10. T.I.
09 .Andre 3000
08. Young Jeezy
07. Lupe Fiasco
06. 50 Cent
05. Snoop Dogg
04. Rick Ross
03. Lil Wayne
02. Jay-Z
01. Kanye West

Let's be honest, only about half of the MCs on that list deserve to be there--In fact, maybe only three: Kanye, Weezy and Rick Ross. Nearly everyone else belongs nowhere near a compilation of "hot artists," as Shake points out in his post about Andre 3000 coming in at number nine. I respect 3 Stacks, but at the midpoint of 2008, rating past lukewarm is an insult to all of the actually hot artists out here, the one's who have been putting in work. If MTV had their ear to the ground, they'd understand.

The people that tore it up and deserve a spot on that list are the ones we know well in the blogosphere; artists like Crooked I, Kidz in the Hall, Pusha, Bun B and others brought heat all year. Haven't these guys paid some dues in '08 to earn at least a nod on a hot MC's list? Mickey Factz, anyone? Does MTV even have any idea how many hip-hop weeklys Crooked I pulled together? These are the real hot artists, not the status-fucking-quo that MTV trots out every time they get a group together to chat about hip-hop.

The truth is, their coverage and commentary is stale, and those of us who know what's going on will smile and nod in respect for those named then turn around and put the truly hot artists on blast. I know what's playing in my CDP and it ain't Lupe, Jay or 50.

MTV has a lot of clout, and putting this list out reinforces their position as hype-men for deadweight on record labels. T.I. and 3 Stacks must have chuckled to see their names make the cut. What have you done for me lately?

With the Internet being what it is, there's a new formula that's started to emerge, and a lot of MCs--and heads--know what's up. Artists can distribute tracks on a weekly--if not daily--basis, and command a groundswell of support from a large group of listeners. It's all about credibility, and now that most of the distribution barriers have been broken down, there's not much excuse for an MC to be lazy: if you aren't dropping tracks regularly, you've definitely fallen off (especially if we're talking about a list of who's hot).

Communications technology is at a point where it affords every artist a tremendous amount of opportunity, if they're willing to work for it. Looking at MTV's list, I see only a handful of MCs who have displayed a level of effort equal to their ranking. It's unfortunate that the network, which has done so much for hip-hop in the past, can be so ignorant of what's actually happening in the genre today.

"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we'll post between 10 and 15 tracks--with mp3s and reviews--and on the Monday before C3 drops, we'll drop the top 10.

Previously: C2C3 Countdown, tracks 80 - 71.

70. "9MM" with Akon, David Banner, Snoop Dogg
Heard on The Greatest Story Ever Told | Download

This is one of those songs that has a line so memorable we couldn't omit the track from our list:

I got a girl you wanna meet her?
Her name is nine millimeter!!

The rapper is insane, flowing like a mad river. Indeed, Weezy's verse is short but incredibly sweet. He keeps the number nine as a central theme and has--by far--the most interesting section of the track. -bw

69. "Nike Boots" with Wale
Heard on The Drought is Over Pt. 5 (Grand Closing) | Download

I once read a piece that talked about Wayne's break-out track, "Tha Block Is Hot". It mentioned that Wayne's theatricality was showing even at that young age, because he chose to whisper the chorus, where others would have yelled it. It concluded that Wayne understood the power of messing with the expected.


The beat to this song is brash and droning and, yet, still energetic. But Wayne approaches it from left field--he slows it down. He drawls. he draws on his Vocoder obsession. I can't say that this better than Wale, and Wayne's lyrics are the sort of thing that are great for rap, but only good for him. But the slowing entices you, it changes up the expected. It experiments. And, besides getting head and money, musical experimentation has come to define Wayne and shows his desire to move beyond the standard. He's already flyer than the rest of em--now he's trying to surpass everyone. -zolmes

68. "Army Gunz" with Birdman
Heard on Like Father, Like Son | Download

In the intro to this track, Wayne states: "I'm bout to murda this shit!" and he's not lying. Though "Army Gunz" is a track with a tongue-in-cheek title and an almost cartoony hook ("Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I got Army Gunz!!"), Weezy's flow is anything but a joke. I've often commented that much of Wayne's work on Like Father, Like Son is transitionary, displaying a move from straight-laced, formulaic rhymes to the more abstract and experimental lyrics that he is known for today. "Army Gunz" is no exception to this:

But dem niggaz won't touch not a part of me, bet on it
Dem niggaz belong in a sorority, ain't that a bitch?
Burn they bodies up for the authorities, no evidence
You gon' stop fuckin' with them warriors from New Orleans


When reading those lyrics on paper, the words feel disconnected and stale, but on the track, Wayne brings them alive and makes rhymes appear where none were before--this is what it means to have a 'flow', a word that is often applied incorrectly. To remember just what it means, have a listen to Weezy's three verses on "Army Gunz."

