Waka Flocka was next on my list. Of course, I know what you’re going to say. Why? Well, I like his energy and the fact he’s accomplished a lot with little lyrics says a lot. He brought out the best Diddy verse in….years. Maybe even the last decade.

It’s weird that I found myself enjoying that more than Kush & Orange Juice. Without hesitation, I knew I had to write about this. I dug out the project from my recycle bin and re-listened to make sure I wasn’t bugging. Apparently, I was a little hard on it. A lot of people agreed that it was all hype but I liked “The Statement”. But that was all I found myself getting into.

What is my point, if any? I just found it obscene that somebody like Waka Flocka had a better tape than one of the most hyped up rappers in the game right now. I watched Wiz gain like 4 followers every couple seconds on release day. Nobody can’t say I never gave him a chance. And I will continue to since he’s considered a big deal.

With all this said, we want Str8 Killa, No Filla. The end.

If radio, music television and yes, even the DJ is to survive, they must be able to compete; meaning the same music you love to listen to when you’re in your car should kind of match the music you play on your show. I submit that in order to compete, the DJ must take back his courage and begin to not only play records, but break them.

His words may just be annoying me a little. This competition he says. I don’t agree with there needing to be any competition. I feel as though blogs and DJs cover two different aspects that the other can’t. It’s not like Nahright and DJ Drama are fighting for the top spot. They’re both one of the top players in each field.

So, whenever someone says there is bloggers vs. DJs, I want to smack them. Yeah, I’ll agree that blogs are actually finding more talent but it’s because DJs don’t be on the internet like that. On top of that, when is the last time you saw DJ Clue break a new artist? I mean someone who is not heavily buzzing in their city but still dope nonetheless. It’s easily to see that someone like Alley Boy is hot in Atlanta and could be picked up by a bigger DJ to make him more known. You’ve never seen a blogger hit up a club and start DJing, have you? I doubt it. We’ve seen DJs blogging before though. They aren’t as good as the actual bloggers sometimes. Again, we both cover two different aspects of the game. Nobody is dying out. DJs are fine. Blogs are fine.

My point is DJs should actually attempt to build a new artist. Instead, we got hoes like Pinky getting DJ Scream tapes. It’s bigger than just breaking a record in my opinion. Yeah, Rhyme is on point with his last statement but he could’ve gave it an extra mile. You can’t always expect to break a record when you don’t bother to give new artists a chance. I could go on about DJs but I’ll let your eyes see for themselves. You get my point.

However, after hearing this garbage pornstar turned rapper, I’m appalled.  This so called rap is so damn annoying.  We can all argue that hip-hop isn’t in a good state anyways but all these songs consisted of money, her ass, fucking and being a bad bitch.  I can’t believe DJ Scream honestly co-signed this.

Maybe it’s because she’s a pornstar invading this business that makes me angry.  I don’t fully know.  A lot of rappers are the same with their content, yet a few of them I like.  When Pinky just comes through and gets her own DJ Scream tape, it’s kind of bullshit.  I know REAL artists who actually work hard to deserve something like that.  It’s obvious that she paid Scream but she has no skills.  Stay in your own lane when it comes to fucking.  It doesn’t make any sense like what are you trying to prove by rapping?

Who knows?  Should we even care?  Am I just making a big deal out of this? One thing is for sure, the tape was below average and her one guest appearance was even more horrible than that.  When you have people who can actually rap or construct a deep song….aah, fuck it.

E-40 is a Bay Area Legend. He has a loyal fan base who will go and cop both albums. Hell, If I can get out to Best Buy I’ll go ahead and pick them up. You don’t have to like his music but how often does any artist do two albums at once in 2010? It’s a risky thing since people don’t buy albums much anyways. Universal became smart and lowered prices on their distributed albums as should everyone.

I don’t see how you can hate on someone who has a lane nobody is touching. I admire his wordplay because it’s unique and creative. He has his own dictionary or it’s coming out. I can’t remember. Have you heard “The Server”? That is some street poetry at its finest. A lot of diverse records on the two projects.

Salute the legend. Go cop the albums on Tuesday. Review coming soon.

Hey rappers, remember that? It’s called the streets. It’s still a marketable area if you can be smart and creative. It’s not hard but you would/need to follow two key rules:

1. Your approach is everything. I’m not talking about the way you walk (although it’d be nice not to trip on your own feet when walking up to someone). You should never come up to someone and say I’m one of the hottest artists out of (insert area here). If that was true, you wouldn’t even need to really introduce yourself because most people would know who you are. You never want to start off a potential sale with a lie. Come up with some creative words to describe yourself. Tell the person what type of music you do like if you’re good at story telling or club music. Hell, if you want to really impress someone kick some bars, whether off the dome or from the tape.

