WhatUpThough

The days of counting down to the release of a mixtape is upon us. I haven’t had a chance to peep this yet, but thought I would throw it out there for the Friday morning readers. I’m sure it’s dope and with all the hype surrounding dude it’s guaranteed to make some noise and get some praise by some obscure high profile magazine/newspaper that generally doesn’t fuck with rap. He’s got it like that.

Without delay, download it here.

It’s been a good day for so many reasons: Between the One Block news, my homies and fellow Gurp City OG’s Grand Invincible, who you might have read about earlier on this blog, just signed with artist Alex Pardees’ Zero Friends label; I talked to Bill Adler today and he was mad cool; I interviewed Three 6 Mafia for Vapors, and a couple other things I’ll hit you with later. Peaks and valleys, that’s how this shit goes, which for a dude with mood swings like me is hard to handle at times. Anyway, I’m gonna be out in Oakland tomorrow night for the second stop in this years Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle so I won’t be around to post something, but come Friday I should have something for ya. My predictions for Big Tune battle; 1 O.A.K. of the Honor Roll crew, who again, you may recognize from this blog.

Peace to all the new readers who stumbled on the site today. Keep checking in, it’s only getting better.

GURP CITY, don’t forget it.

Yo, this made my day when the homie Luke Sick hit me the news this morning. Apparently, he was getting the up the to the minute texts of sipping champagne with LA Reid last night, but it is official as of this morning, One Block Radius has signed with Island Def Jam. They’ve been the homies for a minute, and I couldn’t be more pumped for them. They deserve it all, and have been working incredibly hard to get to this point. Their new single, “You Got Me” is catching serious burn all over the West Coast from Power 106.1 to KMEL, and has the potential to be a national hit in my opinon. If you’re not familiar I highly suggest checking out their mixtape Cut Some Static to get up to speed. Again, congrats and now it’s my time to go out and get you mafuckahs some press!

Another hot one by the rapper with the most chords, my man Count Bass D. “Can We Hang Out Tonight” is the first single off his upcoming L7, which is slated to drop late July (aww damn!) via 1320 records. I’m feeling this joint a lot: sonically it’s got that quintessential Count Bass vibe, but this one seems more straight forward than some of his more recent works; I’m loving the structure, from singing to the rapping… simply put it’s a dope song. And most remarkably, there isn’t anyone out there who can do what he does, straight up. Anyway, the picture above is the albums cover art and of course, right click the link and select save as.

Can’t wait to hear more.

MC/Producer Jneiro Jarel and Khujo Goodie make up Willie Isz. While there is only one song available to listeners, the eccentric “Georgiavania (GA PA)” (new official link…didn’t need ya anyway), the magnitude of this collaboration is liable to fuck heads up. It’s obvious they’re gonna take it to new dimensions, and the potential within that is mind boggling. In anticipation of their full length release later this summer URB has a dope 30 minute mix by DJ Kiva that just scratches the surface of both artists catalog, bringing the tardy up to date. You can check the podcast here (DO IT!!!), but stayed tuned for more info on Willie Isz as I’m hard at work trying to put something major together.

It’s official. On shelves now, page 50. I wish I could say every word was my own, but it’s a whole new game at this level and while it’s hard to accept, it is what it is. Fuck it, motivation to become a better writer. And it’s only fitting my girl Amanda Lopez had her XXL debut in the same issue on page 46.

…we thinking long range.

As promised, here is a quick interview with Fat Ray who’s latest album The Set Up with Black Milk is still getting burn in my stereo. I’ll admit, the following isn’t the most riveting interview…I guess dude saves his words and creativity for the microphone. Follow the jump, and check the album. Extra special thanks to my Audible Treats family and Nora the intern newest Audible Treats employee.

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I’m feelin the few songs I’ve heard from this dude, especially this “Day N Night” track. He’s on A-Trak’s Fools Gold label, so he’s got the right machine behind him to make some noise, and we’ll start to see that come May when his A Kid Named Cudi mixtape drops. For more info check www.kidcudi.com.

First off, I want to say peace to the homegirl Nicole Ballin of Ballin PR. She has not only held me down for the past six years, but she is also the subject of this short Current TV segment. For some reason it’s not letting me post the video so you can watch it here. And if you’re a rapper looking for a publicist, HOLLER.

Another shout out to the homie Dale Coachman who runs Scheme magazine. Dude is always hustling, and nothing makes me happier than when good things happen to those who deserve it.

On the rap front, S.O.U.L Purpose just gained some points for this “WWE shit.” If you’re already lost, check here first. So does this mean that Peter Agoston does have his business straight?

Say it ain’t so…Mass Appeal dead?

If you haven’t copped Rising Down yet, get your mind right. If you have, tell me Porn ain’t the muthafucking truth!  His verse on “I Can’t Help It” is the hottest shit I’ve heard in a minute, and I can honestly say I’ve never felt more kindred with Hov before.

Speaking of dope records Bun B’s II Trill is fucking ridiculous. I’ve got a sack of weed and box of Swishers for anyone with a trunk full of 16’s in the 916 area who wants to take a ride.

And lastly, be sure to check in daily with the Fist Fam. They got some shit for ya.

This is the first of many 5 Shot interviews to come. As the title indicates, we have The Grouch to kick things off in support of his latest album Show You The World. I reference this song “Artsy,” which I believe is the lead single, so you may want to check that (I personally like this remix better). Actually, if you check his Myspace page you can hear a couple of the other songs referenced in the interview, plus a bunch of other stuff so open another tab and listen to the music while you read the words from the man himself.

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