His most important line: "You niggaz is scared of the southern part of America." Word. -bw

67. "Sweetest Girl" with Wyclef
Heard on Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant | Download

"Sweetest Girl" is like a lot of songs, including Wayne's own "Good Girl Gone Bad," as such, the subject matter isn't ground-breaking and, therefore, neither are a lot of lyrics. However it does have several things going for it strong enough to warrant its inclusion here. The first is the strength of its beats and backing--there's no denying Niia's beautiful singing throughout the track and the catchy-as-hell chorus. Second, is the way that a song about a prostitute becomes a sweeter song, a tale of childhood love gone wrong. Lastly, there's just something about the way Wayne says "she used to be the sweetest girl" that breaks my heart every damn time. Seriously. Going to show you that, more than a gangster or a thug or a hustler, Wayne is a lover, a sweetheart first. -zolmes

66. "Let's Pray" f. Juelz Santana
Heard on Lil Wayne and Friends 3 | Download

Here again, Lil Wayne demonstrates his superb ability at making the traditional rap hook interesting. He's got short verse, but his croak (and here it truly is a croak), never fully disappears from the track; in fact, it holds the thing together.

I anticipate that this pick will be pretty controversial: the mainstream blogs panned "Let's Pray," dismissing the song almost immediately after devoting a token post to it. (Is this an acknowledgment that as much as the blog hate Weezy, he generates mega-hit counts for them??) In any case, Wayne adapts his voice perfectly to this beat--his forte--and drops an unforgettable first line:

Like I dropped straight from Heaven
Five strong words Rest In Peace Lil Kevin
And this ain't how I was born, but this is how I live
So that's how I'll die and do not close my eyes
Cuz when you see me in the casket I'ma look right back at you.

Is anyone else worried about Weezy dying? If anything, this song might be encouraging us to pray for him: the amount of drugs he does is absolutely mind-bending, and the promethazine and codeine mix he is so fond of has claimed more than a few lives. Weezy has always seemed resigned to his rockstar lifestyle, come what may. On this track, he expresses that sentiment one more:

I represent that Saint's sign
I'm so high I can paint signs
And if she ain't fine, she ain't mine
Thank God I'm alive
But if we end it all today
I have done more than I can say
Amen

No one can really argue with that last line: he has indeed done more than he (or any of us) can say. This countdown is one testament to that tremendous body of work that Wayne has given fans of good music everywhere (for free, I should add). It's true, this is a short song, but I have a feeling more than a few Wayne-heads are listening to it on repeat. -bw

65. "I Took Her"
Heard on The Drought Is Over Pt. 4 | Download

Lil Wayne likes bitches, and this song is a self-aggrandizing, misogynistic romp through Wayne's world of women and money. The beat sounds like something that didn't make the cut for 5 Star Stunna, and is reminiscent of "Pop Bottles," only a lot fucking darker. Though the subject matter is a bit unpalatable at times, there's a lot of great shit going on musically here, particularly at the beginning of each verse when the beat perfectly punctuates each word from Weezy's grill (see New Orleans-repping start of verse two).


There's also tons of interesting wordplay, and more than a few ridiculous scenes setup by Wayne (mostly in the second and third verses). Take this one, for example, where Weezy breaks down a situation that most everyone has encountered at the club before:

Why your boyfriend actin like secret service
I'ma get you by yourself and get my secret service

Secret Service? Fuck yeah, I've seen that guy out with his girlfriend before--why do they even step into the club, I wonder? As Wayne explains later, though: "The girl may be yours but the pussy is mine!"

The most memorable part of "I Took Her" is actually a moment of silence: "See I am from the jungle, the mighty jungle, and the guns go..." As we've mentioned before on this countdown, Weezy integrates perfectly with pretty much every beat he spits on, and the full connection between music and voice is really one of the main factors drawing fans his way. If you didn't know, now you knew. -bw

64. "Cali Dro" with Birdman f. Kurupt and Daz
Heard on Like Father, Like Son | Download

Track 18 off Like Father, Like Son, "Cali Dro" is a monster of a song. I'm not sure why Birdman and Weezy included it so late on their collabo album--it's surely one of the best efforts on the disc, and with Kurupt and Daz on the beat, everything feels complete.

And I stay high and a still got my diploma
And I still keep the maggie on me like Homer
And I'm too sick man I'm spittin' out a coma
And I'm still lettin' the money pile like Gomer.

Wayne be with the stars, and he ain't talkin' Tinsel Town. "Cali Dro" is one of those guilty pleasures that ends up on repeat in the iPod or the whip; the beat is heavy and the lyrics were written for the weekend. -bw

63. "Self Destruction"
Heard on Bad Ass Grasshopper (The Introduction) | Download

Super-heavy-metal-rock-star Wayne drops all pretense for this one and let's the auto-tone tell it as he screams, "I fucked up, yeah I fucked up! And I'm headed for self-destruction!" More than anything, "Self Destruction" is a reflection on a life lived recklessly, and a love lost in much the same way.


In the final bars of the song, Weezy repeats an emotional plea: "It feels like I'm falling, no one here to save me! I don't want to die alone, I don't want to live alone, I don't want to be alone!" Holding these lyrics up against Wayne's large assortment of straight-club tracks, one has to wonder what's really on his mind. As much of a sex-fiend as he is, tracks like "Self Destruction" reveal that there's a much more complex suite of feelings below the surface of his work. Weezy's never been afraid to show this side (remember "Prostitute Flange," anyone?), but discerning just what his true feelings are is difficult.

