JumpinJack AJ

I waz outta town 2day and driving back home (from PA back 2 MD) and i had my favorite radio station on (93.9 WKYS) and i waz totally zoned out. My mind waz on autopiolet and the radio waz kinda turned down. I waz nodding my head 2 what waz on the radio and snapped outta my daze. "My Buddy" waz playing. I instantly woke up and got live. I don't think i would have been anymore excited if my own joint waz getting real airplay. I waz so hyped i almost gave Kel a call...ha ha. For real, Kel Spence if FINALLY blowing up. Good music is fighting it's way 2 the forfront 1 artist at a time.

Y'all gotta find the DJ Jazzy Jeff "Live At Tuesday Club Sheffield" 2-CD bootleg. It waz recorded in 2005 and Mad Skillz hosts it. I have a few of Jazzy's sets and this just may be the best one ever. It mashes up old school Hip-Hop, classic R-N-B and current stuff as well. I've only heard the first 20 minutes so far and he's got people like The Emotions, Sugarhill Gang, Eric B. + Rakim, DJ EZ Rock + Rob Base, Justin Timberlake, Soul II Soul, and more. And of course u got the classic Jazzy Jeff cuts thru' out the mix. Even the songs i don't know are dope. And the sound quality is perfect. I've never heard a bootleg sound this good. Do yourself a favor and track down the guy selling this on ebay!! Again, this might be Jazzy's best bootlegged set!!

OMARION - Ice Box 21 (2006) I like this album...but he's 1st album waz more solid. Brakes might be the only other person that cares...ha ha.

Ugh...2006. *Got the position at my job that i wanted *Watched the gyrl that waz always on my mind slip away *Watched myself get 2 do less and less of my favorite things...writing, rapping, and theater *Allowed one of my close friends constantly fight with me and bring out the worst in me *Had my car break down *Watched me job and crappy co-workers take over my life, take away my personal life and make me start hating the job i loved *Lost so much of my personal life that i missed alot of friends, fun, theater, and haven't had tyme 2 shop 4 a new car or even keep my house clean *Maintained at work, liquidated my staff, came out with moderate success thru' the crap, started rebuilding and likeing me job again (which waz 2day) *Paid off the debt that's been hanging over my head for 5 or 6 years. *Gained a new focus on life, priorities, goals, and where 2007 is taking me...2 a better place than the last 3 years

This album waz advertised 2 drop 2 weeks ago. I went out 2 get it at the sale price and couldnt find it. I didn't know that it actually came out, i thought it got bumped back. Now i gotta go out looking 4 it again. Mos Def is the truth.

Yeah, them. :iagree:

P!NK - Family Portrait Live In Europe (DVD) (2004)

I unexpectedly got a real nice DVD burner for Christmas. I haven't read the instruction book yet so i'm not sure what it's capable of other than that i can put put VHS on DVD. My 1st project will be 2 make a JJ+FP DVD compiled of the JJ+FP 2005 set along with the Live 8 performances and the Will Smith Video Collection. From there i'm gonna put the JJ+FP home videos for Summertime (And Other Hits) and Greatest Hits. After that, i'm gonna see how much of my early 90's stuff taped off TV hasn't decayed and try 2 put that on DVD. I also have 2 or 3 JJ+FP and WS live bootleg concerts. I'm sure in a few months i'll have an update.

MAT KEARNEY - Undeniable Nothing To Lose (2006)

On Christmas i sleep in...as i do anyday i don't have 2 get up early...ha ha. But this year i've worked so many extra hours for months on end...so i'll finally get 2 sleep in with my cellphone off and no distractions. I'll spend a few minutes in prayer 2 start the day (especially this day) off. I'll get with my immediate family in the morning and exchange gifts. From there i usually chill with my extended family, exchange gifts, and eat way 2 much. This year both sides are coming over, one in mid-day, one at night. Usually i'd have a girlfriend and we'd compromise on where 2 be and when...but this is my 2nd year without that problem. I might swing by the house of a close friend or 2, and then typically me and a group of friends will go out and see a movie or something. Since i have 2 be at work super early the next morning AND i don't think any of us will be able 2 agree on a movie (my 1 friends wants 2 see Rocky, a few of them wanna see A Night At The Museum, and i wanna see Dreamgirls. I'll probably unwind by myself at night and reflect and force myself in2 bed early since i have 2 be opening the studio at 8:00.

Random ?uestion...u can only do so much as a supporter of an artist. But as hardcore supporters on the internet, did we drop the ball somewhere where we could have helped generate more attention 2 the album (without being annoying and spamming elsewhere)? I don't think so, but i'm interested in other people's opinions. Besides, it'll breathe some life in2 this topic.

