Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

We know. The weekend is here. We’re excited about it too, but consider catching up on today’s new music before you hit the town tonight. We have some dope indie rock courtesy of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Small Black, hip-hop covered via Curren$y and Dirty Money’s star-studded remix, plus a little Ne-Yo for the R&B heads. You really can’t go wrong here. The listening session kicks off after the jump…

SONG: “Hysteric”
ARTIST: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Karen O and the rest of the gang strip down to the basics for this acoustic jam and it’s as good as anything they’ve released this year.

SONG: “Breakfast (In And Out)”
ARTIST: Curren$y
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Mos Def laced Spitta with this very chill beat and dude proceeds to talk his shit for a couple minutes. Short but dope.

SONG: “Love Come Down (Remix)”
ARTIST: Dirty Money f/ Red Cafe, Jim Jones, & Fabolous
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Diddy gets a gang of NY rappers to remix his latest Dirty Money single. Hot verses all around for the most part.

SONG: “Pleasant Experience”
ARTIST: Small Black
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We’ve been digging Small Black’s sound for a while now. Their latest continues to impress.

SONG: “Gone”
ARTIST: Ne-Yo
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• New Ne-Yo songs seem to drop every week, and although we don’t check for all of them, this one is pretty good.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

Given the theme of the album, we set out to get some sexual confessions from the man who landed the gorgeous Paula Patton, but (always the gentleman) he refused to “kiss and tell.” Instead, we got him to reveal his favorite tunes to get down to and why he thinks Nicki Minaj is a dope date. Check out the quick Q&A and watch the “Sex Therapy” video below…

Interview by Soo-Young Kim

Complex: Your new album is called Sex Therapy. Have you ever had a bad sexual experience you needed therapy from? Maybe when you lost your virginity?

Robin Thicke: [Laughs] I’m gonna skip that one. What else?

Complex: Alright. What are your favorite slow jams for getting busy?

Robin Thicke: “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye. “Adore” by Prince. There’s the “Bump N’ Grind Remix,” R. Kelly. “I’m Fucking You Tonight” by R. Kelly and Biggie is a good one. [Laughs]

Complex: [Laughs]

Robin Thicke: Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” And I do that song in concert. So what else are we missing? Oh, let’s say D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar.”

Complex: Those are classics. And are you sure you don’t have any amusing stories of the best—or worst—sex you’ve ever had?

Robin Thicke: A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell! These are wild questions. [Laughs]

Complex: Nicki Minaj is featured on your record, “Shakin’ It For Daddy” and you lend a verse on Leighton Meester’s “Somebody to Love.” If you were a single man and you had to pick one of these girls to take on a date, who would it be?

Robin Thicke: I’d have to go with Nicki Minaj. I like the way she raps.

WATCH THE VIDEO: “Sex Therapy”

• CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE COMPLEX MUSIC POSTS!

It’s been over a year since we’ve seen Jayceon Taylor on covers of magazines with a gun to his head, and crying on YouTube videos about hip-hop of the past. He’ll be the first to admit his life is an emotional roller-coaster, but nowadays The Game seems more content than usual.

And maybe he has good reason to be. He’s back working with Dr. Dre and says his forthcoming LP The R.E.D Album (due out February 16) is his favorite since The Documentary. He’s even feeling relieved that Jay-Z never responded to his sideways comments he made in his last Complex interview. Yesterday, we reconnected with Game to get his take on 50 baiting Jay into a battle, the new album, young rappers like Drake, and why Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine wants to reunite the hip-hop Beatles. It was Game on as usual…

Interview by Joe La Puma

Complex: Starting off, talk about the reasoning behind naming your new joint The R.E.D. Album.

Game: R.E.D is simply rededicated. That’s what R.E.D is, the r-e-d in red for me. And rededicated to what? My family, my craft, which is hip-hop, my fans, which are world wide, my children, my hood, my city, and what got me here—which is the color. I think that before I came out there was no red. There was Snoop, everybody was Crip walking. I came in, I took the color on as a whole. People just adapted to who I am and where I come from. I mean now, even Crips wear red.

Complex: How do you feel about other rappers who claim Blood and shout “Soo-Woo”?

Game: I mean, look what I did to Jim Jones, and look at Weezy, and look at Gucci Mane. I feel like I did that. It’s a free country. People can do whatever they want to do and if anything they’re just making me bigger and my legacy and where I come from and what I represent bigger.

Complex: I know Gucci Mane is on the album. What other collaborations can we expect?

