Probably the best...!

OutKast!

The classic Atlanta duo is one of the most influential acts in Hiphop ever. Their album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is one of three records in history go beyond selling Gold, beyond selling Platinum, and reaching Diamond status.

It all speaks for itself. OutKast is one of the best Hiphop artists/groups this planet has ever seen.

In the last few years rumours have said that the duo is splitting up to focus on solo careers and other projects. But late 2008 is was reported that a new album was set to come out sometime in 2009, as well as a solo album from both Andre 3000 and Big Boi. There is not much more to do than hope that so is the case!

OutKast - Bombs over Bagdhad

The Big Bang!

Two days ago, on 24th of February, Busta Rhymes new album B.O.M.B.S (Back On My BullS**t) was due to be released. But the record was postponed one month and will now reach the shops on March 24th.

However, the first single 'Arab Money' has already leaked, and three remixes have been made of the track. The video for the first remix is now finished, and here is the result:

Busta Rhymes - Arab Money (Remix feat. Ron Browz, Diddy, Swizz Beatz, Akon and Lil' Wayne)



Busta Bust is back! A review will follow as soon as the album is out!

I was just thinking!

When I started this blog it was supposed to be a lot of british Hiphop in it as well as a mix with the stars of my home country Sweden, the big scene in the U.S. and where ever in the world I could find it.

But there is a problem... That problem annoys me as much as that feeling you get when you calmly wake up by the soothing noice of car engines, bicycle bells and truck horns, and you realize that you're not in bed, but naked in the middle of a roundabout with "Call me if you like what you see, 071xxxxxxxx" painted on your back.

I do not know anything about british Hiphop music. What was ones exported from here to the kingdom of Sweden, was Lady Sovereign, who sounded like a stuffed chipmunk with her braids tied so tight the talent center in her brain must have been pulled out, and Dizzee Rascal. That's pretty much it.

So, is the problem yours, the Brits, for not making good enough hip hop? Or ours, the Sweds, for not finding the true talent when we go fishing for new tunes on the islands? I don't know, probably the Swedes. We tend to be caught up on listening to Basshunter and new Abba covers while assembling our new Billy bookcases and Astrid tables from IKEA.

It must be ours. After all, Dizzee Rascal is quality Hiphop. Come on now, you can say it. Blame the Sweds! We're neutral, we haven't had a beef in ages. We're bored!

There is more of that quality Hiphop in this country, but where? For me just writing about Dizzee Rascal's music would be boring for all of us, so I'm asking you for help here. Just point me in a direction and I'll take it from there!

Track of the day!

Rick Ross feat. Cinque & Big Duke - Get that bread

A completely forgotten track from The Boss' album 'Rise to power', but by far the best one.

Review: Big Kuntry King - My turn to eat

"You know who this is mayne... Big Kuntry King!"

This is the catch phrase of T.I.'s protege Big Kuntry King, who's debut album 'My turn to eat' has been out for a while.

The album starts off with an intro playing on the fact that Big Kuntry is just known as T.I.'s friend, which is true. After that you expect to get a presentation, something telling us 'This is me, this is what I do.' But you get nothing. It's just track after track saying absolutely nothing.

Many of the tracks is collaborations with all from underground artists to big names like Trey Songs. But despite this they all just come together like a blurr and I found myself with the feeling of listening to just one long track.

Big Kuntry have in the past been a featured artist on T.I.'s tunes 'Top Back' and 'I'm a king (with PSC)' with great success. But not even The King of The South himself could make the track 'That's right' to a big hit.

It can all be summed up by saying, "No Big Kuntry King, we don't know who you are".

Grade: 2/5

Best track: 'Da Baddest feat. Trey Songs'

New KiD on the block!

I mentioned briefly a few entries ago that Kanye West has changed his style to something no one really know what it is. But whatever he's doing, he always make his music in a clean style, far away from "gangsta rap". On his latest album, '808's and heartbreak', he collaborates with a a new artist signed to his GOOD Music record label. That artist i rapper is KiD CuDi who features Mr West on the track 'Welcome to heartbreak'.

KiD CuDi himself has got his own album in the making, under the name 'Man on the moon: The Guardians'. His first single of the album, which is expected to be released this summer, is 'Day N Night', and now the video for the track has hit the streets.



Just like Kanye, CuDi has got a quite clean appraoch to the rhymes and he tries to tell people about himself in his texts. "People like records they can relate to, even if you can’t relate to something I speak about, you’ll at least understand my mind, I won’t lose anyone", he explains on his website.

