Profound Visual Poetry

This is just one reason why Cee-Lo Green is in my top five emcees of all time. He's even higher up in my musicians rankings.

The absolutely redonkulous freestyle starts at 5:10 if you're not interested in the interview itself. I ripped the audio, so here's a mp3 of it if ya like:

Cee-Lo - The Wake Up Show Interview & Freestyle

Dungeon Family for life.

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Dag Nab It!

For all the 24 fans out there. I actually only saw my first episode of it tonight, but since Steven and Tristan swear by it, I got creatively inspired.

Chris Campbell - 24 Trailer (feat. Jack Bauer)

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Classic: Renee

Now I hate to admit my lack of knowledge in any form of any subject, but I don't know much about the Lost Boyz. I assume they're a gang of Big Tootlez, Lil' Nibz, Killa Slightly, Yung Curly, and The Notorious Twinz who live in the slums of Nevuh Nevuh Hood. I'm not so sure about those facts, but I do know that "Renee" is an insanely greatly composed song and one of the most important story raps ever.

Lost Boyz - Renee

Aside from being produced by the unfortunately named Mr. Sexxx, this track is perfect. Don't get me wrong, the production's perfect, too, I just feel uncomfortable typing that name. The beat is haunting in every sense of the word, Mr. Cheeks' delivery makes the heart-tugging story even more emotionally captivating, and the foreshadowing chorus is catchy as well as begging you to listen on. Kanye West made a statement in a recent interview that rap songs nowadays don't keep your attention to the third verse. While that's often true, thank goodness this song dropped way back in 1996.

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Message from a Black Man

These joints are prolly the most obviously triple-sampled ever, ever. Usually there's lyrical interpolation involved in sampling to not be a blatant rip, but these MC's said, "Nah, forget that son, I'm keepin' it real." That was in my Dave Chappelle typing voice if you couldn't tell. Jacked that picture from another site who did a similar post.

King Geedorah - Anti-Matter (feat. MF Doom & Mr. Fantastik)

RZA - You Can't Stop Me Now (feat. Inspectah Deck)

Nas - You Can't Stop Us Now (feat. Eban Thomas & The Last Poets)

They all take their beautiful plucking from the song "Message from a Black Man" by The Whatnauts. I know it's in no way plagiarism cuz they each obviously got the sample cleared, but you think producers ever listen to music from somewhere close to abouts ... now? So which one you like betterest?

Verse-wise they each get different looks, though, cuz even though they each are from NYC and have a 6 degrees link [see: as-yet-unwritten classics "Verbal Intercourse" & "Biochemical Equation" as well as at 3:11 of this video], no one's accusing Metal Face, Bobby Digital, or Escobar of sounding anything alike.

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Classic: Don't Go Breaking My Heart

This one's just for me. Definitely in my top ten songs of any and all genres from any and all time. Get up on it.

Ol' Dirty ... - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (feat. Macy Gray)

Third all-time saddest premature hip hop death in my opinion behind 2Pac and Biggie. Doesn't get shouted out enough as others such as J Dilla, Jam Master Jay, or Aaliyah, but was definitely a legend.

If you're having a bad day, either get up on your sertraline game or listen to ODB/Dirt McGirt/Baby Jesus sing. Either one. Here's a bonus beautiful tribute by the Clan.

Wu-Tang Clan - Life Changes

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New New-ish: GemStones

No, he didn't make the XXL list cuz he's kinda less new-ish than a bunch of other cats, but you need some GemStones in your life. Well, if you're into that kinda jewelry or whatever you can have that, too, but you really need the rapper formerly known as "G to the -emini".

Normally, famous rapper tag-a-longs suck pretty monstrously. Not here. GemStones to Lupe is no Tony Yayo (always love to shout him out!) to 50, Young Dro to T.I., D12 to Em, or Memphis Bleek to Jay. Dude's a ridiculous spitter and has a voice to boot. Reminds me of Tyler, for real. Not saying I'm Lupe or anything, though, swear! I ain't that nice ... yet.

