I caught some old Lil Wayne on the radio driving into work this AM and it sent me down the rabbit hole. Lil Wayne is obviously still very popular, but it’s different than how it used to be. The guy was an absolute monster with everything he touched turning to gold. Maybe it just seems that way to me because I’m washed, but seriously it’s different.
I went to the Drake vs Lil Wayne concert a couple summers ago and I was stunned at how many people didn’t know the words to LOLLIPOP. I felt like my uncle at a New Kids On the Block concert because I suddenly felt very dated. All the drunk children at that show knew nothing prior to I Am Not A Human Being and thats a shame because Lil Wayne was an absolute megastar back when I was in high school/college. I would say from 2006-2008 Lil Wayne was not only the most popular, but the most lyrically dominating artist on the planet. I think he’s tailed off hard in recent years, but you cannot deny the guy’s resume.
If you want to start even a little earlier in 2004 Weezy dropped Tha Carter with Go DJ being the main hit, followed up by a pretty legit feature on Destiny’s Child (holy shit I’m old) Solider. Then in 2005 he released The Carter II, which was the first Lil Wayne song I remember being a huge hit in Fireman, but also had Hustler Musik and of course Shooter (introducing Robin Thicke). In 2006 Wayne had the collab with Birdman Like Father Like Son, which was fine with the main single being Stuntin Like My Daddy.
BUT, thats when the guy absolutely took off appearing on anything and everything from features to mixtapes to albums. In late 2006 we got Dedication 2 and then in early 2007 Lil Wayne released, in my opinion, the best mixtape of all time with Da Drought 3.
Then the guy really got hot appearing on *all* of these songs:
“Despite no album release for two years, Lil Wayne appeared in numerous singles as a featured performer, including “Gimme That” by Chris Brown, “Make It Rain” by Fat Joe, “You” by Lloyd, and “We Takin’ Over” by DJ Khaled (also featuring Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, and Birdman), “Duffle Bag Boy” by Playaz Circle, “Sweetest Girl(Dollar Bill)” by Wyclef Jean (also featuring Akon), and the remix to “I’m So Hood” by DJ Khaled (also featuring T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Rick Ross). All these singles charted within the top 20 spots on the Billboard Hot 100..Wayne also appeared on tracks from albums Getback by Little Brother, American Gangster by Jay-Z, and Graduation by Kanye West.”
That was before he even got around to releasing his own work. Released in 2008 after a delay, Tha Carter III is still one of the best rap albums of all time. 3 Peat, Mr. Carter, A Milli, Dr. Carter, Mrs. Officer, Shoot Me Down, Lollipop — all bangers more than 10 years later.
In that time span Lil Wayne won a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance for A Milli, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Swagga Like Us, Best Rap Song for Lollipop, and Best Rap Album for Tha Carter III.
Without a doubt, the most underutilized rap group of my lifetime. CRS aka Child Rebel Soldier was made up of Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Lupe Fiasco. Us Placers was released in 2007 and that was just about all we ever heard from CRS. To be fair this came out *right* before Kanye’s Graduation, and Lupe’s The Cool, which are two of the best rap albums of all time, so I can see how this may have gotten put on the back burner.
However, Kanye is known for collaborating with all kinds of artists, but is also infamous for boasting about forming rap super groups that never come to fruition. Some of these groups turn into classic platinum records like Watch the Throne with Jay Z. Another is just beginning as Ye has most recently teamed up with Kid Cudi to form Kids See Ghosts. Others result in an absolute fire single only to never be heard from again like CRS.
Kanye, Pharrell, and Lupe were also credited on the 2008 N.E.R.D. remix for Everyone Nose as CRS, which still bangs to this day, but is definitely more of a N.E.R.D. song than anything else.
Technically CRS had one other song that came out in 2010 called Don’t Stop, but it was a G.O.O.D. Fridays release so I don’t really count it. If you remember, G.O.O.D. Fridays was a free weekly music drop back in 2010, which was a godsend in college, that Kanye launched leading up to My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy. Kanye utilized the full roster of his label GOOD Music to release music every Friday for several months, including hits like Power, Don’t Look Down, and a number of tracks that eventually made their way onto MDBTF like Devil in a New Dress.