"Self Destruction" is a sobering, backstage look back at the past and forward to what Wayne increasingly paints as the inevitable future (suicide, death; self destruction). This track is only one example of this theme, which recurs over and over again in Lil Wayne's catalog. -bw

62. "Duct Tape & The Mack" f. Curren$y & Mack Maine
Heard on Wayne's World Volume 5 | Download

If you've got a system in your car, you're probably already familiar with this song: it's a straightforward gangster track that beats hard and is chock-full of great lines. Wayne mostly concentrates on his various weaponry and translates the sound of gunshots into something everyone can recite:

Don't know how to build a house but I got a box of tools
I'm talkin' 'bout that 'pop-pop-pap-pap-bang-bang-blacka-boom!'
The coupe I'm in say va-va-voom, then it go 'pyuuum'!
Then I'm gone... I see you soon... on the moon!

The only thing in the world that Wayne seems to love as much as women, drugs and money would be guns. He pretty much exclusively refers to gats in the feminine form, and treats them as a companion that he could never do without:

I'm heavily blunted, me and my gun loaded
She ridin' with me till the motherfuckin road end

Robert Horry and Corey Maggette also find their way into this rhyme--but only as a way for Weezy to explain his superior marksmanship. It's clear that Wayne handled "The Mack" half of this song, though I would have liked so hear a bit more about duct tape from him. Somehow though, Lil Wayne doesn't strike me as being on the kidnap tip. -bw

61. "Damn I'm Cold" with Bun B
Heard on II Trill | Download

No disrespect to Pimp C, but Lil Wayne and Bun B sound perfect together on this track--let's hope this is the beginning of a serious Texas-NO connection. These two could easily do a collabo album together that would destroy the industry. Bun B's voice has always been overpowering and demands a higher-pitched, bizarre counterbalance to make it work. Up until his death, Pimp C had played that part in UGK, but after hearing "Damn I'm Cold," it's clear that Weezy's voice can also serve as a highlight to Bun's Port Arthur drawl.


We've said a lot about Wayne on the chorus, but nowhere is his prowess with the hook more apparent than this track. Since this thing dropped, I've found myself brushing my teeth each morning crooning, "Damn I'm cold! Man I'm cold!" over and over again; if the goal of a hook is catchiness, Weezy's effort here gets a gold medal.

The other outstanding part of "Damn I'm Cold" occurs during the last verse when Bun and Weezy trade verses. It's a beautiful thing: two of the best artists in the south going back and forth over a flawless Chops beat. Ultimately, they make it sound easy, and like a shitload of fun. The thermometer here in the Monterey Bay topped 80 today, and this is definitely one of those windows-down kind of jams that will be on repeat all summer. -bw

If you dont want to download the songs individually, you can grab all ten tracks (70 - 61) in a zipped pack. Enjoy.

We'll be back early next week (Monday or Tuesday) with another 10 songs on the C2C3 countdown. It's only going to get better from here as we make our way to number one, and ultimately to The Carter III.

I've never heard of Asher Roth, but this track, "The Lounge," showed up in my inbox this afternoon (props to kathryn) and I'm impressed: he has one of those smooth, simple flows that sounds great over this beat, which is on some easy-listening-throwback shit (think Typical Cats). The title of the song, "The Lounge," is fine, but after listening to the entire track I would have stuck with something more to the point, like: "What Makes a Rapper," which is the central question of Asher's piano-backed flow.

This kid is white, from Philly, and he's not ashamed of his background at all. The entire song is a discussion of just what it means to be an MC. From questions of street cred, to skin color and gender, Asher spends the track hunting for a definition of 'rapper.' It's all about identity and full of rhetorical questions, but the song doesn't take shots at anyone--after all, it's called "The Lounge," and the beat is anything but confrontational.

Asher Roth - The Lounge

Look for Asher Roth's upcoming mixtape with DJ Drama and Don Cannon, dropping Friday, June 13th. Man, that should be fucking fun!! (Drama, Cannon and Asher Roth on a mix together? I'm not even sure what to expect, but can't wait.)

Bun B - II Trill
2006's Trill was a major letdown, but II Trill finds Bun B riding a tidal wave of emotion following the death of his longtime UGK counterpart, Pimp C. In addition, he seems to have remembered the formula that works for him: where Trill failed, II Trill succeeds; on the former album, Bun B tried to do too many tracks on his own while on this release there are a host of guests that help frame Bun's powerful voice. This is Texas coming hard.

Flo Rida - Mail On Sunday

Guilty Simpson - Ode To The Ghetto
Guilty is the man. A longtime cohort of J. Dilla, his voice is as unique as his flow. Ode to the Ghetto is definitely Guilty's first proper album, but it should best serve as a gateway to his early work, which I can't recommend highly enough. If you're looking for honest, straight-shooting raps, Guilty is the man (plus he has a great name).

Kidz in the Hall - The In Crowd

Santogold - Santogold
Fuck everyone who says that Santogold sounds like M.I.A.--she doesn't. The girl is unique and brings an array of style to the table. Powerful, loud and sexy as hell, Santogold crafted an original masterpiece with this one. I particularly love the collabo with Spank Rock ("Shove It"). I want more, and I want remixes, and if you're a DJ this is what you should play to steam shit up.

So there's five albums that I'm bumping. There's other shit in my CDP, but really, this is the rotation for '08, so far. I wouldn't say it's been a great year for rap music, but it hasn't been awful--and really, the 3rd and 4th quarters are looking up with albums like Carter III, Last 2 Walk, Nigger, The Greatest Story Ever Told and more on the way.

Here's three tracks off The 3rd World 12", props to Viper Records for the hookup.

