Resurfacing Hip Hop

Shout outs to Suga Lips Esquire and Flied Lice exploring the warm seas of Southeast Asia. Don't get caught with any fat sacks. Drug laws out there are worse than Rockefeller Laws in NY. Anyway, the summer is usually the time for blockbuster movies and hot ass albums. So far, there haven't been much of either. Incredible Hulk was wackadocious. So was Indiana Jones. Tha Carter III was disappointing and RZA might as well retire. However, the season ain't over and there is always hope for summer entertainment in the coming weeks. Probably the most anticipated hip hop album of the year is Nas' Untitled (aka Nigger). If you don't know by now, the leak is out and Nas doesn't seem to give a damn. On first listen, I signed it off as a sellout album that didn't live up to the hype. However, the other night, after a long day at work, I rolled up something and decided to pay attention to what Mr. Jones was trying to convey. I came to this conclusion: while the beats definitely could have been better (where the fuck is Primo?), this is probably the most focused album Nas has put out since Illmatic. I know I'm gonna get a lot of flack for saying that but that's how I feel. He speaks some real shit about a topic that has not been explored much in Hip Hop, at least in the mainstream. I recommend all to get a hold of the album and fucking listen to what he's saying, whether at Best Buy or online somewhere at a blog spot.
Now I think it's worth mentioning some other albums that deserve some shine such as J Live's "Then What Happened?", the new Buckshot and 9th, the new Roots joint (even though most of the songs on there are real cheesy), the new Atmosphere, and the most surprising, Immortal Technique's The 3rd World. He still has the same political format but is laced with some sick beats. I'm gonna bless y'all with a couple tracks just to see what I'm talking about. But I got to break out.

Payback & Harlem Renaissance