Who Won This Game Of Darts?

Help me figure this one out, because I have been seeing this argument on the 'net for months, and a lot of the reasoning and emotional attachments deviate totally from what transpired.

50 responded to the line in 'Mafia Music' about the baby moms, whom 50 just had a recent heated court battle at the time, with 'Officer Down'. Mediocre at it's best, Ross stated 50 had to respond with something better than that within 48 hours. So 50 did, and dug up Rick Ross' (pending name of course) baby mom and showed her to the world, giving her a voice as a scorned partner with dirt to dish on the Miami rapper. Not a good look for ANY man.

Ross' retort was the 1st of his three 30 second "disses" compounded with other moves made by both sides. The 'Gang Related' video was good enough to score a deal for the Triple C's group, but the darts weren't pointy enough. The 'I'll Be The Shooter' G-Unit vid, which helped them promote a video game, was just as dull.

To me it's stalemate at that moment in the "beef". But when the 2nd 30 second diss song comes out, and Ross starts a viral campaign on WSHH with the vlogs, 50 creates 'Pimpin' Curly' to equal the 'net presence, using one of Ross' diss monikers to his advantage. Then Lloyd Banks releases 'Officer Down', which was a good diss song to re-spotlight Banks as a solo soldier. Now if this was all about the music like many of y'all have said, why didn't Ross respond to this one, specifically? He couldn't have created a strong verse over 'Yacht Music' to get at Banks? Yayo & Gunplay would have been a good battle though, bosses are supposed to stay in the war room while the soldiers fight.

I will skip over the Ross filming himself in NY and the Bronx fiasco (which kinda held Torch back), as well as the Khaled mom's sleeping vid, the Trick Daddy diss song, the "Time To Make A Movie!", the harlequin who was doing the videos with the paper face chain, and the LV/XXL snafu. But I will say, in that skirmish of slander, 50 clearly won that round. Anyone one with a brain could tell Domination & Smurf had nothing to gain being in front of the camera at that time. Game is the one who kept MM2 from being epic. It was a wound, but not like this, cause son dropped these names (and he still ain't respond to Busta).

* Busta ended Ja, and the rain splashing & that 'Snorty' Brown rooftop video/collab/connect. *

After the last 30 second Ross snippet, 50 dropped 'Tia Told Me', which he should have did a video for, especially since 50 was filming video episodes and getting a handle on the new camera equipment. IMHO, that would have really hurt Ross. All Ross had left was DTR, which was the SOLE reason this all started in the 1st place. PROMOTION. Wasn't Ross promoting a DTR movie as well? What happened to that?

Understand these guys never said "let's battle with albums", like the Kanye scenario. Did Ross have a better album? I like 'Rich Off Cocaine', and I like 'Strong Enough'. I never advocated these guys' careers before so in no way was/am I biased. Don't be foolish, of course I've previously heard their music. Both of these guys have skip songs on their last projects. This "beef" was a smear campaign battle based on a marketing strategy, and Ross lost it, because it didn't create the epic response that required such an expense. Ross is lucky someone buzzed in his ear to retract the Eminem proposition, because you knew Em was gonna chop his head off (and I bet you Ross is glad he did). 'Warning' could have been a Ross epilogue, easy.

Did you all realize I left out the C.O. talk, the street cred, the sales numbers, the money, the 50 hate?

So what did Ross win? The right to rock with Puff? Look at this again, family. Do you see what I see? There's a connection there that baffles me, all there affect or have had (?) an effect on Ross.

Cats will always wanna hang around and blood-suck your shine when you get the attention in this game. If you don't believe me think about the BET show when Puff came out doing his verse to Waka's song, but Waka can't get a microphone to do his big hit's chorus, which is less than 30 seconds.

For all of y'all crying about "nobody wanna hear that old head, 80s-90s music", Ross' music is embodied with all of those things y'all say you don't like. Listen again.

And for y'all saying "It's Entertainment", well Tom Cruise is an ACTOR, and he just put out a very entertaining movie. But everybody only remembers him jumping/ACTING on Harpo's couch.

The media won, because they told/tell you who you should like.

Please make sure your darts are sharp before you throw them.

And don't worry, I'm still waiting for 50 to respond to this. And this.

