Common/Can I Borrow A Dollar

If you don't have love for Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr, you must have never heard his music before... better known as Common, he created a place for nice guys in rap music. Just as Wu-Tang came out with their release which created a genre now known as "hardcore" rap. At the same time, Common released his first album, which established "conscious" hip-hop... first created by A Tribe Called Quest. I personally don't believe in labeling any artist... but Common had a very distinctive voice in the innovative 90's. Were it not for Lonnie, Chicago may not be the hip-hop hot bed it is now, how many times has Kanye West labeled Common as the inspiration for his career. And even Lupe Fiasco, the hip-hop illiterate epitome of a conscious rapper has labeled Common as an inspiration. So how did Lonnie sound 16 years ago?....

The Good:

1. A Penny For My Thoughts- This is No I.D.'s first released production job and this instrumental still holds up. Common's flow has changed a lot since 1992, but I like his flow on this song, and you will listen to this song again. I promise.

3. Take It EZ- Even back in the day when Common equipped a rapid-fire delivery he still spit lines that just sound totally awkward. Not a bad song though, the production is superb.

4. Heidi Hoe- Early Beatnuts production job, early Common... Way before their time.

5. Breaker 1,9- How eerily similar does this sound to "Big Poppa", and any guy can attest to what Common is saying. This was a single, and judging by NO I.D.'s slow jazzy beat and Common's woman-oriented rhymes and the time period, I can imagine how the music video looked.

6. Two Scoops Of Raisin- Kind of an ironic song when you examine Common's persona... but I like the back-to-back rhymes.

8. Blows To The Temple- Only Common could get away with this weak-ass hook. As corny and easy as the rhyme scheme is, I love this song, more specifically the vibe that this song exudes.

9. Just In The Nick Of Rhyme- This sounds like a freestyle 2 pc. DRK threw a beat over. It sounds good as hell though...

10. Tricks Up My Sleeve- I'm sick of these lazy-ass/zombie choruses. This is Rayshel's only major album appearance, and for good reason, she sounds like a man.

11. Puppy Chow- I love the Isley Brothers sample... and this is more like how Common would sound on "Resurrection".

12. Soul By The Pound- how Main Source does this sound? The instrumental is like "Fireman" meets "Halftime".

13. Pitchin Pennies- A Busta Rhymes reference, and a pissing sample... thanks for the send-off.

I loved this album, even with the corny rhymes... I hate to say this but: "This is what used to be good about hip-hop". This is a great listen for everyone into Golden Age records, even though Common would soon become a different type of lyricist, this album is a landmark of Chicago hip-hop, think "Illmatic" of conscious rap.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 91, and I dare anyone to challenge the rating.

Download Here

Wu Tang Clan/ Enter The Wu- Tang (36 Chambers)

Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Method Man, Masta Killa, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Prince Rakeem, Raekwon, and U-God make up Wu-Tang Clan... arguably the most influential rap group of the 90's (like how I eliminated almost all arguements). It's obvious how much of an effect this had on early 90's hip-hop, and still on today's hip-hop... NaS, AZ, Cormega, and many others have visible influence from Wu-Tang, even Jay, and especially Big L. As a warning beforehand, I'm not a Wu fan, and "respect" and "acclaim" can't buy me... so you Wu heads who think that God gave birth to "The Genius", I'm sorry.

The Good:

1. Bring Da Ruckus- Not a bad start, this track is actually really good, I wonder why I didn't like this album...

2. Shame On A Nigga- And we drop off a little bit, still a pretty good song. Never been a fan of ODB, average lyricist with a unique voice.

3. Clan In Da Front- And GZA picks it up, this track is straight fire.

4. Wu Tang: 7th Chamber- And some more heat, even ODB comes true. Methodman kills it, and RZA comes with another great instrumental.

5. Can It All Be So Simple- The bass takes away from the beatiful instrumental, but Ghostface murders this track.

6. Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'- ODB's moaning would later be sampled in a song I think everyone has heard (I'm not saying). The only negative is the poppy beat which takes away from the gritty rhymes.

8. C.R.E.A.M.- Even my 7 year old sister has heard this song.

10. Protect Ya Neck- The single... and it's actually really good. All the verses are sick as fuck.

12. Wu-Tang:7th Chamber-Part II- Didn't U-God already use the "fallopian tube" line before on the first part? Otherwise, this track is fire, other than the jazz sample that RZA inserted for no reason.

13. Method Man (Skunk Mix)- This version is a lot better than the original... but still only an average track. Why Method Man had two songs named after him, I'll never understand...

And that concludes this review... and what did I think? I enjoyed this album for the most part, by no means was it "amazing" or "classic". There are some great songs, great examples of lyricism, and great instrumentals throughout the whole album.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 87. Now I need a nap...

Download Here

J The S/ When In Rome

I was on 2dopeboyz.com a while ago, and I found this mixtape, thought it looked interesting... so I downloaded it. Then I heard it, and now I'm writing about it. Why? Because J The S aka Jake The Snake is repping Boston like crazy, and has rhymes for fucking days, and I think it's my obligation to get this dude even a little bit of hype. These underground cats are all on the come-up, and not enough can be said about the state of underground hip-hop today... there are too many good rappers to support, while I can only think of a few mainstream artists I would ever even think about supporting. That being said, the Bean has been producing crazy rhymers for the last few years... and if J the S's albums are as good as his mixtapes, New York might have some competition.

The Good:

1. Right Of Passage- This was the first thing I heard, and obviously it made quite the impression on me, and this song is still at the top of my playlist. The wordplay is crazy. But J changes subjects every other line, and he over exaggerates just a little bit... for those who actually listen you'll know what I'm talking about.

2. Pump- The hook is terrible... but the rest of the song is fire. The featured artists are good too.

5. Do You- This would have been the single of the mixtape. The hook is terrible, but the instrumental is awesome... the Joell Ortiz and Lee Wilson features are amazing. And J the S bests both of them... that's saying something.

6. Push My Buttons- Great production job, the rhyming is alright, there's a few weak features, and a Stack Bundles feature (R.I.P.)

9. Loosen Up- Perfect.

10. Whispers In The Dark- Soulful beat laced with some real lyricism... the hook is a bit too obvious, but the rest of this track is real impressive.

12. Get Low Remix- No Memphis Bleek feature, but a great song. Badnewz (nice name) has a terrible verse but it still makes me interested about the original...

13. Forever Tomorrow- A crazy-ass instrumental, real soulful and meaningful lyrics... the combo just takes you to a different place. Love this track.

14. A Strange Feeling- I have a strange feeling this song is gonna be straight fire. What do you know? I was right... I like the "You Know My Steez" reference.

16. Kilograms (I Know)- He got Ras Kass to feature on this track... even though J The S comes with some strong lines, but Ras Kass completely outshines him. I'm getting tired of the Iraq/Osama references already.