Joe Rogan has one of the most popular podcasts in the world and interviews everyone from his comedian buddies to UFC stars, astrophysicists, psychologists, and even self proclaimed UFO and alien life experts like Tom Delonge. Rogan is an excellent interviewer as he knows when to jump in and stir some shit up, but he also knows when to sit back and just let the guest go.
Not long ago Kanye West was tweeting up a storm after he took a ton of flak for his bizarre appearance alongside Donald Trump in the White House. Shit, even Trump looked nervous wondering if the whole thing was about to go off the rails.
Kanye was flummoxed at the overwhelmingly negative response his appearance got and legitimately seemed desperate for a way to make people “understand” him, which is what you see from a lot of creative types when they hit a crossroads.
I’ve been trying to do a serious interview speaking on mental health but it seems as though all members of press are afraid to speak to someone who has been diagnosed but is still everyone’s favorite super hero
Kanye is saying nobody wants to actually listen to him and would rather just put him into a box and disregard what he says as “crazy.” He’s not wrong. It’s easy to do and I am always cognizant of doing that to anyone after hearing Dave Chappelle discuss a similar situation years ago:
Chappelle gets it better than most. He was the most successful comedian in the world with one of the most popular TV shows of all-time. I still quote Chappelle’s Show 10+ years later even though it barely finished 2 seasons. He famously rejected a $50 Million deal from Comedy Central and moved to Africa so Chappelle knows a thing or two about being labeled crazy.
Enter Joe Rogan, who jumped in and offered Kanye a platform to discuss his ideas; nothing more nothing less.
As one of the most widely downloaded podcasts in the world, Kanye will be able to talk about whatever he wants and probably for as long as he wants since the majority of Rogan’s podcasts are anywhere from 2-4 hours. This could be a trainwreck for Kanye or it could provide some valuable context to the bizarre antics he’s becoming known for more than his music. Either way I will be listening to this the second it drops.
We’re quickly nearing the end of December, which means 2018 is already coming to a close somehow. Naturally, that means it’s time for year end lists! With everyone on the internet posting Spotify analytics of what they listened to all year long I figured it was only appropriate to break down the best music of the year…according to me. Full disclosure, this list definitely skews heavier into hip hop than your traditional year end best of list, but hey we started #RushHourRap so what else did you expect? Without further ado, I give you my Top 5 Albums of 2018.
J Cole – KOD
One of the year’s truly most unexpected and experimental heaters of an album. J. Cole dropped “KOD” from the cloud’s, which more and more artists are doing these days, and I cannot believe how Cole continues to hit it out of the park. Kids on Drugs, King Overdose, and Kill Our Demons are the three different meanings of that album title, according to Cole himself.
In succession he has released “Cole World: The Sideline Story,” “Born Sinner,” “2014 Forest Hills Drive,” “4 Your Eyez Only,” and now “KOD.” Mind you, these FIVE albums came directly on the heels of “Friday Night Lights” and “The Warmup,” which in my opinion is the greatest mixtape ever released not named “Da Drought 3.”
Granted a couple of the songs came dangerously close to overkill, which only the likes of Fall Out Boy and Dane Cook have seen as the NBA Playoffs ABUSED the usage of “KOD” in commercials.
Seriously, remember how badly MLB drove that 2007 Dane Cook commercial into the ground?
Fittingly released on 4/20, this is Cole’s first foray into a legitimate concept album as the entire collection is about drug abuse, addiction, greed, and our own demons. It’s a bit of a paradox as “KOD” sounds like an album promoting the typical rap pillars (money, women, drugs), while actually doing the opposite as Cole slips in some mature tidbits of advice for those struggling with these vices.