Immortal Technique - The Third World
Immortal Technique f. Mojo - Reverse Pimpology
Immortal Technique - The Payback

Check the line on "Reverse Pimpology": "Free markets make money disingenuously / but I invest in agriculture, biochemistry." Any rapper bashing the free market certainly has their head in a different place; Tech has been shedding light on this fucked up system for years, maybe some more ears will perk up with The 3rd World.

After 2 years of waiting, Lil Wayne will finally release the highly-anticipated third installment in his Carter series of albums. The Carter III represents the culmination of Wayne's work in hip-hop, and on June 10th his rise to superstardom will be pretty much cemented. More than marking the zenith of his career, Carter III is also a signpost of sorts: in the time between C2 and C3, Dwayne Carter lent his voice to hundreds of tracks, many of which were given completely free to fans, and most of which have already been lost to the hip-hop ether. Though Vibe Magazine put together The Best 77 Lil' Wayne Songs of 2007, they left out dozens of key tracks and their ordering was fatally flawed. We're going to correct that, and make sure that the most important pieces of Wayne's prolific catalog aren't forgotten.

"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we'll post between 10 and 15 tracks--with mp3s and reviews--and on the Monday before C3 drops, we'll drop the top 10. So, starting from 80, Whatever's Good presents the C2C3 Countdown.

80. "Nuthin" f. Juelz Santana
Heard on New Orleans Nightmare Vol. 10 | Download

That this song ranks as number 80 on the countdown is a testament to the caliber of material Weezy has put out since The Carter II--this song is finds Wayne ripping the anchor verse for a good minute (and then some). Though the verse is characterized by great word association, the most impressive part is all the forced mispronunciation going on. Starting at about 2:18, Wayne will use a word or phrase and then immediately re-pronounce it in the subsequent line; just count how many times he says, "Damn I mean" or "I say/You say." If this is a gimmick, it's a great one. Lil Wayne's flow on this is infinitely listenable, plus, he's wylin' like Capital One, what is in your wallet? -bw

79. "I'm Ridin'"
Off Dirty Work 14 | Download

I'm not sure what I love about this song. Maybe it's the way Wayne dresses his vowels in tutu's and twists 'em around like ballerinas, or maybe it's becuase he just goes on and on without pause. Yeah I have ADD and need that constant interaction. Thanks Baby.


The lyrics in "I'm Ridin'" are nothing out of the ordinary for Wayne; nothing ground breaking here. Most of the lines are mediocre, so I won't quote, but that doesn't matter to me because Wayne's havin' a blast with this one and you can hear it. You can hear what separates him from most rappers: Wayne puts in work at the studio. Nothing is routine for him, and he's constantly doing everything he can to make himself better. Scratch that. He's doing everything he can to make himself the greatest. Dude has lofty aspirations. Count on it. -logic

78. "Dough is What I Got"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

Somehow this made Vibe's number two. On this list, however, "Dough is What I Got" comes in firmly at 78, and mostly because even Lil Wayne's flow couldn't erase the awful imprint that Jay-Z's voice left on the track. -bw

77. "Mic Check"
Heard on Bad Ass Grasshopper (The Introduction) | Download

One of Lil Wayne’s most notorious moments in 2007 came during an interview where he promised fans a new, genre-bending project to be known as “Bad Ass Grasshopper,” or B.A.G. After getting over the initial bit of wonderment—and letting out some laughter at the hilarious nature of the group—most fans were left scratching their heads: would Weezy actually go through with it?


Months later—to the astonishment of most rap pundits—the B.A.G. mixtape dropped. The first track (after a short intro) is “Mic Check,” a rolling, heavily distorted blend of hip-hop and space rock. Wayne doesn’t start the track off, however. In a brilliant musical move, he hangs back for the second verse, letting fans absorb more than a minute of music without any hint of his voice (not even a laugh, cackle or croak). The effect is stunning, especially seen in the full context of Bad Ass Grasshopper.

Wayne’s verse is on point: giraffes, rafts and paragraphs; hot water, the New World Order and Pearl Harbor—there’s something for everyone. Even though his verse is short, Weezy leaves an indelible mark on the track. -bw

76. "Upgrade"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

What hasn't been said about this song? Bitch holla, it is Lil Weezy--and he's bearing a ton, like Levy. Wayne's rendition of "Upgrade" is made wonderful by all the unforgettable (and asinine) lines: "Even deaf bitches say hi to me, she tell a blind bitch and she say 'I gotta see!'" After four minutes of ridiculous rhymes about everyone from Apollo Creed to Stevie Wonder and Michael Jordan, it's fair to say that if nothing else, Wayne upgraded the song. -bw

75. "One Day Up In M.I.A."
Heard on New Orleans Nightmare Vol. 2 | Download

With an equal distribution of Miami bass and N.O. bounce blips throughout, this is another all-Weezy several-track vocal demonstration. Verse verse verse chorus chorus verse…it's hard to tell and before you've sussed it out he switches into Little Haiti Wayne, raggae accent and all. It's a first-person narrative, a tour through the terrain, the context of the song itself. If rapping is based on image, Lil Wayne's got landscape like Renoir (that is to say, well populated, colorful, with the accuracy of impressionism). -JESS!CA

74. "Dipset 2
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

There's so many tracks that Wayne dropped in the last year and a half that we forgot about this berry. A four minute song, no chorus, just two ridiculously superb, and long, verses of words associating. Plus you can't beat the beat. But most important, he addresses the haters:




And I got the haters like, "When will he stop?"
Maybe a minute after never, set ya clocks

Set 'em Eskay. Set 'em.