And we're done... not what I was expecting from a mixtape, but I would listen to at least half of the songs over again. J The S aka SNZA (Don't bite the Genius too bad) comes with deep, introspective commentary. I feel like a douchebag saying it, but he ultimately is a less-talented version of Immortal Technique. But at the same time... his lyrical game is crazy and pretty unique, very few dudes are spitting like he is so check his shit out fam...

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this mixtape a 82... check it out cuz there's some great songs on here, but this admittedly is not for everyone.

Download Here

Jay-Z/ American Gangster

As we all know, hype always follows a new Jay-Z album. Hype isnt da only thing either, haters & dickryders as well. When da Big Homie came back 2 save Hip Hop da last go round, I was mad hyped, only 2 b given a real shyt samitch. I mean da 1st 3 songs was a great start 2 da album, but then fell off sumthin horrible. Da intro track 2 Kingdom Come was str8 crack that shoulda been on this album, but I guess it didnt follow da script 2 da fullest. Da script was 2 have scenes from da movie American Gangster turned in2 a song. Lets give it a spin.

1: Intro - Jus sum shyt from da movie.

2: Pray - Great song by Hov, beat by da Hitmen wit Beyonce singing. Jay raps bout da struggles of da hustle & hopes not 2 get caught.

3: American Dreamin' - On this Marvin Gaye sample, Hov goes on bout da american dream of a rags 2 riches story. Classic!

4: Hello Brooklyn 2.0 - Let me start by saying that I hate Lil Wayne. This song would b a lot better if it had a new hook, but 2 me...SKIP! I mean come on, a Beastie Boys sample.

5: No Hook - ...And I don't need no hook for this sheeeeiiit! Proof that u dont need a chorus 4 a song 2 b good.

6: Roc Boys (And The Winner Is...) - Catchy single that a lotta peeps luv. Great song but not my personal fav.

7: Sweet - I luv this song. Great production by da Hitmen once again. "Couple mistakes here & there, not always right, but I'm always real, that's how I sleep at night."

8: I Know - I dont care 4 this song at all. SKIP! That damn Pharrell or was it supposed 2 b Pharreal.

9: Party Life - This is aiight. Nice sample, but nuttin amazin.

10: Ignorant Shit - Wit a different beat, I think I would b all bout this song. Da hook is fyre! Still worth a spin though.

11: Say Hello - IMO, this shoulda b da lead single. Da hook is fyre & production by Toomp is great, not 2 mention Jiggas lyrics. "Here comes da bad guy again." Can u say...repeat?

12: Success - Oh man! Big Homie & Lil Homie on a track once again. Is it Xmas? Like Black Republicans wasnt already a nice present. Da No I.D. production lets Dat Bitch Breathe. Lyrical game tight. But who got who? Thats 4 u 2 decide.

13: Fallin' - Great ending song 2 da album bout a gangster bein took down. Solid production. Now on 2 da bonus tracks.

14: Blue Magic - This track is a beast. I guess he is Pharreal. Nice old school flava from da Neptunes. Jay kills this track wit his impression of Rakim. Did I say da lyrics r tight bangin son!

15: American Gangster - I luv a soulful sample. Great production. "The rest of my belongings belong in the hall of fame, a list of hits next to all my names. I came." Str8 crack.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe 1 good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half r good songs, half r weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all r great songs

I would have 2 give this album a 88 rating. As I mentioned b4, if he used da intro on Kingdom Come & changed sum things on a few songs, then this would b a classic. Nice concept album here. On sum songs, Hovs lyrical game is sharp, while others r not as great but never slacking. Last note, Jigga hasnt lost his ear 4 beats.

4 Da Thieves

Mic Terror Freestyle

Rookie Of The Year/ Ya Boy

William Joseph Crawford aka Ya Boy is probably the least-known Gold-certified artist ever. For those of you who haven't heard of the new product of hyphy music... you will soon have to put up with suburban white kids reciting Crawford's quotables. Mix west-coast production with a pinch of lyricism and a confident flow and you've got Ya Boy. I first found out about this cat because of his affiliation with Black Wall Street (I'm a Game fan if you haven't noticed). Then I started checking out dude's mixtapes (which are crazy by the way) and then I graduated to his debut album. It was refreshing to know that Crawford's mixtapes were much hotter than his album.... not to ruin anything.

The Good:

1. Introduction- Ironically, most of Ya Boy's best songs are named "Intro", no joke. The hook is terrible, but the instrumental is ill and he laces this track with crazy metaphors.

4. Right Here- "I'm not one for female-orientated tracks", I believe that I've said that once or twice. This is another song with insane potential because of the beautiful (yeah it's beautiful, no homo) instrumental and the fitting lyricism. But the hook is terrible again.

8. Bad Company- The first 30 seconds of the instrumental proved to be promising, but when he starts spitting, the beat is nearly non-existent. Not a bad nearly acapella verse though.

11. Turf 2 Tha Club- Almost every aspect of hyphy that I hate is included on this track... yet it still sounds decent.

15. Somethin To Rap About- Best, the guest verse is weak though...

17. How You Want It- Another track for the ladies that sounds alright.

And that concludes this short review. The songs I listed above are only good, a few are stand-outs, and a few are great... but this album as a whole is not comparable to the mixtapes Ya Boy makes. I'm saying if you want a real taste of his music check em out (I will do a review on one of them soon)...

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 58... it's weak, and the few songs worth checking out aren't "amazing" in any sense.

Download Here

Sandbox becoming free, more free hardware: aurora

Levelhead

I don't really know yet how to play Levelhead, but it has GPL-ed code and CC-BY-SA-ed art assets. This means it's good, right? Right? Well, I'll try to find out whether or not you can play it without having to cut a LCD display in mouth-sized pieces first.

Sandbox co-operative map editing

There's news regarding Sandbox, the child-friendly Sauerbraten-based 3D game/engine/editor. A completely freely licensed version is in the works. (Code and media.) So, hopefully we'll have a release soon, which will be includable in Debian for example. I'm very interested in this project, as it's obvious aim is to make content/game-creation a child's play!

MonkeyWorld 3D

MonkeyWorld 3D is a BSD Licensed scene editor for the jMonkeyEngine which I found through a thread on Radakan's forums.

Radakan's WorldTool is currently frozen as the energy is now aimed towards the general MonkeyWorld 3D editor. Maybe even jClassicRPG will benefit from it. :)

Speaking of Radakan: There's some tasty new gui design and concept art going on.

aurora: not only sexy but also with free inner values

Cool, I searched for "open source" on flickr and found a new toy: The aurora open source mixer. It's specifications and driver appear to be CC-BY-licensed. I'm not sure if the license is well suitable for hardware, but it does make the device attractive. I wonder if I can get enough motivation to get my soldering iron out. A GNU/Linux driver seems to be missing.

