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- VH1 Soul is dead, long live Centric posted on March 29, 2010
- The ten most popular indie-rap artists… posted on January 11, 2011
- Digable Planets fracture, cancel tour posted on March 22, 2009
- Superlists!: Top Ten Femcees posted on March 24, 2009
- The Plug One Q&A: Flying Lotus posted on June 10, 2008
- Review: Atmosphere, “To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy” posted on September 9, 2010
- R.I.P. Paper Thin Walls posted on August 29, 2008
- Zion-I tour dates posted on February 25, 2009
- Vibe’s demise posted on July 1, 2009
- Why Plug One survives posted on March 17, 2010
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Tag Archives: Def Jam
Review: Ghostface Killah, “Apollo Kids”
Ghostface Killah, Apollo Kids Def Jam Ghostface Killah treads familiar ground on Apollo Kids, offering few if any hooks or choruses, long-winded sixteen-bar verses that could double as freestyles, and crusty soul loops as an accompaniment. Even the title pays … Continue reading
Review: Rick Ross, “Teflon Don”
Rick Ross, Teflon Don Def Jam Rick Ross is known for farcical claims – remember when he said he knew Manuel Noriega on his breakthrough hit “Hustlin’â€? For Teflon Don, he compares himself to infamous criminals Larry Hoover and Big … Continue reading
Review: Big Boi, “Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty”
Big Boi, Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty Def Jam It’s a wonder Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Leftfoot made it to stores. Four years of untangling industry red tape has taken its toll, and its missing several early … Continue reading
Review: Nas & Damian Marley, “Distant Relatives”
Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong†Marley, Distant Relatives IDJ/Universal Republic “This one right here is for the people,†announces Nas at the beginning of “Patience.†It’s an ethos that carries throughout Distant Relatives, his long-awaited collaboration with Damian Marley, as … Continue reading
Review: Meth, Ghost and Rae, “Wu-Massacre”
Meth, Ghost and Rae, Wu-Massacre Def Jam Okay, so the thirty-minute mini-album Wu-Massacre is something of a rush job, with few developed concepts and no memorable hooks. But who cares? The Wu-Tang triumvirate sticks to what it does best and … Continue reading
Review: Redman, “Redman Presents…Reggie”
Redman, Redman Presents…Reggie Def Jam “Some rappers say they had it/ I feel I’m getting started,†argues Redman on his seventh album, Reggie. To prove his point, the Brick City veteran abandons the distinctive funk beats of his earlier classics … Continue reading
Review: Kanye West, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”
Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Def Jam To understand why My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy earns its title, sounds both sensuously epic and a bit of a dick joke, and manages to combine deep melancholy and triumphant hubris … Continue reading
The Roots’ lost paradise
This essay on the Roots’ How I Got Over was posted July 14 on Rhapsody.com’s Music Stuff Place blog. I wrote it for my Rap Is Not Pop column. Last week, I promised that I would abandon the concepts that … Continue reading
Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon’s “Wu Massacre”
You’ve read about it on your favorite blogs and websites. You watched the crazy teaser videos that ripped off the Brad Pitt flick Seven. You downloaded the free MP3s. Now it’s time to wipe away the drool, because the Meth, … Continue reading
Ghostface Killah’s “Wizard of Poetry,” tour
Next week, September 29, Ghostface Killah drops his seventh album (eighth if you include the odds-and-sods collection More Fish), Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City. As widely reported, it’s an R&B affair, with appearances by an auto-tunin’ Raheem DeVaughn, … Continue reading
Method Man & Redman’s “Blackout! 2”
Ten years after their classic first outing, Meth & Red have recorded a sequel to Blackout! Due on May 19 via Def Jam, Blackout! 2 features the usual suspects. However, unlike so many would-be “sequels” to classic material (including Raekwon’s … Continue reading
Ghostface as “GhostDeini”
According to a recent Billboard.com post, Ghostface Killah’s new GhostDeini the Great is an odds-and-sods collection of greatest hits (“Cherchez La Ghost” and “All That is Got Is You”), hard-to-find remixes (“Run” with Lil Wayne and others and “Back Like … Continue reading
Nas shifts from “Nigger” to “Untitled”
The neverending hype machine surrounding Nas’ new album — which has lasted for nearly a year now — will subside when Def Jam releases it on July 15. The big news is that after months of pressure from his record … Continue reading
Jay-Z leaves Def Jam, joins Live Nation
A New York Times story posted this evening (April 2) reports that Jay-Z is leaving Def Jam and joining forces with music industry behemoth Live Nation. According to the story, Jay-Z is on the verge of signing a $150 million … Continue reading
Roots unveil “Rising Down” tracks, prep festival and Al Green album
Don’t worry, I’m not going to compile every tidbit filtering out of the legendary Roots crew. That’s what Okayplayer.com is for. (And more power to them; they make an amazing site.) But as one of the all-time greats, the Philadelphia … Continue reading
Ghostface Killah reveals “Big Doe Rehab,” new book
As previously announced, Ghostface Killah’s The Big Doe Rehab is on the way, and hits stores December 4 via Def Jam.
