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— by Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes
Artists: Ray Cash; Smitty
Representing: Cleveland; Miami
Mixtapes: Cash's Steady Fetti; Smitty's Come See What I See
411: To kill any misperception right from the top: Smitty and Cash are not a group — they're not even affiliated. We just decided to give a little shine to two MCs making their ways up the ranks. Ray Cash inked a deal with Columbia earlier this year — he's from Cleveland, but rest assured he sounds nothing like Bone Thugs — he attacks with a bunch of braggatory punchlines. Ray is bubbling right now with the party record "Sex Appeal," where he jokes about being a "pimp in [his] own mind."
Smitty is a tough cookie who grew up in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. His debut is slated for late September and his list of cosigners is impressive: Kanye West, the Game, Swizz Beatz, Scarface and Clive Davis, who signed Smitty to J Records.
Both MCs just released mixtapes — check out what they're bringing to the table.
Joints To Check For
- "Diamonds on My Neck" by Smitty. This is absolutely the biggest song in Miami right now — if you go to any club in South Beach, you're guaranteed to hear it at least five times in one night. Producer Swizz Beatz is at it again: He chops up a sampled voice for the chorus. Swizzy laid off of Jay this time and ran with a Biggie sample: "Diamonds on my neck, smoking pounds of green!"
- "Cleveland to Philly" by Ray Cash featuring Young Chris. Cash has a cool little style about him when he makes his voice almost crack at the end of some of his punchlines. He uses his Midwest twang to describe his nights on the cold Cleveland streets as a hustler while Chris wets the track with a loose-lipped flow.
- "Ghetto" by Smitty featuring Kanye West, John Legend and Scarface. "Diamonds on My Neck" doesn't quite show off Smitty's lyrical skills. This song is no party record: It's another soulful 'hood salute by the folks at Good Music and Mr. Scarface. "There's more to life than money and gold/ But being a paper chaser is all that I know," Smitty raps. "My dreams of making it [are] hard to let go/ To have it all, then lose it like Riddick Bowe." "Me and Smitty got a plan to take over the globe," Kanye chips in, before calling out Scarface and his crew: "Add on Face Mobb, we getting money fo sho."
Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week
- Jail Break Recordz's Purple City
- Kool Keith's Lost Masters Volume 2
- Outlawz's Outlaw 4 Life 2005 AP
- DJ E.Nyce's On My Grind Vol. 8
- DJ Vlad presents Sin Sizzerb Vol. 1
- Jon Moskowits and Swindle's The Infamous ... Bobb Deep: Queensbridge Meets Kingston
- Fats & Bathgate's Collision Course
'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar
- Smitty - "Diamonds on My Neck"
- Don Omar featuring Fat Joe and N.O.R.E. - "Reggaeton Latino" remix
- Rihanna featuring Elephant Man - "Pon de Replay" remix
- Teairra Marí featuring Kanye West and Jay-Z - "Make Her Feel Good" remix
- Stimuli featuring Cory Gunz - "This Is the Life"
- Cam'ron featuring Juelz Santana - "Hey Ma, Part 3"
- TOK - "Footprints"
- Rupee featuring Lil' Kim - "Do the Damn Thing"
Celebrity Favs
Last week, Daddy Yankee announced that he'll be headlining the first reggaeton arena tour, and this week he'll go public about which major label will release his next album. But don't think one of the genre's kings is too large to let the world know who influenced him while he was growing up in Puerto Rico.
"I grew up listening to Dr. Dre, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane," he said. "Then the second school came out: Nas, Big Pun — the beast! — [Fat] Joe, Jay-Z definitely, Snoop, Tupac. I give a lot of credit to the dancehall culture from Jamaica: Spragga Benz, Capleton — who is my favorite artist in Jamaica — and Sean Paul. Thanks to those genres, I'm here today."
The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground
Bun B has been the busiest man on the streets this year: He's made guest appearances on records by everyone from well-known, established cats like Beanie Sigel to up-and-comers like Ray Cash. Well, Bun is in the midst of working on more guest appearances — but in this case, the Houston legend is securing cameos for his own album rather than working on somebody else's. Bun's solo LP, Trill, is scheduled for release in September and 50 Cent, Young Buck, T.I., Young Jeezy and Fat Joe are among those who have gotten calls about possibly appearing.
So far Mannie Fresh, the Medicine Men and Jazze Pha are among those doing beats. Rap-A-Lot, Bun's label, just leaked a record called "Draped Up" to the streets. An official first single is still being decided upon, but look out for one particular cut on the album called "Gun Talk," which samples the theme from the TV show "ChiPS."
"You know somebody feels you when they do your ad-libs — c'mon man, nobody does nobody's ad-libs. When's the last time you heard that?" Young Jeezy said with a smile, reminiscing on the reaction he gets at his live shows. Jeezy's often used ad-libs of "Yeeeeah!" and "Thaaaaaaat's riiiiiight!" have become two of the most popular in hip-hop now.
"It's almost spiritual to me, homie," he added. "I tell people all the time, I don't consider myself a rapper. I'm getting there, I'mma get better. I just feel the music for real. I get in the booth, I put the headphones on and I feel that 'Yeeeeah!' I feel that 'Thaaaaaaat's riiiiiight!' The words I put together, it's not like I sit there and say, 'I'mma make it sound like this.' When you sit there and you hear that beat and get to throw them bars ... When you done it, it feels like masterpiece, and you ain't said nothing but real talk. You ain't use no big words, no crazy metaphors, you just made a lot of sense to a lot of people. They feel me 'cause they can relate to me."
David Banner says he's not a biter, he's just going with the flow. People have been talking about how Banner talks lower than his regular speaking voice on his new single, "Play," much like the Ying Yang Twins do on their highly successful "Wait (The Whisper Song)." DB promises he's not jacking anyone's style — he's following a master plan.
"It's produced by Mister Collipark, the same guy that did 'The Whisper Song,' " Banner explained. " 'The Whisper Song' wasn't a fad, it's actually a new movement that we call 'intimate club music.' ['Play'] is the second installment of it. Ladies, get your towels — it's about to go down."
"Play" is the official first single from banner's Certified LP, which comes out on August 23. Jadakiss, Twista, Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Bun B, Too Short and Three 6 Mafia all make guest spots.
For more on the role of mixtapes in the music industry, check out the feature "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."
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Photo: MTV News
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