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— by Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes and Bridget Bland
Artist: 4th25 Entertainment
Representing: America the beautiful
CD: Live From Iraq
411: Imagine being a rapper and having your studio session suddenly cut short when you come under attack from a blizzard of gunfire, grenades and missiles.
This is hyper-reality rap. This is the story of seven soldiers-turned-MCs/producers who record under the name 4th25 (pronounced "fourth quarter") Entertainment. The troops, who are part of the U.S. Army's First Cavalry Division, recorded an entire album called Live From Iraq during their Mideast tour of duty last year.
Sergeant Neal Saunders (Big Neal) took his duty pay, purchased equipment and, using plywood for walls and mattresses for soundproofing, turned his crew's barracks into a studio. Now stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, the group — which also includes Staves, Ronin Clay, Greg O, Michael Thomas, Michael Davis and Marion Saunders — has returned to the States safely and released the indie LP on their Web site, 4th25.com.
Joints To Check For
- "The Deployment." Steven Bochco couldn't have written a more realistic portrayal of what a soldier going off to war is thinking. Neal and Clay relay their thoughts and details of conversations they have with their families before they leave for Iraq. "Me, I'm trying to remain calm for them," Neal raps. "But my heart's racing/ Got the worst on my mind/ But these thoughts, I try to replace them/ I don't even know if I'm coming home, but I tell them I'm gonna make it."
- "Reality Check." Having lived through life-and-death situations on the battlefield, 4th25 have taken exception to Destiny's Child, T.I. and Lil' Wayne, who recorded the hit single "Soldier." They allege that none of the performers are qualified to call themselves soldiers — or even sing about them. "You don't make the same sacrifices we make," Neal says. "As flattered as we are that you would choose us to identify with, y'all being soldiers is completely out of the question."
- "Live From Iraq." You may never know what it's truly like to be on the front lines of war, but 4th25 take you as close as you can get without actually being there. Sometimes they are so painfully honest (especially on the hook), it feels like you are being drop-kicked in the chest. "This is not your beef on the block, this is not that simple," Neal raps. "This is morning gunfire, they shooting rockets and missiles ... This is nothing but problems."
Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week
- Jim Jones' Harlem: Diary of a Summer (independent album)
- Big Mike's Big Boy Game #4
- Cutmaster C's Madden 06
- DJ Lex's R+B in the 90s
- P-Cutta and DJ Wreck's True Hustlas
- S. Gutta's I Am NY
- F Sharp's California Love Pt. 2
'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar
- Kanye West featuring Nas and Really Doe - "We Major"
- Jim Jones featuring Paul Wall, Diddy and Jha Jha - "What You Been Drankin' On"
- Styles P - "Can You Believe It" and "Burner in Ya Pants"
- Papoose - "Body Bluffin"
- Avant featuring Lil Wayne and Jermaine Dupri - "I Want You"
- Nore featuring Pharrell Williams - "I'mma G"
- Lloyd Banks - "U Ain't Holding"
- The Emcee (formerly Jin) - "Open Invitation"
Celebrity Favs
Mike Jones says y'all can kill the rumors: he's still down with Swisha House and tight with his camp. He's also the first MC to respond to being anointed in the "Mixtape Monday" top 10 at the midway point.
"Trying, trying to hold it down, man," Jones said of his crew being placed in the top 10. "We been hustling man, we been working hard. That's why I think we here today. It feels good to be accepted. A lot of people show a lot of love. A lot of people respect the grind, like they say, 'These dudes been doing it for minute. It ain't like they blew up overnight. They kept working, they never asked for a handout. They kept coming with it.' "
(To see who's made the cut as the top 10 rap acts, DJs and producers of the year thus far, be sure to read "Mixtape Monday: Mid-Season Report.")
The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground
If it weren't for the Birdman Jr. (Lil' Wayne), the Birdman Sr. (Baby) would have nobody left — at least on the rap end. It looks like another key member of the Cash Money Records clique has left, and this time it may be the most significant defection yet: the cornerstone of their label.
"It's official that I'm not with them no more, but I'm doing my own thing," Mannie Fresh — the man who's produced the majority of Cash Money's songs and albums — told Ozone magazine in their August issue. "It ain't a situation where we gonna be name-calling and going back and forth. It's just me maturing. It's time for me to do me. It's no bad blood."
Fresh also tells the publication that there have been talks of Hot Boys reunion — but not on the Cash Money label — and that he is starting a record label called Chubby Boy.
Last Tuesday in New York, Baby stopped by the MTV offices and had a different take on Fresh's departure.
"If he wants to do a label, I'm with it," Baby said. "I mean, I'm backing whatever Fresh wanna do, I'm supportive. It ain't no conflict with us and Fresh. Fresh is my brother. He's a made man. He's not stepping away from his family."
It seems like either Fresh and Baby are not communicating, or someone is not telling the full truth. There is no doubt that Juvenile is definitely gone from the family. Juve is signed with Atlantic Records and has his album, Reality Check, set for release early next year. Juve just put out a mixtape with DJ Drama called We On the Bubble and on it, he expresses his feelings towards the #1 Stunna on tracks like "F--- Baby."
"Let him do him wardie," Baby said, responding to Juve's tongue-lashing. "I ain't talked to him since the last project [2003's Juve the Great on Cash Money]. I don't have no bad blood. If a n---a had any kinda sense, he would come hustle with me because he made his most money with me.
"I raised them n---as," Baby added about Juve and his former Hot Boys pals, Turk and B.G. "Hopefully the game won't leave 'em, but they'll wake up. [Juvenile dissing me is] like my son talking back to me. I ain't trippin' off 'Nile and them. I have the utmost respect and love for him, and I wish him all the success in the world. I would never talk bad about them. I was 15 years old raising these n---as. Life goes on."
DJ Whoo Kid says he wants to drop no less than four mixtapes before he and the G-Unit family head overseas to Europe in the next couple of weeks. Whoo Kid is working on a G-Unit clique mixtape, as well as CDs for Mobb Deep, M.O.P. and Mase. Mase recently stopped by Whoo Kid's G-Unit radio show and suggested that he'll be relieving some stress on his street CD.
"Since I been back, all the fake n----s been playing with me and all the real n----s love me."
Of course, the most outspoken person against Mase when he returned last year was Diplomat capo Jim Jones. Jim and Cam'ron had a serious on-air radio confrontation with Mase and accused him of being a fraud. So what does Jim think about Mase possibly going with 50 Cent and company a year later?
"I thought he was signed to G-Unit to be their spiritual adviser, to tell you the truth," Jim snickered. "You know how we say prayers before every show? I thought that's what they hired him for, ya smell me? But I guess everybody backslides. If you want to backslide, I guess that means you are no exception; it's tough out here in these streets. You could slip on a banana peel and bust your head wide open."
On his new mixtape, City of Gods, Jones also has some words for 50 Cent's manager, Chris Lighty, likening the man who helped guide such careers as N.O.R.E., LL Cool J and Q-Tip to the owner of the WWE.
"He's treating this sh-- like wrestling," Jones explained of Lighty. "He's the Vince McMahon of this sh--. Don't get it wrong, Vince McMahon is a billionaire, ain't nothing wrong with being Vince McMahon, ya dig. I don't know if you want to be a wrestler unless you Hulk Hogan or something. I'm just an observer of the game. If that's how they make their money, that's how they make their money. I just feel [Lighty] is Vince McMahon. He knows exactly what the f--- is going on."
Jones' Harlem: Diary of a Summer comes out Tuesday.
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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