Leak: Kid Cudi Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager leaked on the internet today.  Kid Cudi’s highly anticipated sophomore album is out about 12 days ahead of its scheduled November 9th date.

Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (photo courtesy of hip-hop-n-more.com)

This is quite the Halloween treat I must say.  The album sounds absolutely phenomenal.  Take a listen for yourself.  Here are two places to download the album…

Filefront.com:  Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

Realmajor.net: Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

-Track List-  (Some of the better songs, in my opinion, are in bold text)

Act 1: The World I Am Ruling

1 Scott Mescudi Vs. The World f. Cee-Lo (prod. Emile)
2 REVOFEV (prod. Plain Pat)

Act 2: A Stronger Trip

3 Don’t Play This Song f. Mary J Blige (prod. Emile)
4 We Aite (Wake Your Mind Up) (prod. Emile)
5 Marijuana (prod. Dot Da Genius)
6 Mojo So Dope (prod. Emile)

Act 3: Party On

7 Ashin’ Kusher (prod. Chuck English)
8 Erase Me f. Kanye West (prod. Jim Jonsin)
9 Wild’n Cuz I’m Young (prod. Plain Pat)
10 The Mood (prod. Emile)

Act 4: The Transformation

11. MANIAC f. Cage & St. Vincent (prod. Anthony Killhoffer)
12 Mr. Rager (prod. Emile)
13 These Worries f. Mary J. Blige (prod. Emile)
14 The End f. GLC, Chip Tha Ripper & Nicole Wray (prod. Blended Babies)

Act 5: You Live & You Learn

15 All Along (prod. Emile)
16 GHOST! (prod. Emile)
17 Trapped In My Mind (prod. Dot Da Genius)

Lupe Fiasco Lasers: The Show Goes On

For Lupe Fiasco, the show goes on.  Slowly but surely.  “The Show Goes On” came out October 26th and  is Fiasco’s first announced single off his upcoming Lasers album.  Lasers won’t hit stores til March 11th, though.  The single instantly gathered a slew of buzz across the hip hop world, as fans have been severely missing Lupe’s flow over the past few years.  The song samples Modest Mouse’s famous “Float On” song and has a very upbeat anthem feel to it.

Lupe takes music to a new level

The wait has been an obscure one for Fiasco’s new album, Lasers, which wasn’t given an official release date until October 7th, after months of business issues with Atlantic Records.  Lupe has used his twitter account effectively to relay the on going status of the album.  In January 2010, he tweeted:

I’m actually going to turn it in to the label in the morning (Tuesday). I was actually supposed to turn it tonight….I’m turning it in to the label tomorrow and they’re going to do their whole process…. and I’m hoping before the summer.

Well, the album was never even given a release date, which spurred an online petition for Atlantic Records to announce one.  The petition, which had more than 30,000 signatures, grew to a full blow organized protest day in front of Atlantic’s headquarters.  Near the end of summer, fans started organizing and spreading the word that “Fiasco Friday” would take place on October 15th in New York City. Take a look at a few pictures from Fiasco Friday.  Even though Atlantic Records announced the release date of Lasers a week before Fiasco Friday, fans weren’t going to cancel the rally.

Fiasco grew up in Chicago (photo courtesy of sohh.com)

Lupe stated that Atlantic Records thought he was “whack,” which was a major obstacle in releasing the album.  In early October 2010, he explained thoroughly the conflicts at a speech in Dayton, OH. Basically, the high authorities had their own visions and songs and hooks they wanted Lupe to record.  When Lupe did them, they weren’t happy with the results and frequently changed their approach.  Atlantic Records and Fiasco were also at a disagreement with percentages of profit.  Persistence paid off in the long run, but it sure has been quite a marathon.  Fiasco’s last album, The Cool, was released nearly three full years ago (December 2007).

Lupe and B.o.B. (photo courtesy of rapradar.com)

On a side note, as you may think Lupe has been just hangin’ out the past few years, he was actually recording chart toppers.  B.o.B.’s “Nothing on You” and “Airplanes” were originally meant for Fiasco.  However, Atlantic Records didn’t like the way they came out and passed them onto B.o.B.  Check out a version of Lupe’s “Nothing on You.” B.o.B. actually does sound a bit better and more emotional, so Atlantic made the right call there.  Lupe’s version would have probably been well received by fans, but Atlantic thought his stuff was whack.

Check out Fiasco’s most recent mixtape, Enemy of the State, which came out Thanksgiving 2009.

Chris Webby: White Rapper on the College Scene

A lot of people are familiar with Sam Adams, the white rapper who gained popularity by attracting the college age party audience.