Fabolous/ From Nothin' To Somethin

The one dude everyone is sleeping on nowadays is John Jackson, a mainstream artist who can rhyme with the hungriest of underground cats. I remember I was in New York early 2005, and the song "Breathe" was fucking everywhere. So I copped "Real Talk", his album, and I was somewhat impressed... lot of bangers, but a lot of garbage too. That's why I was looking forward to his new shit 3 and a half years ago... but from what I remember, he got into a Kanye West-esque accident and stopped rapping for a second, got better started doing guest features. Then 2007, "From Nothin To Somethin" came out and I got it the second day it came out, not something I was extremely proud of, but I did it. And what did I think...

The Good:

1. From Nothin To Somethin Intro- I don't know if I like the Sportscenter sample... but the beat is banging and the lines are fire.

2. Yep I'm Back- You want a fucking street single? Well you got one... this song is straight lyrical murder. Every line is a quotable. This might just be a 15 dollar song right here. Why wasn't this a single?

3. Change Up- As much as I hate what Akon is doing to hip-hop... I'll admit that this track is real hot. And the lyrics are on point.

6. Return Of The Hustle- How does Swizz still have a career? What a weak-ass chorus, that Cream/Wu reference fucking blowed. Liking Fab's verses though.

7. Gangsta Don't Play- The cool thing nowadays is to feature reggae singers to do your hooks... and it nearly ruins this song which is fucking awesome without the hook.

10. Diamonds- The first time I heard this song I wasn't really feeling it, but now that I heard it again I realized that it's not that bad... but not that good.

11. Brooklyn- Who do you think Fab sampled on a track called "Brooklyn" featuring Jay? Anyone who didn't say Biggie may not feel welcome here. The sample feels out of place, and Uncle Murda appropriately murders this track.

12. I'm The Man- This song fucking rocks. "Your bitch is so easy a caveman could do her".

13. Jokes On You- Pusha T's comedy references are pretty impressive... and I strangely like this hook. And the song, it's really good.

15. This Is Family- This is a gritty ass song to put on such a club banger album, I'm also really impressed how Fab got Ransom, Budden, and Paul Cain to get on this track. Too many features for my liking, but it's still pretty decent.

This is by far my favorite Fab album, it's not that he changes his style at all... he just raps like usual but a lot better. This is by no means a "street" album, but I think everyone can find what their looking for and be satisfied. Loso's World (new album) coming end of the year.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 84, I definitely enjoyed listening to it and there are only a few bad tracks. Also check out "Yep, I'm Back" that song is fucking crazy.


Download Here

Clipse/ Lord Willin'

Your family's favorite twin coke pushers seem to be giving Jesus a ride... probably to their cocaine factory. I was apprehensive to give this record a listen because of Clipse's shady affiliation with Pharell (my favorite raspy, talentless singer who befriends today's talented mainstream artists). But once I re-listened to the "We Got It 4 Cheap" series again, I got serious motivation to give Malice and Pusha another chance. These two are probably the only rappers who can honestly get a guest appearance from anybody... from Kanye to Jadakiss to DJ Quik to... you get the idea. This album has 3 remixes so be ready... for what I don't know...

The Good:

1. Intro- How ironic would it be if a song called "Intro" was a single. This is a good song, since I've cheated and heard this album at first... I will say this is one of the better songs off the album.

2. Young Boy- I LOVE this hook!!! And the "Woo-Hoo" sample.... Yay! On the real, it's amazing how Malice and Pusha ride the beat and make a great sounding track even though the hook and aforementioned sample are ridiculous.

3. Virginia- Sounds like a beat Juvenile would spit to, but I liked it. More of a somber and serious song... even though the previous songs were about cocaine dealing.

4. Grindin- Back in 02, this was the song to drive to, people were driving to church listening to this song... it was that big. This instrumental is pretty sick, and the punchlines are ill as hell. Nothing I should have to write about, since you've probably heard this song before.

5. Cot-Damn- A Re-Up Gang posse cut that sounds really good. Now if Pharell wasn't on the hook...

8. When The Last Time- The hook fucking blows, but the instrumental and Clipse verses sound real good.

10. Comedy Central- Clipse would later make a song just like this on Fab's "From Nothin To Somethin". I'll admit that this song is pretty tight. And I didn't hear Pharell once.

12. Gangsta Lean- Clipse seems somewhat out of place trying to make a song for the ladies... but it still sounds really good.

13. I'm Not You- This song has been sampled and freestyled over more than "Dead Presidents II"... and I have to say I like this original version more than any other song on this album.

Neither of the remixes were even comparable to the original, so needless to say they weren't any good. I'm glad I don't have to listen to Pharell anymore... but I will probably do a "Hell Hath No Fury" review soon enough. I can honestly say this album was a good quality listen most of the way through, there was very little filler and the Neptunes production was great. The hooks not so much...

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 83. Like I said... give it a listen, you will probably like this album if you haven't heard it before.

Download here

Gang Starr/ Moment Of Truth

The best producers ever: Ski, Pete Rock, Jam Master Jay, many others and then there's DJ Premier. I've honestly never heard a bad song produced by Preemo, and he's produced at least 500 songs... and I've probably heard 100 at minimum. And not enough can be said about his monotone partner, who made lyricism street and gritty. Even though everyone names Wu as an influence, no one really mentions Gang Starr... who probably influenced your favorite rappers (maybe not Wayne and company). But Camp Lo owes much of their success to the jazz rap pioneers, as does Ski who has made his name as the second coming of DJ Premier. Interestingly, Guru and Preemo have both gone their separate ways, but are still active in hip-hop. Guru has been silent for a while... but DJ Premier is hard at work with my fucking boy TERMANOLOGY, check the kid out people. But now to bring it back to 1998, and for the heads who know their album history... I'll quote Cool J: "Don't Call It A Comeback"...

The Good:

1. You Know My Steez- This song is on the top of a short fucking list named "Best Album Intro's Ever". This was a single? HOW!?!?!

2. Robin Hood Theory- The lyrics are fucking murder, but the beat is much to subtle to emphasize what Guru's saying.

3. Work- All the hipster-hop artists nowadays freestyle over this instrumental. For good reason, this track is fucking awesome.

4. Royalty- Why didn't these guys sell millions? Still a mystery to me... I wish this song was two and a half minutes... but it's 5 minutes... still it's beautiful.

5. Above The Clouds- Appropriately named, as repetitively as I say this... it's true: You just do not hear shit like this anymore. And it's a damn shame...

6. JFK 2 LAX- Just a chill track... Premier laces this track with a beautiful vocal sample. And Guru's storytelling is commendable... I'm loving the lyricism.

8. Moment Of Truth- The topic at hand is pretty lame... and this track flip flops from weak to decent. Not surprising for a track the album was named after or vice versa.

9. B.I. Vs. Friendship- Let me get this off my chest... as gimmicky as M.O.P. is they were the first ones to come out with their sound. (which is why I am willing to listen to them) That being said, they sound pretty good... well as good as two screaming maniacs can sound over a jazzy Premier beat. Now Guru...

10. The Militia- This instrumental is fucking awesome. Big Shug is fucking awesome. Guru is fucking awesome. Freddie Foxxx is a different story.