For instance these lines from 'Day N Night'

Now look at this
Madness to magnet keeps attracting me, me
I try to run but see I'm not that fast
I think I'm first but surely finish last .. last

And in the end of the day, it's nice to listen to something a bit different and laid back.

KiD CuDi has also got a remix of 'Day N Night'



Which one do you prefer?

Straight to the bin!

After a few weeks absence with days at the hospital, days in bed and days without an Internet connection, the Rubberband is back in town, back in business, back in Action, yes take your pick!

So let's cut the crap and do this!

The ringtone rapper himself,Mims, has returned almost two years after he first hit the charts with 'This is why I'm hot'. But Mr Mims, man let me tell you that you're not.

His new track 'Move (if you wanna)' has got the same childish style and low quality rhymes.



At least the video is top notch. In other words, kudos to the director.

Mims on the other hand, please stop pesting us with tracks only 13-year-olds can spend a pound or two on for their phones.

The young guns: Ace Hood!

Last week when presenting the first young gun in the series, Brisco, I mentioned his name. He is a 19-year-old rapper for the future with a playing card as his signature, who just as Brisco comes from Florida. The name is Ace Hood.

Just listen to this and you will understand why the Ace of spades beats the rest of the deck.


Ace Hood - Top of the world

In November 2008 he released his debut album 'Gutta', on DJ Khaled's label We The Best. The album was bound to be a success with featuring artists such as T-Pain, Rick Ross and Plies, and tracks produced by The Runners, Cool & Dre and J.U.S.T.I.C.E League.
'Gutta' have not reached the absolute top of the charts, but it's one of the best debut albums I've ever heard, and the future looks as bright as the rims on Hood's Cadillac.

I compared his style to Brisco's last week, and the word raw works just as well for Ace Hood as for Bris. But Hood has got something else to. He's got an approach to the whole rap game that screams of hunger, and it shows in every track he appears on.

Ace Hood and Brisco are well aware of their similar style and display it on the track 'Can't see yall' from Hood's album, as well as on many other collaborations, such as DJ Khaled's 'Final Warning'.


Ace Hood feat. Brisco - Can't see yall

Do we have a future "dynamic duo" in the making? If that's the case, I will be first in line to buy the result.

Track of the day! - Maino

Hi hater (Remix) - Maino feat. T.I., Swizz Beatz, Plies, Jadakiss and Fabolous

Breaking boundaries!

More Lil' Wayne. Just as there was for the whole year of 2008, there is still always something to talk about when it comes to this man. A lot of rumours has been going around about his next album lately as Wayne himself has said it's going to be very different from his previous work...


Shop Boyz have done it...


Party Like A Rockstar - Shop Boyz


Lazee has done it...


Rock Away - Lazee


Kanye West is doing something.. No one really knows what though..


Love Lockdown - Kanye West


So what is the connection? Rock music. All these artists have experimented with rock beats or other features from the genre. But Lil' Wayne wants to take it to another level. No more rapping. The next album will be straight rock. Not just the beats, but everthing.

Lil' Wayne is one of my favourite artists, but I can't wait to fill up my trash can with the result of this project.

And the winner is...!

On Sunday night, the whole film industry had there eyes on London, as the BAFTA awards took place. The music industry however, put on there tuxes, ties, shiny shoes and top hats, to attend the American Grammy awards.

Just like the BAFTA awards had one winner sweeping the floor with the competition in Slumdog Millionaire, the Grammy's had one of there own. Lil' Wayne demolished the competition by taking four Grammy's back to his crib, slaming his door in the face of the few critics that possibly could be out there. He won the categories for Best Rap Album with 'The Carter III', Best Rap Song with 'Lollipop (feat. Static Major)', Best Rap Solo Performance with 'A Milli' and Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group alongside T.I., Jay-z, Kanye West and M.I.A with their hit 'Swagga like us'.

There is really nothing to argue about in this. 2008 was Mr Carter's year. Besides releasing the brilliant album 'The Carter III', he has collaborated with pretty much every artist ever born, and probably a few who yet have not seen daylight.

Atlanta rapper T.I. is the one I can think of to have been the best challenger to Lil' Wayne. His Paper Trail would any other year have won Best Rap Album. But Weezy made record breaking 10 tracks from 'The Carter III' to my iTunes playlist, while T.I.'s Paper Trail just made 9. This pretty much says it all.