Weezy is the best. Believe it. Back when people were using 'no homo' as often as Colgate, Weezy always used it proper:

No homo, my flow is hard as an erection
So that's why its fuck the world wit protection

I can't tell you how many times I've listened to Da Drought 3, but I can tell you we couldn't include every track from the free, double-disc album in the countdown. We wanted to. Get it if you haven't, bump it if you don't.

No shades just, my eyeballs watchin em
Tattoos on top of them, igloos for watches
And champagne for breakfast, and
Sports cars for lunch, and pussy for dinner
I eat rappers and call it pussy for dinner

Like I said, the Dude's always hungry. Rappers or beats, the tapeworm in his tummy eats 'em all. Anybody puttin' this much work in at the studio deserves a little more respect from the haters. I'm lookin at you, dissprey.-logic

73. "Hey Lil Mama" f. Vic Damone
Heard on Lil Wayne and Friends 3 | Download

Yeah, I've never heard of Vic Damone either, so feel free to skip his verse--we're here for Weezy. This song is pretty straightforward: one tremendous line after another. The best two bars? "Then we fuck like retards, that pussy hot, she gotta stick a hockey puck in her drawers / And I be Wayne Gretsky, take a bitch to South Beach and fuck her on a Jet Ski!" At first it looks irreverent, but the connection between hockey puck and Wayne Gretsky is unforgettable. Always irreverent and yet so practical: "It's Carter, the boss, and I don't like my dick sticky so take off that lip gloss!"-bw

72. "Get It On Wit Ya'll"
Heard on Lil Wayne and Friends 2 | Download

Whoa Weezy, I can spell it. You an O.G. Damn. And the master of the seamless transition from verse to chorus and back to verse, no doubt. But why do you gotta off Bill Nye?


And don't hate me for givin' Juliany some props here, but his flow fits and the verse is short enough for his Maddenism to work: "I'm the size of a mountain so bitch you can't move me." I've never seen a picture of this dude, but he's gotta be chubbier than Chris Rios.

Back to Weezy. His lines on this song seem more disconnected than usual, but at least he's got an explanation: it's just "organized confusion, amusin."

I'm glad to see that Wayne's staying versatile when it comes to gettin' fucked up. Going from "three blunts and a mai tai" to "no liquor, just painkillers and prometha, Young Eckerds" can get expensive, so it's a good thing the Dude's got more drugs than Walgreen's.

You seriously need access to Wikipedia to get all of Wayne's references.

Speaking of drugs, I'm hungry. And Weezy F is too, always:

I walk with a fork in my pocket, salt and pepper
feed me rappers or feed me beats,
and if you don't believe me then leave me be.

Til C3,-logic

71. "Ghetto Rich" f. Nas & Richboy
Heard on Ghetto Rich Remix 12" | Download

I really like tracks featuring Weezy, especially when he sets it off because then I can skip the shmucks. Nas ain't a shmuck though, so I like "Ghetto Rich." The beat's great. It's similar to the sentimental music that comes on during an emotional climax of some shitty action movie like Transformers and creates a false sense of empathy that massages gently at your heart--the finger kneading minus the happy ending. But we do get a happy ending with "Ghetto Rich," and a glorified ghetto life. I wanna make millions too Dwayne. And I never listen to cops. Nas brings us back to dirt with his indignant, don't-fuck-wit-me flow:



Then lames put the rap game in a casket slowly
Man I don't give a fuck, this is rap to me

I love you Nasir. And you too Dwayne.

It's a given, anytime my two favorite rappers (sorry Mase Gumble) come together, it's gonna be a hit. And neither disappoints on "Ghetto Rich." You gotta smoke a blunt to this, cuz from start to finish, this track burns hotter.-logic

If you'd like to download all ten tracks, they are available in a zip file. Enjoy!

Check back throughout the month for the rest of the countdown. We'll be updating once or twice every week until June 10th, when Carter III hits stores. If you've never left a comment on Whatever's Good, now might be a good time: if you hate Weezy or if you love him, let's hear it. We're always up to talk music.

This new track by Maino, "Hi Hater," is exactly what I needed to end the semester. This song has potential: can you imagine a club of people doing the yet-to-be-formulated, synchronized "Hi Hater" dance? Picture a lot of waving and sarcastic smiles.

Kanye's Glow in the Dark tour has been going exceptionally well: between forgetting where he's performing and storming offstage due to crippling technical difficulties, Ye has taken time to lash out at those critics that have suggested the tour was (gasp!) a little bit of a letdown:

Yo, anybody that's not a fan; don't come to my show. For what?! To try and throw ya'll two cents in? Ya'll rated my album shitty and now ya'll come to the show and give it a B+. What's a B+ mean? I'm an extremist. It's either pass or fail! A+ or F-! You know what, fuck you and the whole fucking staff!!!

That's just the beginning of a poorly punctuated rant directed at Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman. Apparently, Kanye is upset about this review, written after the opening night, which paints hip-hop's man of the moment as an uncompromising egoist:

For his headlining chunk of the Glow in the Dark Tour, Kanye West also takes fans on a galactic voyage, folding his hits into a wacked-out space opera that's the ultimate ego trip. Normally, that'd be an insult, but with West, who's made an art form out of dramatizing both humility and hubris, it's mission accomplished.