11. The Rep Grows Bigga- Why? Why? Why? For those with patience, you will suffer through a minute and a half long interlude... but you will be rewarded with a good track equipped with insane sampling jobs by Primo.

12. What I'm Here 4- Let's just say my neck hurts from involuntarily nodding it after repeating this track 15 times.

13. She Knows What She Wantz- A completely different vibe, but I love this song. Not enough can be said about DJ Premier's ability to perfectly simulate a vibe with his instrumentals. And Guru well he delivers like always.

14. New York Strait Talk- Average, maybe below average... still better than most rapper's best.

15. My Advice 2 You- My advice to Gang Starr: Come back and make another album right fucking now. This track is a dream that you don't wake up(and don't want to) from until you hear...

16. Make Em Pay- Another amazing track, if you ever download this album, it will probably be your introduction to Krumbsnatcha... and it's quite the introduction.

18. Betrayal- It's hilarious how accommodating Gang Starr is to Scarface on this track. Slow beat, slow flow... still a great track. Check the attention to detail in the storytelling too... not too many people do that. The hook is amazing, I'm surprised it hasn't been sampled, and Scarface gets on his "I Saw A Man Die" shit.

19. Next Time- The chorus SUCKS!! but the rest rocks.

And sadly (in contrast to most albums) we're done. I can honestly say that this album is not just a good listen, it's a fucking Tony The Tiger great listen. All the way through... it's real hip hop that don't stop... at all... for one second... of one nanosecond.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

Remember "Illmatic", I said no album would ever top it... as good as this album is it's no "Illmatic", I give it a 92. And everyone young, old, musically deaf or gifted... pick this shit up. And you hip hop heads listen to Primo's instrumentals one more time before you decide not to give my boy Termanology a chance (would he really fuck with lame cats)? The download for ya ass:

What Part of Download Now Didn't You Understand

Google Ad Manager Service

I’m about to fly out of Austin but thought I’d post a link to a story that broke this morning on the official AdSense blog - they’re releasing a free Ad Manager service.
I’ve been sitting on this story for a few weeks and even got a sneak peak at it and I think it’s going to fit with the needs of quite a few medium to larger bloggers who want more control over their ad serving. It’s able to be used with a variety of ad networks as well as your own direct sales of ads.
“If you operate a site with remnant ad inventory as well as reserved ad inventory that you sell directly to advertisers, then Ad Manager is for you. It can help you sell, schedule, deliver, and measure directly-sold and network-based inventory. Google Ad Manager offers a wealth of features, including an intuitive user interface, automated yield optimization, and proven Google speed and reliability.”
The service offers:
Inventory management
Yield optimization
Ad targeting
Trafficking, ad delivery, and order booking
Creatives and rich media management
Reporting
User interface navigation
Account administration
You can learn more about their Ad Manager and apply to be in the beta here.
Share This Source: Darren Rowse

Introducing the winners of the Android Developer Challenge I

Less than a year ago, we announced the Android Developer Challenge, a two-part contest for developers to design engaging, innovative mobile applications for Android to the tune of $10 million total in awards. Since the kickoff of the first part of the contest (ADC I) last November, we've been eagerly waiting to see what these brilliant minds would come up with. The first round of ADC I closed earlier this year, awarding the top 50 entrants with $25,000 each. Today marks the closing of the second and final round of ADC I, in which 10 winners will receive $275,000 and 10 semi-finalists will be awarded $100,000. We'd like to wish a hearty congrats to all the award recipients!

Visit the Android Developers blog to read more about the finalists' projects, and check back for updates on ADC II.

Posted by Eric Chu, Android Mobile Platform

NaS/Untitled

A lot of hype over this album, especially cuz of da albums original name. U know what it is. NaS dropped a beast of a mixtape. If u havent heard it, then go cop "The Nigger Tape". Lets see if da Gods Son comes correct...

1: Queens Get The Money - Da piano production is FYRE, courtesy of Jay Electronica. If u dont know who he is, then google him cuz hes creeping on da come up. NaS kills a perfect intro track, which seems 2 throw shots at Fiddy.

2: You Cant Stop Us Now - Okay, whats up with this sample being used by both RZA & Salaam Remi? I like both versions, but I might have 2 lean towards this version a lil. Also, dont expect NaS 2 disappoint on da lyrics either. Is NaS defending Michael Vick by saying da chinese eat dogs? I dunno lil homie, I aint on that.

3: Breathe - Pretty good song, but a lil boring cuz of da beat.

4: Make The World Go Round - What da FUCK is this? If u want my opinion, "Letter To The King" should of made this album instead of this crap.

5: Hero - Dah shyt! Perfect single, NaS kills da song & da production is pretty good. I could imagine him performing this song in front of a huge crowd, str8 spitting.

6: America - I love da production & lyrics, but da chorus is horrible. So it lost a notch or 2 in my book.

7: Sly Fox - Da infamous Fox News diss, "I use Viacom as my firearm". This is a pretty good song accompanied by a rock sounding beat. "I pledge allegiance 2 da fair & balanced truth, not da biased truth, not da liest truth, but da highest truth. I will not b deceived, nor will I believe in da propaganda. I will not fall 4 da oke-doke. I am tuned in..."

8: Testify - This might b my favorite song off da album. Great production & chorus. NaS slows it up a lil but comes correct. My only knock is that its not long enough.

9: N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave And The Master) - Good song, but da production may be a lil boring. Thanks Toomp.

10: Untitled - NaS kills it once again. Da whole song is fyre! I thought this song was supposed 2 b called Louis Farrakhan.

11: Fried Chicken - I love this song. NaS is at his best at song like this. Concept songs? Da production is pretty good. Y is Busta talking bout pork though?

12: Project Roach - I was expecting more when I heard about this song. BUT...dont get me wrong is still a great song. I guess I was thinking it might b da next "I Gave U Power".

13: Ya'll My Niggas - This song has da best chorus on da entire album. Great song, point blank period.

14: We're Not Alone - I think I would like this song better if there wasnt so much singing on da chorus.

15: Black President - Great Pac sample, good beat from DJ Lantern. I heard da original version wit samples of sum politician introducing Obama, but of course da sample didnt pass so they used a different voice. I was looking 4 NaS 2 give us good valid points on y Obama should b our next president, but he came up short.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe 1 good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half r good songs, half r weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all r great songs

I would get this a 87 rating. A solid effort by da Lil Homie. I think he MIGHT b developing an ear 4 beats. NaS hardly eva comes up short on his lyrical game. Lyrically, its a step up from "Hip Hop Is Dead". Its also way better, but not better than Illmatic, It Was Written or MAYBE Stillmatic. Definitely worth being in my collection. How bout yours?

4 Da Thieves

ALLOW ME TO RE INTRODUCE MYSELF!

Hey this is vivacious with you and ready to post some reviews.... My first review will be on Solange's new album which...lets just say is dope...well that probably be today or tomorrow. I am just excited I was invited to blog here about the 2 things i vibe the most...music and hip-hop. Well I will be doing my first review sooon.... for now check out my blog as well!!! PEACE!!!