He sings his cornrows out on Lupe's "Just Might Be OK", "He Say She Say", "Pressure", and "The Emperor's Soundtrack" on the debut Food & Liquor. So take away the early Fahrenheit mixtapes and the public's heard Gem for just as long as the other Chicagoan. But it wasn't until he got his own Fahrenheit 1/15, Part 5: Untamed Beast that everybody got to actually hear what he brought to the table lyrically. And it was something else.

But by the time you got to fully digest all the punchlines of the beast, The Cool came out with three more features and Part 6: The Testimony of GemStones dropped as well. And dude was completely different. Not that he was ever bad, per say, but he got inexplicably better. And this video of the intro of his second tape's intro pretty much explains it.

GemStones mixtapes -

Untamed Beast

The Testimony of GemStones

And I gotta give you this super exclusive bonus GemStones cover. I promise on my life you can't find this anywhere else in the world.

T-Burr - The Die (Cover)

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Dave Chapizzle: Interviewee

Big debut right now. As y'all know, I work on too much stuff at any one time and often neglect school work, so I never finish anything for real, for real. But here's the first released interview from the to-be comedy CD 27.ME ... see?

"thEE, to-bEE comedEE, cEEdEE, twenty-seven point mEE, sEE"

Please forgive me for that. Here ya go:

Chris Campbell - Dave Chappelle Interview

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New New: Cory Gunz

This dude is on something else lyrically. It's been said by retard rap analysts that the word "lyrical" really doesn't mean anything, but you listen to dude and tell me it's not the very first descriptive term that hits you.

Cory Gunz Mixtapes -

The Apprentice, Vol. 1

The Apprentice, Vol. 2

The Apprentice, Vol. 3

It never hurts to have hip hop in the blood. Like B.o.B and Charles Hamilton, Cory finally got big time shine by being included on XXL's "next up" cover. I believe it. The craziest thing to me is that dude was set to blow like none other by being featured on the original version of "A Milli" long before Tha Carter III ever made it to the masses. But Wayne done completely cut him out of it. Everybody's got reasons for why, but I'm very confident it's very simply because Cory's verse was better. Wayne's got too much of an ego to let a lesser known commodity kill him on his to-be redonkulously big street single. Check this YouTube vid of the original verse and it's short video with it.

"Illie in the mind, really with the nine, millie when I rhyme, silly anytime,

Fine, chilly gitty on da grind, [gritty] on a dime, Penny on the line,

Plenty's in me, any guineas with em bigger than a mini and remind I'm..."

Try saying that normally without tripping. And he rides the beat something silly with it. That's that Eminem on "Gatman and Robbin'" type flow, shout outs to Jon Payne. You're allowed to be a street rapper and still take pride in what comes out of your pen. The collective world is looking at you 50 Cent, Plies, Lil' Scrappy, Uncle Murda, Jeezy, and every single other self-proclaimed "hustler rapper".

If that's not good enough, he took an extra stab at "A Milli" with Jadakiss. And I wanted to throw up his back-and-forth with Charles, too. It's good when lyricists push lyricists. Always. Weezy couldn't take the heat, so he pushed Cory out of the kitchen and turned down the thermostat.

Jadakiss - A Milli Freestyle (feat. Cory Gunz)

Charles Hamilton - Neh Neh Neh (feat. Cory Gunz)

And he rest his case. Next up.

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You Don't Have to Be Alone

You know this sample already, but you either think Lil' Wayne is the most innovative genius ever for rhyming over it or are pissed at him realizing he ain't did nothing new.

