Today marks the passing of one of the greatest emcees of all time, Christopher Wallace A.K.A. The Notorious B.I.G. I admit all the time that I don’t listen to Biggie enough, but he is literally one of the most ferocious emcees I have had the pleasure of hearing. This guy tore everything in his way apart, from crack to rap he had the game sealed in every aspect. It really didn’t matter who was on the beat, it could have been Premo or Pete Rock, either way Biggie killed it. Everything that this guy did was ahead of his time. His lyrics were totally on point and he coined some of the best lines that anyone has ever heard. Continue reading
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R.I.P. Biggie Smalls (5/21/72-3/9/97)
Posted in News, Video with tags Notorious B.I.G., R.I.P. on Monday, March 9, 2009 by Tim AlthausThe Alchemist Teaches His Chemistry To Akai Pro
Posted in Music News with tags Akai Pro, Alchemist, Chemical Warfare, Evidence, Hip-Hop, MPC, Oh No on Monday, March 9, 2009 by Tim Althaus
As I’ve mentioned before, Alchemist is one of the best producers in the game right now. Al sat down with the good people of Akai Pro and talked to them about many things, and one of them being how he uses the MPC for production. As many of you may or may not know, Al has been doing tracks for everybody from Mobb Deep to Ludacris in the last 10 years. He is also going to be putting out 3 albums this year (Chemical Warfare, Step Brothers (with Evidence) & Grangrene (with Oh No)) which is a staggering statistic as it is, because everything Al puts out is quality.
The interview probes into a lot of interesting areas of Al’s production. He goes into great detail when he ‘s talking about why legendary producers have always used the MPC for production, but in general he says: “[The] MPC always has and always will be the standard as far as when you’re talking about rap, beats and production. You know, my favorite producers from day one were Premier – MPC. Pete Rock? MPC. Diamond D? MPC. I mean I could go down the list forever. It’s pretty much the standard. It’s good to be able to even follow in those footsteps and keep that tradition going forward. You know, making music that comes out of that machine it sounds crazy.”
Make sure you check out this interview and get all the details because it’s a great insight into the mind of a genius. You can read the original interview here, and make sure you stay tuned to all of the info on the Alchemist’s up and coming projects here on Mind Inversion.
A Movie That is Truly “Straight Outta Compton”
Posted in Music News, Video with tags Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Hip-Hop, Ice Cube, N.W.A, Straight Outta Compton, Tomica Wright, West Coast on Monday, March 9, 2009 by Tim Althaus
That’s right folks, you can all start jumping up and down yelling “Fuck the Police, Fuck the Police, Fuck ’em”. An article that I read today at Hip Hop DX mentioned that Dr. Dre, Ice Cube & Tomica Wright (Eazy E’s widow) are all going to be on board as well as producers of the movie. The article also said that they are thinking about a director somewhere along the lines of Curtis Hanson (who directed 8 Mile).
I can’t imagine how gangsta this movie is going to be. N.W.A influenced an entire generation of emcees on the independent circuit and paved the way for cats who wanted to rap for a living. They did all of the aforementioned information all while telling a After the success of the movie Notorious I really think that this movie, as well, could be a smash at the box office. Continue reading
“A Yo”, Method Man & Redman Are Back!
Posted in Downloads, Media with tags Blackout!, Hip-Hip, Method Man, Redman, Saukrates, Wu-Tang Clan on Friday, March 6, 2009 by Tim Althaus
I’ve been hearing buzz about a new Blackout! album that is in the works, and let me tell you I’m pretty pumped about it. Method Man & Redman just dropped this new track “A Yo” which features Saukrates and a bomb ass beat. I remember when Meth & Red’s album Blackout! first came out I had that shit. I was like 12 or 13 when that album dropped. Let me tell you, that album didn’t leave my constant rotation for like two years straight. Not only are these two guys great fucking emcees, but they are downright hilarious as well. Blackout! is a classic in my opinion and the thought of these two getting back together for another album makes me think about the possibilities.
These two have established themselves at the top of the game, and this track is one hell of an example. Make sure you listen to the track and stay tuned to Mind Inversion for current information about Blackout! 2.
Spotted at OKP
Slaughterhouse brings you to the “Fight Club”
Posted in Downloads, Media with tags Crooked I, Hip-Hop, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Padded Room, Royce Da 5'9", Slaughterhouse on Thursday, March 5, 2009 by Tim Althaus
If you haven’t heard by now, Slaughterhouse is the newest Hip-Hop super group out there. It is composed of Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Crooked I (of Circle of Bosses), and Royce Da 5’9″. These guys come together and unite like Megatron. I have to say this is one hell of a track, I haven’t heard much of anybody in the group lately except for Royce. I can’t wait until these guys release a proper full length because it sounds like they are going to destroy the game. eMC did the same thing and they put out one of the best albums of last year.
All of the guys that are in this group are going to be dropping albums in the year of 2009. Make sure you go out and get that solo material as well (Joe Budden’s album Padded Room is already out). You can also catch these guys at Paid Dues which, as always, looks to be a festival that is sure to please.
Download “Fight Club” here.