2. The way you word things is vital. You have to sound confident in your product. Be ready to answer any questions. There is a big difference between cocky and confidence. Coming out and saying “I’m the best out” is easily going to cancel a sale. I’ll even call you out to prove it to me. If your mouthpiece isn’t solid, I’d advise not going out until you can speak without stuttering or having to think about it. Every second wasted is like two or three percentage points down you have of getting someone to buy.

Those are two of the many rules. I can probably write more and touch on everything but it would be too easy then. I will say a unique/dope cover is not just for the net. They work in the streets too. I know this is possible because I be around my guy Neema who does this for a living. So, no rapper can sit here and tell me it doesn’t work. I live in Seattle by the way. Seattle isn’t even a big music city but it can be done here. It can happen in your area. Go ahead and try it one day. It’s basically Spring as well. Perfect weather almost. If you don’t invest in your own product, why should anybody else?

You see Randy Savage? Dude was beasting until Kevin Nash low blowed him. This is easily one of the most memorable moments within WCW. Only someone like Eric Bishoff could’ve thought to make Hogan a bad guy. Sorry, I was just reminscing upon these days when I was like 8-10 and WCW was dominating the game. I’m so glad I wasn’t born in 2000 on up because the wrestling now sucks. I can’t enjoy any of it. I just liked this clip and the one below. The Giant joining N.W.O. should’ve been the last dude. After that, too many people were enlisted.

So, we now have the complete list of XXL’s 2010 Freshmen; deemed the New Breed of Hustlers. We’ve seen many opinions on it and who has been missed etc. etc. What do I think about the Freshmen? Besides the fact that it’s probably the first year I didn’t really care for half of them, here are my invidual thoughts on each promising MC.

Pill: I didn’t catch on when “Trap Goin’ Ham” started popping on the blogs. I even watched the video a couple times. Now, it’s a real good song and his last tape, The Refill, was a dope project. One of my favorite songs is “Coasting.”

Freddie Gibbs: Easily my top Freshmen pick out of the list. I’ve enjoyed every song lately from him especially “Slammin’.” He gives the mid-west a Gangster feel and you haven’t seen that much or ever.

Jay Rock: I’ve been up on Jay Rock since before I had a blog. You know I’m a West Coast dude and I’m glad to see him getting his shine on. Jay is one of the examples that the West can go beyond just Gangster stuff. “Life’s A Cycle” proves that.

Donnis: A little known fact is that I interviewed Donnis for DJ Booth’s In The Mix series back in August. He had just dropped his Home Of The Brave mixtape. At the time, I had no idea he’d become a freshmen. I still haven’t heard a good song though…and I peeped the tape.

OJ Da Juiceman: I would’ve liked Waka Flocka in this spot better. Next.

Wiz Khalifa: There is something about Wiz. His music hasn’t hit me yet but I view him as a promising artist. I also don’t view him as a superstar yet for some reason. I told the homie Will the same thing. He still feels like a little known artist.

Fashawn: He dropped an album last year right? I seen a review in the XXL. That’s all. I get confused with Nashawn.

Big Sean: I honestly don’t have much to say about Sean. I’m not the type to join in on supporting an artist just because all the blogs are.

J. Cole: Aaah. Roc Nation’s glowing star. His best verse was “A Star Is Born.” He is still overhyped though.

Nipsey Hussle: Last but certainly not least is the Rolling 60′s rap star. Nip has delivered good material since Bullets Ain’t Got No Names Vol. 3. I loved his small verse on Snoop’s “Upside Down.” However, I think his label is kind of not doing what they need to do. Time for a new home.

With all this said, look out for my top five Freshmen on SD starting tomorrow.

It’s such a good day in Seattle. Sunny and warm (apologies to you snow people). There isn’t much to discuss in Hip-Hop. I think besides artists still not dropping tapes on time, everything is great. We’ve gotten tons of good music this week alone.

The week has been an up and down road that ended on a high note. Thanks to everyone who has supported SD over the last two years. I’m glad we got this far.

A few SD presented projects on the way: L.A. Webber – Stress Relief Vol. 2 (Hosted By Snatchatape & The Empire), Young Gliss – Dealing With The Pressure and another Team Rsinal Best of mixtape. We’re keeping it under wraps.

Well, that’s really all to say. Enjoy the posts below. Go out and do something productive. I’m going to head out and relax. Red Robin…here I come!