MAR. 4, 2010

MC DRASTYCK MEAXUREZ DEBUT ALBUM
"MONEY, DRUGS, GUNZ" E.P.
ON AMAMZON NOW..
http://www.amazon.com/Money-Drugs-Gunz-E-P-Explicit/dp/B003ANF2XO/ref=dm_ap_alb1?ie=UTF8&qid=1267648597&sr=8-6
ON ITUNES, RHAPSODY, NAPSTER...
MARCH 8TH 2010

WORD PLAY GUN PLAY THE BLOOD THIRSTY MURDA
MIX-TAPE FREE WITH PURCHASE OF ALBUM AND FAN /
STREET TEAM SIGN UP AT
http//www.reverbnation.com/mcdrastyckmeaxurez

GOOGLE THE NAME MC DRASTYCK MEAXUREZ FOR MORE ON THE HARDEST LYRICAL STREET POET ...

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FEB. 27, 2010 ..

IT'S BEEN WHILE SINCE AN UPDATE.. BUT THE SITE IS BACK UP AND RUNNING BETTER THAN EVER///

WE JUST ADDED TWITTER AND FACEBOOK TO THE SITE TO STAY CONNECTED EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOG ON TOO OFTEN...

HAVE FUN..


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Album Reviews:

STRAIGHT CRACK!
SEPT. 9, 2009

ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX 2 : RAEKWON THE CHEF

RAEKWON THE CHEF, THE BEST STORY TELLER OF THE LEGENDARY WU-TANG CLAN DOES IT AGAIN. THIS ALBUM IS NOTHING SHORT OF TRUE CLASSIC. WITH THE 90'S APPEAL & THE UP TO DATE COMBINATION, ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX 2 PROVED TO BE WORTH THE HYPE BEHIND THE LONG WAIT.

~ MC DRASTYCK MEAXUREZ
LYRICAL STREET POET PUBLISHING
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As any chef worth his stuff will sum up: you can’t rush fine cooking. Granted, most recipes don’t require 14 years of preparatory time, but Raekwon obviously wanted to make sure he had the sequel to his all-time classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… done just right. 14 years is a few lifetimes in Hip-Hop, and the Wu’s admitted, slow steady drift from the center of the Hip-Hop universe had critics rightly questioning whether another Cuban Linx… would sully the legend of the original Indiana Jones 4 style. Luckily for Hip-Hop fans, the wait is worth it. With Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II, Raekwon has created a reflection and re-imagination of the original with the same cinematic storytelling, fire-spitting guests, and grim beats that made the Wu legends in the first place.

In the world of Cuban Linx, not much has changed from 1995. Once again the urban cocaine trade and its perils form the plot of the album. In the world of Hip-Hop however, coke rap stories are no longer a novel subject, putting an extra impetus on Raekwon to separate himself from the dozens of other MCs touting themselves as ghetto mafia crack dons. He accomplishes this though, through vivid storytelling, rattling off detailed rhymes to bring scenes to life. “Sonny’s Missing,” exemplifies the violent narrative poetry on display as his describes a gang interrogation: “Chunk of meat flew off his cheek bone/broken teeth/had a hole in his ‘Lo shirt/and took all his weed/Untied him/he fell legs weakened, son wouldn’t tell/now it gets deep/son start falling asleep…”

The album zooms in close on moments in the life of a dealer on select short tracks. Rae muses over the baking process on the hazy “Pyrex Vision” and revisits street mathematics for the ominous “Baggin’ Crack.” What’s crucial to the authenticity of these rhymes is the impersonal style Raekwon’s takes. His street narrator role brings him close to the action, but not necessarily part of it—he’s more David Simon than Avon Barksdale. Rather than bragging about his own exploits, he focuses on the carnage the coke trade creates around him on tracks like “Cold Outside.” The only time Rae breaks character is the poignant ODB tribute “Ason Jones,” which shelves the sappy wistfulness of 8 Diagrams’ “Life Changes,” for a more balanced look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Wu’s tragic figure.