I'll cosign that statement, and if Kanye can't wrap his head around it, well that's his problem. Willman isn't saying anything we don't already know, and certainly nothing Kanye hasn't beat his fans over the head with hundreds of times. In album after self-aggrandizing album, Ye has lifted himself beyond genius to a point where expects all of us to think he is infallible. This cat honestly has a hubris great enough to make Caligula blush.

Eskay, Peter Rosenberg and Shake have all weighed in (generally positively) on Kanye's recent explosion. (And speaking of Kanye, he has a nice new track out with Young Jeezy, "Put On." I'm feelin' this joint, and not just because Jeezy proclaims that he "works for NASA.")

Other news: RZA's cover art for Digi Snax is dope! (Tracklist and tour info at 2dopeboyz.)

Swizz Beats is rapping (again), and it's still mediocre. Within the first few seconds of this song, Swizzy tells listeners that if they want to find him, "all you gotta do is Google 'where the cash at?'" Well, I took him to task on that one, and in fact, the great Google machine led me not to Swizz Beats, but to Lil Wayne. Even your favorite search engine knows what's up, haters!

This photo of Game and Suge Knight is intense. I'd love to hear some more backstory on these two dudes.

Welcome to the Winner's Circle, Curren$y's newest mixtape effort is available for your listening pleasure. I haven't bumped it yet, and if it turns out to suck shit, this is the last post Curren$y is going to see on Whatever's Good. I've liked the kid since hearing him rap with Wayne, but after his last mix, I feel like he's lost a lot of steam.

New Soulja Boy and Collipark, "She Gotta Donk." Is it embarrassing that I really enjoy all of Soulja Boy's videos? Even though a lot of Collipark's beats are derivative, the videos end up being entertaining: witness the HandiCam chase scene about halfway through the video. Soulja Boy is aieet with me.

Lil Wayne's been busy the past few days, too. First, there's "California Love" featuring Tyga, then there's Bun B and Weezy with "Damn I'm Cold." Finally, Wayne dropped a verse on the most recent DJ Khaled/Runners/Akon mega-track, "Out Here Grindin'." These three tracks have seemed to swing the mainsteam blogger's opinion of Wayne back to the positive side. There's also this "Not Guilty" freestyle, and the (rumored) Carter III tracklist. (Update: there's also two other Weezy tracks floating around the net today: "Me and My Drank" and "Haters"; say what you want, Wayne puts in work.)

One of my favorite rappers from ATL, Bohagon, has dropped a new track in preparation for a forthcoming album. I absolutely love this guy, and highly recommend the mixtape he did with Don Cannon a few summers back.

If you don't know about Santogold yet, you best read this Pitchfork review.

El-P remixed Kidz in the Hall's "Drivin' Down The Block" (which is #6 on MTV's TRL right now); DMX got arrested in AZ; Spank Rock is on a new track; Nas and The Roots covered Urb Magazine; David Banner tells the story of "The Fight"; and Sean Price & Buckshot teamed up with Kidz in the Hall for "The Pledge." Shit's poppin' off this week, huh?

Finally, hipster-hop backlash has made it to YouTube: bear witness to Tight Pants Wearin' Ass Nigga. (And if you're still following the whole Mazzi-Cool Kids-Jay Electronica thing, dude says "the experiment" is over. Whatever)

And as a bonus, here's my favorite track off the album that, unfrtounately, has no video: zShare - We're the Boyz

DJ Paul, Juicy J and Project Pat fucking rule, Memphis represent. The meta-reference to their own music at the end is classic.

Like Barack Obama said: it's time for a change.

Prodigy, one half of Mobb Deep, has been writing explosive rhymes for years. Who can forget his verse on "Shook Ones," or any tracks off The Infamous for that matter? Mobb Deep's first few albums were certified bangers, dark and gritty rap that set the benchmark for other acts looking to connect with the streets. Since then, Havoc and Prodigy fell off a bit musically, but with P's recent solo release, H.N.I.C. 2, it's clear that the man still has a lot on his mind.

"Fuck jewelry, fuck rims. Let's spend on our protection," is part of the chorus to "Real Power is People," a track that is on some deep conspiracy shit. In fact, if not paying close attention, Prodigy's second verse can slide right by on the strength of the beat. But taking more than a cursory look reveals that P is talking the shit that you'll be hard-pressed to find articulated anywhere else in the music industry.

I'll tell you a lil secret, it's a secret government that worship a owl / and practice witchcraft to harness they power / pedophiles rape little kids for energy / the satanic ritual: WTC (RIP) / They lit the Pentagon on fire / That's like lightin' a pentagram on fire / All these bodies for what? / So you can scare everybody in the one world, huh?

Yes, that lyric is about worship of a demon owl named Molech, among other cult practices that Prodigy is concerned about. This is the kind of verse that makes a reviewer pause to scratch his head: I've been a longtime listener of Mobb Deep, but even when Prodigy was at his most paranoid those early recordings never carried this degree of psychosis.

The track "Illuminati" finds Prodigy discussing his mental journey from the streets to illumination. Starting from psychoactives like DMT and peyote (drugs that often appear in discussions of the Illuminati) P explains, "America's fake, I was fast asleep, but now I'm wide awake / I was under the spell of king rule and reserve notes / religion and fashion, I used to be flashy / till I had a total recall, forgot what I knew / I took me 33 years, for me to see the truth."