Game: I got Rick Ross. I got Beanie Sigel, I got Jeezy. I finally did a song with Jeezy that’s fuckin’ crazy too. For the most part it’s me, with a couple of features from people I haven’t worked with yet—I always try to work with new people every album. But it’s people that I respect and that are also poppin’ in the world and that other people want to hear.

Complex: I read somewhere that there’s going to be some production by RZA. Is that true?

Game: RZA gave me a beat, which I am so fuckin’ ecstatic about. I appreciate it because he doesn’t make beats anymore. RZA gets paid millions of dollars now to score movies, big fuckin’ movies. So, for him to come in my studio and for him to say “Yo Game, I brought this beat to you and just listen to it and just tell me if you like it…” So I listened to it and I was so crazy about it. I called him and he was like, “Yo, you could have that beat.” That’s all it was and I ain’t talk to RZA since, shit [Laughs].

Complex: So Jay-Z did The Black Album, The Beatles did The White Album. How does The R.E.D. Album stack up against those masterpieces?

Game: I just would consider this my best effort since The Documentary. My favorite would be the Doctor’s Advocate, but The Documentary is my first album. It is to the people what Illmatic was to the people, what Ready to Die was, what Reasonable Doubt was, Straight Out of Compton, and all those albums. It’s the first album, so I kind of think that people are biased to say that it’s classic. But The R.E.D. Album is as dope as The Documentary was. There’s no controversy in my way. There’s nobody telling me to rap like this or anything, I’m just dead me on this album. I did it by myself, with the help of Dr. Dre this time and that was a breath of fresh air and relieved a lot of my stress and tension. It’s always easier when you’re rolling with that mastermind, man.

Complex: So working with Dre again, it seemed to piss 50 off a little bit…

Game: That made 50 mad, man.

Complex: Do you think it was a jealousy thing?

Game: 50’s just bitter, man. For what reason? I don’t know. He doesn’t have to be. Me and his beef is old at this point. It’s pure comedy for me at this point. When he says something, I laugh. If I shoot a shot back it’s just a joke at this point. Nobody is going to kill each other. Nobody is gonna beat each other’s ass. I’m not gonna do none of that. So we might as well get along. We exist in hip-hop. You know with opening arms he can re-join my band of brothers. Just say sorry and you want to make music. He’ll never be as big as he was and he’ll never be able to put out an album that people will be waiting for and anticipate as much without me, period. And I ain’t saying that he needs me, but me and him made the best records together. I understand it, he needs to understand it, and maybe one day we’ll record. He said recently in an interview that he’ll never work with Game again but that’s all him talking and his ego. I can’t wait to mend the ties with Eminem. Me and Eminem had never been at odds but he had to take 50’s side. That’s his artist and his homie and what not, and I understood it but I’d love to get back with Eminem and work again and sort of restructure the Voltron if you will.

Complex: Even though he says he won’t work with you, it seems like right now you’re telling me you’d definitely work with 50 again…

Game: ‘Cause I don’t hold grudges. Like, it’s hip-hop, man. We’re not fuckin’ WWF wrestlers, we’re not boxers man, it’s just hip-hop. It’s just make music or don’t make music. It’s not a gang war, like he’s not a Crip and I’m a Blood, and this ain’t fuckin’ ‘85, and I’m not gonna ride through his hood and do a drive by, like it’s not that serious, bruh. It’s just hip-hop and I think that he’s more bitter towards me then anyone else he’s had drama with because look what I did to his brand. I killed G-Unit. I killed the clothes, I killed the brand, I killed Tony Ya-Yo, Banks, and Buck at that time. Like I really fucked up a lot of money for that dude. Not only for him but my label, Jimmy Iovine, who at this point, I’m apologetic to.

Complex: Is the label situation cool now?

Game: I’ve mended the wounds at Interscope. You know I went against my own label and I came out the smoke with my hands held high and my head, man. So I mean, I don’t know what 50’s problem is but I’m here. Whenever he wants to call me on the phone and talk about it, squash it or we can keep on going with this fucking child- like antics. He can do it, I can do it and we can do it ’til we fuckin’ die, it makes me no difference, man.

Complex: Interesting…

Game: If he ever wants to do something of catastrophic proportion, then we could. If we said tomorrow Game and 50 are coming out with an album, you know how many motherfuckin’ antennas would go up? We could still sell a million records just off promoting it alone. I mean, I understand the business aspect of it. I understand that you know, he’s got a big ego. I’m just not one with it, I don’t have one. I forgive and forget and that’s life. One day you’re alive and the next day you die. So why spend it bitter and mad at the fuckin’ world, man? I don’t understand it.

