Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 12:00PM
In 1991 one of the best video games on the planet arrived to the NES system. To this day Tecmo Super Bowl stands the test of time as a game that had fun game play and and actual player attributes included into the game play. As a tribute I would like to borrow one of the ratings that was used to determine how well a player has been performing. The Physical Condition rating basically went like so Excellent(player was unstoppable basically), Good(excelling ) Average(could go either way), Bad (play sucks on the field), Injured( player is out of commission). I thought it would be cool to use these ratings as a measure for some of the past and present freshmen class this rap season.
Excellent
Big Krit-
Return to 4 Eva gets better every listen. I don’t think this guy has dropped something that I would classify as un-listenable yet.
Jay Electronica
One verse is all that has emerged so far from the “Voodo-Man”. That verse was up to par with anything else that he has put out though and if his long awaited LP drops this year and remains on the same quality of everything he has delivered up to this point(aside from a Mountain Dew commercial and odd Paul Wall appearance) it could easily be considered a classic as well.
Blu
Lot’s of solid music has been delivered from the Left Coast genius. A mixed version of Her Favorite Colur, J E S U S, tracks from his major label debut NoYork! , and a few other random cameos, and jawns.
Good
Tyler The Creator
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All ‘s leading man has really risen to the occasion. Instead of getting lost in the hype, it seemed like he didn’t even notice it. Goblin is a good album, the Lykki Li remix was fresh, and let us not forget the killa collab with Pusha T that still has me screw faced. His future looks good, and if he can continue to improve who knows the ceiling for this dude.
Asher Roth
Though it might appear my dude has been silent this year, you better think again. A few killer guest appearances here and there, a most likely hit single soon with Last Man Standing, and a summertime jam as well. Dude has had one of the fastest redemption's in music history . At this rate, Asleep In Bread Aisle might soon be a distant memory if dude stays the course.
Lil B
Base 4 Your Face was what made me finally take this guy seriously. The Illusisons of Granduer mixtape wasn’t bad either, I have yet to listen to I’m Gay yet, but I am sure I wont be too disappointed with the results. I know @bobojojo hates this guy with a passion. But, his current musical output is something to commend. One of the few artist now days that’s at least trying to do something different at least. The funny thing is the more experimental he becomes, the better the quality gets. A rare trait indeed.
::Bobojojo edit::
Um..
Yeah he is different, making bojangle coon music
Big Sean
The overachiever on this list for sure. I got to be honest here though, though I was a fan of his two mixtapes installments, I initially didn’t expect too much from Sean this year with his major release of Finally Famous. Yet, when My Last dropped it soon somehow became one of my favorite songs this year so far. His content may not be too enduring but, his album was good enough for me to continue to have it on replay. Much like the guy below I just have to give credit where credit is due. You did it.
Kendrick Lamar
I can’t deny that Section 80 was a good LP. Dude has proved his worth in the game and has carved out his own space for sure. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
The Cool Kids
You can’t deny the consistency of this duo. While most are still trying to score a major single, the Kids emerged this year with When Fish Ride Bicycles LP that gave their fan base another solid offering from Sir Mikey and Chuck English.
Theophilus London
Though his subject matter is rather limited(girls basically), I have to give credit where credit is due. He dropped a cool EP, and his major release Theze Are Strange Dayz(which was basically the EP+a few more new tracks) was cool as well. Guy has yet to disappoint.
XV
His Zero Heroes release this year might prove to be one of raps most slept on projects this year.
Average
J.Cole
Allegedly he is coming out with his album this year. I don’t buy everything about this guy yet. Especially with the output he has delivered so far this year. His single? The single he did with Wale? eeeeeeeee. That Like A Star jawn you released though a few weeks ago keeps you on the level side of the scale for sure.
Drake
Oh you hard(fancy) now, huh? What is this dude doing? Going to body someone now? “We don’t believe you, you need more people!”. You had a few alright songs to start the year off with, and a hot summer single with Khaled(though it was anything but tough), and you release a generic single talking about how you going to have people snuff’d? Get the heck out of here with that talk. At this point, you need to get back to making them LL joints, stay in your lane maine!
Yelawolf
Sad that I have to put this guy here, because dude can spit. But I don’t know of anything really that has made me check the rhyme of the Alabma native in awhile. Will see if signing with Slim Shadey changes that, or puts the final bullet in a once promising career. Could go either way at this point.
Bad
Chiddy Bang
Yeah he rapped his way into the Guinness Book of World Records, but did you hear that Peanut Butter & Swelly Mixtape??? Yeah I forgot about it too.
Diggy Simmons
The prince of a king has yet to score any buzz this year. When this year did you hear anyone recommend listening to a Diggy track?
Wale
The king of compromise himself has failed to regain any of his past acclaim, even with Officer Ricky behind him. His music is becoming less and less impressive with every release, and what he needs more than ever might be a shot of self-assurance. Find yourself my dude.
