Beats, Rhymes and Life

1. Major drop #1. Sean Price has finally released the highly anticipated Mic Tyson album via Duck Down of course. Cop the album here. I went ahead and streamed my favorite track to give you an incentive to buy. Yes, I am your pusher, man.

Sean Price – Battering Bars (feat. Pumpkin Head)

2. Major drop # 2. Hot Sugar pushes towards the industry finish line with his new EP, Midi Murder. It’s absolutely bananas. And free! Well, you’ll have to sell your firstborns soul to Toyota, but even still! (Click the image to cop).

3. Ludacris gets ludicrous with his Halloween Costume. Possibly the best admission of doppelganger status, Luda will be going as Anthony Davis this year, for those of you unaware, Davis was the first overall pick in this years NBA draft and is known for his uni-brow. I hope Luda reuses this look for a few parties, seems like a hell of a commitment to throw away on just one soiree. #FearTheBrow

4. Speaking of Halloween, Lil Boosie is sponsoring a kid friendly Halloween party tomorrow in Baton Rouge. Only problem, he’s currently doing an 8 year stint in Angola (the state prison, not the country) for drug charges. ”He won’t be there physically, but he’s giving it,” his cousin Porcha Webb tells 9News Neighborhoods.

5. Fans awaiting another Eminem album were pleasantly surprised with the announcement that he will be releasing one next year. Eminem showed off his new “tribute hat” playing off the Tigers logo with the side panel dedicated to the landmark Eminem solo albums ( it includes the year 2013). Smart eh? Needless to say the tribute would have been much more dramatic had the Tigers beat the Giants. Cop the hat here.

ZIF Video Of The Week: Eminem: The 60 Minutes Interview

Eminem on 60 Minutes: Road To Stardom

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If you missed 60 Minutes last night, you’re probably the type of person who misses it every week. Why? Because Eminem was on last night, and in the context of 60 Minute’s interviews, that’s a big deal. I repost it up here because I think it’s culturally significant news. As usual, commercial-free only on ZIF.

Batter Up: Jay-Z & Eminem take Yankee Stadium [Video]

Jay-Z & Eminem: Yankee Stadium Live

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Shout out to Funny Rapper Guy for “footage”

Last night Jay-Z and Eminem did that Yankee Stadium concert thing. Leading up to the show I heard a myriad of opinions on the relative significance of the show. A lot of people weren’t feeling it, citing the lack of hot music the two had been failing to make recently as a primary reason not to foot the tall bill. My opinion, Jay-Z and Eminem are two of the Top 5 rappers ever, clearly they’re worth a c-note when performing in a legendary venue like Yankee Stadium. No brainer, I’m sorry for two things, one, that I wasn’t there, and two, that all the video from that show that has surfaced so far sucks balls.

Under Pressure, Dr. Dre takes leak

I’ve never taken leaks so seriously, they’re usually pretty benign affairs. It happens so often nowadays, that even the Eminem album leak was barely a controversy in tha biz. But this new Dr Dre track titled “Under Pressure” is supposedly a leaked track off of the highly anticipated Detox album. The track is tagged with “New Music Cartel” shout outs (the leakers), and is overall a pretty horrendous track, certainly not a tasty appetizer. Though, for the record, Dre is claiming this was an “incomplete track”, not yet “finished”. Sheesh, let’s hope not, talk about an underwhelming leak! Barely a drizzle…

Dr Dre – Under Pressure featuring Jay-Z

Eminem, you all better now? [Album Listen-Along]

Massive album leak today. Eminem’s new LP, Recovery, got leaked to industry insiders, who fed their favorite bloggers, who fed the chirping blogger babies across the internuts. I won’t tell you where I fit in that food chain, but I don’t chirp, that’s fo sho. Let’s start listening though, for real. It’s Em.

Cold Wind Blows

Talkin To Myself featuring Kobe

On Fire

Well, I must say I’m already more into it than Relapse. Killer intro bars on On Fire, “yesterday my dog died/a hog tied a hoe tied a bow/so the next time you blog/try and spit a flow. FIRE!!!  If you’re still into it, click the jump, let’s do this shit together.

Won’t Back Down featuring Pink

W.T.P.

Going through Changes

I’m upset. Tracks 3-6 = crud. That White Trash Party chorus? Wow, horrendai! Though, I do like the rhyme about throwing change at strippers, always daydreamed that ish. I refuse to comment on the Pink track. Going Through Changes is a track that I was expecting, a self reflection track, one that is bound to have a reference to Em’s growing distance from his daughters and reasons to cease. We’re going to start skipping a few tracks…

Friday Free Joints

Download: Andre Nickatina – Blind Genius

Download: A.R.M. – Resist

Download: Eminem-Not Afraid

Download: Pac Div – Broccoli

Download: Singapore Kane featuring Re-Surch – Cricketz [exclusive leak on ZIF]

Eminem. Still Capable.