Without the drugs I want you be comfortable in your skin I know you so I know you still keep a lot of shit in You running from yourself and you buying product again I know you say it helps and no I’m not trying to offend But I know depression and drug addiction don’t blend
I understand this message is not the coolest to say But if you down to try it I know of a better way Meditate
Best Track: FRIENDS
The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships
This really is an incredible album coming out at the perfect time. With anyone and everyone suffering from anxiety, depression, and general insecurity, a lot of people blame social media. Everyone is fronting, showing you the highlights of their lives so you end up scrolling through news feeds of hundreds of people you “know” seemingly doing better than you, looking better than you, making more money than you. It’s easy to see how that can screw with your head. “Modernity has failed us” is one of the most quotable, appropriate lyrics I’ve heard in a long time. These technological advancements that were meant to bring us all closer together have ironically ended up making us feel more isolated than ever before. The 1975 have always been out there, experimental, and straight up weird at times, but more often than not it just works. This album is no exception as it truly is a genre-bending collection of music featuring tracks from pop to rock to jazz to electronica and everything in between.
“Brief Inquiry is a vivid and panoramic record about what it means to be alive right now, in all its terror and glory. Its explorations of technology-induced numbness put into relief the human joy of reconnecting to another person, or maybe just oneself.”
Best Track: Love It If We Made It
Kanye West & Kid Cudi – Kids See Ghosts
Kanye has had a whirlwind year of borderline schizophrenic behavior primarily around his thoughts on politics and his support of a polarizing president. After misguided outbursts on TMZ, the bizarre sit down/press conference with Trump, and his trademark rants on Twitter it seems like Yeezy finally realized it may be best to just sit the next few plays out.
This didn’t slow down his music production though as Kanye dropped 2 albums this year, with a third one due in November that was recently delayed. The first album he released this year, “ye,” was one that despite mixed reviews I really enjoyed. “Ye” is admittedly a weird Kanye album made for Kanye stans. If you’re not a huge Kanye guy I can see how you’d trash it. I think the biggest shortcoming of that album is that it seems more like a mixtape without any rhyme or reason as to why these songs were selected and put together in the first place. But his second album of the year was a collaboration with old friend Kid Cudi called “KIDS SEE GHOSTS.” Kanye and Cudi go way back having worked together on a number of hits over the years, including All of the Lights, Erase Me, and Welcome to Heartbreak. It’s a fascinating duet as both Kanye and Cudi have publicly struggled with depression and overall mental health with Cudi actually checking himself into rehab. So seeing these two rap about the issues that have plagued them over the years is definitely worth a listen. While this isn’t “Watch the Throne”it’s definitely an awesome collab album with Cudi’s trademark melancholy rhymes helping to level out Kanye’s outlandishness.
“For fans who’ve watched Cudi and Kanye’s relationship evolve from 2008 — from mentor and protégé to adversaries to equals — the announcement of the pair’s joint effort was supposed to be a dream-team rap fantasy come true. In the aftermath of ye, an album currently atop the Billboard 200 but also a mid-year front runner for most polarizing project of 2018, Kids See Ghosts acts as a bewildered fan’s contextual roadmap, providing some clarity for ye and giving an update on Cudi’s mental state.”
Best Track: Reborn
Mac Miller – Swimming
Different than anything Mac Miller had ever put out before, Swimming is a collection of dark, depressing songs wrapped in slow, soft ballads. It’s an album that deals with Mac’s struggle with drugs, loneliness, and love. If it sounds like a movie you’ve already seen thats because it is. Vice points out:
“It’s lucid and lush, brushed with rich sounds assembled using the help of Jon Brion, the composer of Eternal Sunshine and The Spotless Mind, one of Miller’s favorite films.”
It’s an incredibly haunting album in hindsight considering Mac overdosed just a month after its release. RIP Mac. Vice continues;
“it’s a dark record wrapped in light and airy packaging, where its contents are someone looking for freedom in becoming resigned to their sadness, hoping they will soon overcome it—to be better.”
Best Track: Self Care
Kyle – Light of Mine
I know this one is coming out of left field as most of you have probably never heard a Kyle song aside from his collab with Lil Yachty on “I Spy” that popped over the summer. But this is an artist who has quietly and methodically been putting out incredible work for the past 5 years across 3 records. After various mixtapes and indy work, “Light of Mine” is his debut studio album. The self dubbed “beautiful loser,” Kyle raps about everything from video games, and his struggles with women, to growing up as an outcast in the age of hyper-emphasized popularity with social media. “Light of Mine” takes it to another level that is reminiscent of “Thank Me Later” Drake as Kyle croons over incredibly catchy beats with a few A-list features (2 Chainz, Khalid) thrown in for good measure.