Complex: 50’s been baiting Jay-Z recently. As someone who’s had issues with both of them, how do you feel about him going after Jay?

Game: Oh yeah, I already did that Jay-Z thing. 50’s just doing what I’m doing. Nobody went at Jay, I went at Jay. Now everybody wants to get at Jay, not saying anything about Beanie Sigel, that’s personal and I stay out of that. He’s just a man and he’s got all the right in the world, but I feel like I did something that people have been wanting to do, but everybody is scared because Jay-Z is so lyrically inclined to cut your throat and your career in half that nobody wanted to do it. But me? I just don’t give a fuck sometimes.

Complex: What do you think that the result of that battle would be?

Game: Jay-Z will fuck 50 up in a battle! It would be so fast and over with. 50 is funny, but Jay is witty. Jay-Z is not to be toyed with. If he fuckin’ responds, if he feels like you’re really pissing him off and he responds, he’s gonna fuck you up! He would fuck me up, I’m just glad he didn’t fuckin’ respond, so I didn’t have to go dig in my fuckin’ bag and try to fuck him up. I definitely think that Jay-Z didn’t come at me like he came at any other rappers because I definitely would have been more disrespectful and once you start a beef with me you better be ready to go the whole motherfuckin’ 12 rounds because I will try to chew your fuckin’ ear off like Mike Tyson. I’ll do it and I think he knew that—I’m disrespectful. So Jay, he did the right thing and just kinda let it die down and I let it die down ’cause it wasn’t anything really. It was fuckin’ fun and I really admire Jay’s career. I just really don’t care too much for the man himself.

Complex: Now, I saw on your Twitter that you were talking to Shyne recently.

Game: Yeah, I talked to him for about an hour. Just about his well being and both of our next moves. What I thought he should do and he listened and held me on my thoughts and he gave me a lot of insight on my career and what he thought of my career from the several years while he’s been locked down. He’s the reason why I’m not ready to jump into beefs and controversy today because he kind of shed light on some different situations and it gave me a different perspective. Which is one that I respect being that he’s been behind those bars. So we just chopped it up about life and issues and each other, man.

Complex: Last year we saw you on the cover of The Source with a gun to your head and you were saying some days are good, some days are bad. What is your mind frame like today?

Game: I’m in such a fuckin’ good mood man, you could damn near run in my front yard and blow up my car and I would just smile at you. I might fuckin’ shoot you with a sling-shot or something, but I’m definitely less drama filled and I’m just having a good time with my music and my life. I’ve been going out a couple of nights with my boys and drinkin’ and hangin’ and chillin’ and I’m just having fun. You know, the other night I was in a club out here with a couple of billionaire homies and we bought some Ace of Spades and joked about Jay-Z, but at least we contributed 17 grand. It costs 17 grand in the club and five grand on the fuckin’ street. We bought it and just balled out man. In the name of Jay-Z, H-O-V, R-O-C, ya heard? [Laughs]

Complex: [Laughs] I noticed that you Twitter a lot. What rap blogs do you read?

Game: Rap blogs? None. Man I don’t fuckin’ buy XXL anymore, unless I see them around in the studio anymore, [but] I won’t pick them up. I’m so lost, like people were telling me, “Yo, you gotta hear this new kid, J. Cole.” Like people had to force feed me Drake, I never even heard him until a while after he started blowing up and then I became a fan. But I’m so out of the fuckin’ loop. Like I got my Biggie greatest hits, my Makavelli, my fuckin’ EPMD albums in every car. So I don’t know what’s going on currently in hip-hop, unless it pertains to me and my career directly.

Complex: There’s not a young rapper who really impressed you?

Game: Oh, Drake’s the man! Drake is fuckin’ phenomenal. I like Drake, he’s dope as fuck. Lyrically that dude, the shit he says and where he gets it from is crazy. Drake is dope. I haven’t heard a bad song yet.

Complex: So going back to the label situation, it seems like everything is smooth with Interscope?

Game: Everything that happened in my career was nobody’s fault but mine. They run a business and I went against that business and, I paid for it. With the loss of the group aspect. Jimmy Iovine likes to say, “Thanks for breaking up the Beatles, Game. Thank you.”

Complex: And he’s referring to you…

Game: John Lennon and Paul McCartney. I’m John Lennon and 50 is Paul McCartney and Jimmy always says, “Thanks for breaking up the Beatles, man, you guys are worth more together. So I don’t know what the fuck you guys are doing. Whenever you guys want to fuckin’ get your heads out your asses. Come sit down and take a meeting, make some money, we can talk. Until then, just keep the shit out of my office.” That’s Jimmy Iovine for you, man.

