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Fire Starter: The Dream
Like his labelmate Ne-Yo, the Dream — born in North Carolina and raised in Atlanta — got his start penning hits for everyone else but himself. He racked up songwriting credits for Mya, B2K and Nivea, before his Bic pen turned platinum after putting together Rihanna's "Umbrella" in just 12 minutes. Now Dream, born Terius Youngdell Nash, has finally got his own track: the love ditty "Shawty Is a Ten." The song, set to appear on his upcoming fall debut HateLove, is burning it up like Mike Vick gossip. Sting and Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls are in line for the Dream (a fam nickname, since he's its dream come true) and his services, but as his star rises, he's getting stingy with his tracks. "I'm about to write a soundtrack for people's lives," he said of his next project.
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Mixtape Monday: Jay-Z Teams With Eminem, Young Jeezy; Trina Won't Dis 50 Cent; Everybody's Poppin' On Wu-Tang Clan LP
— by Shaheem Reid and Jayson Rodriguez, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes and Brennan Williams
DJs: The Empire, Big Mike and Dirty Harry
Representing: The East Coast
Mixtape: The Empire's Southern Slang Six, Max B and Big Mike's Public Domain 2 (The Prequel), Dirty Harry's DJ Harry Presents: DHarry Warlordz
411: We're baaaaack! After taking three weeks off to recap the midseason mixtape game and put together our Hottest MCs package, we've returned in a major way. Tripled up like Rick Ross and the Carol City Cartel. Three mixtapes. Three major DJs. Three of the longest weeks in your life are now over.
Joints To Check For:
- "Outstanding" by Lil Wayne (from Southern Slang Six). Contrary to the track lists that have been popping up online, this song was not produced by Dr. Dre. MTV's own Cipha Sounds was the one who laced this Doc-ish beat, in which hip-hop's #1 rhyme addict is at it again with metaphors — like "better duck like Howard." Weezy also compares himself to NBA power forward Amare Stoudemire: one's a Phoenix Sun, the other is walking fire. "[I did] that like a year ago," Cipha said. "Every time I see Wayne, I ask him about it. And last time he called me, he was like, 'Don't worry, I ain't forget about it.' We call it 'Malcolm X,' because ... in the beginning, that's somebody introducing Malcolm X. I originally made it for Jay-Z when he was coming back [to the game], but I never got it to him in time, so that's why there's that big speech in the beginning. All I know was, [last week] when it leaked, someone wrote me an e-mail, like, 'Congrats.' " Warning: the record is incomplete — there is no hook on it. Ciph's working on that, though.
- "Biggavelli Freestyles" by Max B (from Public Domain 2 [The Prequel]). Jim Jones' right-hand man is out of jail, but before Max B did his time, he linked with Big Mike and put some heat out in the streets with the hope of keeping his name alive. The tracks didn't make it onto a mixtape then, but now that Max is sprung, he's putting out this Prequel before his proper Public Domain 2 mixtape drops. "I was fresh out of the can [for a previous charge], just getting a feel for the studio," Max said. "That's why I called it The Prequel, because it was before all the sh--. This is something that y'all never heard, this is Max before Biggavelli. [Now] you gonna see the Silver Surfer, the mature music. Due to my situation, it caused me to mature, plus I just had a son, so you know I got a different outlook on life. The music is just gonna be so soulful and tasty."
- "All We Got Left" by Nas, 2Pac and John Legend (the "Harry Mix," from Warlordz). There's not too many DJs that actually blend anymore, but Harry is definitely one of the best still doing it, if not the best. Here he pulls together Legend's vocals from "Heaven" with a couple of verses from Nas and 'Pac riding shotgun on the hook. Nas is in rare form on this one: Harry pulled a vintage verse in which God's Son is spitting introspective lyrics and dropping gems like: "Look here, I'm the God on the mic, on the track/ like Arthur Ashe on the tennis rack."
Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week
- DJ Kool Kid - DJ Kool Kid Presents Freeway: Mr. Big Spender
- Team Invasion - Hood Rules Apply 8.0
- DJ Dub & Furious - I Get Money
- Terminology - Big Mike and Statik Selektah Present: Terminology - Hood Politics
- DJ Kronik - Maybach Music
'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar
- Game (featuring Lil Wayne) - "Lyrical Homicide"
- UGK (featuring Z-Ro) - "Trill N---az Don't Die"
- Rick Ross - "Trilla"
- Yung Joc - "Play Your Cards"
- Hot Dollar - "Sidekick"
- Styles P - "Super Gangsta"
- Method Man - "Ice Water"
- Stat Quo - "We Get Higher" and "G.R.I.T.S."
