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.

Wiz Khalifa - Hello Kitty

More wallpapers available at http://wallpapers.selfmedicatemusic.com

I'm not a huge fan of Wiz..his lyrics leave a lot to be desired but his beats are alright. This song has a really fun, chill flow and the video matches. It's off his mixtape "Burn After Rolling". I'm not even going to bother with the lyrics since they are just repetitive, but check out the video!

Oh, also! The whole reason I wrote this post is because I found and entered a Hello Kitty giveaway today, and it made me think of this song. There's a couple prizes and only like 2 other people entered so if you like Hello Kitty, you've got a pretty fair shot at getting some free swag.

Enter the giveaway at Hello Kitty Forever

Usher - Climax

R&B powerhouse Usher just released the lead single to his seventh album, which is still in progress and slated to release later this year. It was produced by Diplo, and this dubstep-infused falsetto song tells the story of a relationship that has become unsalvageable and has reached its "climax". The music video goes even deeper, and shows Usher still hanging on to an ex who has since moved on, while sitting in his car contemplating ways to have her again. It's exciting to see Usher back in the game and staying true to his soulful love songs, while adding new elements and growing as an artist. I'm absolutely in love with this song..what do you think?

Yasiin Bey - Niggas in Poorest

I know I'm like 2 weeks late with this song, but better late than never. Mos Def, now known as Yasiin Bey, has been in the game since the mid 1990s.  He's always been an intelligent, social-conscious rapper and has some insane talent. As a testament to this, he has announced his plans to release a Top 40 Underdogs series, which will be his reinterpretations of some recent hits. Remixing is a huge part of hip-hop culture, so this isn't strange, but he will stick with his style of social and political subjects which unfortunately is not common. Such is true with "Niggas in Poorest", where he puts a major spin on "Niggas in Paris". 

In "Niggas in Paris", Jay and Kanye boast about their riches (of course) and how they "ball so hard". Yasiin refutes this in the first verse, saying "So what's fifty grand to a young nigga like me? More than my annual salary". I could probably go on all day, comparing the two songs and showing how Bey turns each superficial line from "Niggas in Paris" into something actually relatable. I mean, I love Jay and Kanye as much as the next hip-hop head but seriously? They are bragging about all their money and status in this song and pretty much every song, while most of their audience is struggling to make ends meet. I mean, big ups to them for making it and getting all these millions..but what about all of your friends and family still in the projects? Do you even remember what it's like? Unlike them, Yasiin remembers what it's like in the ghetto. 

This whole video is amazing. The lyrics are on the screen so you know exactly what he's trying to say. The imagery he uses drives the point of every line so deep; you cannot ignore it. You can make it big and forget the 'Hard Knock Life' all you want, but that doesn't make it go away. It still exists and it's something the rest of us face every day. There's one line that I think resounds the message of the entire song, as a criticism to both mainstream hip-hop artists and the 1%:

Don't get caught up in no throne / Towers of Babylon rise up and so they shall fall

Also, one thing I've noticed in people's reactions to this song is the very end, when he says "Allah is in control", and  everyone is just trippin over the reference to Yasiin's Islamic religion. Hip-hop references the Christian God in literally countless songs, so I feel this shouldn't even be an issue. Why the hell do you care? The point of the song is not to preach Islam. The point of the song is to raise awareness within the hip-hop community of the injustice surrounding us and to provoke the audience away from the normal apathetic attitude and into action.

  It's them niggas in poorest, be them rebel guerillas

Wale - DC Gorillaz

This is probably my favorite song by Wale! The sick beat is sampled from "Dirty Harry" by Gorillaz (hence the title), which I'll post at the bottom as well. I think this song, more than any, is a testament to his talent. He confronts the tendency of rappers to practice "poor artistry", where they just spit inane b.s. on top of an 808 and it becomes a hit. He addresses how his refusal to stoop this low hurts his radio play/record sales, however, by saying "if I don't make that man there dance / that man there throw Wale on the shelf, and I lose" and later compares himself to photosynthesis, as his style gives a change of pace.

every single single ain't a single just to hit the clubs

Also, in true Wale fashion, he takes it back to DC for the last verse and makes it crank. All in all, this song is awesome. Granted, he's started to drift away what he used to be. I feel like since joining with Maybach Music, he's started to fall into the same trap of "poor artistry", although he's NOWHERE near as bad as Lil Wayne, Tyga, Nicki, or any of Young Money (thank God). He still has mad talent and he's not too far off, plus he always reps DC so he's true to his roots. Hopefully he wont go full retard.

