http://www.poundmag.com/index.php/tools/blocks/page_list/rss?bID=163&cID=95&arHandle=Main content http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/action-bronson-x-pound/ .... Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/machine-gun-kelly-interview-pt-1/ Eventually every rapper ends up confessing whilst in a bathtub, so when we found Machine Gun Kelly inside of one in a somewhat posh Toronto hotel we had to break out the camera. .... Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:44:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/planet-asia-x-pound1/ Planet Asia talks to Pound about his upcoming release Black Belt Theatre..... Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/it-s-no-secret-02-06/ Entry 2/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to It's No Secret by Carmen Bryan. Today's special: gossip folks..... Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/wale-talks-a-lil-politics/ .... Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:23:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/it-s-no-secret-01-12/ Entry 1/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Carmen Bryan's It's No Secret. Today's special: The Answer #3.... Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:50:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pound-x-shing-shing-regime/ Pound builds with the Gods of the Shing Shing Regime..... Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:29:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1293 .... Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:49:48 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/2011-book-of-the-year/ .... Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/no-disrespect-12-26/ Entry 3/3 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Sister Souljah's No Disrespect. Today's special: free love (advice)..... Mon, 26 Dec 2011 12:42:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-12-21/ Entry 10/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to articles from And It Don't Stop (ed. Racquel Cepeda). Today's special-Teddy Riley.... Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:17:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1289 .... Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:03:16 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1288 .... Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:09:14 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/hip-hop-s-booker-t/ .... Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:32:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/empire-state-of-mind-12-13/ Entry of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Empire State of Mind. .... Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-121/ .... Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:26:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1283 .... Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:10:18 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/murs-x-pound/ .... Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:30:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1281 .... Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:55:28 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/no-disrespect-10-05/ Entry 2/3 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Sister Souljah's No Disrespect. Today's focus: none, only further confusion on this woman's politics..... Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:59:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/salvation-is-near/ Jon Connor: leader of the resistance. Nas' 14K painting. Behind the scenes of Watch The Throne Tour. Tribe Called Quest hasn't received any royalties for "Can I Kick It?".... Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1279 .... Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:42:36 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-12-01/ Entry 9/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to And It Don't Stop (ed. Racquel Cepeda). Today's topic: Aaron muthafuckin' Hall..... Fri, 02 Dec 2011 06:32:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/wheres-addi/machine-gun-kelly-at-the-mod-club/ .... Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/no-disrespect-sister-souljah/and-it-don-t-stop-12-01/ Entry 9/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Racquel Cepeda's And It Don't Stop. Today's special: Aaron Hall. Yep, Aaron muthafuckin' Hall..... Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:50:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1275 .... Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:09:26 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1274 .... Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:54:52 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/no-disrespect-sister-souljah/ Entry 1/3 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Sister Souljah's No Disrespect. Today's Special: humble roots..... Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:21:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1272 .... Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:52:38 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1271 .... Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:51:38 EST http://www.poundmag.com/wheres-addi/toronto-watches-the-throne/ .... Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:27:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/curren-y-x-pound/ .... Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:12:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-22/ .... Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:47:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-21/ .... Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:04:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1266 .... Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:34:46 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/hot-fudge-comin-all-in/ Busta Rhymes signs to Cash Money. Ludacris takes shots at Drake and Big Sean. Ice-T seeking beats via Twitter. Erick Sermon's, post heart attack..... Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-icon-the-memoir-11-20/ Entry 3/3 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Flavor Flav's The Icon The Memoir. Today's special: Public Enemy #1..... Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1263 .... Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:16:50 EST http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1262 .... Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:15:18 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/peaceful-journey/ Wishing Heavy D a Peaceful Journey. Get well Erick Sermon. Fat joe on Hip-Hop's "Gay Mafia." Drake's "Take Care.".... Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/wheres-addi/lil-wayne/ .... Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/wheres-addi/ice-cream-summerfest/ .... Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/wheres-addi/slaughterhouse/ .... Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-11-10/ Entry 8/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Racquel Cepeda's And It Don't Stop. Today's Special: Foxy's M.I.A..... Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:13:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-9/ .... Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:38:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/josh-martinez-x-pound/ .... Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:48:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/imperial-liberation/ .... Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:48:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-five-percenters-11-06/ Entry 2/2 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Michael Muhammad Knight's The Five Percenters. Today's special: One Nation .... Sun, 06 Nov 2011 16:31:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/wheres-addi/h/ .... Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-icon-the-memoir-11-04/ Entry 2/3 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Flavor Flav's The Icon The Memoir. Today's special: (shakes head).... Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:32:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-3/ .... Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:31:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-2/ .... Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1251 .... Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:18:28 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-icon-the-memoir-11-01/ Entry 1/3 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Flavor Flav's The Icon The Memoir (missing comma, all his). Today's special: legal drug money.... Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/mikey-and-the-jets/ Jaz-O is back. Mikey Rocks joins the Jets. Big Sean wins his sex abuse case. Soulja Boy wants you to stop swagger jackin'!.... Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-10-25/ Entry 7/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to And It Don't Stop-ed. Racquel Cepeda. Today: Wyclef, pshaaw..... Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/666-103-49-and-76/ .... Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-five-percenters-10-21/ Entry 1/2 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Michael Muhammad Knight's The Five Percenters. Today's special-prisons..... Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-10-21/ .... Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-10-19/ .... Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:35:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/revolutionary-culture/ Project Groundation Massive releases two new mixtapes, Revolutionary Culture Book 1 & 2, featuring M1, Jahdan Blakkamoore, Konshens, Sizzla and more. Pound talks to PGM's DJ Child, M1 and Jahdan about Revolutionary Culture..... Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/my-infamous-life-10-17/ Entry 5/5 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Prodigy's My Infamous Life (with Laura Checkoway). Today-the links..... Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:05:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-10-16/ .... Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/9-must-reads-for-the-99-percent/ .... Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:20:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/apathy-x-pound/ .... Fri, 14 Oct 2011 09:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-10-13/ .... Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:45:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-10-10/ .... Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:44:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/bookmark-adam-bradley-the-questions-y-all/ The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow talks to Adam Bradley as the co-writer of Common's autobiography One Day It'll All Make Sense.... Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:47:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-10-7/ Entry 6/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to And It Don't Stop (ed. Racquel Cepeda). Today-Treach's guide to loving. .... Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pound-x-cormega/ .... Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:57:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-10-5/ .... Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:06:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-10-4/ .... Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:43:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-10-4/ Entry 5/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to And It Don't Stop (ed. Racquel Cepeda). Today: C.Delores Tucker (the one that Pac called a muthafucka).... Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:53:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-10-3/ .... Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/occupy-wall-street/ .... Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:41:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/dear-mama/ .... Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/my-infamous-life-10-02/ Entry 4/5 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Prodigy's (with Laura Checkoway) My Infamous Life. Today, a shorty entitled "Diamonds are Forever.".... Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:13:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/pill-top-10-bangers/ Top Tell Tracks from Pills Mixtapes.... Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/check-the-technique-9-27/ Entry 4/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Brain Coleman's Check the Technique. Today's topic: back in the day.... Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:01:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-27/ .... Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/we-maraud-your-ears/ A Tribe Called Quest: Midnight Marauders. NWA movie: Straight Outta Compton. Cole World: The Sideline Story..... Mon, 26 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-9-24/ Entry 4/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Racquel Cepeda's And It Don't Stop. Today's topic: black hand side.... Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:44:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/no-more-prisons-9-20/ Entry 2/5 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Upski's No More Prisons. Today's topic: book smart vs. life smart..... Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-20/ .... Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:57:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/phoenix-and-fakes/ Big Sean, Big Fake. Jean Grae writes a book. University of Houston & DJ Screw. Dude loses job due to UGK affiliation..... Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/check-the-technique-9-17/ Entry 3/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Brian Coleman's Check the Technique. Subject: KRS is a douchebag..... Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-9-15/ .... Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/kendrick-lamar-x-pound/ .... Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-9-14/ .... Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:57:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/my-infamous-life-9-13/ Entry 3/5 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to My Infamous Life by Prodigy with Laura Checkoway. Topic: strange relationship..... Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-9-12/ Entry 3/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Racquel Cepeda's compilation And It Don't Stop. Today: Groupie Luv..... Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-9-12/ .... Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:49:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-9-11/ .... Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:06:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/my-infamous-life-9-11/ Entry 2/5 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to My Infamous Life by Prodigy with Laura Checkoway. Today's special: staking claims..... Sun, 11 Sep 2011 12:01:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/how-hot-was-august/ .... Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/a-life-of-reinvention-9-04/ Entry 4/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Manning Marable's A Life of Reinvention. Topic: Canadians do it better..... Sun, 04 Sep 2011 14:50:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/is-higher-ed-racist/ .... Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-8-31/ Entry 2/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to And It Don't Stop edited by Racquel Cepeda. Today-more Dream Hampton swooning..... Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-30/ .... Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-29/ .... Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:45:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/baby-money/ 2011 MTV VMA's with news on Jay-Z/Kanye West, Beyonce's pregger biz, Tyler's cuss-face...and moon man...oh uh and immortal technique's documentary, and how 2Pac was smoked in a blunt. Ya dig?.... Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/decoded-8-28/ Entry 4/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Jay-Z and Dream Hampton's Decoded. .... Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:31:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/no-more-prisons-8-27/ Entry 1/5 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Upski's No More Prisons. First up-our own private prisons.... Sat, 27 Aug 2011 20:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-22/ .... Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/bars-on-bars-on-bars/ .... Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-19/ .... Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:44:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/check-the-technique-8-18/ Entry 2/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Brian Coleman's Check the Technique. Topic: Ursula Rucker.... Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:34:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-17/ .... Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:13:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-16/ .... Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/top-10-wu-tang-drug-references-blow-and-dust-edition/ A look back at the top-10 Wu-Tang Dust and Coke lyrics. They've been "On One" for decades son..... Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-15/ .... Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:41:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/so-butter/ In laymen's terms, so even the lame can get it. -Opski Chan.... Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-11/ .... Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/support-for-yetunde/ .... Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:28:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-10/ .... Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:41:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/justice-for-prisoners/ August 10th is Prison Justice Day. Check out the reasons why you should stand in solidarity with the men and women locked behind bars..... Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/a-life-of-reinvention-8-09/ Entry 3/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Manning Marable's Malcolm X-A Life of Reinvention. Re: I get around..... Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:44:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-9/ .... Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:56:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pounds-hip-hop-thermometer/ .... Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-8/ .... Mon, 08 Aug 2011 11:31:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/i-funded-the-chronic/ .... Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/riots-aren-t-politics-but-they-are-political/ .... Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:48:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/youth-riot-in-london/ .... Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/decoded-8-07/ Entry 3/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Jay-Z's hero worship in the book he wrote with Dream Hampton, Decoded..... Sun, 07 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-3/ .... Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:50:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pounds-top-five-pairs-of-boobs-in-hip-hop/ .... Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:25:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/wall-st-and-the-pentagon-win-with-debt-deal/ .... Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:25:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/city-breath-vinyl-breakdown-podcast-1/ Real Talk about real dope records. All kinds of 'em..... Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-2/ .... Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/everyone-loves-you-when-you-re-dead-8-02/ Entry 6/6 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Everyone Loves You When You're Dead by Neil Strauss. Topic: rap beef, what?!.... Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:54:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-8-1/ .... Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/u-s-debt-crisis/ .... Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/and-it-don-t-stop-08-01/ Entry 1/10 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Raquel Cepeda's And It Don't Stop. First up: LL Cool J..... Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:29:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-31/ .... Sun, 31 Jul 2011 11:13:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/everyone-loves-you-when-you-re-dead-7-29/ Entry 5/6 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Neil Strauss' Everyone Loves You When You're Dead. No comment..... Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pounds-top-10-reasons-why-you-should-watch-the-throne/ .... Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-26/ .... Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:23:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/protests-in-tel-aviv/ .... Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:02:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/tra/ .... Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/88-keys-ready-set-go/ .... Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-25/ .... Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/f-ck-gucci-and-f-ck-wontons/ .... Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/somalia-s-not-so-natural-disaster/ .... Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:06:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/the-shock-doctrine-toronto-style/ .... Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:40:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/mans-are-melting/ .... Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pound-x-devin-the-dude/ .... Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pound-s-interview-with-big-k-r-i-t/ .... Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:27:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/mumia-speaks-on-prison-hunger-strikes/ Mumia Abu-Jamal is a political prisoner in Pennsylvania who has been on death row since 1982. Through the wonderful efforts of Noelle Hanrahan at PrisonRadio.org, Mumia is able to record commentary on current political issues and have spread across the internet and played on radio shows worldwide. On July 17th, 2011, Mumia recorded his thoughts on the Pelican Bay prison hunger strikes..... Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/everyone-loves-you-when-you-re-dead-7-20/ Entry 4/6 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Neil Strauss' Everyone Loves You When You're Dead. Today's topic: Game wins the Special Olympics..... Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pound-issue-45/ Download a digital copy of Pound Issue 45: The Re:Issue, the first print issue in about three years. .... Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pound-s-top-10-rappers-with-disabilities/ .... Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:32:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/malcolmology-part-2/ Marable Manning speaks on Malcolm X through a video series. This is episode 2..... Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/decoded-7-19/ Entry 2/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Jay-Z (and Dream Hampton's) Decoded. Topic: Hard Knock Lives.... Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-19/ .... Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:21:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/egypt-s-corruption-trials-televised/ .... Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:53:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=1099 .... Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:48:20 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/a-life-of-reinvention-7-18/ Entry 2/4 of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Manning Marable's Malcolm X-A Life of Reinvention. Topic: Malcolm WAS a rapper..... Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-18/ .... Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/nohomo/ .... Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/everyone-loves-you-when-you-re-dead-7-16/ Entry 3/6 of the Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Neil Strauss' Everyone Loves You When You're Dead exploring groupie power..... Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:35:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/check-the-technique-7-15/ Entry 1/4 of the Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Brian Coleman's Check the Technique. First up, we continue our Cheryl 'Salt' James shoutout..... Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:35:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/colonel-sentenced-for-killing-civilians-in-rebel-attire/ .... Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:33:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/everyone-loves-you-when-you-re-dead-7-14/ Entry 2/6 of the Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Neil Strauss' Everyone Loves You When You're Dead. Dave Pirner discusses the "juice" of lady rappers..... Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:53:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-14/ .... Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/malcolmology-part-1/ The late Dr. Manning Marable shares his thoughts on Malcolm X through a series of videos. This is Episode 1..... Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:01:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/my-infamous-life-7-13/ Entry 1/5 of the Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Prodigy (and Laura Checkoway)'s My Infamous Life. .... Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-13/ .... Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/world-s-most-expensive-city/ The Mercer group released their list of The World's Most Expensive Cities and the results may surprise you..... Wed, 13 Jul 2011 11:30:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/decoded-7-12/ 1/4 entries of the Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Decoded, the book that Jay-Z replaced the first one that Dream Hampton wrote about him with. It scared him..... Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-12/ .... Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:02:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/human-rights-watch-investigates-bush/ .... Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:43:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-11/ .... Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:01:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/south-sudan-becomes-world-s-newest-nation/ .... Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:01:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-8/ .... Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/resisting-prisons-rebuilding-communities/ .... Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/joe-g/ POUND'S TOP FIVE REASONS WHY TRICK DADDY'S AND PRODIGY'S BOOK ARE BOTH PERFECT SUMMER HIP-HOP READING MATERIAL.... Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/prison-hunger-strike/ .... Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/eye-of-the-hurricane-7-07/ a Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow musing inspired by Eye of the Hurricane by Rubin Carter..... Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:53:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-7/ .... Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/somali-drought-intensifies/ .... Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/a-life-of-reinvention-7-06/ installment 1/4 of the Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Manning Marable's Malcolm X-A Life of Reinvention.... Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-6/ .... Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:27:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/everyone-loves-you-when-you-re-dead-7-05/ 1/6 musings from the Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Neil Strauss' Everyone Loves You When You're Dead.... Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:57:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-5/ .... Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:29:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/court-sparks-riots-in-cairo/ .... Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:20:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-4/ .... Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:45:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pounds-top-five-unintentional-gay-rap-icons/ Pound's Top Five Unintentional Gay Rap Icons..... Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/chomsky-calls-out-chavez/ .... Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:54:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/rock-says-stop/ .... Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/got-your-back-7-03/ 3/3 of the Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow dedicated to Frank Alexander's Got Your Back.... Sun, 03 Jul 2011 17:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-7-2/ .... Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:28:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/got-your-back-7-01/ Part 2/3 of a book review on Frank Alexander's Got Your Back.... Fri, 01 Jul 2011 22:23:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/beyond-hip-hop-s-malcolm/ .... Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:56:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/massive-strike-and-protest-in-the-uk/ .... Fri, 01 Jul 2011 09:57:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/got-your-back-6-30/ 1/3 musings on Frank Alexander's (Tupac's last bodyguard) book, Got Your Back.... Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:48:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-30/ .... Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:15:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/protests-in-tahrir-square-again/ .... Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/dirty-south-6-28/ the final post inspired by Ben Westhoff's Dirty South-the whole hog..... Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-28/ .... Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/netanyahus-office-releases-fake-video/ .... Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/greece-in-crisis/ .... Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:30:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-27/ .... Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:54:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/ice-cold/ .... Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/dirty-south-6-26/ Ben Westhoff describes rappers in his book, Dirty South.... Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/a-tale-of-three-riots/ .... Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-24/ .... Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-23/ .... Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:50:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/ford-plays-hooky-for-pride/ .... Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-22/ .... Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/obama-to-withdraw-troops-from-afghanistan/ .... Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/dirty-south-6-21/ today's look from Dirty South by Ben Westhoff is at Master P's fails..... Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-21/ .... Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:49:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-20/ .... Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/dirty-south-6-19/ today's musing on Dirty South by Ben Westhoff.... Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:31:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-19/ .... Sun, 19 Jun 2011 12:25:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/dirty-souty-6-18/ today's daily hip_hop book musing comes from Ben Westhoff's offering Dirty South .... Sat, 18 Jun 2011 17:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-big-payback-6-17/ today's snippet from The Big Payback by Dan Charnas is all about Vibe Magazine (RIP)-i know it's "back" again, but it's really not..... Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:41:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-17/ .... Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/israel-to-block-flotilla/ .... Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:54:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-big-payback-6-16/ a discussion about The Source magazine, as inspired by The Big Payback by Dan Charnas. also, a highlight of KRS-One's general douche-baggyness.... Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:44:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-16/ .... Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/happy-40th-pac/ .... Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-15/ .... Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/canada-post-lockout/ .... Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-big-payback-6-14/ further thoughts on The Big Payback by Dan Charnas.... Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-14/ .... Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:02:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/gay-girl-in-damascus-is-a-hoax/ .... Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:40:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-13/ .... Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:08:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/madea-is-now-fatter-than-joe/ He ain't fat no mo', but a lack of Flow just ain't like Joe..... Sun, 12 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-10/ .... Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:08:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/r-i-p-geronimo-pratt/ .... Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:33:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/rape-used-as-weapon-of-war/ .... Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-9/ .... Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-68/ .... Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:24:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/postal-strikes-continue/ .... Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/new-pharoahe-monch-video/ .... Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-7/ .... Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:26:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/elzhi-rebirth-of-ill/ .... Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-6/ .... Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:34:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-3/ .... Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:32:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-6-2/ .... Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/rhymin-and-stealin/ Lloyd you be a biter! This may be on an R&B tip but don’t act like you can’t relate. I know that some of you are gangstas and Remy said that gangstas don’t dance or boogie, but for the rest of the sensible planet, peep this. So we got Lloyd’s joint “Cupid” on one hand and on the other hand we’ve got R. Kelly’s “Love Letter.” I totally dig the latter of the two, which came out late last year, meanwhile I couldn’t really give two hoots about Lloyd’s number. You can say I’m soft for feelin’ “Love Letter” but I’m telling you, that track is for the G’s! Anyways, listen to the opening of each song…notice a similarity? Dear Reader, you may not give two doohickeys about this observation but it came to my attention so I’ve got to address it. That melodic “doo doo doo” opening to “Cupid” was jacked off Kels’ opening. There’s a difference between sampling another joint and jacking another joint. Enough said. Peep the two tracks and formulate your own decisions. It’s not like this is the first time something like this has happened but the fact that Lloyd uses the same melody as that of a really recent song is mega FISH. Lloyd is a flow jacker! That is all. .... Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/mubarak-family-set-for-court/ .... Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:13:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-31/ .... Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:56:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/pakistani-journalist-murdered/ .... Tue, 31 May 2011 14:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/brody-butchers-biggie/ .... Tue, 31 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-30/ .... Mon, 30 May 2011 19:08:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/yemen-on-the-verge-of-civil-war/ .... Mon, 30 May 2011 12:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-29/ .... Sun, 29 May 2011 19:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/new-badu/ .... Fri, 27 May 2011 17:01:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/patriot-act-extended/ .... Fri, 27 May 2011 10:29:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-26/ .... Thu, 26 May 2011 16:45:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/spain-demands-change-toma-la-plaza/ .... Thu, 26 May 2011 14:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/pac/ .... Wed, 25 May 2011 18:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-25/ .... Wed, 25 May 2011 15:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-24/ .... Tue, 24 May 2011 11:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-23/ .... Mon, 23 May 2011 12:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-big-payback-5-17/ straight dope (quotes) from The Big Payback by Dan Charnas-happy victoria day, canaduh..... Sun, 22 May 2011 20:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-big-payback-5-16/ The Big Payback by Dan Charnas-focus on Dame Dash.... Sun, 22 May 2011 19:35:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-21/ .... Sat, 21 May 2011 19:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-20/ .... Fri, 20 May 2011 16:33:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/1967-borders/ .... Fri, 20 May 2011 11:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/cops-get-money/ OPP will receive a pay increase in the next two years despite the provincial government saying otherwise..... Thu, 19 May 2011 23:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/jeru-what-do-you-think-is-bullshit/ Brooklyn representer Jeru The Damaja, member of the GangStarr foundation and certified Tae Kwon Do black belt takes a moment to reflect on what's bullshit to him..... Thu, 19 May 2011 15:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/cam-ron-goes-to-crazytown/ .... Thu, 19 May 2011 15:47:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-19/ .... Thu, 19 May 2011 15:27:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=897 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 13:02:56 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=896 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 13:01:31 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=895 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:57:58 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=894 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:56:30 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=893 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:53:36 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=892 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:51:54 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=891 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:50:56 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=890 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:50:01 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=889 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:48:26 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=888 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:32:25 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=887 .... Thu, 19 May 2011 12:27:38 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/happy-birthday/ .... Thu, 19 May 2011 10:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=885 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:54:56 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=884 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:54:05 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=883 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:53:02 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=882 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:51:31 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=881 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=880 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:43:55 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=879 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:42:52 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=877 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:37:01 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=876 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:32:52 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=874 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:10:34 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/index.php?cID=873 .... Wed, 18 May 2011 16:01:58 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-18/ .... Wed, 18 May 2011 13:26:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/drew-is-back/ .... Wed, 18 May 2011 12:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/jealous-ones-envy/ Nas X (that’s the Roman numeral for 10). The Nastiest has revealed that he has been inspired by Drizzy along with the gruesome dudes of Odd Future to begin work on his tenth album. QB’s finest also says that his mind state is in a different place from where it was in 2008 when he released his Untitled album. Although he is unsure of who he will be collaborating with, or if he will be collaborating at all…ahem…ILLMATIC…one thing for sure is that Nas is more content with today’s music and plans to use that as fuel to making his new album. Jealous One’s Envy . A day after news broke of the death of Cali Swag District’s M-Bone, the slain rapper’s girlfriend is claiming that the murder stems from jealousy. His girlfriend confirmed reports that M-Bone engaged in a Twitter beef with the jealous guy who apparently made violent threats towards the rapper. Joey Crack had an entire album on this kinda shit kids! Don’t envy your brother, embrace and be proud of each other and their success. Maybe Bone is teaching 2Pac how to dougie…that is if Pac is down with that kinda ish. E-Gad! Great Golfin’ Goblins, Batman! It seems as though the OFWGKTA clique is making it into the Hangover almost everyday. I swear I’m not being bias, just that these guys are good at staying super relevant! Anyways, Tyler’s debut album, Goblin has reportedly reached #5 on the top sales list last week, selling about 50, 000 copies. #fuckingawesome .... Wed, 18 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-17/ .... Tue, 17 May 2011 17:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/drew-is-back/ Dread & Alive Vol.6.... Tue, 17 May 2011 10:14:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/kill-the-gays-bill-is-it-dead-for-now/ Ugandan parliament introduced an anti-homosexual bill that could have cost the lives of the Ugandan LGBT community, as well as those who were HIV-positive. .... Mon, 16 May 2011 18:41:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/israeli-troops-strike-again/ .... Mon, 16 May 2011 17:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-16/ .... Mon, 16 May 2011 15:29:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/remembering-move/ .... Fri, 13 May 2011 11:40:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-512/ .... Thu, 12 May 2011 10:54:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/cellular-sandwich/ Odd Future on Tim Westwood. Yep, you got it. The OFWGKTA clique stomped into the BBC 1 studios for a Westwood interview. I won’t lie, this interview is kinda really cheesy because Tim doesn’t look like he knows all that much about Golf Wang, but hey, his Englishman ways crack the shit up outta me. Highlight of the interview is when Hodgy makes a call on his cellular sandwich…yeah, sandwich. Baby Dre kills it on NBC. So I came across this age old video of a really young Dr. Dre on an NBC show. In the video, the host talks to Dre about random stuff from his taste in women to how good looking of a kid he thinks Dre is to which baby Dre replies, “Yes, indeed.” Real funny clip, check it out. Even as a youngin’, he still carries all of that G-Funk swag with him…he probably stores it in that bad ass fro. HAM @ the MOMA. Damn, damn, damn. I’m set to venture out to the Big Apple next week, got my passes to visit the Moma (because you know I’m an articulate brotha like that) and this shit had to happen! Kanye appeared at the Moma for a show and who the eff did he have to bring out as a special guest? Jigga. Damn, damn, damn. They performed their lead single off Watch The Throne and got all HAM in that muh fugga…meanwhile I’m sitting here writing this piece thinking that my trip being a week later after such a cool show is SASS…Soft. As. Shit. (the second “S” is only added to complete the word, HA!) Oh and my usage of the term “muh fugga” is credited to Curren$y the hot spitta. .... Thu, 12 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/cop-killer-really/ Michelle Obama invites Common to the White House. The Obama’s are hosting an event about American poetry and have invited fellow Chi-Town native, Common to attend. As you all know, Common is one of the most conscious emcees in the game and his lyrics are like poems for the urban soul. Com is also known for his many Def Poetry Jam appearances. Reports have it that President Obama likely met Common at the church that both used to attend in Chicago. This news has a lot of people’s panties up in a bunch, one specific person being former vice-presidential candidate and Fox News star, Sarah Palin. Many are ridiculing the Obama’s decision to invite a “cop-killing rapper” to such an event, let alone to the House at all. Networks pulls the plug on “Red Nation.” The Game’s latest video for “Red Nation” with Lil’ Wayne has been banned by both MTV and BET. Everyone knows that Game and Wayne are members of the infamous Bloodz gang and the networks felt that the way the two were portrayed in the video demonstrated their gangs ties a bit too much. Yes please, Pharoahe Monch and Styles P!? On set for his video shoot of “Black Hand Side,” Pharoahe Monch revealed that judging by the amount of chemistry the pair have had together on two tracks already, he might release a mixtape with Styles P. COOL. *Thumbs way high*.... Wed, 11 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/babylon-system/ .... Tue, 10 May 2011 12:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/the-hangover/ .... Tue, 10 May 2011 12:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/mosley-didn-t-knock-him-out/ Cool J for Rozay. As I reported a while back that Manny Pacquiao would be accompanied to the ring with Ricky Rozay, turns out that this just wasn’t the case Saturday night. Instead, the only hip-hop presence at the fight came when LL Cool J surprisingly accompanied Shane Mosley to the ring. LL did his iconic 1990 fight joint, “Mama Said Knock You Out” as he paved way for Mosley and his entourage. Although the Ross rumours proved to be untrue, the LL/Mosley combo definitely redeemed the loss of having no boss. Even though he did lose, Shane should still feel pretty bad-ass after that entrance, because it was pretty sweet. Consequence is on a hating-spree. Cons-to-the-quence has been on some what of a venting binge lately, having voiced out against former GOOD Music label-mates, Kanye and Pusha T, and yep, even cousin Q-Tip too. Not too long ago Cons revealed that he was no longer with Kanye’s label and has actually had a falling out with his cousin. Recently, Cons put Tip on blast by saying that he shouldn’t have reacted the way he did after receiving that infamous email from one of the producers of the Tribe documentary. Cons said that Tip should have let a lawyer deal with it instead of printing out a copy of the email and bringing it to MTV’s RapFix Live. Cons also got witty and cited Tip’s classic verse from Check The Rhime, “Industry rule #4080, record people are shady.” Jadakiss live in Orlando! Here’s a video of the Kiss doing a medley of his verses from “New York,” the “Made You Look” Remix and “Mighty D-Block.” In an Aston Martin the colour of dan-driff! Ooohwee!.... Mon, 09 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullshit-author/ .... Fri, 06 May 2011 11:06:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/adverts/ .... Fri, 06 May 2011 08:26:12 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs-by-author/ .... Fri, 06 May 2011 06:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/ticker-links/ .... Thu, 05 May 2011 13:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/youtube-links/ .... Thu, 05 May 2011 13:54:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/so-greasy/ A pipeline break northeast of Peace River, Alberta, has leaked 28,000 barrels of crude oil, during what is now considered to be one of the largest spills in the province's history..... Thu, 05 May 2011 10:47:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs-authors/ .... Thu, 05 May 2011 09:30:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics-authors/ .... Thu, 05 May 2011 09:15:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/thebigpayback5-04/ First installment of the ADD version of The Hip-Hop Reading Rainbow. this week's book is The Big Payback by Dan Charnas.... Wed, 04 May 2011 18:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/wheres-addi/ .... Tue, 03 May 2011 11:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/nato-kills-gaddafis-son/ .... Mon, 02 May 2011 21:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/obama-1-osama-0/ .... Mon, 02 May 2011 19:56:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-2/ .... Mon, 02 May 2011 14:08:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/canadian-federal-elections-report-card/ .... Mon, 02 May 2011 11:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/you-ain-t-crazy-tip/ Q-Tip has seen the final version of Beats, Rhymes & Life. This past Saturday marked the premiere of the Tribe documentary in Toronto. The film covered everything from the Native Tongue movement to the inevitable and heavily publicized falling out between Q-Tip and Phife. At the end of the film, one of the film’s producers, Ed Parks took his spot on stage for a question & answer period with the audience. Amidst all of the drama circulating around the documentary’s release, everyone was really curious as to what Park had to say. He addressed the notorious email which was sent by a producer that angered the band. If you don’t remember, the email had said that the producers were going to f*ck the group over when it came to placing their names on posters and ads. He said that although the Tribe wanted to be listed as official producers of the film, the rest of the producers didn’t want to just give up their titles to anyone. Essentially it’s like, ‘if I worked hard to become a producer and you aren’t, then why should we share the same title?’ that kind of mentality. At one point someone asked Park if all the members of the Tribe had seen the final cut of the film to which he said that everyone but Q-Tip had. I then took that info and tweeted Q-Tip (@QTipTheAbstract), to which he responded in a disgruntled way stating that what Park had said was “not true.” Tip then responded again asking, “now I’m crazy? I’m not gonna approve a cut I didn’t see.” There must have been some sort of confusion between the two parties because something isn’t matching up. We’ve got to take Tip’s word though, if he says he’s seen it, then dude has seen it. He also, he raises a good point because if he didn’t approve it, let alone even see it, then I wouldn’t have been at that screening on Saturday. Check out the mini-convo on either Tip’s page, @QTipTheAbstract or mine @ingfamous. New world record for longest freestyle. Chiddy of Chiddy Bang is the new Guiness World Record holder for completing the longest freestyle. It clocked in at nine hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds. The previous record was set in 2009 by Wu-Tang affiliate, M-Eighty who spat for nine hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds. Rick Ross & Manny Pacquiao. No, they’re not going to be collaborating on this summer’s hottest karaoke track like Manny did with Will Ferrell a while ago. Instead, Ricky Rozay will be accompanying Pacquiao to the ring prior to his fight with ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley on May 7th. Rappers and boxers have an age-old heritage. You can all remember Iron Mike’s relationship with 2Pac, and not to mention the more modern one between Floyd Mayweather and 50 Cent. I suspect that Ricky’s decision to walk out with Pacquiao stems from the rapper’s recently squashed beef with Mayweather, along with the heavily anticipated fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. It’s all business baby! .... Mon, 02 May 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-5-1/ .... Mon, 02 May 2011 01:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/president-omar-al-bashir-speaks-alas/ .... Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:15:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-30/ .... Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:34:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-29/ .... Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/celebrate-workers-rights-on-may-day/ .... Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-28/ .... Fri, 29 Apr 2011 01:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-beefless-mobb-deep/ Tribe doc to hit theatres in the summer. As most of us here in Toronto are set to watch the pre-screening of Beats, Rhymes & Life up here, the film’s director, Mike Rapaport says that the show is slated for a general release this summer. Major cities across the US will get the nod and Rapaport also says that the flick will be aired in a road-show format. This means that different cities in the US will screen Tribe’s doc on different dates. If you live in the States, check the dates to see when it’s airing at a city near here. Is the Infamous less villematic? Since Prodigy’s release from prison, he has taken a seat back instead of countering jabs thrown at him from Capone. He also said in an interview with Funk Master Flex that he sat down with 50 and told him that the Mobb needs to squash any remaining beefs and to start collaborating more. What!? Is this the same Juvenile Hell Prodigy that we’ve all become accustomed to? I doubt this is going to make the Mobb “soft.” It’s just a smart business move. Prison has obviously gotten P’s head into perspective, which is exactly what it should do…Ahem, I’m talkin’ to you T.I.! But damn, Mobb Deep minus all the beef!? These are the dudes that still refuse to “respect” 2Pac to this day! 88 8’s! Peter Gunz ladies and gentleman. For the rookies, that’s Cory’s dad sitting next to the re-incarnated voice of Craig Mack, aka Ja Rule. Remember, I said that he SOUNDS like Craig, and not that his rhymes were at the same level of Craig. .... Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:56:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-27/ .... Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:24:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/south-african-freedom-or-unfreedom-day/ .... Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:47:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-26/ .... Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:35:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-25/ .... Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/no-more-skunk-or-chicken/ FFC no more. Remember the story I posted weeks back about Flavor Flav’s Fried Chicken restaurant and how there were claims of the company not paying its employees? Well things just got worse…in fact right to the ‘umph’ degree. Flav has decided to close down his Iowa restaurant and pull the plug on the business in general. He claims that he could no longer do business with Nick Cimino, the man who he gave the nod to run the chain. Flav says that business wasn’t run properly and added a specific instance where he walked into the joint and saw something vile. “Let me be straight up with you, I went up inside there on April 2 and I found potato salad that expired on February 28. And it's then when I realized I can't do business with this man and I really hope no one ate those potatoes,” he said. No mo’ fat bags o’ skunk for the Ticallion Stallion. Method Man has revealed that in light of his growing family, he plans on toning down his stoner image. When you get older and you got kids and your kids are going to school and you know teachers and all of that nature, they see how active and how concerned you are with your kids' education and well-being, it's hard for you to sit there and be taken seriously if people are always talking about, 'He's always high,” he said. Dead Prez thinks you’re pretty, girl. Here’s Dead Prez’s video for “Beauty Within” which they sampled off B.o.B’s “Nothing on You.” Remember ladies, the brightest lipstick and tightest jeggings cease to have the power to make you truly beautiful….... Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-23/ .... Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:20:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-22/ .... Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:28:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/happy-earth-day/ .... Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:13:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-21/ .... Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/14-day-detainee/ LA’s King runs into trouble with the never-ever lenient Canuck border. Game was set to come to Canada for a set of shows but instead was denied entry and detained! Game made a call home and took to Twitter before his property was confiscated by border police. The rapper tweeted that he might be detained for a total of 14 days, and then proceed to have a court hearing. He later added that once the hearing is over, the judge will decide whether to deport him or to sentence him for violating Canada’s immigration laws! With all of this border trouble, our great country is never going to see the likes of what some of hip-hop’s finest have to offer. In the end, it’s a two way street. Officers, ease up on our rappers and to the grimey rappers…stop being so grime!...or don’t get caught for it! If you use the word “hip-hop” you may have to pay up to Portugal. The National Hip-Hop Association which is based out of Portugal, is apparently claiming rights to several hip-hop related words. Joana Nicolau, a Portuguese hip-hop blogger has said that the NHHA has rights from the National Institute of Intellectual Property to trademark the word “hip-hop” as well as these following words: New School, Old School, Popping, Locking, BBoy, BGirl, New Style, Old Style, Beatbox, Street Dance, Hip-Hop, MC, DJ, Graffiti, and Breakdance. This of course would mean that any time you ever felt the need to use any one of these words, you’d have to pay a fee to the NHHA to do so. To dumb it down even more, it’s just like how anyone who uses the phrase “you’re fired” has to pay Donald Trump a fee since he’s trademarked it. According to the National Institute of Intellectual Property, all of the words haven’t been registered with them, thus meaning that their usage is absolutely free. The NIIP actually considers the word “hip-hop” to be collective association trademark. The Portuguese based organization has yet to respond to anything regarding their dubious trademark ownership. .... Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-20/ .... Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:25:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/free-sekou-odinga/ .... Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:50:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/make-jihad-with-me/ Islamic militant spits fire at the US of A. Omar Hammami or “Abu Mansour al-Amriki” may be known as an Islamic militant but he is also known as a rapper. Two new tracks have surfaced. Two English versions of his songs, “Send Me on a Cruise” and Make Jihad with Me” popped up last week on the web and are beginning to cause a stir. Hammami was born in Alabama when he converted to Islam in 2006, then choosing to relocate to Somalia. While there he joined the radical group known as Al-Shabaab. The stand-out track is “Make Jihad with Me,” where Hammami is calling for attacks against his former motherland, the US. Here are some lyrics: Allahu Akbar Give Some More Bounty/Attack America Now!/Martyrdom or Victory/We take it Nairobi to Addis – Paradise Inside/Khilafah is here!/We are wiping Israel clear off the globe! The leaking of the tracks also contradicts rumours of Hammami’s death. An Odd Future for the Creator. Tyler the Creator of OFWGKTA fame tweeted on Monday night that he had been hit by a car. No other details have been released yet (other than maybe that his skate board is busted) but hopefully he’s all right…or not…which ever one that crazy motherf*cker likes better. .... Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-419/ .... Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:06:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/remembering-a-legend-1966-2010/ By: Huda Hassan.... Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-18/ .... Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/good-luck-jonathan/ .... Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-not-so-gay-based-god/ Good to see you Prodigy! Raekwon’s latest video for “Ferry Boatz” stars the Prodigy of Mobb Deep who was released from prison, not too long ago. So I’m sitting here right…and at first glance I’m just like, oh sweet, So So Def did a remix to that C-Breezy joint. You gotta give JD’s camp some credit because they had some of the illest remixes back in the late ‘90s- early ‘00s, including the hot one he did for Destiny’s Child “Jumpin, Jumpin’.” Anyways, as I sit here and take in this So So version of “Look At Me Now,” I could’ve sworn I saw Allen Iverson! I don’t know, maybe I was just on a surf ‘n turf trip, since I had shrimp ‘n burgers the night before, but cot damn that’s gotta be The Answer himself in the opening of the vid. Thought you were over in Turkey, homey. Oh and as for the video, not too shabby. Da Brat comes hard in this remix too. The Based God’s new album will be entitled I’m Gay. Lil’ B is on pace to having one of the raciest album titles in hip-hop history if he follows through with what he told everyone at Coachella. The news isn’t exactly as farfetched as some may think, considering he does have a track called “I’m a Faggot,” and not to mention his infamous tweet to Kanye which states that if Ye didn’t acknowledge him and choose to work with him, he would f*ck him in the ass. Prior to the talks regarding his album, the Based God revealed in an interview that he isn’t homosexual but supports gays and their rights. .... Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-17/ .... Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-16/ .... Sat, 16 Apr 2011 21:57:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/egyptian-activist-sentenced-3-years/ .... Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:40:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-415/ .... Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/one-month-later/ .... Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-14/ .... Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-13/ .... Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:44:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/theyve-created-a-monster/ .... Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:48:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/3-feet-to-congress/ The White House lawn just gained a huge pot hole. De La Soul’s debut album, 3 Feet and Rising has been chosen by the Library of Congress for the the 2010 National Recording Registry. What does this mean? It means that De La’s album is seen as a national treasure and by placing it in the Library of Congress, it will be preserved and guaranteed to always be available to the public. Such an honour is only shared amongst a total of 325 recordings (25 new ones are chosen annually) which are considered “cultural, artistic and historical.” De La’s record joins Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message,” 2Pac’s “Dear Mama,” and Public Enemy Fear of a Black Planet in the registry. The National Recording Preservation Board selected 3 Feet and Rising for “bucking hip-hop’s increasing turn toward stark urban naturalism in the late 1980s” in an “upbeat” and “humorous” fashion. .... Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/cool-kids-drop-new-video/ .... Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:47:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-12/ .... Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/cons-con-canada/ .... Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/163rd-and-pun/ Weezy on deck. Lil’ Wayne’s “I Am MusicII” Tour has confirmed some Canadian dates. Speculation had it that the goblin may not risk crossing the border due to his criminal record, but his representatives gave Canada the thumbs up. Big Pun Place. Nicole Rios, the sister of late Latino Bronx legend, Big Pun has been rallying to change the name of a street in Pun’s home town in her brother’s honour. The street which is currently named Rogers Place would be changed to Big Pun Place if the petition gets through. Above is a video from this past Saturday when Nicole along with some of Pun’s family, friends and fans gathered together this to promote the rally. The area of 163rd Street and Roger’s Place currently serves as a living mecca for all Pun fans with murals and graffiti, all of which pay homage to the Punisher. You can sign the petition at BigPunPlace.com. Ye’s infamous tweets are getting some recognition. The inaugural O Awards are set to take place on April 27th, and it was revealed that Kanye is getting his own freakin’ category! “Best Tweets” is dedicated to some of Yeezy’s greatest and weirdest 140-character rants. Tweets like “I have decided to become the best rapper of all time! I put it on my things to do in this lifetime list!” and “Dating models I had to learn to like small dogs and cigarettes” are amongst some of the ones that are nominated. The O Awards are all based upon fan voting, fan nominations and essentially every that pertains to fans..... Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-411/ .... Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:49:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/conform-or-get-the-f-out/ .... Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:53:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/b-boys-makin-with-the-freak-freak/ New Killer Mike vid. Here’s Killer Mike, AKA Mike Bigga’s newest video for the “Ready Set Go” Remix with T.I. and Big Boi. Definitely a catchy joint. Parts of it also seem to have been filmed in the back of a dry cleaners of some sort… Massacre on Madison! As Joey Crack prepares to drop his Welcome to the Darkside mixtape, he provides us with a little visual for his track “Massacre on Madison,” which comes off the tape. The pinnacle points in this video occur when you see clips of Joe cheering on Carmelo Anthony at a Knicks game…and then some random shots of a dude who is missing one too many teeth. Stay off that crack kids! In case you aren’t one of the 1.5 Million who have viewed it already…The Beastie Boys released a trailer to help promote their upcoming and highly anticipated album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 last week. This is not just any trailer, my dear readers because it features a seemingly endless list of Hollywood funny-men, from Will Ferrell to Seth Rogen…and of course everyone’s favourite… Elijah Wood! HA!.... Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-10/ .... Sun, 10 Apr 2011 21:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/guelleh-wins-djiboutians-lose/ .... Sun, 10 Apr 2011 15:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-9/ .... Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/leading-bahrain-activist-beaten-and-arrested/ .... Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-8/ .... Fri, 08 Apr 2011 20:49:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/viva-los-zapatistas/ .... Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-47/ .... Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/the-rcmp-creeps-facebook/ .... Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-6/ .... Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:26:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/happy-birthday-fredy-villaneuva/ .... Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:06:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-5/ .... Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-rebirth-of-detroit/ 6 Foot 6. Slim Thugga just released the video for his 6 Foot 6 Inch Freestyle. I dig it… and I’m still gonna go out on a limb and say that it would be sick if me and him could swap voices. New Asher & Nottz vid. Here’s the video for “Gotta Get Up,” off Asher Roth and Nottz Raw’s Rawth EP. To those who appreciate the value of cinematography and music videos that actually have some substance to them, then you’ll like this one. Good concept and the visuals definitely suit the track. Kudos Ash-man. New Dilla album coming soon! All you donut fans get hyped because Ma Dukes has recently stated in an interview that a new album from her late great son, aka our Dilla Dog is in the works and is set for a Fall release. It’s called “The Rebirth of Detroit” and will feature unreleased Dilla joints, along with a lot of material coming from local Detroit talent. Mrs. Yancey says that the purpose of the album is to bring the Detroit hip-hop community back together. "It's a healing process for the city. For individuals, it’s going to bring back the love and the passion for the music and for what hip-hop has to offer," she said..... Mon, 04 Apr 2011 23:32:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-4/ .... Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:33:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/a-whole-lotta-clucks-but-no-bucks/ DJ Whoo Kid & Dr. Dre. G-Unit’s DJ Whoo Kid revealed in an interview that he is in the process of releasing a mixtape with Dr. Dre. No release date has been specified but Whoo Kid says that working with Dre would be a great way to end his mixtape career. FFC checks are a little too bouncy. Flav’s Fried Chicken, which opened up a couple months ago, is the exclusive fried chicken chain of Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav. All is good except one thing…word on the street is that several employees have had their pay-cheques bounce. The employees are outraged and are claiming that Flav and co-owner Nick Cimino are either keeping the money, or that FFC simply doesn’t have the funds to pay its workers. Flav and Cimino both have disagreed and claim that the employees are actually ex-workers who are trying to scheme up a plan to get money. Check the report above. .... Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-3/ .... Sun, 03 Apr 2011 19:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-2/ .... Sun, 03 Apr 2011 03:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-4-1/ .... Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-31/ .... Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:35:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-30/ .... Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:23:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/7-more-tunechi-years/ Lil Tunechi told Angie…that he plans on retiring by the age of 35! The speculation of a potential retirement within the hip-hop industry has been forever tainted by the Jiggaman, having faked us out in the past, but let’s not be too hasty. Wayne told Angie Martinez on yesterday afternoon on Hot97 that he has devoted his entire life to music. “That’s why retiring at 35, that’s a life lived, because this music thing is my life,” he said. “So retiring at 35 would be enough.” Cassidy’s four minute freestyle. Check out a live four minute freestyle on stage by one of the heaviest hitters when it comes to punch lines. New Zealand’s Dallas. This next video is dedicated to all my fellow Torontonians and the beautiful sunny weather we’ve been having lately. “Caught In a Daze” is by New Zealand’s David Dallas who belongs to Duck Down Records, and features Freddie Gibbs. Remember Chuck D’s public address to the nation, regarding the state of hip-hop? Well in that, he mentioned how he felt that the sound of hip-hop was thriving in virtually every nation but the US. David Dallas is a great example of that..... Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-29/ .... Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:20:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/same-speech-different-pres/ .... Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:28:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/toronto-hip-hop-doc-released-today/ .... Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:34:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-28/ .... Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:20:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-yayo-way/ The face of excellence. Last Saturday night, me along with two friends were heading down to the Rec-centre for our weekly midnight basketball session when a Jim Jones track came up in the car (forgive me, but I can’t remember which one). Immediately one of my boys goes, “Yo, don’t you think Jim Jones is one of the cockiest rappers ever?” Laughter struck as all three of us nodded, snapped fingers and gave buck shots through the roof of the car in agreement. This assumption was mainly based on Jimmy’s facial expressions and his ability to always look like he’s “the shit.” The oh-so-relevent Tony Yayo. The G-Unit member, may not be known for his rap capabilities BUT, I’ve got to give this guy a shout out for keeping his tracks modern, taking very much inspiration from the world of today. He had that joint, “Tattoo,” which has a chorus that draws inspiration from the latest fad of getting stupid tatts imprinted on your face. Last week he dropped “Tiger Blood,” which derives from the popular saying created by the oh-so-clean Charlie Sheen. AND NOW, he’s got a video for “Twitter Gangstas,” which very well could be related to Ice-T’s Final Level Twitter Gang and all of us Twitter fiends alike! Tony Yayo, I salute thee…for your relevance…and not as an emcee. Jigga’s net worth. Here is a video which breaks down how Jay-Z has managed to amass nearly $500 million in worth. From owning Marcy to complete and utter world domination, this video gives an in depth look into Jigga’s Empire State of Mind. .... Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/bp-oils-dirty-clean-up/ .... Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:29:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/nuthin-but-a-sheen-thang/ “Gimme $200 of some Charlie Sheen!” A picture of Snoop in a recording studio with none other than Charlie Sheen has surfaced! No word yet on what the purpose of recording is for, but the pair were joined by former Korn guitarist, Rob Patterson at the session. Sheen tweeted two days ago, “Warlock meets his makers-music makers that is @SnoopDogg @robpatterson666 get ready to rock the Sheenius within!” This is combo is so, so #winning. Secretly, I always knew that Snoop had a little tiger blood in him, but will this duo ever match up to the likes of Nas & AZ? Maybe even Pun & Joe!? Doubt it, but at least we can hope for a “Nuthin’ But A Sheen Thang” type of track in the near future. Drizzy takes over the Junos. Anybody catch our boy Drake host Canada’s Juno Awards last night!? In case you didn’t, he took part in some funny-ass skits! Hopefully some videos will start surfacing online soon for those that didn’t tune in, but for rest that did…Old Money bitches! Can’t wait to see how many people today will be rockin’ that canary yellow with the loafers on! .... Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-27/ .... Sun, 27 Mar 2011 21:31:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-26/ .... Sun, 27 Mar 2011 03:47:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-25/ .... Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:56:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-24/ .... Fri, 25 Mar 2011 02:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-23/ .... Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:41:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/damn-you-and-your-face-tattoo/ The Best of Nate Dogg. My dude, DJ M-Rock from Toronto recently dropped his Nate Dogg inspired mixtape. Everything from “Regulate” to “21 Questions” is on it. Nate’s funeral is also set to take place this weekend. (click on the image for the download link) 50 says…Fiddy spoke out on the recent outbreak of facial tattoos. “Not necessarily Gucci, but to tattoo your face says that there's not a possibility that you can actually walk into a legitimate establishment without makeup covering your face everyday,” he said. 50 also says that it’s cool to get one if you’d like to consider yourself as an artist…and don’t care about what others think. .... Wed, 23 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-22/ .... Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-21/ .... Tue, 22 Mar 2011 07:15:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/i-love-it-when-you-call-me-keithroy/ The baby on the cover of BIG’s Ready To Die has been found! So here’s a neat little story. Reports are coming in that the toddler on the cover of Biggie Smalls’ smash record, Ready To Die is a now 18 year old cat named Keithroy Yearwood. For over a decade, many have speculated who the afro-baby might have been, often suggesting that it was BIG himself, but now we know for sure. Keithroy was chosen through a talent agency, made a cool $150 off the project, and all he asks for now is that people acknowledge that the infamous baby on Ready To Die is him. Shout out to The New York Daily News crew for diggin’ all this up. Wyclef got shot. Former Fugees member, Pras took to Twitter and revealed that Clef was shot in the hand on March 19th in Haiti. Clef appears to be in stable condition and according to his representatives, he’s “okay.” Reasons as to why the shooting took place have yet to surface, but one may bear the question as to if it is in correlation to Clef’s desire to run for el presidente…which he was also denied eligibility for. DJ Jazzy Jeff X Mac Miller. Summer, summer, summer time…oooh the summer time! Yes that’s right, Jazzy Jeff is planning on reliving his classic “Summertime” joint with the Prince, this summer via Mac Miller. The “Paper Route” kid has revealed that a .... Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-18/ .... Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/no-one-does-it-better/ "You are free now my brother, I will see you again one day." Those are the words of Warren G, long-time friend of the late king of the hip-hop hook, Nate Dogg. News broke late yesterday morning of the 41-year-old west coast pioneer’s death, which right now remains uncertain. It is believed that it may have been linked to his two previous strokes in 2007 and 2008, but once again, that is just speculation. The strokes left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak for quite some time leading up to his untimely death. Before hook singers like T-Pain came around, one man owned that entire scene; that guy is Nate Dogg. Nate was featured on tracks with everyone from G-Funk rebels like Dr. Dre and Snoop to 50 Cent and Eminem, to Mariah Carey and Mos Def. Nate brought the soft-melodic vibes to the west coast during one of the most rough, rugged and raw eras in hip-hop history. His hooks were like no other as they managed to incorporate that calm R&B-esque sound with the gangsta nature of the west. Simply put, Nate could lace a hook like no other. “No one does it better,” were the opening lyrics off Snoop’s classic “Eastside Party” and also happened to be provided by Nate. From all of us here at Pound, we whole-heartedly dedicate your own verse to you Nate Dogg. X-Factor > Def Jam. L.A. Reid, The long time chairman of Island Def Jam is leaving his role and taking on a new venture…as a judge on Simon Cowell’s X-Factor. He will now join Mariah Carey and Paula Abdul on X-Factor, which is somewhat of a British version of American Idol. Done squashed the beef. The Pusha T and Lil Wayne feud is no more. Pusha recently said that the beef between Wayne and The Clipse, which dates back to 2006, has come to an end, as the pair actually met up in Miami. “Ever since Lil Wayne went in to jail, that whole little stint [between me and him] is really dead and over with. I don’t have any ill will towards Wayne, Cash Money, or any of them. There was definitely a time period when I felt a certain way [about him], but as of right now I don’t.” .... Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/buckshot-the-brooklyn-boss/ Buckshot Interview.... Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:49:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/accidental-email-beef/ Peace to the gods! Jay Electronica freestyles over Ye’s Devil joint. Jay just released his freestyle over Kanye’s “Devil In A New Dress,” complete with a video too! Prodigy’s first post-prison interview. Prodigy of the Infamous Mobb recently sat down with The Source for his first interview since his release. He talks about everything from being in prison and what he learned while in there, and also just how good it feels to be out. The Tribe doc beef is because of an email!? Q-Tip recently said that the “beef” between him and the director of the Tribe documentary, Mike Rapaport was due to an email that was accidentally sent to him. According to Tip, an email was sent to him on December 17, 2010 by one of the producers, after his stated his concern for the film’s “premature” release. The email read as follows, “First off let's close the Billing Block and put it on the poster so they can't get on that. Then we'll fuck them on everything else.” The email is supposedly linked to the group’s previous concerns of not being credited as producers of the flick. .... Wed, 16 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-315/ .... Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-14/ .... Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/pray/ .... Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:53:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/we-wear-shiny-suits-in-toronto/ I nominated Drizzy to perform for the President. If you’re reading that, sing it to the tune of “Eric B. for President,” this way I don’t seem half as foolish for using such a corny pun. Former President Bill Clinton has selected Drake to perform at the Clinton Foundation’s fundraising event in Hollywood this week (March 17). The Clinton Foundation focuses on problems such as climate change and childhood obesity. Jigga snatched up Santigold. You got it. Jay-Z has signed Santigold to the Roc. Kanye will be appearing at SXSW. Here’s a cool video to promote Kanye’s appearance in Austin, Texas at the VEVO PowerStation on March 19th. Shiny Suits in Toronto. Here’s a video of Jay Elect performing “Shiny Suit Theory” in the middle of the crowd last Friday night in the T dot. He sure does look like he lives his job..... Mon, 14 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-13/ .... Sun, 13 Mar 2011 21:29:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-12/ .... Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:54:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-11/ .... Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:33:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/the-end-of-a-dalai-lama-legacy/ .... Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:38:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-10/ .... Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:15:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/gaddafi-dirty-money/ The Regret Club. The kid 50 is the latest celebrity to join what is being deemed as the “Gaddafi performance regret club.” As you may or may not know, Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader has made recent news for his “fight to death” approach on the uproar that has taken place in his native land. Gaddafi is also known to pay large sums of money to musicians such as Usher, Beyonce, and yes 50 Cent, to perform for him and his family, across the globe. We’re talkin’ seven figure digits here folks. Anyways, all names listed above and more have all decided to take Gaddafi’s money and donate it to certain charities. 50 Cent has chosen to donate to UNICEF which has chosen to help supply women and children in Libya with relief supplies. Forbes ranks Diddy #1. The recent Forbes list of wealthiest beings on earth shows that amongst rappers, Puffy ranks in at number one, out beating Jay-Z who took the cake last year. Diddy’s Ciroc vodka campaign is a leading factor, but this mamma jamma is has a net worth of about $475 million. Below, I have compiled a list of Forbes’ top five richest rappers. The last one isn’t much of a shocker and literally makes him a Cash Money Millionaire. ‘Cause I’m the number one stunna…and I shine every summer. 1. Diddy - $475 million 2. Jay-Z - $450 million 3. Dr. Dre - $125 million 4. 50 Cent / Birdman - $100 million .... Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/statik-selektah-and-termanology/ .... Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:02:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-9/ .... Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:49:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/surprise/ .... Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:21:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/we-ll-always-love-big-poppa/ .... Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:12:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/blank-stare/ Diddy’s blank stare. Okay, so this next “story” may seem a little gossipy for us here at Pound, so I apologize in advance. Here is a video of Diddy co-hosting the Breakfast Show with Angela Yee and Charlamagne over at New York’s Power 105.1 radio station. You may remember Charlamagne for his outlandish demeanour and up front type of attitude. Anyways, in this video he is taking shots at former Bad Boy recording artist, Shyne. Watch Diddy’s reaction as Char rants about Shyne’s new material. He emotionless…better yet, dead silent. If you are too young to know or simply just have bad memory, Shyne went to prison back in 2001 after attending a nightclub with Puffy and then girlfriend, JLo which resulted in a shootout that left three people injured. Shyne was incarcerated for 10 years for attempted murder. Young Buck might be outta luck! The former G-Unit member is facing up to ten years for being a convicted felon with possession a .40 caliber pistol and ammunition. The reason being for the potential sentence lies behind the fact that the law doesn’t take it too lightly if you’ve been busted before and choose to max out and relax with weapons… Rittz’s White Jesus. To the ‘ignant’ mama jammas who think I’m referring to the Ku Klux Klan’s official snack of choice, quit jerkin’ around! You know that dude who appears on Yelawolf’s “Box Chevy Pt. 3” and killed it!? (off Yela’s tape, Trunk Muzik) Yeah, his name is Rittz and he just released his mixtape, White Jesus. He looks like ZZ Top meets Belly (that’s right, Belly from Ottawa) and sounds oh so grime. Country slang ain’t got a thing on this guy! No but seriously, if you thought he sounded bomb on Yela’s joint then peep his new tape. Tattoo Cover-up! Remember how rapper, Yung LA tattooed a big pink duck on to his face a couple of weeks back?...well dude covered it up! Hahaha, FOOL. .... Wed, 09 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/your-name-is-my-name-documentary/ .... Wed, 09 Mar 2011 02:26:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-8/ .... Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:06:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/anti-gbagbo-protests-arise/ .... Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:41:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/a-fat-joe-cooking-show/ A Fat Joe Cooking Show! Fat Joe recently mentioned in an interview with NBC that he plans on starting a cook show! He won’t be the chef but he says that he’ll be the number one taste tester. Joe jokingly said, “Who else can you trust other than Fat Joe to tell you what food is good or not?” The show will apparently bring forth leading artists, ask them what their favourite dish is, and then have Joe’s boy cook it up. Joe also revealed that he is going to auction off his huge sneaker collection to help raise money for proper children’s education. The dude is known for his massive collection and has gained praise for it from sneakerheads like myself, worldwide. The Making of Act II. Jay Elect’s second coming album, Act II is one that has everyone just itching to hear. It may very well be on its way soon; only thing is that we just don’t know when. As for now, here is a trailer that Jay Electronica released to satisfy your craving and also to promote that very album. Welcome back to the world P! Half of Mobb Deep, Prodigy was officially released from prison yesterday. P had served three years for criminal possession of a weapon. Above is a pic taken of Prodigy after his release. .... Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-7/ .... Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:55:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/secret-egyptian-documents-revealed/ .... Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:38:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/waka-waka/ Suge’s lawsuit on Ye has been dropped. If you can remember, Suge Knight lawsuit on Kanye West dates back to a 2005 party West held in Miami after an award show. Knight was shot in the leg at the party and sought millions from West in damages. Both sides have apparently reached an agreement for court costs. Now everyone (not just smokers) can fly jet high…only stipulation is to be aware of getting gangrene. Curren$y stated this weekend that his upcoming EP project with The Alchemist called Convert Coup, will be released on April 20th (aka 4/20, the smoker’s holiday)…for free! Now all you potheads gotta pay for is your stash…and your quadruple trips to White Castle! A while back it was reported that Waka Flocka’s Fozzy Bear Muppet chain was robbed from him during a visit to Compton. Check the vid above which shows a one of the most gang-bangin’ dudes of life rockin’ that “so called chain!” It has yet to be verified if the Fozzy chain that the dude is wearing in the video is Waka Waka’s or if he’s even the robber..... Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-6/ .... Mon, 07 Mar 2011 01:01:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/fre/ .... Sat, 05 Mar 2011 19:44:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-4/ .... Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:39:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/bon-banana/ It's Finally here! Wayne's video for "6'7" premiered yesterday on MTV and Much Music in Canada. The video is heavily influenced by the Academy Award winning film, Inception. I also thought that connecting the visuals with Wayne’s references was a nice touch. Gunz was also on Much’s Rap City for the premiere. Big shout out to Hype Williams for making good videos. Being a product of music television, I actually rushed home to catch its premiere, instead of watching the leak online. Pardon, my excitement for the video and consider me a shot caller for sayin' so, but this track might very well be the track of the year...maybe not at the Grammy's (insert awkward comedic laugh) but it is at least to my ears! Bon Banana!.... Fri, 04 Mar 2011 01:30:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-3/ .... Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:55:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-3-2/ .... Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:07:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/chip-rips-gift-raps/ Kanye X Lupe X Mos Freestyle. Here’s a video of Kanye taking the stage with Lupe Fiasco and Mos Def at a Jazz club in NYC this past weekend for a freestyle session. Gift Raps. The holiday season may be over, but Cleveland’s Chip Tha Ripper just dropped his highly anticipated mixtape, Gift Raps. Download it at Karmaloop.com. After you’ve listened to the tape and find yourself in somewhat of a déjà-vu state, thinking that the beats sound very reminiscent of a certain crafty Chicago-based duo…think no more because none other than Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids produced it. Also, feel free to mosey on over to the ‘Tube and check out Chip’s video for “Light One Up.” Trippy. .... Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/anti-union-w-i/ .... Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:37:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/kay-prairie-fire/ Sask. emcee, Kay the Aquanaut, talks politics on his new album Waterloo. .... Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:45:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pharoahes-warning/ New Pharoahe Monch vid. A wise man once told me that if he were to go through a lyrical WAR, (no pun intended, considering Monch’s next album is titled “W.A.R.”) the one underrated emcee he’d take would be none other than the Pharoahe. True story. Anyways, here’s Pharoahe’s newest video for “Warning.” The video is only about a minute long and sheds some light over the ongoing ties between the illuminate and hip-hop. Lupe reveals why he didn’t vote for Obama. You can watch it for yourself above, but in lamens terms, Lupe didn’t vote for anyone. He feels that as an American taxpayer, his money is going towards making bombs. He said that he’d rather not have any “blood on his hands,” by not voting and also mentions that Obama should have found a more “cordial, non-military” way of ending the war in Iraq, instead of going to Afghanistan, hwere the “real war is.” Despite this, he still appreciates the positive moves that the President has made..... Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-28/ .... Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:39:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-disktroyer/ “The Disktroyer.” As I mentioned before, DJ Qbert teamed up with an LA based art company to celebrate his 25th anniversary in the biz. The scratch legend has created a canvas piece (seen above) called “The Disktroyer,” which pays homage to the legend that is Obert, as well as Jimi Hendrix’s historic album cover for Axis: Bold as Love. There are only 250 of these canvases and each contains 50 hidden elements. I’ve been sitting here for about half an hour and I think I’ve only accounted for about 20. Ye got booed again…This time it was in his home town of the Chi! The eff? The Chicago emcee was booed after being introduced at a Bulls game against the Heat. One site is reporting that it may be due to his tweets regarding abortion. “I Got Five On It” that it’s because he’s boys with LeBron and was seen at a party after the All-Star game with him. Here is Wiz’s latest for “Roll Up.” The vid features everyone’s ideal honey-dip, Cassie. Snoop does Big’s anthem. Say word? Here’s some bad shit right here. Snoop performs one of Biggie’s biggest..... Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-27/ .... Sun, 27 Feb 2011 22:38:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-26/ .... Sun, 27 Feb 2011 01:42:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-25/ .... Sat, 26 Feb 2011 01:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/power-to-the-people/ .... Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/southern-marauders-g-side/ .... Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:32:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/let-the-dew-pay-you/ I thought Burger King promoted having it your way but NAH, it’s all about Mountain Dew! The Cool Kids will be receiving 100 per cent of all profits when their new album drops! Chuck Inglish and Sir Mikey have signed a ground-breaking deal with Mountain Dew’s music label, Green Label, which will ensure that all profits from their upcoming and highly anticipated album, When Fish Ride Bicycles! “They agree with our purpose; they support our sound and they just want to see it happen - no BS," Chuck Inglish said. The duo’s first full-length studio album is due to hit shelves this spring and features some production by Pharrell. Mountain Dew has a label!? WOW! In other news, The Chef, Raekwon paid a visit to Much Music’s Rap City last night. I had the pleasure of meeting him before the show and as usual, showed nothing but love. He judged one of the best freestyles to take place on Rap City yet, which saw Ottawa’s Charron beat the champ – Junior T. Chef also graced the stage for a short performance which included “C.R.E.A.M” and had this Wu-head on his feet at home. Check out the Rap City site, because for those of you that missed it, yesterday’s show will probably be viral soon. .... Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-24/ .... Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:11:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-23/ .... Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:36:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/who-is-big-sean/ From the land of pimps and players comes the self-proclaimed swaggerific, Big Sean..... Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:23:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/ancient-chinese-bambu-sht/ As you may all know, Bambu collaborated with Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs last year to make The Los Angeles, Philippines Mixtape. Here is the video for “Rock On,” which you can also find on that tape. This track and the new video for it remind me cruising the streets of the borough in my boy Reezy’s car. You best expect the most hood shit to be blaring out of his subs. Anyways, here’s Jeezy’s video for “Hustle Hard,” which he sampled off Ace Hood. Here’s Torch’s latest with Busta, “Bang Yo City.” Has a heavy feel to it..... Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-22/ .... Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:14:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/six-reasons-to-listen-to-salute-me-or-shoot-me-part-3/ Waka waka.... Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:22:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/hip-hop-in-the-squared-circle/ Let’s get ready to rumble! Now introducing the UWF (Urban Wrestling Federation). Steve Karel, General Manager of wrestling brand, ECW has announced that he has set his sights on marketing a new wrestling league, with a hip-hop twist to it. In a recent interview Karel said, “We’ve essentially created a double-brand. With the marriage of urban music and wrestling, we’ve expanded our audience reach, while spontaneously opening the door for higher attendance, product development and sponsorship. The crazy wrestling matches of the past will look like a game of cards compared to what is in store for the UWF.” The UWF will to try to bring street life and struggles into the squared circle. The official press release stated that “The UWF will bring music to the forefront, integrating the feuds, hood life, street wars and other everyday urban norms to showcases of urban stars and rising talent.” The UWF’s site even has a link where you can submit your demo tapes! The relationship between hip-hop and wrestling dates a while back. Although wrestling has a deep relationship with rock music, hip-hop has been linked to the sport for a while too. Wrestlers like John Cena, have based their characters around the genre, while entrance songs have been provided by leading hip-hop artists. Who could forget D-Generation X’s infamous entrance that was brought to you all by Run DMC! (Oh and if you were wondering, the wrestler that you see on our front page is Papa Shango…beware, his voodoo will make you vomit!) XXL’s 2011 Freshman. Here’s who made the cover this year: Big K.R.I.T., Yelawolf, Cyhi Da Prynce, Mac Miller, Lil’ Twist, YG, Lil’ B, Kendrick Lamar and Meek Mill, Fred The Godson and Diggy Simmons. Tattoo PSA. For any of my young readers that are contemplating getting any permanent artwork done on their bodies, please, and I repeat, please, do not follow the latest (stupid) trend of placing it on your faces. Game did it, so did Weezy and Birdman but no design could be any stupider than Gucci’s and now, Yung LA’s. If this statement ceases to get across to you, then at least do me the favour of sporting something that won’t get your funky ass beat down in public; i.e. an ice cream cone or a pink duck. .... Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-21/ .... Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-20/ .... Sun, 20 Feb 2011 23:41:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-19/ .... Sat, 19 Feb 2011 20:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-18/ .... Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:12:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/revolutionary-wrap-up-vol-1/ .... Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:01:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-notoriously-big-cover-up/ Breaking news on the 14 year investigation of Biggie Smalls murder. Hundreds of pages worth of documentation that links two former LAPD officers with the ’97 murder of Big have surfaced. The documents suggest that the lead investigator of the case back in ’97, Rafael Perez, had direct ties with Death Row Records. Perez is currently locked up for a felony charges including stealing cocaine. Word is that he has revealed certain things to his current inmate about his ties with his former LAPD partner, David Mack (who is locked up for a separate charge), the pairs’ relationship with Death Row, as well as their activities the night of Big’s death. Perez was working security at the Petersen Automotive Museum, the same place that Biggie was attending a party at. Fromer LAPD leader, Russell Pool also suggests that the police department could have potentially covered-up Perez’s ties to Big’s death because of the amount of ‘racial heat’ in Los Angeles after the beating of Rodney King/the riots that followed, the OJ Simpson trial and the fact that Perez is of ethnic decent. Meth says you all need to quit being such “fashionistas.” Method Man recently spoke up about the state of hip-hop, and how new cats seem to care more about how they look as opposed to their rhymes. “These kids are more concerned with the way they look than what's coming out of their mouths...Back when I first came out if you told a kid 'I'm an MC,' the first thing the kid would say to you is, 'Oh yeah, well say a rhyme for me.' ...Nowadays, you tell the kid you're an MC and he's like 'Oh yeah, where's your big chain at? Where's your watch? Where's your car? That's what it is now.' ...The majority of the people who listen to the music can't afford half that shit." In other words, STOP BEING SO EXTRA. Hoodies and J’s are good enough. We don’t need no freakin’ kool-aid shoe wearing Daffy Ducks out here that serve up saliva when asked to spit..... Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-17/ .... Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:49:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/dres-of-black-sheep/ .... Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:12:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/hannah-montana-destroyed-my-family/ .... Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:09:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-216/ .... Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:46:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/lets-hang-out-btch/big-sean-what-do-you-think-is-bullshit/ .... Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:43:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/lets-hang-out-btch/ Red decided to film his own short flick. Here is “Let’s Hang Out B!tch.” haha, hats off for creativity and stonerism. No hard feelings between 50 and Jimmy. In yesterday’s Hangover, I wrote about how 50 Cent tweeted about a diss track he made against Dr. Dre and Interscope CEO, Jimmy Iovine, after he claimed that they were mad at him over his Sleek by 50 campaign. 50 took to twitter today to say that he patched things up with Iovine, (along with a picture to go with it) and now all he’s got to do is work it out with Dre. .... Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/i-m-f-owing-money-fast/ I Think I'm Timothy F. Geithner.... Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:32:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-15/ .... Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:22:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/50-vs-dre/ Sleek By 50 is a slap in the face. 50 Cent tweeted late yesterday afternoon that Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre are angry at him for carrying out with his Sleek by 50 campaign, after Dre had developed his “Beats by Dre” brand. 50 then joked around tweeting, “I guess I’m not gonna be on detox lol.” AND if that wasn’t enough, he went even farther to say that he has actually developed a diss track against Jimmy and Dre. Holy EFF! R.I.P. Bad News Brown. Montreal MC, Paul “Bad News Brown” Frappier was found murdered this past weekend at the old port area in Montreal, Quebec. BNB will be remembered not only as an emcee who managed to utilize his outstanding harmonica playing within his music, but also as a youth leader in the province. Although his death is uncertain, it is believed that he was beaten and then shot near his home. Friends and family can’t seem to believe the news, as they claim that the emcee had “no enemies.” Investigations are still undergoing. In The Morning Official video. Here’s the video that the dynamic duo of J. Cole and Drake shot while touring Europe. The video dropped last Valentine’s night. Here’s the bad ass, finished video of Raekwon’s “Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang.”.... Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:43:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-14/ .... Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:14:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/cuttin-you-off-on-valentine-s-day/ For all the hopeless romantics across the globe, I wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. For the rest of us that actually have our heads screwed on straight, keep on keepin’ it real homies. Shady’s all for the kids. Not gonna lie, but this story made me somewhat jealous. Eminem recently granted an eighth grader from Detroit, the opportunity of interviewing him for her school newspaper. Annie Reed apparently got in contact with Em’s publicist and impressed him enough that he passed the mic over to Em. Man, I sure wish Coolio had gotten back to me back in grade eight. Dead and Gone…seriously! Okay, so that might have been a bad pun, but it’s kinda true. T.I. and MTV and a funeral home are being sued for showing a dead body in his show Road to Redemption. The family of the deceased in the episode is claiming that the defendants “carelessly mishandl[ing]" the body "for financial gain and publicity," thus leaving the family in emotional distress. In the episode, Tip took a youngster to an Atlanta funeral parlour and showed him a dead body of a man who was believed to be a hustler. The family is also saying that the funeral home was paid to cremate the body. In The Morning vid set to drop. As I mentioned a few days back, Cole and Drizzy are set to drop their video for “In The Morning” today. Keep your eyes peeled. Here is Kendrick Lamar’s newest video for “Cut You Off.” To all my ladies and dudes out there who have ever needed to just cut a b*tch off, (and I use that term loosely, because even a guy can be a b*tch) then this track is dedicated to you on this glorious Valentine’s Day 2011. Dear reader, By no means at all do you have to feel obligated to give a shit about this story. Last night was the 53rd annual Grammy Awards. Jigga and Em won awards and Justin Bieber continued on his legacy of becoming the next coked-up Aaron Carter, but all in all, Paul Wall made the whole night worth while. As you may know by now, dude has lost about 100lbs and daps to the highest degree go to him, but when I saw this picture, I couldn’t help but chuckle. You the man Mr. Wall… Oh and I think I saw Snooki from Jersey Shore at the Grammy’s last night too. This would mean that she is currently beating Waka Flocka by a score of 1-0 for Grammy attendance. .... Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-13/ .... Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:52:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-12/ .... Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:08:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-211/ .... Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-10/ .... Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:31:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/dilla-one-of-the-best-yet/ .... Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:14:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/herc-we-gotchu/ Herc, Tdot’s got you! Tonight’s the night that we all come together and help raise some funds for the father of hip-hop, DJ Kool Herc. The event takes place at Wrong Bar in Toronto and will cost you $10 at the door. Pound has also made custom Kool Herc/Pound buttons for the event which will run at about $2. All proceeds from the event will be going directly to help our fallen hero. So if you love hip-hop, or even if you’re in the area, we better see your funky-ass there! Shaq is from Toronto. Check out this video that’s circulating around and has even made it up on World Star. Homegrown talent, Shaq is 18 and this is his video for “4th Quarter, Game 7.” Shout out to big boss Buns! All of us here at Pound are proud to announce that our Editor-in-Chief, Sir Rodrigus, or “Buns” as we like to call him, will be gracing the airwaves tonight (February 10th) as a special guest on Much Music’s Rap City! Check out what Rodrigo’s got to say about hip-hop, Pound and more tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern time! Ooh-weee, that’s gotta be Bun B! Oh and here’s a sweet vid of Bun performing “Let ‘Em Know”with Premo at the Slaughterhouse release party in New York. Dude always goes hard!.... Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-9/ .... Wed, 09 Feb 2011 22:34:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/sons-of-gunz/ My bad Tdot! We all must’ve seen this last week when it dropped but to those that haven’t, here is Rick Ross’ video for “Devil in a New Dress” which was shot at Yonge & Dundas Square in Toronto. MTV’s Cory Gunz doc has been spanked! Nick Cannon/MTV six-part series on Cory Gunz, Son of a Gun, has been slapped with a cease and desist order. By who, you ask? By the son of Louis Fratto, a freakin’ mafia kingpin! Johnny Fratto claims that he had a series in the works that has the same name and shares some of the same themes that can be found in the Cory Gunz one. Game, RZA ain’t gonna sue you anymore, bro. After reports surfaced that the RZA was sueing the Game for using the song “Heartbreaker” on his mixtape, Purp & Patron, it appears now that Razor has had a sudden change of heart. “I COULD NEVER TAKE GAME TO COURT... I LOVE THAT DUDE...HE IS MY FAVORITE FROM THE NEW GENERATION OF WEST COAST M.CEES..." RZA wrote in a statement, according to MTV. "ALSO LIL CHUUUCH IS THE LAST YOUNG MAN I TOOK ON AS A STUDENT AND HE WAS ORDAINED BY MY FIRST STUDENT ASON UNIQUE...SO ITS A GOOD LOOK THAT HIM AND GAME BLESSED THE SAME TRACK... ITS JUST WE DIDNT AGREE TO RELEASE IT OR GO THRU THE PROPER CHANNELS...I'M IN ASIA AND NOT IN TUNE WITH THE CURRENT EVENTS... BUT I'M SURE ALL WILL END UP AMICABLE...LONG LIVE HIP HOP... WUTANG FOREVER...I WILL SEE YOU SOON MY BROTHER... PEACE RZA.” Shit dude, did you forget to remove the caps lock on your keyboard? My friggin’ eyes are killin’ me. New Wale vid! Here’s Wale’s video for “The Break Up Song.” I dig it. Anybody knows me, knows that I HAD to post this video. Here’s Murs & Terrace Martin’s latest for “Fresh Kicks.” .... Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-8/ .... Tue, 08 Feb 2011 23:41:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/middle-finger-consequences/ Calling on all ladies! J. Cole and Drake plan on releasing the video for their cult-fave “In The Morning” on Valentines Day. Cole said that his schedule has been very restricting when it came to shooting the vid, but says that it only made sense that he did so while on tour with Drake. Label, Decon snatches up another Canadian. Nova Scotia’s veteran emcee, Classified has signed with Decon. Class is the second Canadian to do so, after Toronto’s Shad signed with the camp last year. Class is set to release Handshakes & Middle Fingers, which will also be his first heavily distributed album in the US. Big ups Class! MOD2 drops today! Consequence’s anticipated sequel to Movies on Demand will drop today. Although a lot of the tracks have been leaked already, is anyone else as hyped up about this as I am!? Cons all day! I don’t have a link for you at the moment, but like Cons says in the trailer (above), check out hotnewhiphop.com once the tape has dropped. Here is Nas & Damian Marley’s latest video for “Patience,” which is off Distant Relatives. Very reminiscent of Ye’s “Power,” but still wicked, nonetheless..... Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/happy-birthday-j-dilla/ .... Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:31:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-7/ .... Mon, 07 Feb 2011 21:18:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/super-cheese-head-movements/ Wale has officially joined the Maybach fam. After months of speculation on what some of us knew to be a definite thing, D.C’’s flyest emcee finally inked a deal with Rick Ross’ label. Wale took to Twitter by retweeting several suggestive comments made by sources that were saying the deal had been made official. He also made optimistic remarks about how his move to Maybach would now allow his music to blossom, “Now I can do songs like shades, ambitious girl and not fear a ‘man in a chair’ saying this ain’t what black people wanna hear’.” Ok, so…you know how Baby aka Birdman, aka old-tatted up CEO dude of Cash Money placed a $1 million bet on the Packers last night at the Super Bowl…well does anyone know if and who took that bet? ‘cause I sure didn’t. I had my money on the Broncos. Eminem’s commercials took the cake at SuperBowl Sunday. I personally enjoyed the overly-hyped clay mation ad by Brisk which you can see above, but here is the one he did for Chrysler. This ish right here…brother, this ish right here! This ish is just cool. Imagine you’re on a flight, headed to wherever you gotta go and the flight attendant comes on the PA to announce that a freakin’ well known musician will be providing a free show…on the plane, for your amusement. SWEET, right? Well, B.o.B. just did exactly that. Check the video of him here. The kicker for me isn’t in the fact that he’s performing his hit “Airplanes” on a plane, but more so that he is performing his hit “Airplanes” on a plane, over the speaker-phone..... Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-6/ .... Sun, 06 Feb 2011 23:06:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-5/ .... Sat, 05 Feb 2011 23:54:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/bookmark-nelson-george/ Catching up with the jet-setting author of Hip Hop America, a thousand years later. .... Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:49:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/dread-and-alive/ .... Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-4/ .... Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/incarcerated-scarfaces/ Beach babes make Uncle Luke oh so horny, but inner city crimes make him OH SO PISSED…he hates them long time! 2 Live Crew’s Luke Campbell formally announced that he will be running for Mayor of Miami! Apparently Luke wants to shake up Miami’s scene as he claims that nothing has changed, including the amount of crimes in the city. "I am mad frustrated," he said ""I get in my car, ride around Liberty City, and everything looks the same as when I was in the neighborhood growing up. I see the same crimes in the same areas. Officers and residents are still getting killed in the community I grew up in. I go to a city like Atlanta that has sensible affordable housing, and no one is being murdered. I go to Miami International Airport and see the same construction that has been going on for like a hundred years. All of that frustrates the hell out of me.” Luke also says that his main focuses are to create more job opportunities as well as more affordable housing. Check out his interview with the Miami Times, which includes more of his goals…one of which includes the taxing of strippers! HA! Scarface has secretly been in prison for four months. The Texas rapper and member of The Geto Boys has been locked up since last October for failing to pay child support. Juelz Santana speaks out on his arrest. News spread of Juelz’s New Jersey studio being raided by cops last week and yesterday we found out that he was arrested on drug and weapon possession charges. His bail was listed at $125, 000. This led him to miss out on Dipset’s visit to Chicago…ahem..and could have very well been one of the reasons why they cancelled their TORONTO show…JUST SAYING. Anyways, apparently he’s closterphobic and wasn’t scared of being in prison, instead just saw it as a “what the eff” kind of moment. Here’s the audio of Juelz talking to Angie Martinez about the whole thing. ALSO, here is the video trailer for Raekwon’s “Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang,” off his latest album of the same name. .... Fri, 04 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-3/ .... Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:48:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/morons-of-the-week/ .... Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/playing-the-hits-that-move-you/ If you haven’t already heard…It is now official, Toronto’s hip-hop and urban music radio station, FLOW93.5 has been acquired by CHUM Radio which is owned by Canadian media giant, CTV Globemedia. The deal was made in the Spring of 2010 but was effective as of February 1st, 2011. Flow has served as Toronto’s and possibly even as Canada’s largest and most recognized urban radio outlet since 2001 and now it seems as if the station will undergo some serious changes. Many of us Torontonians are familiar with the past changes that FLOW has experienced, but for those who are not, I’ll break this down for you real quick. In 2001, Flow was 100% urban radio. In 2006/07 it made the switch to “Rhythmic CHR [contemporary hit radio],” which I like to consider as Top 40 urban stuff, thus leading to a name change – “The New FLOW 93.5.” Fast forward yourself to the present year and the current situation. Several radio personalities will be relieved of their duties including the likes of Devo Brown, J-Wyze and Spex, just to name a few. The only ones that have managed to stick around are: Melanie, Jeni, Scott Boogie and DJ Starting From Scratch. Mark Strong, former host of Flow’s Morning Rush with Mark & Gem, spoke out about the new ownership and what is expected to happen to the station including a new head quarters (the Chum building, located at 299 Queen Street West) and possibly even a name change. Flow was well known for its radio shows that catered to specific genres like reggae and soca. As of February 1st, under the new ownership, those shows were cancelled. To be more specific these shows are gone: Soca Therapy with Dr. Jay, OTA Live with Boogeyman, Real Frequency with DJ P-Plus and Riddim Track which is hosted by Spex. Although many of us who grew up listening to these shows may feel a bit of animosity, hang in there posse and remain optimistic because we have yet to see what the new owners of Flow have in store for us. The loss of these shows have brought forth a communal sadness felt across the Greater Toronto Area, but just as Mr. Vegas said, let’s keep our “Heads High!” (of course in a less perverted way) and give the NEW NEW FLOW a chance. Check out this Toronto Star newspaper article on CTV’s takeover. .... Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:25:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-2/ .... Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:41:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pound-4-herc/ We gotchu Herc! Ever since hearing about the state that our beloved DJ Kool Herc has fallen in, us here at Pound have teamed up with The Union, Manifesto and Never Forgive Action to help raise some money to help our fallen hero out. News spread yesterday that Herc’s condition is related to his kidney stone problem of last year. The benefit event takes place on Thursday February 10th at Wrongbar in Toronto, Canada. Guests include DJ Skratch Bastid, DJ Starting From Scratch and many more. Come out and show some love and let’s help out a true pioneer in need. In some light-hearted, far less important news…Tyson takes a whack at Gucci’s face tattoo! Former heavyweight champion of the world, “Iron” Mike Tyson said in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid, "I like going to war, he likes being licked on. You know what I mean? I watch Gucci Mane. Gucci Mane's a player, man. He's got it going on. Gucci Mane." .... Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-2-1/ .... Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:25:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/help-herc/ Kool Herc update. If you love hip-hop as much as we do here at Pound, then you’ll know exactly how much of a catalyst Kool Herc has been in building our genre. As mentioned in yesterday’s Hangover, the legend is in need of financial help for a surgery that he must go through. DJ Premier revealed via his blog that anyone is able to make donations via the mailing address below or through paypal at cindycampbell1@aol.com (his sister who is handling the whole thing. KOOL HERC PRODUCTIONS P.O. BOX 20472 HUNTINGTON STATION , NY 11746 Kangol Kid of legendary “Roxanne, Roxanne” group, UTFO is calling on all of his brothers in the group to put aside their differences for a performance that would see all profits going towards Kool Herc. "Unfortunately, the majority of classic Hip-Hop artists of my generation are at the risk suffering the same fate," Kangol Kid said. "Herc is a legend of my time as well as a pioneer of my culture and most importantly…he is my friend," Kangol said. DJ Tony Touch is also another artist who is reaching out and collecting donations for Herc. Cory Gunz documentary sets to light up MTV. “Son of a Gun” is a six-part doc produced by Cory’s managers, Nick Cannon and Peter Gunz, his pops. “Cory’s story is inspiring, one that boldly paints the many trials and tribulations he’s had to endure in pursuit of his dreams,” Cannon said. The 23-year-old microphone defecator has already been signed to four labels (Casablanca, Def Jam, After Platinum and Young Money). The series is set to air in April. Kanye X Kobe X Bruce Willis = HECKA SICK. Yeah my Cali people, we say Hecka up north too! Nike, I’ve adored your kicks for ages but your commercials are just off the chain! Check out the trailer for Nike’s Zoom Kobe VI which feature Mister West and Bruce Willis in it, as I believe ‘Ye wants to steal Kobe’s shoes. Can’t wait until the official ad comes out in its entirety..... Tue, 01 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/televised-revolution/ .... Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:27:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-31/ .... Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:19:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/wu-certified-lawsuit/ Kool Herc isn’t doing well. Premo released a statement on his blog that the Father of Hip-Hop, DJ Kool Herc has been hospitalized for an unknown health condition. Premo went on to say that Herc is having some financial problems which are conflicting with his treatment. Apparently Herc doesn’t have an insurance thus leading Premier’s plead toeveryone to help in any way that they can. It's funny how we actually have a father of a culture [who] still lives, where in some cultures, they're already dead and gone..." Preme said. The RZA is suing the Game. Okay, so Game’s Purp & Patron tape has a track on there produced by the RZA called “Heartbreaker.” Apparently RZA gave the track to Game and since the sampled used on “Heartbreaker” was deemed un-clearable, Game said that he couldn’t use it on his upcoming R.E.D. album, thus using it on his mixtape instead. “The next thing I know RZA is suing The Game. That shit's crazy. I didn't even know Wu-Tang sued n*ggas,” Game said. Despite the cease and desist order coming from the RZA, Game ensures that there is nothing personal going on. He still respects RZA and all of the Wu. Expect more from The Green Eyed Bandit in 2011. Erick Sermon (alongside me above), member of the legendary EPMD, revealed that the duo will be releasing “Don’t Get Clapped,” their first track in two years. In a nut shell, “"The songs is basically about: don't put yourself in a predicament. That girl don't belong to you. Don't be flashing money in front of regular people 'cause they hate that,” E-double said. Sermon also revealed that he plans on releasing ESP: Erick Sermon’s Perception, his first solo album in over a decade. .... Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-30/ .... Sun, 30 Jan 2011 21:42:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-29/ .... Sat, 29 Jan 2011 12:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/egypt-is-burning/ .... Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:43:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-28/ .... Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:14:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/cash-rules-everything-around-me/ Diddy being sued for…$900 Billion for…knocking down the World Trade Center! Yep, that’s right! Valerie Joyce Wilson Turks (remember this name as it will ring a bell everytime you ever come across anything as absurd and hysterical as this) is suing the hip-hop mogul along with his girlfriend, Kim Porter and Rodney King (yes, that Rodney King!) for collapsing the New York landmark. "[Diddy] went through Kim Porter and Rodney King and knocked down the WTC and then they all came and knocked my children down.” Turks stated. "Set me up to be on disability and disabled my baby. he put my baby in a wheelchair," as stated in her lawsuit. She also claims that Diddy is responsible for stealing a really, really expensive poker chip from her at a Mississippi casino last year, “Plus I won a lot of money at the casino in Mississippi and Sean P. Diddy Combs has my chip to my money. I heard he gave it to Gwen Allen to hold but she can not cash it in," Turks complained. "I want my chip please help me. It's well worth over 100 zillions of dollars, and my hospital keys. They put me and my baby in the hospital and broke my baby 2 legs and sexual assaulted my children and crushed us." If she wins…sorry I apologize, I meant to say, WHEN she wins, Turks will walk out with a cool crisp Trillion dollar bill. Holla at my boy Mr. Burns for his…nope, I forgot…Fidel Castro stole it off him during his trip to Cuba. Fox’s hit show, Glee cant afford Eminem. Straight up, this story is mega funny. Apparently the creator of Glee planned to cover Em’s “Lose Yourself” on an episode and was told that it would cost more than expected. The legal rights to cover the song would put Glee back about $200, 000! Boom! The creator went on to say that the amount would put the episode way over budget. Boom! .... Fri, 28 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-27/ .... Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:24:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/moe-dees-2010-year-end-report-card/ The Results are in for Kool Moe Dee's annual Report Card! Check out where some of POUND Mag's finest chart up..... Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/omg-hacked/ .... Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1261/ .... Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:01:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/more-devil-shit/ Word? More Devil shit? The living legend known as Afrika Bambaataa has spoken his thoughts on the state of hip-hop, stating that hip-hop has fallen under a “Luciferian conspiracy.” He recently spoke to the Chicago-Sun Times and said, “Hip-hop has been hijacked by a Luciferian conspiracy.” He also added that, “"People have used hip-hop in a lot of ways that cause a lot of mind problems. They use the word wrongfully.” He uses radio stations as an example and how some disc jockeys lack true knowledge of the genre. “They know rap to a certain extent. But I question them. I say, 'Where's your go-go, your hip-house, your electro-funk, your raga, your R&B and soul?' They get real quiet,” he said. My “more devil shit” reference is a reflection of the rumours that are circulating regarding hip-hop artists and their potential ‘evil tendencies.’ (i.e. Jay-Z being a member of the Illuminati) PURP & PATRON. All of my Twitter people must know by now that Game’s newest mixtape, Purp & Patron has hit the web-waves. You have to know, the guy’s been raping our Twitter newsfeeds for more than a day now! The two-disc tape is hosted by Funk Flex and DJ Skee. Appearances from the likes of Weezy and Loso to everyone’s instant fave, Lil’ Boosie, are all guaranteed. Stand out tracks include: the “Purp & Yellow Remix,” “Soo Woo” which features Wayne, “R.I.P. Story” which is produced by Nottz and the “I’m The King Remix.” Download it here. .... Wed, 26 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pac-div/ Hip-Hop music is all about lineage—at least the good stuff is. It's an essential fact that all the great artists recognize. There's no Kanye without Common and Kweli. No Common and Kweli without Tribe and De La. And so it goes for the Palmdale, Cali, trio Pac Div..... Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:31:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-26/ .... Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/microphone-spitta-website-killah/ The 50 Cent vs. Worldstarhiphop.com fiasco. Okay let’s break this down for anyone who is unaware of what went down yesterday. The popular video streaming site, worldstarhiphop.com, was shut down yesterday afternoon (the main page had a Homeland Security stamp on it) and 50 Cent was claiming that he was the perpetrator. 50 tweeted that he was the one that shut the site down which coincides with his 2009 lawsuit against the site for copyright infringement (the site was using pictures of 50 to the point that others began to think World Star belonged to him). Hours later, Q, the owner of World Star made an appearance on the Angie Martinez show on Hot 97 to say that the reason for the site’s absence was due to technical problems, and had nothing to do with 50 or Homeland Security and said that the site has had technical problems like this before and would be back up soon (if you remember, several sites were shut down by Homeland Security back in November). Surely enough, World Star re-appeared online and the kid 50 actually called in to Angie’s show to say “I didn’t shut them down,” and then added that “If I rob a bank I wouldn’t tell you I did...maybe I did. It’s up to the public to decide.” WHAT THE BLOOD…I know that some of you may have been confused by the entire story and the unraveling of everything, but it’s cool guys…we here at Pound feel ya. Weezy to tour in March. Wayne’s I Am Music II Tour is set for a March 18 opener in Buffalo, New York. 24 North American dates have been set and he’s bringing Nicki, Rozay and Travis Barker with him. The Blink 182 drummer is even to perform a DJ/drummer set with Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys! DJ Qbert teams up with WAIL. Legendary scratch turntablist, DJ Qbert has teamed up with L.A. based art group, When Art Imitates Life (WAIL) to release a set of custom art pieces. The project is called “Bold As Scratch,” and will feature a total of 250 canvases that will combine acrylic paints, graphic art and beyond. WAIL is also the same group that released RZA’s “Victory or Death” image last year…which was dope as hell. .... Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/yo-quiero-taco-bell/ .... Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:30:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-24/ .... Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:29:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-23/ .... Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:41:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-22/ .... Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:21:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-21/ .... Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:49:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/tag-team-back-again/ KRS and Showbiz team up. As we’ve heard before, the Teacher has teamed up with former D.I.T.C. member, Showbiz for a collaborative album called Godsville. Don’t be too surprised though because the two Bronx natives are no strangers to one-another. If you can recall, Showbiz produced several tracks for KRS as well as linking up with him on two other albums. The new record is set to drop on February 15th. Check out “Show Power,” one of the official tracks off the album that has already leaked. Malice has come out with his 3rd vignette to promote his upcoming memoirs “Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind, and Naked.” The latest one is titled “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” and has Malice’s brother, Pusha T as the focal point. Check out mademylifechange.com to them all. Gucci and Waka get their own reality show! HAHAHA. The (lucky) station that will be carrying the (hidden gem of a show) has been undetermined but is trying to get in with BET. Gucci’s people have admitted that the two (amazingly witty) rappers are currently filming episodes for the show..... Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/good-cops-bad-cops/ .... Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:49:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-120/ .... Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:23:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/rap-is-so-anal/ Redman says rap has become “anal.”. The Funk Doc Spot said in an interview that sampling tracks off other artists has become some what of a pain. He recalls the days when you could sample a song quick without having to think twice, but now since everything has become viral, “you gotta clear every fucking thing.” He recalled using a verse on Blackout! 2 that was similar to one on Snoop’s Doggystyle. He was then told to remove it because the publishing to that album didn’t belong to Snoop. “It goes so deep. It's so fucking anal, this rap game,” he said. Weezy thinks LBJ and D-Wade are sleazy. Well, not sleazy per se, but to put it in his own words, “bitch-ass n*ggas.” The day after Wayne was released from prison, Hornets guard, Chris Paul hooked him up along with some other Cash Money peeps (Baby, Mack Maine & Cortez Bryant) with home courtside tickets for the Hornets/Heat match up that night. Apparently Miami Heat stars, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade didn’t come over to even say hi, and that’s what ticked Weezy off. “Them n*ggas never speak to a n*gga,” the New Orleans native said. “At least come over and ask why I’m not rooting for you.” Shazaam! Are you all checking out the Jamaican Journey three-part video series that Damian Marley is taking part in over at HipHopDX this week? He’s got his broskie, Stephen on hand along with his distant relative, Nas there too. Here is Part II of the series. Check Damian lay down some vocals for his brother Stephen’s track “Jah Army.” No joke, that ish is FIRE..... Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-19/ .... Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:03:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/crtc-wants-lying-media/ .... Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/doomsday-beanie-f-baby/ The Up in Smoke Tour’s lawsuit. The year 2000 saw one of the biggest hip-hop shows to date. The Up in Smoke Tour featured a Godsend of a line-up including the likes of Dr. Dre, Eminem, Ice Cube and Snoop, not to mention a crazy stage and pyrotechnics. There’s one problem, a lawsuit from three officers has been filed against the tour’s promoters. Apparently the officers were filmed having a conversation with promoters regarding a video that contained nudity and violence that would be played during the performances. One cop was told that the footage would be kept unders wraps, but it then ended up on a DVD that entitled Detroit Controversy. The cop claims that this is a breach of his privacy and the suit is making it all the way up to Michigan Supreme Court. Holy Moses…Malone! Operation: Doomsday to re-release! MF Doom’s 12 year old album, Operation: Doomsday will undergo an OFFICIAL re-release this Spring. The reason for those capital letters is because sure, the album has been re-released a couple of times over the years but none from Doom’s actual label. The re-produced versions featured altered track listings and were over all pretty nasty (not good nasty, I’m talkin’ bad nasty). The OFFICIAL re-release that is set to drop will be dropped on Doom’s Metal Face label. It will have the original track listing along with tonnes of goodies. If you cop it, you will receive: alternate versions to tracks, several b-sides, instrumentals, a 32 page book consisting of art and lyrics, and a pack of 10 trading cards (featuring the emcees on the album) all packaged in a hella-wicked looking lunchbox! I hate to say it again but, Holy Moses…Malone! Beanie F. Baby. “I wouldn’t mind fuckin’ with Baby right now…” That’s what Beanie Sigel is saying! Beanz says that of all the labels, he’d have no problem signing with the Birdman’s Cash Money clique. Snoop and Wiz just released the video for “That’s Good” which will be featured on their movie soundtrack. The Laker inspired lo-lo in the back, is pretty key, I must say..... Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-18/ .... Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:32:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/stonebridge-stand-up/ The Roc’s newest emcee is a London-ite. Only a week after the signing of British pop-star, Cher Lloyd, Jay-Z doubles up by signing another Brit in the form of rapper, K. Koke. The Stonebridge, London native gained a lot of fame off his 2009 mixtape, Pure Koke Vol. 1 and strutted his stuff during a freestyle on BBC 1xtra (radio station). Maybe Jigga took what Chuck D said to heart, about the flourishing world of hip-hop outside of the US. Oh and I don’t think I need to tell you who else Jay and the Roc have signed, because quite frankly if you don’t know by now, you’re out of the loop, homey. Director of Tribe doc says Q-Tip is just “nervous.” Mike Rapaport, the director of the upcoming A Tribe Called Quest documentary has finally spoken up regarding Q-Tip’s disapproval for the flick. “I can’t really speak for him but I think he got a little nervous. He’s very protective of the legacy of A Tribe Called Quest and the movie is a very honest depiction of my time with them and the information that I was given in interviews and content," Rapa-pappa said. Shyne wants Israeli citizenship. Plain and simple. The former Bad Boy emcee has been living in the Holy Land since his release from prison and his conversion to Judaism. .... Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/hdb-mlk/ .... Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:22:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-117/ .... Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/a-swollen-art-form/ Saigon wants to record with Joey Mood. Entourage star and emcee, Saigon has gone out and said that he’d like to make music with Joe Budden – the same dude he’s been beefin’ with for a while. Saigon finally wants to pave over the rocky path he’s had with the Slaughterhouse emcee, “It wasn't really no beef. That's rap. That's rap industry stuff. I wouldn't really consider it a beef. We both grown men, and it wasn't no sense to keep bickering back and forth. He made a statement that he'd be willing to work, and I said, 'Let's make it happen!'" Swollen is looking out for all compact disc lovers! The Vancouver posse aka Swollen Members, are reissuing several of their old albums this year. They plan on creating brand new cover art for each reissue and the cool thing is that they are seeking help from their fans to do so! Check out swollenmembers.com for the complete contest details. Airborne drinks + Plies = bang². After a few drinks were thrown at Plies at a club, the rapper threatened to gat up the joint. Peep the vid. For future reference, remember the simple mathematical equation in the title of this story, to avoid any potential ‘gatting’ of any sort. Sir Michael Rocks of the Cool Kids releases a solo video. Check out the unofficial video for “Batphone,” above..... Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-16/ .... Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:41:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-15/ .... Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:41:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-14/ .... Fri, 14 Jan 2011 14:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/politics-with-che-not-guevara/ Rhymefest is officially on Chicago’s ballot. The Chi-Town emcee made it known last year that he wished to run for Alderman of the 20th Ward in Chicago. The current alderman, Willie B. Cochran voiced his opinion on Che Smith’s (Fest’s real name) candidacy saying that the people of the 20th Ward know the difference between a real public figure and a rapper who knowingly degrades women in his music. This didn’t stop Fest from continuing on with his quest and now he will officially be placed on the ballot for the Chicago local General Elections which run from January 31- February 17. Banks is backing off the punch lines. G-Unit’s Lloyd Banks says that on his next album, he plans on cutting down on the punch lines. Banks says that Raekwon inspired him to focus in on more of the story-telling approach as opposed to lacing a track with swift and witty references. “Soon as I heard [Raekwon's] verse [on 'Last Train to Scotland'] it was on some storytelling shit, so I already knew what I had to do with it," he said..... Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/censor-censorship/ .... Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:31:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-13/ .... Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:04:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/newer-and-shadier-faces/ Slaughterhouse + Yela Wolf to Shady Records. After months of speculation, Eminem has confirmed a deal has finally been made between Shady/Interscope and hip-hop super group – Slaughterhouse. Interscope also announced the signing of Alabama-spit-slinga, Yela Wolf to the label. Interscope released a statement saying, “Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse, it’s kinda phase two of Shady. It’s the new generation of Shady Records and as we’re trying to rebuild our label, it’s exciting for Hip Hop and with all of these forces coming together and with what everybody’s capable of on the mic, it’s gonna be fun.” Toca Tuesdays Top 25 Freestyles of 2010. If you dig Tony Touch’s Toca radio show then you’ll appreciate this mixtape. Check out who tops the list. Hint: She’s the first lady of the Flipmode Squad! Oops, I’ve said too much! Chris Brown seeks the help of a certain Philly native. Guess. Beanz? Nope. Black Thought? Nope. Freeway? Nuh-uh. The answer comes in the form of the goofy G.R.I.N.D. preacher, Asher Roth. Brown has recruited Roth to work with him on his next album, F.A.M.E. Ummm…okay? Here’s Gucci Mane’s new (and really, really stupid looking) tattoo which is of an ice cream cone with a caption reading “brrr.”.... Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/the-saga-continues/ .... Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:51:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-12/ .... Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/i-teach-trilligion/ Professor Trill completes Day 1. Bun B has officially completed his first lesson as the professor of the “Religion and Hip-Hop” course at Rice University in Houston. Bun is taking the position very seriously and feels that the topic of religion is a very cautious subject to touch base on. "These are young people who have taken upon themselves at a very young age, dedicated their life to religion, the search of religion and the study of religion, so I don't want to give these people any mis-information." Soulja Boy Tells all that he should’ve beat Kanye in ’08. Mr. Tellem appears to have a certain level of animosity for losing the 2008 Grammy for Best Rap Song to Kanye West. Soulja’s inaugural smash hit “Crank Dat” lost to Ye’s and T-Pain’s “Good Life.” The young rapper is currently recording his third album, The DeAndre Way and has been having a reoccurring feeling of being snubbed. Haiti brings 2/3s of The Fugees back together. Wyclef snapped this shot on his flight to Haiti yesterday as he made peace with former Fugee member, Pras. He tweeted, “On my way 2 Haiti ran into Praz, what should I do make peace or go sit somewhere Else! I Made peace 4 Haiti!” .... Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-11/ .... Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:23:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/a-live-tape-a-comeback-and-a-whole-lotta-twitter-money/ Eminem Live from Comerica Park Mixtape. I was so happy to see that this tape finally came out. Now all of you who didn’t join me along with thousands of others in Detroit, can see what you missed. He’s Shaaaaady! RapCity is back! To all of Canada and the city of Toronto especially, the main source of hip-hop videos and specials were seen on RapCity which aired on Much Music. It was kind of like our 106 & Park and damn some of those interview specials were great. Over the years, the show has seen some time changes and even a loss of hosts. It became a program which strictly aired videos and only aired at a random slot. This is no more because it is making a come back with a host and the whole nine! Its first episode airs on Thursday January 20th. “Check, check…check this out!” (If you didn’t get that quote, then obviously never paid attention to the amazing opening credits of the show!) 50’s tweets are worth millions! 50 Cent’s latest business venture, his Sleek headphones are connected to a company named HNHI TV Goods. 50 recently tweeted to his roughly 3.8 million followers about how investing in HNHI was a great decision on his part. After his tweets, the company saw an uproar in stock sales which amounted to a $50 million extra thanks to his tweets. 50 apparently owns 30 million shares in the company and each share is worth about 29 cents, thus making himself a profit of about $10 million. As of 5p.m. on Monday, shares rose to 39 cents. Cot damn! oh and on a random tip, enjoy this classic footage from ’86 of everyone’s favourite smooth operator. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4fHlu_OtJQ .... Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/u-s-congresswoman-shot/ .... Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:56:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-10/ .... Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:53:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/49-questions-for-mark-ronson/ .... Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:08:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-alumni/ The Alumni. Reports have it that Lord Finesse (who is best known as the leader of the D.I.T.C. crew that featured the likes of Fat Joe and the late Big L) has formed a trio with fellow Diggin’ In The Crates emcee, O.C. and the Large Professor. They are called The Alumni and at a show in Australia, Finesse told fans to expect an album from the group this year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNzLL8lDN9s Big Sean brings out the entire alphabet. Thought this was kinda cool. It shows the unity in hip-hop, so why not preach it right!? Here’s a video of Big Sean performing “Bullshittin’” in LA. Here’s the list of people that make their way onto the stage for the track: Wiz Khalifa, Chris Brown, Tyga, Teyana Taylor, Warren G, Kendrick Lamar,YG, and Jay Rock. In other news, after hearing about the high frequency of mass amounted guest appearances happening at live shows (not to mention Drake’s ridiculous OVO show in Toronto last year) the Wu-Tang Clan want an even bigger entourage; they are now accepting resumes. …if you thought that job-related comment was true then you must be a dumb ass. Movies on Demand 2. Courtesy of Consequence and ConsTV, we are blessed with the trailer for the sequel to last year’s mixtape, Movies on Demand 2! .... Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-9/ .... Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:48:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-8/ .... Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:22:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/more-h-a-m-with-my-hot-sauce-please/ Big Boi and Talib Kweli team up with Pepsi Max for NFL Playoff Ads. Check out each artists’ ad on NFL.com or simply watch for them at the 2-minute warning for each selected game. All emcees add voice over verses to a montage mash-up of each playoff match up. (phew that was a doozie.) Big Boi takes on the Packers/Eagles match up, and Kweli teams up with Nick Jarvas for the Jets/Colts. Adam Yauch is almost at 100%! Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys has been “cleared” cancer after an 18 month battle with a tumour in his salivary gland. Yauch says that although he has not fully beaten the illness, he continues to partake in treatments. He released a statement on the band’s website saying, “Hello My Friends While I’m grateful for all the positive energy people are sending my way, reports of my being totally cancer free are exaggerated. I’m continuing treatment, staying optimistic and hoping to be cancer free in the near future." Amidst the good news, Mike D says that the band is still on pace to release Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 in the Spring, despite not having yet released Part 1. Hov and Ye H.A.M.’in it up! Next week, Jay and Kanye will release the first track off their Watch The Throne album. It’s called H.A.M. and the artwork for it spurred a buzz over the net a couple days back. The song is set to be released on Tuesday January 11th. .... Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-7/ .... Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:51:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/live-statik-free-waves/ Biggie’s murder case heats up. Nearly 14 years later, the murder of Biggie Smalls finally has some new information. Sorry to burst any bubbles but unfortunately, any details have not been revealed because of the ongoing case with the LAPD and FBI. Freeway and Statik Selektah live internet recording. Here’s something that is interesting and grazes the tip of coolness very nicely. Freeway has teamed up with 1982’s Statik Selektah to record a live six-seven track EP online in a 24-hour time span! The pair will allow fans to interact and give suggestions for song hooks as well as help pick beats during the session. You can find the live recording on XXL Magazine’s Ustream page on January 10th at 5p.m. A SnoopyWiz production. Snoop announced that he and Wiz Khalifa will star in a straight-to-DVD movie that comes out on the overly predicted 4/20 date this year. Snoop sees a lot of similarities in his lil’ nephew Wiz, especially their love for mary-jane. The Dogg likes the idea of old meets new and says that a soundtrack will also coincide with the flick..... Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pink-is-platinum/ We’re headed to the Grammy Museum, baby. An exhibit entitled “Hip-Hop: A Cultural Odyssey” will open on February 5, 2011 through May 4th. Jeff Wald, the president of ARIA Multimedia which is partnering with the museum to open the exhibit said. Because of its passion for music's rich cultural history, The Grammy Museum was the obvious choice to help us tell that story.” Check the link for more. God Forgives, so does Gunz. The name of Rick Ross’ newest LP, God Forgives, I Don’t bears the same name as Cory Gunz’s 3-year project. “It was really a bit frustrating because I was really sticking with that title for a minute whether it was for the EP or album. But at least I should be honoured that somebody who is at their pinnacle right now is thinking the same,” Gunz said. “I’m not bitter about the title, it happens all the time. Some of the best stepped on niggas necks to stay at the top.” Nicki goes platinum. Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday has sold over 882, 000 since its November 22nd, thus gracing it with platinum stability. .... Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/shut-em-down/ No more Steppin Thru for Madchild of Swollen Members. Vancouver’s rap veteran was declined entrance into the United States for what he believes to be discrimination against his appearance. “When I was finally called up, [after a three hour wait] the agent started questioning me about being a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club and when I replied, ‘No,’ he just continued to repeat the question over and over again.” Child says that he was held for about eight hours before being released and told that he banned. The emcee claims that he used to be affiliated with the infamous biker gang 16 years ago, and just this past year has quit his drug addiction as well as spoken to students about drug abuse. This comes just weeks after Cam’Ron was declined entry into Canada. Chuck D says that hip-hop is at an all-time low in the United States. The front man for Public Enemy has always been an advocate of free speech and has always chosen to speak his thoughts of the genre which he once cradled. Chuck recently sent a letter to Allhiphop.com addressing the state of hip-hop. “As far as RAP and HIP-HOP, it's like USA Olympic basketball, the world has parity now and have surpassed the USA in ALL of the basic fundamentals of HIP-HOP - TURNTABLISM, BREAKING, GRAFFITI, and now EMCEEING with succinct mission, meaning and skill.” He feels that hip-hop news spreads like rapid fire, so it shouldn’t be wasted on negativity that help can dismantle the culture. He also thinks that since hip-hop carries so much weight in the everyday world, it should be used as a tool to promote good and less show-boating. “Since the music has so much power, and image has become everything to the point that it can dictate the direction of a person in their life, it is my mission now to really become a 'freedom fighter' and stop this radiation,” he said. Gucci checks into a mental institution. It’s Gucci time because the southern emcee has filed for mental incompetency following his previous legal issues. Gucci Mane was fresh out of prison in November from drug related convictions when he then violated his parole via several driving infringements as well as for damaging government property. Gucci’s court hearing is set for January 24th and if convicted he may face over a year in the sin bin. HAHAHA Oh Red. Amazing video courtesy of the Funk Doc Spot and Ready Roc. It was all filmed on what looks like his web cam, and if our calculations are correct…he used Windows Moviemaker to assemble it!.... Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/free-ninety-nine-1-4/ .... Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:59:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/tasty-2-piece-nugget-meal/ Lost Tapes 2 UPDATE. Nas says that his sights on releasing the long anticipated Lost Tapes 2 album may be shelved for even longer than we thought. Although this may be bad news for many, especially all of those online petitioners that I mentioned a few Hangovers ago, Nas gives his fans hope, “I kind of lost time… I'm starting my next album. So I feel like I'll probably give The Lost Tapes as a deluxe, maybe, on the next album for free. I'm trying to figure that out now.” QB’s finest also said that it is uncertain if his next album will be released via Def Jam; as he might potentially depart from the label. More trouble for hip-hop on the radio. A radio station in Budapest, Hungary is under “investigation” for playing Ice-T’s ’93 track, “It’s On.” The station received an eight-page-letter on December 13th, 2010 regarding the airing of the song. The station, “Tilos” claims that Hungarian listeners wouldn’t be able to understand Ice’s slang usage in the song. Ice took to Twitter and apparently gets a kick out of the whole thing. You can brawl with me IN DA CLUB. A three year feud between The Game and G-Unit affiliated, Ras Kass broke out again and turned into a brawl at a club. Both took to Twitter to voice their perspectives. Game definitely gets the lyrical win with his tweet. .... Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-hip-hop-reading-rainbow-1-4/ Re/Visit of Holler If You Hear Me by Michael Eric Dyson .... Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:19:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1-2/ .... Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:48:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/free-ninety-nine-1-1/ .... Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:43:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1231/ .... Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:36:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/chris-brown-sinks-lower/ .... Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:55:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-30/ .... Thu, 30 Dec 2010 10:18:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/prepare-for-the-2011-coke-rush/ On the eve of the new year, I wish you all a great and prosperous 2011. Let us all turn up our tweeters, our woofers and our speakers and crank up Nas’ “Big Things,” one of my official anthems for 2011. Q-Tip to work with Drake. As Tip prepares to begin creating his fourth studio album, he says that he intends on making it multilingual. “I feel like my fans have been so gracious over the years,” Q says. “They’re so smart that I want to extend the grace back to them and speak to them in their tongues.” Tip also said that he recently sent Drake a song which will be feaured on the Toronto emcee’s next album, Take Care. T-Pain (supposedly) joins Young Money. Apparently the ruby-studded YM chain was made for Pain. The jeweler in the video is very suggestive by saying, “T-Pain is about to sign to Young Money. He better, after doing this.” Jim Jones’ “Coke Rush.” Jimmy plans to release his new mixtape, “Coke Rush” on New Year’s Eve, aka today. .... Thu, 30 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/doohickeys-n-shit/ Ford is censoring hip-hop. The very first mass-manufacturer of automobiles is showing its gray hair…ahem… and AGE- OLD-IGNORANCE…as it now allows parents to censor certain doohickeys…err..satellite radio channels, one of which includes Hip Hop Nation. Ford considers the decision as a “safety precaution.” Ford’s Safety Planning and Strategy Manager Andy Sarkisian said, “There's a lot of mature-content programming out there, and it could be somewhat of a distraction for less-mature ears.” Other stations that are censor-optional include Howard Stern and Playboy. Boi-1da excited for 2011. Toronto’s producer extraordinaire has recently spoken about how excited he is for the upcoming year. “Man, 2011 is going to be a good year for music,” he said after mentioning working with both Drake and Lil’ Wayne again. He promises that Drizzy’s sophmore album, Take Care will have even more lyrical content and that Wayne’s The Carter IV won’t disappoint. .... Thu, 30 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-29/ .... Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-28/ .... Tue, 28 Dec 2010 23:49:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/i-ain-t-no-joke/ Not many note-worthy hip-hop stories are going on but I, my dear POUND readers, have the one story that will either knock your socks off, or lead you to direct your attention to another page as fast as possible…Drum roll please… Flavor Flav is releasing his memoirs! The book is titled, Icon and will focus on both his time on the road with PE partner, Chuck D, as well as his reality TV stints. I expect that no “Sophisticated Bitch” will even glance at it, nor that the amount of pages in it (264) will enable it to “weigh a ton.” .... Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/get-em-while-they-re-hot/ All I got for Christmas were mixtapes! Check out Asher and Nottz’s The Rawth EP (dropped yesterday-Dec 27), Ricky Rozay’s Ashes to Ashes (Dec 24), and Reek Da Villain’s The Gift (Dec 24). the first dropping yesterday and the latter on the 24th. Shout out to Tdot’s own Kardinal Offishall who appears on the tape, along with Snoop, Dwele and Black Milk among others. The Boss’… well that’s just what Christmas in the hood sounds like, friends. As for Reek, you already know I dig that dude just as much as Buss does! Zooovie! Click on the album covers above to download each tape. While you wait to bump Nasty Nas’ new tunes, a new remixtape of his has emerged! I’m assuming in response to the ra-ra that has started over the delay of Lost Tapes 2’s release, Cookin Soul and Don Cannon have dropped The Lost Tapes 1.5 which are remixes to some of Escobar’s most coveted joints. This kid is stunnin’! Check out this kid freestyle and amaze both his prof and Lupe Fiasco. Why the hell didn’t I get a guest appearance from a high-class rapper to anyone of my post-secondary lectures!?.... Tue, 28 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/r-i-p-teena-marie/ .... Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:26:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1227/ .... Mon, 27 Dec 2010 23:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/joell-ortiz-s-top-5-albums-of-2010/ .... Mon, 27 Dec 2010 07:29:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1226/ .... Sun, 26 Dec 2010 22:07:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/fr/ .... Sat, 25 Dec 2010 13:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1224/ .... Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:52:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/mistletoes-and-mountain-dew/ Hey fam, just want to wish you all a great long weekend and holiday season. Oh and a special shout out to the ghost of Christmas past because I don’t want that mother-lover poppin’ outta nowhere anytime soon! Jay-Elect lands soft drink deal! Jay Electronica has landed a Mountain Dew endorsement. He joins the long list of rapper/soft drink collabos of the past. Just to name a few there’s, the recent Dr. Dre/Dr. Pepper one and let’s not forget about Sprite’s long time connection to hip-hop. Sprite alone has had ads featuring Kurits Blow, Heavy D, KRS-One, Nas/AZ, and the fairly new Drake one. Lauryn’s back! Lauryn Hill has embarked on her 2011 winter tour! If you haven’t gotten your tickets already, your local vendors are most likely sold out…as was the case here in Toronto, within a matter of three minutes. Anyway, here are the cities/venues. Dec. 27 – New York, NY – Highline Ballroom Dec. 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg Jan. 1 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom Jan. 3 – New York, NY – The Blue Note Jan. 4 – New York, NY – The Blue Note Jan. 5 – New York, NY – The Blue Note Jan. 8 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend Jan. 9 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel Jan. 12 – Charleston, SC – The Music Farm Jan. 14 – Atlanta, GA – Centerstage Jan. 16 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant Jan. 18 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue Jan. 20 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues Jan. 22 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy Jan. 23 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis Jan. 29 – Atlantic City, NJ – House of Blues Feb. 4 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theatre Mar. 19 - Miami, FL - Jazz In The Gardens Festival Diggy Simmons’ new mixtape. Diggy’s got the help of Premo on his new mixtape, Diggy Past, Present, Future. .... Fri, 24 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1223/ .... Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/auto-mobb-ography/ Auto-bi-ogra-phy on Prod-i-gy of the M-O-B-B. Prodigy of Mobb Deep has been locked away in prison for three years and upon his February 2011 release, the Queensbridge emcee is set to release an autobiography. My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy is set for an April 2011 launch. Since then, Prodigy has released two albums, Product of the 80’s and H.N.I.C. 2. We Want Lost Tapes 2! Nas fans are in a frenzy over the delayed release of Nas’s long anticipated sequel to his 2002 album, Lost Tapes. To freshen up, Lost Tapes, was a compilation disc of tracks that Nas recorded but never made it on to any other albums. Nas planned on dropping the sequel on December 14th, and now that fans know it’s actually done, they’re going nuts! They even made an online petition to Def Jam for stalling with the release! Apollo Kids. Ghostface’s latest album, Apollo Kids dropped yesterday, you got it yet? Key track, in my opinion is “Drama,” featuring Slaughterhouse’s Joell Ortiz and The Game. In the words of Kenny Bania, “That’s gold Jerry! Gold!” .... Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1222/ .... Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:48:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/nottz-exclusive-interview/ .... Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:15:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/barack-says-trade-ya-tax-cuts-for-gay-soldiers/ .... Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/no-thanks-jigga/ Dead Prez are NOT signing to the Roc. Recent speculations regarding Ron Nation’s acquisition of Dead Prez have been laid to rest thanks to DP’s M1. “We respect Jay, but we are not signing to Roc Nation,” M1 said. “I believe that we can take advantage of working with artists like Jay and Jay Electronica without giving up our rights to being whoever we want to be independently--which is really important to us right now." New Nipsey mixtape! Just dropping yesterday was Nipsey Hussle’s latest mixtape, The Marathon. Here’s a link to listen/download the entire tape. Key tracks: “A Million” (with it’s inevitable Aaliyah sample), “Top Down,” “Call From The Bank” (which uses MGMT’s “Electric Feel” instrumentals), and “I Don’t Give a Fucc.” Is 6’7” already a staple in Weezy’s catalogue? Okay, not to jump the gun here, but it’s pretty obvious that Wayne went all out on his lead single for The Carter IV. Everyone at the Young Money camp thinks so. Nicki is preaching her remix, Gunz says that the lyrical content is through the roof, and Drizzy thinks that Wayne didn’t spare any bars. .... Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/g-dep-admits-murder/ .... Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:55:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-21/ .... Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/welcome-to-detroit-city/ Eminem’s New Year’s Eve gift. Slim announced that on New Year’s Eve he will be releasing the audio of the Detroit leg from his Home & Home Tour with Jay-Z. It will begin airing at 8 p.m. December 31st on Em’s Sirius Satellite station, Shade 45. New Curren$y freestyle vid! Here’s “Daze of Thunder.” and it coincides with his freestyle over Rick Ross’ “Live Fast, Die Young” beat. Snoop X Pepsi Max Christmas commercial. Check out Snoop’s Christmas story as he tells it to a Pepsi vendor. There was another one he did not too long ago too. .... Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-20/ .... Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:30:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/i-really-mean-it/ Jim Jones explains why he along with Cam’Ron are featured on Kanye’s “Christmas in Harlem” track. Jimmy says that he doesn’t know where Cam’s verses on Dipset’s “Runaway Remix” came from but explained that they have a history with Ye’s people. “I couldn't tell you what that was about but I know Cam and Don C [Kanye’s manager] are like best friends," Jones said. "We've actually known Kanye and them for over 10 years from some of our earlier shows when we first got into the music industry so we have a great rapport with them more than anything else." Charles Hamilton gets booked. The young Cleveland rapper was arrested last week for alledgedly punching a cop in the face. Story has it that Hamilton was causing disturbances at several bars in Ohio and when he was approached by the officer, he clocked him. Hamilton has had several run-ins with the law (including being checked into a mental institution) this year as he currently sits in police custody. His bail is listed at $25, 000. Digg is like rims and tires. You didn’t just drops bars over the “Nas is Like” instrumentals. .... Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-19/ .... Sun, 19 Dec 2010 19:22:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-18/ .... Sat, 18 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/queen-bee-on-attack/ Dr. Dre teams up with Mafia Wars. You know that game that you can play via Facebook, called Mafia Wars? Yeah, well the doctor announced that he’s partnering up with the game to promote his long anticipated album, Detox. The 200 million some odd users of Mafia Wars will now be able to collect Dre inspired items in the game, as well as receive messages from Dre which are only available by playing. Sounds cool, I think I’ll stick to my NBA Jam for Genesis though. Razzle Dazzle! (I hope you Jam fans out there got that remark…otherwise I just seem foolish.) Kim doesn’t like Nicki, but actually worked with her. The Queen Bee says that she used to be good friends with Birdman’s brother and co-CEO of Cash Money, Slim Williams for a while and saw Nicki’s buzz as a way to jump start her own career. Kim and Nicki recorded together and Kim says that her verses came out stronger than Nicki’s, thus leading paving way for Barbie’s disses. .... Sat, 18 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1217/ .... Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-anthology-of-rap/ .... Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:53:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/n-oh-canada/ Cam’Ron and Vado banned from Canada! Killa filmed this twitvid from customs yesterday, apologizing to Montreal fans for their inability to make it to their show. The two were just there in the summer and apparently due to some stuff that happened in the past, they were declined entry. Vado was apparently declined due to a felony charge. Cam then tweeted, “they just told me NO!!! this some real bullshit!! we just was here a couple months ago! sayin i had machine gun in 03. fuckin makin shit up.” 6’7” was originally for T.I. Producer, Bangladesh revealed that his new track for Weezy was initially meant for T.I. Banglo had sent the beat over to T.I’s label first due to the troubles that he had with Cash Money at the time. Eventually the beat made its way back to Wayne who unleashed a fury on it. Cory Gunz who is featured on the track recalled making his verse for it in which Weezy told him to “Attack” the beat. George Clinton is suing BEP. The funk legend is filing a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Black Eyed Peas for sampling his 1979 song, “Knee Deep.” Apparently Clinton found out that the band had sampled his song on their’s “Shut Up” when he was approached by a producer for the rights to a “Shut Up Remix.” Clinton declined the usage and the track ended up being made anyways. To freshen up, “Knee Deep” is also the uncanny track that De La Soul used in “Me Myself & I.”.... Fri, 17 Dec 2010 02:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/election-in-11/ .... Fri, 17 Dec 2010 01:42:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1216/ .... Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/je-suis-de-compton/ From Compton to Paris. The Game has released a track with French rapper, La Fouine. The track is expected to release at any given moment as The Game has said that it would come out on December 15th. Oh and Game reveals another really dope aspect about the track, “The thing about it is, I’m rappin’ in French.” Say whaaaa. There’s a lot of great French hip-hop artists out there too. Let’s not forget about Eklips and his infamous beat box freestyles with DJ Scratch of EPMD. The Roots almost beefed with The Fugees. Holy shitake mushroom Batman! Questo of the Roots revealed in a recent interview that his boys almost had a beef with Wyclef, Lauryn and Pras of the legendary refugee crew. “I heard a rumor, somebody called me and said they started doing some 'Hip-Hop 101' thing at their show and was like, you know, 'If you see anybody else doing this [hip-hop band] thing, remember you saw it here first,' knowing that it was a lie,” Quest said. No HOF for LL and the Beasties. We heard news of the induction into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame of hip-hop legends, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys a while ago, but it looks like it won’t be happening this year. The two got have gotten out-staged yet again for the likes of Neil Diamond and Tom Waits among others. Side note: remember when LL called out the Beasties for being too rowdy? .... Thu, 16 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-15/ .... Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:58:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/cole-is-hot-beanz-is-gone/ Holy crow. Heard that new Weezy track “6’7” last night and got a major rush off it…therefore it is the source of my HANGOVER! Okay, okay…enough with the corn. Nonetheless… Hollywood Cole meets Nardwuar! As usual, Nardwuar does his homework to the point that J. Cole is just out right baffled! The clip is 10 minutes long but man is it ever worth it. Topics covered included Tupac, Kobe Bryant’s brief rap career and yep, you got it…a Master P doll. Beanz says Dame owes him some cheese. Former Roc-a-Fella member, Beanie Sigel says that former Roc co-founder, Dame Dash owes him about $11 million! “Roughly about, my lawyer, my own lawyer found about $11 million that Damon stole from me. Yeah. It's gone. He filed bankruptcy. I spent a million dollars just to say a person owes me; I have on a piece of paper that say he owe me some money,” Beanie said.” Wale to Maybach? Ricky has his eyes set on bringing Wale to his Maybach Music roster. Washington’s finest, Wale currently owns a seat at Roc Nation. .... Wed, 15 Dec 2010 02:55:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/some-healthy-news-for-yall/ .... Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:59:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/black-milk/ At some point in the near future someone is going to write an article about Curtis Cross that doesn't mention James Yancey. It's gotta happen, right? Cross a.k.a. Black Milk has been steady building his own legacy since he linked with Yancey a.k.a J Dilla in the early '00s and it's about time that we put a moratorium on the references and comparisons. Unless we're making a short-list of Detroit's dopest producers that is. Interviewer: Rodrigo Bascuñán Editor: Jonathan Lall Camera: Coburn Blair: Photos: Yannick Anton .... Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:45:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-14/ .... Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:12:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-13/ .... Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:36:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/death-of-a-pop-star/ 9th Wonder and David Banner take on the world of anime. As the dynamic duo set out to release their EP, Death of a Pop Star on December 21, they also plan on launching a comic strip to coincide with the hype of the album. In it, expect to see both with super powers as they take on hood issues such as poverty and discipline. Premo is set to release never-before-heard tracks with Guru. The super producer said that he’s got hours worth of tapes that have Guru’s vocals on them, that’s he’s just itching to cook up beats for. He also said that he’s got some clips that the master of Jazzmatazz did over in Europe, which was generously given to him via their respective producers. Yo Gotti wanted in Tennessee shooting. Southern rapper Yo Gotti has a warrant out for his arrest in connection with a six-person shooting at a night club in Tennessee that happened on November 29. According to police reports, three of the six were shot in the ba-donk-adonks. .... Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/ja-gets-2-and-fif/ One long ass beef takes its stage on Twitter. The on going beef between 50 Cent and Ja Rule upped the ante when the New Yorkers chose to take stabs at each other on Twitter. 50 rekindled the flame after making comments about Ja Rule’s court-ordered two-year sentence (attempted criminal possession of a weapon). Twitter got lit up as Ja brought the vulgarity while Fif brought the sass. Left side, strong side…Em’s a southpaw. Eminem is set to star in Southpaw, a boxing movie which is loosely based upon his life. His role is that of a welterweight boxer who goes through personal tragedy on his route to the championship. The film is sought to be a continuation of 8 Mile. New Cool Kids vid! “Big Talk” is the name.Looks like it was filmed in one of the suites during a Bulls game at the United Center..... Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-12/ .... Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:33:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/bizarre-x-craigslist/ Nottz & Asher are the newage version of PB & J. God bless’em, because Asher Roth and producer Nottz Raw have chosen to release a FREE EP album for the holidays. It’ll be called The Rawth and it’s set to drop December 27th. How bizarre, how bizarre? D12’s Bizarre is using Craigslist to get gigs. A posting for the rapper’s aid shows that he charges $500 a verse. Busssa Buss in this bitch! Who thinks that Busta’s voice and mannerisms are unbearably funny? Everyone, ok cool. So here’s this two year old video of Pharrell talking to Premo about a conversation he once had with Busta about the Jungle Brothers. His Busta impersonation is on point! Careful, because if you haven’t seen this video already, it promotes nothing but sheer and gut-riddling laughter. .... Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-11/ .... Sat, 11 Dec 2010 22:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/kush-rolled-glass-full/ Dre’s “Kush” premiered yesterday! Hope you didn’t forget about Dre because the video for Detox’s first official single, “Kush” dropped yesterday. I like that Snoop chose to do the pony-tailed bead thing with his hair again. Game wants a refund. The Game tweeted that he wanted his money back for the album that he bought and was recently encouraging everyone to buy all this time – former G-Unit member, Lloyd Banks’ Hunger For More 2. HA! I see you, Game. Fish will ride bikes in 2011. So Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids promised an album after they dropped their EP The Bake Sale, back 2008. We gotta give them some credit for releasing two more mixtapes since then, but still…no album. Partial reasoning is laid upon their departure from their old label, Chocolate Industries. Sir Mikey took to Twitter to reveal that the long anticipated album, When Fish Ride Bicycles is set to drop in 2011 plus two more surprises. .... Sat, 11 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-10/ .... Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:03:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/ye-leads-the-pack/ J. Cole wants a Grammy. The Cole-meister has an unreleased track which he believes can score him some Grammy hardware. “I pray to God. It's such an incredible song. I love it...It's a really J. Cole song, but in single form, big radio form, but still emotional, really deep, thought-provoking type of song,” he said in an interview. Apparently the hook of the song is breath-taking too, and all he needs now is to get the right person to sing it. Rollingstone Magazine votes Kanye #1. Ye received top album of the year for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. They praised the album for being the best “sprawlingly messy” comparison to Ye’s own life as well as for its “grandiose gestures that only the foolish attempt and only the wildly talented pull off. Oh and if you were wondering…TIME Magazine listed MBDTF as their top one of the year too! Both of these along with the fact that The Source already gave the album five mics…hot damn Kanye! Fat Joe knows the key to SUCCESS. The Bronx veteran said recently “I love Flo-Rida and all them, but I wont make that kinda music.” Joe says that he’s capable of putting party records out, but you won’t ever see them become too pop-oriented. Joe knows what he’s good at and chooses to stick with it. “Once again, I love Pitbull, Flo Rida and the music they make but some artists can't really be respected if they take that lane.”.... Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/where-the-goodie-mob-reunion-at/ According to Cee Lo Part 2: So… Do You Still Rap? Cee Lo Green, more fondly known as Cee Lo Goodie, has been making noise with his singing. His ubiquitous “Fuck You” was rated the No. 2 single of 2010 according to Rolling Stone, surrendering the No. 1 spot to Kanye West’s “Runaway.” But has Cee Lo flipped the bird to rhyming entirely? We asked the man. When was the last time you wrote a rap verse? Recently I’ve been opening myself back up to just kinda rapping. What people are rapping about these days… shit, all you gotta do is just look around the table at what’s going on. Sitting around doing an interview/ Blah, blah, blah, girl, I’m into you/ The occasions, blah, blah, blah, there’s been a few/ From the top of the Thompson, it’s been a view…. You feel me? You can do that. Next thing you know, you got 16 bars of that shit. You’re well on your way to having a rap song. It’s like, damn. Who cares? You want some meaning behind your words. I want something that sounds significant. Something that is significant. And something can sound significant just because you don’t understand what they fuck they’re talking about, but it may not mean shit. It may not apply to anything necessary in your life. A lot of music, but since we’re being specific, a lot of rap music does that. I like it, but I just don’t give a fuck about it. I don’t care. You sound good. But you want me to buy it? You want me to buy it? Well, shit, I don’t know. Tell me some more. But you don’t have those individuals that you want to hear more from anymore. When you heard Rakim or somebody like that, it’s like, oh, shit. This guy’s great. He’s greater than great. He might be the greatest of all time, ever. In my entire life, I’ve never heard anyone articulate like that. And his sound! Him, KRS-One. I used to love Brother J from X-Clan. These are the guys that made me want to rap. Not to compete with them, but to honour them. To say, “Hey, I’m inspired by you.” But our inspirations these days are competitive. It’s like [today] you’re inspired by someone when you think, I could do that. I could beat you at that. I’m inspired by the ones I couldn’t touch. You feel me? That’s the difference. There was some buzz about Goodie Mob reuniting about a year ago. Is there going to be a Goodie Mob record? It’s taking this long to do it because, first things first, we had to make this happen [read: Cee Lo’s solo success]. This had to happen first for the sake of tangibility and confirmation. I had to have some confirmation to my own word of saying, “I have a clue. I understand what should go on. Maybe you guys should trust me.” Labels, they need to see that kind of thing in dollars and cents. So I had to make Cee Lo Green work first, because then they’ll see Cee Lo Green as a franchise to make something formal. Not to say that I dictate whether or not Goodie Mob happens, but it sure helps a lot. 2009: Goodie Mob X DJ Drama Discuss Reuniting (and it feels so ’hood) LUKE FOX WROTE A BOOK FULL OF RAP STORIES. CHECK IT OUT HERE..... Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:56:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/u-k-tuition-triples/ .... Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-129/ .... Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:04:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-hangover-129/ The Gorillaz are contemplating an end. Everyone’s weird-ass, hip-hop fused cartoon characters, The Gorillaz have worked with names like De La Soul, Mos Def and Del The Funky Homosapien and are three albums deep. Jamie Hewlett, the band’s co-founder has revealed that they might be calling it quits at the end of the band’s world tour in January. He ain’t trippin’ folks!. Some people burned LL Cool J for putting out his 13th studio album, because he was “getting too old,” but damn Shorty! Too $hort apparently wants to become the oldest rapper to still be active in the game. “I wanna make more songs than anybody; I wanna be the oldest rapper who is active. I didn't set out to do this, but now that I'm doing it, I might as well do it to the fullest, like Brett Favre?” he said. Goof balls unite! MCA of the Beastie Boys is directing a film which was inspired by the band’s classic, “Fight For Your Right” and it stars the likes of Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen and Jack Black. The film is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. .... Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/no-you-can-t/ 1. U.S. President Barack Obama reached a deal with Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts to Americans, reversing a promise he campaigned on before becoming president. In 2008, he claimed tax cuts should only be extended for families that earn up to $250,000, But now, even those on the top of the money-making ladder will be seeing cuts in taxes. If this doesn't see a sudden increase in "Yes we Can" t-shirts at thrift stores, I don't know what will. Check out this video for why this makes Obama a, um, spineless president. 2. On this day 30 years ago, John Lennon was shot and killed in New York City. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of peace-chancing, musical god Lennon's passing, Rolling Stone released content from the last interview he ever conducted. Pretty powerful stuff, and it's definitely a day worth noting. I wonder what Lennon would have to say about the world now, given his opposition with the Vietnam War. R.I.P..... Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:49:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/babylon-system-don-cherry-still-crazy/ .... Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:17:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-8/ .... Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:56:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-hangover-12-8/ .... Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/re-visit-positively-4th-street-the-lives-and-times-of-joan-baez/ The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina and Richard Farina. David Hadju talks folk, I brings it back to the hop..... Tue, 07 Dec 2010 21:58:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-7/ .... Tue, 07 Dec 2010 21:50:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-12-7/ Dre parts with all 80, 000 of his records! The doc revealed in an interview that he has parted with most of his 80, 000 some odd records! He claims that he doesn’t use them anymore but decided to keep some of his favourites. Three of those include Curtis Mayfield’s Super Fly Soundtrack, Barry White’s Greatest Hits, and Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach which he admits is one of most favourite albums of all time. Get’cho SHYNE on. The Cash Money CEO recently said that he’s looking to do business with the now out-of-prison rapper but admits that talks regarding a Shyne’s new spot at Cash Money have died down. “I don't really know his situation with Def Jam, but we didn't really have a chance to come around to the business part. But I got respect for what he's doin' and what he is tryna do. We haven't got around to do no business yet, but you never know," Birdman said. Ain’t no fun if Willie can’t have none. Yes, yes ya’ll, Sir Snoop to the rescue! Snoopy D-O double G has come to the defence of Willie Nelson and his recent arrest for marijuana possession. "They better leave Willie the fuck alone why are the fucking with Willie Nelson," Snoop said. “Who's the motherfucker that arrested him?” Snoop added. “What you think you are going to gain by arresting Willie Nelson? He got out and he's back smoking right now." .... Tue, 07 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/babylon-system-126/ .... Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:55:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-126/ .... Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:25:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/j-cole-x-drake-live/ After Friday night's show Cole took to twitter to describe the night (above), he hit the proverbial on the proverbial head. Pound was in the house, giving out our crazy dope J. Cole poster and filming the event. Peep his performance with Drake below some more concert highlights to come.   .... Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:25:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-12-6/ Do The Right Thing makes: A Spike Lee Book. Spike Lee’s legendary film that spawned off a remarkable soundtrack is set to be released this Christmas season as a book. The book which was written by Spike and Jason Matloff will contain behind the scenes photos from the movie, as well as interviews and unreleased info that wasn’t included in the film. It will also focus in on how it was the focus of President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle’s, first date. B.I.G. saved the LOX. Sheek Louch of the LOX said in a recent interview that if it wasn’t for Biggie telling him not to, he along with Jadakiss and Styles P would have gotten in the same car that he murdered in. Sheek distinctly remembers everyone getting ready to head to DJ Clue’s party when B.I.G told him, “Don’t get in this van. Don't get in the fucking van. I guess I gotta go check something out.” Jigga doubles up against Bush. Jay-Z has responded to former President George Bush's comments about Kanye West and his comments (phew, take a breather). So we know that Kanye said that Bush didn't like black people, and how Bush said that he actually likes 'Ye and all, Jay-Z naturally sided with his Roc-a-fella. "Just the fact that he thinks that the worst thing that happened to him is Kanye saying something about him. Like, what? That alone shows you where his mind is. Are you kidding me?".... Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-5/ .... Sun, 05 Dec 2010 21:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-12-5/ They got Suge. Reports have it that Suge Knight was captured by police in Los Angeles on the night of December 3. Texas rappers unite for Pimp C charity event. Yesterday was the 3rd anniversary of the death of Pimp C. Slim Thug, Z-Ro, Devin the Dude and Michael Watts will all be in attendance for the 2nd annual Chad "Pimp C" Butler Hip Hop, Health & Wellness Fair. All will take the perform as well as promote the importance of physical examinations, HIV/STD testing, as well as diverting away from drugs. The event takes place on December 11. .... Sun, 05 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-4/ .... Sat, 04 Dec 2010 17:44:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-december-4-2010/ The Hangover December 4, 2010.... Sat, 04 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-3/ .... Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:22:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-123/ DECEMBER 3, 2010 Q-Tip doesn't support the Tribe documentary. On Tuesday we wrote about how Michael Rapaport said that his Tribe documentary was set to release by the end of the year. Yesterday it was made known that the doc had actually been submitted to the Sundance Film Festival...oh and also that Tip disapproves of it. The Abstract took to Twitter late yesterday afternoon, tweeting his disapproval for the film since the maker "isn't honoring the band's requests." Premo's got a secret Hova track. DJ Premier recently said in an interview that he had an unreleased Jay-Z track that they worked on together. It's a diss track and Jay apparently goes off on a lot of names, to which Premo won't mention. He said they made it around the time that Reasonable Doubt came out and that Jay was "really slick with it." Premo said that the track is something he'll take with himself to his grave. Ricky Roze'EVE! Rick Ross has announced that he plans to release a Christmas Eve mixtape called Ashes to Ashes. This will be his first work since he released Teflon Don. - MATT ING .... Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:01:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/the-12-02-wrap-up/ .... Thu, 02 Dec 2010 23:14:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-2/ .... Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:03:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/iran-so-far-away/ .... Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:33:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/big-k-r-i-t-cant-be-all/ .... Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:55:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/jay-electronicas-sweet-16s/ In what might could go down as the world’s briefest interview, Pound occupied five minutes of Jay Electronica’s life. Since the newest member of Roc Nation’s seemingly all-J arsenal is known for some pretty potent quotables, we asked him for his three personal favourite verses. The best Jay Elec bars, according to Jay Elec. File this within a folder created by Jay’s new boss, Jay. It’s titled “Do You Fools Listen to Music or Do You Just Skim Through It.” “Annakin’s Prayer” My eyes is red like ketchup/ Tired of playing catch-up/ Laying on the floor, starring at my dresser… “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul?” It’s just make up to break up/ Cryin’ all the time, baby, messin’ up your makeup/ Tryin’ to scratch my face up/ She say, “I need communication, Jay, but you don’t say much”/ I know it ain’t OK, but/ I’m from where niggas keep their mouth closed and their gate shut… jay-electronica-Whos Gonna_Save_My_Soul.mp3 “Extra Extra” In one single bound/ Went from M-Y-S-P-A-C-E Man/ To MP3 Man/ To MTV, man/ All by the willpower of my great skull like He-Man… LUKE FOX WROTE A BOOK FULL OF RAP STORIES. CHECK IT OUT HERE. MORE HYPEMEN: According to Cee-Lo: What Singing Should Sound Like Baby’s First Playlist Eyedea: A Segue to Something Greater Soul Sensation Sharon Jones Speaks on that Crazy Rap Music that These Kids Today Be Listening To.... Thu, 02 Dec 2010 10:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-122/ 1) So this is what it has come to now...huh Cass? Now I'm not gonna get on this guy's case because I know he can dub my ass in a freestyle anyday of the week, but cot damn dude, freestyling at a strip club!? I was really hoping for your career to jet when you released "Hotel" with Kels, but this kinda shit isn't gonna cut it. No damn hoochie mamas are gonna co-sign you into rap stardom... Melo please get my man in check! 2) Curren$y is a "Reefer-lutionary!" Curren$sy took some time to break down what both he and Wiz Khalifa strongly believe in...pot...lots and lots of pot. "we are “reefer-lutionaries”. We are not cutting our hair, we spending money on pot and that it! " he says at one point." MTV Shows 3) The one award show that doesn't matter to us has released its annual nominees. Yep, I'm talking about the Grammys. Eminem leads with 10 and Jigga has 6. Drizzy has 4. I live for the day that I see a winning hip-hop artist who isn't on top 40 radio. Real hip-hop's on the streets folks! -Matt Ing .... Thu, 02 Dec 2010 10:10:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/the-121-wrap-up/ .... Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:39:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/a-tax-on-the-poor/ A series of new ads in the UK by Lowe Brindfors, out of Stockholm, for the UK-based Save the Children, made me think of the difference between First World problems and Third World problems like when my bb fails to function or my Bentley won't start in the winter. .... Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-12-01/ .... Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:04:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-121/ DECEMBER 1, 2010 Beats, Rhymes and Fights is almost done! Actor/Director, Michael Rapaport's documentary on A Tribe Called Quest is slated to come out by the end of the year. “It’s a rock and roll-style documentary which is about Tribe—which is one of my favorite groups. It’s been fun and hopefully we’ll have it done and ready for 2010," he said in a radio interview. Amazon fucks over Joell Ortiz. So it turns out that Ortiz's long-awaited sophmore album, Free Agent is being sold on Amazon.com...three months too soon! The album was supposed to be released yesterday (Nov. 30) but was pushed back until 2011. The Slaughterhouse member took to Twitter about the advance on his album. Snoop records "Wet" for Prince Will's bachelor party. The Dogfather has made a follow up track to 2008's "Sexual Eruption." "Wet" is produced by members of The Far East Movement and apparently it is dedicated to the Prince's bachelor party. “When I heard the royal family wanted to have me perform in celebration of Prince William’s marriage, I knew I had to give them a little something." He then added that, 'Wet’ is the perfect anthem for Prince William or any playa to get the club smokin’," Snoop said. Beats, Rhymes and Fights is almost done! Actor/Director, Michael Rapaport's documentary on A Tribe Called Quest is slated to come out by the end of the year. “It’s a rock and roll-style documentary which is about Tribe—which is one of my favorite groups. It’s been fun and hopefully we’ll have it done and ready for 2010," he said in a radio interview. Amazon fucks over Joell Ortiz. So it turns out that Ortiz's long-awaited sophmore album, Free Agent is being sold on Amazon.com...three months too soon! The album was supposed to be released yesterday (Nov. 30) but was pushed back until 2011. The Slaughterhouse member took to Twitter about the advance on his album. Snoop records "Wet" for Prince Will's bachelor party. The Dogfather has made a follow up track to 2008's "Sexual Eruption." "Wet" is produced by members of The Far East Movement and apparently it is dedicated to the Prince's bachelor party. “When I heard the royal family wanted to have me perform in celebration of Prince William’s marriage, I knew I had to give them a little something." He then added that, 'Wet' is the perfect anthem for Prince William or any playa to get the club smokin’," Snoop said. .... Wed, 01 Dec 2010 09:09:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-30/ .... Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/marco-polo/ Canada's very own Marco Polo did what so many dream of, he packed his bags and told the T.Dot to kiss his white azz (word to MC Ren) and relocated to NYC. And thanks to trailblazers like Marco, your Canuck ass can now stay home and succeed from right here. You can thank him now. .... Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:44:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1130/ NOVEMBER 30, 2010 Jay Electronica taking hip-hop to a new plateau. Jay-Elect spoke recently in an interview, saying that he's raising the bar for hip-hop. He says that travelling around the world, to different places, has given him an edge over most rappers. "People are afraid to go into an environment they are completely unfamiliar with," he explains. "For me, my life is a journey. Nothing against Drake, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Kanye West, but they're in a certain kind of machine that doesn't afford them the freedom to do that," he said. The 'Bama Who Cried Wolf. A mini-documentary of Yelawolf is out that takes us to Yela's old Alabama stomping grounds. The doc helps illustrate the Alabama he was used to and also what it was like being homeless skateboarder at People's Park. Nas' List...You on it? The Nastiest one compiled a list that is featured in Rolling Stone where he ranks his top 10 lyricists and their best lyrically entrenched songs, with a brief synopsis for a few: 1. "My Downfall" - Notorious B.I.G., 1997 -The lyrics are about how he's acing the shadows of death, despite all of his success, and he's giving it to you in a way that makes it seem so real. 2. "If My Homie Calls" - 2Pac, 1991 -He's just saying to his boys that he's going to be a friend no matter how big he gets. 3. "Road To The Riches" - Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo, 1989 -The way we're rhyming now? He was already doing it then. 4. "A Bird In The Hand" - Ice Cube, 1991 5. "Paid In Full" - Eric B. & Rakim, 1987 6. "I'm Single" - Lil Wayne, 2010 -I'm recently divorced, so I feel what he's saying. 