Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta

...so I couldn't neglect the veteran rappers for long:


Ludacris - "Stay Together"



Fair dues, Luda is Mr Consistency. The punchlines here are pretty funny, if a leeettle bit predictable.



Jay-Z - "Ain't I"



Jay-Z and Timbaland work so well together...maybe they can collaborate for Hov's next concept album; perhaps 12 tracks of Jay tongue-twisting over Timbo club tracks? This one maintains tradition and there's a genius beat switch about half-way through.



Busta Rhymes - "Don't Touch Me"



This has me looking forward to the new Busta album. His flow is "dungeon dragon" and the beat's so funky it stinks. Sweet!



State Property - "Ocean's 7"



This song deserves about the biggest compliment I can hand East Coast rappers these days: it wouldn't sound at all out of place on a Ghostface album. Plus, as a posse cut, it's very reminiscent of Wu-Tang. Missed the boat on SP the first time around, so hopefully they've still got a quality album or two in them.



50 Cent - "Rowdy Rowdy"



Classic track from the unreleased "Power of The Dollar" album. Curtis at his best, spraying that "aggressive content".

"I roam like a cell phone in Italy, in search of the real shit.." - Phonte

...& as I can't always depend on aging rappers for the hook up, I've been listening to some rappers closer to my own age...& loads of electronic stuff:


Seal - "Amazing"






Justice - "Tthhee PPaarrttyy"



The "Stay Fly" sample is lovely.




Cansei de Ser Sexy - "Acho Um Pouco Bum"



I've posted tracks from their self-titled debut before, but I like them more now than I did then, so here's to Japanese Brazilians!




Kylie - "Heart Beat Rock"



I'd normally consider myself too much of a snob to post Kylie Minogue songs, but in fairness her album's got much better beats than anything any hip-hop folks have had to contribute this year. Plus Calvin Harris produced this and I'm a big fan.




Chromeo - "Tenderoni"



These guys are stuck in the '80s, but then so am I; a match made in heaven.




Usher ft Jeezy & T.I. - "Love In The Club rmx"



No "Yeah", but it sounds great played loud.




Janet Jackson + a buncha rappers - "Feedback rmx"






Lil Wayne - "Lollipop"



The fact Weezy starts the track with a "no homo", like some kind of disclaimer, cracks me up...and should prepare you fully for the song that follows. I'm all about homoerotic hip-hop humour, but this takes the biscuit like Ja in his prime. As guilty pleasures go, this song might get me life. Sounds good, though :)




Kidz In The Hall - "Driving Down The Block"



Kinda biting the Cool Kids' style production-wise, but that's probably a good thing.




Mickey Factz ft NERD - "Don't Be Light"



Not listened to dude before, but I'm a big NERD fan and he drops a few jewels here.


CRAC Knuckles - "Activate Too"



Funky little interlude from "The Piece Talks", for the sake of which I must retract my earlier statement regarding Kylie Minogue and hip-hop beats.



Wale - "Strings"



His raps fall somewhere between Weezy and Lupe and I'm working my way through his catalogue of mixtapes at the moment (hate catching on late & he's been around for a minute).