"NY-Z" - An ABSOLUT Collaboration with Jay-Z

The-Dream - Love King

RICK RO$$'S TEFLON DON LEAKED TRACK LIST

When Drake's highly anticipated album Thank Me Later track list was leaked, alot of fans and critics talked about the bloated guest features. Ricky Roze's Teflon Don seems to up the ante when it comes to album features. The best of the best can be found on Ro$$'s fourth effort. (sidebar: track 2 will have the blogs going crazy and people talking until the album's July 20th release comes)

1. I'm Not A Star

2. Free Mason (ft. Jay-Z & John Legend)

3. Tears Of Joy (ft. Cee-lo Green)

4. Maybach Music III (ft. T.I., Jadakiss & Erykah Badu)

5. Live Fast, Die Young (ft. Kanye West)

6. Super High (ft. Ne-Yo)

7. No. 1 (ft. Trey Songz & Diddy)

8. MC Hammer (ft. Gucci Mane)

9. B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast) (ft. Styles P.)

10. Aston Martin Music (ft. Drake & Chrisette Michele)

11. All The Money In The World (ft. Raphael Saadiq)

ALBUM REVIEW: THE DREAM/ LOVE KING/ DEF JAM

Third time is a charm, and for Terius "The-Dream" Nash, the third time maybe his chance to fully solidify his place as one of the greats of this generation. Already responsible for crafting certified bangers for the latter parts of the 2000's (i.e. 2007's "Umbrella" by Rihanna, 2008'"Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" by Beyonce, 2009's "Obsessed" by Mariah Carey) with production partner, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. The two have become today's version of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and LA Ried. Now the American Dream returns with Love King, his third album in many years. This time Los The Mystro commands the boards and plays a major role in keeping up the formula that we have grown to expect from The-Dream, while also crafting new sounds never heard on Dream's previous two efforts. The songs are cinematic as some songs play as a story and are sequenced right in to each other. The jump-off single is the title track, and has the same catchy, fingersnap tune that has become a staple for The-Dream's songs. Other standout tracks are: "Nikki Part 2" (which continues the story of the fictional lover Nikki fom his debut) and "Sex Intelligent", where he confesses, "I make all these other niggas irrelevent/ I'm sex intelligent/ I know how to work it right..." Mr. Nash's weakness can be found in his limited vocal ability. Dream doesn't have the vocal chops to expand his range, and sometimes plays a back role to his own instrumentation. Another low point are the corny lyrics and weak similes, like the aforementioned "Sex Intelligent" ("You can't match a love like mine/ It's like trying to rob me with a B-B-Gun/ But I gets it poppin' like the Taliban"), or the break-up song "Florida University" (which in Dream's case is a "nicer" way of telling someone "F. U.") Outside these short-comings, Love King continues The-Dream's magical run of knocking out hit songs, and unescapable tunes. Maybe his next opus, Love/Affair will be his Purple Rain, but as for right now Love King manages to still be solid effort, and hopefully your soundtrack to the summer. I rate this 3.5/5

