The Musik Lounge

It's that time once again... So I took a little break from the Jigga man but what better way to return than with his Unplugged project which found him backed by The Roots band for the MTV show. Turning out as a pretty good greatest hits package was probably just an added bonus, but over the course of the fourteen tracks here you will be treated to the biggest songs of Jay’s career plus those classics even the Reasonable Doubt heads respect. Coming out on the heels of The Blueprint (I know, I messed up the chronology) the disc is a little heavy on songs from there, but it’s all good – you all know what I thought about that joint ! While it’s easy to get nervous about a band backing a Hip Hop artist The Roots aren’t just any band and ?uest and company do a great job of giving these tracks the live treatment, it’s only on originally synth heavy songs that things sound a little unfortunate – but these are few and far between. For the most part you are treated to a selection of beats...

Seemingly out of nowhere Prodigy snuck a new album out towards the end of October. Obviously he isn’t around to promote Product of the 80's , but prior to his up north trip he put in a lot of work at Dirt Class studios with production duo Sid Roams – and it had to get heard. Sid Roams, comprised of Joey Chavez and Bravo, have been making waves for a minute but only in the last couple years joined forces with a unified name and their own lab in NYC to concoct their heavy brand of Hip Hop funk. Featuring hard synths and harder drums these two have created an atmosphere fitting for Prodigy and his partners Un Pacino and Big Twins to spit their tales. Prodigy “Cold World" P is P. You can’t really come into this record not knowing what to get. For as long as the Mobb has been around they have been the leaders of grimey QB hood shit. But as the fame got larger and larger and the gap between what they were living versus what they had lived grew they lost their touch. Signing with G-U...

Serving as a precursor to his Chemical Warfar e full length due in February, The Alchemist dropped his Cookbook EP with six tracks to hold us over until then. In typical Alc fashion we are treated to some of his classic QB griminess opening the disc with the Nina Sky assisted “Keys to the City.” Over some slow thumping drums a subtle repeating key loop in the background and quite vocal sample Al and P lay it down for their town. Snoop comes through on the hook for the lead single here, “Lose Your Life.” While Alchemist is know for his work with some of the hardest crews in Hip Hop, this is certified hood shit if I’ve ever heard it. Jadakiss does what he always does flowing in his usual smooth demeanor delivering his brand of street tale. In a rare separation from his partner, Pusha T slides in sounding just as at home over this banger as he does over anything cooked up by P and Chad. I can’t help but chuckle at the thought of CNN still trying to make it, but they make an appearance he...

Upon the delivery of The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse Jay-Z was subjected to a lot of hate. While not fully deserved, it’s hard to listen to The Blueprint next to it’s predecessor and believe that it’s the best Jay-Z could have given us. Filled with his typical commercial fodder, the sprawling two disc effort might be the Jay album you’ve been sleeping on. Let’s just get this out of the way: This album is not The Blueprint . Aside from the similarity in name and a few producers you shouldn’t expect to hear the same style that was executed to perfection the first time out. Instead be ready for club hits and a more studio oriented sound. The samples aren’t completely gone, but just as present are keyboards and synthed out effects a number of producers continue to perfect so as to avoid the expensive penalty of clearing a sample. Bringing back the two stars of The Blueprint , Kanye and Just Blaze are in heavy attendance here with them contributing four and seven beats respectiv...

Last week I reviewed Termanology’s new album saying that he was bringing back a sound missing from East Coast Hip Hop. This might be the album responsible for the loss of the traditional NYC aesthetic disappearing from the public ear. Jay-Z is three albums deep in as many years, proving that his hustler mentality could be applied, and applied well, to the rap industry. This album represents the birth of Jay-Z the superstar. I picked this album up along with Jay’s discography through one of those CD clubs (Don’t front, you know you were in one!) and listened to it for the first time while driving home along the Umpqua river - Oregon stand up! While not the greatest local to be listening to tales of the streets, I did… and I hated it. But my hate for Vol. 2 wasn’t because I couldn’t relate to what Jigga had to say. It was because he was making his music for kids like me, and the pop feel that killed certain tracks on Vol. 1 turned into a pop album that, while still demonstrating credi...

It’s 1997 and the reigning king of NY has been shot down in LA. A young emcee out of the Marcy housing projects that made a name for himself off the strength of an Illmatic like debut returned to the scene to carry the torch for his fallen brethren. Where Reasonable Doubt was a raw and unabridged look at the streets Shawn Carter had sprung from, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 is like the sprawling step child filled with the same great lyrical voice but missing the sense of reality. In place are glossy beats and R&B hooks courtesy of Puffy and his Hitmen production team – a pairing much more fruitful a decade later with Jigga’s 2007 release (I can't wait to talk about that joint!). While Jay has commented that he believes he may have gone a little too far with the “pop” styling’s Puffy was so famous for – listen to “I Know What Girls Like” with the trademark Puff jacking on the hook. It’s pretty bad, but thanks to an amazing Lil Kim guest verse I’ll over look it. Speaking of Kim, any...