7. "Tears of Joy" - Rick Ross, 2010 -Ross is at the pulpit here. 8. "The Moment I Feared" - Slick Rick, 1988 - It's cinematic. He's at a hip-hop show and ices this girl who played him, then he's in prison getting violated by some dude. This was unheard of. 9. "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z, 2009 -This song is huge. It sounds like Broadway. It's New York's modern anthem. 10. "Queen B*tch" - Lil' Kim, 1996 -At the time, females rappers didn't appeal to the street, but Kim came with the vulgarity, sexuality and gangster shit. .... Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:12:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/bab/ .... Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:18:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-29/ .... Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:38:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/hip-hop-vs-society-s-violence-round-infinity-toronto-edition/ .... Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:25:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1129/ NOVEMBER 29, 2010 Don't hold up for South Central State of Mind. Nipsey Hussle announced that his debut album, South Central State of Mind will be postponed until further notice. Nipsey says that his decision was made for the betterment of the album. He still ensures that he will be putting out new music in the meantime. Copyright Criminals: a tale of record sampling. A new documentary is set to air on PBS this week regarding the ownership of a sampled record. Hip-hop evidently involves a lot of music sampling from a variety of genres. New records are essentially a compilation of old ones. In the end you are left with something new. The documentary features interviews with De La Soul, Chuck D and Pete Rock. Check out the trailer. Swizzy speaks on X. The Ruff Ryder producer recently had an interview where he discussed his feelings about recently re-incarcerated and friend, DMX. Swizzy said that X has had a hard life and that he prays for him everyday. He also made a bold statement when he said, "You can't help someone if they're not willing to help themselves." - MATT ING 2) Copyright Criminals: a tale of record sampling. A new documentary is set to air on PBS this week regarding the ownership of a sampled record. Hip-hop evidently involves a lot of music sampling from a variety of genres. New records are essentially a compilation of old ones. In the end you are left with something new. The documentary features interviews with De La Soul, Chuck D and Pete Rock. Check out the trailer. 3) Swizzy speaks on X. The Ruff Ryder producer recently had an interview where he discussed his feelings about recently re-incarcerated and friend, DMX. Swizzy said that X has had a hard life and that he prays for him everyday. He also made a bold statement when he said, "You can't help someone if they're not willing to help themselves." .... Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:03:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/according-to-cee-lo/ .... Sun, 28 Nov 2010 23:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-28/ .... Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1128/ NOVEMBER 28, 2010 Beastie boys admit they can't be as funny after MCA's diagnosis. The trio from the boroughs who have made a name for themselves which can best be described as flagellent, robotic eggheads have admitted that it's tougher to make goofy rhymes after Adam Yauch's cancer diagnosis. Mike D says that it is tough but they also want to enjoy themselves at the same time and make people happy. Young Buck's "Just so Ya Know." Amidst the Funk Flex drama, Buck is now saying that he knows that Flex disses him! He claims that it's because of his departure from G-Unit. Oh and for the record, Buck's saying that he's only saying all of this in a "just to let us know" kind of way... He wants no beef with Flex. - MATT ING .... Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:59:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-27/ .... Sat, 27 Nov 2010 16:37:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1127/ NOVEMBER 27, 2010 Your Airness responds to controversial King James commercial. Okay, so by now you've all seen Lebron's Nike ad where he bears the question, "What should I have done?" Well in that video, he also asks "Should I have just sold shoes?" Many took this as a shot at Jordan, since he pretty much changed the way sneakers would be looked at forever. The King of Air came back with a response, "Stop making excuses." Check out the video. Kurtis Blow to host Hip Hop Hall of Fame Awards. And these are the (commercial) breaks! Hip-hop pioneer, Kurtis Blow is set to host the HHHOF in April of next year. Expect to see Kool Herc, GrandMaster Caz, Easy A.D., Ice T, Lord Yoda, and Popmaster Fabel. Budden tells Kimmy to hush up. Over the course of the week we have witnessed both Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim take shots at Nicki Minaj. Kim has been pursuing the feud (Nicki is too), and Slaughterhouse member, Joe Budden has had it up to HERE and is telling her to step down. Budden is quoted saying "Someone needs to tell her enough is enough." Take it from the master of Mood Music to let you know if your shitty "mood" is unnecessary..... Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:17:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-11-26/ .... Fri, 26 Nov 2010 19:47:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1126/ NOVEMBER 26, 2010 OnSmash.com got closed down. This is the image you see when you visit the hip-hop website, OnSmash.com. Apparently the site has been seized by ICE - the United States Homeland Security. Any details aren't for certain, but is probably related to the Senate's recent approval to seize websites. On another note, I should point out that OnSmash wasn't the only file-sharing site to be shut down. Others such as RapGodFathers which also offer free mixtape downloads have been confiscated also, so it seems like the Feds aren't taking this very lightly. Season One is on it's way! So we heard word of our boy and fellow Torontonian, Saukrates early on this year that he was to release his long anticipated second album, entitled Season One, we just didn't know when. Well,Big Soxx tweeted late last night that the album will most definitely be droppin' in 2011! Expect to see dudes like K-Os and even Soxx's Gilla House homey, Redman on there too. AZ plans on retiring. After the release of Doe or Die 2 in 2011, AZ revealed that he plans on hanging up his mic. .... Fri, 26 Nov 2010 09:50:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-11-25/ By Eric Zaworski.... Thu, 25 Nov 2010 21:01:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-ninety-nine-1125/ .... Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:32:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1125/ NOVEMBER 25, 2010 Murs urges all rappers to invest! Everyone's favourite big-ass dreadlock bearing emcee, Murs spoke up about what he thinks rappers should do incase their careers go down the tube...buy property. Watch the video for his complete financial break-down and just like the great Wu-Financial taught us, diversify your bonds! "Warning Shots" aimed at Funk Master Flex. We''ve been following the Funk Flex/Tupac fiasco for a couple of days now...so why drop it? The latest news is that long time OGs and friends of Tupac (Pac also formed the group), The Outlawz have released a diss track on Flex. The track is called "Warning Shots," and in it the Immortalz not only poke names at the New York DJ, but also accuse him of taking bribes. .... Thu, 25 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1124/ War ain't shit. .... Wed, 24 Nov 2010 21:34:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99/ .... Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:30:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1124/ NOVEMBER 24, 2010 Lupe times two in 2011! Lupe Fiasco announced on a radio station that he plans on releasing two albums in the upcoming year. Lasers is the first and possibly maybe even a Food & Liquor II? Q-Tip reveals plans for newer edition of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy via Twitter. The Abstract squealed the news on Twitter saying that the two tracks which you probably didn't find on your recently purchased copy of MBDTF ("Chain Heavy" and "Mama's Boyfriend") will be included on the newer version. The new pressing will probably be released around Christmas. Nasty Nas hits Hawaii Five-0. Any of ya'll catch Hawaii Five-0 two nights back? Well check your PVR or something because you missed Nas showcasing his acting skills once again! The Belly star played "Gordon Smith," yep, a bad guy. Check the video for a brief scene of Escobar gettin' his Hollywood on. .... Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:43:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1123/ NOVEMBER 23, 2010 Shyne is Jewish! Born in Belize and raised in Brooklyn, Shyne can be seen in this video describing his faith in Judaism. In the video, the rapper is in Jerusalem and explains how Judaism helped him get through his 10-year sentence. He also explains that he could be anywhere in the world, but it would do him no good compared to this trip. A cool bit of info is that in the 1990s there were about 200,000 black Jews in the US. Flex speaks out on "I don't fuck with Pac" comments. Funkmaster Flex said that the reason why he said those things about the late Tupac Shakur is simply because he had to address how he really felt. He said that he "doesn't have to love Tupac like that" and that the late rapper brought a negative vibe to the game. His response came after virtually everyone from your grandmomma to OG Ice-T responded to his original comment. Now introduing, the Wu-Block. Sweeeeet. So it turns out that every member of the Wu-Tang Clan and D-Block will team up together for an album this upcoming year. Both crews have worked together in the past, the most notable coming from Jadakiss and Styles P's appearance on the Chef's Cuban Linx 2 album, but this should be pretty cool to have them team up for albums in entirety. The first album will most likely be coming from Sheek Louch who announced via Twitter that he was gearing up to lace up some tracks with Ghostface. .... Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:09:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/pre-sent-press-the-substance-of-hope/ Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress by William Jelani Cobb.... Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:20:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1122/ 1. Mission in Afghanistan vaguely extended to 2014 Following the two-day NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal that ended over the weekend, NATO countries pledged a commitment to Afghanistan until 2014. However, that date is entirely speculative, much like Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former pledge to withdraw troops by next July. While the remaining troops next year would be in a “military training” role, an extension of the current mission warns that Canada may be involved in Afghanistan longer than previously thought. Read on at The Globe and Mail. 2. The Pope says condom use is ok sometimes In an interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, Pope Benedict XVI said that in some cases, like “perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom,” it is a way of responsible acting. The Pope said this in response to a question on fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa, where the spread of AIDS is very rampant. Coming from the same Pope who deemed that condom use makes the spread of sexually transmitted diseases worse, this is a pretty big change of heart. Still, I wouldn’t expect to see condom vending machines in the bathrooms at Mass anytime soon. More from the Associated Press. 3. Sarah Palin deems 2008 interview with Katie Couric “a waste of time” Republican Vice President-hopeful-turned-reality TV “star” Sarah Palin tells Fox News she has no intention to be interviewed by CBS reporter Katie Couric again. No surprise there. Though despite the comical responses, it wasn’t a total waste of time. It did spawn a pretty great SNL skit, after all. More at The Huffington Post. .... Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:31:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1122/ .... Mon, 22 Nov 2010 09:47:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1121/ NOVEMBER 21, 2010 1. Flex Disses Pac. Here's a video of Funk Master Flex at some show saying that he "doesn't fuck with Pac!" 2. Royal Snoop. Prince Harry, the brother of soon to be wed, Prince William has requested that Snoop Dogg performs at the royal engagement party for Kate Middleton and his brother. I wonder if the royal fam prefer gin n' juice over scotch on the rocks... 3. Scrap any that midnight train to Georgia, Wesley's takin' that Money Train to PRISON. Actor, Wesley Snipes, star of great classics such as "White Men Can't Jump" and "Money Train" is going to jail for not paying his taxes. Snipes has apparently made $38 million over the past 12 years and hasn't filed for any taxes since 2006. .... Sun, 21 Nov 2010 09:35:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1120/ 1) Wouldn't it be nice to say that DMX was actually out of jail? Well too bad. The Dog MC was arrested yesterday in Arizona for cocaine possession among other charges which include the failure to make payments and driving on a suspended license. The rapper also refuses to submit any drug testing as well participate in any sort of rehab. X was just on parole after an assault conviction. 2) SAY IT AIN'T SO! A video popped up on the web that is an apparent commercial for an upcoming Dipset Reunion concert. One could only hope that this is true...and that they come to a city near you! 3) Missed You Much, Janet! Janet Jackson has revealed that she is setting her sights on a 35 city world tour and asked fans online where they would like her to perform. Ms. Jackson, please come to Toronto...please, please, please, please, please! (Yeah, so I'm a big Janet Jackson fan...big whoop, wanna fight about it?) .... Sat, 20 Nov 2010 10:02:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/present-press-born-to-use-mics/ Reading Nas's Illmatic, edited by Micahel Eric Dyson and Sohail Daulatzai.... Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:28:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1119/ NOVEMBER 19, 2010 1. T.I.'s tired of jail. ATL star, T.I. has admitted that he is sick of being in and out of jail. "This experience is truly a pain I have never felt before and that's saying a lot for a n*ggaa who's been down locked up as many times as I have," Tip said. "I see this as a real ass whoopin'. The kind you don't just go back outside to play afterwards. You take ya ass to bed and don't come out of your room until it's time to go to school." After being released on probation back in March from a one year sentence, Tip was arrested again in September and now faces another 11 months behind bars. Tip's wife, Toya, was arrested on drugs charges with him and her trial is set for January 6. 2. Foxy pleas not-guilty to mooning charge. Foxy Brown was in Brooklyn Supreme Court Tuesday, fighting a charge laid on her by her neighbour. Her neighbour claims that Foxy pulled her pants down and mooned her during an argument. The alleged incident came after the same neighbour tacked a protective order against Foxy after a BlackBerry was thrown at her. BK's chyna doll could face up to one year if convicted for violating the protective order made by her neighbour. 3. Two Letters, N.O. So it turns out that Rihanna was offered a Playboy cover but she said nah. Sorry fellas. Oh and here's a sweet video that came up of Diggy freestyling over Mobb's "Shook Ones." .... Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:51:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/dj-premier-interview/ .... Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:15:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1118/ NOVEMBER 18, 2010 1. Ross and Jeezy tensions rising. Rick Ross commented on the video that leaked earlier this month which had Jeezy trash talkin' the Teflon Don. Although Ross' name was never dropped, Jeezy made it pretty obvious who he was talking about. Ross answered back saying "I actually got to see the footage of him walking on South Beach down Collins Ave. and he played his self," Ross told Westwood. "...If you really got an issue, put it on the table like a G. Walking down Collins Ave, you played yourself. You'll get that took from you." To freshen up, the video has Jeezy walking down the streets of Miami saying stuff like "Where your favourite rapper?...I don't see that n*gga." 2. More Beef... this time between a country and a rap group. Protesters in Amsterdam are P.O'd with Jedi Mind Tricks. Gay right activists are claiming that the group's lyrics are homophobic and planned on protesting the JMT's show last night. 3. Who You Wit!? After the epic signing of Jay Electronica to Roc Nation, the Roc's squad consists of a mighty team of three emcees all of whose names begin with "Jay" - Jay-Z, Jay Electronica, and J. Cole (ok, ok "J" too). Could this newly formed combination of lethal "J's" compare to the last wave which came back in the early '90s with the Dallas Mavericks and their team of Three J's, consisting of Jamal Mashburn, Jimmy Jackson, and Jason Kidd. Hmmmm.... do we sense complete and utter world domination this time around?.... Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:45:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/this-just-in-lps-irrelevant/ As a high schooler, I remember running to Toronto's Play De Record and Traxx to cop the latest mixtapes by Mastermind and DJ Clue back when they really were casette tapes (90s babies, go ask your parents). That was until the music industry stepped in and had the cops scruck up the program... Well, those mixtapes have clearly been vindicated. They are an unstoppable force. J. Cole criticizes the selfishness that the modern availability of mixtapes reveals, rapping on "The Autograph": "Shout out to the bootleggers who supply my shit / And the fans online tryin to find my shit / And to the niggaz listenin but won't buy my shit... An album ten dollars, you act like it's ten Gs / This food for thought costs the same as two number threes..." Hey, I'm selfish. I could make a thousand excuses: "I already bought enough $20 dollar CDs in my life... I paid my dues..." "I don't wanna contribute to the music industry's exploitation of artists..." blah... blah... blah... Fact is, online mixtapes make music available before retailers, a lot of the stuff I download is quickly binned, and $10 bucks is infinitely more than nothing. Sure, artists' sales suffer, and labels don't sign as many artists. I can live with those consequences. In those immortally meaningless and indifferent words, it is what it is... To honour the unstoppability of mixtapes, I've compliled a list of my recent favourites, in no particular order. Despite the injunction, Limewire still functions... .... Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:52:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1117/ NOVEMBER 17, 2010 1. Hov. 4. Life. Jigga's "Decode" contest just got a whole lot more interesting. The premise of the contest is to figure out where Jay and Bing (the search engine) have hidden each page of his new autobiography, which are scattered across the globe. The pages are physically placed in significant spots but Bing offers hints and if you answer all of them correctly, you will be placed in a draw that will...(808 drums please)...win you two tickets to every Jay-Z show in the world...until you die! 2. Damn, I done walked in here, lookin' like a motherfuckin' man of the year! Drizzy done did what he said he would do. Toronto's hottest emcee graces the cover of GQ's Man of the Year issue and he was even voted their "Breakout Star of the Year." I think it's safe to say that a complete world take over is in his near future. Cue Cube's "Bow Down." Actually, cue up something better than that. 3. Swizzy X Reebok. Yep, another rapper/shoe collabo. This time The Monstah himself, Swizz Beats, is teaming up with Reebok to launch a hi-top which looks very much like a crossbreed between Kanye's Air Yeezy and Reebok's Zigtech. All in all, the soles of those joints look mad comfy. .... Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:18:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/j-period/ Brooklyn-based, but LA-born, DJ J. Period, has made a name for himself through his expertly crafted mixtapes featuring headwrap and incense favorites like The Roots, De La Soul, Q-Tip and K'naan. We caught up with J. Period during his stop in Toronto for Manifesto's yearly festival to talk to him about his craft..... Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:36:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-11-16/ NOVEMBER 16, 2010 1. Redman is the Wu's official 11th member. The Funk Doc Spot thought that it was time 4 some akshon, stating that he had actually become a member back in 2005. He also said that Meth is and has been a member of Def Squad for quite some time as well.   2. The Blitz puts on a Fritz. CNN "The Situation Room's" Wolf Blitzer was invited to the taping of the 2010 Soul Train Awards and look at what they got this cat to do! For all the youngins, the dance that everybody including your mom and grams are doing, "The Dougie," stems from Doug E. Fresh, hence the name. In the video, watch Wolf do his best version of the dance craze alongside the the human beatbox.   3. Salut Diddy, you sure can sell your vodka. Okay, so he might not be the best at promoting actual artists...cough.. Jay Electronica... cough.. (promise that's the last Jay Electronica reference..) but he sure knows how to sell his vodka! Since Diddy joined the Ciroc camp back in 2007, sales have sky rocketed, thus making it the 2nd best selling vodka in America!.... Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:12:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/nneka-interview/ Nigerian-German artist Nneka has channeled her unique experience of growing up in Africa and Europe to create music that has a global sound and message. Nneka told Pound that she wants to put Africa in "a new, positive light" instead of the negative images that she feels most westerners associate with the continent. The gifted songstress slash rapper also discussed the need for new leaders in Africa, the inspirations for her records and how she never intended to be a musician. Interviewer: Chantle Beeso Camera: Rodrigo Bascuñán Editor: Jonathan Lall .... Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:53:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/j-cole-friday-night-lights/ Pound's December cover artist, J. Cole, dropped the much anticipated Friday Night Lights mixtape at midnight. The massive demand broke the interwebs, but as another light-skindededed brother likes to say, "we got chu." DOWNLOAD IT! Peep our behind the scenes video from our J. Cole cover shoot. .... Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:38:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/media/life-as-a-fish-nerd/ .... Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:07:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/this-is-what-the-iraq-war-looks-like/ .... Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:29:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/wiz-khalifa-full-interview/ .... Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:16:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/babys-first-playlist/ .... Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:51:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1110/ NOVEMBER 10, 2010 1. Curtis Jackson teams up with Internet uber-hero Keenan Cahill 50 finally finds a suitable replacement for Game. Look for his cameo at 1:22. 2. Weezy hit with paternity suit. A Missouri grandmother has a court-ordered DNA test for Lil Wayne to prove he sired her grandchild. Weezy's already got four kids and is working really hard (pause) on challenging the NY Jets' Antonio Cromartie for the Baby Daddy Crown (see video). 3. George W. Bush forgives Kanye, says, "I'm not a hater." When Dubya says he's "not a hater" does he say it in the hip-hop sense or in his unique Dubya-speak? In any case, after Kanye apologized to Bush several times in interviews recently, the former POTUS said he forgives Kanyeyo. Usually we'd give props to the apologetic, but fuck apologizing to Bush. (Photo apropos of Bush liking black people.).... Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:27:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/alchemist-oh-no-gangrene/ .... Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:49:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-wiz-khalifas-arrest/ NOVEMBER 9, 2011 Wiz Khalifa (government name: Cameron Thomaz) was arrested and detained Monday night in Greenville, North Carolina on several marijuana and possession charges after police searched his tour bus. It's been reported that 60 grams of marijuana were found and that nine other people were also arrested. Police officials from Pitt County confirmed to MTV that Wiz was booked at around 1:30 a.m. He posted $300,000 bail and was released from detention at around 8 a.m. EST. Wiz has been charged with a felony count of trafficking in marijuana, a felony count of maintaining a dwelling/vehicle/place for sale or storage of marijuana and one misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. We spoke to attorney, and shareholder of the law firm Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney, Stuart P. Slotnick, regarding Wiz' prospects. What does it mean that he's been charged with a felony? Stuart P. Slotnick: "Because it’s a felony it means that he could be sentenced to greater than a year in jail. But it’s not a tremendous amount of marijuana, and it may be a felony on the books, but I don’t think that most people think that that is a major serious felony." What are some of the issues in the case? Stuart P. Slotnick: "You have to assume that the bus is big enough for people to sleep on. So the question is why did they arrest Wiz Khalifa? Could it have been someone else’s weed? "They have to somehow prove beyond a reasonable doubt, which is an extremely high standard, whose it was. The prosecution here has a high burden from the outset of proving that the confiscated marijuana belonged to Wiz Khalifa. When they arrest nine people they are implying that it was all nine people’s marijuana, that makes it problematic when you go to trial and you want to prove whose it actually was. Is it possible that it was the bus driver’s? Yeah, it’s possible. That makes it difficult to convict someone if you get a fair jury. "The next issue is was the seizure and the search of the bus lawful? Was it a constitutional search (which is protected under the Fourth Amendment) Did the police conduct a proper search of this bus. If it’s proven that the warrant shouldn’t have been gotten then the entire case could be dismissed because the evidence that was seized should be suppressed. That’s called 'fruit of the poisonous tree.'" What's a likely outcome? Stuart P. Slotnick: "The prosecution may want to offer him a plea deal, acknowledging that there are some issues here. So he may be offered some petty misdemeanor or a plea deal that may be worthwhile for him to just get over with. On the other hand, if they want to take this to trial than the prosecution is going to have to prove that it was Wiz Khalifa’s." POUND'S VERDICT: Wiz walks. .... Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:17:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-119/ .... Mon, 08 Nov 2010 22:12:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/pusha-t-kanye-west-fire/ .... Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:15:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-118/ .... Sun, 07 Nov 2010 22:05:00 EST http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/bun-b-contest/ YO! Dear faithful reader, we have a likkle something for y'allses (at least the ones in Toronto): Bun B tickets! Lots of them. How do you win the tix? Sign up to our mailing list. Das all. .... Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-113/ NOVEMBER 3, 2010 1. Bush says Kanye's statement was worst moment of his presidency. In Pound's view this absolves Kanye of a lot of his douchebaggery. On the flip side, this only makes Bush more of dick. Bush told MSNBC "It was one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency." More at Yahoo News. 2. Republicans take House of Representatives, fall short in Senate. So the Teabaggin worked on the old folks. But I'd like to remind everyone of this. 3. Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson proves that Delaware's Republican candidate Christine O'Donnell is not a witch. Fucking eh, Neil. A good takeaway from last night's election results is that in most places crazy Americans are still outnumbered by a good 18%. Except in Wisconsin where the only Senator to vote against the PATRIOT Act, Russ Feingold, lost, and the crazies won. .... Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:07:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-112/ NOVEMBER 2, 2010 1. Kid Cudi stumbles around drunk. Totally not newsworthy. But totally hilarious. At least he ain't doing coke no mo'. 2. Drake gives Lamborghini away on stage. Drake gave J.Prince's (founder of Rap-A-Lot Records) son, Jas, a Lambo for his 23rd birthday as a thank you for introducing Drake to Lil Wayne. 3. T.I. begins sentence. T.I. reported for prison duty yesterday, arriving in a black Chevy Suburban (but who was he wearing!?). Tip, neé, Clifford Harris, will be doing his time in the luxurious Forrest City minimum-security prison for a weapons violation. Dude, stay out of jail. It's not that fucking hard. .... Tue, 02 Nov 2010 09:27:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-111/ NOVEMBER 1, 2010 1. Brazil elects its first female president. Dilma Rouseff, a former Marxist rebel (as she will forever be suffixed), won the election with 56% of the vote. Rouseff was heavily backed by outgoing president, Lula. While studying economics in college, Rouseff joined the National Liberation Command that fought the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. She was jailed and tortured in the early 1970s. More from the BBC. 2. Republicans conspire to bring down Sarah Palin. See here, as repulsive as Palin is to Democrats the prevailing wisdom is that if she does manage to get on the presidential ticket in 2012 then Obama will easily be reelected. This is not what Republicans want (which is different from what the Teabaggers want), so they've mobilized to KILL IT WITH FIRE. Via NPR. 3. Latin Americans poised for big gains in US election tomorrow. Unfortunately, it's mostly for the Republicans. Blecchh. Raul Grijalva (pictured above) is one of the few Dems from the brown side of the tracks and the GOP is trying to ruin his life. The rest of the hermanos are fucking sell-outs to the cause. .... Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:25:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-111/ NOVEMBER 1, 2010 1. Kanye's busy weekend: finished MBDTF, revealed the tracklist and then got busy on his Jay-Z collaboration, Watch The Throne. On Saturday 'Ye revealed that the album had been completed and made public the tracklist via this twitter pic below. Then early Sunday he twittered that he's already in the studio working on Watch The Throne. And he also showed the world his dilznick. Ya' know. The usual. Below is the fourth cover (plus the other three for those not consumed by his every move). Final Tracklisting (as reported by Fakeshore Drive and verified by Yeyo himself): 1. Dark Fantasy 2. Gorgeous f. KiD CuDi & Raekwon 3. Power f. Dwele 4. All Of the Lights (Interlude) 5. All Of the Lights f. Alicia Keys, Charlie Wilson, Elly Jackson, Elton John, Fergie, John Legend, KiD CuDi, Rihanna, Ryan Leslie, The-Dream & Tony Williams 6. Monster f. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver 7. So Appalled f. Jay-Z, Pusha T, CyHi Da Prynce, Swizz Beatz & RZA 8. Devil In A New Dress feat. Rick Ross 9. Runaway f. Pusha T 10. Hell Of A Life 11. Blame Game f. John Legend 12. Lost In The World 13. Who Will Survive In America 14. See Me Now [Bonus] 2. Hammer responds to Jay-Z. In response to Jigga's dis on Kanye's "So Appalled," Hammer has made a song and video, "Better Run Run" where he basically accuses Jay-Z of being the devil. A God vs. Devil beef? I don't see how this could go wrong. Aaannd the video. .... Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/going-loko/ Around the 'net I've been hearing a lot about this drink called Four Loko. It was on CNN, New York Times even Byron Crawford blogged about it. Apparently the company has been involved in some shady dealings. Four Loko set up a Facebook page through one of its employees and then denied doing so you can read about that here. They may or may not have also funded this music video by the appropriately titled feces' Fese. And click below for a Lil Wayne clone and another video that may or may not have been funded by Four Loko. I'm having a strange urge to try this drink, hopefully I won't be hospitalized..... Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:32:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1028/ OCTOBER 28, 2010 1. Drake wants another crack at Jay-Z collabo. The temptation to write fan-lit based on the above photo is very strong. Drake tells MTV that he'd like to do something more musical with Jay, less of "all that rapping." MTV also inform Drake that Jay owes him a verse. Snitches. 2. Kanye reveals album artwork for iTunes. In the olden times people would say, "do not adjust your television set." But "television" sounds so outdated. Kids these days call them stationary video boxes or "The Stavibo." Swear. Yeah, so that's Kanyeezy's artwork. It's all pixelated. On purpose. 3. Common reminds the kids to "be great." Common paid a visit to Tennessee State University to speak to the students and remind them to not just try to be good but to be GRREEAAT!.... Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:05:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/too-much-fiasco/ Lupe Fiasco is saying that after his third album Lasers drops "things will never be the same ever again in hip-hop." Those are bold words from Lupe, who has been stirring up the media lately with beefs with MTV and his record label (see below). When Lupe came in the game I revered his witty lines and his mixtape grind. When his debut album came out I was thoroughly impressed, but I always questioned why when Jay-z co-signed him Lupe didn't sign with Jay—I guess Lupe had different priorities. But after his second album came out things changed, not to say I didn't like it, it got a lot of play but The Cool didn't impress me it just wasn't on the level of Revenge of the Nerds in my mind. Then Lupe made up Percival Flats then denied he was part of Japanese Cartoon. Then later admitted to being the front man of Japanese Cartoon (see video below). I'm tired of the beef and the leaked singles and conference calls. I just want the old Lu back, the one that made hip-hop music. Music like this: .... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/jay-z-scrambles-the-code/ As you probably know by now, Jay-Z's Decoded book is due on shelves sometime in November, but the book has been garnering as much attention for its marketing strategy as it has for its contents. Jay-Z's link with the Microsoft Bing engine and 'scavenger hunt' for book pages projected on billboards is an innovative approach, that truth be told could only be pulled off with someone with his considerable popularity and influence. In an age of austerity, book publishers have been acutely impacted and have scaled down their promotional efforts, so the Jay-Z campaign is particularly auspicious. After all, Bing and not Jay-Z's publisher is paying for the campaign. Look for some applications of this approach to be applied to forthcoming book titles, albeit in a less opulent and cheaper form in the near future. .... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/glc-the-light/ .... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/common-lupe-jennifer-hudson-no-i-d-we-can-do-it-now/ .... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/laws-stankonia-freestyle/ .... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/mac-miller-senior-skip-day/ Mac Miller shot a video for this song off K.I.D.S. Some how Mac continues to drop dope,fun, and relatable music. He garnished over 100,000 views in four days and seems to be having a lot of fun in this video. I especially enjoy his friends hilarious dancing vibeing at the end of the video..... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 02:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/big-sean-final-hour/ Big Sean's new video for "Final Hour" off of Finally Famous Vol 3. In the first few shots you car enthusiasts might be able to place the Rolls Royce Ghost (Retail: $255,000 US) I wonder what Sean's financing that at? Or maybe it's a rental? Maybe all G.O.O.D. music artists make that much. I'll ask GLC. .... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:28:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/sinotra-tip-of-the-iceberg-mixtape/ Sinotra - a Toronto native and truly gifted lyricist - has finally released his mixtape, Tip Of The Iceberg. He tends to stay under the radar but when he shows face, he makes sure he won't be forgotten. Having opened up for The Clipse and received praise from Jay-Z on his freestyle abilities, Sinotra is definitely an up-and-comer to look out for. Support real Toronto talent and download the free mixtape below! Download: Tip Of The Iceberg .... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1027/ OCTOBER 27, 2010 1. Stephen Marley offers to put up his home as bond to secure Buju Banton's release. Buju (above, second from left, in happier or at least ballerer times) is currently facing life in prison for drug charges. He is scheduled for a retrial in December after the jury was deadlocked in September. Marley had this to say about his offer (full story here): "He's a close friend of mine," Marley said. "I love him." Marley said Banton is important to Jamaica. Referring to Banton's album "Voice of Jamaica," Marley said, "That really sums up who Buju is to us." 2. Amber Rose get her own TV show. She Wrote heR oWn shoW! WoW! Can'T wAit! 3. Kanye and Jay-Z to make a full record. After announcing their Watch The Throne EP a few weeks back, YeYo has flipped the script, telling MTV in the above interview that they will now put about a full album, "We did like five [songs] so far, and then a few of them kind of were out there, and I put them on my album... We’re going to the south of France at the end of this month just to record our ideas.”.... Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:26:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/dead-prez-s-most-important-political-figures/ We asked M-1 and stic.man of dead prez to each give us their five most important political figures. Today, we'll highlight M1's choices (presented in no particular order). .... Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:31:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1026/ OCTOBER 26, 2010 1. Democrats looking good in the early polls. But before the Dems start splashing chai teas all-over each other, a caution from a nerd who specializes in raining on parades: "The early voting numbers are favorable for Democrats, but here's the caution -- they are not as favorable as in 2008," said Michael McDonald, a George Mason University professor who tracks early voting statistics around the country" In summary: Favorable, but not as favorable. Like a light favorability. More from Reuters. 2. School in Alabama uses student as rape bait, student gets raped. This is horrific. (via Alternet): "The teacher coerced 14-year-old B.H.J., an African-American student who had reported being repeatedly sexually harassed, into meeting her tormentor in a bathroom, assuring her that they would “catch him.” But nobody followed B.H.J. into the bathroom, and nobody stopped her from being raped; the teacher simply went back to her classroom and waited. B.H.J. is reported as being severely traumatized and in an almost completely non-communicative state." 3. New York magazine pens the ultimate horror story: Palin as president. John Heilemann describes how Palin could become president in 2012—in graphic detail. “Reality-TV culture has taken over real life, which, together with opinion news, she is using more effectively than anyone. At the end of the day, her ability to create a spectacle, get a crowd, whip up people—is that translatable into a plurality victory in a Republican primary? It’s impossible to know. Because you’ve never seen anything like it. It’s totally uncharted territory.”.... Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-wiz-khalifa-az-kid-cudi-n-e-r-d-red-cafe/ Today we bring you a track from N.E.R.D.'s new album that features T.I. Red Cafe's got a song with Pete Rock behind the beat and Kid Cudi's mastered Mr Rager. And Wiz has got a new cut with Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia fame..... Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1026/ OCTOBER 26, 2010 1. Toronto elects Rob Ford as its new mayor. You cut us deep Toronto. But we called it last week in our Pound for Pound, so like a petulant child we protected our feelings by lashing out first. Election results here. Here's Pound contributor Mindbender's lyrical interpretation (full lyrics here): ...Towards arts and culture, Rob Ford seems more than sorta ignorant He says he'll stop overspending, but if the system isn't broke, why persist on fixing it? We'll see if you keep your promise to stop political favors And keep Toronto world-class, not thru fear and appealing to the lowest common denominator And big up to the white guys, I am not hating But what's the chance of mayoral advancement if you're Aboriginal, Latino, Black or Asian? And yes, you gotta rebuild the Gardiner and the DVP, But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reduce these greedy fees and fix the TTC! There's so much to say about this beautiful city, I just pray the new boss doesn't ruin it quickly 2. Antoine Dodson becomes spokesperson for Sex Offender Tracker App. Dodson who is perhaps the most inadvertent one-hit wonder of all-time continues to ride the auto-tune wave. 3. Reggae legend Gregory Isaacs dies. "The Cool Ruler" died Monday of cancer at age 60-years-old. NY Times obit here. The Fader has a dope collection of Gregory Isaacs videos..... Mon, 25 Oct 2010 22:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/revisit-prophets-of-the-hood-imani-perry/ Why I am on Team Minaj forever ever.... Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:44:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1025/ OCTOBER 25, 2010 1. Hip-Hop: the voice of the status quo. Thomas Chatterton Williams, author of Losing My Cool: How a father's love and 15,000 books beat hip-hop culture, has a great article regarding the inherent conservative of hip-hop. A snippet from the piece (via Andrew Sullivan): "My personal politics aside, the irony here is that mainstream hip-hop culture itself is overwhelmingly conservative by nature, a gangsta party that in more ways than one looks a lot like a Tea Party. What the commentators on both the right and the left fail to realize is that on many social and cultural issues that matter, the message coming out of hip-hop is decidedly right of center. It's not just that hip-hop is, to put the matter mildly, pro-gun rights (most mainstream rappers could be on the NRA's payroll), atavistically homophobic (Byron Hurt documented this convincingly in Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, where even a "conscious" rapper like Talib Kweli is unwilling to go against the anti-gay grain) and spectacularly patriarchal (male-female inequality has always been the law of the hip-hop nation) -- it is also unquestioningly God-fearing and, not infrequently, proselytizing." 2. Haiti cholera epidemic update. As of Monday morning there have been 59 confirmed deaths and more than 3,300 cases counted. The epicenter of the outbreak, Artibonite, is about 60 miles north of the country's capital, Port-au-Prince. It is estimated that there could be as many as 12,000 carriers. More at the NY Times. 3. Turns our microloans are a lot like student loans. NPR has an interesting post about an interesting post by Barbara Kiviat that illuminates what people are actually using their microloans for (microloans are small loans made to people in developing countries to start businesses). "In interviews with microfinance recipients in the Philippines, the pair discovered that some 46% of borrowers used a decent chunk of their business loan to pay down other debt and about 28% spent part of the money on a big household purchase—even though fewer than 4% of people in either category ever admitted this to their bank." .... Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1025/ OCTOBER 25, 2010 1. Toronto elects a new mayor today! Peoples. Today is election day. Vote. Not voting is very short-sighted and irresponsible. All you need is one piece of ID and something with your address on it. If you don't know anything about the candidates check out what our good friends at Manifesto made (above). Find out where you vote ID Requirements 2. The world's most expensive home ever has been completed. Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India, is hosting a housewarming in Mumbai this week to show-off (and this is stunting on the grandest scale) his recently completed 27-floor home. The home, nicknamed Antilia, cost $1-billion, took seven years to build, is 400,000 square feet, has three helipads and is home to only SIX people. All this is a country where 42% of the population lives below the poverty line. Read more at the L.A. Times. 3. Kanye disses his illuminati overlords. In a string of tweets yesterday Kanye spent some time addressing the monumental paranoid people of the world. Here's the stream in all it's illegible glory: I've got question about "the illuminati" ... what is it exactly ???... and why do people think pop stars have a membership???!!! LOL. I am down with Cluemanotti though, that's my boy ... Is illuminati and devil worshipping like the same thing... do they have a social network that celebs can sign up for? Question... can you devil worship on the new iphone??? LOL!!! What's better for devil worshipping Iphone or the Droid... Does lucifer return text... is he or she on Skype? Don't wanna be sexist. Wasn't the world the world suppose to end "in the year 2000" (Conan voice). #DoyouthinkLucifer uses in in ear monitors or signature Beats by Dre headphones???!!! In other equally compelling news I do find it interesting that spellcheck recognizes illuminati as a word. .... Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/i-have-conviction/ Oh, Kanye. How the rap world is ecstatic to have you back in full effect. We all know Mr. West isn't the biggest fan of the Grammys...or award shows and their "winners" in general. Call him crazy. Or cocky. But this man is a genius fighting for the art he cherishes. And it's not even about him! It's about history. Peep the video below. It's a shortened version of his interview with Acces Hollywood about the you-know-whats coming this February. P.S. His album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is due to come out this November. .... Sat, 23 Oct 2010 01:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1022/ October 22, 2010 1. The New York Times' Nicolas D. Kristof writes about the US could build schools in Afghanistan. The more salient point follows, (read the whole thing here): "...$243 million is needed to fund all higher education in Afghanistan this year. He suggests that America hold a press conference here in Kabul and put just 243 of our 100,000 soldiers (each costing $1 million per year) on planes home. Then the U.S. could take the savings and hand over a check to pay for Afghanistan’s universities." 2. Wikileaks under attack. Wikileaks, the site that specializes in releasing documents of "corporate and military malfeasance" is reporting a cyber attack against them a day before a major leak about the Pentagon. (Above: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange). 3. Bill Clinton lost the nuclear launch codes. At least that's what General Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during some of Clinton's term, says in his new autobiography, Without Hesitation. Let's let Shelton explain just exactly what this meant: "This is the one point in the system where there is no backup and it failed. Without [the presidential authorisation codes] it doesn’t matter if we’ve got a thousand missiles verified inbound to the US, we would be unable to launch a retaliatory strike.” More at FT.com. (Above: a military officer caries "The Football," the case with nuclear launch codes). .... Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:08:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-mickey-factz-maino-ced-hughes/ .... Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1022/ OCTOBER 21, 2010 1. Rhymefest officially announces his candidacy for alderman in Chicago's 20th Ward. Che "Rhymefest" Smith as the media will now refer to him for every damn feature/profile/blurb told the Chicago Tribune that, would call on Kanye and Common "start a 20th Ward renaissance." 2. MTV gives Lupe unsolicited advice. Lupe not feeling it. Yesterday MTV published an article titled "Dear Lupe Fiasco: Ten Tips To Make Lasers Successful" and honestly, it was generally good advice, but Lupe being an artiste (and artistes don't like to be told shit, no shots), was not feeling it. And hence began a unilateral twitter war. Oh snap... can everybody STFU up about illuminati. 3. 50 Cent reveals the real reason he met his talk-show host Chelsea Handler. Apparently, Curtis, who recently signed a $200 million movie production deal, met up with Ms. Handler (shown with 50's arch-nemesis Rick Ross) to discuss a movie role. .... Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:10:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/baraka-flacka-flame/ .... Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-pusha-t-rza-j-cole/ .... Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:43:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/tea-partly-racist/ .... Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:41:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1021/ .... Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:08:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/pound-for-pound-toronto-mayoral-election-edition/ TORONTO MAYORAL EDITION DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed by the rappers in this battle are not the opinions of Pound Magazine but we admit to encouraging them to act a fool. If you'd like some real information about the election may we suggest checking Now for their election picks. So without further ado we're extremely excited to present Pound's first ever live video Pound For Pound, starring: Blake Carrington as George Smitherman a.k.a. Smitty L as Rocco Rossi a.k.a. Roc Ross Smash Brovas as Joe Pantalone a.k.a. Joe Pants Rich Kidd as Rob Ford a.k.a. The Notorious R.O.B. Pound For Pound - Mayoral Battle from Pound Magazine on Vimeo. Pound For Pound - Mayoral Battle (Clean) from Pound Magazine on Vimeo. Credits Editor - Jonathan Lall Camera - Jonathan Lall and Kobi Ntiri Props - Makaya Kelday and Allix Thompson Special thanks to the MCs for participating in this experiment (and their managers for letting them do it). More Pound for Pounds to come! .... Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:44:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1021/ .... Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/mickey-factz-skyscraper/ .... Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:07:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/pound-for-pound-toronto-mayoral-election/ .... Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:34:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-dawaun-parker-ron-dias-element/ .... Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1020/ .... Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/the-blue-and-green-enthusiast/ .... Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:15:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-10-20/ OCTOBER 20, 2010 1. At the Hollywood screening of Kanye West's art film, "Runaway," Kanyeyo told the audience that he thought about taking his own life. From the LA Times: West admitted there were times he considered taking his own life, presumably at points after his mother’s accidental death in 2007. “I contemplated suicide,” West told an audience consisting of friends, creative collaborators, radio programmers and media types. 2. 50 Cent has been very vocal about his man-boy love for your favorite lyricist's least favorite lyricist, Soulja Boy, ever since the Internet sensation burst onto the scene with "Crank Dat." Now the two are paired up on the November 2010 cover of XXL and it looks like a "proof of life" photo from a bedouin kidnapper. For real, I'm still looking for the "pause" text on the cover. 3. Digital Music News is reporting that CMJ panelist and entertainment lawyer Steve Gordon estimates that if Eminem wins his case against Universal Music Group over digital royalties that up to 90% of artists could be eligible for the same royalties. In sum, Eminem = label dream and label nightmare. Bonus: If you're into music biz talk you can read notes from Steve Gordon's panel here. .... Tue, 19 Oct 2010 22:56:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-copywrite-von-pea-freeway-bobby-creekwater/ .... Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:15:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/reks-self-titled/ .... Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1019/ OCTOBER 19, 2010 1. Alternet wants to remind you that the chocolate you're enjoying or distributing during Halloween is made with cocoa harvested by children. But despair not, they have some tips for creating an exploitation-free celebration: 1. Look for chocolate from companies that do certify their supply chains, via labels such the Fair Trade label and the IMO Fair for Life label. My non-profit organization, Green America, offers a scorecard that explains these labels in detail, and ranks chocolate companies. 2. Contact conventional chocolate companies like Hershey's -- call them, write to them, write on their Facebook pages -- and tell them you expect them to prove their supply chains aren't tainted by child labor and slave labor. 3. Contact your representatives in whatever ruling institution rules over you. ('K, we wrote that). 2.The Rent Is Too Damn High Party candidate Jimmy McMillan, is running for Governor of New York and he, his beard, and his fasttalkingways, are epically epic. Bonus: This is his website. 3. Calgary, a city not exactly renowned for its diversity, has become Canada's first city to elect a (openly) Muslim mayor when they voted in Naheed Nenshi yesterday. He's been compared to Obama for breaking the color barrier, mobilizing the youth vote, using the Internets (he's probably from the future) and for BEING A MUSLIM. (Too easy). .... Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1019/ OCTOBER 19, 2010 1. Mexican authorities seized 10,000 packages of marijuana (shown above) weighing approximately 105 tons and worth $335 million. The marijuana was to be burned incinerated after being weighed and counted. It was by far the largest raid in recent years. And you know what? It won't make a cot damn difference. 2. In other Mexican news, the largest enchilada ever was made in Mexico City. The enchilada was 270 feet long and weighed 1.5 tons. THESE TWO EVENTS ARE NOT UNRELATED. .... Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/elzhi-undefeated-freestyle/ .... Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-dante-leon-joe-budden-skillzwiz-khalifakanye-west/ .... Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/sts-in-for-the-kill/ .... Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:31:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1018/ OCTOBER 18, 2010 1. CNN is reporting that a senior NATO official said that Osama Bin Laden is in Pakistan, probably living in a house (shown above, in a cave that he's probably not living in) To quote: "Nobody in al-Qaeda is living in a cave." Got it. House not cave. 2. Fakeshore Drive is reporting that Chicago rapper Rhymefest is running for alderman in Chicago's 20th Ward. The rapper sometimes refers to himself as "El Che." Cue Tea Party outrage. 3. Remember those Russian spies that were busted in the summer? Today they received top state honors from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Remember the hot one (above), she's famous in Russian now. .... Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:45:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/eyedea-a-segue-to-something-greater/ Eyedea A Segue to Something Greater “In Freedom, There’s No Mistakes” by Luke Fox Michael “Eyedea” Larsen died yesterday. He was 28 and a true artist. Forever fascinated by the art of freestyling, I pestered the Blaze Battle and Scribble Jam champ for an interview on Nov. 16, 2004. He told me he wasn’t interested in interviews; he eschewed publicists and didn’t even accept the copy of Pound I handed to him. He was concerned with making art, not so much reading about it or promoting it. Regardless, I convinced him to talk. After sound check, we sat together and spoke about art and rhyme and improvisation and freedom in a Little Italy café before Eyedea and his DJ (Abilities) proceeded to tear Toronto’s Mod Club stage a new one. Eyedea ordered a grilled veggie sandwich and a bowl of soup, eating slightly more than half of each. He sipped a beer and spoke honest. I wrote a profile on the duo E&A, but saved a lot of the good stuff. Not sure why. Perhaps this is too little too late. Hopefully this conversation will add to your appreciation of a unique talent. You can read the announcement from Larsen’s mother here. So you got rid of your moustache. How come? I got a girlfriend. She was like, “Shave that fuckin’ thing off.” I was like, “All right.” Were you attached to it? No, it was attached to me, by nature of glue. What do you love most about hip-hop? Oh, man. Oh, God…. It’s not a hip-hop-specific thing, but what I love most about making art are those glimpses that you catch of complete psychological freedom. They’re really random, not very consistent, but you do hit that peak where you kind of forget about yourself. And that’s the meaning of art to me. And then it’s great to see that turn and radiate and affect other people. Can you think of an example when you hit that peak? There’s a lot of them. Is it in the studio? I’d like it to be in the studio more than it actually is. But I think the more I develop, the better I’ll get at actually capturing that essence in any situation, on any medium. What’s your earliest memory of hip-hop? You know, I don’t even know. I don’t even know how important that is. I know people want to know that kind of stuff, but I don’t really think that’s important. I think what’s more important is to think about where individuals can take their art, take humanity. Because, realistically, it’s always the same. How do you meet people? It’s the same way. Where did you hear stuff? It’s the same way. You hear stuff where you hear it. What’s important is, What are you going to do with it? So what are you going to do with it? Hopefully, I’m going to make it significant. Make it a significant art form, to myself first, and then to others. Hopefully that radiation means something to people and inspires them to find that psychological freedom, find that place. You can do it with whatever. I was talking with my girlfriend once about Mahalia Jackson, who’s this old jazz singer who is just amazing. And my girlfriend was like, “That’s how I want to sound.” And I was like, “Well, you’re not gonna sound like that, because there’s no way to sound like that. But what you can do is find within you the thing that made her sound like that.” [To me:] That’s gonna be hard for you to write, to make sense. How can I say that better for the quote? You can find within yourself what artists that you admire have found within themselves—and that’s what really matters. You’re never emulating the specific sound of an artist, but what you are emulating is their freedom, their mastery of themselves. When you emulate mastery and gain mastery of yourself, it naturally is it’s own thing. And that’s what I want. Have you done that? Hell no. No, no, no, no. That’s what I look at and that’s what I look forward to. The only thing that makes me different is, that’s where I’m looking. Do you feel like you’re close? No, no, no. I feel like I may never feel like I’m close. But I know what path I’m on. That’s the most important thing: not where you are on the path, but what path you’re on. I feel like I’m just starting to be able to look in the right direction, and it’s been a good seven years of recording, performing, producing, traveling. It’s just starting now. Do you remember your first rap? Yeah, I do. How did it go? I’m not going to get into it. Was it really old school? Yeah. That’s not important. What are your earliest recollections of freestyle? The first experiences I’ve ever had with rhyming were freestyling. And it was intriguing because it was so challenging. There’s sitting around, watching TV, and then there’s trying to make something out of nothing. Which one are you going to do? TV is boring. I was just young, and that was really intriguing. I was doing all kinds of art as well: drawing, building forts, designing clothes. My plague, which may also be my gift, is I’m generally bored with everything. Like, all the time. Bored. So my first memories as a child are of being bored, of going, This is what life is? This is what it is? Just feeling shitty, y’know? So what do you do? You step out and try to make something happen. It’s kind of neurotic and insane on a few levels, but I think if you use it in the right way, you start to use neurosis not for the escape of boredom but for the understanding of those in-tune moments. It’s a really deep thing. Did you get bored of freestyle? I still do. I get bored of every form of music, of everything. I get bored of what I sound like, of what I look like, of fucking politics. I get bored. So how do you overcome that? Try something else and then come back to it? Yeah. That’s why right now I’m trying to learn how to play all the different instruments, really produce and write music. But the other thing is, I’m old enough to realize at this point that boredom is (a) part of my personality, and I haven’t really figured out where that comes from yet, to get over it. But (b), you examine life so intensely that you can break it down to nothing sometimes. And when there’s nothing, you feel like moving on to something else. And there’s also the frustration, growing up feeling isolated because of the fact that you’re always growing and wanting to create and knowing that everyone around you is not on that same page. But what you hopefully develop is what I call the ‘all things come to pass’ mentality, where it’s like, this feeling of boredom goes away and you just live your life. You breathe. You grab things and write them down. Or you talk and have a conversation. Or go out to eat. Have a drink. You go dancing. Whatever it is, it goes away. This fear goes away. This happiness goes away. At least for me; I can’t make any general statements on how human beings work. Because your mind shifts onto other things so quickly, is that why you’re so talented at freestyling? Yeah. You’d think that artists are generally bored, and that’s how they improve. It’s hard to get into the semantics of what words mean, but when I say bored, I guess I mean dissatisfied, discontent. What makes a great freestyle? What makes a great freestyle is somebody that can get in tune with himself and forget everything else. That’s actually all there is. So do you actually phase everything else out? At the climax, yes. That’s what it is. But, generally what you’re trying to do is you’re searching for that [climax] through methods of repetition. Even in jazz, every combination of notes has probably been done before. But in using these new combinations you get your brain working to the point where, all of a sudden, you break into it. I can’t explain it, but improvisation is the same across the board, no matter what you’re doing. I guess, technically, you feel the element of surprise as it’s happening. You’re surprised that things are coming out of you, and it’s like you’ve got the Holy Ghost. You’re there. It just so happens that jazz musicians, the whole art of jazz post-bebop is based off that. If you’re not tapping into that, you’re not a musician. You’re not real. Can an emcee be considered complete if he can’t freestyle? I don’t get into the definitions of that kind of stuff. Hopefully everybody does their own thing and feels good about themselves. Where do you find that you can slip into that zone where words are just coming out? It’s hardly ever onstage. It’s funny. People will say, “Oh, you’re so good at freestyling and stuff.” And I say, “I know. But you don’t know that. You’ve never seen it.” There’s only a couple people in the world who’ve seen it, because there’s only been a couple moments. And that’s what you’re always trying to attain—the ability to snap into the moment [snaps fingers] like it’s nothing. They say Coltrane could be in a fucking coma, and then four bars before his solo, pop up, straighten up his suit, and he’s there. That shit is amazing. Who’s seen you at your best? Carnage, Master I, Max, maybe one or two other people. Do you remember freestyle lines and incorporate them into songs later? Yeah, yeah, when you’re really doing sessions. Never from a show. At a show, I never feel like it’s there. Sometimes there’s other elements that can make it good. It gets there, but it’s very brief. You go there and then other elements of performing for people knock you out of your element. I’m trying to learn how to perform so it’s great for me and other people—and it’s hard to find that balance. I’m trying to find a balance! Ever done a show when someone isn’t yelling out, “Freestyle! Freestyle”? Every show we do, somebody says that. Do you get annoyed by that, being typecast as the freestyle guy? Well, that doesn’t bother me, but I used to get annoyed by people yelling stuff. But I literally don’t listen to anything that comes from the audience. When I’m not performing a song, I pretty much have my back to the audience. I’m not like the rapper, hip-hop hooray, throw your hands in the air. I just don’t care about any of that anymore. I’m trying to achieve something that’s special to me, and if you can dig, I’m very appreciative. I think that’s awesome. But if you can’t, I’m not going to spend time trying to get you to dig it. Isn’t that selfish, though? It is selfish, of course. Yeah, I think it is pretty selfish, on a lot of levels. But I’m not trying to be Ghandi through art. If I was trying to be Ghandi, I wouldn’t be doing art. Ghandi wasn’t into painting; he was into stopping wars by starving himself. [Other dinner partner: “Ghandi was a wack emcee.”] Ghandi was. Like, Jesus? He didn’t have beats. I don’t disregard human emotion, and I don’t disregard that I can make stuff that touches people emotionally. So when I say I play with my back to the crowd, I don’t disregard the people who understand. But the people who don’t understand, I’m not spending time [trying to convince them]. To me that’s when art becomes a business—and that’s what marketing is. Even performing can be marketing: Throw your hands in the air! Have a good time! And maybe if you’re having a good time, you’ll actually listen to what the fuck I’m saying. But, please, throw your fuckin’ hands in the air. That’s bullshit. If they’re not throwing their hands in the air, that’s not the way they feel. And if that’s the way you want them to feel, you’re not communicating your art right…. [laughs] I’m dropping some knowledge. What’s your take on company-sponsored freestyle competitions? They’re always stupid. Freestyle competitions are always stupid. They kind of diminish the point of freestyle, but they’re traditional in a hip-hop sense, so I give them that respect, but it’s never the essence. That shit is never raw. And I’ve done ’em. I’ve won ’em all. So when I say that, I’m saying that because, oh, I’m scared. I’ve won every single one I’ve ever entered. Easy. Period. I was in Scribble Jam, Midwestern freestyle, Rocsteady Anniversary, Midwest Blaze Battle, and the final Blaze Battle in New York. Do you get nervous at these things? Of course. And that’s why it’s not really it. See, Max [Abilities] has a different argument. He’s under the impression that the fact that it’s set up and nervous and weird is part of the rawness of it. And I don’t really give a shit about that. Is it great art? That’s all I really care about. And in those battles, it’s never been great. At least I’ve never done anything I thought was great. What goes through your mind when you’re watching the other rounds? It’s fun. It’s entertaining. It’s like watching TV. I like to watch them. Do you pick other people’s verses apart? Like, I would’ve said this instead. Of course. You’re involved in it. And I think the audience does too. They think, If I was up there, I’d dis his…. The other thing about battles is, it’s so based on physical appearance. Like, c’mon, this is a joke. And sometimes you can win without rhyming a word, just by making fun of someone. Then what have you proven? You’re not proving you can rhyme better than anybody. Are fans good at picking the winner? No. Everybody has their own twisted view of what quality lyricism is. And judging by what is popular, most people don’t have a fucking clue. You know what I mean? What ever happened to good shit? I never hear it anymore. But I hear lots of shit that I think is horrible, especially lyrically. That’s huge. So why did you stop entering battles? Realistically, there’s a lot of money there. If I knew I’d win, I’d just do them and laugh. The strain and stress puts like a fucking straightjacket on the art of freestyling. ’Cause basically, if I want to, I could rhyme about… [looks out window] a light post and how that’s significant because it’s shining light on a table that has a poem written by a six-year-old girl on it. But I can’t do that in a battle; I gotta be like, “Your shit is ugly. Peace! Your mom sucks… cock… huge cock.” That’s what it is: Look at my car! Look at my cock! That’s what a battle is. Look at how much better I am than you at making fun of people. It’s fucking ridiculous. But I’m not dissing it to the point where I hope these battles don’t exist. I’ll go to them forever; they’re entertaining. But I want to make art, and I want to be great. I want to make my voice my saxophone. ’Cause in a battle… …you’re not experimenting with flow. Yeah, you’re not doing anything. You’re just joking. Is the freestyle battle a younger person’s game? It would sound real arrogant for me to say yes, but I do kind of agree. It’s like a talent show. When you’re Coltrane and you’re making A Love Supreme, you’re not doing talent shows anymore. Your talent is just eminent; it’s just there. You’re not doing competitions with it. Like I said, nobody I know is there, but the people I surround myself with are on that path. We want to be John Coltranes. We want to be Jimi Hendrixes. We want to be great. Peace. When you say “people I surround myself with,” do you mean Rhymesayers? No, it extends beyond that. People who are nothing, they’re nobodies. It extends to my girlfriend. It extends to the human beings I spend time with—whether they make music or not. Do you ever find yourself in impromptu battles now? I never enter battles. But every night is a battle; every show is a battle. It’s the battle of, Can I bring myself into that zone? And that’s always a battle. And that’s more competitive and more intense and more emotionally draining and gratifying than ever winning a Scribble Jam. And the only reason I can say that, once again, is because I done won Scribble Jam. [Food arrives, eating.] When you were entering battles, how much did you have to practice? You gotta practice anything. That’s what we call “going there” in a specific amount of time. So you gotta practice being sharp, witty. Wit doesn’t have shit to do with freestyling. It could take me 20 fucking minutes to describe what I want to describe in a real freestyle, and it doesn’t matter. But when you have 30 seconds, it’s all about your wit: How fast can you say as much demeaning shit to a person? I’ve seen battles won by other methods. This is stuff I think is more tight; this is stuff that comes out of L.A., where freestyling really started, and it’s still more advanced there than anywhere in the world. It’s like, OK, we’re not just going to talk about each other. [deaf person approaches with paper, asking Eyedea to buy a little pamphlet with sign language key on it; he says, “Yeah, I’ll buy one.”] I’ve seen them won by methods of something else. I’ve seen people go, “Da da da da-da-da-da-da. Now you do that. ’Cause if you can’t, you’re not good.” How do the styles of freestyle differ from region to region? Every place is, in general, the same except for New York and L.A. You know what? Nah. Every place is the same except for L.A. L.A. is where it’s really about skills, still. It’s not about talking about somebody. I’ve seen people in L.A. win battles by telling stories, but it’ll still be about the [competitor]. But instead of about you and your shirt, it’ll be about you’re so wack, when you were born, your parents gave you up for adoption, and the person who picked you up was a wack emcee too, so you just kept wallowing in your wackness. Shit like that. Specifically, a guy named Otherwyze battled this person with this whole schoolyard metaphor. Like where they were both in sixth grade, and he’s banging on the lunch table, and then he started banging his head on the table. Shit like that. Amazing. And then, yeah, styling, using your voice, using your instrument. Can you tell when someone’s not coming off the top of the head? Oh, every time, yeah. Is there any way to disguise it? Yeah, but anybody that could disguise it is so smart that they could just freestyle anyway. Like, if you were actually able to disguise it, that means you know so much about the subtleties and nuances of improvisation that you could just be improving just as good. Are there traps you fall into, like repeating one phrase over and over again? Yeah, you always do, man. You revert to the stuff you know because you’re searching for that pivot point, that point to go somewhere. That’s what it’s about. What’s your most memorable battle? Me versus P.E.A.C.E. from Freestyle Fellowship. Who won? He’s a monster. I wasn’t a monster; I wasn’t even ready for it. He’s my hero. Freestyle Fellowship are the pioneers of everything that started me off. They’re the pioneers of taking you voice and going [mimics scat-like change of pitches and pace]. That’s the Fellowship. So to battle one of those guys is amazing. Do you remember what he said about you? Yeah. It was me dissing him because I knew so much about the Fellowship. Is it hard to dis you idol? It’s easier ’cause you know so much about ’em. But his comeback was, “You know so much about me because you study me. I made you. I know nothing about you because there are a million little kids like you who idolize me.” And I said something like, “Whatever, man, go back to L.A.” And he said, “I’ll go back to L.A., and I’ll take you with. You won’t survive in L.A. I’ll sit you down with my homeboy,” da-da-da-da-da-da. And he has so much character when he rhymes. Freestyle of Fellowship: the motherfuckers who invented the rap styles that are the most fundamental base of what I do. And they’re still taking it places that it’s never been. Dude, Mikah 9: If you ever do a style—I don’t care what you do with words, what you do with your voice—I guarantee he’s done it already. I guarantee it. I guarantee I can pull out one of the 25 underground tapes I have of Mikah 9 and Freestyle Fellowship and find it. You go, “Ooh, this one pattern I have is original.” It’s not. When was the last time you heard something that was truly original, style-wise? When I hear Mikah, Organized Konfusion. Their last record was in ’94. Some of the Pharoahe [Monch] solo stuff. You don’t hear it that much, but you hear glimpses of it everywhere. People’s whole idea will be original. Like, Aesop [Rock] is original. Sage [Francis] is original, Slug [of Atmosphere] is original. MF Doom is original. Blueprint, Illogic—they’re original. Carnage, Masta Eye… but there’s not a pattern that any of those guys ever done that Fellowship didn’t do already. Just because by nature they’re so free, they’ve done everything. [Granted,] Fellowship is four people, and all four of ’em have been making records since ’90. That’s over 15 years ago. They got everybody covered. What’s the longest you’ve gone off the top of the head? Maybe 20 minutes without stopping. Not good, though. Maybe points would be really good. How does one recover from a mistake? The key to freestyling is freedom. In freedom, there’s no mistakes. Going offbeat? Everything is melodically and rhythmically something. So when you go off beat, you still have the next million syllables in a beat to make that on-beat: See, if I’m going like this and I dadadadadda da deer… dadadadda daaaaa.. dadadaddd dad ad ad daaa… That’s how you do it. Everything is free; nothing is a mess-up. Everything is a segue to something greater. How much does beat selection affect your rhymes? Now, when me and Max freestyle, the best parts are when he’s making a beat from the turntable, like just a kick and snare, or live drums. Because it’s empty, it’s open. If a beat is really busy, it’s telling you more and more what kind of box to be in. If the beat is in C-major, you’re not going to be able to sing notes that go out of that and sound good still. But when you just have drums and you can work with a live drummer—same with Abilities on the tables—you can change tempo, you can change melody, you can change the key, you can change everything as you go. And that’s what we’ll do tonight. We’ll do about a half hour of nothing but people banging on instruments and us just playing. How much did 8 Mile affect freestyling and the way people view it? I don’t know. If it did [affect freestyle], it probably did something negative to it, I’ll tell you that. It’s just… that kind of shit is stupid. The pop world is stupid—period. The pop world ain’t about real art. It never has been, never will be. It was closer in, like, the ’70s, ’60s, ’50s, fucking ’40s even. Jesus Christ. But nowadays, man, the pop world is like… I don’t even know what pop music is anymore. I can’t even imagine. Who’s the best off the top of the head? Mikah 9. More than Supernatural? More than anybody in the world. Mikah 9 is the only person in the world [of rap] who could be in jazz. Nobody’s better than people who can scat. Mikah 9 can scat. He can really take it somewhere. Have you ever sat down with Mikah 9 or any of the Fellowship and talked about this stuff? Yeah, we’ve spent a lot of time. Aceyalone is a pretty good friend of mine. Another guy, Riddler from CVE, Busdriver, Murs. Murs is another guy who’s a really good freestyler. And have any of those guys ever said anything that has surprised you? Does anyone have a completely different take on freestyle? I don’t think anything’s vastly different. It’s all about going there. No matter what you sound like, who you are, what instrument you play, even if you’re not making music, it’s all about