Rhymefest - Tell a Story

Lil' Wayne - La La La

These works utilize the New Birth's "You Don't Have to Be Alone". Like last time, I can't find an mp3 of the 1970 song, but you know YouTube for whatever reason has everything, so click the song title link. Fest's Mark Ronson-produced work takes advantage of the full hook, leading into the natural "tell a story" continuation, but I'm not gonna front, the Wayne version is from his peak lyrical state. Definitely pre-Dedication 3. Definitely. Which one you like better? Don't wanna split y'all, rap heads vs. Wayne heads, though!

"La, la la la la la la, la la la, la." Catchy, huh?

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Is JT Hip Hop?

Justin Timberlake. Complicated answer, debatable and prolly Column worthy. Real answer, no. Solves it for me.

Nelly - Work It (feat. Justin Timberlake)

Snoop Dogg - Signs (feat. Justin Timberlake & Charlie Wilson)

Sergio Mendes - Loose Ends (feat. Justin Timberlake, Pharoahe Monch, & will.i.am)

Black Eyed Peas - My Style (DJ Premier Remix feat. Justin Timberlake)

Craig David - Hot Stuff (feat. 50 Cent & Justin Timberlake)

Talib Kweli - The Nature (feat. Justin Timberlake)

T.I. - Dead and Gone (feat. Justin Timberlake)

Decide for yourself. I always was a "Signs" fan for the hilarity of Justin cursing something hard in the chorus. And I always thought he said "homies dead and gone" on the T.I. song, but nah, he said "old me's ...". So not as funny.

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Do You Really?

I really tried to like it. Nah, more so tried to understand it. But it just wasn't believable to me.

Ludacris - I Do It for Hip Hop (feat. Nas & Jay-Z)

If it's your "daily devotion that verses stay deeper than the ocean," then why do you have to say it? And why aren't the verses actually deep then? And if you say you know you "do a little boastin' and braggin'," then why spend the rest of the time only boasting and bragging, only offering an opposition to that by continuing to only say you "don't do it for the cars and the fancy drops"? Sayin' it don't make it so. (c) Me

I just don't get it. I'm listening to every line and every beat scratch and just not enjoying this attempt at real hip hop trailed with two legends. And I understand how Jay and Nas' verses each come around relating that they are the best to do it, but ... I just really wish the lyrics could have spoken for themselves. This song to me, even if it did have good intentions, is a begging cry by Ludacris in a Dave Chappelle voice to "PLEASE BELIEVE ME!!!"

You can't make up for the tragedy of a sellout record that Release Therapy was by making a title-proclaimed "for hip hop" track. It's just too forced and Luda is so delved and immersed in the commercialism of his persona that I'm not sure if it's possible for him to do a straight track anymore. But that's just me. And I'm willing to take a "hater" tag for saying that. I haven't enjoyed a track yet that's leaked from Theater of the Mind. Maybe cuz the beats suck pretty hard, too.

Again, I wanted to like it. I haven't grabbed the DJ Premier-laced "MVP" track yet, but "I Do It for Hip Hop" was definitely begging for a Premo scratch. Wyldfyer, whoever that is, did nothing for me in the minute and a half outro. Don't believe the hype.

If you do it for hip hop, other people will say it for you. It coulda been so much more. Take it in the same vain vein as "Swagga Like Us". Oh, yes, I said "vain vein". I don't do it for the praise and the fancy tones, I do it for homophones. (c) Me [instantaneously!]

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More of Bob

I'm gonna force this dude on you. Ha!

B.o.B - Who the F#*K is B.o.B

Him and Charles Hamilton are both the dude right now to me. And I'mma write up the Hamiltonization Process in its entirety in a lil' while, so expect that dopeness.

Not that any of B.o.B's music was old, but this tape has extra freshness like the loose end songs I posted on that other write up. Most of the songs are short and sweet, with a hilarious "Double Bubble" freestyle elaboration to me, even though you prolly don't know the retarded Stat Quo original. It was the first B.o.B feature I ever heard I guess, even though it was never tagged as such that I know of. I guess I'll just post it then. Ha!