Tha Joker ft Future - Blow It All

Young southern rapper Tha Joker has been rapping since he was 14 years old. He's since gained fans and followings through YouTube, Twitter, and Myspace and has created a trill sound all his own. His 2009 mixtape "We Do It For Fun" is one of the most downloaded on livemixtapes.com. He released this single, "Blow It All", last year and I think it's a testament to his sound. The video is reminiscent of The Hangover, baby included.

Childish Gambino - Heartbeat

Honestly it's taken me way too long to post Childish Gambino. My bad. This dude does it all..he's an awesome MC, he was a writer for The Daily Show and 30 Rock, and he plays Troy Barnes on Community.  He's talented, intelligent, and most of all he's got swag. This song is off his latest album, Camp, and describes his complicated relationship with his ex.

Game ft. Tyler the Creator - Martians vs. Goblins

Two west coast powerhouses, Game and Tyler the Creator, get together for this dark track. Oh, and Lil Wayne is on it too, but honestly he doesn't bring much to the table so who cares. They both take shots at various celebrities and artists, such as Chris Brown, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, LeBron James, Tyler Perry, and Bruno Mars. The video is set in a dim, decrepit mental institution which just adds to the song's already dismal feel (which is Tyler's specialty in my opinion). I really like it..it's artistic and goes hand in hand with the flow of the song..certainly not the average rap video.

Drake ft Lloyd - A Night Off (Chopped & Screwed)

Drizzy teamed up with R&B artist Lloyd for this intimate slow jam, which I wanted to share just in time for Valentine's Day :) It's easy to neglect your significant other, especially when you're working your ass off to make ends meet. In this song, Drake takes a night off from it all and gives his girl the night she deserves. The original version is cool, but this version is awesome. It's chopped and screwed by Pollie Pop, a Texan DJ who's been in the game for a while and has a lot of talent. If you like this song, check him out!

Da Shootaz - Gangster Friday

If you're a Grand Theft Auto fan like I am, then you'll recognize this song. It first appeared in GTA 1, then again in GTA III on Lips 106 and as the ringtone for your pager. In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, an 8-bit version of the song can be heard in the game's intro screen. It makes a reappearance in GTA IV, as a ringtone available for your cell phone.

Soul Starr - Nujabes/J Dilla Tribute

I'm pretty sure this tribute is by Soul Starr, an experimental/hip-hop producer. In any case, I think it's a beautiful tribute to two of hip-hop's greatest, J Dilla and Nujabes. Rest In Beats! <3

Eve - Love Is Blind

Eve is a Philly rapper/actress that was big in the late 90s/early 2000s as a part of the Ruff Ryders. This song was on her debut album Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryder's First Lady. Looking back, I really miss songs like this..uplifting and motivational songs from strong women in hip-hop. Now we have Nicki Minaj talking about her ass...

"Love is Blind" tells the story of a friend who was murdered by her abusive boyfriend, a fate that befalls far too many women. Physical and emotional abuse is a serious situation and can turn deadly at any time. There are many warning signs and if you or anyone you know may be in an abusive relationship, please seek help immediately before it's too late!

Queen Latifah - U.N.I.T.Y.

I still remember my mom playing Queen Latifah in the car when I was growing up. I liked it but the songs didn't have much meaning to me back then. Listening to it now, I can understand why my mother loved Queen Latifah so much; she's a force to be reckoned with and her music carries a powerful message.

"U.N.I.T.Y." was Queen Latifah's biggest hit and is off her third album Black Reign, released in 1993. In the first verse, she addresses the issue of women being harassed/fondled on the street. She highlights how degrading and disgusting it is, and how she resolved the issue. She goes on to talk about domestic abuse by telling the story of a past abusive relationship. The hook confronts what the chorus resounds, the message that verbal degradation on the street, in relationships, and in hip-hop is not okay. Ladies, you are not a "bitch" or a "ho" and don't let anyone tell you any different!

Nicki Minaj: Reversing the status of women in hip-hop, one verse at a time,

City High - What Would You Do?

City High was a hip-hop trio out of New Jersey and this was the first single from their debut album back in 2001. They only made one album and broke up shortly after due to romantic conflicts, which is a shame because they had A LOT of potential, as evident in "What Would You Do". This song is about a single mother who resorted to prostitution to be able to feed her son, with an uplifting ending meant to motivate other parents caught in similar situations.