What Ever Happened to Rapper Beef?

Feuds are a staple of rap. Violence, boasts, and narcissism has historically lead to rappers beefing with other rappers. Beef came from competition, threats, and broken promises/misunderstandings. While it may seem like a hindrance, beef has historically produced gold. Nas and Jay-Z's beef gave birth to the best diss track ever, "Ether", followed by "The Bitch in Yoo", Common's diss to Ice Cube. Kanye West's feud with 50 Cent led to largely publicized album releases, which boosted both of their sales. And the beef between the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac epitomizes the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry of the 90's.

But where is beef now? Since Jay-Z and Nas squashed their beef in 2005, there seems to be little feuds of any importance. Of course, there are still vendettas between rappers, but this is often between less successful rappers vying for attention, or related to rival gang allegiances. Rappers today seem to be more eager to squash even rumored beefs, than to carry them on. There are few publicized feuds I can think of this year. Jay-Z (again) traded small-time shots at Drake for the past year, but it hasn't amounted to anything yet. Freddie Gibbs dropped "Real", which attacked his ex-labelmate Jeezy, but Jeezy downplayed and quite frankly squashed the beef with "Holy Ghost". The quasi-beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake (again) seemed to have the most potential, but it never really had much of a basis, and was mostly kept alive by the media. "Control" seemed like it could reignite feud-culture, but in my opinion didn't really create much change. The only people who responded were usually unknown rappers, and after about a month no one cared much about the verse. Also, Lamar wasn't really calling anyone out, since every single rapper he named he had previously worked with, and virtually all of them took no offense to the verse.

Many people cite the 1990's as the "golden age" of hip hop, partly due to the competitive nature of prevalent feuds. But the age of feuds seems to have ended, but I think a new era is upon us. Lately, the number of collaborative tracks, mixtapes, and albums has increased significantly. While feuds create rivalry that promotes more quality music, the absence of feuds allow for rappers to work together like never before. There seems to be very little regional conflict anymore, so you see rappers from the East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and the South all working together, which hasn't happened on a large scale for years. And the sheer number of new rappers on their come up leads to increased competition. The rise of collaboration may lead to a whole new golden age of hip-hop.  

Watch Logic's Insane New Music Video for "Under Pressure"

Logic unveiled the title track of his debut album Under Pressure a few weeks ago, and today he released a music video for the song. And wow, it is crazy. The video is entirely shot via first person view, and feels like you're playing a video game. Logic and his pals don masks and gloves, and begin a robbery/mass murdering spree through an apartment block. I honestly don't know why Logic used this for his first video, since you never see Logic rapping, or anything really connected to hip-hop at all. But, the video is still awesome, since it feels like you're actually in a video game. Watch the crazy video here, and don't forget to grab Logic's album when it drops on 10/21.

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Vince Staples is Bringing Back True Street Hip-Hop

For never having released an official album yet, Vince Staples has had a fairly large music career so far. Starting when he was only 16, Staples connected with Earl Sweatshirt on his infamous first mixtape, and stayed connected to Odd Future for a few years. He also formed a collective with Joey Fatts and Ashton Matthews, called Cutthroat Boyz. He's worked closely with TDE and Mac Miller, and has been featured by Jhene Aiko and Common. And today, he dropped his first ever for-sale project: Hell Can Wait.

The Long Beach native didn't really gain a lot of popularity until last year, with his Mac Miller-produced mixtape Stolen Youth. Earlier this year, Staples released Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2, which was produced mostly by No I.D. This was one of the best projects so far, and Staples just one-upped himself on Hell Can Wait. This is one of the realest rap projects released so far. Staples grew up poor, surrounded by and taking part in gangs. Staples raps viciously and frantically about these issues, and tells them truthfully. You aren't gonna hear boasts of nice cars or shout-outs to expensive clothing brands. You hear about fiends knocking on Staples's door begging for a fix, and hearing gun shots from his door steps, and threats thrown at rival gangs. Staples paints a vivid picture of Long Beach, surrounded by violent gangs, violent fiends, and violent police. He isn't making an album filled with radio-friendly hooks and choruses, but focuses on graphic story-telling with addictive production.