Certainly been a while since we threw up an Eminem post. A lot of people ask me what happened to certain artists, usually with a tone indicating they’re sure they must have fallen off, or else they would know all about it. Well, Eminem hasn’t fallen off, what he’s done is, drill down to the core of the business and he’s stayed there. Is that rapper Eminem dead? Yes, in all pragmatic senses of his rap career, he’s pulled a Tazmanian Tiger, or Dodo bird if you prefer. But there is most assuredly an art in being a businessman, and in that sense of the word, Eminem is more than capable, he’s an artist.

Good freestyle fo sho.

Eminem-Despicable Freestyle

Friday Free Joints (On a Sunday)

Download: B.o.B ft. Asher Roth – Fuck The Money [Produced by Kanye West]

Download: Emilio Rojas – Bold and Arrogant Remix ft. Styles P & Asher Roth

Download: Freeway – Freezer’s Back

Download: Skyzoo – Bayonetta (Hi Def Remix) featuring Wale

Download: Webbz ft. Rick Ross – Presidential [Produced by Just Blaze]

Weezy & Eminem Drop the World On’em but No Gems

I’m not sure what Weezy had in mind when he revealed he’d be following up The Carter III with a “Rock album,” but I definitely wasn’t expecting whatever classification you’d ascribe to “Drop the World.”  It’s spacey and atmospheric, but most striking is the lack of a single guitar until the last verse.  In fact, it’s more or less what you’d expect from Southern, anthemic synth-pop.

But you didn’t flip this track on for the beat.  To no one’s surprise, Em’s (who spits the last verse) flow is immaculate, but I never thought he could pull off these 80 BPM, bleeding-heart joints.  Weezy does a better job of it by keeping things simple (payback for “Forever,” I guess).  The track is full of introspective “substance,” but I feel like we’ve heard this song (done better) by both of them many times before.

Unfortunately, “Drop the World,” as a leak, is noteworthy more because of its implications for “Rebirth” than the quality of the music.  But I’m sure you’ll check it out anyway.

Lil Wayne feat. Eminem – Drop The World

Louis XIII or E&J’s? A Review of Obie Trice’s Special Reserve

* shout out to Duck Down Records for the advance listen

I’ve never been to Detroit, but I imagine it being colder than a polar bear’s toe nail (god I love Mac Dre) and quite a decrepit place, largely due to the United States’ inability to maintain it’s position as a manufacturing power house. Yet while business and happiness may be dead in the D, often times death breeds new life, and that is the case with Detroit’s Hip-Hop scene. While the Hip-Hop community has never embraced Detroit like it did with New York, L.A., and Atlanta, the hardships of living in a forgotten city has produced some of the illest MC’s and producers to ever touch the mic or MPC. Off top, people will mention Eminem, the whole D12 click (R.I.P. Proof), Royce, Slum Village (R.I.P. Baatin and Dilla), Elzhi, Guilty Simpson, and Black Milk. Yet someone who rarely makes the list these days, despite going platinum in 2003, is Obie Trice. After blowing up way bigger than could have been expected with his debut album Cheers, Obie’s career quickly took a turn for the worse. In 2005, while driving, he caught two bullets including one to the dome, 2006’s Second Round On Me received minimal press and did poorly in stores, and in 2008 he ended his professional relationship with Eminem’s Shady Records. It was a long fall for Obie, but in 2009 he hopes to ascend a few rungs up the ladder with his newest LP, Special Reserve.

Despite a continuation of the drinking themed titles, Special Reserve is a step in a new direction for Detroit’s Well Known Asshole. Unlike his previous two albums, which featured production from some of the hottest beat makers at the time, Special Reserve is a result of Obie solely teaming up with MoSS, someone practically unknown to the public, yet the first producer to sign with the legendary DJ Premier’s new label, Works of Mart Entertainment. Additionally on Special Reserve, Obie takes the path less traveled and has zero features from other MC’s. Who knows if this is a result of lack of funds, or a desire to prove himself, but either way Special Reserve is a great way for fans to see how the past couple of years has affected Obie, as well as get an early glimpse of someone who arguably the most respected producer of all time has given the stamp of approval.

Mind The Leak: 50 Cent and Eminem – Psycho

50 Cent ft. Eminem – Psycho

Download This Track

You know what’s really psycho? The entire upcoming 50 Cent album has been leaked on the information super highway! I understand perfectly well how it is hard for mid-level artists to prevent album leaks, especially ones with no pull when it comes to matters such as marketing and distribution. And, I’m also empathetic to musicians who are harangued by extraneous people during recording sessions, god knows what kind of scum leave the lab with pirated leaks. But what I simply fail to comprehend is how 50 Cent, a man with his own label and full creative influence over his music and projects, can allow, yes, allow, his entire album to leak a month before its drop date. Get your shit together Fif, seriously, shot 9 times bla bla bla, cover your album’s ass, shoot haters later.