Empowering users to map their worlds

In countries like India, great maps and comprehensive local data are hard to come by. And traditional mapping approaches are stretched to the limit in such environments, where infrastructure and local businesses are evolving at a furious pace.

This need inspired us in Google India to design and build Google Map Maker, which enables users everywhere over to create rich, deep maps and fresh local data. People can mark their favorite spots in their cities and hometowns, add features such as roads, parks, and buildings, tag small businesses to help users find them, and collaborate to map neighborhoods of interest. This product is motivated by the spirit of information democracy, where people can create information that are moderated and consumed by their peers.

Today, we are bringing home this innovation by launching Google Map Maker in India, which has already been deployed in 57 other countries.



We hope Google Map Maker will result in rich local data which will benefit Google users both on the web and on mobile. The creation of base maps where there were previously none will encourage many mashups, mapplets and other cool applications that make use of this data. We're also excited to see Google Map Maker create a new breed of local map experts who bring their passion for their neighborhoods and communities into the online world, adding to local commerce, tourism and investment.

I will leave you with a map of IIT Bombay, the alma mater to many of us in Google India. When I spent a few hours mapping IIT Bombay -- the place I lived in, the school I went to, and the streets I played on, it turned out to be a surprisingly satisfying experience that reconnected me to a place that is home to many of my memories. We hope you will find the Google Map Maker experience as fun and fulfilling as we do.


Posted by Lalitesh Katragadda, Software Engineer and creator, Google Map Maker

Non-profit gives itself a Google makeover

Back in May, we introduced a site called Google for Non-Profits, to showcase the tools organizations can use to raise funds and collaborate easily and efficiently. These tools, we hoped, would enable non-profits to focus less on creaky email systems or lost documents -- and more on their missions.

For at least one non-profit, this was old news. Months before we unveiled our non-profit site, Marianne Clauw, who chairs CASA Washtenaw, an organization pairing volunteers with children in the local court system -- learned about Google products through an employee in our Ann Arbor office. With a website that she now compares to a "dusty storefront" and data sitting in a "scarily unsecure, un-backed up" state, she remembers, "I could see right away that we needed to switch to Google services."

Clauw and her colleague Ferlie Yruma used Google Page Creator (now Google Sites) to develop a shiny new website, complete with a YouTube video, a Google Calendar that reflects real-time updates, and a Checkout button allowing users to donate with a few clicks of a mouse. They applied and earned a Google Grant to run free AdWords advertising. As volunteer applications and donations trickled in, they began using Gmail and Docs to streamline the way they worked internally.

Here's what they have to say about the experience:



"Non-profits are not competitive by nature,” observes Clauw. “But we live in a competitive landscape: for donors, for volunteers, for grants. What we've done with Google is a major step in being competitive.”

When CASA Washtenaw competes at a high level, Washtenaw County kids win. And for this non-profit, that's the biggest prize of all.


Posted by Eileen Duffy, AdWords Associate

Pool Games, Play And Enjoy

Although online pool games is latest to the gaming world but it offers a unique chance to make money by playing games. Around 40000 of people play this game everyday at the same time. This is one of the popular games on Internet and liked by people as they can just sit at home and earn handsome amount of money. One of the best advantages of playing pool online is that you have the opportunity to select between playing the game for real money and playing pool for free. This not only sharpens the skills of the players but also give the chance to make money.

The first thing a player should do before he starts with the game is to look for the perfect site where he/ she can enjoy. There are thousand numbers of sites offering pool games a player need to choose best among the all. In fact some of the best online gaming sites present free online pool tournaments. A number of these free online pool games you can play just by clicking on your browser otherwise you can download this game from Internet that too free of cost. Those who are new to the world of online pool and think won’t be able to play this game they are absolutely wrong because many online pool sites provides instructions to new players which become easier to get the things.

Computer Games - Be Hi-Tech Right From The Comfort Of Your Home

Computer games are fun to be played and you don’t have to be computer genius to know how to play this game. People of all ages love to play these games. For playing computer games you just need a keyboard, mouse and a joystick and to make it more entertaining you add headphones and speaker to it. But to download computer games to need to set up the latest edition of windows operating system in your computer. And one more thing that need to be taken care of before you install games that your pc should also fulfill certain requirements that a game actually requires. To have quick and smooth computer games all the features of computer should be in proper order.

Although the initial type of computer games demand for minimum hardware but the latest version require need a quicker processors and better graphics. That’s why you will find that the older computer finds difficulty in running latest version computer games. The continuously changing hardware segments make it hard for the computer games to match up. Moreover the networked multiplayer systems are one of the necessity items that are required by the racing games. The game developers are even trying to play this game on Mac and Linux programs. In fact to make computer games more sophisticated the computer games developers are trying to add some new or latest features which will make it more interesting and entertaining.

Da Real Iz Back!

Yo! Jus wanted 2 give yall a lil announcement man. Im joinin da team here. My name is Were Read 2 Def. Ill b postin sum reviews here soon, so look out. 4 those who aint up on me, check my site...Only If Its Lyrical.

N dont 4get 2...Holla @cha Boi!

Strengthening the study of computer science

At a time when more and more digital technologies are becoming indispensable to millions of people, the field of computer science (CS) is in trouble. Enrollment and retention of CS students, particularly those historically underrepresented in the field (women, African-Americans, Native-Americans, and Hispanics) has declined sharply. According to the Computing Research Association, CS enrollment in the U.S. was at its peak in 2000, with 15,958 undergrads. By 2006, enrollment declined by roughly half: 7,798 undergrads. And enrollment among already-underrepresented groups has dropped even more sharply.

We hope to address this problem (and potential shortage) with a variety of programs beyond our scholarship initiatives. Recently, our educational outreach group, University Programs, and Diversity and Talent Inclusion teams joined forces to create the Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI). This special institute included an interactive and collaborative CS curriculum, as well as a living-learning residential experience for student networking. We chose 17 college sophomores, all aspiring computer scientists, to attend the all-expenses-paid CSSI in Mountain View from August 3–15.

Our goals for the institute:

• To enrich the skills of students early in their CS studies (or at risk of leaving the major) in an effort to increase the pipeline into the CS major and boost retention
• To provide a social and professional network for underrepresented (women, Hispanic, African-American, and/or Native-American) technology students
• To empower students, giving them the tools, motivation and confidence to continue with CS studies
• To show students daily life at Google and the amazing applications of CS that occur here

The CSSI faculty was comprised of Google engineers and our educational outreach group. We paired students with Google "buddies" - engineers with whom they can develop a long-term advising relationship. Students heard from professionals from across the technology industry and academia about the many things they can do with a CS degree.

Students worked in teams to build a completely interactive Web 2.0 website, keeping in mind both practical programming skills and the theory behind it.

We plan to keep in touch with these students across their college careers, and to encourage future participants to complete their CS work and join the community of computer scientists.