As on all Wu albums, guest appearances play a vital role, and if the album has a weakness, it’s that Rae is too often outshined by his right-hand men. Ghostface may be releasing an R&B album, but on this joint, he’s as raw as ever. “Gihad” finds the dynamic duo at their best with Rae putting in dirty work on one side of town, while Ghost shames white women in the funniest way possible on the other. They trade rhymes with gusto on the grim “Penitentiary,” proving that even jail bars can’t stop their hustle. Other Wu members bring their A-games as well. GZA comes out of nowhere to steal the limelight on “We Will Rob You.” And Method Man and Inspectah Deck bring the ruckus on the tone-setting, militant opener “House of Flying Daggers.”

The changed element of the Cuban Linx sequel is the lack of RZA’s dominant musical presence. The fading Prince of Shaolin contributes to the eerie “Black Mozart,” but Rae opts instead for a mix of older and newer producers to create the soundtrack to new Staten. As is always the case, multiple producers means a little less coherence, but Raekwon’s consistency and vision holds everything together through 22 tracks. From Icewater’s pianos of “Canal Street,” to Dr. Dre bangers “About Me,” and “Catalina,” the producers of the 2nd Purple Tape create a sound that reflects the original while fitting comfortably into the modern era.

Cuban Linx Pt. II takes nothing away from the legacy of the original. Indeed it will likely add to the significance that album, Raekwon and the Wu-Tang Clan hold in Hip-Hop’s history. Few artists in any genre have shown an ability to make quality music over such a long time period. No you won’t hear these tracks on your local radio station, but no matter. Wu-heads and Hip-Hop fans worldwide can rejoice in the fact that the Chef’s still cooking up some marvelous shit.







The Last Kiss by Jadakiss

Jadakiss is fond of, a propos of nothing, routinely referring to himself as "Top 5, dead or alive." This album, rumored to be his swan song, should finally, and with great authority, put that claim to rest.

It's not that Jada isn't skilled, or that The Last Kiss is completely bereft of good verses –Jada can be a beast when he's focused, and his gravelly rumble has gutted more than a beat or two in his time. The problem is that Jada refuses to recognize what he's good at–spitting hot 16s. His hooks are flaccid, his songwriting skills are nil, his business acumen is mediocre at best, and his ad-libs are among the most grating in the game. He’s just a very good rapper, with limited range at that. Nothing more, and nothing less. And that’s great–if anything, hip-hop needs more spitters like Jada.

But Jada won’t recognize that. And The Last Kiss, unfortunately, exposes what has become Jada’s biggest flaw–his inability to come to terms with the extent of his talents. Instead of more lyrically focused street tracks like "Pain & Torture" and the Lil Wayne-featuring "Death Wish," we get expensive-sounding, wannabe club anthems like "Who’s Real," tedious, snooze-inducing tracks like "What If," and a host of tracks featuring nameless R n' B singers crooning tepid hooks that make large chunks of the album virtually un-listenable.

The Last Kiss, then, does exactly what an album shouldn’t do—it encapsulates its artist's flaws more than it showcases his talents.

Great rappers figure out their boundaries, and they make their mark using the skill sets they actually possess, not the ones they imagine they possess. They make castles in the sandbox they’re sitting in. Jada hasn't quite figured out which sandbox he’s sitting in, unfortunately, and until he does—if he does—the lyrically devastating classic he may have in him is going to stay there.

—Matthew Mundy
04.22.09

[CD Review] Rick Ross, 'Deeper Than Rap' (Maybach Music Group/Poe Boy/Def Jam)
By BEN WESTHOFF
Published on April 29, 2009

Rick Ross is the Gorman Thomas of rappers. Forever swinging for the fences, he blasts a home run once in a while but strikes out much more frequently. On his latest album, Deeper Than Rap, he’s as bombastic as ever, despite being exposed last year by the Smoking Gun as a former corrections officer and mocked on 50 Cent’s website by his baby mama.

