Kendrick Lamar: The Compton native and Top Dawg Entertainment artist made his formal debut in 2009 with the release of his self-titled EP, but absolutely exploded online with the 2010 release of his mixtape album Overly Dedicated. That being said, Kendrick is definitely the most unique and expirimental of the young rappers, which i think makes some people hesitant. While his lyrical content DOES vary sometimes, being a versatile emcee- he pulls it off very smoothly. The honesty and emotion in his songs is unparalleled, something any hip-hop fan can appreciate. Kendrick is an artist that i would recommend everybody purchase rather than download. Here at T3L we SUPPORT GOOD MUSIC. He has an album that as of January was "90% done," and a highly anticipated collaboration project with J.Cole that should be better than "Watch The Throne" very dope.
Purchase: Overly Dedicated (iTunes Link)
Purchase: Overly Dedicated (iTunes Link)
Curren$y: Once upon a time, an artist was under-appreciated and consequently mistreated by Cash Money Records and Young Money Entertainment, causing him to (lebron voice) "take his talents" elsewhere. Leaving Weezy meant the end of a career, right? WRONG. From 2006 up until this year, the New Orleans emcee dropped mixtape after mixtape to get recognized. His newfound success was in many peoples eyes a mockery of his ex-label’s failure to promote him. Anyways…One of the most impressive things I see from “Spitta” is the fact that he has found a balance between being a weed-head and being very creative lyrically. He is one of the very few artists that i can handle talking about smoking constantly. Less known to the masses is the fact that he has formed a supergroup with artists Mos Def and Jay Electronica, called Center Edge Territory. Those two co-signs by themselves are significant, for obvious reasons to hip-hop heads. If that album is ever actually released, I would expect something similar to Mos Def & Talib’s Black Star album. In other words, DOPENESS. His first album, entitled Pilot Talk, dropped in surprisingly low quantities while being in high demand. It actually took me three weeks of looking to find it. But I had to have it for songs “The Day” f. Mos/Jay Elect, and the subwoofer unfriendly “King Kong.” There is no doubt he has left a mark on modern hip-hop music and culture. He gets extra points for being a classic car enthusiast, being a really funny guy, making the Jets more famous than the football team has, and having his own clothing labels (most notably ”Fly Society.”) While I don’t see him staying relevant for many years down the road, or being known as an all-time great emcee, he is very talented and unique in most every aspect you could imagine. JETS FOOL!
Drake. What do you even say about this guy? Everybody knows him, and most everybody loves him. You can put me in the .0001 percent of people that doesn't bow down to him. No doubt that Drizzy is inventive and brimming with talent, but I think he rode Lil Wayne’s coattails into too much hype and ended up overrated as hell. I think his best work was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY before his album ever dropped. In songs like “City is Mine” he sounds completely different than he does now with his all-too-familiar flow. (cough...wayne...cough) Who knows what his style would be, and how successful he would’ve been had he not signed with YM? I always thought Aubrey was a better fit musically for Kanye’s label, G.O.O.D. Music. Anyways…nobody can take away the fact that Drake’s So Far Gone was undoubtedly one of the best mixtapes EVER. He really didn’t need to say that he “dropped a mixtape that could’ve been an album” a million times for us to know how raw the tape was. He is definitely the most commercial rapper with the most money making capability out of all these new artists, hence comparisons to Jay-Z. Don’t get me wrong DRAKE IS NO JAY, but he has the potential to saturate the world with lots of positive music, and saturate his pocketbook in the process. I don’t see him with a whole lot of longevity because of his somewhat watered-down subject matter, but his popularity is definitely second to none right now. *Can’t knock the hustle.
*damnit....thats not a Hov reference...I promise..
Best album/mixtape: So Far Gone
Best album/mixtape: From The Westside, With Love
Best album/mixtape: So Far Gone
Dom Kennedy: I started listening to Dom seriously after I heard him on a couple Pac Div songs, on Sean G's "Lever" series, and "Bun B for President" with J.Cole. After a few weeks of review, i realized Dom dropped a damn gem on us with "From The Westside, With Love." He has that LA attitude, but not enough to make him come across as an asshole or un-relatable to the fans. He lets vibe with him, while taking us into his life tracks like "Locals Only" (my favorite cut off the mixtape.) I did miss his show a few weeks ago, but fortunately he will be back in Austin for SXSW next month. I hope to hear more material from Dom, soon!