Read More

BREAK BEAT TUESDAY

i'm very pleased to introduce to those of you who may not know the baw, my man, Cosmo Baker. he's a world class and world-wide known DJ. (read his resume on his site. thorobreds dont name drop). he also happens to be my home boy. we met gettin it in on the graffiti tip (hence BBOY Cult), and of course, music was an extension of that. i spent MANY days over my man's crib goin thru records, and even more days askin him to make me a tape.(hope i didnt date myself). you know a tape is the shit when it changes a woman's perspective of you and she gives you the gushie. thats what i couple of his joints did for me. i remember one chick was like the tape opened her up to a whole 'nother world. no bullshit. cause it made her seek out other open ears, and she found out that these people are usually artsist or into interesting stuff. that led her to different outings and events other than her Badlands (North Philly) upbringing. she thanked me by givin me the gushie. i never thanked Cosmo for his assistance with slicin that tender piece of Puerto Rican poyo, and i probably never will. but i will give him all the credit in the world for being one of the best record selectors on the planet. no homeboy. (get it? like no homo? aww, forget it...)

without further ado, please welcome DJ Cosmo Baker this and every Tues (i know it aint Tues... he just said agreed like 30 minutes ago) for Breakbeat Tuesday. Music lives!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Sometimes you hear something that instantly connects with you and there's no way of putting it into words. So you'll just have to listen. This past Thursday I did a show in Atlanta with my dudes Kon & Amir and the homie Injex from Sound Table. The night was over and I was standing in the back yard when I heard a song coming through the crack of the door that was so beautiful and haunting that I immediately had to rush in and see who it was. Injex was on the decks just playing 45s after hours and I walked in the booth like "Yo son what the eff is this?" The record was just ending at the time and, at the same time I was walking up, both the bartender and the last dancer on the floor simultaneously walked up, all three of us individually demanding to know what the record was. He showed me the 45 and it was so on. The next day in my hotel room in Montreal I was able to get a copy online (from the homie James Pants as a matter of fact!)




It was The Three Degrees. This is like a record that I should have known, but I didn't. Sometimes things fall through the cracks and you miss joints, and this is one of them. The Three Degrees are a female vocal group from Philly and pretty much the "first ladies" of the TSOP organization. Mostly known for their songs "When Will I See You Again" and "The Sound Of Philadelphia" they went through a few variations of their lineup throughout the years but regardless of the members they always had one of the most distinctive vocal stylings of all time. Like top schitt, eclipsing many of the more notable and supreme names in music history in my opinion.



This song came from their first album which predates TSOP, the 1970 "Maybe" release on Morris Levy's Roulette imprint. The album was helmed by Philly producer Richard Barrett, who decided to lead the girls debut record off with an album cut buried deep on the first album by Cleveland rock outfit James Gang, "Y'er Album"



The song was written by the great Joe Walsh and honestly, even though I have "Y'er Album" I never picked up on this cut, probably gravitating towards some of the more drum-laden tracks. But listening to the remake made me realize how incredible of a song it is. However I definitely feel as though the original is eclipsed by the remake, with Barrett's orchestration being so lush and rich but never heavy-handed, coupled with absolutely perfect harmonies. This song floors me. It's flooring me right now as I type while I listen to it.




The Three Degrees "Collage" (Roulette, 1970)

Okay just want to be clear here, Breakbeat Tuesday isn't just about "breakbeats" and whatnot, it's just about joints and heavy tunes. But since I know a bunch of 3folks out there like their drums and breaks and whatnot, here's a joint from the first James Gang album that fits the bill.




James Gang "Funk #48" (Bluesway, 1969)


"Wintertime is a razor blade, that the devil made, it's the price we paid for the summertime." - Hope you are enjoying your summer... - C
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

for more from Cosmo, please click the post title and go to his site for his club dates, free mixes, and mixtapes of some of the best music you have yet to discover. and i am not bullshittin. i select myself, and the baw is ill to ME. and, as you all know, i have a real healthy opinion of me...

