Artist Spotlight: J. Cole - Who Dat!?!

J. Cole performing "Last Call" this past Sunday. The crowd throws up the ROC diamond.

So this past Sunday, two amazing things happened that were worthy of a big WHO DAT!! First off, the New Orleans Saints won 34-3 over the Carolina Panthers. Second off, I helped produce a J. Cole and Fabolous concert on the campus of William Patterson University in NJ, which involved constructing the stage, sound, lights, and being involved in minor police altercations. Now if you find yourself saying, "J. Cole, who is that?" then you're about to get your introduction right now with this SWEET ASS VIDEO below (unless you've already helped make up some of the 7 million views this has on YouTube).

J. Cole - Who Dat (Video)


In case you didn't know, J. Cole was the first artist Jay-Z signed to his new label Roc Nation two years ago. His real name is Jermaine Cole and he was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina (you will often hear him mention "The Ville" in his music). Since being signed, he has been steady climbing in the hip hop world collaborating most famously on Jay-Z's the Blueprint 3 track "A Star Is Born" and most recently on the radio smash hit "All I Want Is You" by Miguel (this is one of the only songs on the radio that I actually enjoyed recently).

J. Cole is not a commercial artist per se. He is not at all like Drake, although he has been compared to him due to his protégé status (J. Cole : Jay-Z :: Drake : Lil Wayne). Whereas Drake is a pop artist who sings and raps using a gimicky lyrical device that I would call "punchwords" instead of punchlines, J. Cole is exclusively a lyrical/story telling rapper catering to a more cult-following of dedicated hip hop fans. These two guys should never be compared in their styles, but they both follow the similar pattern of blowing up in popularity from their mixtapes before they even drop an actual album. J. Cole's debut studio album Cole World has no release date yet, but I will continue to wait patiently while I snag up all his mixtapes below. Make sure to catch the new one coming out this Friday here!!


Download The Mixtapes
J. Cole - The Come Up (2007)
Preview: J. Cole - Throw It Up

J. Cole - The Warm Up (2009)
Preview: J. Cole - Show Me Somethin

J. Cole - Friday Night Lights (dropping Nov. 12, 2010)
Preview: J. Cole - Before I'm Gone

Spread that real hip hop y'all. It's the only way to keep it alive.

Album: The Left - Gas Mask (2010)

BUY IT HERE!!

(Hip Hop fans: this is a MUST listen)

1. Change (01:29)
2. Gas Mask (03:21)
3. Frozen (Feat. Kool G Rap) (03:21)
4. Battle Axe (Feat. Mu) (02:57)
5. Binoculars (03:00)
6. How We Live (Feat. Hassaan Mackey) (04:06)
7. Chokehold (Feat. Paradime) (04:05)
8. The Funeral (03:01)
9. Statistics (Feat. Invincible) (03:43)
10. Real Detroit (Feat. Marvwon) (04:18)
11. The Melody (03:33)
12. Reporting Live (Feat. Guilty Simpson) (04:15)
13. Fooled for Thought (01:23)
14. Desperation (03:10)
15. Caged Birds (Feat. Finale) (04:12)
16. Homage (Feat. Frank West) (03:44)
17. Get in Where You Fit in (03:24)

So there are times that I write blog posts just because I want to share music with you, but this time it's different. I REALLY NEED TO SHARE THIS ALBUM WITH YOU. Like, god damn, you HAVE TO hear this. If you have been a true fan of hip hop for years and have been dissatisfied with the new music that comes out these days because it doesn't give you that feeling of early 90's hip hop, then this is what you've been waiting for. It's an instant classic in my mind and I do NOT use that term lightly. This album is easily in my top two albums of 2010 for several reasons, which I will go into below (I'll leave my other top album of this year for another post).

Ok, so here we have a new collaborative group called The Left made up up 3 members: Producer Apollo Brown, MC Journalist 103, and DJ Soko from Detroit's gritty underground. Their album Gas Mask, released about two weeks ago, is a cohesive project of supreme quality... all 17 tracks are phenomenal. I was excited at the beginning of every track to hear what was coming next. Usually, I'm skeptical when I listen to new songs because I listen to sooo much hip hop that I'm forced to discriminate right off the bat, but this feeling went out window as I was anxiously awaiting whatever was next. Right from the get-go my hip hop spidey sense was tingling.

The production throughout the entire album by Apollo Brown is nothing short of amazing and blends perfectly with Journalist 103's flow - both of which are raw, gritty, and as consistent as they are creative. The tracks are formed around chopped samples of soul vocals, horns, and BANGIN drums that span the range of emotions everywhere from the somber "Homage" to the triumphant "Get In Where You Fit In" to the pensive "Binoculars". In fact, Journalist 103 describes the production perfectly when he opens the track "Frozen" with the lyrics "From the time you stick the disc in, it's the same feeling that a heroin addict gets when he stick a syringe in. I put you in the deep nod, back and forth, constant. Once I get in your system, there's no way you can stop it". Need I say more?

