Hit-Boy - Old School Caddy ft Kid Cudi

G.O.O.D. Music artist/producer Hit-Boy released the video for "Old School Caddy", his collaboration with fellow G.O.O.D. music staple Kid Cudi today. From his #HITStory mixtape, Hit-Boy spits bar after bar of pure amazingness. Coupled with the dope video, this really should have been a summer anthem. Check it out!

Kendrick Lamar - Westside, Right On Time ft. Young Jeezy

As a part of Top Dawg Entertainment Appreciation Week, Kendrick Lamar dropped this collaboration with Young Jeezy today, produced by Canei Finch. Where is the sample from?

Frank Ocean Comes Out!!!

Today, Frank Ocean published a letter on his tumblr that confirms the rumors that he is gay (or at least bi). In some songs on his upcoming album Channel Orange, he sings about love with a man, which lead to speculation about his sexuality. He reveals that his first love was a male friend in this letter:

Tyler, the Creator responded to his friend and fellow OFWGKTA member's coming out with this tweet, showing that even though he uses homophobic slurs in his music, it does not mean he is anti-gay and that he supports Ocean coming out. 

This is huge. Homosexuality carries many negative stigmas in both hip-hop and black culture, so to come out of the closet as a popular artist is not easy. This is a step towards understanding and acceptance in the hip-hop community and even though it will take A LOT more than one artist coming out to make a change in the minds of homophobic individuals, this was an extraordinarily brave move for Ocean and will hopefully prompt the community to rethink some things. 

What do you think about homosexuality in relation to hip-hop? Do you think there is a big stigma against it? Did you have any idea Frank Ocean was gay? Because I sure didn't. 

Kanye West & Pusha T - New God Flow

Last night, Kanye performed his verse from his new song with Pusha T, "New God Flow", on the BET Awards last night. If you saw it, then you know he killed it. If you missed it, I'll post a video at the end. The song seems to serve as an introduction to the future of G.O.O.D. Music. Pusha T takes the first two verses, which are both lackluster. It basic self-hype about how badass they are and how fresh they are and all that jazz. The same shit every other rapper talks about. Being your own hype man is played out, sorry Pusha. Kanye's verse, however, salvages the song with a few well-placed and meaningful bars. I'll go through the 2 that stood out to me and then post the song & video. What lines, if any, stand out to you?

What has the world come to, I'm from the 312, Where cops don't come through and dreams don't come true

312 is the area code for Kanye's hometown, Chicago, which is far from a safe, cushy suburb full of affluence and opportunity (hence "dreams don't come true"). Like many other hoods, there is clash between the police and the citizens they serve.

I'm living three dreams: Biggie Smalls', Dr. King's, Rodney King's

Quite self-serving, but Kanye's ego is big as hell so you know he can't go like 3 bars without hyping himself. However, this line is still meaningful in that each of these three spoke of a "dream". Biggie's famous line "it was all a dream", Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and Rodney King's dream of harmony.

Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap

This documentary stars Ice-T, who speaks to countless hip-hop legends about their craft and about the genre that has changed our lives. Some of the big names include Afrika Bambaataa, Bun B, Common, DJ Premier, DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Grandmaster Caz, Ice Cube, Immortal Technique, Joe Budden, Kanye West, KRS One, MC Lyte, Nas, Q-Tip, Raekwon, Redman, Royce Da 5'9, Run, Salt, Snoop Dogg, Treach, Xzibit, and Mos Def/Yasiin Bey. The film comes to theatres this Friday, June 15th. I'll post the trailer and update about it after I see it! Are you as excited as I am?

Frank Ocean - Pyramids

Frank Ocean recently released this track which is off his upcoming album Channel Orange, to be released on July 17th. This 10 minute track is split up into two parts, with (possibly) the same character in both. The lyrics suggest Ocean's extensive knowledge of Egyptian history, with both overt and subtle references. In the first part of the song, he describes the actual Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra, while in the second part, he sings about what is probably a modern-day interpretation of Cleopatra. At the least, they share a namesake. The ending guitar solo features John Mayer and gives the song a feel similar to The Weeknd.

Meek Mill - Dreamchasers 2

Meek Mill's highly anticipated mixtape, Dreamchasers 2, finally dropped today at 2:15pm. It's available for free download at DatPiff and features collaborations with Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean, Mac Miller, Wale, and a few more. I'll post more about it later in the week after some buzz builds up and we all have the chance to listen, but for now I'll leave you with the Intro video he posted on World Star.