Is H.A.M Worth Eating?

Hey everyone. After a long break and some refreshing conversation with some fellow hip hop heads, I feel refreshed.

Well the first single of the collaboration LP Watch The Throne is finally here. With Jay-Z coming off a great 2010 and Kanye's incredible album in stores, there is a lot of excitement around this project. Unfortunately, when you have a vision of a sound for an artist, sometimes it doesn't quite come out the way you thought. And it could lead to disappointment. When I listened to the track, I was a little bummed because I was expecting something bigger, more amazing than what I heard. Don't get me wrong. It doesn't suck it's just....average. The beat is ok but both artists are struggling to match the speed of the drums. Not to mention when Jay-Z sings the refrain, he sounds stuffy. If you are gonna go H.A.M, you gotta come harder than that son. You'll see what I mean.

Here it is.........

Usually I would dismiss this as a 'filler track' but, it's an LP people. That means 4 more tracks to bring it and I'm a little worried. Maybe this is just a bunch of extra material for the masses like G.O.O.D Friday. Speaking of, why are so many artists riding Kanye's coattails? Timberland Thursdays? Snoop has his own as well coming. I guess it's a testament to Kanye being a trendsetter.

Is H.A.M really that average? Are my standards too high? Will Timberland's neck ever return? Let me know.

The Perfect Song

I listen to a lot of music especially while driving because I'm trying to find the right song to match how I'm feeling. It's a very tedious process without a cd changer but I have it down to a science at lights.

Moving on....

While listening to 'Assassin' by John Mayer for the millionth time, I realized something. The real important tracks on a cd are ones that you don't skip months after the album has lost its luster. Its' the track you can put on repeat for months straight.

For instance, 'Allure' by Jay-Z is a great song not necessarily because he's saying anything super-lyrical, but the feel is very nostalgic. I really feel I'm there in that Blueberry 5- I don't wanna blink twice to get there though-while the haunting hum from Pharrell lingers in the background. Transporting a listener into your mind through a song is a talent.

Though N.E.R.D's 'Seeing Sounds' cd was great as a whole, 'Laugh About It' really stood out to me. The way the drums hit (808's?) with the guitar melodies always gets me hype. Very catchy refrain and easy topic to follow.

And who could forget Nas' Second Childhood? Nas and Premo are classic. People are still doing that same stuff in that song over a decade later. SN- Lost Tapes is the greatest album Nas has ever made next to Illmatic. 

But that's what great music is supposed to be, timeless. That's when I feel I get my money's worth. Maybe the reason people don't buy cds anymore is not just because of music's availability on the internet, but rather people don't see much music out there worth spending $15-$20 on. I was watching this video of Lupe Fiasco at a University discussing how record sales don't define success. He goes on to say that Soundscan was a tool that was originally used exclusively by record labels to track where their money was going.

I wonder what would happen if numbers didn't effect who we listen to? Are we listening to artists purely because they sold a lot of records? Is Rick Ross a better rapper than Mos Def because he sells more? Are we afraid to listen to an artist that no one knows because someone didn't cosign them first?

I wonder who would have won the beef between Nas and Jay-Z if Nas had more commercial success.........

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