The storytelling style and timbre of Journalist 103's voice makes every track compelling to listen to over Apollo Brown's beats. This isn't your typical braggadocio rap (except for track 4). This is rap filled with deep thoughts and visuals. For example, on, arguably my favorite song and appropriately titled, "Desperation", the lyrics paint the picture: "I got one hand clutching the nine, the other's clutching the microphone. Trying to make a clear choice between the right and wrong. Trying to stay in the zone with the right mind frame, but I keep getting distracted, my whole life's changed. I done went from being the best at it to being the last to even get mentioned it's pure madness. I can go to the lab and be productive or throw my hands up at the world and say fuck it. The rap game - hate it. Hip hop - I love it". Damn, I love the energy that spills out of every track and the emotion that Journalist 103 pours out over these fantastic beats. It makes me wish every album had such complexity and artistry... and that every MC had an appropriately titled pen name.

What many albums lack these days is a consistency in their sound and overall song quality. The reason being is that nowadays we live in a world where music is consumed by the song instead of by the album. Thus, there is no need for artists to continue creating great albums. It is clear that mp3's have caused the "death of the album" as we know it, but the nostalgia for a great album will still resonate with the generations that grew up with them. It is clear that those who continue to stay true to the art of making quality music will in the long run gain more true fans that are willing to support them. The only questions is, will they last long enough in this dog-eat-dog world to reap the benefits over the long term? I really hope that these guys last, so if you take my word for it and want to support these guys, please buy the album HERE! You just might need some good speakers instead of headphones to tackle this bad boy.

Another appropriate quote to leave you with (sticking with the drug addiction metaphor): "There's nothing like it when you get your hit for the first time, so take advantage son, it comes once in a lifetime"

Spread the word if you love it!

Album: Grynch - My Second Wind (2008)

As of recently I've been a little more than obsessed with Seattle hip hop. Why? Because the region BY FAR has the most musically creative, intelligent, and all around best hip hop in the nation right now, hands down. It's so easy to miss this fact though if you're an East Coaster like me. That's why I have come to rectify the situation. ATTENTION EAST COAST - THIS IS SOME DOPE SHIT ALERT!

So who is Grynch and why in the hell should you care? Maybe watch this video below and get an idea.



Awesome right? Perhaps even more awesome though than the song's video is the Sabzi produced remix of that track "My Volvo (Bolbo Riddim Remix)" [right click save as to download]

But don't get it twisted, Grynch doesn't just spit gimmicks - he is a damn good MC who is committed to making great-sounding hip hop music and writing quality lyrics. That's why I present to you his sophomore album below and a few tracks to preview - don't miss track 13 "If Only" featuring Macklemore (If you wanna stream the whole album, check out his bandcamp site here). Life's too short to listen to crappy music. Expand your musical intelligence with this dope hip hop below.

Download HERE

01-It's A New Day
02-I Won't Lose
03-Dear Grynch
04-The Youngest In Charge (Feat. Fatal Lucciauno & D.Black)
05-All Night (Feat. Too Good & Billy Patron)
06-Euphoria
07-Summertime (Feat. Geologic)
08-My Second Wind
09-Memory Lane (Feat. Sonny Bonoho)
10-Good Morning
11-Home (Feat. Speedy Gonzalez)
12 -Peer Pressure
13-If Only (Feat. C-nik & Macklemore)
14-The Perfect Imperfection
15-Sara
16-One Love (Feat. Portia)
17-When The Beast Comes Out
18-That's Hip-hop

For more music by Grynch, check out http://www.getgrynch.com/

Album: Devin The Dude - Gotta Be Me (2010)

Download HERE

1. It's Going Down
2. Come & Go
3. I Like What U Do
4. Shut Up
5. Gotta Be Me
6. No Need to Call
7. Gimme Some
8. You So Real
9. They 10's
10. Jus Coolin
11. Ain't Goin Nowhere
12. When Will I Win?
13. Fuckha'
14. I'm High

I really love Devin The Dude and this right here is his NEW album that comes out today! Honestly, he's one of the greats who I never listened to until two years ago when a dear friend of mine pointed out this problem and promptly gave me my first Devin album. It was an eye opening experience and quite a trip when I soon realized that he was on Dr. Dre's famous album The Chronic 2001 (he was on the song "Fuck You", but seriously, who wasn't featured on Dre's 2001?).

The greatest thing about Devin The Dude is that he keeps it extremely simple with fantastic laid back beats and rapping that almost exclusively touches on 3 things: women, weed, and alcohol. Now you may be skeptical as to how an artist can really have enough to say about just those 3 things to make an entire album (or seven), but just listen to this album and you'll quickly understand. As long as you can appreciate his music's simplicity and his often crass sexual attitude towards women, you will definitely enjoy this. It's very easy listening material as far as rap goes and perfect for the casual weed smoker in you (because you may know that Devin celebrates marijuana - just listen to the title track "Gotta Be Me"). The production on this album is real clean with a Houston-influenced southern feel that leaves you all mellowed out. So just cool out. Cool out and listen to H.E.R.

Enjoy and share great music.