Here he claims that his mom stores his guns in the attic for him on “Rich Off Cocaine,” which is surely as untrue as the song’s title itself. This would be forgivable if Deeper Than Rap were a fun listen, but it’s just as grating as his earlier works; Ross has never been able to rap competently, and his mealy mouthed rhymes are as difficult to listen to as they are offensive: “Selling dope/Counting money/Keep my dick hard/Time to bust it wide open for a big boy,” he tells us on “Face.” Though there are a few long balls—T-Pain saves “Maybach Music 2,” and Nas makes “Usual Suspects” interesting—the vast majority of the tracks are nauseating. Considering this is Ross’ third album of criminally preposterous music, it must be said: Strike three, and you’re out, Bawss.



NAS AND KELIS
TMZ has learned Kelis filed for divorce today in L.A. County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. She is asking for spousal support and child support. She is also asking for joint legal and physical custody of their unborn child.

We've learned the couple separated in the last two weeks. They married in 2005.



Rap's next great white hope is a suburbanite and proud of it

It’s always been the case that the biggest consumers of rap music in the US are white, suburban kids who get off on the exaggerated “danger” of the lyrics and the whiff of cordite that comes from the more prominent proponents of the genre. Some of these rap consumers have now become recording artists themselves. While absorbing the musical fundamentals of rap, they’ve replaced the lyrics with something more applicable to their own surrounds.

The man currently getting all the attention – and, yes, picking up all those “new Eminem” descriptions at a rate of knots – is Pennsylvania rapper Asher Paul Roth (his real name, you suspect).

Roth cuts an unlikely figure – he’s working that skinny 23-year- old dork look and has made no attempt to “reimagine” his nice, middle-class upbringing. “I’m not angry at all,” he says disarmingly. “I don’t sell coke. I don’t have cars or 25-inch rims. I don’t have guns. But I have finally got to a point where I have the confidence to do this thing myself. I was just making music for myself. And it turns out a lot of people feel the same way I do.”

Make that an awful lot. Asleep in the Bread Aisle , Roth’s album, went straight to No 1 on the US iTunes chart this week. His single, I Love College , has sold a million copies and has, been streamed more than 36 million times on Roth’s MySpace page.

For a kid who could hardly be described as coming from the school of hard knocks, Roth is very on top of things. Given that the only real existing reference point for a solo white rapper is Eminem, he’s already headed off the comparisons at the pass. On the song As I Em (which, weirdly, features a sample of Joe Jackson’s Geraldine and John ) he raps, “Because we have the same complexion and similar voice inflection/It’s easy to see the pieces and to reach for that connection”. He also, in the same song, refers to the Eminem comparison as “the elephant in the room”.

While Eminem has his “anger management issues”, Roth seems more interested in making responsible observations in his lyrics. I Love College may be about the stereotypical hedonistic lifestyle – joints, booze, etc – but he also warns, “Don’t have sex if she’s too gone/and when it comes to condoms put two on”.

The irresistible rise of Asher Roth is curious in many respects. Much rap music sells itself on its “edge”, on presenting a lifestyle that revels in quasi-criminality and a very particular type of “street cred”. But Roth is straight-up “white bread” in his subject matter and concerns. The jarring effect here is that lyrically he is an articulate frat boy (but still a frat boy) but musically he can hold the hip-hop rhythm together.

Throughout the history of recorded music, acts have been “remodelled” by record companies. Any semblance of functional, normal, orthodox (or worse still, privilege) is mentally Tipp-exed out and replaced with a more bohemian and alluring backstory. You would be astonished to discover the real socioeconomic background of some of the more ostensibly “mad, bad and dangerous to know” music figures.

Scooter Braun, who signed Roth, is already dealing with media suggestions that the rapper is a gimmick, a type of souped-up Vanilla Ice designed to appeal to a predominantly white record- buying audience.