Injured
Chris Brown
There is something not right with this boy. I don’t get his behavior? Nor his music, he drops an OK mixtape last year and scores a (forgettable) hit with Dueces and then somehow gets people to buy that generic pop album F.A.M.E and instead of building on those blocks, he releases a mixtape with him rapping mostly? Not something anyone has been asking for Chris. This guy needs some help, and a trip to the hospital might be in order for sure. Or just some time away in general.
Charles Hamilton
Sonic The Hamilton has had an accelrated disappearance this year. I don’t know anyting going on with the whereabouts of this man, nor do I know if he has any more music going on. Last I heard he was in a hospital(seriously: good for him), I guess I can only wish him a speedy recovery if anything, and that he is able to pick up the pieces.
Big Krit, Blu, Chris Brown, Diggy Simmons, J Cole, TThe Cool Kids, Yelawolf, asher roth, drake, jay Electronica, wale in music Monday, September 20, 2010 at 12:00PM 2010 has ushered in a new era where the artist can cut-out the middle man from the picture, and deliver music straight to the fans. No longer is it needed for DJ Clue to feature your mixtape and it to be sold near bodegas. With just one click, it goes out to the internet via all social outlets that most people check on too often.
So in this era, you might ask where is the hard part now? Well I believe it lay in the balance between the hype and execution.
Case in point is artist Jay Electronica. Gather all his freestyles, and features and maybe you can fill the time limit quota for a mixtape now. However, somehow there are way no current shortages of interviews, trailers, promos, him taking photos with celebs, and Hip-blog hype about the man. Although he has released the critically acclaimed Exhibit C this past year, his other projects are no where to be found. Setting launch dates that aren't met, mostly talking during perfomances when he should be rapping, or him being plain scared,
“I’ve been afraid to release Act II because I feel like it’s not gonna be good enough. I know the people expect so much from me. — Jay Electronica on Aug. 9th, via Twitter for the iPad
This makes me lose a lot of respect for a man that has so much talent, and just squanders it away living in hip-Hollywood nonsense.
Case n Point #2: Ski Beatz 24 Hour Karate School was supposed to be the underground hit of hip-hop. Blogs were loving it like it was the next iPhone. But just like how the new iPhone 4 has no reception, 24 Hour Karate School has yet to be released to any reception. First announced in November 2009, now arbitrary dates are chosen as the new "release date". Do a quick Google search and you'll see how this date changes yourself:
Maybe they should call the album 24 Year Karate School instead::zing::
Case and Point #3: Just over a year ago Charles Hamilton was the promising act of 2007. Yet he did the opposite of what the other two examples did and instead, OVER delivered:
This created an over-saturation of music, and pretty much fried his common sense, driving him crazy. Not only were there too many releases. The earlier projects had horrible quality mixing(which he now claims was intentional), as if someone mastered it with a butter knife. By the time he regained his senses and tried to clean up his act, people like me stopped caring.
However a few months ago Kanye West joined Twitter and decided to use it not only for 20 tweets banters, but G.O.O.D. Friday releases that people are seemingly happy with. While the idea of releasing a new song every week isn't new, what Mr West is doing is breaking the current mold of milking the blog hype with trailers, behind-the-scenes videos, pics, and interviews. Instead Kanye posts the song right away without snippets allowing the blogosphere, and social media universe, to talk about it and create the buzz there after.
Granted the fact that Kanye has a lot more money, as well as industry friends that can jump on a track in a minute, and more clout in to deliver his projects quicker than the other two previously mentioned (wait, Jay Electronica has all the industry friends and Eryka Badu supporting him so F**k Him). You gotta still give respect, for staying true to his word for five-weeks straight so far (I don't count that Justin Bieber remix).
So whats to learn about this? Its balance. Make the product first, then release at a pace where people can digest and grow to love it over time.
Bonus
Favorite G.O.O.D Friday Kanye Release so far:
Kanye West - Runaway Feat Pusha T
Monday, July 26, 2010 at 3:38PM 
The other day I decided to check out this video of MTV2's Sucker Free Summit. I was expecting Drake, Gucci Man, and Eminem to occupy my the next 45 minutes accepting awards. surprisingly instead there was rap that I had never listened too and a few of my favorites as well on the list as well as your usual bigger named Hip Hop artist. Yet the surprise of the show was when group for Instant Classic announced its winner...
Yes!!!! The Voodoo Man, aka Mr Badu, was a winner! I mean this song was crazy, but for the masses to actually considerate this up for not just nomination, but also a win? Yeah, I almost cried as well. After all the Eminem, Gucci, and Drake hype, and that trash they play on the radio today, we finally have a public win for the other music. Music that isn't trying to fit the radio format, or end up in "da clubs" or the "da streets". What's especially surprising is the competition that he beat out. Could this be a the second coming of 1993 by chance? By 1993 I speak of when Arrested Development got the time to shine...
Maybe balance might be restored to "The Force" after all
Justa