Best album/mixtape: From The Westside, With Love
Wale: I have always had love for Mr. Folarin. I remember reading about him years ago in a magazine (The Source?)….and they proclaimed him as the next Lupe Fiasco. As an avid Lupe fan, i was skeptical, yet intrigued by the thought of it. He dropped the street anthem “Nike Boots,” which I probably played out worse than the radio does new artists. Wale was never the next Lupe Fiasco, but then again there isn’t another guy like Lu to this day. I think Mr. Folarin was pretty happy being the next “Wale,” and deservingly so. For whatever reason I forgot about Wale for a while, just to one day hear his mixtape Back To The Feature. He really stepped up his game lyrically with that tape, and it got me back on all his old stuff that I had somehow overlooked. I saw the star power he possessed. At that point, my friends and I had so much hype invested in him, we were ready to proclaim him as one of our favorite artists ever. Then he dropped his album……… While Attention Deficit wasn’t a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, I know for a fact people had higher expectations for the debut record. The replay value just wasn’t very high…not to say I don’t still jam it for “Contemplate,” “Mirrors,” and my favorite joint “Beautiful Bliss.” I think lyrically he was at his best on The Mixtape About Nothing, which was B-A-N-A-N-A-S! He was ingenious to use the Seinfeld theme, and every song was iller than the last. Wale definitely has the creativity and support to drop at least a couple great albums down the line. He was recently signed by Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group, and I have a feeling that if he is motivated enough to reach his potential he could do some serious damage to the mic.
XV is probably one of the lesser known of all of these guys, but he definitely stands out. An ad on facebook introduced me to him, and I quickly found out the talent behind the name. While it may sound funny, he has to be the dopest emcee to ever come out of KANSAS. That alone proves good music comes from everywhere, not just the big cities. You can most definitely feel his influences which include: Andre 3000, Weezer, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco. When i read about his influences I already knew who they would be. That in itself is a unbelievable compliment. I would say his abstract thoughts put him along the lines of a Lupe type, more so than the aforementioned Wale. His mixtape, Everybody’s Nobody, is a must listen! He also earns my respect for being honest and open about his hobbies which include: comic books, video games, the movie “Step Brothers,” and a collection of porn on his hard drive that is around two terabytes. X, if nothing else, will be a underground and blog legend. While signed with Warner Bros., I haven’t quite seen enough to prove he can drop a profitable album in stores. PROVE ME WRONG, VIZZY!
Kid Cudi: is the most emotional artist out of this bunch. Probably the most imaginative. Definitely the most hated (by RAP fans.) At first i thought the Cleveland representer was a rapper, but it didn’t take long to discover that he was more of an alternative almost rap-rock type artist, similar to the loved band, N*E*R*D*. This is why I get mad when people try comparing him to great rappers to put him down, it’s just apples and oranges. All of Cudi’s mixtapes have been good, with good features and concepts. His first studio album, Man On The Moon was a great experience, and gained critical acclaim. Of course, certain factions hated it similar to the way they hated 808′s & Heartbreak. Meaning it wasn’t “the type of music that was expected” out of such a dope artist. Nobody can take away from what the album was though, and lets just put it this way: KANYE DOESN’T SIGN BLAND ARTISTS. I think it’s something else entirely that bothers some people about him. Honestly I don’t know what it is. Cudi is sometimes ridiculed because of his “emo” style dress, with the tight shirts and “girl jeans.” Personally, I think his style is dope as hell, and people are just mad they can’t pull it off. He also is making his acting debut on one of the better shows TV has to offer, HBO’s How To Make It In America. Stay unique and fresh young wizard, you are becoming more than an musician. You are becoming a lifestyle and philosophy altogether.
Wiz Khalifa will probably get the shortest review out of all these artists, mainly because I just can’t listen to him for long periods of time due to the fact that all he talks about is smoking. He isn’t as lyrical as Curren$y so it’s hard for him to pull it off. I heard about him before most people did, and i thought I liked him at first. Slowly but surely his appeal just wore off. Out of everybody on this list, Wiz is probably my least favorite. Thats not to say that he doesn’t have good songs, I did like “Ink My Whole Body,” and “The Planes.” The radio mega hit "Black & Yellow" was a great success for Wiz, and the great beats he gets really make up for what he lacks on the mic. Maybe I just don't understand him because i’m not a smoker... I bet he is a funny ass guy to be around though. Lets agree to disagree on this one.
Big Sean is my dude. He rolls with Kanye so I guess i’m biased, but fact is that he is cool as shit. He may seem like he has the biggest ego and is the most flashy, which is usually something to shake your head at. You have to realize that he is only 22 years old, and that makes it somewhat acceptable. Actually, Sean is the first rapper i ever met in person and talked to, which was one of the highlights of my year life. Never met a guy so down to earth and true to his fans. He missed the meet and greet from 5-7, so he promised to stay extra late after the show that night to sign autographs and talk to everybody. Well...He kept his word. Stayed until they kicked him out. Back to the topic...what is strange about Sean is that some people say he is very lyrical, and some people call him a Souljia Boy type simple mainstream rapper. (which he was not happy about) I think he has a good combo of wits, lyrics, and good beats that make him a more-talented-than-most-radio-rapper. He has good punchlines and metaphors like “bank account got me feelin’ well, FARGO…ballin til i get a mil-a-check, DARKO” that get noticed by many. They get "Ooooooh’s" and "Ahhhhh’s" out of me sometimes. B.I.G. is also the subject of a “mini-controversy” I guess you could say. Many say Sean is the “creator” of the type of metaphor mentioned above, and that Drake amongst other Young Money artists stole it and claims it as their own style. (“swimmin’ in the money come and find me, NEMO. if i was at the bank you know i balled, CHEMO”) While that is impossible to tell for sure, I think Big Sean does it more masterfully. (listen to the DOPE "Supa Dupa") I do know that Big Sean’s character and swagger isn’t easily duplicated. His Finally Famous mixtape series is sweet, with his first single "My Last" hitting the radio recently.