Chris Webby in his elements (photo courtesy of chriswebby.net)

But Sam Adams isn’t the only up and coming white rapper out there.  Chris Webby, a 22 year old rapper from Norwalk, Connecticut, is not to be overlooked.  With 4 mixtapes under his belt all ready, Webby has established a unique and catchy flow that has people turning heads.  Much like Adams, Webby raps about topics college students can relate to: drinking, partying, smoking, girls, ADD, video games, and sports.

Don’t forget the swagger, confidence, and bad ass mentalities that come with rapping, Webby’s got those, too.

Sammy Adams has certainly gained way more commercial success, but Webby’s rhyming skills, especially in freestyle form, are far superior to Adams’.  Listen to some of his songs and you’ll know what I mean.

La La La – very catchy song with a familiar sample

Raising the Bar – 5 minutes straight of Webby spitting

Just Dance Remix – fiery version over Lady Gaga’s beat

I Love College Remix – Webby’s version of Asher Roth’s song.

5 minute College Freestyle – watch as Webby is just lounging on a couch but goes hard off the top

He’s a few lyrics from “Raising the Bar”:

I’m serving my competition like Roddick
I’m doctor robotic with knuckles in my pocket
Toxic so f***ing dirty you should wash it
Got this hot shit Lebron couldn’t block it

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Rapper mixtape (photo courtesy of datpiff.com)

Webby’s first mixtape, The White Noise LP, came out in March 2009.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Rapper, September 2009.

Optimus Rhyme, May 2010.

The Underclassmen, July 2010.

Get all these mixtapes and thousands other for free at datpiff.com.

Webby remains unsigned for now, but possesses the rapping skills to land one.  There’s no doubt he has catchy rhymes and quick wits.  Hopefully a label can see his potential and give him some cash,  because he ain’t gettin paid much for these free mixtape.

 

Dr. Dre Detox album ready for Christmas?

The Dr. Dre Detox album has been in the works for practically 10 years.  Could it finally be here by the end of 2010?

Dre sporting his Beats (photo courtesy of accesshollywood.com)

It’s tough to say because the release date has already been bumped back several times over the years.  Dre recently said that in a “perfect world,” Detox would be out by this Christmas.  However, we’re not anywhere close to a perfect world.  The delays have been frustrating for hip-hop fans, but in the same breath the longer the wait, the better product.  With Dre, we know ever song is going to be phenomenal.

In the summer, an unfinished Dre song with Jay-Z titled “Under Pressure” leaked on the internet and caused a buzz around hip-hop sites.  “Under Pressure” was possibly going to be a single off of Detox, but you can kiss that goodbye now.  Dre has come out and said that no leaked tracks will be on Detox.  It’s tough to keep every song from being leaked in today’s day and age, but I think with Dre’s persistence he can get it done.

Dre, along with working on the album every day, has been doing a lot of promotional work with his Beats by Dre headphones.  They are like the Oakleys of headphones.  Expensive, but straight baller.  And now he’s teaming up with LeBron James for an athletic styled model called Powerbeats.  Dre and LeBron is a pretty dynamic duo, even though the super producer is 45 years old.

The headphones are cool and all, but we just want that Detox.  Don’t count on Christmas, but hey, it could happen.

Lil Wayne, Sam Adams kick of new season right

Lil Wayne, Sam Adams, Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, Lloyd Banks, and many more artists are all slated to have album releases in this last quarter of 2010.

Lil Wayne's new releases are sure to cause a buzz (AP photo)

I’ll start off with Lil Wayne, because his absence has been the buzz of hip hop for a while since he started his jail sentence in March for weapons charges.  Wayne turns 28 on September 27^th, and as you could imagine, he’s got something planned.  MTV.com reports I Am Not A Human Being is being released digitally as a full length album on Wayne’s birthday as an appetizer to Tha Carter IV.

Oh yeah, Tha Carter IV will be available the day Lil Wayne walks out of jail, November 4^th.

The first single off I Am Not A Human Being is “Right Above It” featuring Drake.  If you haven’t heard it, you better get with it or get lost.  “Right Above It” has a phenomenal pump up beat and both Young Money artists kill it lyrically.

Another track of the album titled “Gonorrhea,” also features Drake.

Sam Adams is back and ready to party (photo courtesy of samadamslive.com)

Boston’s Boy, Sam Adams, is making it happen, too.  Just last night he released his Party Records mixtape with DJ Whoo Kid.  Sammy does a vast amount of self promotion on his Facebook fan page, Twitter, and his website, www.samadamslive.com.  You can check out all the tracks and download them for free at either of the preceding links.  The mixtape is similar to his previous work from the Boston’s Boy EP, containing a lot of pop rap and songs that are popular among white college guys students in the northeast.  That’s not to say that his popularity hasn’t stretched coast to coast, though.

Keep checking back as I’ll be taking in depth looks at what Kid Cudi, Lupe Fiasco, Lloyd Banks, Dr. Dre, and others are cooking up this fall.