So Prodigy is definitely on the conspiracy theory tip. The chorus to the aforementioned song? "Illuminati on my mind soul and my body, secret society's trying to keep they eye on me." A quick spin of H.N.I.C. 2 really leaves one wondering, just what is Prodigy talking about? Well, wonder no longer, because P has a guest blog up at Vibe (written from jail) that explains everything. Though Nah Right characterized the diatribe as one about freemasonry, Prodigy is actually worried about a different secret society, that (he says) kidnaps children for ritual sacrifice:

PEOPLE I’M SORRY TO SAY BUT 95% OF THESE MILLIONS OF MISSING CHILDREN ARE BEING USED AS A PART OF THESE ELITE SOCIETIES DEMONIC AND SATANIC RITUALS. THEY ARE BEING SEXUALLY MOLESTED BECAUSE IN THESE IN THESE SATANIC RITUALS WHEN THEY MOLEST A CHILD THEY’RE CONJURING UP A NEGATIVE ENERGY.

Prodigy is referring to the the Bohemian Grove secret society, a group that was recently infiltrated and filmed by Alex Jones. It's really phenomenal that Prodigy, the guy who produced some of the best street lyricism in the 90s, has become so enamored with conspiracy theories. I don't use the word 'enamored' lightly here: his post at Vibe--an all caps harangue with the occasional typo--is well-researched (as far as conspiracy theories go). Google some of the stuff he talks about, smoke a blunt, and try to wrap your head around it.

Whatever you think about Prodigy's new direction, his subject matter is some heavy shit--and that's more than most MCs out there can say right now. Peep the cover of Mobb Deep's last album, Blood Money--Prodigy was clearly already on the Illuminati shit at that time. What's interesting is that no one has really picked up on this yet, and none of this info on Prodigy has made it into his Wikipedia entry nor into the entry for H.N.I.C. 2. These are clearly the big themes to him, now.

Some of the reviews suggest that Prodigy contradicts himself repeatedly, and all the critics are generally dismissive of those tracks devoted to secret societies and the like. The thing is, after this most recent blog entry, I really think P is coming out of the closet on this shit. Consider the following:

WHEREVER THESE LINES CROSS, THE EARTH PRODUCES NATURAL ENERGY THAT SHOOTS UP AND DOWN IN A VORTEX OR DOUBLE HELIX SHAPE. JUST LIKE THE SHAPE OF DNA. (PEOPLE IF YOU RESEARCH YOU WILL LEARN.) THIS VORTEX OF ENERGY IS NATURAL AND CAN BE USED FOR POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE; DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU’RE DOING WITH IT.

MANY IMPORTANT STRUCTURES ARE BUILT ON THESE CROSSING GRID LINES. THIS NATURAL SOURCE OF ENERGY CAN ALSO BE USED TO POWER THE WORLD WITHOUT ELECTRICITY, NUCLEAR ENERGY, GAS, FUEL OR ANYTHING ELSE THEY’VE GOT TO ENSLAVE, POISON, AND OR MAKE PROFIT OFF US ALL. BUT THAT IS A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER DAY.

I think I might start sending P some mail. He's got a ton of shit to talk about--I'd really love to hear his entire story. At the very least I hope he continues blogging, it's a pleasure to read this stuff. I'm excited to see what he has to say next.

First and foremost, the cops who killed Sean Bell have been acquitted. I'm not the only one calling bullshit on this: rappers from David Banner to Immortal Technique and The Game have sounded off. Shake at 2dopeboyz has a great list of everything that's been put down on wax since the verdict came in. I echo his sentiments, and would like to ask everyone the same question he poses in the post title: will we do more than talk?

Rick Ross is the most ridiculous rapper in the game; bear witness this recent clip of the bearded grizzly man literally burning money. Oh, and he's shirtless, which seems to be a trend of late. Let's hope it continues.

Esco recently sat down with KING magazine and chopped it up about his legacy, his fans, and the standards he's held up to.

Do your longtime fans have unrealistic standards for you? I like to hear somebody else say it, ’cause I know I’m not crazy. Yeah, man, I got the craziest, most hard-core fans in the game, and I love them, man. I’m human and I show you that. I wear that on my sleeve. I’m honest to a fault most of the time. And if they hear you being honest about one thing, they think that’s all you are. Then you might touch on something else, and it’s, “Hey, what’s going on?” And they don’t really know. It’s like, I’m here recording, giving you guys a piece of me. I’m giving motherfuckers little bits and pieces of me.

As a Nas stan myself, I have to say that he typically lives up to my standards, and though some of his releases in the early 2000's were lukewarm, he never failed. Nas is still on top of the game and the trendsetter that everyone is looking to in the wake of Hov's increasing irrelevance. Props to eskay for the link. Also, checkout part 2 of the interview.

On the mixtape side of things, Crooked I & Jay-Z, "Reserved for the Bosses" dropped. If you're sleeping on Crooked I you're missing one hell of a show. As shake points out, Crooked I just won the Best West Coast Mixtape Artist award at the 11th Annual Mixtape Awards, and has been dropping mixtapes left and right. Gotta love an artist who ain't afraid to work.

Peep this: Lil Kim's Bentley gets repossessed, on video. Enjoy the schadenfreude.