Posted by Rebecca Selvenis, University Programs Specialist

Young Jeezy/ The Recession

First, big fucking ups to my boy PeanutbutterToes at forfreedownloads.com. I been waiting on this shit for a hot second, and I bet you were too. I just heard "The Inspiration" for the second time and I realized what a huge part Jeezy has had in reinventing the genre of "Southern Rap"... which is infested with downright thieves. Don't get me wrong, there are some good(at max 50) Southern rhymers, but there are far more gimmicks. Which is where Jay Jenkins comes in. Mr. Jenkins actually released a god-awful first album, and kept improving from there (who said debut albums are always best)? Now he is a household name, if not for his stellar lyrics, definitely for his adlibs. After making the acclaimed Thug Motivation series (which will be reviewed soon enough), Jeezy decided to steer away and created "The Recession" which hopefully is not a political album...

The Good:

3. By The Way- Damn, Jeezy said this album was Thug Motivation on steroids... I don't know if I agree with that, but this track is real hot.

4. Crazy World- I'm pretty sure this is a single, the beat is crazy, and ironically enough this song is political.

8. Who Dat- Once again the instrumental is sick... but the lyrics are weak. Which makes it an average song.

9. Don't You Know- Same hook, different words... same lyrics, different words, same instrumental different bass.

10. Circulate- This shit is hot!! Love this track already.

11. Word Play- Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

15. Don't Do It- Finally a real song... this sounds kind of like "Dreaming".

16. Put On- You've heard it, and it's pretty good... for a street anthem. Kanye's verse sounds dumb as fuck though.

18. My President- This shit is straight fire, Jeezy kills it, and even though Nas goes back on his Black Republican/Democrat shit... it still sounds really good.
Nas seems to be finishing off lots of albums nowadays... or maybe it's just me.

I didn't really like "The Recession", it sounds like one long song that changes subjects 18 times. The hook is almost always the same with different words, the lyrics are simplistic and repetitive, and the production (good as it is) begins to bore you halfway through. There's a few great songs off this album, but the majority of them sound generic to the whole album.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 64. Didn't love it, but it was good at times. Can't say I recommend a download, but...

Download Here

Making money on YouTube with Content ID

Late last year, we introduced our newest tool for YouTube's content identification and management system, Video ID. While we have long provided copyright owners with similar content policies and tools, Video ID was revolutionary because it provided real choice and control to content owners by combining a sophisticated policy engine with cutting-edge video matching technology. With the other tools in our content ID system, Video ID helps content owners decide exactly what they want done with their videos, whether to block, promote, or even—if a copyright holder chooses to license their content to appear on the site—monetize them.

We've been curious to see what copyright holders would choose. Would the vast majority of partners block user-uploaded videos? Or would they embrace Video ID as an opportunity to generate revenue and exposure for their content online?

As it turns out, our partners are choosing the latter, monetizing 90% of all claims created through Video ID. This has led directly to a similarly significant increase in monetizable partner inventory, as our Video ID partners are seeing claimed content more than double their number of views, against which we can run ads. This means that if a partner has, say, 10,000 views of its content, leaving up videos claimed by our system will lead to an average additional 10,000 views of that same content. We call this "partner uplift," and for some partners we've seen uplift as high as 9000%.

Access to our copyright management tools is open to all rights owners, regardless of whether they choose to license their content to YouTube. But it's clear to our 300+ Video ID partners that our technology has created a framework that allows copyright holders to sanction the creativity of their biggest fans. These partners now have a new way to successfully distribute and market their content online, and with the help of our users, they are finding Video ID critical to discovering such opportunities.

You can learn more about our content identification and management system on its new home page.

Posted by David King, YouTube Product Manager

Search experiments, large and small

In my previous post, I described the components of your web search experience and the principles behind creating a great search experience. There are complex algorithms underlying simple features such as spelling correction and the two line snippets that describe each search result. We figure out what works by running experiments - tiny tests for a small number of users which help us determine whether that feature helps or hurts.



Experimentation is a very powerful tool, and we use it very widely to test potential changes to search. At any given time, we run anywhere from 50 to 200 experiments on Google sites all over the world. I'll start by describing experimental changes so small that you can barely tell the difference after staring at the page, and end with a couple of much more visually obvious experiments that we have run. There are a lot of people dedicated to detecting everything Google changes - and occasionally, things imagined that we did not do! - and they do latch on to a lot of our more prominent experiments. But the experiments with smaller changes are almost never noticed.



For example, can you tell the difference between the two pages below?



Choice 1:

Choice 2:

I'm pretty sure I would not be able to tell the difference if I were to see each of them on their own. But apparently you can! At least in the aggregate, there is a measurable difference with a change like this. In case you can't tell after staring, the white space around the first search result has changed, which makes the first result in Picture 2 slightly more visually prominent. This visual prominence conveys the fact that according to our ranking signals, the first result is a substantially better match than the next result. On the plus side, it helps you focus on the first result. But if you were looking for one of the other results, it can disrupt your scanning of the page. An experiment helps us determine which effect is more prominent, and whether a change would help you search faster.



Another change, almost as minimal visually, is between these two results:

Today

I actually have time and motivation so I will be getting to work on reviews... and on a special project:
I will compile the 100 greatest songs ever made and make them downloadable...
If it sounds good, holla at ya boy.
I should have it done by October.

At a loss for words?

Have you ever been stumped in finding the right words to search for? Back when I was planning my wedding, I had a list of wedding songs in mind, but the problem was that I couldn't remember any of the artist names or song titles. So I started typing into the Google search box parts of the lyrics that I did remember -- and like magic, I saw suggestions with the artist name and song titles that I wanted! (I was opted-in to the keyword suggestions Google Labs experiment at the time). At that moment, I was so proud to be working on Google Suggest, a search feature that provides real-time suggestions while you search.

Today we're excited because Google Suggest will be "graduating" from Labs and available by default on the Google.com homepage. Over the next week, we'll be rolling this out so that more and more of you will start seeing a list of query suggestions when you start typing into the search box.

We find that by providing suggestions upfront, we can help people search more efficiently and conveniently. Below are some great ways Google Suggest can help simplify your searching.

• Help formulate queries: Instead of just typing [hotels in washington] - did you want [hotels in washington dc] or [hotels in washington state]? Don't remember that song title or person's name? Let Google help you search (and yes, I ended up choosing "From This Moment" as our wedding song).

• Reduce spelling errors: Since suggestions are spell-corrected using the same "Did you mean?" feature that offers alternative spellings for your query after you search, misspellings and typos can be corrected ahead of time. Instead of wasting your time with a misspelled query like [new yrok times] or [tomorow never dies], search the first time with the correctly-spelled query.

• Saves keystrokes: Who wants to spend their time typing [san francisco chronicle] when you can just type in "san f..." and choose the suggestion right away?

The Google Suggest feature originally started as a 20% project in 2004, and has since expanded to Google Labs, Toolbar, Firefox search box, Maps and Web Search for select countries, the iPhone and BlackBerry, YouTube, and now Google.com. Special thanks to my teammates Miki Herscovici (Tech Lead) and the rest of the engineering team in Haifa for their hard work in making this happen.

