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.

Questions of a Bored Blogger

I apologize for the lack of material on this page as of late. To be honest, I'm a little bored with hip hop right now. But I do have a couple of questions that I would like your feedback on. With that being said:

1. Will the delay of Lasers help or hurt Lupe Fiasco going into the new year?

I am a huge fan of Lupe. Shortly after Food & Liquor dropped, he came to perform at my college. I talked to anyone who would listen, weeks before the show, about how great this guy was, plus it was $5 to get in. I ran across campus after working a double shift just to get in and less than 100 people showed up. After all the annoying label controversy, I've been waiting patiently like the rest of his stans for the album to drop. I don't think I care anymore when it comes out.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think his fan base will go anywhere but I feel like a golden opportunity was missed. Aside from Enemy Of The State, there isn't a lot of music that's been released to keep the fans at bay. Not to mention Friend of the People was shelved indefinitely. I respect the fact he doesn't want to be a slave to Atlantic but releasing old songs isn't doing it for me.

2. Does anyone really care if Detox comes out at this point?

I know I don't. Moving on.....

3. How the hell is Jay-Z going to market Jay Electronica?

I was excited and surprised that he actually signed with Hov but, he faces the same problem any other record label would. For an artist who is so anti-mainstream, I wonder how he will pull that off? Did anyone else feel odd that he's in a Mountain Dew commercial? I mean you gotta get paid but it seems contradictory to his image.

Then again look at B.O.B......
4. Why is Diddy still trying to make music as an artist?

I appreciate Diddy's hustle to make money and expand his empire but isn't trying to still be a legitimate artist taking 12 steps back? Last Train to Paris sold well not because of his talent, but thanks to his glorified background singers, Auto-tune, and more features than one of his terrible Biggie collabo cds. Not to mention Kanye did a better job with 808s & Heartbreak . And lets not forget the ridiculous catch phrase, "Get on or get off" which was only done to make it appear as if he didn't care how many units he sold in case it tanked. I don't care how much it sold, it's still garbage. How about you direct that energy to putting out Red Cafe's cd?

If  I'm wrong let me know . Any other questions bugging you about  music? Am I the only one bored?

Bow Wow: Look Past The Name

Yeah I know what you're thinking.....but bear with me.

I, like many, have written this guy off for many years because..well..he has not done anything worth talking about for a while. All I remember is a little boy with cornrows rapping to little girls. Though he is the butt of many jokes now, not many people were selling records like this guy did at that time. Like it or not he deserves respect for that. But success is sometimes a double-edge sword. He did it so well as a little kid, that no one really sees him as a credible MC-including himself at times- Exhibit A. Now he's pigeon-holed himself. He even retired from the game once upon a time (no one noticed). With a couple of albums tanking the last couple of years who would disagree?

Which brings me to now....

Despite his troubles with his place in hip hop, he still believes that we haven't see the real him. He's been really consistent with that message for many years now. I think that he is still trying to find who he is and that my friends is hip hop- the ability to grow and reinvent oneself.  Each of us, including rappers, try to find a piece of ourselves in the music. That's why we stay up to ridiculous hours on the Internet listening to new songs or why we pull Cd's out of our collections and listen to them again. We are searching for that feeling we got the first time. I think Bow Wow is doing that as well. He's still hungry despite the skeptics and critics. That's why he's got the deal with Cash Money.

Maybe he deserves a second chance to prove himself worthy of the respect of his peers. Look how many chances we give Kanye after he makes a total ass of himself (making dope music does help) I'm not saying that I will buy a CD but I am curious  to see if he can make a lane for himself on such a crowded roster.

Valid point? Waste of time? Floor is yours.