2016 hit me like a bag o’ bricks (yup) 2017 switched up, like ooh it’s lit (it’s lit) I nearly had a mental breakdown And eight months later had a hit I guess life is like box a chocolates, huh You never know what you finna get
Best Track: Ups & Downs
That’s it. That’s the Top 5 albums of the year as determined by me. Love it? Hate it? Want me to curate an entire playlist for the soundtrack to your life? Tweet @the300sboston and let me know what you think.
With all of the bad press and bizarre behavior we’ve seen from Kanye West over the past several months a lot of his actual work has flown under the radar. He dropped his latest album “Ye” over the summer and his new album “Yandhi” is supposed to come out before the end of the year. But I haven’t heard much buzz about his latest project Kids See Ghosts, which is a full on super group he formed with Kid Cudi. Kids See Ghosts is similar to throwback Cudi and 808 Kanye, with a much subtler production value than what we’ve seen from Kanye in recent years.
The two actually performed together for the first time as Kids See Ghosts at the Camp Flog Gnaw festival the other night, which you can watch below.
Where Kanye is loud, boastful, and brash, Cudi was always the more reserved crooner who put out some incredible music particularly his two Man on the Moon albums. As Cudi is on Kanye’s GOOD Music label we’ve seen the two work together on bangers like All of the Lights, Erase Me, and Welcome to Heartbreak.
So any time these two are in the studio together I am ALL ears.
Kanye is about to take over the goddamn world again. So last night while all of us normies were sleeping Kanye dropped this tweet teasing a new album, Yandhi, for Sept. 29th.
People are going nuts because not only is it the THIRD Kanye album of the year (ye, and Kids See Ghosts), but it also looks a hell of a lot like the cover of his 2013 album, Yeezus.
Is this album from the clouds a previously unannounced sequel to Yeezus? What the hell could a Yeezus 2 even sound like? That album was one of the most batshit crazy, out of left field, insanely good albums I’ve ever heard. Papa G and I used to play that album on his Best Buy credit card financed gigantic speakers on volume level 100.
Not to mention Kanye is ALSO going to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live that same night.
He’s absolutely gone full Kanye, which is the best Kanye. Just look at his Twitter profile, cover, and most recent tweet.
Love it. Ignore the haters, Ye. Give me something thats even close to Yeezus and it will be my soundtrack for the rest of 2018. In my opinion though, nothing will ever top My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I always said that album could be a broadway show and I’m not even kidding. Kanye pretty much did just that when he dropped a THIRTY FOUR MINUTE movie to go along with the album.
I have become fascinated with sneaker culture over the past couple of years, mainly with the supply and demand of hot new releases. It started with Yeezys. Despite the fact that the majority of Kanye’s clothing line is essentially Derelicte; a fashion, a way of life inspired by the very homeless, the vagrants, the crack whores that make this wonderful city so unique.
Despite that, Yeezy sneakers are actually fire flames. At least the Yeezy Boosts…some of the other Yeezy sneakers look like they came out of the Steph Curry “Dad has to mow the Lawn 7’s” batch.
Kanye releases his sneakers a few times a year with enough to supply to nearly outfit a small high school. AKA not many. So its damn near impossible to get the shoes unless you buy on the secondary market for an exorbitant mark up, which I refuse to do. Defeats the purpose. It’s basically become a game. Find all the retailers that are going to have any Yeezys, what online outlets will have them, what contests you can enter, and then when Saturday morning arrives, open up 2 laptops, 2 iPhones, and a tablet and enter the online waiting room. I have yet to actually get past that goddamn waiting room to, ya know, buy a pair. But hey thats half the fun, battling the bots and other sneaker nerds to try and score some rare sneakers.
