Archive for October 3rd, 2009

How did Rick Ross make it to the Hottest MC List’s top five in back-to-back years? Because this top-tier word assassin released what seven of Roundtable members consider the preeminent hip-hop release of the year, Deeper Than Rap.

Deeper ceaselessly and seamlessly did its job, entertaining throughout with Ross’ lithe lyrical delivery, which forms a mesmeric marriage with soulfully melodic tracks that play like the score to an Oscar-winning film.

“Magnificent” mixed Ross’ sophisticated thuggin’ with John Legend’s Grammy-winning starpower and vocal luster to make for one of the most heavily spun hits this year. The striking “Mafia Music” was strong enough to ignite a musical and Internet war with G-Unit. While “Maybach Music 2″ — featuring T-Pain, Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne — was one of the preeminent posse cuts of the year. Despite all the controversy surrounding his past as a corrections officer, most of rap’s elite not only kept their embrace of Ross, but they worked with him on mixtapes as well as on his LP. The fans, for the most part, didn’t seem to care either. Deeper Than Rap sold more than 150,000 copies in its first week of release. Although those numbers didn’t quite match the quality of the work, the album did top the Billboard albums chart — a feat all three of Ross’ albums have accomplished.

Deeper’s campaign showed why Ross became a hustler’s poster child a few years back. The M.I.Yayo Mayor took to the Internet with no less than nine self-produced and self-financed videos to keep his album running, and to introduce mixtape material with his crew, the Triple C’s, and other artists from his Maybach Music Group label. Ross has continued to leverage the Web to keep his relevancy up, with vlogs and behind-the-scenes footage from his videos. Ross and company continue to keep their Jordans in the streets with the recent release of the double-CD mixtape Maybach Music 2: White Sand.

Ross did all this in the face of some tough obstacles: His attempted cover-up of his past employment as a prison guard was brought to light, and Ross later confirmed it. He was mocked by some fans and in a very public battle with 50 Cent. Through it all, the always-confident Rick Ross kept his own smile wide, showing that phenomenal music can swashbuckle through scandal. The fans as well as his peers rallied behind him. 2009 could have played out so much differently for the Big Bawse from Miami but in the end, he got to smile wide and often.

Courtesy of MTV.

The final caller during DJ Whoo Kid’s Shade 45 birthday bash was Snoop Dogg. Part 1 above, parts 2-5 after the jump!

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After Eminem’s appearance on Shade 45 with DJ Whoo Kid, 50 Cent called up and talked to DJ Whoo Kid about his performance tonight at the Thisis50 festival, offering Eminem a movie role for 15 million dollars and more. Part 1 above, part 2 after the jump!

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Eminem was on Shade 45 today with DJ Whoo Kid. He talked about Relapse 2, Bootlegging, Voodoo Festival, Production, 50 Cent’s book and more. Above is part 1, parts 2-4 available after the jump!

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CAN U SAY “DETOX” ??? IN THE STUDIO WIT DRE & SNOOP. WE BOUT 2 MAKE ALOT OF PEOPLE MAD. RIDE WIT US OR GET RAN OVER ! AFTERMATH OR DIE !

The Game has just tweeted the photo and message above on twitter. This is where the excitement begins! Is Detox finally coming? We can only hope so! In related news Eminem is set to appear today on Shade 45, look out for the audio here later.

Here is some brand new music from D-12, this one is titled “Ugly Bitch” and features Swizz Beatz. This is off DJ Young Mase’s upcoming mixtape with D-12 titled “Return Of The Dozen: Volume 2.” No word yet if Eminem or Proof will have music on this mixtape.

Download: D-12 Ft. Swizz Beatz – Ugly Bitch | Via: OnSMASH

This is the official album cover for Triple C’s debut album Custom Cars & Cycles. Bawse. Courtesy of Navjosh.

Here is the entire recording from 50 Cent’s live stream today on his Ustream channel. Shout out to my Thisis50 goons Broadway and Corentin!