Ghostface Killah has been on the road for most of the fall, touring with the Rhythm Roots Allstars and a sundry of opening acts. According to the track listing for The Big Doe Rehab, which hit the Internet last week, he returns the favor by collaborating with the LA funk combo on "!" (Perhaps he’s taking a page from the Brooklyn band !!!) Other guests on the disc include Raekwon, Method Man, Beanie Sigel, Styles P, and Chrissette Michelle. The first single, "We Celebrate," features mixtape pioneer Kid Capri and is percolating on mix shows nationwide.
The Big Doe Rehab is part of Ghost’s winter attack. In addition to the upcoming Wu-Tang Clan album 8 Diagrams (more on that in a minute), Ghost Dini is finally dropping that book he talked up last year. The World According to Pretty Toney, co-written with J. Brightly and published by MTV Books, comes out on January 8. According to the press release, "Pretty Toney offers nuggets of street wisdom on the key elements to becoming your own personal success story: livin’, hustlin’, lovin’, eatin’, and the all-encompassing Toneology. Coupled with vibrant 4-color photos by renowned photographer Dave Hill that illustrate each pearl of wisdom, these are indispensable life lessons that will become hustler hallmarks for playas everywhere to live by."
While you chew on those nuggets, check out the track listing for The Big Doe Rehab below.
“American Gangster” attracts Jay-Z
Every year since 1999, Jay-Z has teased his fans with rumors of a forthcoming album. It usually begins in the spring, as top-flight producers brag of heading into the studio with Jay Hova. It picks up steam in the summer, as fans openly begin to wonder: will Jay-Z "bless us" with another masterpiece? By the start of the fall, someone makes it official: Jay-Z is back. (This time around, the New York Times did the honors.) Then you know the rest: near-constant MTV updates, early leaks on the Internet, a number one debut on the Billboard charts, blah, blah, blah.
Why do fans continue to fall for this well-worn strategy? Well, it’s Jay-Z, one of the most popular artists of the past decade. And for American Gangster, his soundtrack to the upcoming Frank Lucas biopic of the same name, S. Carter is promising a return to the crack-rapper-made-good persona that we first fell in love with on Reasonable Doubt, not the sandals-wearing AARP candidate from Kingdom Come. Jay-Z’s American Gangster arrives via Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam on November 6. The first single, "Blue Magic," dropped last week.
However, since American Gangster is a period piece set in the early 70s with Hollywood superstars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, little to none of Jay-Z’s music will be used in the movie. So Island Def Jam has prepared a proper American Gangster original motion picture soundtrack. It features soundtrack music from 2008 comeback player of the year candidate Hank Shocklee, and vintage cuts from Sam & Dave, Bobby Womack and others.
The track listing for the Jay-Z album hasn’t been announced yet, but the compilation’s track listing is available below. (October 3 update: The songs for Jay-Z’s American Gangster was unveiled on Rollingstone.com earlier this morning, and are listed underneath the soundtrack.)