“I always get a kick out of the gimmick allegation,” he says. “Asher is a white kid in a predominantly African American genre who goes by his own name. He has no stamp of approval.” This is a reference to the fact that Eminem’s path to rap superstardom was smoothed out by an endorsement from the esteemed Dr Dre.

Asher Roth as the Great White Rap Hope? I’d hold off on that for some time. But for honest authenticity in an industry that doesn’t understand either word, he’s your only man.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times




25 Music Producers to Follow on Twitter
9th Wonder
Just Blaze
Cool & Dre
Bryan-Michael Cox
The Runners
Timberland
Ron Browz
Danja Handz
Mysto & Pizzi
Scram Jones
Ryan Leslie
Dark Child
HI-TEK
DJ Green Lantern
Swizz Beatz
The Heat Makers
Buck Wild
Black Milk
Don Cannon
Beat Minerz
Kwame
Drama Beats
Dallas Austin
Drumma Boy
D. Dot

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100 Hip-Hop Heads You MUST Follow on Twitter
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50 Hip-Hop Artists (MCs, Producers, DJs) to Follow on Twitter
Notorious B.I.G. -
MC DRASTYCK MEAXUREZ - TWITTER.COM/DRASTYCK
?uestlove -
Amanda Diva -
Noreaga -
Jay Electronica -
Eli Porter -
Sickamore -
Countbass D -
Q-Tip -
DJ Green Lantern -
Wale -
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Charles Hamilton -
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Rhymefest -
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Nina B -
Skyzoo -
6th Sense - Heavy
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Murs -
Mickey Factz -
Von Pea -
Don Cannon -
Cashless -
Jean Grae -
Oddisee -
Chino XL -
B-Real -
Soulbrotha -
Rukus -
Phonte -
Big Pooh -
John Brown -
Shaq -


50 Hip-Hop Bloggers to Follow on Twitter:

Dallas Penn - DallasPenn.com
Byron Crawford - ByronCrawford.com
Eskay - Nah Right
Miss Info Miss Info TV
Khal - Rock The Dub
Enigmatik - Boo Goo Doo Boom
Nation - Nah Right
Shake - 2 Dope Boyz
Nigel D. - Real Talk NY
William E. Ketchum - Speech Is My Hammer
Clyde Smith - Prohiphop
Elliott Wilson - Rap Radar/Danyelliott
NerdwithSwag - Nerd With Swag
Gyant - SOHH Atlanta
Jay Smooth - Ill Doctrine
Herfection - Herfection.com
John Gotty - The Smoking Section
Dart Adams - Poisonous Paragraphs
Rafi Kam - Oh Word
Matt Sonzala - AustinSurreal
Andrew Barber - Fake Shore Drive
Melissa - The La La Blog
Randy Exclusive - Writer’s Block Media
Low Key - You Heard That New
Wesley Verhoeve - Wesleyverhoeve.com
Zillz - Zillasays.com
Alex Delarge - LiveAGL
Scott Yeti - Woooha Inc
Kid Legend - OnSmash
Meka - 2 Dope Boyz
Ron Mexico - RonMexicoCity
Sumit - HipHopChronicle
Isis Wisdom - Word on the Streets
Carl Cherry - Funky Minds
smokeYYY - That Real Ish
Alvin “Aqua” Blanco - Allhiphop
Blogxilla - Blogxilla.com
HoneySoul - Honeysoul.com
CouchSessions - The Couch Sessions
Peter Rosenberg - Rosenberg Radio
Che Grand - Chegrand
Jeff & Eric Rosenthal - The Real
Joe La Puma - Complexmag.com
IllVibes-DMV - Illvibes-dmv.com
SeanTheROBOT - LupEND Blog
Lynne D Johnson - Lynnedjohnson.com
Contra - The Smoking Section
FWMJ - Rappers I Know
Robbie Ettelson - Unkut
Nick Catchdubs - Catchdubs.com

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