Artist: Jadakiss

Representing: Y.O.

Mixtape: Kiss My A--: The Champ Is Here Pt. 2

411: Before we do anything, let's send a massive, unified R.I.P. to the Notorious B.I.G. The rap legend was assassinated 12 years ago today. We'll always love you, Big.

This week was supposed to see the release of Jadakiss' The Last Kiss album, and since that project has been pushed back until April 7, your boy couldn't leave you without any stimulants. He has a mixtape out, so pucker up — Jadakiss is going to tell you to kiss his ass and there's just no escaping that. Although he had to change his official album's title to The Last Kiss, the Yonkers monster mouth used his original title idea for his latest mixtape, the sequel to his classic 2004 mixtape with Big Mike and Green Lantern, The Champ Is Here.

"Green is impeccable with blending and mixing, taking a cappella of a record that had a previous track to the next level," Kiss said of reteaming for Kiss My A--: The Champ Is Here Pt. 2.

"A lot of DJs just want a couple of freestyles [when you make mixtapes]. Green wants some freestyles, a cappellas. He wants to do his thing and he wants some drops or whatever," Jada continued. "And he presents you with records. When you're working with him, you know what you're getting, and he's bringing some things to the table. He's really in there working. He's making it like a real album. He's gonna master it. It was definitely a good thing getting back with him."

To the dismay of fans — not to mention the two gentlemen involved themselves — Kiss and Green had a serious falling out on the heels of making the first Champ, one of the all--time great street CDs (no gas here, it was that damn good. A phone conversation between the two popped up on a street DVD. They were discussing Jada's then brewing battle with 50 Cent. In the aftermath of the footage going public, [article id="1501407"]Green stepped down as Eminem's DJ[/article].

Lantern has since gone on to spin at shows for the likes of Nas and Jay-Z. In fact, it was during an American Gangster tour stop in NYC that Kiss appeared onstage as Jay's special guest, but the Yonkers ripper and the Evil Genius had no synergy onstage. Kiss wanted to rock one of his hits, but Green only had "It's All About the Benjamins."

"I reached out to Green," Jada said of how the two came to put this current mixtape together. "He kept 100. He came to Y.O. by himself. We sat at a restaurant and just kicked it. Ventilated. He said what he wanted to say, got off his chest how the whole thing went down."

As for the concert, Jada explained, "A lot of people thought it might have been some funny money, but one of the things we talked about at the table, he was like, 'Don't think I was doing you greasy.' He didn't have none of my music in his replay. I can't get mad at that. It's a Hov show. Hov made him put 'The Benjamins' in there. I just didn't want to perform 'The Benjamins.' "

Now on the same page, the two are already plotting to drop another Kiss My A-- CD. And if you're wondering why this current Kiss My A-- CD is a little shorter than expected, Jada said he's just looking out for his official release in April. The potency of the first Champ Is Here mixtape hurt sales of his official The Kiss of Death album.

"That's why I had to make this one tight, but not too much a full-length album, because [fans] will just sit with that and not want to get your album. ... Interscope spent a lot of money on that Champ Is Here [and it ended up hurting The Kiss of Death]. They made a lot of copies and put it in every region in the world. It was good and bad. That's why I went light. But we got volume two of the Kiss My Ass. I got more music I'm gonna let go in a couple days for you."

Jada said after his album drops in April, fans can expect a D-Block compilation followed by a LOX album at the end of the year.

Joints To Check For

» "Child Abuse." "That's a beat that Swizz used before," Jada explained. "I heard a lot of people that rocked over it. [Lloyd] Banks rocked to it. Ransom, Stack Bundles — rest in peace — before he passed, he ripped something on there. I said, 'This is a beat for MCs. I wanna get on that, let them know I got my ear to the streets.' 'Child Abuse'! Just some lyrical fun, smackin' the track around."

» "Hard Times" featuring Barrington Levy. "That should be on the LP," Jada said. "I don't know. It's in the batch. It rings off in the club and I get a good look from all the yardies. They love the boy Kiss, respect. Barrington is raw. They call him 'The Mayor' over there [in Jamaica]. He's a real dude. ... He's making real music. He's trying hard to get me [to do the video] over there in Jamaica. I might pay for a video — shoot half over there, shoot half in Jamaica. It was a good look. I never did a reggae joint, and I did it with Barrington. I'm supposed to be hooking up with Beenie Man too this week while he's in town."

» "The People" featuring Styles P. "We were just spazzin' on the Common beat," Jada explained. "I'm a big fan of Common. You probably wouldn't know, since we're [such] different artists, but Common's a spitter since back in the day. He gets it in with anybody, any type of song. I was big fan of that single when he dropped it, 'The People.' The cadence is crazy. Green had thrown SP on there in the middle of the track. I said, 'That ain't gonna work, Green. You can't just chop them verses up like that. You gotta let the whole thing rock, then let P come after that.' It came out tremendous."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

» DJ Scream and DJ Smallz - The Peace Treaty

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» Ghostface Killah - "A Message From Ghostface"

» Nas featuring Marsha Ambrosia - "If I Ruled the World '09"

» Slaughterhouse - "Fight Club"

» Keri Hilson featuring T-Pain and Lil Wayne - "Turnin Me On" (remix)

» Raekwon - "Staten (We Go Hard)"

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

From the 'hood to Hollywood, it's moooooo-vin! Red Cafe has volumes of songs dropping this year. First and foremost is a favorite of the Mixtape Monday fam, "Hottest in the Hood."

"The streets is talking about this record everywhere," said Red, who boasts in the song that he's the person most on fire in the street. "It's a cocky statement on the record — you gotta own up to it. It's important that my 'hood and my city is embracing the record. I'm on every countdown [on New York radio]. The record has only been out for [a few] weeks. It's spreading dramatically. I'm ready to go."

Red also leaked a song called "Very Special" that samples Anita Baker. "That record is such a classic record, you don't really wanna touch it unless you gonna do justice to it. 'Rapture'! I approached it to do it justice, to make the people love it again. They already loved it."

Red's debut, Shakedown, should be dropping within the next few months. Young Jeezy, Fabolous, T-Pain, Jadakiss and Fat Joe all have guest appearances.

"There's going to be at least 10 records of just me on there as well," the Brooklyn native promised, dispelling any notion that his album will have a compilation feel. Red is also going to be featured heavily on Akon's next album, Koncrete scheduled to drop at the end of the year, and Fabolous' Street Fam, due this fall. Not to be outdone, Red and DJ Envy will have their second co-op LP out this summer.

"The Shakedown album is honesty," Cafe promised. "You gonna get honesty on that album."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Monday, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.