ALBUM REVIEW: EMINEM/ RECOVERY/ AFTERMATH/INTERSCOPE

The road to recovery can be a long one. One must find the inner strength, and belief to will their way back into shape, or in Eminem's case, will his way back into the limelight. Before his return to the mic with last year's Relapse, the world had waited a total of 4 years to hear any new material from the controversial Detroit MC. 4 years away from the mic, could have spelled "Career Suicide" for anyone else, but Eminem isn't just anyone. Relapse featured a Detroit rapper still suffering the effects of his much-storied drug addiction to percription meds, after the tragic death of his best friend Proof, and his divorce from his on again-off again- relationship- with the mother of his child, Kim. The man was only a shell of himself, and the ending result was an unfocused, unbalanced body of work. Knowing he let his fans down a bit, Slim Shady decided to sit back and deliver a more cohesive, more bold, more focused project. Originally entitled Relapse 2, Eminem scrapped the whole idea when the new material he was recording was taking a different turn. The finished product is perhaps, his best body of work since The Eminem Show. The road to redemption begins with the album's opening cut "Cold Wind Blows", as Em explains why there is a method to his madness , while poking fun at the likes of Michael Vick, Elton John, and his favorite target, Mariah Carey (and that's all in the first verse!). Em comes out swingging, and bites his tongue for no one, dropping devilish lines like: "I set the world on fire/ Piss on it/ Put it out/ Stick my dick in a circle/ But I ain't fuckin' around." Later adding, "I'll show you pussy footin/ I'll kick a bitch in the cunt til it makes her queef and sounds like a fuckin whoopy cushion.." With lyrics like these, it takes fans back to Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP days. The lyrical tirade continues on the sadistic "On Fire" where Slim takes his homicidal lyrics even further: "Shit dissin me is like pissin off the Wizard Of Oz/ Wrap a lizard in gauze/Beat you in the jaws with it/ Grab the scissors and saws/ And cut out your livers, gizzards, and balls/ Throw you in the middle of the ocean in the blizzard with Jaws.." The first 5 or 6 songs is a lyrical euphoria, and you can tell that Eminem really put his all into making an album that his fans can really enjoy. Em touches on that topic on the album's first single, "Not Afraid" (" And to the fans/ I'll never let you down again/ I'm back/ I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact/ Let's be honest/ that last Relapse CD was 'ehhhh' ") Things begin to get serious on the introspective track "Going Through Changes", which samples "Changes" by English rock band Black Sabbath, and argubaly-the-best-song-on-the album. Eminem recounts his dark days addicted to pills (which almost cost him his life), his fall out with ex- wife, Kim, and Proof's death. Other standout tracks are the triumphant "Cinderella Man", "Talkin' 2 Myself" featuring up and coming crooner Kobe (Fabolous' "Imma Do It") and the rap ballad "Love The Way You Lie". The latter, features Rihanna on the hook, as Em discusses the topic of domestic abuse. Rihanna sings: "Just gonna stand there and watch me burn/ But it's alright because I like the way it hurts/ Just gonna stand there and watch me cry/ But that's alright because I love the way you lie." The song is a departure from songs we're used to hearing from Eminem, and who better to have sing the hook than Rihanna, given her situation with ex- boyfriend, Chris Brown last year? While this album is great in a lot of areas, it is not with out a few minor flaws that keep this album from being a classic. The most disappointing song is the Lil' Wayne-guested "No Love". Not only does Eminem rap circles around Lil'Wayne. Just Blaze's sample of Haddaway's "What Is Love" is unispiring. Other downers are "W.T.P." and "Space Bound". The album's closer is the Proof tribute, "You're Never Over". Em sings and raps about the only person who actually believed in his skills as a rapper way before the world knew Marshall Mathers. The tribute is sincere, honest and true, and a great way to close out an album. What Eminem has done with Recovery was reintroduce the world to one of the finest talents hip hop has ever witnessed. The passion, the drive, the ambition, and the hunger is all there. Now Eminem doesn't have to walk the road to recovery alone, because now, we can all walk along with him. I rate this 4.5/5