There isn't a single bad song on the seven-track EP. Whether is be the slow, creeping "Screen Door", the melodic "Limos", or the anthem-like "Feeling the Love", each song contains a hooking narrative and a catchy beat. For instance, on the song "Hands Up", Staples responds to recent police brutality with a poignant tribute to slain victims. At the same time, he blends in brooding production that makes you want to chant with Staples that "LAPD, no they ain't got shit!".

The only criticism I can give on this EP is that at times, Staples's voice can be a bit monotone. But his hurried pace matches well with the subjects and production on the EP, especially on "Blue Suede". I would also love to hear Staples collaborate with more artists, since his work on Nobody's Smiling was phenomenal. Staples raw street storytelling feels similar to Kendrick Lamar and Nas. Make sure you cop Hell Can Wait.

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Review: Childish Gambino's New Project is...Interesting

Childish Gambino has had a big year so far. He dropped Because the Internet, and has been preforming at a multitude of festivals this summer. He's been teasing his fans that he'd be dropping a new project for the last few months, as long as saying he's working on an EP with Chance the Rapper (but that won't be out anytime soon).  Bino explained that his new project was split into two parts, the first is called STN MTN, and it's a Gangsta Grillz mixtape, while the second part is entitled Kauai, and it's an EP, and all the proceeds go to beautification projects in Kauai. Two days ago, Gambino released STN MTN completely out of the blue, and the next day dropped Kauai. And they're both pretty weird.

STN MTN can be found at the bottom of Childish Gambino's unique blog. The mixtape opens with Gambino talking about a dream he had, where he controlled a bunch of Atlanta specific things, like local record labels and radio stations. He then says he dreamed that he had a Gangsta Grillz mixtape. And then the rest of the mixtape is just that: an Atlanta-themed Gangsta Grillz mixtape. It's basically 11 songs of trap-heavy production from Grillz and other ATL producers, with Gambino rapping the entire time. And it doesn't blend very well. The beats would blend perfectly with Future or 2 Chainz,  but not at all with Bino. It just sounds really awkward to hear Bino's high voice rapping about the same stuff that Migos raps about. And having each song introduced by Grillz talking is horrendous. There are some okay songs, like "No Fucks Given" and "U Don't Have To Call", but there's also a two minute commercial of a promoter yelling about a Childish Gambino show in Atlanta. I think that Gambino was trying to be a more regional rapper on this mixtape, although I personally believe a rappers should move past regional rapping, but there are a lot of times that the songs just seem like a joke. With so much attention on the Atlanta rap scene now, I think Gambino was trying to remind everyone that he grew up there too. He summarizes the objective of this mixtape in "U Don't Have to Call": "I was never a thug and they used to respect me for it, but now the game's fucked up and I gotta Micheal Coreleone these niggas". Or, this whole mixtape could just be a joke to Gambino.

Kauai is a completely different story. The EP contains lovely, floating instrumentation with Gambino singing for most of the EP. It truly sounds like being on a beach. Some of the production sounds reminiscent of 80's pop music, but with a contemporary twist. Rapping is sparse in this EP; instead Bino sings in the majority of the songs. Kauai is not without it's odd elements either. One song contain Jaden Smith somewhat rapping. Yes, Jaden Smith. That guy with the horrendously "deep" tweets. Smith is supposedly portraying "the Boy", who was the main character in Bino's screenplay.

STN MTN feels like a bad continuation of R O Y A L T Y , while Kauai feels more similar to Because the Internet. While the mixtape and the EP sound completely different, they are supposed to go into each other, and they both feature some of the same subjects: women, success, insecurities. I appreciate that Gambino is trying something different, but as the saying goes: "Don't fix something that isn't broken".