Finally, it looks like hipster rap has become the crux of some beef. Mazzi of Soul Purpose put together a track dissing both Jay Electronica and the Cool Kids. I know, what's the big deal, right? I suppose it is best described as a hipster-hop backlash from the underground, where some acts are just salivating for a slice of commercial success. In the words of Mazzi:

The Cool Kids (Hipster Hop heroes aswell)?! Where do I begin?! Aside from their 1/2 ass rhymes, & “I’m trying too hard” subject matter, it’s quite obvious that they have GIMMICK written all over them! They took a golden cherished era, put it through a ringer, warped it, twisted it, & call it their own?! They had the nerve to say they were original! Ninja PLEASE! They not even flippin’ it right! They woulda’ been herbs back in the day (as they are now)! First Chuck Inglish is from Chicago…then Detroit… Which one is it bro??? Those tite jeans on that other dude gotta go too!

Ouch. Thanks to Miss Info for the, ahem, info. I have to say I'm not surprised at this. It was only a matter of time before someone came out and got on the hipster rappers for some little quibble--as every MC knows, if you aren't getting enough publicity, start some beef over anything, even ankle hugging jeans. It works for both the Cool Kids and Mazzi simultaneously. If enough people get on this bandwagon, I think we'll see hipster rap separated as a real, independent subgenre of hip-hop itself. Obviously, some people within the rap industry see acts like Mickey Factz and the Cool Kids as different enough to be lumped together for a diss--if enough main players cosign this, "hipster-hop" might emerge, no matter how distasteful the title happens to be.

That's all for today. Back to stressing over the last week of the semester. On the bright side, I'll be spending my summer in Los Angeles, just in time for L.A.X. Sweet.

I mean, come on! She's barely 18 and she's ripping it up like this? I can't wait to see where she ends up. And while I would prefer that you went out and bought her album, I'll note that it may be possibly to grab it for free.

The authentic street shots, filmed from a car driving through Bun B's home of Port Arthur, really make this video pop. You can tell that half of the guys caught on camera are real dudes from the city chuckin' up a deuce in mad respect. Also, you have to love the Bun B tour bus, the UGK graf mural, and the "Smart Is the New Gangsta" black-tee. II Trill is shaping up to be a stellar fucking album.

The next, almost equally important video, comes from Gilla House's Icadon. "Cock Back (Dump A Clip)" appears on its face to be a shoot-em-up track that has gone way over the top: witness the chicks in bikinis firing automatic weapons, donut-spinning in European supercars, and the stoned gun-waving. At the end of the video, though, Icadon does something unexpected. The title, "Introducing: Back To Real Life (Rap Life Is Fake)," pops up, and then Icadon gives a short interview about how a Discovery Channel show on gun violence changed his perception of firearms. I'm not sure what the takeaway is from this whole thing, but I generally like it and think I respect Icadon.

The other big deal this week in rap videos is of course Kidz in the Hall with hip-hop's newest reimagining of the Beastie Boy's classic, "Sabotage." The hit, "Drivin' Down the Block" could have taken any form as a video, but somehow Naledge and Double-O settled on a tongue-in-cheek used car commercial for their theme. Hipsters and nervous white people are feeling great about this video. It's everything the borderline rap fan wants: hipster kitsch with bleeding edge beats. That's what its all about, right? (No disrespect though, song is hot.)

And then there's this: Keak Da Sneak, "That Go (Remix) f. Prodigy and Alchemist," What a fucking beat on this thing. The video is nothing really, just low budget nonsense, but the song is hot as hell, and Keak Da Sneak actually sounds decent. Pay attention to his voice, it's freaky. If he moves over to these darker, sparser beats, he might have a chance at the mainstream.

Hot Dollar comes hard with "I Luv Tha Streets." The short intro, full of mean mugs and guns, represents the video to be something grimier than it actually is. The beat is a soft, spaced out loop that seems inappropriate with all of the gun imagery. Yet somehow, the scene--Hot Dollar and his sign-flashing comrades parading around with guns--comes out feeling eerie and eulogistic. The best part of this video must be the final 2 minutes of local gang-member cameos. WG fucks with Hot Dollar for sure, been down since "Streez on Lock."

Last but not least is R. Kelly and his most recent hit/style change, "Hairbrader." I can't say that I'm feeling the song, but Kels and the director must have had fun getting bent and experimenting with studio lighting. Just to be clear, I love the new hairstyle. R. Kelly is an icon; let the haters keep on hating.

Finally, Prodigy put out four videos this week. Seems efficient enough to me--if you're headed in for a bid, why not film some shit for your forthcoming album? H.N.I.C 2 is a winner, by the way. P comes hard and sounds a lot like his old self. I'm keeping this one in mind for year-end lists.

Update: Yeah, I left off the most recent vid by the Roots, as well as B.O.B. and Rich Boy's "Haterz Everywhere." The beat for that song definitely reminds me of the stuff Wiz Khalifa has been spitting over lately: heavily influenced by trance. A new rap subgenre emerging, perhaps?

While it seems like we might still live in that time, if I would just boogie over to another country. Last night a friend and I checked out Planet B-Boy, a movie I enjoyed the hell out of. It follows five teams--two from South Korea, one from the States, one from France, and one from Japan, as they prepared for the Battle of the Year competition in Germany. There's a lot of good dancing and reflections on the international appeal of hip-hop and then there is more awesome dancing. Plus good characterization, long-standing country rivalries, and even more awesome dancing. If it happens to be playing anywhere you are go see it.