone company's display stage on the sidewalk. He took pictures and signed autographs. It got so crazy outside that Nas, who was making his way to visit the MTV offices, had a little trouble navigating through the traffic. "Yeah, it was wild outside," Nas said. "They're out there doing it."

Well actually with "Todd Smith" not hitting platinum like "10" and "The Definition" might've been a wakeup call for him to step his game up, he realised that he can't continue to be on "cruise control" and expect everybody to still buy it

LL basically been trying too hard to stay on the charts over the past few years, his music ain't really that much different than what 50, Jay-Z, etc. are doing, if you like anything after "10" you'll probably like some 50 Cent songs, Jay-Z songs, etc., he been trying too hard to keep up with current rappers rather than just do what he does best, now really "The GOAT" album was a perfect example of LL at his best, like "Mr. Smith", "Mama...", "Bad", "Radio", and even "14 Shots...", he displays all emotions over raw hip-hop tracks and the r&b tracks that're there are smooth and soulful, some of the r&b tracks that he's done recently sound watered down and the harder tracks on the recent album don't have a strong enough beat for them I feel, there are some excepts like "One In The Morning", "Hush", "Throw Ya L's Up", "We're Gonna Make It", "Down The Aisle", and "Big Mama", LL still got a lot of skills, I think he just needs to craft his next album a lil' bit better to get to the level where he needs to be, and like I said earlier 50 ain't the "WOAT"(worst of all time), maybe that'd be the case if his career started last year, but if you heard anything he did from when he did "How To Rob" all the way through "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" album it's hard to say that he don't have skills, he still displays it once in a while too, he showed some life on the "GRODT" soundtrack and some recent mixtapes, that new single with Eminem is actually bearable too so I don't really worry that much with him collabing with LL as I would've a year ago...

Well I feel you on that too Pakalicious, I don't hate on anybody just 'cause they're "pop" or "commercial" 'cause I hear people say that about LL and JJFP already, I'd be stooping down to their level, come on now I think it's a joke to consider Jay-Z as weak as Young Dro and Puffy, Young Dro's just a new rapper that hasn't really proven much yet and Puffy well he's not really an mc, he's more of just a hype man and a producer than an mc, now I wouldn't even consider Ja Rule to be in the same category as Young Dro and Puffy either, he ain't as bad as some people put him out to be, he got some good albums in between too, he actually outrapped mostly everybody on Game's remix so he gotta have some skill to do that considering there was legends like Nas and Ice Cube on that track, honestly I'd rather see Jay-Z get hyped rather than most of these pop rappers today even though there are some who deserve it more, it actually upsets a lil' bit if anybody gets too much airplay, it should be more balanced out so people could hear everybody

SOHH Soulful: Gerald Levert's Family Responds To His Death Monday - November 13, 2006 by Kevin R. Scott The family of Gerald Levert has responded via a statement regarding the public outpouring of well wishes they've received from his adoring fans and admirers. "We are overwhelmed by the generous outpouring of love, condolences and support from the many friends, fans and admirers of Gerald's life and legacy," read the statement. "As everybody knows, Gerald was a man who loved and breathed music. "To his family and friends he was a man of strong character, who had an infectious personality and a zest for life. For his fans, his greatest love was touching the hearts and souls of all people through his music. At this very difficult time, we thank you for your prayers and hope you will understand our need for privacy." The R&B singer died Friday (Nov. 10) at the age of 40 of a fatal heart attack. Funeral arrangements have not been determined at the time the statement was released.

