Scary Combination

The supergroup phenomenon that hit hip hop last year was clearly a marketing success. For example, it would have been a quiet year for the likes of Joell Ortiz and Royce Da 5’9, had it not been for the formation of Slaughterhouse. It makes a lot of sense, cross marketing, creative brainstorming, and most importantly, the reinvigorating effect the formation of a group can have on a solo artist.

Now that David Banner is working with 9th Wonder, the conceptual benefits of teaming up have been elevated to new heights. For, with these two gentlemen we have two composers first, a rapper and a producer, second. The Southern roots of these two may explain their union to some, but the fruit of their pairing will surely be the true testament for the masses. Check the track D. Banner cut with 9th last May. Somewhat scary I’d say.

David Banner – No Denyin (Produced by 9th Wonder)

Wale of a Beast

Wale is anything but a beast. 9th Wonder, I suppose he’s closer to bestiality, sans the zoophilia definition. But if I’m not mistaken Wale is in the business of disappointment as of late. His first week record sales of his first LP, Attention Deficit, were meager when contextualized within the Wale marketing scheme. This prompted a managerial gem of a disclaimer from Wale’s manager, Weisman told XXL “Wale’s the type of artist who is bigger than the metrics say he is.” Well of course he is Daniel. He’s a real beast. Peep the track and let me know, are you impressed?

Wale-Beast Prod. By 9th Wonder

NBA Live 2010 Tunes X Custom Covers

A few months ago I broke down a human interest piece on a NCAA athlete turned rapper that would be featured on the upcoming NBA Live 2010 video game soundtrack. Thanks to the leak master over at HIF, I’m able to share 5 tracks off the highly anticipated game. While Googling for cover art I came across the phenomenon of custom cover art for EA Sports video games. I suppose the thought that ones personal favorite baller may never have the honor of gracing the cover inspired some Dikembe Mutombo fan out there to make a custom template website. Two ironic things about this NBA live circle of events, UNC baller GQ is not included amongst the leaked tracks. And secondly, why would you want to put another player on the cover of the game? Know you not of the curse? Customizing EA Sports cover art is equitable to fondling voodoo dolls!

Peep the full track listing for the soundtrack and more custom cover art after the jump.

NBA LIVE 2010 MPREE’s:

B.o.B – I Am The Champion

De La Soul – La La La

Pete Rock – When I Need It

Mickey Factz ft. B.O.B. – Mind Blowin’

Snoop Dogg – Lodi Dadi (Live 10)

Murs – We Ballin

NBA Live 10: Not in the League, In the Game

Ex-UNC guard Quentin Thomas probably knew that he wouldn’t be gracing the courts of the NBA after playing ball for the Tarheels. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t dream about the life and everything that comes with it, including being your own video game character in the infamous EA sports series NBA Live.  As a freshman at UNC, he played on an all-star cast team that included Sean May and Raymond Felton. That team took a championship and Thomas ended up with more wins than any other player in UNC history. Alas Q was not drafted into the L, however in a very ironic manner, his ability to spit rhymes has reunited him with the NBA. Quentin Thomas aka GQ, has been crafting his lyrical prowess casually for over a decade. But it was only when the dream of running an NBA team fizzled due to injury did GQ truly actualize his potential as an MC. Upgrading his skills as an MC became a vital part of Quentin’s identity, as his mother put it, “At the time that his first love, basketball, was taken from him, another joy was given to him”, with it he had “another outlet, so he wouldn’t have to focus so much on his injury. It gave him a balance, something to really smile about.” That passion for the mic became an opportunity to become an MC when he linked up with Fruity Loops Wunderkind, 9th Wonder… Continued after the jump…

Quit While You’re Ahead

If you know anything about me, you know I’m not the biggest G-Unit fan.  To me, the whole “Get Rich or Die Trying” motto comes across as lyrical laziness.  Build up the brand name and then half-ass it ’til your pockets are full.  Quantity over quality.

Illmind (left) with 9th Wonder

But one thing I commend them for is their beat selection.  As part of their ruthless gangster personas, they aren’t afraid of anything they can pierce with hollow points, and they certainly aren’t afraid of putting on underground producers.  Jake One is one that comes to mind, but in this particular case, I’m talking about Illmind.  Unlike his White Van Music counterpart, Illmind has flown under the radar, relatively speaking, without a high-profile solo release to his name.  Instead, he’s run laps around the mixtape circuit, releasing CDs with variations on the word “Blap”; “New Blap City,” “Blap, Rhymes, and Life,” etc. (according to the most popular result on UrbanDictionary.com, Blap “refers to the sound that a males penis makes when he hits it against a females face [sic]“).  Generally speaking, mixtapes tend to be disjointed and less cohesive than albums, which has enabled Illmind to go into the studio with established emcees, then turn around and collaborate with up-and-coming artists.  Using his clout with those in the know, he helps unknown rappers get their feet in various doors and orfices.

Illmind recently laced LA rapper Bambu with one of the hotter beats I’ve heard in a while, and dude holds it down.  As long as Bambu has Illmind behind the boards, you’ll be seeing more of him on Zebra is Food.