Listen to A$AP Rocky's newest song "Multiply"

Well, the countdown was revealed. Yesterday at midnight, Lord Flacko Jodye II, aka A$AP Rocky (I don't understand what his name means at all), dropped a new music video. "Multiply" is his newest single for his new album, which will be out sometime this year hopefully. It's a great song, but the video says that the song features Juicy J, yet he only speaks in the background for a small amount of time. The video shows the whole A$AP Mob gooning in the streets. They beat up some white kid that looks like Eminem, ride a bunch of bikes, and flick off the camera a lot. Hopefully, there will be more news coming soon about Rocky's sophomore album. 

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Who is BJ The Chicago Kid?

The Chicago music scene has been buzzing lately. While Los Angeles, New York, and more recently Atlanta have all been giant rap hubs, Chicago has been on the come up recently. After spawning legends like Kanye West, Common, and Twista, a multitude of new rappers have been getting the spotlight in the last few years. Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Rockie Fresh, are all talented spitters from Chitown, all without even an album out yet but major national attention. Additionally, a new genre of street rap has been born in "Chiraq": drill music, which is headlined by artists such as Chief Keef, Lil Durk, Fredo Santana, and Young Chop. But very little attention is on the singers of Chicago, and one of the newest and best out of the city is BJ the Chicago Kid. There is a very good chance you have heard him at some point. He's been featured on tracks with Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T., Ab-Soul, Ty Dolla $ign, Jay Rock, Vic Mensa, Freddie Gibbs, Chance the Rapper, and most recently, ScHoolboy Q's overly blatant sexual single. But who is this guy? In short, what Joey Bada$$ has been doing for classic East Coast rap, BJ is doing for old school Motown music. He blends hip hop elements with beautiful harmonies and slow, instrument-driven production.

But BJ The Chicago Kid is more than just a feature artist. His online-only album, Pineapple Now-Laters was one of the best albums of 2012, and included a moving story on "His Pain II" with Kendrick Lamar. One way that BJ separates himself from other R&B artists is his perspective on women. He doesn't call them "bitches", but instead croons about their love, beauty, and perfection. BJ falls closer on the spectrum to John Legend than the Weeknd or Ty Dolla $ign. BJ the Chicago said last year that he was gearing up to release a proper debut album, through Motown Records, actually. And in the last month, he has unexpectedly dropped six individual songs. Most sound like the gorgeously crafted tracks BJ crafted on Pineapple Now-Laters, but a few, such as "Go Girl" seem a bit too poppy, and sound somewhat tacky and cliche. All the songs are free, and can be found on www.bjtck.com. Keep a look out for BJ The Chicago Kid's debut, and definitely don't sleep on the Chicago crooner.

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Sorry Everybody, Tupac is Probably Dead

On September 7th, 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times on a Las Vegas road, and died a few days later. For most of his fans, that was the end of the road. The king of West Coast rap was dead, and few people would ever be able to match his prowess. But, some people believed, and still do believe that Tupac is alive. No one was caught for the murder, and Tupac's remains were cremated, which led many to believe that he wasn't dead at all. There have been reported sightings of Tupac in South Africa, and even in other rappers' music videos. Even Suge Knight, who was in the car with Tupac when it was shot up, claims that he's still alive. But one of the most interesting theories is the Makaveli Theory. Tupac changed his rap name to "Makaveli" for his last album, and many believe that this is a sign that he's still alive. The real Makaveli, author of The Prince, suggested that faking one's death is good move to gain power, and Makaveli did this, and then revealed himself eighteen years later. Many theorists believe that Tupac would do the same, and reveal that he has been alive for the last eighteen years. This September marked eighteen years since Tupac's death, but as far as I'm aware of, Tupac didn't return. This seems like the final nail in the Tupac conspiracy's coffin. Sorry everyone, but it's October 1st, and Tupac hasn't returned.