Props to BET (Once In A Decade)

I’m not sure how many people BET expected to tune into this year’s award show, but they were certainly lookin to make bloggers’ heads turn with their three-part “Cyphers” interludes.  Considering that BET’s been almost unwatchable since Big Tyga left “Rap City’s Tha Basement” earlier this decade (there’s not a lot of room for credibility when you’re the poor man’s MTV), it’s great to see them extend an olive branch to some people who really deserve it.  Beyonce, Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo, and M.I.A. were the “big winners” of the night, but DJ Premier, Mos Def, Black Thought, Eminem, Buckshot, Nipsey Hussle, and Joe Budden actually made the ceremony remarkable.

Granted, I didn’t actually watch the award show (the NBA started tonight; whoever planned that one over at BET should be shot), but this will go down in the memory banks as the one that featured Mos Def, Black Thought, and Eminem going verse for verse.  When the Hip Hop nerds have heated arguments in their dorm rooms tomorrow over who came the hardest (pause), I would put my money on the exit polls favoring Slim.  Thought, with all his talk of being underrated and unappreciated (he is in Hip Hop and of the three), stole Cypher #3, but if we’re going to be real, Joe Budden ran away with it, overall.  Peep the other two Cyphers after the break and tell us who you think spit it best.

Zebra Tech: DJ Hero (Renegade Edition)

Considering I have never taken the step to the PS3 or XBoX 360 generation, I’m by no means an authority on DJ Hero or its rock predecessors. But if the following trailer is any indication of its potential to be dope, DJ Hero is going to change the way hip hop heads interface with music. Gaming: the next generation of hip hop production?

Again, my take is not going to really count on this one, I quit @ Halo 2. However, that trailer has got me hyped about the potential for wifey OK’ing a PS3 for Christmas. The website is serious, you can pre-order the game and it even has a DJ Hero locator where you can find a place to demo the game today. That being said, it’s noteworthy to point out that the soundtrack for this game should be off the chain. That was Dizzee Rascal spitting at the beginning of the trailer. Peep Eminem’s track below, and a slew of savage acts on the artist listing after the jump.

Eminem – Taking My Ball

Mariah Gets “Dragged” Into a Bad Idea

Being in the artist management business ourselves we understand that it is sometimes necessary to permit artists to take risks. But WTF was Mariah’s team thinking with her shoot for her upcoming video for “Obsessed”? Mariah will be dressed in “man-drag” in the video with full costume and makeup (facial hair and everything). The only people associated with this video that should be lauded are the make up team, or as I wish to refer to them as, the ”Spank Bank Killers”. The SPK do a great job of transforming Mimi the sex goddess into a poor mans Eminem. And the resemblance to the platinum blonde lyricist does not appear to be a coincidence. Recent beef between Carey’s hubby Nick Cannon and Eminem has led to more than enough motivation for Mariah to drop a so-called diss track. There have also been suggestions that the lyrical content within th track is also directly taking aim at Eminem, though Monsiuer Cannon denies that notion vehemently. Perhaps her idea of firing her manager Benny Medina last year and picking up Maroon Ent. representation is coming back to bite her in her man butt. Eh, whatever, I’m sick of this story already, peep the rest of the pics and find yourself an air sickness bag and a new spank bank queen.

MPFREE: Mariah Carey – Obsessed

Oh! So you knew? Wait a minute, that means…Eminem is gay(ish)?

For the hundreds of you who have already stopped the annual practice of watching the MTV Awards shows, let me refresh your database, Bruno (aka Sacha Baron Cohen dressed as a gay Austrian fashion reporter) dropped from the skylights at the award show right onto Eminem’s lap. Oh yeah, and Bruno was bare-ass.  

So apparently Eminem and Mr. Cohen concocted this media stunt prior to the show, carefully planning the most effective way to demonstrate their faith in their personal sexuality. Cohen, aka Ali G aka Borat aka Bruno has for years now been proving his heterosexuality via a myriad of staged homosexual acts. The product of this farse has been pure comedy, Ali G and Borat have both brought America and the world to their knees in laughter. Whilst Cohen has been virtually sodomozing himself to stardom, Eminem has taken the complete opposite approach on homsexuality, zero tolerance. Barring a brief encounter with the Elton John kind, he has consistently taken his opportunities to slander and denigrate the homosexual community. A champion of gay rights I claim not to be, however, I despise hypocrisy more than anal rape (sans no homo). So Eminem I say to you this; “Either come out the (clean) closet, or stop utilizing the concept of homosexuality in a manner which is reckless and beneficial to no-one but yourself.”

But recently…