4/20 Classics

Last night I returned from a week in Paris just in time to enjoy some of the 4/20 celebration. I got so smoked out that I almost didn't finish writing this post.


In between all the shameless self promotion for my new album "Tha Audio Bully" (buy a copy) I've been traveling and listening to a lot of music. In honor of 4/20 (April 20th) I've put together a few of my favorite songs to smoke a bong too.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term. 4/20 is the international marijuana smoking holiday. The term was first used in the 70's by a group of guys who used to hang with the Grateful Dead. Rumor has it that during that era the police would use code: 420 to describe a person caught smoking weed. 

Once weed smokers learned what the police code meant, they began using the term as slang. By the 80's the Grateful Dead had done hundreds of tours the term was nationally known. By the 90's thanks to magazines like High Times the term 4/20 became internationally known and is now part of pop culture.

So to all my fellow cannabis enthusiasts and connoisseurs of fine music. Enjoy tunes from Redman, Method Man, Styles P, Devin The Dude, Snoop Dogg, Tyger Vinum, Cypress Hill, Ice Cube, The Luniz, Wiz Khalifa, and Too Short. Happy 4/20 and medicate responsibly.

Battle Rappers

Battling has been an integral part of Hip-Hop since its inception. There were historical battles like MC Shan vs. KRS-One that paved the way for battles such as 50 Cent vs Ja Rule, Ludacris vs. T.I., Nas vs Jay Z, The Game vs G-Unit and countless others. 

It takes more than just a dope flow to be a battle rapper. You need a dope flow, witty vocabulary, descriptive rhymes, and subject matter that pertains to the person you're battling against. Out of all the MC's with battling skills Canibus is arguably one of the best. He came in the game spitting with industry heavy weights, The Lost Boyz, Redman, Eric Sermon and Keith Murray.

In 1998 he was propelled to the forefront of Hip-Hop for his epic battle with LL Cool J, who at the time was considered untouchable. The song "Second Round K.O." produced by Wyclef Jean was uncompromising and gained Canibus respect world-wide. The video featured former world heavy- weight champion Mike Tyson. LL responded with a few tracks but none were as lethal and achieved as much notoriety as "Second Round K.O". The battle was covered extensively on the Beef DvD series. Since then Canibus has went on to release several albums most recently "C of Tranquility". Like many artists his talent is often over shadowed by industry politics.

Below I posted some of the more memorable songs that came from battles that raged through Hip-Hop and shook-up the industry. Canibus "Second Round K.O.," Nas "Ether" Young Buck "Stomp remix," ft. Game, T.I. and Ludacris, 50 Cent "Wanksta," and Cassidy vs. Freeway the full battle.

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.