Chip Tha Ripper: If you don’t know, he is another Cleveland artist that is affiliated with Kid Cudi, and a dope one at that. His flow patterns are real smooth and full of attitude most of the time. “Prolem is you dont want nada, my niggas got hella choppas, you gonna need hella doooooctaaaaaaas, and i rep my city proper, proly catch me rockin prada, hoppin out the helicoooooooptaaaa…” I also like the fact that Chip has a good sense of humor, as is evidenced by the number of jokes and such in his songs. He has a few mixtapes out, and is more recently known for the hit song, “Fat Raps” (which features Big Sean and Currren$y.) He is an indie artist as of right now, so he is promoting himself and putting in a lot of work to make money and be mentioned with all of these other guys that are on bigger labels. I think he is doing a very good job. I had the privilege of seeing Chip in Austin, TX for his Gift Raps Tour last October, and the show was sweet. Chip’s upcoming album Gift Raps is going to be completely produced by Chuck !nglish of the Cool Kids, so you know Chip will have to be spitting fire to do the beats justice. Chip seems to have a good work ethic, but will need to eventually sign with a big label if he wants to really make a splash in the rap game. SLAB UP!
Big K.R.I.T. may be exactly what his name stands for, a King Remembered In Time. He is newer to my collection than some of these guys, but gets probably the most play next to Cole and Kendrick. I instantly drew connections to Pimp C and "ATLiens" Outkast when I heard him the first time. "Krizzle" has that southern drawl, and being from Texas I picked up on it naturally. What separates him from other southern artists is the fact that he is lyrical, which is somewhat unusual in a time where the market mostly consists of chopped-n-screwed, “simple” rap. After he released his classic mixtape album, K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, he was shortly signed to Def Jam. One song I particularly loved on his mixtape was “Hometown Hero,” where he spits on a beat that uses a sample from Adele’s “Hometown Glory.” All the songs on the album are of high quality, from the first track to the last. The Mississippi spitter claims to spit that “Sweetness on the beat, that Walter Payton flow.” I think that line exemplifies what he really does. He seems to have a lot of knowledge and to be wise beyond his years, maybe as a result of his life struggles, and his music has a honest and classic throwback ambiance because of that. He has the tools to be the new king of the south, but lets give this young artist some time to come into his own. His second album "Return Of 4eva" drops 3.22.11.
J.Cole is the best new artist out. Point. Blank. Period. It’s no wonder that Jay-Z admittedly signed him after hearing one particular song. Born into a military family where he never really knew his dad, and struggled through life with his mom, “Grown Simba” has plenty of stories to tell. And thankfully for us, his dreams of playing ball for North Carolina quickly faded when he realized his musical talent. Cole’s concepts for songs are always unique, such as the aforementioned, “Lights Please.” It is about a guy wanting to tell his girl everything thats on his troubled mind about the world’s ills, but all she wants to do is have sex with him. He uses a reversal of the stereotype that guys always fall into, and enhances it with his strong emotion and experience. Once he comes up with these ideas and starts to spit them, his storytelling ability is pretty much unparalleled by any of these new artists. I can see in vivid mental pictures what he is saying with words. This, accompanied with his lyricism and knowledge of music, is a main reason why Nas, Jay, Talib, Hi-Tek, and others have co-signed him as a torchbearer for hip-hop. I remember the first time I listened to a bunch of his material, I said “Who the hell is producing these heat rocks!?” Then at the end of “I Got It” he says 99.9% of the time he raps on his own beats, which makes me think he might be the next Kanye type hybrid producer/rapper. All in all, he is just a cool dude because you can appreciate and more importantly relate to what he talks about in song. I’ll take that over any of this pop-rap shit...any day of the week. Oh…and call me lame, but he frequently talks about his willingness to not use drugs, which is a breath of fresh air when looking at the genre as a whole. He’s got high expectations when boasting “They say i’m the down south Nas, the east coast Pac, the Carolina Andre, the Fayettenam Kanye…” While the highly anticipated Friday Night Lights definitely didn't disappoint, it probably could have been better with less previously leaked tracks. Now we wait on his Roc Nation debut. ...COLE WORLD!
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