Stat Quo - Double Bubble (feat. B.o.B)

Who knew? But like I highlighted last time, B.o.B is apparently the only dude in the world who knows how to make good interludes. They're hilarious and actually have replay value. But hey, the music's great, too. Surprise, surprise.

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Classic: Retrospect for Life

I pray, quite often as a matter of fact, that Lauryn Hill blesses the world with more music at some point in the future. In my mind, Ms. Hill is the only voice out there that can compete with Ern right now. Dead serious.

Common - Retrospect for Life (feat. Lauryn Hill)

Back in the day when the Fugees were everybody's favorite group, Lauryn made one of her extremely rare features on an amazingly touching Common track. This is circa 1997, mind you. Fresh off The Score. So this is serious. Lauryn humming under Common's lyrics gives me chills now nodding to the set-up of me and Ern's "My Life" track. It's just the stuff. I'm a sucker for piano loops in any given rap track, but a frickin' sucker for one with Lauryn Hill singing her soul out over that piano loop.

I, never dreamed you'd leave, in summer.

You said you would be here when it rained.

Oh, I never dreamed you'd leave in summer.

Now the situation's made things change.

Why didn't you stay?

Find out if he stayed or not. And why he had to make that decision at all. This is real people music. And Common's jumped doubly ahead of every other rapper on my Classic series in number of tracks featured. Ha! It's crazy surprising to me, and I guess I take this track's perfectness for granted, but this is the only collabo between these two legends. Don't be the one who doesn't know.

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My Girl, She's A Fox

I wanted to start a lil' series of similar sampled songs and, if you're so inclined as a participating listener, you tell me which song you either like better or which one utilized the sample better. If you don't get what I'm saying, just listen to the two tracks and you should have an eery deja vu involving certain melodies or distinctive sounds throughout. Today's challenge is Amy Winehouse versus my arch-enemy (haha!) John Legend.

Amy Winehouse - He Can Only Hold Her

John Legend - Slow Dance

I did a quick search to find out the sample is from the 1966 song, "(My Girl) She's a Fox", by a group called the Icemen. I couldn't find an mp3 of it for my life, but you'd be enlightened to know it featured a very early appearance by Jimi Hendrix on guitar and maybe the first ever musical translation into -izzle language. No, seriously. The song ends on the lyric, "she's a fizzox." Now tell me my blog ain't educational! Plus here's a pretty awesome blend/remix with both peeps if you need both at the same time.

So which one do you prefer?

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Mildly Dedicated

"When they play that new [Weezy] all the dope boys go ..."

Crazy, obviously. Now I can say I was a big fan of Tha Carter III and all of its hyped epicness. But ... Dedication 3? Garbage. Try for yourself if you willingly want to immerse yourself in Willie Da Kid and Gudda Gudda. Plus dang near as many pointless interludes as songs. Yeah. It's that bad.

Lil' Wayne - Dedication 3 Mixtape

Hopefully that's the last I ever speak of it. Only saving grace is Wayne's Kanye imitation on the "Put On" freestyle. Too late to make it on my remix mixtape, though.

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Women in Hip Hop

I'm not gonna use this post as a doctoral thesis on their role in hip hop (maybe some other time), but in leu of me and Ern's back-and-forth rap track "Here I Is", I wanted to share the greatest hip hop dude-and-chick duets you may or may not have heard before.

The Roots - You Got Me (feat. Erykah Badu & Eve) *Alternate Version (feat. Jill Scott & Eve)

Viktor Vaughn [MF Doom] - Let Me Watch (feat. Apani B.)

Jean Grae - Where You Gonna Run (feat. Talib Kweli)

Wyclef Jean - Year of the Dragon (feat. Lauryn Hill)

Sorry, but Miss Rap Supreme is unfortunately not characteristic of how impressive female emcees can spit. The first two tracks are beautiful, albeit uncomfortable, love stories with true perspective. Amazing and emotional storytelling. The second two are straight hard-hitting, no nonsense lyricism. I need to get better up on Apani B's music. I only have two tracks from her currently, but she's something else on the mic. But I still hold my firm opinion that Lauryn Hill is the greatest non-testosterone laced rapper of all time.