going there. Think of a standup comedian that doesn’t write their script. Think of adlibbing for a movie. It’s all about going there. You get to a point where it’s just real, it’s emotions. You know? That’s some real shit. Does that sense of improvisation translate to other parts of your life? I would hope so. And I would like to say, yeah, maybe it does. My girlfriend right now is teaching me a lot about it, without even knowing it, because she is so off-the-cuff. Like when she gets on-point, she is the fucking star of the room. Making fun of you, reading this, saying this, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. She does improve acting, and she also makes music and writes and stuff like that. She just says amazing things without…. She actually exemplifies what I want to do with rhyming, she’s actually so free. What did she just say while we were on the phone? I can’t remember. She says amazing shit. But when she gets there, she’s there. And that’s what it is: There’s there, and then there’s no there. Can you go there? Have you ever been into acting? Not really improve stuff. I did minimal stuff when I was in high school. I think it would be fun, but now I’m like, I should learn how to play the piano, I should… that’s what I’m thinking of. When I was younger I used to think, Oh, man, there’s so much out there. But now I think, Yeah, there’s so much just in music that I need to do. Like, the new stuff I’m working on right now, I’m writing everything from scratch. I’m writing every instrument. Writing guitar pieces on the piano, then hiring guitar players. I’m really composing my own music, my own vision. And it’s a big task for me, because I’m not classically trained at all. It’s going to be a solo thing, and [Abilities] is actually doing the same type of stuff but on the turntables. He’s learning how to play notes with the record. He’s going to take that form of music into realms it’s never been taken. He’s amazing; he’s the most talented person I know. We kind of always do this. We’re like best friends. We make a record and then really grind it. Then we take some time, chill out, go in other directions. Then we always learn what we learned there, come back. You always need a break. So will this be an Oliver Hart project? Nah, I can’t tell you the name. I can’t even talk about it. But it’s gonna be something. Next year…. I’m just working on music, man. I might not even release it. I just want to make great music. It’s not even about making records and selling them anymore. It’s about capturing greatness. And if I don’t capture greatness, I definitely don’t want to sell the shit. It’s all about that now. Even, y’know, this is cool, but I’m pretty much not going to do interviews anymore. I just don’t want to be selling anything. Hey, it’s art. Dig it or not. But maybe your perspective is good for someone to read in an interview, to hear from someone who isn’t plugging his album every five seconds. Yeah, it is. E&A! Blah, blah, blah. And I’m not even opposed to do it. Like now, this is really good, to sit down and talk about it. But a lot of times it becomes a hassle for you [the artist], and then you think, What am I doing this for? I’m only doing this to sell records. That’s why you hire a publicist. But it’s like, whoa. What is the meaning of my life, to sell records? I’m not an economy, I’m not a business. And if I do need to sell records, why am I doing it by method magazines and fucking billboards and radio? I should be doing it by method of playing more shows, doing my art to you. And I’m a nice guy. You got some questions, come up to me: “Hey, man, what’s up?” I’m approachable. I’m a real person. That being said, I don’t think I’m going to turn down interviews; I’m just not interested in hiring a publicist to get me interviews. And I’m just kind of sick of the whole game. A lot of the times, people who write pieces on us don’t really give a shit about our music anyways. It’s this whole network of, “I work for this company, and they tell me to do this ’cause I scratch their back here, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” Who fucking cares? You write for these motherfuckers [picks up magazine]? You can still write about me if I don’t have a publicist. You can call me on the fucking number on the back of my CD, and say, “I really want to talk to you,” and we can still talk. But I don’t need to be paying $10,000… I don’t know. I’m just really discontent with the whole industry in general right now. And I want to bring it back to the roots of it not being an industrial method. Just get back to the music, man. You’re saying that, but at the same time Rhymesayers is heading more into the go-through-a-publicist route by linking with Epitaph for distribution and marketing. It completely is. But now that we did this record with Epitaph, we have our own distribution deal, so it’s all going to be directly independent with Rhymesayers—all the future releases and the back catalogue as well. But, you’re right. Not everybody at Rhymesayers has the exact same approach. So, how does a company be successful? Our company believes in great art. When I go back and say, “I’m not doing any interviews, and I’m not doing any shows for Clear Channel of House of Blues, and I’m not gonna open up for anybody. I’m just gonna do fucking van tours and clubs that hold 200 people for the rest of my life,” my frinds and labelmates go, “All right, cool. Let’s make it work.” But then somebody else might say, “Hey, I want a publicist.” That has to be there. I really think that I’m kind of alone in the way that I think about everything right row. Me and Max as well. You’re not a business. You’re art. I want to make a record at some point and call it This Is Not For Sale. And obviously I’m going to have to sell it at some point, so it’ll be kind of a funny paradox, and that’ll be the joke part of it, but it’s like, This isn’t for sale. This isn’t a commodity. This isn’t a fucking can of soda. This is real shit. This is us putting it all out there. And we don’t need videos. I don’t even want that. I don’t want to be famous. I want to be great. And if fame happens to be a byproduct of greatness, then fuck it, bring it on. But I’m striving to be great, and I don’t care if I die a person who only sold 50,000 records. That was my life, then. But I tried my hardest to make great art. And every second that you spend trying to sell your art, you’re taking away from that focus of making it great—and you’re becoming less and less of a good person. I don’t even sell my CD at the merch table anymore. I used to stand up there and sell my CD hand-to-hand. I feel disgusting when I do that now. I feel gross. I should go up to those people and say, “How are you? How do you feel right now? How’s your day?” But [instead] I’m like a fucking corporate machine out there: “Buy my CD. Buy Coca-Cola. Buy my McDonald’s!” That’s what I’m doing. If I really want to connect with people, I should go say, “How you doing? How’s your life treating you?” Have a real one-on-one conversation. And I can’t even do that because even if there’s only 50 people at a show, every one of those 50 people wants to talk to you. I do everything different now. I go out [into the crowd] after the show; I usually try to stay out of the public until the performance, so I can relax, don’t have to deal with the vibe, trying to analyze everybody. It’s really overwhelming, the crowd. Even 25 people, and every one of those 25 wants to talk to you. Sometimes it’s 500 people; in Minneapolis it’s 1,200 people at a show. So it’s hard to do. Imagine what it’s like to be famous famous. No wonder why those guys are all crazy and off the floor. Dude, that’s insane. When I get offstage, we go and hang out with people and talk to people. And I don’t make it a rush to talk to everybody. Sometimes there will be a group of people around, and I’ll stand up and say, “Look, I appreciate the fact that everyone digs our stuff, if you do, but it’s impossible for me to show everyone that I really care about them right now because the nature of this is insane.” And I lay it all out there; I’m honest. And if someone comes up to me acting weird, I’ll say, “What’s going on? Why is this weird?” And I’m really just here. What do you mean by acting weird? Somebody, for instance, a couple nights ago, wanted to show me his visual art because he wanted a job working for us. So he comes up acting all fucking cool: “Yeah, yeah, word.” I’m like, “No, don’t come at me crooked like that. I’m a person.” And I broke it down: “What is this? What is this interaction that we’re having?” And there’s people all around us. I’m like, “Dude, what’s wrong with you?” And he’s like, “You know, I gotta put on this attitude because the industry’s so hard.” I said, “What? Did you learn that in school? What do you mean, ‘the industry is fucking hard’? You’re not talking to the industry right now; you’re talking to a human being. What, did they teach you that in college? What the fuck is that? That’s a concept. Have you ever went up to someone and been a real, honest person?” And that’s what I tell people: “Even if you’re nervous, come up and say, ‘Hey, I’m really nervous, I don’t know how to say this…’” ’Cause I’m fucking nervous about it too. I have no clue how to deal with this shit. But now the approach is, I’m 100 per cent honest with myself and with you too. So it’s like… I don’t know why I got into that spiel. Do you feel better since you changed your approach? Yeah, because I go home at the end of the night and think, I did good. I did what I could to impact people on a real human level. Like, I’m looking at your eyes and saying, “Thank you. I hope you fucking succeed in life.” I’m not treating you like you’re a fan, like you’re part of this assembly line and I gotta move onto the next. I’m saying, “Look, I gotta shake a lot of people’s hands, but I wouldn’t be able to exist if it were not for you. What do you do? Do you do art? Cool, do that shit. Peace.” And people, I feel, walk away like, “Damn, he really connected with me.” That’s why they come up to you in the beginning—because they need to connect with you personally as well as musically, for whatever reason. So it’s a disservice to humanity to not be real with everybody, and yourself as well. Do you think people come at you weird because other rappers before you have put on a front? It’s not even that. It’s this rock-star shit, pop-star shit. Everybody takes themselves way too seriously. I am this. No, you’re not. You’re a human being. And that person in the audience may be even better than you at what you do—and you don’t have any fucking clue. Even if they’re not better, they’re still as great of a person. Art isn’t reserved for the elite. So when I say I play with my back to the crowd, I’m not reserving it for the elite; I’m just not being a clown anymore. ’Cause when I do my songs, I turn around and say, “This is my shit.” Just in between the songs, I’m not doing headspins to make you laugh. I do my shit, and I’m out. One could argue that that’s more effective: Less is more. Since we started playing like that, it’s way more potent, because I don’t spend so much time speaking to the crowd. At the end of the night, when I say, “Thank you,” people are like, “Yeah. Dude really cares.” ’Cause I didn’t spend all night talking bullshit. The only thing I say that isn’t my song is, “Thanks a lot. It means a lot to me.” And then I bounce. And also, too, we’re not making rock songs that are really subversive and hard to understand. Through our performance you get a lot of personality as well. When you hear the song and see the looks on our faces, you can see we’re having fun playing the songs. And there are direct feeling that are said; it’s not cryptic all the time. So you don’t need to be talking. And if you do, like I said before, your music isn’t good enough. I just watched the Pixies. They didn’t say anything but “thank you.” That was the only word Frank Black said that wasn’t a song. And when the songs come in, they’re not talking over the intro; they’re playing the intro. I hate when emcees do a ton of talking before they even do one song. Yo, this is me. This is what I’m about. Why are you telling people what you’re about? That first song should tell them what you’re about. The music should be it. What would you like to do that you haven’t done yet? I’d like to be a father. Not in the too near future, but at some point. How old are you? 23. Wow. I thought you were older. You seem wiser than 23. I’ve done a lot of shows. How does Toronto rank? Great place. Yeah. All of Canada is pretty much great. I’ve played Toronto, Victoria, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal—all great. It’s a mixture between Europe and the States as far as attitude. Nothing will beat Europe. [Waitress collects plates; Eyedea asks if she’s coming to the show. Yes. Say hi, he says, you’ll be in the magazine. Reluctant hello.] Europe is the best. What’s one of the craziest things that’s happened on the road? I was on the road during 9/11. It’s an insane amount of intensity all the time. Our van just got broken into. Seen groups break up. Who broke up? Ah, man, I’ve seen a lot of things happen. They break up because of the road? Nah. I don’t believe in that. I don’t believe a relationship can be bad because of money. It’s either bad or it’s good. And if the road brings out those contaminated elements, it was there. The road can get people cranky, and then you can say things that hurt people’s feelings, but then usually the day you say, “Hey, man, I didn’t say that to hurt your feelings.” Cranky and shit. I got a headache. I could be an asshole—not to you but to him. If he said, “We gotta do soundcheck,” and he had said it four times to me today, I could be like, “You said that fuckin’ four times! Ahh! Your shirt’s ugly.” And he’d be crying like a little fucking kid. Ain’t that right, Mikey? Where is freestyle going? I think it’s going to be jazz one day. It’s not yet. I think one day the standard will be, it’s about being free. Right now it’s about rocking the party or something. I don’t really understand that. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. Enjoy the show, dude. .... Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1018/ OCTOBER 18, 2010 1. How "banned" is something that's posted all over the Internet? George Condo's artwork for Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy hath been banned. 'Ye explains via twitter: Let me go on the record as saying that this WILL be available as a special edition. Or in Japan. 2. Rapper Micheal "Eyedea" Larsen passed (shown above) on the morning of October 17th, one month before his 29th birthday. The news was posted on his facebook site by his mother, Kathy Averill. The cause of death has not been revealed. His mother and record label, Rhymesayers, have already begun planning a memorial. 3. German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared in a speech this weekend that multiculturalism in Germany has been a failure. Actually Merkel said it had, "Utterly failed." That's adult-speak for EPIC FAIL. More from the BBC. .... Sun, 17 Oct 2010 23:23:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/really-bet/ .... Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-1015/ .... Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:43:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-coss-big-l-packfm-big-boi-nottz/ .... Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:25:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1015/ OCTOBER 15, 2010 1. Erykah "The Sweetest Taboo" Badu took to her twitter account to let the people know she ain't happy with the current state of le hip-hop musique. How come it seems that it's only non-rappers who care about rap? The combined stream of her tweets follows: "How y’all gone stand by and let our music turn into pop techno cornball ass music. We don’t own our music no more. Come to think of it, did we EVER own it? when I say own our music , I’m not talkin bout the artist I’m talkin bout the people … let me be quiet. I wanna hear from the young people? easy for me to complain about this techno-pop cause i have a taste for something else. but how do u feel? These rappers ought to be shame of they damn selves, I’m talkin bout the mc’ s rappin over this pop techno music. I believe in pimpin the system buy got DAMN! not like this. I like the idea of no distinction in race when it comes 2 music, but SOULkeepers, U dont give up the boom bip and the hump 4 the payday. I love house and techno as a side dish .But now it’s served as the main course AND that’s ALL u gone get. like chittlins in the back house. I love music PERIOD. just not ready to say goodbye to the boom bip and the hump .. kinda painful for my generation to see. just strange 2me. Yes, no1 wants 2B poor again. artist have2 sacrifice integrity of the music sometimes 2 make ends meet. this is understood.but gotDAMN now. if you’ve never tasted good p*ssy your satisfied with ass hole. (that’s terrible ain’t it .) lol" 2. Digital Music News has pointed out that as Apple's stock hit $300 yesterday, Warner Music Group's was sitting a $5. There's really nothing else to say about that. Except maybe... "SLAP!" 3. Rapper slash suicide negotiator, T.I. (showing his technique above) explained to Atlanta's V103 just how the whole let-me-just-talk-this-guy-down-from-ledge scenario came to pass. Coincidentally, V103 is located in the same building where the whole episode took place in (on?). .... Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/rubberband-plan/ .... Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:14:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/oh-reilly/ .... Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-all-city-chess-club-az-redman/ .... Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:46:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1014/ OCTOBER 14, 2010 1. A "new" posthumous Big L album titled Return of the Devil's Son (fix the punctuation on the cover, people!) is scheduled for release on November 23. L's older brother Donald Phinazee had the following to say, "This album is supported 100% by the Big L family. I’ve been talking about this album for the last six years and it means everything to me. This is an original Big L album and I’m excited to put my brother out.” 2. Duck Down Records has signed Harlem's Black Rob and set a 2011 release date for his next album, Game Tested Street Approved. Rob or "Black Bob" as he's known in the country club (not true) says, "The people have been asking for true hip hop music, and that's what I'm giving them. I stayed away from features." There you have it: features ≠ hip-hop. 3. Jay-Z's The Hits Collection has a website where you can either drool over the exquisite packaging or delude yourself with Illuminati conspiracies. .... Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:48:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-10-13/ .... Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/off-the-books/where-are-the-box-sets/ .... Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/where-are-the-box-sets/ How do you want hip-hop to be remembered?.... Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:53:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/sticky-visions-pound-interviews-tamara-hendricks/ Angelica LeMinh decides to talk to the other author of Stick To Your Vision.... Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:13:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/kid-cudi-ft-kanye-erase-me/ .... Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:21:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-107/babylon-bites-for-108/babylon-bites-for-1012/ .... Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:02:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-crs-consequence-l/ .... Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/wiz-khalifa-black-and-yellow/ .... Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/the-hangover-1012/ .... Tue, 12 Oct 2010 07:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-amanda-diva-john-regan-juganot/ .... Fri, 08 Oct 2010 16:49:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-107/babylon-bites-for-108/ .... Fri, 08 Oct 2010 12:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/runaway-fast/ .... Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:07:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-lloyd-banks-joell-ortiz-the-muthafuckin-rza/ .... Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-for-107/ OCTOBER 7, 2010 1. Nas has penned a letter to the "powers that be" (in this case, Def Jam Records) critiquing them for withholding his album. The letter has been subsequently verified by XXL Magazine, a snippet below: From: Nas To: LA Reid, Steve Bartels, Steve Gawley, Michael Seltzer, Joseph Borrino, Chris Hicks Subject: PUT MY SHIT OUT! You don’t help draw the truth from my deepest and most inner soul, you don’t even do a great job @ selling it. The #1 problem with DEF JAM is pretty simple and obvious, the executives think they are the stars. You aren’t…. not even close. As a matter of fact, you wish you were, but it didn’t work out so you took a desk job. To the consumer, I COME FIRST. Stop trying to deprive them! 2. Wonkette is reporting that Sarah Palin has apparently been putting her mouth where the money is: Sarah Palin will promote your pet cause, for money. Do you oppose a local rezoning plan? Do you want a new four-lane highway carved through a park to serve your exurb? Are you interested in getting government regulation off the back of your very specific industry? Just write a large enough check, and Sarah Palin will be happy to inform the country. 3. Down south, somewhere near near Mexico (Ecuador) an audio recording of police discussing the assassination of President Rafael Correa (above) has emerged: The reported police radio transmissions released by the Andes news outlet late Tuesday night took place while Correa was being held at the hospital. CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio material. "They should kill Correa so this will end," an unidentified man said on the recording. "Kill Correa and this demonstration will end." .... Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/brooklyns-in-your-companys-audit/ .... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:43:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/shad-flies-south/ .... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:08:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/terrace-martin-feat-overdoz-and-kurrupt-the-makings-of-you/ .... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/downloads/ .... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:09:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/babylon-bites-dead-presidents-to-represent/ OCTOBER 6, 2010 The Wall Street Journal's Thomas Chatterton Williams has penned a piece criticizing Obama's "rap palate." A little sample: Does Mr. Obama like Lil Wayne's "Lil Duffle Bag Boy"? In that song, the rapper implores young black men to "go and get their money" through round-the-clock drug hustling. And with Lil Wayne, it's not just an act: The rapper is currently serving a one-year term on Rikers Island after being caught in New York with drugs and guns stashed in his Louis Vuitton overnighter. Let's have a toast for the douchebags! Foreign Policy has a list of the worst ex-leaders, peep "Bad Exes" to see if Dubya made the list. Spain's ex-Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar made the cut with gems like these: Aznar has also suggested that Muslims apologize for the medieval occupation of Spain, called efforts at interfaith dialogue stupid, and called the U.S. election of an African-American president "a historic exoticism and predictable economic disaster." Aznar also attacked Spanish government campaign against drunk driving -- while accepting an award from a vintner's association -- saying, "Let me decide for myself; that's what liberty consists of. Who asked you to come and drive for me? Let me drink my wine in peace; I'm not putting anyone at risk." .... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/fuck-yo-360/ Another (soon to be) great Pound tradition begins today... "The Hangover: Wuh Happened Last Night?" Lupe Fiasco discussed his label woes with Atlantic. Lu's been fighting to get his album LASERS released for some time, here he explains that the hold up is the result of a 360 deal that he doesn't want to sign. Can you really comeback if your never really brought it? Well, we're going to find out. DJ Premier Blog is reporting that Screwball is back. This NY crew is best known for their singles "F.A.Y.B.A.N." (Fuck All You Bitch Ass Niggas) and "H-O-S-T-Y-L-E", and for their undying love of acronyms. Lil Wayne made a call to MTV's The Seven yesterday to talk about his plans upon release from prison. He joked about Madonna being the special guest at his homecoming show and everyone laughed really hard. It was super amazing. I'm telling you, important shit happened and we're letting you know about this important shit. Drake went on Angie Martinez's show and they fawned over each other. Angie Martinez: "YOU'RE NOT ONE OF US ANYMORE!" I swear to god radio hosts are the most irritating people in the world. .... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:30:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-vado-j-cole-and-fashawn/ .... Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:01:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/free-99-andre-3000-diddy-and-rick-ross-joe-budden/ .... Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/fuck-snl-and-the-whole-cast/ .... Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:23:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/sean-price-quadruple-bill/ .... Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:48:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/bet-2010-the-cypher/ .... Mon, 04 Oct 2010 10:53:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/beats_rhymes_life_eds_kenjijasper_ytashalwomack/ this is for the readers, strictly for the readers.... Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/deademceescrolls1/ slicker than your average book report.... Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:37:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/pound-x-j-cole-behind-the-scenes/ .... Sat, 02 Oct 2010 18:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/kanye-west-christian-dior/ .... Sat, 02 Oct 2010 15:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/white-america-has-lost-its-mind/ .... Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/wiz-khalifa-on-weed-editquette/ .... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/free-99/ .... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:20:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/eminem-feat-lil-wayne-no-love/ .... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/history-of-rap-jimmy-fallon-feat-justin-timberlake/ .... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:33:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/duck-sauce-barbra-streisand/ .... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/slim-thug-feat-b-o-b-so-high/ .... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:48:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/vado-goodfellas/ .... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/cypress-hill-interview/ .... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/beats-crimes-and-life/ "1-8-7 on the whole courtroom / Mutherfuck 'em all" - C-Bo.... Wed, 29 Sep 2010 22:21:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/black-milk-welcome-gotta-go/ .... Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:51:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/chip-tha-ripper-ain-t-no-love-here/ .... Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:58:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/dirty-money-feat-drake-and-obie-trice/ .... Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:49:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/blast-that-nottz-feat-black-milk/ .... Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:28:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/revolutionary-but-wankster/ .... Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/three-for-free/ .... Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/fashawn-el-mejicano/ .... Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-smokers-club-tour/ .... Mon, 27 Sep 2010 23:48:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/hip-hops-favorite-magazine/ .... Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/mikkey-halsted-first-class-video/ .... Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:21:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/what-color-of-the-week-is-it/ .... Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/chase-n-cashe-i-don-t-want-to-nothin/ .... Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:23:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/theres-so-much-shitty-music-and-i-love-it/ .... Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:34:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/knaan-responds-to-sfu-allegations-via-twitter-complete-transcrip/ .... Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:18:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/kanye-west-feat-rza-jay-z-pusha-t-swizz-beatz-and-cyhi-da-prynce/ .... Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:48:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/eat-the-rich/ .... Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/fashawn-life-as-a-shorty-shoudldn-t-be-so-rough-interview/ .... Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:40:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/sean-price-doesnt-interview/ .... Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/massive-attack/ In light of the Manifesto Festival going on this week, I thought I'd share my new favourite group's newest music video. Nomadic Massive is that indeed - massive - with nine group members, all ranging in enviable talents from playing different musical instruments to singing and rapping in various languages. Beginning in Montreal, the group has stayed true to their name, travelling internationally to blow away audiences. They will be performing on the main stage at the Manifesto closing concert on Sunday, September 26th. Below is their video for "Moving Forward" .... Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/shad-feat-f-von-pea-and-donwill-of-tanya-morgan-rose-garden-remi/ .... Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:25:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/the-highs-and-lows-of-hold-em-rappin/ The best and worst songs about Texas Hold 'Em Poker.... Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/questlove-talks-politics/ .... Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/fashawn-freestlye/ .... Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:35:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/rhymefest-mermaid-video/ .... Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:31:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/soul-sensation-sharon-jones-speaks-on-that-crazy-rap-music-that/ Are you like me? Do you love a good rant? (Word to Chucks D and Palahniuk.) Sweet soul dynamo Sharon Jones (of & the Dap-Kings fame) recently sounded off on this thing we call hip-hop. At 54 years young, Ms. Jones loves the Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” hook but gets lost as soon as Jay-Z starts rapping. “You can’t help but hear it. I’m from that old school. I like Chuck D and that ol’ New York stuff. But half the stuff, I don’t know what they sayin’. I’m sorry. “The only connection [between my music and hip-hop] is the beats. Some of the rappers like Jay-Z and even DJ Greyboy wanted to sample some of the stuff. What rappers have done over the years is use soul music as samples. Don’t compare ’em. I won’t try. That’s why they’re doing what they’re doing. Poppin’, rappin’, jazzin’—everybody do your own thing and not turn your nose up at someone else’s stuff. If you don’t want to do it, don’t—but you ain’t gotta get out there and slander it. Only thing I gotta say about the rappers is all that cursing and that sex nonsense. Or when they gettin’ to shootin’ somebody down, all that killing, the bitches and the hoes. All that stuff—that’s what I don’t like. “And I don’t like using that N-word all the time. I don’t appreciate it. I was born in the ’50s. I lived through segregation. For me, James Brown was the reason I made it in this world because of so many people calling me black, calling me names and [judging me] because of my colour. So when James Brown came with that song ‘Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,’ it made a big difference. So for you to get up and use that word which people died and fought for [not to be used], it means something different to you; it’s part of your slang, part of your life. But then if someone wants to treat you different because of your colour, you want to kill him? I don’t understand that. But I’m from that old school. I don’t need to use that word. I grew up trying not to hear it. But that’s the only thing I got with the rappers and youngsters coming up. “Remember in the ’60s everybody had the long hair and said, ‘Make love, not war.’ They called them hippies. Every group of young people has their own thing going on. So now these young people have their pants hanging off their behind. I worked in a prison. I know where it originates. They didn’t have belts, so you walk around with easy access to your behind. If you want to walk around the street exposing your behind, that’s a prison look. What kind of nonsense are we putting in young people’s heads? You walking around the street like you in prison. I don’t understand that, I’m sorry. I ain’t trying to get with that. You won’t see me onstage with my pants hanging off my behind during a concert.”.... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/sean-price-will/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:25:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/im-like-atlantic/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:00:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/the-narcicyst-feat-shadia-mansour-hamdulillah-video/ Video by Narcicyst.... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/von-pea-thanks-for-your-children-f-che-grand-and-elucid/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:29:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/o-donnell-vs-fox-news/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/off-the-books/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:36:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/ice-cube-x-karmaloop-x-nepotism/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:35:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/cory-gunz/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:27:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/bruno-mars-liquor-store-blues-feat-damian-marley-mp3/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/third-degree-burns/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/reks-eat-or-starve-prod-statik-selektah-mp3/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:23:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/y-e-s-job-well-done-prod-illmind-mp3/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:17:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/trae-bad-don-t-seem-so-wrong-mp3/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:14:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/pete-rock-feat-smif-n-wessun-and-raekwon-prevail-mp3/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:08:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/lee-bannon-x-chuuwee-feat-c-plus-i-need-that-mp3/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:28:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/jw-so-amazing-mp3/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:26:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/donny-goines-rap-for-em/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/lock-the-vote/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:04:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/mapuche-hunger-strike/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:32:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/nardwuar-vs-charlie-murphy/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/nardwuar-vs-charlie-murphy/ .... Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:49:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/emilio-rojas-ex-girl-feat-mickey-factz/obie-trice-blow-up/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/emilio-rojas-ex-girl-feat-mickey-factz/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/consequence-got-me-tripping-prod-q-tip/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:50:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/add-2-come-on/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:22:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/50-cent-they-burn-me/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:15:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/futuristic-insight/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:55:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/wisconsin-voter-suppression/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:03:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/wais-p-feat-sauce-money-back-bitches/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:56:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/shad/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:07:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/kanye-west-lord-lord-lord-featuring-va/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:59:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/travis-barker-jump-down/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/joell-ortiz/ .... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:52:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/about-pound/ .... Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:12:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/our-generation-j-period-remix-ft-pete-rock-and-cl-smooth/ .... Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/g-o/ 2010 MTV Video Music Awards - More VMA Video Seeing Pusha on the World stage during the nearly unwatchable V.M.A. awards brought me new found faith in his decision to sign with Kanye's G.O.O.D. music imprint rappers signing to other rappers has always made me nervous (i.e. Rocafella circa 04,) but Kanye's roaster seems tight Common, Kid Cudi and a slew of talented artists has given me faith. now the only question remains, What about Malice? .... Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:11:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/kanye-west-feat-pusha-t-runaway/ .... Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:42:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/aloe-blacc-the-warriors/ .... Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:39:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/wale-the-work-video/ Wale, makes a song and video just so he can show his Foamposite's off for one second. .... Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:37:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/media/the-mad-rapper-dear-hip-hop/ The Mad Rapper Dear Hip-Hop mp3.... Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:45:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/blogs/angelica-leminh/ slicker than your average book report.... Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/politics/ .... Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:19:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/bullsh-t/ .... Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:16:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/articles/babylon-system-wrongfully-convicted/ .... Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:38:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/articles/n-e-r-d-colour-your-world/ .... Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:07:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/articles/q-tip-as-i-come-back/ .... Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:23:00 EDT http://www.poundmag.com/articles/lupe-fiasco/ .... Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:52:00 EDT