I've never been a big fan of him working with other people. Mostly becuz i see him working with C-level artist before working with fellow pioneers. But at this point, if FP wants some commerical success, i think he should do a few collabos with the more respectable people who have gained success. Nas finally came correct on his current album...and i could easily see FP popping up on some of the trax he turned out this time (Yo Nas, get him on a remix!). I would never wanna see him poppin' up on someone's album just cuz they are a hit on the pop charts cuz we all know there's alot of talent missin' there. But there are a few people i think he would have good chemistry with and by slightly saturating other people's albums and singles, i think it would set up his next album for the success it deserves.

Pak, read a post relevant subject matter and u'll see what i have 2 say. Just cuz i say that your favorite lightweight dime-a-dozen rappers suck dosen't mean i only have negative things 2 say. U come at me cuz i insult u...what about all the other people in this topic that agree that this dirty south trash is garbage.

I'll pray 4 u man. My best advice is 2 be nice 2 you ex...but u should probably make yourself less available 2 her. If u break up and just keep hanging out, there will be alot of problems that u won't be able 2 fix. Time and space are the only thing that might make things better. I've been cool with all of my ex's and wanted 2 remain friends with all of them, but other than the one i had 8 years ago, the girl never wanted 2 stay close after awhile. With the new girl, just chill. It doesn't make much sense 2 jump from one girl 2 the next. U are still emotionally mixed up from the past so u wanna go in2 the right mindstate so that u don't mess up the next thing. On top of that, u need 2 have that girl get her head right. If she isn't gonna break up with her current guy, it's definitly way 2 soon 2 plan starting 2 go after her. Things will fall in place. Just live right and stay patient...cuz the good things never happen when u want them 2...but when the time is right.

Stevie Wonder - Silver Bells Plugged Into Christmas (2006) I'm not sure when this waz recorded...but i love when legends do Christmas songs.

It seems like the average Hip-Hop fan simply doesn't ride for their original favorite artists. Sure, some of the legends have slipped when it comes 2 an album or 2 by experimenting 2 much, or taken a long time off between albums, but that's no excuse 2 bail out on them. The current generation is even worse. Millions or thousands of people will flock 2 the people on the radio now...but how many of them will still be listening and supporting those same people 5 years from now? Hardly any. Fans of the current rap scene have no loyatly and are only interested in the flava of the month. I think it's pathetic. I'll dig 2 find rare albums and singles from my favs simply cuz i'm dying for something new. For many people, if they don't have a song on the radio, they don't care about the artist they called their "favorite" just 2 years ago. This legends not only had 2 have talent, but they had 2 do alot of their own promotion, concert ideas, etc. They were the total package. They did their job and they made good music with heart. These new top 40 fools just throw 2gether stuff just 2 get money. Most of them are told what 2 do, what 2 say, and what 2 wear. And usually the person who's telling them that is looking at what the person with the most air-play is doing. So with a fool like Young Dro gets paid all this money 2 put 2gether a quick cRAP record, there's a legend who paved the way and set a much higher standard struggling. And there's a good chance that that current pop/rap artist has a lyric or a bar that bit that pioneer's biggest single back in the day. It's an injustice if u ask me.

When it comes 2 Hip-Hop from the south, The Geto Boys are probably the personification of that. The Geto Boys are originators. When i'm talking about the dirty south invation, i'm not talking about them. They are Hip-Hop and they got skillz. I'm talking about the light weight pop music that has empty elementry production, NO lyrics, and igorant people talking they they never went 2 school. There's no hating involved. This Joc/Dro/Jon/Scrappy trash is an embarssment 2 the human race. Don't get all bent outta shape cuz u love unoriginal, degrading, talent-lacking, explict pop music.