Yeah it's important for an mc to know how to rhyme a certain way to a beat, it's like how great singers sing notes a certain way to match the instrumental, usually that's what seperates the best from the rest, and the weak ones are the ones that don't know how to adjust and they're going off key

nas and krs I put above him, but the rest hover near, except for guys like dmx andre 3000 and fat joe, i see them nowhere near him. I just don't see those mentions at all. Rakim has arguablely the best flow, but when did he ever talk about anything but himself? Jay-z is cocky as hell but i see so much more substance in what he raps than rakim. mos def and talib are amazing lyricists, and are in the top ten, IMO, but i think to be a great rapper, you need to also appeal somewhat to the masses, something they have a hard time doing. they are some of the best backpack-rappers, but that is one type of rap, not the premier necessarily. 2pac in my opinion could say alot of influential things, but his flow never appealed to me. I also feel his legendary status was sealed because of his death. LL has recycled rhymes and is really hard for me to respect as much now that he's willing to drop his credibility for G-unit. Method man at times shows greatness, but I feel he tries to hard to not break away from one style, set in place by his Wu-tang roots. Redman never really appealed to me. Queen Latifah, maybe its just personal preference, NEVER appealed to me, no matter what she rapped about or to what beat. I never could get into it. (maybe its a lil sexism, because I have yet to find another female rapper I'll listen to either. I'll admit it.) Ice Cube was decent in his last CD, altho I felt he really was pulling the last from his creativity. To me, Snoop is fun with what he says, but limited on the depth that you can read into it. As much as I love Will, to be the best, you have to continually be able to be creative in new ways. I think Will has his niche, but I don't think it surpasses what Jay has been able to do. Also, you will hear a D grade rhyme from Will more frequently than you will from Jay. Slick Rick was an awesome story teller, but I still don't see him over Jay. Ice-T was great during his time, yet I think he pales in comparison to raps from guys like Nas and Jay can still churn out. Wyclef and Kool G, I gotta admit, they slipped my mind, so I can't argue anything there. Also, on the latter end of your list, I am not familar with the talent so I can't judge. Just my opinion. Thought I'd at least try to give some understanding why I still see Jay up there top 3. Hey I feel you bro on where you're coming from, that's nice to know you're familar with most of these mcs, now if you're gonna call LL selling out for working with G-Unit but what about some of the weak rappers that Jay-Z worked with respectfully speaking? Recycled rhymes? What about all the Biggie lines that Jay-Z uses in his songs? Would Jay-Z even be as popular if Biggie was alive? I don't think so, Biggie's another one above Jay-Z of course... Rakim did have some inciteful lyrics on "The 18th Letter" album and besides the way he came into the game with his rhyme patterns elevated many mcs to step their game, think about how mc'ing was before him and then after he came along and you'll see that he made way more impact than Jigga has, rappers today still use lines from "Paid In Full", DMX has a better album catalog than Jay-Z does, basically a lot of solid work he's done since he came in from '98 till now, Fat Joe from the mid-late 90s was a great mc and I think he's going back to that form on his new album coming out tomorrow, I also forgot to mention mcs Busta, Common, Guru, and Q-Tip that're all at least on the same level as Jay-Z, now putting Jay-Z in the top 50 is not a knock, it's just that there are many great mcs that're still living or have lived, I can't put him above all them, many people sleep on them and that's why they put him so high but I'd imagine they wouldn't if they actually heard of these mcs