MPFREE: Bambu – “Quit”

MPFREE: The Weekend Round-Up

-Wale & 9th Wonder’s Back to the Feature mixtape dropped, and it features Talib Kweli, Freeway, Black Thought, Young Chris, Joell Ortiz, Bun B, Torae, Joe Budden, and Curren$y.  Sounds pretty dope, but I can’t help be feel that Wale is o-ver-rat-ed.  Grab it here.

-Not sure what project this is supposed to be off of, but Nas’ newest Swizz Beatz-produced track is kind of nice.  This is probably the first Swizz Beatz joint that I’ve ever enjoyed.  Still, he’s firmly cemented himself as the 21st Century DJ Clue and needs to shut the fuck up.

-A second track, “Car Service,” has leaked from Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y’s upcoming, collaborative mixtape How Fly.  Looking forward to this one.

-Jamie Foxx has a new track out with The-Dream, Kanye, and Drake.  Is anyone downloading this track to hear Jamie Foxx?  Didn’t think so.

-The Wu continues to make noise, leaking tracks off of their live band-backed Chamber Music.  Peep “Kill Too Hard” with Masta Ace, U-God, and Inspectah Deck.

-In case there was any doubt that Slaughterhouse (Royce Da 5’9, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I)  is going to be raw as shit already, the first leak off of their album features M.O.P.  Check it.

-After what seems like 2 decades, Chali 2na is getting set to drop his debut solo album.  If anything, “When Will I See You Again” has reminded me how dope Elzhi of Slum Village is.

-You can’t sample The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.”  Kweli already tried.  But J Dilla could interpolate the melody and throw Guilty Simpson on the track.  Yeah, that could work…

-I’ve been a bit disappointed by Torae and Marco Polo’s collabo, Double Barrel, but I’m really feeling the last track.

-BONUS:  The sample to Jay-Z’s “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune),” produced by No I.D.  Ill, but pretty standard issue.

Rain, Sleet or Snow We Wale Get a Post Up

Rain, Sleet, Snow, an unreleased Wale record is heavily being described as “hot” in the blog circuit. But of course, take that with a grain of pixel, because this whole “not having an album” phenomenon has forced the masses to sweat anything Wale drops. This relentless blind worship has extended itself to the latest Wale project, the “Back to the Feature” Mixtape, which drops tomorrow, June 19th. I will certainly reserve criticism until after a listening session of the 9th Wonder produced project, though Wale seems not to care what people think, recently telling HipHopDX:

It’s not even designed to be critically-acclaimed, like I [expected] with A Mixtape About Nothing.“ Wale said the purpose is simple, It’s just for your listening pleasure. That’s all I want it to be – nothing more, nothing less.

For the record, anytime you utter a line regarding the unintended effect of something that has yet to come to fruition, you are in fact revealing that it was intended, at least cognitively. I have several theories about the reasons behind Wale’s marketing strategy. To begin with, his apparent elusiveness conveys an impressionable mystique, one that white hip hop fans, especially neo-hipsters have consistently pursued. Wale’s unwillingness to drop an LP also may have something to do with the inherent disclaimer effect that comes with any mixtape release. Put simply, you can’t get crucified for dropping a bad mixtape, but a bad album, well that can end a career. Could this be the reason for postponement after postponement? Could the great Wale actually be scared of critical analysis of his art? Forget rain, sleet and snow, how about any old day of the past three calendar years? Hey Wale! Stop chillin‘ and drop some art you can stand behind already.

MPFREE: Wale – Rain, Sleet, Snow

Wale’s Leaking Leaks

Is it just me or is the leaking of songs from a mixtape a bit odd, considering that the ragtag ethic of a mixtape suggests that the project is one giant leak? Anyway, Wale has done just that by dropping “Family Affair” off of his Back To The Feature mixtape, that shall be produced by 9th Wonder. Snag it here.

R.I.P. Kid (Cudi) . No Seriously, REST (for a while) In Peace

 As is the case with most artists in the infancy of their craft, Kid Cudi has had a very stressful first 6 months. Fresh in this game, and still riding high off his “hit” single “Day n Nite” which peaked at an Everestesque #27 on the Hot 100, Kid Cudi has decided to “retire.” Yes, I know what you’re thinking. How dare he wet our appetite with such verocity only to retire months later! Ok, maybe you’re not thinking that, we’re certainly not. Here on ZebraisFood we have torn this foo up in the past few months. For one thing, he pulled that ridiculous move at the Reebok party at All Star Weekend, getting tasered and all. Then he had one of his boyfriends jump on our site and straight HATE on one of my posts, see Cudi’s #1 fan and apparently my #1 hater right here .

But seriously, Kid is leaving us, partially because he wants to do this show upcoming on HBO, but most importantly some of his closest friends were telling him the ugly truth. Wale put it best, allow me to show you the clip on Budden TV that was just too much for KC to handle. Peep it: Skip to 4:18 to start hearing the Cudi diss cipher. But the whole video is worth checking out for sure, Joe Budden got jokes son. 

When somebody good passes on, it is said that somebody better comes along to take the torch. But sometimes when somebody worthless passes on (Kid C), somebody much, much, much better comes along to turn on the light. On that note, start peeping Wale’s new blog, apparently this viral marketing product hasn’t been blogging! I dig that, too busy making insightful comments about your musical inferiors. 

Check out Wale’s Blog

 

 

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