However, T.I.P. did not cry over this. Instead he at the awards teamed up with Weezy and the rest of "The Rap Pack" to tare the roof down with the Best Rap Performace By A Duo Or Group.

T.I. feat Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne and M.I.A - Swagga like us

Playlist!

Puff Daddy & Mase - Mo' money mo' problem's
Kardinal Offishall - Ill eagle alien
Nelly - Ride with me
David Banner - Ball with me (feat. Chamillionaire)
Lazee - Top notch
M.O.P - Roc la familia (feat. Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek and State Property)
Ali & Gipp - That's me
Lupe Fiasco - Paris, Tokyo
V.I.C - Get silly!
Outkast - Bombs over baghdad

Where did he go?!

In 1999, New York rapper Memphis Bleek was a rising superstar as his debut album The Coming of Age reached place number 7 on Billboard 200, with 'Memphis Bleek is...' as the first single. But Bleek did not prove to have what it takes to make it in the big leagues. His following album The Undestanding sold gold, but after that his next two albums did not live up to the hype and failed to find its buyers.

In 2006 Bleek, who grew up in the same building as hiphop tycoon Jay-Z, planned to realease what was meant to take him to the top. The album never reached the stores shelves and it has been pretty quiet around him since.

Malik Thuston Cox, as is his birthname, nowadays focuses on being Jay-Z's eternal sidekick, as he joins his partner on stage where ever he performs.

In 2007 Memphis Bleek's work started to hit the streets again. For instance XXLmag.com posted a number of tracks with 'Hustla' as the one which created the most buzz.

However, the tune was recieved with critisism. Though it lacks the same hit feel to it as 'Like that' from the album 534, you can see clear signs of sounds resembling to 2008 hits like Lil' Wayne's 'A Milli'. Was Memphis Bleek ahead of his time?

The young guns: Brisco!

From struggling to decide whether New York or Los Angeles is the Hiphop Capital of the US as was the case in the 90's, these days the question remains the same but the regions of the matter has changed. Some claim that Atlanta is still reigning on the throne, while others mean that the state of Florida has taken over the crown.

One of the latter would be upcoming rap star Brisco. Born in, and representing Opa Locka, Florida, this young gun has had the upbringing that justifies his rough lyrics. Brisco is a member of Poe Boy Entertainment along with big names such as Rick Ross and Flo Rida, but is signed to Bryan 'Birdman' William's Cash Money record label. Just as with his Poe Boy colleagues, at Cash Money, Brisco is surrounded by Hiphop allstars, where the undisputed king of 2008 Lil' Wayne is number one at the moment.

Brisco has not been shy to take advantage of the situation as he released a collaboration with Lil' Wayne in 2008 called 'In the hood', and has also made appearances on DJ Khaled's albums 'We the best' and 'We global'.

The Opa Locka Goon have not yet released an official debut album (Street Medicine coming soon), but has a number of mixtapes on his resume where he performs his raw, hungry style which can best be compared to another future star from Florida, Ace Hood. His modern style together with a quick mouth has conquered the Internet with Youtube and Myspace smash hits such as previous mentioned 'In the hood', 'Just know dat' and the controversial 'Bitch I'm me'.

Brisco feat. Lil' Wayne - In the hood



Brisco feat. Lil' Wayne and Flo Rida - Just know dat

Sweden contributing!

If I could ask the audience to be as silent as possible, I would like to introduce one of the biggest names on the Swedish hip hop scene at the moment, to Britain and every other place where his alias is unknown.

Adam Tensta brings a new style to the game with his electro and old school influenced sound, as well as his clean lyrics. Instead of expressing to the world why to take drugs, non-drinker Adam in this song raps about the opposite.

So here I give to you, from Tensta in Stockholm Sweden, here is: Adam Tensta feat. Eboi - Dopeboy.

Starting line!

'Hiphop music is me. I am hiphop music', is what I was going to start by writing in this blog. And I did. But that phrase is not entirely true. Even though it is one of my passions, there is a lot more of me than just hiphop music. But in this blog there is not. This blog is hiphop music.

In this dome of mine, I am going to write about music, artists, videos, albums and what ever I can think of. And it is all going to be related to just hiphop.

As I said, this is my dome, my home ground. I cannot compete with the big news sites, but I can ad something they can't, my opinion. That is why this blog comes straight from my point of view.