*whispers* I’ll see you September 21st
ANYWAYS, back to the blog about Kyrie and the hot, hot, heat he’s been wearing recently.
An injured man does not walk around with custom Lucky Charms sneakers. No this is the move of a man so cocky, so confident, he is just counting the days until the season starts so he can resume his reign as commander of the only NBA team that can legitimately claim “I got next.”
Only an asshole would sell shoes based on a children’s cereal out of the standard orange box by the way. Nay, you need something a little more elaborate than that.
So keep doing your thing Kyrie, and if you’re feeling generous The 300s is not against accepting donations in the form of shoes, because as the wise Deion Sanders once said:
Complex – JAY-Z has joined as [Puma’s] president of basketball operations. “We’ve been working with Roc Nation for quite some time. They’ve been great partners to us for several years. We’ve done many different deals with many different ambassadors,” Adam Petrick, Puma’s global director of brand and marketing, told Complex. When Puma approached him about this opportunity, JAY-Z felt it “was something he wanted to be a part of,” according to Petrick. Hov will have a hand in the players selected to join Puma’s basketball division, as well as assist in the art design and overall concept and direction of the brand.
Freaking Hova, man. The guy can do whatever he wants. Whether thats cooking up some crack, dropping platinum rap albums, launching a record label, owning an NBA team, launching a sports agency, and now becoming the president of a major sports brand.
The stop with the Nets was probably the only thing he’s ever done that wasn’t a huge success as the team was awful under his watch, but he did help get the team to Brooklyn, which he promised years before on “Hello Brooklyn 2.0”
My fine hoe we got some victims to catch So in a couple years baby, I’m a bring you some Nets
Now he’s running Basketball Operations as the President of a major brand. All that without a fancy college degree either. Incredible. The guy is the living, breathing iteration of his verse on the “Diamonds” remix.
Massive props to the jigga man. Puma ain’t Nike, Adidas or Reebok, but I feel like thats about to change. In his first week on the job Jay-Z/Puma signed Deandre Ayton, who is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in this week’s NBA Draft, and Marvin Bagley III (projected top 5) after being out of the basketball business for nearly 20 years. The last NBA athlete Puma signed was Vince Carter in 1998! Now Puma is scooping up half the 2018 lottery picks as a way to announce its comeback.
Seriously, watch out. HOV is about to make Puma the hottest label around because thats what he does.
DJ, spin that shit!
P.S. – American Gangster is such an underrated album that I think a lot of people forget about because it was a concept album that more or less was a promotion for the Denzel Washington movie of the same name. That sounds like a recipe for a mailed in effort, but Jay-Z brought the heat with Hello Brookyln 2.0, Success, Roc Boys, Say Hello, Blue Magic, Fallin, and American Gangster.
I live for videos like this. Nothing beats behind the scenes footage of your favorites actors and artists in their element seeing how they react to certain things. In this case we have Jay-Z hearing Dirt Off Your Shoulder for the first time, before it became the all-time classic that is today.
The Black Album really was a defining rap album of our generation. Watching Jay’s first reaction to hearing the beat from Timbaland and then seeing him get legitimately excited and jump in the booth is awesome. Thats why these guys are artists, they get inspired and then they absolutely crush it. If that doesn’t inspire you to find something you can feel the same way about then you’re probably already dead inside.
Bonus – This reminded me of a similar video where Jay first heard the Lucifer beat that a young Kanye made. Back when he was still on his polos and backpack. A+ stuff.
Get fired up this morning with Kanye at his most Kanye. Yeezus, as most of Kanye’s albums, was looked at as pretty “out there” by most when it dropped in 2013, but now people look back and say that album was ahead of its time. Same thing happened with 808s & Heartbreak when Kanye basically brought autotune into the mainstream before anyone else. But thats why I love Kanye. He’s the definition of an artist. He’s an absolute fucking maniac, he’s always trying new shit, and he’s usually ahead of the curve with his sound. Yeezus still absolutely bangs.
Not to mention, I saw Kanye on the Yeezus tour in Boston and that concert was completely mental. Who needs Broadway when you get a show like this every couple of years?
The 300s 