For Rap Pioneers, Paydays Are Pocket Change By DAVID BROWNE The New York Times (Dec. 17) - In some ways, these are good days to be a rap veteran. Flavor Flav, Ice-T and Rev Run, of Run-D.M.C. , are each starring in reality shows. This fall, VH1 saluted some of the pioneers of the genre on its annual “VH1 Honors” telecast. But praise and other rewards aren’t always available. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the longtime rap D.J. AJ Scratch held his third annual dinner and party for old-school rappers and D.J.’s, at a sports bar in the Bronx. For Scratch, a former associate of Kurtis Blow who co-wrote Mr. Blow’s hit “If I Ruled the World” in 1985, the aim was twofold: to salute those who started the music (guests at this year’s event included the turntable legends Kool Herc, DJ Red Alert and Grandmaster Theodore) and to help Scratch make a living. The $20 admission went to his AJ Productions. Scratch, 48, said his royalty checks (even from the song on which Nas sampled him) amounted to only “a couple of hundred dollars” every six months. “My publishing income isn’t that big,” he said. “So I find ways to stay afloat. If I pack the house, I get a reward.” On one hand, hip-hop remains a dominant cultural and business force. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, major rap acts like Jay-Z , the Game, Nas , Akon and Young Jeezy have released or will release new albums. The major labels increasingly count on such CDs, which can sell hundreds of thousands of copies each in their first week on the market, to bolster end-of-year profits. Yet as Scratch and others have seen, plaudits for hip-hop legends have not translated into profits. Sales of vintage rap discs are sluggish or nonexistent. For the week ending Nov. 12, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Public Enemy’s landmark 1988 album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” sold 400 copies. LL Cool J’s 1987 album “Bigger and Deffer” (home of one of his biggest hits, “I Need Love”) sold half that amount. Run-D.M.C.’s “Raising Hell,” which includes the group’s groundbreaking collaboration with Aerosmith on a remake of “Walk This Way,” moved only 100 units. Among the exceptions are the Beastie Boys’ “Licensed to Ill,” another period touchstone that continues to sell several hundred thousand copies a year. And Bill Gagnon, a vice president of catalog sales for EMI, says the label expects to sell as many as 200,000 copies of a forthcoming anthology of the gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A. Yet in general, the founders of rock, like Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan , fare better in stores than the founders of rap. Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” still moves nearly 10,000 copies a week. Jim Parham, senior director of marketing at Sony BMG, said reissues of some hip-hop albums sell better than jazz, classical and “old-time” country acts like Bob Wills. Yet he admitted that the audience for the label’s recent compilation of Whodini is largely “white, suburban college-age kids” rediscovering an era when hip-hop, R&B and dance music first merged. The situation has left some in the rap business bewildered or miffed. “With rock fans who are over 45, their kids are going into their record collections and pulling out Dylan and Procol Harum ,” said Darryl McDaniels, D.M.C. of Run-D.M.C. “We’re not at that point yet.” Bill Stephney, a former Def Jam executive and producer, said he believed there was “clearly a market” for vintage hip-hop, but added: “There’s a terrible disconnect on the executive level in terms of exploiting this music in the market. They just don’t think about it.” Mr. Stephney said that last year he attempted to produce a 20th-anniversary Def Jam reunion concert that would feature both vintage and current rap acts, but abandoned the idea for a lack of industry support. “Hip-hop doesn’t promote its history,” Mr. McDaniels said. “Mick Jagger and Keith Richards will talk about Little Richard or Howlin’ Wolf. A lot of rappers now will cite Rakim, but they don’t promote him. People in the industry don’t want people to be focused on anything other than what is going on right now.” The wobbly sales of classic rap records of the ’80s also do not bode well for the artists’ future income. On the topic of royalties, Mr. McDaniels said: “I do fairly well. I get a check every now and then. But I can’t live off it.” The use of samples, which requires rappers to split royalties with the composers of the sampled song, further cuts into profits. Mr. McDaniels called the situation “a nightmare.” Mr. Stephney said record and publishing contracts signed by rappers of the ’80s — before the rise of impresarios like Sean Combs — were “never at the level of exploitation” of R&B stars of the ’50s and ’60s. But, he added: “I don’t think artists from the early days of hip-hop were as business-savvy as the post-Puffy generation. And some of them were not as savvy because that would require a level of responsibility that some of these guys refuse to engage in.” Although Mr. McDaniels remains frustrated with the low sales profile of classic hip-hop, he said he felt that would eventually change. “Give it five more years,” he said. “Everything else comes and goes. But they’ll talk about us forever.” Copyright © 2006 The New York Times Company 2006-12-17 11:01:54

Okay...maybe this one does :4-only1ha:

Since everyone is givin' input and this topic is pinned...i altered the title of this post. When i get a second, i'll post more trax i considered for the tracklisting 4 my mixtape 3 years ago...and some stuff that's come out since.

Mobb Deep waz okay on their 1st album...since then, i've found them irrelevant. Since the late 90's i think they've been garbage.

Man...2 many pop music fans in here.

No comment on post number 13. :shakehead:

I didn't really expect any new music soon. Look at the game...it's at an all time low and FP simply doesn't fit in. He loves Hip-Hop and he loves music. Of course he'll be back. But right now just isn't the right time. L+F isn't even that old. Let him do the movie thing so his love for Hip-Hop gets him on the mic again.

EMINEM - No Apologies The Re-Up (2006) Yeah, i like this one.