'til my hip don't hop anymore

YO!  It's been a minute since I posted any hip-hop, so without further ado, check out this varied assortment of jams.  Lemme know what ya think in the comments section.

1) Lupe Fiasco ft. Ellie Goulding & Bassnectar - LightWork

First up we got Lupe Fiasco.  I'm a big fan of this Chicago native cuz I think his lyrics are a huge step above others intellectually.  Having said that, his album Lazers (which finally came out in March of this year) was a bit of a disappointment (too poppy) compared to earlier efforts.  To be fair though, he went through hell with his label to get it released.  This song is called "Lightwork" and samples a Bassnectar remix of Ellie Goulding's track "Lights".  It excites me because it's apparently part of an upcoming mixtape called Friend of the People - due out on Thanksgiving (Nov 24th).  If you wanna check out a quality older mixtape he released for free back in '09, download Enemy of the State: A Love Story from Datpiff.

Read on for more featuring KanYe, Jigga, Em, Lil Wayne, CuDi, Drake and some up-and-coming talent you should check out.

2) KiD CuDi - Bigger Than You

Lately we've been slightly starved of new material from Mr. Rager.  I think he's busy working on a new project called 2 Be Continuum - a rock duo with producer and friend Dot Da Genius.  In the meantime, I have a newly surfaced track from The Cleveland born badman!  Although it's just appeared, Bigger Than You is actually an old track made with his long time collaborator Emile.  I may/may not have read that it samples Pink Floyd (?!!) which if true, I find awesome as it compliments his spaced out rhymes quite well.

3) Drake ft.Nicki Minaj - Make Me Proud


Drizzy's newest album "Take Care" was pushed back to get some samples cleared.  New release date:  November 15th.  I present to you the 2nd single, featuring hip-hop's bad gal Nicki Minaj.  Kinda average collab I feel, but I'm still excited for the album.

4) Reflection Eternal ft. Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def - Just Begun

Aight, so far we've had Lupe, Cudi & Drake.  All very popular.  Now I'd like to shed some light on a rapper that not enough people listen to:  Talib Kweli.  I discovered him when my brother gave me his collab album with Mos Def called Black Star.  He's since done another side project with DJ Hi-Tek under the name Reflection Eternal.  The track is called "Just Begun" and also features some nice guest verses from Jay Electronica, J Cole & Mos himself.  Listen to the horns in the background.  I really dig this type of underground hip-hop.

5) Danger Mouse - Somersault (Zero 7 ft. MF Doom)


What do you get when you combine mellow trip hop group Zero 7 with a serious underground rapper MF Doom?  A pretty dope track.  Danger Mouse produces.  Nuff said.

6) The Dean's List - All Systems Go

I highly highly recommend you download this song.  Been meaning to post this for ages, seeing as I have been hooked on it for the last month - on repeat!  Props to my boy Peiter for introducing me to these guys.  It's college rap, but these guys got serious potential and you may be hearing a lot of them pretty soon.  Can't really see them achieving success over in the UK or Europe, but I guess we'll see.  If you like what you hear look up their mixtape The Drive-In.

7) Tarik - Weatherman


The beat and peaceful sample here instantly drew me into this song.  The fact that this dude Tarik has got some hard rhymes and a nice flow are just a bonus!

8) Jay-Z & KanYe West ft. Frank Ocean - Made in America

If you haven't heard the album Watch the Throne yet, please sort your life out.  You may hate Yeezy for his stupidly cocky attitude, but if he keeps making this type of music you gotta admit it's slightly justified.  The subject matter of the album deals mostly with fame, materialism, power and success - with both rappers boastful throughout.  Isn't that what 99% of rappers do?  Guess these 2 just do it better than most.  One of my favourite tracks is also the softest on the album, "Made in America".  It discusses the American Dream as each rapper outlines their rise to fame.  Warning: this album has none of the radio friendly chart-topping singles - but that hasn't stopped it being successful.  Certified platinum (1,000,000 copies shipped in the US) a little over a month after it's release.  Don't sleep it on it, Watch the Throne will one day (if it isn't already) be considered a classic.

9) Skizzy Mars - Douchebag


Don't be put off by the title.  Sick beat.  Sick lyrics.  Laidback chillin hip-hop.  Njoi!

10) Eminem ft. Lil Wayne - No Love

Lastly, I gotta throw up the tune which inspired the title of this post - Eminem ft. Lil Wayne:  "No Love".  This was undeniably the highlight of Em's comeback album Recovery with both rappers spitting hot fiyyaaaaa!  Em's lyrics:

When I'm not even in my harshest
You can still get roasted 'cause Marsh is not mellow
Til I'm toppling from the top I'm not going to stop
I'm standing on my Monopoly board
That means I'm on top of my game and it don't stop
Til my hip don't hop anymore