Keep reading for a great live video from Slaughterhouse… Continue reading
J Rocc’s 4th Thank You to Jay Dee
Posted in Downloads with tags Hip-Hop, J Dilla, J Rocc, Stones Throw, Thank You Jay Dee on Thursday, March 5, 2009 by Tim Althaus
I went over to Hip Hop Official today to get my daily does of news (as I do with all of my sources) and I stumbled across J Rocc’s latest masterpiece. Thank You Jay Dee, Act 4 is the latest installment of the podcast mixes that J Rocc has been putting out exclusively through Stones Throw. This mix sounds top tier and it doesn’t surprise me because J Rocc makes some of the best Dilla mixes out there. You will hear beats that you might have not heard, originals of samples Dilla used, and great remixes. After you get this one, make sure you go out and download the rest (Act 1, 2 & 3) as soon as you can because those are tight as hell to.
P.O.S. is an “Optimist”
Posted in Video with tags Hip-Hop, Never Better, P.O.S., Rhymesayers on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 by Tim AlthausVodpod videos no longer available.
This is the video for the new single off of P.O.S.‘s new record Never Better. The track is called “Optimist” and I love the concept for the video. The artwork and editing in this video are nothing short of exceptional. All of this compounds on the fact that this track is absolutely killer. If you haven’t yet, make sure you do, go out and get P.O.S.’s new album Never Better, which is an exceptional masterpiece.
Black Milk Talks Hip-Hop, The D & J Dilla
Posted in Video with tags Black Milk, Carter Cartel, Detroit Hip-Hop, Guilty Simpson, J Dilla, Random Axe, Sean Price, Tronic on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 by Tim AlthausVodpod videos no longer available.
I love being able to hear about any news that pertains to Black Milk. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, this guy is a phenom and he’s “Putting the “D” on his back like a shirt that he bought”. He’s been coming out with some of the most consistent Hip-Hop for the last few years with two critically acclaimed albums. I also gave his album Tronic which came out last year the nod for album of the year.
This is a really good interview that was put on by Carter Cartel and it’s very in depth. The interview rings in at almost 12 minutes long, but I think it’s totally worth it. There are a lot of issues that get discussed here. Black talks about performing to a crowd full of white kids in Boulder, Colorado, who he would work with now (dead and alive) and that Random Axe collabo that’s going to be absolutely ridiculous. Random Axe is a super group composed of Guilty Simpson, Sean Price & Black Milk. Not to mention that Black Milk will be doing production for the entire album. Black Milk also brings up, of course, the late great J Dilla and what it was like working with him as well as how much of an influence he is on Black Milk.
All in all a great interview. Make sure you watch the video and watch out for Random Axe dropping sometime this year.
Spotted at Crate Kings
The Second Supper Issue 152, The Sight Issue
Posted in Culture with tags La Crosse, Second Supper 152 on Monday, March 2, 2009 by Tim Althaus
Well I must say that I’m glad that I can see this cover because it’s badass. All of the articles in this week’s Second Supper issue are dedicated to the topic of sight, and boy are there some interesting articles at that. This issue really makes me realize that the sense of sight may in fact, be the most important sense that our body has. Briana Rupel tries to go an entire day without any sight at all by tying a bandanna over her eyes. This proves to be a much more task that Bri had even imagined. Ben Clark writes up a nice article in “Smock Talk” about the insanely complex process that our eyes go through in the sense of sight.
The most interesting and touching article in this paper though, is a write-up by Adam Bissen on a La Crosse native named Steve Johnson. Steve is 45 years old and he has lived half of his life with sight, and half of it without sight. The crazy thing is that he lives a more active lifestyle now (without sight), than he did when he had 100% of his vision. He does many of the things that he used to do when he had vision and to be honest he lives a completely normal life. It is truly one of the most interesting articles I’ve ever read, it had me in utter bewilderment.
Thrown in of course are your assortment of favorites (Top Seven, Social Networking & of course reviews) that pertain to the sense of sight, and the usual material that you are used to. So put your head on straight and “look at” your weekly dose of Second Supper.
Evidence and Alchemist are “Step Brothers” in the lab…
Posted in News, Video with tags Alchemist, Cats & Dogs, Chemical Warfare, Evidence, Hip-Hop, Step Brothers on Sunday, March 1, 2009 by Tim AlthausI don’t know about you readers out there, but this video makes me claw with anticipation. As many of you know, Evidence & Alchemist are putting out an album together as the group “Step Brothers”. This is one of my highest anticipated releases of this year (besides EV’s Cats & Dogs) because both of these guys are incredibly talented musicians. Not only are they incredibly talented, but they are two of my favorite artists in the Hip-Hop game right now. EV & ALC are also two of the hardest working cats in the game right now. Evidence has the Step Brothers album as well as the Cats & Dogs album, and Alchemist has potentially three albums due out this year (Step Brothers, Chemical Warfare & Gangrene (which is a side project with Oh No)).
This video is only 48 seconds long, but it’s definitely enough for me to know that this album is going to be classic material. Make sure you stay tuned to Mind Inversion for all of the latest news and updates on both Evidence & Alchemist as well as the progress on these albums.
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