Well that goes back to the point that Turntable made earlier about how back in the '80s hip-hop wasn't as big as now where the media covers everything a rapper says and does, back then in the late '80s LL was just as arrogant and money hungry as 50 is now and if the media covered hip-hop as much as now I think that would've been more magnified, and there was a pro-black movement with PE and KRS coming on the scene that people looked at LL as the anti-christ of rap doing songs about jewlery and women all the time, and I think in this present time with rappers like Kanye, Lupe, and Common having success and acclaim recently it's sorta going back to consciousness and now 50's receiving flack for not making rap with substance doing songs about his whips and his bitches, Kanye's "Late Registration" beat 50's "Massacre" out at the Grammies, Public Enemy's "...Nation Of Millions" album in '88 sold less than LL's '88 album but it was very critically acclaimed and still is more considered an all time great more than LL's "Walking With A Panther" is, 50's outselling them all just like LL outsold PE and KRS back then but they really lost support and acclaim in hip-hop during those times, I'm not putting Kanye on the same level as Chuck D or 50 on the same level as LL but it's sorta funny how history repeats itself... I remember how a lot of people came down hard on 50 when he admitted on MTV that he ain't living with his son but LL mentioned in his book that around that time when he was younger he abandoned his son and his wife(who was his girlfriend then) too while he was out there living the fast life, if LL said that on MTV he would've been criticised too, he grown up since then though and realised that there's more to life than money and fame, it took him time to realise that since he got in the spotlight at a young age and didn't know how to handle it, friends and his grandmother pulled him out of it though, hip-hop wasn't covered as much then as now, we need to let 50 live and not come down on him so hard 'cause he's human and he needs time to grow too, 50 needs a good circle of friends and family that cares more than anything, he's a troubled soul right now the way I see it that's reaching out for attention, LL could a positive influence on him not only in music but in his life too beyond music, sure some of his recent music is weak but there are weaker rappers out now too that never did anything good to begin with, and as much as his recent stuff might turn me off I still like his "GRODT" album and some of his early mixtape stuff, he could still bring it if he wanted to, now if you got the "GRODT" 50 with the "GOAT" LL then that'd be a groundbreaking album that everyone would feel....

I like the idea that the album got pushed back from coming out to this fall to March, it won't be as rushed, "Todd Smith" wasn't LL's finest work but this ain't the golden era of rap either, there are other rappers out there that need to step up more than LL does, LL might've been thinking too much on a commercial level over the past few albums since "The GOAT" didn't sell that well even though he poured his soul into that album, I remember in interviews around when "10" came out about how he considered "The GOAT" to be a failure and I wondered how that could be when I heard "10" which wasn't half as great as that album was, and I'll never understand how he could call "14 Shots...." his biggest failure either when it's probably better than most of his recent albums too, the reality is that he sorta dumbed down to stay on the charts over the past few albums and didn't think about stepping his game up but he probably got his ear back to the streets again this time to realise that he does need to come stronger which I think he's gonna do, this is also a chance for 50 to prove that he does belong in hip-hop too, he's not as ignorant as we might think he is, I think he has an intent to prove a lot of us wrong by working with a legend like LL, he's one of the rappers that has more to prove than LL of course, I think LL's gonna be fine though, he's proved it many times before when people thought he was done so he could do it again

Jigga's very talented, but there are other great rappers like I listed there, the main point I wanted to make is that he ain't the only one that makes up hip-hop like many of his fans might believe

I always felt that track, Will's flow was incredible, you can't lose with a funky Stevie Wonder sample, and Dru Hill on the hook was icing on the cake, dope stuff

I think Kool G Rap was supposed to sign with G-Unit last year if I'm not mistaken, I think he decided to release his next album independently though, think that comes out next year too, I wasn't really dissapointed with "Todd Smith" 'cause I thought that he showed a different side of himself on that album, the songs were personal, if you only like the hardcore battle tracks he does then listen to his earlier albums, he said that in interviews that he doesn't want to act like a tough guy all the time on his records, he wanted to grow as an artist and show people a different side to him, I think that's why people are brainwashed by Jay-Z so much 'cause he raps the same all the time, if he was more versatile like LL he'd get hated on, it's like rap fans are only trained to like a certain sound and that's it, if you go outside that box you get hated on... btw it's funny how in 2002/2003 50 Cent was one of the most respected then all of a sudden in 2005/2006 he's been one of the least credible rappers, funny how the tables could turn so fast, LL went through that period for a while too I think that's why he sees 50 as a younger version of himself, in 86/87 he was highly respected, but in 88/89 he was looked at as having no credability, I'm sure in 1989 many hip-hop fans would probably laugh if there was a thought that LL would still be in hip-hop 20 years later, it seems like a miracle for 50 but you never know he might turn it around, he knows he has to since Game got the whole industry on his side right now, maybe he'll realise that he can't diss anybody anymore and just make better music