so here’s the finished version of the already excellent Problems, albeit with a new name. i don’t really know if i’m digging the chorus too much, but either way, its still dope. and its still Cole. props to UHTN.

Leave Me Alone

words cannot express how much i love this album. if you’re looking for some quality christmas music, seriously, look no further. everything about this album is just perfect. and its listenable year round. not just holiday times. but especially during holiday times.

“its the mooooooost…wonderful tiiiiiiiiiime…”

A Charlie Brown Christmas

so i mean…B.o.B hasn’t really been B.o.B since the album dropped. in my opinion, that is. and if this is his attempt at returning to that B.o.B…ehhhhhh. i dunno, i mean he can still rap nice. but theres no creativity anymore. a lot of this is just very basic rappity rap. and what happened to tracks like Satellite and Middle Of The Day and Cloud 9?? that was always the perfect blend of pop and rap…now its just like…boring. to me. Beast Mode and Higher are dope though, i guess. just not in the same way he used to be dope.

Beast Mode | Higher (feat. Playboy Tre, CyHi Da Prynce & Bun B)

No Genre

not necessarily the biggest Tip fan, but the new album definitely has its moments. this is easily my favorite track off it, great southern beat, and i mean…Scarface.

How Life Changed

well this came out of nowhere, and it is such a great surprise. cannot wait for the new album.

Christmas Lights

unnecessarily long intros and outros aside…its Jay Elec.

Jazzmatazz

over the weekend, Like from Pac Div released a bunch of unreleased songs from the group, one including a feature from Blu. thank 2dopeboyz for zipping it up and distributing it to us.

Our Old Shit…

http://music.vtechphones.com/video/5221

(can’t figure out how to embed the vid, so click that if you’re interested)

so Blu is hard at work on his newest full-length, NoYork!, and premiered a new track from that, produced by Exile, the other night at a concert. it sounds pretty good, and that only means that the studio version will sound great. along with that, another song produced by DiBia$e was let loose over twitter…don’t ask what the name means, but its nice regardless.

SLNGBNGrs!

one of my favorite joints off Grizzly City 3 is the latest recipient of the visual treatment. also, Fash is allegedly dropping Higher Learning 2 sometime in the near future, and has been doing his own little weekly series (“Sunday School”) by dropping a few songs off that in the last couple weeks. all of which are pretty nice, with Going Home being my favorite by a bit. Papers flips an Usher sample that was kinda gimmicky at first but has grown on me a bunch, whereas Dark Fantasy goes in over (you guessed it) the intro from Kanye’s latest. all dopeness.

Going Home | Papers (Remix) | Dark Fantasy (Freestyle) | BONUS: Pass The Cohiba

wstickles@gmail.com

J. Cole’s latest project dropped over the weekend, and i haven’t gone a day without listening to it at least twice…quality front to back, with a little filler but i mean, its a mixtape. Cole continues to impress and this might even be my favorite project of is to date. hopefully he can keep on the right path and not get too caught up with the tracks about the females. download link and some choice cuts below.

Farewell | Too Deep For The Intro | The Autograph

Friday Night Lights

Good Fridays continue, this week with the finished version of one of the joints that Kanye premiered on his Social Networking Tour. now with a beat courtesy of Q-Tip and featuring verses from Talib and Cons.

Chain Heavy

so fresh off deading Diddy and signing with Hova’s Roc Nation, Jay Elect goes and drops not one, but TWO songs over the weekend. now this kinda stuff is utterly unheard of from the man, who is notorious for not putting out any material at all. needless to say the shit is dope, and its great to see that he’s taking steps in the right direction with a label. hopefully we’ll get some kind of project soon. these joints could use some mastering too..The Announcement suffers a 90-second intro and the sample on Shiny Suit gets pretty brash at times, definitely drowns out parts of the verses from both Jays. oh well.

The Announcement | Shiny Suit Theory

off of the upcoming retail version of Trunk Muzik, Yela goes IN over some Drama (yes, from Fantasy Factory) production. can’t wait to hear this dudes label debut.

Daddy’s Lambo

ever since Bad Meets Evil graced The Slim Shady LP, people have hungered for more collaborations between these two. well with Em trying to save face after Relapse, heres a new joint from the two of them. pretty dope too.

Living Proof

first video off FE’s latest, Authenticity. i’m not too sure if i like it, but i think i do.

i’ve been waiting to hear about a new Adele album for quite some time, and thankfully her sophomore release, 21, is coming out in February. and this is the first single. pretty promising to me!

while its not quite like the Dre & Snoop of old (at all), at least its new material. the long-awaited Detox is apparently going through the motions, with this being the alleged first single. Dre’s rapping sounds as bad as ever, Snoop still sounds great though. and its hard to hate on the beat, definitely typical Dre…gotta love the keys. Akon though? some relevance would be nice. hopefully we get that album sometime in the next three years.

Kush

lead single off of Pilot Talk 2, dropping next Tuesday. gotta love Spitta’s work ethic. and the consistency of Creative Control’s visuals. and the catchiness of this hook.

so. Kanye’s real fourth album has officially leaked (albeit in its clean form), and i’ve been listening nonstop all day. its fantastic, and i’m not gonna say much more cause i don’t wanna ruin your own opinions, and i’m a huge fan and probably biased, but i mean…

(album of the year)

so here’s the intro, and one of my personal favorites. don’t hurt ‘em Ye. November 22nd people.

Dark Fantasy

its about damn time someone raps over this classic (i mean it too, this song is incredible). and honestly Wiz and Spitta are great over it, even if, once again, its the same old shit. here’s hoping this is next.

Huey Newton

so Voli apparently rolls with J. Cole and Elite and Omen (not really familiar with the last two, pretty much just through Relaxation). anyways, dude is pretty sweet, and this is the standout track from his little Glass Doors sampler. the chorus may be a bit cheesy at first, but it grew on me pretty quick. produced by J. Cole too.

Sunrise

once again, Fridays treat  us well. this is probably the best Good Friday track thus far, and if you disagree, top three at least. J. Cole absolutely murked everyone on this, even though the rest of them were solid. Big Sean, although, kinda breaks up the goodness with that stupid double time flow. just when i was starting to like him too…

Looking For Trouble

Good Fridays continue, featuring production from Pete Rock, a Curtis Mayfield sample (i think) and vocal contributions from Uncle Charlie and Cudder. the album date approaches, and even though the final tracklisting is a bit disappointing, you can’t really complain due to all this free material. plus theres a ton of iTunes bonus tracks..

The Joy

so here’s the much-anticipated project from Cali-based Co$$ and producer Numonics. 15 tracks of dopeness, if you ask me, featuring the likes of Freddie Gibbs, Sene, Reks, Naledge and more. if you’re still sleeping on dude, time to wake up.

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