The King Of The South

Hear the siren? The cliche police are coming to arrest me for the title of today’s post, but I’m sorry. It has to be said, especially since “You Know What It Is” ranks among the top for best singles this year. This title has been widely disputed for a long time with everyone from Webbie to Lil’ Flip to T.I. to Wayne bragging about owning this crown. However, in this blogger’s eyes, the choice is clear for who not only wins the contest, but blows away the competition. The pick is Clifford Harris, known to most as T.I.

Before you begin to argue how Wayne drops the “hot shit” or Outkast has dropped too many classics not to win, or any other argument you could possibly make, hear me out. Where’s the appeal of T.I.? Well it’s simple really. The man knows how to make singles. Although his albums may not be the best overall (I usually like about half of any given T.I. album), there are enough songs that are undeniably dope. From his debut I’m Serious to TI. v. TIP, the man has shown growth, maturity, and the uncanny ability to make his incredible flow match almost any beat he is given. He has one of the best voices in hip-hop today, despite his very southern drawl that turned people off in the beginning of his career.
For those saying he is not lyrical, let’s take a look at one of my favorite T.I. songs ever – Still Ain’t Forgave Myself.
At 16, here’s my introduction to manhood /Blue lights behind me, damn what I’m gonna do / Cause I got 2 pounds of weed and a 3.80 too / I guess everything will be alright if I just keep it cool /How ya doing officer, what ya mean why I ain’t in school / Can you search the car?? Yea but, I rather that you didn’t / Besides it’s just a waste of your time cause ain’t nothin’ in it /[Laugh] I guess that’s when I seen, that I ain’t know shit /When stuck in a place with freedom I ain’t gone get…

Or even the new single…
Well from the King of the south, to the king of the states / Ridin in a car you probably never seen in the states / No idea how much yay I can bring in the states / You can bet one hundred on it for a million a day /Frank Lucus ain’t the only one to make a million today /But it’s a American Gangster right here in your face…

Undeniable dopeness. It really is impossible to hate on this man. He knows how to make a hit, and how to capitalize on it. Crown the king.

Agree or disagree? Spout off in the comments.
Coming soon: Album reviews – Finding Forever, Eardrum, Below The Heavens

Aw Damn..

Real quick – tossing this up there. Kanye West allows a British radio station to play snippets of his new songs “Champion” and his ode to Jay-Z “Big Brother” from his upcoming album “Graduation” due out September 11th.

Champion is insane.
Big Brother is dope as well
hear them both by clicking on the video below.

Hold Upppppppp

Check the announcement from me over at Strictly Beats right quick before you do anything else.

Secondly, I’m having some computer display issues at the moment – I’m sending it in, the outlook is possibly a week or even two without a computer.
Stay dedicated, I’ll be up and running with some good stuff soon. I promise.

Kickin’ It Old School

The year is 1995. A group from Philadelphia is starting to come into their own. What happens next?

The second album from the Roots, entitled “Do You Want More?!!!??!” is one of my favorite albums of all time. Heavily influenced by jazz, the elements of different types of music are all there. You have pure hip hop, courtesy of Black Thought murdering the em-eye-see on numerous occasions, you have the jazz element and a little rock thrown in there too, mostly due to the live instrumentation that’s utilized throughout the whole album. If you haven’t heard this album, you need to. My favorite song off here is probably the title track…I mean how often are you going to hear bagpipes used on a hip hop record? Oh yeah, probably never again. So check this one out, I think it’s fairly cheap on Amazon – and well worth your purchase. Support the artists.

On a side note, I’m thinking of trying to get myself in better shape: The 300 Workout. I bought the movie last night, thoroughly enjoyed it, wanted to go and kick some ass afterwards…you know, the whole deal. I’m probably gonna do the easier version so I don’t die unexpectedly. But if all of a sudden no one hears from me, that’s what happened. Rest in peace me.

MP3’s Of The Day:
The Pharcyde – Runnin’
Jeru The Damaja – Ain’t The Devil Happy
Pharoahe Monch – Simon Says

The Best Freestyles Ever (Vols. 1-6) is coming as soon as I find a file host without a 100MB limit. If anyone knows of one, let me know asap. Thanks, be on the lookout.

Random Musings

Ok, I’m feeling a little lazy today, but I feel like I haven’t typed to the visitors in a while. That six-disc collection of freestyles is on the way as promised. Not today though, but soon.

Most people have seen this already: but it might be the greatest blog post in the history of the universe. I’ve seen this, forgot about it, been reminded of it, forgot again, then seen it, and laughed hysterically each and every time.
OhWord: Cam’ron’s Rhyme Book Found

Secondly, I would like to say I’m not big on Pimp C’s music. However, his opinions about hip-hop and/or life in general are pretty on point. There’s no shame, and most people like outlandish individuals…whether it be in music, sports, or Hollywood. Never been afraid to speak his mind, and although his music might not be spectacular for everyone, he certainly has a following of avid listeners, and more importantly, people that respect him.
Two (separate) audio interviews – courtesy of rappersiknow.

MP3 Of The Day:
Deep Rooted – Break of Dawn (featuring One.Be.Lo)
Pure heat right here. Search around for the entire album, recommended, and I think boss-player has it.

Ok, enjoy the goods today. More coming by the weekend. Comments are appreciated.

Yo Sanka, Ya Dead Man?

Some new stuff is coming. No, the picture has no relevance…except for the post title. I work two jobs, have family business to attend, 800 page books to read for school…I’m a little busy. Stay tuned, I have 6 volumes of freestyles to share with you.

Yeah, that’s right..
I said it.

Six.
Which happens to be one more than five, one less than seven. You’ll like it, I know it.
Be on the lookout, that stuff is coming soon – I’m changing all the tags to make it easier to file. Wherever I found the stuff from has all sorts of jumbled tracks and it’s taking me a little while to figure it all out. Patience is a virtue – stay tuned. New ish by the weekend, if even that long.