Read More

YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN...

this is a repost from like '08. im repostin it because i was over at Cosmo Baker's site, and he just recently posted about this band. he almost makes the same exact points i did almost 2 years ago. great minds think like mine. and if u dont know who he is, i dont think you really experienced music in a live setting with a dj yet. 'specially if u really love MUSIC. this excludes you rap fans. cause fuck what yall say, most of this shit is pop music now....


i wanna put yall up on some shit. now, i know some of yall may know who i'm talkin' 'bout. for those that don't, after today you won't. today we gon' deal with some schoolin'/sharin' 'bout one of THE tightest bands of the 70s, The New Birth.

i mean we all know Earth, Wind and Fire was perhaps one of the top 3 bands of the 70s (Queen and Led Zepplin have to round that list off), and definitely THE top band as far as soul music goes, but this band right here?... just as tight as EWF if you ask me. i'm a big fan of the bass, and the baw Leroy Taylor was no joke. he had a real controlled way of playin' and you can really hear the precise fingering that he applied to his instrument. another favorite of mine in this group is Robin Russel on drums. his kick drum rolls were crazy. and he had a very profound sense of timing, whereas which drum he chose to hit actually helped the emotional mood in the song. shit, the whole rhythm section is tight as Omarion's jeans. and of course, Leslie Wilson, is the voice that sets it off. i mean, dude has a way of combining power and tenderness in the same song, sometimes the same line. and as a producer myself, how the fuck can i leave out Harvey Fuqua, the man that harnessed the talent and directed the energy. if the name sounds familiar, it's because he used to get down with The Gordy Gang up at Motown. but credentials aside (some of the original band went on to actually play with EWF, feel THAT), it's the MUSIC that makes this band the shit to me.

i had to put this song on here, because i know a lot of yall haven't heard it. it's called "Got To Get A Knutt", and it means exactly what you think it means. but check the approach. it's almost like a performance art piece. dig the arrangements and the changes in mood and climate. it changes just like the mood changes when you fuckin'. i mean a good fuck, when you laugh and growl and cuss and pound and long stroke. that's what this song is. it's that shit. 'cause i said so.




now i couldn't be the pimp that i am without puttin' this in the mix. "Wildflower" for me is THE greatest love song of all time. check the lyrics; even tho' this is a remake (didn't know that didya? it was originally done by a Canadian group called Skylark), still my man Leslie Wilson lettin' her story be known, she ain't had it easy and on that note she deserves respect and space and understanding. "let her cry, she's a lady..."

for me the arrangement of this song is pure genius in it's execution of emotional texture with sound. the vocal arrangement, the string arrangement, the song arrangement, the horn arrangement, all of it, perfect. it absolutely blows the original to shreds and makes the original seem like a weak attempt at performing itself. as a producer, it is my goal to make a song that contains this much emotion contained in such an elegant and seamless rendering. i really mean that.

now that i done bust my geek off, let's get to some nigga shit. this song is THE gushie getter. it's almost seven minutes long; long enuff to get them clothes off, jack. and if she hesitate, it got the perfect bit of game in the middle. don't be a dickhead and SAY what he sayin'... LIP SINK the words. it'll put her into a mode of fantasy. but YOU gotta look like you mean it tho'. and i know you do. at least 'til you get the gushie. and don't put this in your mix first. put it in the middle. cause if you already hittin' and THIS COME ON? you better fuck her big dick style. and for those who don't know, when your dick is big, you tend to dig deep, not rabbit fuck all the time; ask me how i know... LADIES ONLY, tho...
but ladies, yall wanna feel something in that moment right? not just the physical. even if he is the one hit and quit, he might be the second round get down if he good enough, right? that's all about how he make you FEEL. ain't that right ladies? and now, let me turn down the lights, touch you like i knew your thoughts, hold you tight like ab muscles and be your bridge over troubled waters...


`
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS I JUST CAME ACROSS ON COSMO'S SITE.

check out my my man Leslie Wilson's performance as a lead singer. he dont have to dance around like a minstrel to make you feel him. or to be entertaining. those dudes back in the day swayed to whole different cool. they looked like they meant it. and they didnt do a whole lot of beggin. get up on game....

Read More

T2LF

Watch it for yourselves. I'm not even gonna go in on your music and persona Lil' B. That picture above demands that you take that 'L' fam.

Honorable mention:


Pic lifted from nahright.

Where's the gay pr0n rapper, tough guy talk Ross? Lloyd Banks is right in front of you. And where are the jewels, Ricky Rozay (sounds like a gay pr0n rap moniker)? Gotti's successor should be good money in New Jersey, no?

SMDH at these new rap dudes.

Read More

Kibblez & Bitz

^ The universe is on line one...