- Kanye West (featuring Young Jeezy) - "Can't Tell Me Nothing" remix
- Saigon (featuring Al B. Sure) - "Homegirl"
- Swizz Beatz - "Big Spender" freestyle
Celebrity Faves
Now that he's done choking people in front of Dave Chappelle, Wayne Brady is hosting a new show called "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" He lives it, too — he can recite songs from yesteryear with no problem, but as for a lot of today's hip-hop and R&B, he's not feeling it.
"I'm not really listening to a lot of hip-hop or R&B," he said. "I'm a little disenchanted with [it]. I love the old-school days. I love old LL Cool J and Run-DMC. Everything was about a party and the wordplay. Everything on the radio nowadays is a dance. I'm not a fan of those songs. I'm listening to Sirius and XM, tuning into old-school stations. You hear tone, melody, people are singing their hearts out. Nobody's using ProTools or singing about how much money they have or their 'umbrel-lel-lel-lel-laaa.' It's pure music and melody. I'm listening to old Doug E. Fresh, Salt-N-Pepa, Schoolly D. It takes me back to when I was a kid."
Brady thinks two things in particular are souring the game: "Motive and intent,"
he said. "Everybody wants to make money — that's the American way. But [with] every song? Really? 'I got this and that.' Brother, I know your car is great, I'm sure you have a wonderful jet. With the old-school guys, it was about a party, and when it wasn't about a party, it was about telling a story. Culturally and musically, have a good time and get back to the basics of songwriting. [I'm] not a country fan, but it's easier to listen to country, because they can write a linear story."
The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground
Superman can fly, the Joker loves a good laugh and Jay-Z gets paid. These things are common knowledge. Still, Hov says he doesn't take his success for granted and even takes time to reflect on it.
"It's something I look at quite often and say, 'Wow,' " said the man who recently clocked in at #9 on the Forbes list of top-earning entertainers. "Of course, it's very humbling. Starting out, you believe you're gonna have success, but it's no way to imagine the type of success I've had. There's no way to dream that out. I've passed every goal I set for myself, but it's still hustling at the end of the day. Legal hustling. You incorporate that same type of go-getter attitude. It's just part of my personality."
Jigga's flip game has been so proper that Rocawear now has co-ventures with Eminem's Shady clothing line and Young Jeezy's 8732 apparel.
"It's a thing for us," Jay said. "All of us, we had the same type of struggle to impart some of that wisdom. I may know a little bit more about clothing at this particular time than Jeezy, but he's flying lower than me, so he may know more about what's going on in the streets a little quicker than I. Not much quicker, but a little quicker." ...
RZA has put all the rumors to rest like a baby who's just been fed. In recent interviews he's told reporters that some of the Wu-Tang Clan members, including Ghostface, hadn't yet recorded vocals for the upcoming 8 Diagrams LP. Last week in New York, though, the Abbot said there's no need for alarm: Everybody has finally been accounted for.
"Yeah, yo," he said about his brothers' participation in the project. "Oh, this is a Wu-Tang Clan album. It ain't like no solo album — everybody is poppin' on this. It's scheduled for an October 23 release."
The singles haven't been made official yet, but the Clan's head said we should be aware of a particular ditty that doesn't sound so radio-friendly.
"We got this one called 'You Better Watch Your Mutha----in' Mouth,' " he said. "They probably gonna bleep out the 'mutha----in'.' A lot of people talking whatever, whatever, whatever. You better watch your mouth."
RZA hinted that Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II album will be right behind the Clan's LP.
"That sh-- is fire," he boasted of Rae's project. "Some sh-- you gotta age in a barrel. Word, we rocked for a whole year on that. That sh-- started to come first, but it's time for the Wu, 'cause it's not always about individuals.
"Son, no words," he added about co-producing the project with Dr. Dre. "He's a master. What can I say that we don't know? It's just pure energy." ...
According to Trina, 50 Cent need not add her name to his list of enemies in the music game. Although he claimed in the song "Fully Loaded Clip" that she was basically cheating on Lil Wayne with Young Buck, the Baddest Chick isn't putting out a dis record.
"I don't have a problem with him," she said. "I don't think he has a problem with me. It's 50. 50 does what 50 does. You gotta love him for it. There will be no 50 disses from Trina. I'm so positive. I don't get into the negative because it takes away from my swagger, and I'm not benefiting from that. I'm not getting a check from that."
Trina will be getting the loot instead from her next LP, Da Baddest B---h Part 2: Reloaded, due later this year.
"I was going over a bunch of names," she said. "I said, 'I'm about to take it back. I'm about to be fresher than a newborn.' "
Before the album's release, look for three mixtapes: Rockstar, Hottest Chick in the Game and Diamond Princess vs. the Baddest B---h..
Of the latter, she said: "I thought of it when T.I. came out with T.I. vs. T.I.P. 'Wow, two personalities.' That's kinda like how I am."
For other artists featured in Mixtape Mondays, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.
For a full-length feature on the role of mixtapes in the music industry, check out "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."
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Photo: MTV News
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