So what are you waiting for? Give it a try. Start typing in a query on Google.com to see Google Suggest in action!

Update: Corrected team mention.

Posted by Jennifer Liu, Product Manager

Election season in high gear

As many of you know, the 2008 U.S. political conventions--two weeks of party business that begins for the Democrats in Denver today, and for the Republicans in Minneapolis next week--marks the beginning of the general election season. To help you stay informed and engaged in the upcoming election, we're launching a one-stop shop for political information: www.google.com/2008election.

Can't make it to Denver or Minneapolis? Go to our conventions site to view the latest news, videos, photos and blog posts. See what the candidates are saying about the issues that concern you by using Elections Video Search, which lets you search across all of the candidate speeches and videos by word. If you want to see what the Obama or McCain campaigns and other political journalists are reading, check out Power Readers in Politics and subscribe to get daily snippets. You can also interact with a wide variety of political mash-ups in the Google Maps Elections Gallery. If you're a teacher, inform your students about the political process with our Election Toolkit for Teachers. If you happen to be running for office yourself, or are blogging about various campaigns, go to our Campaign Toolkit to find out how you can use online tools to raise money, follow the campaign trail or spread your influence.

And as election day grows closer, we're working on ways for you to find local voter registration sites or polling places on demand -- stay tuned for more details on that.

We're excited to be a part of this exciting election season, where technology is playing a groundbreaking role in connecting candidates and voters.

Posted by Rick Klau and Brittany Bohnet, Google Elections Team

Ice Cube/ Raw Footage

I promised, and now I deliver... O'Shea Jackson's 8th album "Raw Footage". For those of you who enjoyed "Laugh Now, Cry Later", you should expect a more political album, full of Public Enemy references (necessary to succeed at social commentary). I remember the first hype for this album came with the single "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It", everyone was hyping it up as Ice Cube's return to NWA form. Which I didn't buy in any case, since the song was on Juice's album named "Death Certificate", named after Cube. I also remember that Nas had a verse... which got cut from the album version for some reason. Is it me... or is it ironic how Ice Cube is going from R rated movies to PG-13 to PG to fucking youth movies, yet at the same time his rhymes are more revolutionary and controversial. How O'Shea still gets roles, I don't know. Let's see if this album is any good:

The Good:

2. I Got My Locs On- The beat and hook are menacing in the best way possible... Jeezy's lines are weak as fuck, but Cube delivers.

3. It Takes A Nation- Just the first P.E. reference, but once you get past that... you will notice that what Cube is saying really makes sense.

4. Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It- If you haven't heard it yet, enjoy.

5. Hood Mentality- This sounds strangely like Nas' new album.

6. Why Me?- The first verse is great, but Cube ruins it with his "white man" racist spiel.

7. Cold Places- The first great song.

8. Jack N The Box- This song bangs, whoever "Tha Bizness" is they did a great job producing this track. And Cube spits some hot shit at ya ass.

11. Here He Come- This song would fit perfectly on "Laugh Now, Cry Later", but not on this album. Regardless, it sounds good. It's funny to see how the members of "Tha Lench Mob" changed... I'm talking about you Doughboy.

16. Take Me Away- Even though this song is only average, it sounds a lot better than the shit before it.

And we're finally done. First, all the instrumental's on this album are good, some are very good, and a few are average. Second, Ice Cube probably made this whole album very quickly (a week I'm guessing), because after the second song the political rhymes get worn out. Not because I'm ignorant and need songs about money, hoes, weed, and guns... but because every other line is "Fuck the government", "Fuck Bush", "Ice Cube For President" or some sorry-ass Public Enemy reference. I wanted to love this album, but it is easily the weakest Cube project I have ever heard. As a hip hop head who admires Nas yet still respects Lil Wayne, I can confidently say: most of this shit sucks.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 62. The lyrics are dull and repetitive after the first half of the album. But if you want to find out for yourself:

Download Here

Get on with the Racing Games

Guys will always remain for what they have always been known. Thrill, racing and adventure can be the best words to describe them. They are the hardcore man. The cars and bikes set their pulse rate on a racing speed. The Ferrari and Harley are their reverie. If it is not possible to catch hold of the dreams in the reality, then you can at least taste your dream in the virtual sense. And all thanks to the racing games, which have allowed the games lovers to play swanky bikes and cars of their personal choice.

The racing games are although not real and do not last for long, but whenever you play these games, you actually enjoy a lot and relive your dream. They are very cool, entertaining and a non-stop stroke. The racing games are among the favorites especially among the boys. It tops the category of all the online games and has a maximum demand. One a person start playing the racing games, they become addicted to it. Some of the top racing games are the motor bike game, dare devil, car game, grand theft auto, test drive unlimited, rally racing, 3D racing and a lot more.

The racing games can be played either by a single player or can also be played among two or more. The racing games very interesting while competing with the other player on the opposite side.

Funny Games: Stress buster

It is always said that laughter is the best medicine. This particular proverb has always been in existence and it means exactly what the lines say. Laughter is the best way to get ride of all the stress. A lot of studies have also shown that laughing can increase the health hormones in a body that helps to keep health. For people who are physical fitness freak should adopt this simple yet very effective way of laughter.

Playing games is also a form of having fun. But a lot of games have been offered that are made essentially to make people laugh and act as a stress buster. These funny games can be either played alone. And if you wish to play with a partner, than you can opt for the multi-player funny games. In the present day world, a lot of people have their PC and the internet connections. In act almost all the homes now have the computer. Due to this, people have started taking up the funny games as the easiest way to get rid of all tensions and have fun. It gives you the mental challenge. The intellectual games and different funny puzzles help to divert the mind in some other direction and take you away from all worries and tensions.

Free Games: Get entertained without any cost.

The best thing of having an internet connection is the possibility of playing free games. These games can be either played all alone or even with an opponent. The demand of free games has been raising a lot in the recent past and the demand seems to be increasing day by day. Due to the large demand, a lot of websites have come up in the recent past that offers a lot of interesting and exciting free games for all the age group people. These games are free to download and do not include any charge for any game.

The free games that are offered vary from the kids games to the role-playing games and to the multi-player games. The only thing which is to be done to play these games is to access these games sites that allow free downloading by searching it in the internet. Once you type a query, you will be over flooded with the games sites which offer online free games. These games are very exciting to play and are just a click away from you.

The free games sites are very popular. Some of these sites enjoy hundreds or even thousands of downloads and hits from the game fanatics. The rating of the games and free games sites are also allowed that helps the players to select the free games according to the rating.

New Blog Member

I am the type of person who usually laughs during sentimental moments in film, so I'll spare you from all the touching details...
A good friend of mine has agreed to join the blog, so hopefully that will mean more posts and more new music. But we are both students so don't count on it with any odd regularity.
And please, if you are a reader, don't just download, leave some feedback... it's instrumental. And again, I'm always down for recommendations.

Whose the person in the picture? Just guess...