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#4: Washington

Just found my Kerry post deleted, but for review:

Numba 4 is ... Kerry Washington!!!

She directed the video for this song with Alicia Keys and Kanye West in it, which might be my favorite off of Common's last album: I Want You (direct link)

And she's gorgeous.

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The Laptop Mixtape [The Originals]

I wanted to give you all a frame of reference for my first mixtape in case you didn't recognize all the instrumentals I went over.

Various Artists - The Laptop Mixtape [The Originals]

Here's the tracklist:

1. A Milli - Lil' Wayne feat. Cory Gunz

2. The Coolest - Lupe Fiasco

3. Brown Paper Bag - DJ Khaled feat. Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, Lil' Wayne, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, & Dre

4. Heart of the City (Ain't No Love) - Jay-Z

5. Piece of Mind - The ARE feat. Truth Enola

6. Daydreamin' - Lupe Fiasco feat. Jill Scott

7. Building Steam with a Grain of Salt - DJ Shadow

8. Liberation - OutKast feat. Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu, & Big Rube

9. New - The ARE

10. Don'tGetIt - Lil' Wayne

11. Untitled - The ARE

12. Success - Jay-Z feat. Nas

13. Fallin' - Jay-Z

14. If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys

15. Never Let Me Down - Kanye West feat. Jay-Z & J. Ivy

16. Champion - Kanye West

17. We Takin' Over - DJ Khaled feat. Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Birdman, & Lil' Wayne

18. Mr. Carter - Lil' Wayne

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Remix Part Three!!!: Corrected

Chris Campbell-

Remix Part Three!!!

(Download Part 1)

(Download Part 2)

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Tomorrow

Remix Part Three!!!

Mixtape by Chris Campbell

1. Mr. Carter (Remix feat. Lil' Wayne, The Game, Jay-Z, Papoose, Nov Ganon, & Wale) [Produced by Infamous]

2. Bust Your Windows (Remix feat. Jazmine Sullivan, Skillz, Esso, Ace Hood, Trey Songz, & Gorilla Zoe) [Produced by Salaam Remi]

3. Whatever You Like (Remix feat. T.I., Trey Songz, Gorilla Zoe, "Weird Al" Yankovic, & Flo-Rida) [Produced by Jim Jonsin]

4. No One (Remix feat. Alicia Keys, Aaronn Ern, Donny Goines, Ron Artest, Stann Kruse, Junior Reid, Raheem DeVaughn, Cassidy, Icadon, Damian Marley, Kanye West, & Twista) [Produced by Alicia Keys]

5. Let The Beat Build (Remix feat. Lil' Wayne, Royce Da 5'9", Evidence, Esso, Fabolous, Cam'Ron, Freeway, Ruckus, Stat Quo, & BK Cyph) [Produced by Kanye West]

6. Superstar (Remix feat. Lupe Fiasco, Young Jeezy, Skyzoo, Charles Hamilton, GemStones, Rick Ross, T.I., Sheek Louch, Young Buck, & Matthew Santos) [Produced by Soundtrakk]

7. Incredible (Remix feat. Mickey Factz, AC, BK Cyph, Buckshot, Cory Gunz, Curren$y, Deontre Blayz, Donny Goines, FKi, Izza Kizza, Krukid, The Madd Rapper, MeLo-X, Nakim, Naledge, Nina B, PRINT, Ricky Ruckus, Skyzoo, A Smash, Smoke Dza, Theophilus London, Torae, Tyga, XV, & 6th Sense) [Produced by Sebastian]

