Party Season

Summer is almost here and the musical vibe has changed. No more rhymes about drinking in crowded bars on cold winter nights. Now its margarita's on the beach, and watching beautiful bodies in tiny bikini's.

Welcome to party season!  This is a short three month period of festivals, concerts, and massive outdoor events. Speaking of events...tomorrow RA The Rugged Man and Shabaam Sahdeeq are giving a concert in Amsterdam. Both artists were once on Rawkus records and both get busy on the mic. This will be my first time seeing them live, and I'm looking forward to the show.

RA is certified MC who was once co-signed by the late great B.I.G.. He mixes humor with hardcore lyricism to make listeners feel what he's saying but not take it to seriously. But don't get it twisted RA can spit knowledge also but that's not his lane. 

Shabaam Sadeeq aka S-dub is on a different side of the spectrum. He's not a gangsta or conscious MC, his style is a mix of both. He is one of those MC's who can hide the medicine in the candy. What that mean's is, Shabaam can spit some spiritual verses and deliver them so tight that the message doesn't sound preachy.

To honor the coming season of festivities, I posted music from RA The Rugged Man (ft. Talib Kweli), Shabaam Sahdeeq, Donnie B, E Class, PlayBoi Weez, C.M.F (Cream Mob Family), Styles P (ft. Jadakiss), Sensato (ft. Pitbull), and 360 (ft. Freddie Gibbs, Jadakiss).

New Muzik

I heard a few new tunes today worthy of being classified New Muzik. The first is by artist Cuban Link who used to be part of the Terror Squad with Big Pun and Triple Seis. He was off the scene for awhile due to some label issues. There were also industry rumors that Fat Joe blackballed him in the game. Regardless he's back with some hot tracks for the summer.

Tech N9ne is back with more strange music. His rapid, machine gun fire flow leaves allot of people baffled and others copying his style. He gets comparisons to Twista but I think his flow is quite unique. He came in the game as part of the Regime with Yukmouth. Since then, he's released numerous albums and started his own label Strange Music. His new song 'He's a Mental Giant' will probably help stop the Twista comparisons and give him the credit for being a sick lyricist he rightfully deserves.

There's also tunes by newcomer Oun-P with his 'What chu Talkin Bout' remix featuring Lloyd Banks and Jadakiss. The beat to the track is Fiya! Last there's music from female spitter Patwa, Lloyd Banks and Ace Hood.

Top Live MC's

I've been feeling kind of nostalgic lately, listening to older music. There is definitely a lack of substance in today's music scene. The new style focuses more on the beat and cadence like the group Travis Porter and less on lyrical content. I don't hate on this cuz it is music and introducing different styles helps the culture grow. With that said, out of the millions of rappers in the industry I only listen to a few.

Below are my Top live MC's for the moment. These catz embody what it means to be a lyricist. No matter what type of beat is playing they spit something witty and lyrically impressive so that you the listener will rewind the track and play it again. This was a tough decision cuz my opinion changes by the milli-second and catz like Kool G. Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-Cube, and Smif-N-Wesson were all favorites.

I based this list of MC's off music released in the last few years, including mixtapes, features and solo projects. Below are songs by Nas, Ludicris, Rakim, Twista, Sean Price and Jadakiss. All talented lyricists who have consistently dropped new material and their rhymes have substance. Take a listen.

New Muzik

There's allot of new music out right now...most of its garbage, lets be real. In between the piles of audio trash I found a few joints that had the key components of what I call "New Muzik." The song has a strong beat, good lyrics, catchy chorus and most importantly. The artists image and appearance is congruent to whatever he's relaying in the song. 

In simple terms, making the subject matter believable. An example is, if you got a rapper saying he's pushing mad weight and did three felony bids in the song. BUT when you see them in clips or in magazines there image and demeanor is that of a school kid with no record. The music isn't believable and usually you can hear it.

With that said here is some new music from new and established artists worth checking out. Wiz Khalifa, Redman, Global, Mysonne, and Hopsin.