ALBUM REVIEW: DRAKE/ THANK ME LATER/ YOUNG MONEY/ CASH MONEY

For rapper Aubrey Graham a.k.a. Drake, the stakes have never been so high for a young upstart. Drake has had one of the most successful "Rookie" seasons the rap world has ever witnessed. Already being mentioned in the same breath as some of the greats--Drake's rap career is reaching LeBron James-type-proportions. In other words: The kid has to shoulder the burden of delivering nothing short of a classic or be dealt the criticism of being labeled as a "Fluke" or just "Pure hype". Not really a fair deal for a 23 year old, but when you're responsible for creating a Grammy-nominated-mixtape that has been called by fans and critics "a classic", the high expectations become inevitable. The much talked about, highly anticipated Thank Me Later is Drake's answer to the doubters that think his run on top will be shorter than Leprechauns. The album opens up with the appropriately titled-Alicia Keys--assisted "Fireworks", which covers a range of topics from his relationship with mentor Lil' Wayne, to his rumored romance with Rihanna, and dealing with fame. Drake raps the opening bars: "Money just changed everything/ I wonder how life without it would go...Lookin' down from the top and it's crowded below/ My fifteen minutes just started an hour ago..." The first half of the album features occuring themes of paranoia, fear, and doubt. Drake gives the listener the impression that his rocket success to the top is not deserving. The album seems to take a different course toward the middle part of the album as you can hear Drake's confidence grow, as he realizes that maybe his position is valid. "Over"--the album's Boi-1da-produced-first single is a celebration, and declaration as Drake takes a stand and says that his rise is "far from over". Whereas "Show Me A Good Time"-produced by Kanye West, is about leaving your troubles behind and enjoying life. The song, in a sense, is almost like an up-to-date version of the late Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall". Drake then calls up his "Bonnie" to his "Clyde" on the sinister "Up All Night", where Nicki Minaj and Drake stunt all over the dark beat, repping Young Money to the death. Nicki Minaj steals the show boasting: "I got that kinda money make a broke bitch bitter." Later adding "Which bitch you know made a million off a mixtape?" The celebration continues as T.I. and Swizz Beatz join in on "Fancy". A ode to the opposite sex who take pride in their appearance and being independent women. Drake cleverly says "Long as (his women) got a lil' class like half days, and the confidence to overlook his past ways" The album reaches its peak on the much talked-about -Jay-Z-collab-"Light Up". Drizzy and Hov drop gems over the Tone Mason and 40 track, but while Drake does shine on the song("I gross higher than these fuckin' grown man lyers/ Storytellers and they didn't even need a camp fire") he still takes a back seat to Jay's worldly wordplay. Jay plays elder statesman and gives Young Angel advice about the ills of the industry and all the hate it brings, ending his verse with: "Fuck niggas, bitches too/ All I got is this money, this'll do." The Lil Wayne-pre prison-farewell track "Miss Me" is vintage Young Angel and Young Lion rapping retarded bars over the up-tempo beat. The only problems that can be found in TML is some will grow tired of hearing Drake's lazy flow. Drake voice remains the same throughout album, to the point where it's like Drake is talking over the beat instead of rapping over it, and while Drizzy Drake does hold a nicer tune than most his peers who venture out into the realm of singing, sometimes you forget if you're listening to a rap album or an R&B album. Tracks like "Karaoke" and "Find Your Love" has Drake in full R&B singer mode. Those tracks are good, but you still would rather listen to Drake rap on a track instead of singing on the entire song Another downer is the overloaded guest list. Yes, the album features some of today's music elite, but out of 14 tracks, Drake only has the mic alone on half of the remaining songs. Though this debut album probably won't be the illMATIC that most expected from Drake, it still is a solid effort from a kid from Toronto who had dreams of making it big as a rapper, and now that his dream has materialized, I think it's better to not thank him later, but thank him now. I rate this 3.5/5

KANYE RETURNS WITH 'POWER'!!!!

Last week a new song from non other than the Louis Vuitton Don, Kanye West managed to pop up on internet sites every where, and the out come? Powerful. Kanye made an unofficial return to the mic when the song "Power" debuted online, creating a huge buzz for the M.I.A. MC. For those of you who follow hip hop know that Mr. West has been keeping a relatively low profile in the past few months since his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Music Awards last September. The track is produced by unknown Dallas-based producer The Symbolyc One, and features a sample of "21st Century Schizoid Man" by British rock group King Crimson. "Power" finds Kayne shedding in his post-808's and Heartbreak image, and getting back to his old College Dropout days. The Chicago MC uses the song as a plateau to fire off at naysayers that threw salt on his name during his hiatus, while also offering insight to why he left in the first place. The latter, Kanye raps: "I just needed time alone with my own thoughts/ Got treasures in my mind/ But couldn't open up my vaults..." The biggest target seems to be aimed at the cast of Saturday Night Live, who in the wake of Kanye's MTV Music Awards accident poked fun at the outspoken MC. "Fuck 'SNL' and the whole cast. Tell 'em Yeezy said they can kiss my whole ass/ More specifically they can kiss my asshole/ I'm a asshole? You niggas got jokes/ You short minded niggas' thoughts are Napoleon/ My furs is Mongolian/ My ice brought the goalies in..." If this song is a sign of things to come from Kanye's highly anticipated, forthcoming 5th album Good Ass Job, then the future looks promising. Kanye West has reportedly been in Hawaii working on his new disc with the likes of hip hops finest, which includes: Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Pharrell and RZA. The album is slated to drop some time in September.