What Up! Tale of the
Tape is back in your area, giving you what you need in this (mix) tape
game. We cover artists from all over, from north to south, east to
west. The search for music goes further than one coast or particular
artist, and I try my hardest to make sure that you get rewarded for
paying attention to Tale of the Tape each week. You know if it is
utterly dope, I am bringing it to you raw and uncut. If it’s nasty,
then I am going to shoot it down with better accuracy than a Navy Seal.
This week we remember T.I is going to be Gone Till November. Young Jeezy and his corporate thugs try to get us to believe In Shield We Trust 2. Hip-Hop bully 50 Cent takes a shot as The Undertaker. La the Darkman shows us what Living Notoriously could sound like. Last but not least, fem fatale Rece Steele makes a case for herself with It’s A Man’s World. Tale of the Tape is definitely cash like a drug dealer’s stash.
T.I
Gone Till November
Heavy Rotation
T.I
seems to be in a push to get it all out of his system. For those with a
short memory, T.I is about to go up north for his gun possession
charges. Regardless of what you think about what his time should be, or
the case specifics, you have to agree Hip-Hop will be at a loss until
he returns. His latest, Gone Till November is full of music T.I has made since his platinum effort Paper Trail.
His tracks with guests shine (“#1” & “Just Think”) and as usual,
his party tracks are good listens (“Party Ain’t A Party”). One of the
only knocks to this are the constant drops by the Trap-A-Holics. If you
can ignore them, you are left with a pretty solid product.
Young Jeezy
In Shield We Trust 2
Heavy Rotation
In
Hip-Hop it must be an unwritten rule to bring your people on. Every
star has done it in one way or another, whether by giving them mixtape
shine to giving them the push to make whole albums. Young Jeezy isn’t
any different, as his Corporate Thugs imprint has effectively been “put
on” by the rapper. In Shield We Trust 2 is the next
outlet to hear the CTE “movement”. The leader is quite impressive here
(“Turn My Scale On”) as he continues to be Hip-Hop’s #1 dopeboy. The
rest of the crew hold it down like Slick Pulla (“Gutta Butta”), Blood Raw(“Where Ya Swag At”), and Bama (“I Know How To Surf”). Jeezy gives his troops plenty of room to stretch their legs, and they don’t disappoint.
50 Cent
The Undertaker
Heavy Rotation
It’s undisputable at
this point. 50 Cent is at his best when he is in the middle of some
beef. It allows his comedic and terrorizing sides to shine, as he is
just that relentless when it comes to whoever decided to match wits
with him. Let’s be honest, he just isn’t as memorable when he isn’t
steeped in some sort of high profile squabble. Hevehitta put together
some of 50’s best disses (“Funeral Music” & “Tia Told Me”) as well
as some important tracks that introduces us to the Queens MC (“How to
Rob”). It just isn’t a basic compilation, it creatively paints the
picture of his come up and later dominance in the game.
La The Darkman
Living Notoriously
Heavy Rotation
For someone who has
only released one album, LA The Darkman has made his fair share of
rounds within this industry. The Wu-Tang affiliated artist has made the
leap from underground artist, to executive as the president of DJ
Drama’s AMG music group. When he decides to release material, it’s
often home to some hard hitting, gritty underground NY flow. Living Notoriously
is no different, as it’s filled with some good rhymes (“La The Dark”),
solid production (“Ya’ll Ain’t Ready”), and of course, DJ Drama doing
his legendary drops. Like most other Gangsta Grillz, Living Notoriously is built for the car.
Rece Steele
It’s A Man’s World
Peep It
It has
been a while since the femcee has had the type of mainstream shine that
other eras had produced. While there may be more women doing it, it
seems like none can really dig into the sales, respect and appeal that
Lil Kim or Queen Latifah had. Hoping to step onto the national
spotlight, artist Rece Steele already got the eyes of many winning
VH1’s Miss Rap Supreme. Her first effort after being crowned, It’s A Man’s World,
shows some lyrical dexterity (“Flow”) as well as some radio/club appeal
(“Spend It On Me”). This won’t be a mixtape that holds down the fort
too long, but it’s worth a listen.
TALE OF THE TAPE
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