RELATED: A History Of The Game’s Beefs
• CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE COMPLEX MUSIC POSTS!

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

It’s 5:00 PM, which means we’ve got 5 more songs to help get you get through the day. You know we do the leg work so you don’t have to. We found new tracks from Consequence, Kidz in the Hall, Joe Budden, Sheek Louch and Theophilus London. Hit the jump, take a listen, and if you feeling the tracks, click that download link…

SONG: “Whatever U Want (G.O.O.D. Music Remix)”
ARTIST: Consequence f/ Kanye West, Common, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, & John Legend
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Cons brings the Grammy Family back together for this remix of his single, new relatives included.

SONG: “The Grizzly Man
ARTIST: Kidz In The Hall
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We’ve been waiting on someone to flip Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” into a rap song since the day we heard it. Rap’s resident Ivy Leaguers answered the call.

SONG: “Russian Roulette”
ARTIST: Joe Budden
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• There’s no better way to get over a break up than to write a song about the situation. For this track, Budden uses the beat from Rihanna’s song of the same title.

SONG: “Give It Up”
ARTIST: Sheek Louch
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Sometimes we just wanna hear the veterans do what they do best. No flashing lights here, but the bars are on point. We appreciate that.

SONG: “Humdrum Town”
ARTIST: Theophilus London
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We’ve been rocking with Theophilus London for a minute now. If you still haven’t heard anything from this rising Brooklyn dude, this isn’t a bad track to start with.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

As the week rolls along, the new music piles up. We’re certain you don’t have time to sort through everything, but we got you, as usual. Regulars like Jim Jones, Drake, and Curren$y had new stuff hit the blogs today, along with rising artists like Sleigh Bells and Chip Tha Ripper. Listen to (and download) it all after the jump…

SONG: “Hit Em Up”
ARTIST: Jim Jones
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Jones keep killing the mixtape tracks. This one is off The Ghost of Rich Porter. Sounds like that tape is gonna be a problem.

SONG: “Movie”
ARTIST: Chip Tha Ripper
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Yeah, dude plays second fiddle to his homie Kid Cudi, but songs like this prove that he’s kind of nice in his own right. If you’re feeling the sound, his mixtape, The Cleveland Show, drops on December 1.

SONG: “4 My Town”
ARTIST: Birdman f/ Drake & Lil’ Wayne
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Birdman is really taking advantage of having Drizzy on his label, huh? If you recall, this was originally a collab between Drake and Soulja Boy, but the Cash Money teams snatched it up.

SONG: “Crown On The Ground”
ARTIST: Sleigh Bells
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We recognized the talents of this upcoming band last month, and they’re back with more dope tracks. Expect the indie kids to be all over them very soon.

SONG: “Jets Over Everything”
ARTIST: Currensy
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• It seems like more and more people are getting familiar with Currensy, which is great, because he’s been on our radar for a while now. This song adds to growing growing discography of hot records, even if it has no life outside the Internet.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

We know him as the dude who was co-signed by Andre 3000 and made one of the best mixtapes of the past year, 4180: The Prescription. But that was pretty much all we knew. To learn more, we invited Pill to the Complex offices while he was working on the follow up to 4180, 4075: The Refill (which dropped today, download link after the jump) to find out exactly who the man behind the music was. Read on to learn about how he came up, what he thinks of the rap game now and why he’d rap even if there was no money in it for him…

DOWNLOAD PILL’S NEW MIXTAPE 4075: The Refill HERE.

Interview by Damien Scott

Complex: Everyone knows you’re from Atlanta, what part do you hail from?

Pill: I’m from the West Side of Atlanta. But Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 1, Thomasville—I still got my Thomasville I.D. if you wanna see it.

Complex: What’s Thomasville like?

Pill: That’s the projects. I done stayed in Thomasville, I done stayed in Edgewood. So when I say I’m from Atlanta, I’m from all the gutta parts of Atlanta. I done stayed in Kimberly Courts, I done stayed at Adamsville. I been here and there all my life, you feel me? It’s great to receive the attention that I’m receiving and be able to show people the whole point of the visual, because of the simple fact that there’s a lot of people talking but ain’t really walking. For me to be able to give that visual meant a lot. To the people that were in it, it kind of uplifts them in a certain way because it’s kind of like, “Damn, somebody that’s really from here is doing something!”

Complex: As opposed to some people who just shout it out…

Pill: A lot of these guys say they’re from them places but they really ain’t from there. I ain’t ever seen them [Laughs]. And I’m from everywhere. I ain’t ever seen ‘em, at all. A few of them, a few of them cats I could vouch for that’s out the A, but a few of them I can’t.