That umpire who f^Xed up the no-hitter last nite lives 3 blocks away from me! TV & radio vans are all over the place. The whole family is getting death threats. A big F U to Bud Selig for not overturning the results, I'm pretty sure Cleveland would have taken the 'L' under the circumstances.

Raekwon's 'Cocainism Vol 2' mixtape is lava rocks.

Black Rob's post jail catalog>Shyne's post jail catalog

And I'm rooting for Shyne. Seems more and more like that contract was a check for services rendered.

What does the sun look like? It's been raining here for 26 days straight. Good thing for turkey bags ya know?

NaS & Damien get busy live.

I'ma leave y'all with some vintage footage of the team. RIP to the homie Devious.



Of course I'm in it and there. I actually forgot I had that bike shirt.

Read More

$ykotic Quickstrike:Y+T2LF

I have always been taught that this letter is meant to justify. Many parents do not realize that they lose their kids when they cannot answer the questions of wh(Y). It's also one of the most frequently asked questions of all mankind through it's existence.

One of the youngin's hung out with me the whole weekend to help clean up the farm. Sat back and smelled nature and got his head right. Son is signed to a major recording label. Thirsty as hell, frustrated like a mufukka. I'm like "OK, more free consulting".

I start playing dart specialist.

Wh(Y) do you wanna be a rapper? For what? Music or the money? You're barely pulling in most states' minimum wage for a year. Your a constant target of jealousy and a glutton for punishment when it concerns the media. That 10 carat casting your chain has looks terrible in the sun, a bad investment. What is the marketing strategy concerning the project? Is there even a project? Anticipated project even? Let me hear the music...that's it? Where are the songs? These sound like freestyle sessions. People ain't gonna listen if they can't relate yo. You trying to make music that gets played on the block or music that gets played at the Grand Prix in Monaco (this, what I said, is a large extremity. One must choose where they fit into this spectrum of artists and musicians. Your music presentation should also reflect your placement, for if it doesn't, you will cease to exist. Per se, DMX cannot do R&B.)?

If you didn't even have a clue as to what I just said homie, wh(Y) did you even sign a deal? What fame and appreciation has it gotten you? Do you even have the thick skin to battle the fickle media circus to promote yourself? The strength to battle them REAL haters, who try to set you up as the lick? This is probably your first REAL girlfriend, you wouldn't survive a dosage of groupie love. You'd be either baby-daddyful or herpes-ed up. I bet you ten bucks you can't tell me 10 words that were most frequently used in that contract.

Hopefully I sparked a mental by throwing so many questions (you could actually vision a (Y) as a dart). He said yeah, so now it's on him to reflect the light given to him through his actions, then we'll have a clearer view of his success, which likely wasn't probable if he didn't get the $ykotic Quickstrike.

So after dealing with that, I come home to this crap about this Kat chick. Wh(Y) do we have so many solutions to what should have been done during that scenario, but we have NO SOLUTIONS on how we can save that Gulf region?

Raise your hand if you can fly a helicopter or plane. Because NONE of us have a plan on how to save our WATER & FOOD. None of us know how to maintain a marsh, very few know how to maintain a lawn, fewer know how to keep a simple plant. None of us are in those offices overseeing power moves. None of us have big boats or ways of refrigerated distribution to help quell the future high prices that will reflect the magnitude of this crisis.

* Did y'all cop that water bottle yet? May need it now... *

But we know what Kat Stacks is going through. Wh(Y) is this even a blip on our radar?

Our whole social equality takes the 'L' for this one. We ain't done not a cotdamn thing except play tiddlywinks. This is some SAD sh^t.

Read More

LATE FOR CLASS

DOWNLOAD HERE.

yo, i may be a lil late with this, but the shit is fly anyway. and maybe some of yall aint up on it either.

this is a compilation that was compiled by the baw Kevin Nottingham at Kevin Nottingham.com. the baw is fly wit his. and all i got to say to $yk and Grands is, how yall let me fo'get to shout him out?

this is a peek at 'Ye when he was a challenger of the material and the perception of the mainstream. or what has placement there. his lines are expertly crafted and the music is creative and linear. sound quality might not be the best, but it sure aint the worst. only a bit of distortion in the vocals in a few places. shiiiit, i might master it, and send it back to Mr. Nottingham for re-issue! lol! wait... u know what....

Read More