8. A Milli (Remix feat. T-Wayne, Amil, Asher Roth, Bow Wow, Chamillionaire, Charles Hamilton, Chris Brown, Cory Gunz, Curren$y, Fabolous, The Game, Hot Dolla, Jadakiss, Jay-Z, Kardinal Offishall, Killer Mike, KRS-One, Lil' Mama, LL Cool J, Los, MF Doom, MIMS, Nate Walka, Ne-Yo, The Pack, Papoose, Pitbull, R. Kelly, Raheem DeVaughn, Rock City, Skooda Chose, & Trey Songz) [Produced by Bangladesh]

9. Can't Believe It (Remix feat. T-Wayne, JoJo, Trey Songz, Raheem DeVaughn, Kardinall Offishall, 50 Cent, Rock City, & Akon) [Produced by T-Pain]

10. Put On (Remix feat. Young Jeezy, Jay-Z, Kanye West, David Banner, Raheem DeVaughn, Ludacris, Lil' Kim, The-Dream, Ace Hood, Wale, Rick Ross, Plies, Rock City, MIMS, Sly Polaroid, & Chamillionaire) [Produced by Drumma Boy]

11. Swagga Like Us (Remix feat. Trey Songz, Diddy, Jermaine Dupri, Nu Jerzey Devil, Krukid, Mickey Factz, ATM, Apathy, Attitude, Doc Oct, Drake, Hot Rod, Rick Ross, Twista, Tom Gist, Termanology, Donny Goines, A.Pinks, Naledge, GLC, & Tony Yayo) [Produced by Kanye West]

12. In Review … [Produced by Chris Campbell]

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Classic: We Don't Care

Kanye West - We Don't Care

It was my first exposure to one of today's only world-scale rock stars. "Drug dealin' just to get by/Stack your money til it gets sky high." Well that's your run-of-the-mill rap chorus ... until you actually listen to the record and realize it's a children's choir singing it ...

But starting with this very first track on The College Dropout, Ye cemented himself as the quintessential everyman rapper (at least at that time). No big fame besides a few production plaques to his name (most notably Jay's "H to the Izzo! V to the Izzay!"), no national award performances, and no pressure to create an absolute classic. But he did anyway and achieved the fame and world renown very soon after!

Now I'mma straight admit that I pretty much sweat every single new Kanye leak from to-be album of the year, 808's & Heartbreak, even though it's not the cool thing for a rap fan to appreciate at the moment according to 94% of the blogs out there. I don't mind the autotune for a minute, maybe because it's personally blessed my less-than-stellar vocals as well. But let it be known, '04 era Kanye music is legendary. He changed music. So much so that he absolutely can't accept rehashing past classic material in subsequent releases. No matter what.

And this is just me flexing my supa rare exclusivity by actually purchasing the Dropout's initial music video DVD with a bonus of seven special edition tracks not on anything else. Who else got this?

Kanye West - We Don't Care (Reprise feat. Keyshia Cole)

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My Lambo Isn't Blue

I'm trying to decide if it's worth it or not for me to write up an election column on here. Just seems to me, at least for one emotional night, no one is even remotely open to actually listen to a differing opinion. If your Facebook status currently isn't "My Pr3ZiD3NT is BLACK" or "I'm moving to Canada because this country is hopeless and everyone in it is evil and ignorant", then I'm genuinely surprised. People are ... people I guess. Whatever.

But on the music tip, I pretty much hated every rapper's Barack Obama track because they were redundant and rarely brought up actual issues. So I had to leave it up to John Legend to actually write a real song about it. And he didn't even name drop. It's just a track of hope in the middle of an electoral atmosphere. That's all. So check it, unless you're giving up on the foundation of a 242-year old country that is the greatest establishment ever put together, just because you don't agree with what you think an elected official's financial or gay rights plan is. Or if you think an admittedly proud born-again Christian is the antichrist. The second track's a bonus on that spoken word/Chicago hip hop/new age pop scene stuff. Ha! And God bless you to the few even keeled people out there currently!