Jay-Z/ Reasonable Doubt

Before he had enough money to fill an Olympic sized pool, Hovito was an disgruntled cocaine dealer who decided to give rap a try... and it turns out he was alright at it. As legend goes, Jay started out appearing in Jaz-O tracks... then featuring in Daddy Kane tracks... but not making enough money, started a record label known as Roc-A-Fella Records, with his cronies Damon Dash and Kareem Burke. Once word got around, Ski (Camp Lo producer) offered Jay a few instrumentals... Clark Kent, and Primo later joined after discovering Jay's potential. And even Biggie decided to offer a feature job... that's what unsigned hype used to mean. This album is considered a classic, and the epitome of "Mafioso Rap", so is it worthy of your collection? I'll help you decide:

The Good:

2. Politics As Usual- Just an introduction to Sean Carter's unique flow... but you have to wait for the final verse if you want to witness Hov's equally unique lyricism.

3. Brooklyn's Finest- The aforementioned Biggie feature, notice the rap-battle aspect of this song. And you might notice Superman's superb production job... and maybe the lyricism (maybe).

4. Dead Presidents II- With one instrumental change, you go from playful to somber. People just don't make beats like this anymore, nor do people even approach Jay's lyricism on this track. This song is so much more than simply a hip hop classic. Say what you want about the subject matter, but it cannot be examined more poetically than this.

5. Feelin It'- A last second Jay record, this was supposed to be a Camp Lo track... but Jay murders this track and exhibits his flow versatility. And the hook... it's pretty good.

6. D'evils- This song is the reason that Jay is still a legend after making "Kingdom Come", why Preemo is still a legend even though he now works with Christina Aguilera and The Black Eyed Peas, and the reason Snoop still has a job and a reality show. (I may have went a little far... but you get what I'm saying... this song is really fucking good.

7. 22 Two's- The ever-necessary "Fuck The Haters" song. The song structure is kind of lame, but it still sounds pretty good.

8. Can I Live- I'm guessing Beyonce can answer the question pretty thoroughly... but I can tell you that this song is classic, "I'd rather die enormous, than live dormant".

13. Bring It On- The instrumental sounds somewhat like "Kick, Push", and the Kid Capri sample fits the vibe perfectly. This Roc-A-Fella autobiography is narrated in a real gritty way... and with the right members (Big Jaz and Sauce Money mentored Jay for years).

14. Regrets- Slow chill beat, equipped with chilling lyrics by a guilt ridden Sean Carter.

People nowadays mention the word "classic" in every other sentence... some call "Tha Carter III" a classic, and some call every Nas album a classic... when you use a word so liberally, it's overall importance and value greatly diminishes. I don't call albums classics unless they are classics... "Illmatic" is a classic, "Capital Punishment" is a classic, and "Uptown Saturday Night" is a classic. Classics are albums that take a genre of music to a level once thought unattainable and are consistently great the whole way through.
The reason I defined classic is because I believe "Reasonable Doubt" is not a classic, although the songs "Dead Presidents II" and "D'evils" are probably among rap's top 10 songs ever made... this album is hard to listen to the whole way through without once pressing the skip button. The songs that are "amazing" on this album are truly once-in-a-lifetime... no one will ever duplicate the vibe that you get from "Dead Presidents II". But the songs that are bad, are just bad (bad as in fucking terrible)... and there are at least 3 or 4 of them.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

Now to sound contradicting, I will give this album an 86. Because even though it doesn't look right on my grade scale... the good songs more than make up for the bad ones. But they just do not make this album a classic or a must-have. At the same time they do make it an album you should probably download:

Download Here

Scott Storch/ Doug E Fresh

Do you see the resemblance?

Mac Lethal/ 11:11

Who is this fucking white boy? Mac Lethal aka David Sheldon is renowned for his freestyling abilities primarily because of his victory at Scribble Jam (the World Series of rap battling). And the only way you would know about Mac is if you keep up with the underground rap gladiator scene (admittedly unlikely), or with the increasingly impressive rap label "Rhymesayers". In Minnesota, mainly Minneapolis, Rhymesayers is a really big deal... they draw pretty small audiences to their local concerts but still appeal as more than just a grassroots indie hip hop label. Slug (frontman of Atmosphere) is responsible for the rise of indie hip hop, in Minnesota if nowhere else... it's also pretty big in New York (what isn't?) and in California. He has been signing no name talents to his label, and equipping them with no name production for years... and his label is now seen as a viable alternative to big record labels. Either this year, or maybe a few years before, Slug was able to land MF Doom, king of underground hip-hop and comic-book hip-hop. (honestly a fascinating subgenre) He was also able to lure David Sheldon (already forgot about him?) to his Minneapolis recording studios, to re-record the album that may have gotten him signed in the first place. If you like this album, and are inclined to hear more of Mac Lethal, I strongly advise you not to listen to his first album, which is worse than fucking horrible. He has a series called "The Love Potion Collection" and it's actually pretty good, we'll see if I get around to reviewing it. The hard and discouraging part about reviewing unknown artists is building a base or any sort of comparison to the artist. I will say this beforehand, if you are looking for lyricism, Mac Lethal has got it in fucking spades. Please check him out.

The Good:

1. Backward- The lyricism is unrivaled, I will proudly proclaim this as an indie/underground classic... that any hip hop fan has an obligation to hear.

2. Calm Down Baby- This reminds me of Wale's ADD tracks... Mac has a really hard time staying on subject, but his delivery and on point rhyming just sounds really fucking good.

3. Rotten Apple Pie- I found myself vibing to this song. The flow slows down, and the instrumental is awesome.

4. Makeout Bandit- A carefree and harmless waste of 3 minutes and 42 seconds of your life.

6. Jihad- Why do I like this song? All his comments about celebrities are right on. I've been saying Fuck Dane Cook for a long time... and worshipping Hedberg and Carlin for quite a while.

7. Crazy- I knew I wasn't the only to receive that e-mail from the Nigerian president...

10. Die Slow- After having his fun... Mac gets back to flowing insanely, and this track is truly remarkable.

11. Lithium Lips- Mac's attempt at storytelling is fully entertaining. You'll have to listen to this one a few times.

12. Tell Me Goodbye- Listen to this and think about the Sean Bell tributes, and all the Biggie and Pac references.

13. Sunstorm- Only Mac Sheldon could make a song displaying himself as an insensitive, cynical piece of shit. And then the next song he makes a sentimental outro. As contradictory as it seems, this song is really good... maybe the best off the whole album.

So, my longest post is regarding an unknown artist whom no one will ever care about. Maybe you shouldn't, as there is nothing morally comforting about this album... but if your looking for introspective lyrics and modern social commentary you will definitely find it... and you might just find yourself vibing to this album.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 83, as much as you want to love this album, you can't. The lyricism is great, at times unparalleled... but at times, the combo of weak production and repetitive lyrics will put you to sleep. I would definitely recommend a download, because this is an album you have to hear and decide for yourself...

Download Here

Comments always welcome