John Legend - If You're Out There

Malik Yusef - Promised Land (feat. Kanye West & Adam Levine)

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#2: Ms. Keys

And the long-delayed next installation of my wifey series.

Numba 2 is ... Alicia Keys!!!

I am definitely not a notable original in my thinking of this woman, but goodness.

I'm confident enough to crown Ms. Keys the songstress of our generation. Who doesn't know every single word and scat-like odd note of "Fallin'", "If I Ain't Got You", "Karma", or "No One"? No one. That's who.

She's the genuine human version of every fake Beyonce/Ciara/Christina Milian R&B singer that gets on the charts and stays in the public eye. You just know she's for real. You just know. And you can't tell me otherwise. Plus 30 million records and 11 Grammy's?

Forget that she's been in Smokin' Aces, The Nanny Diaries, and The Secret Life of Bees to show she's not just a beautiful voice. And she's got the new James Bond theme song. If that ain't legit, I don't know what it.

Alicia Keys & Jack White - Another Way to Die

Chris Campbell - Dear Ms. Keys

I love her. Bought every album. Sought every rare feature. Sweat every new music video. Yeah. That's my girl. She's undeniably one of the most talented woman in the world in my opinion.

And she's gorgeous.

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Been a Long Time Comin'

Amazing track.

Charles Hamilton, Asher Roth, & B.o.B - Change Gon' Come

Basically a millisecond after I was gonna big up all of them, 3/10ths of the XXL-ers got their crazy collabo game on. Absolutely love this, obviously, Sam Cooke-sampled track. The three on here are the three to the right on the magazine cover. Wale is the red-jacketed one, and he coulda came with some heat on this track, too!

And get up with your inner old school self with the original! Good look to whoever produced the track up top.

Sam Cooke - Change is Gonna Come (direct link)

"The next Em, Ye, and Andre? Naw, it's just ..." (c) Asher Roth. Thank you for answering the question yourself, but I ain't gonna hate on you bringing it up.

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New New: B.o.B

Straight jacking artists from the XXL list, but I'm gonna highlight my favorite guys you possibly haven't heard of yet due to their newness in the game. New new for you you. (c) Killer Mike

B.o.B is a guy that really, really impressed me. You can immediately place him as an Atlanta native from his Southern drawl that Andre has taught me to appreciate so much. And the guy spits with all kinda vigor utilizing his distinctive voice. And while his lyrics are definitely on point, the most outstanding feature about him to me is his insanely clever sense of humor and willingness to infuse it in any and every manner possible through his songs and interludes. While I only have one mixtape to go off of in my opinion of, it cleverly cemented my opinion rather quickly. And shout out to the hilarious Playboy Tre' for lacing decades of rap hilarity in the already mentioned interludes.

B.o.B - Hi! My Name is B.o.B

Dude's musicality is absolutely through the roof. And I just gotta add these two tracks that are not on the tape to prove it. These are frickin' dang near classic cuts on first listen to me.

B.o.B: 

Generation Lost

I'll Be in the Sky

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Just Def

I watched all of season 1 of Def Poetry Jam the last couple days. That's soul stuff. All the dudes are cool and whatever, but some of the most beautifully spoken women perform on that show and just absolutely radiate the most amazingly attractive qualities in literally just minutes of soul bearing. Goodness. Now if I could only meet one of those girl poets in real life who actually lived and believed the same as they orated, then I'd be getting somewhere.

Black Ice - Lone Soldier (feat. Chinahblac)

Shihan - Robots

Here are my dudes, though, as promoted on my spoken word album cover. There's absolutely nothing like seeing them live, but you can check these CD tracks till you can find a show of them!

And if you're looking at those tracks thinking in the back of your head "well ... I'm not really into poetry ..." then you're being ignorant. No offense, of course. But ignorant. Just download the stuff. Stop arguing with me! Dang.

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