Complex: Why did you move around so much when you were younger?

Pill: Honestly speaking, my mother was addicted to drugs. I would say from the time I was seven years old until the time she passed. May she rest in peace. She passed two years ago, I found her in Thomasville Apartments. I mean, I was always at an auntie’s house, I done stayed with a teacher, a brother, a cousin, a friend, a girl—I was always with someone. Then, you know, being in the trap and shit and traveling all your life, you really can’t get your own spot down there, so it’s like, it’s just kinda what happened…

Complex: You were bouncing around Atlanta from such a young age. When do you start selling drugs?

Pill: I went back and forth with it in my teenage years and got a little more deep in it when I got to 18, 19. I started out selling green and what not. That was just to keep a little money in my pocket, keep some fresh shoes on my feet, get fresh for the girls—for the fly ladies and what not. I know by the time I was 10 or 11, I was already smoking, already rollin’ blunts [laughs]. I was already rollin’ up like I still remember me and Lil’ Terry, Cut Throat, and I think Tre Bo’. That was the first I really hit some weed.

Complex: [Laughs]

Pill: [Laughs] A little bit after that, I started doing this thing: we used to walk around with a little sheet of paper saying we were collecting the money for the football team for a trip to Disney World—but we were hustling though [Laughs]. Of course we were scheming, but we couldn’t get no jobs at the age, so we had to put money in our pockets. That moved on to the green and the green kind of finagled into the—of course I graduated high school though, through out all of this. I was one of the first males in my family, well, actually the first male in my family to graduate high school.

After high school it got a little more heavy. I started to really see that I could make some money. My cousins were already serving yay then, but I just wanted to rap and do all that shit but they was like, “Shit, man, you need some money in your pocket.” So I ain’t have no choice. There was a time when I went straight from the studio, straight back to the trap. From the trap to the after party. I actually left from the trap to come up here, you feel me? Sometimes that’s the only place I got to go, to be honest with you, and it’s instilled in me. I gotta get away from it, of course, and I’ve been distancing myself from it because of the simple fact that I know it can be detrimental to my career. So I’ve been distancing myself from it, trying to become a better person and to teach other people not to do it, and telling them little young niggas in the hood not to do it. But, it is what it is.

Complex: At one point did you make the decision to pursue rap full time?

Pill: Probably last year.

Complex: Last year?

Pill: Probably last year or the year before that because I was still making good money in like ‘06 or ‘07 and I wasn’t spending that shit. But you know I started out rapping with Killer Mike in high school. I was on a few mixtapes with him and what not but like, say 2006, P. City was doing numbers! I’m talking about that thing was going ham sandwich—that shit was Trill! Like, bank rolls bustin’ out your pockets, we call them thigh pads. You can’t even keep it in your pocket it used to be so hard. That in itself was an addiction. Making fast money, you can go blow a thousand dollars, still make all of it back, still have money in your pockets, get fresh all week, and go make it rain. Pop bottles and all that, get in a fight and do it all again in that weekend. That used to be so fascinating to a lot of people, but to us that was just regular life. That’s just what it is, it ain’t like, “Yeah, that’s what I want to do when I grow up!” [Laughs]. You know what I’m saying? That’s what it was, nigga, that shit just was us.

Complex: Like, “I wanna grow up to be a drug dealer.” [Laughs]

Pill: Exactly like, “I can’t wait,” or raise your hand in class and be like, “I wanna sell drugs when I grow up!” [Laughs] A nigga was a victim of circumstance, that’s everybody. When you in that shit, family members done did it, everybody done did it. You know, it’s in you. You’ve been around it since you were a child. You probably held peoples bombs when you was a child or were the look out man, or did this, that, and the third, but there was always a way to make some money on the streets. It might not have always been right but when you can’t get no god damned job or when you dropped out of school…

Complex: It seems to be the only option.

Pill: A lot of people that decide they want to drop out of school probably don’t want to do shit else with their life. And I felt myself going down that same path at one point so I was like, “Man, what the fuck I’m doing?” I gotta posses some sort of talent, I gotta believe in myself some kind of way. So I need to tighten my belt up and tie my shoes a little tight and go on and go for it. And it turned out pretty good for me, you know what I mean? It’s overwhelming to me. I just want to thank everybody for fucking with me ’cause it’s surreal to me right now, man. I try to remain calm although I’m very excited on the inside. People are always like “You ain’t that excited! You ain’t that excited! How you feel? You just made the New York Times! You just did this!” I be like, you know, it is what it is, man, I’m cool.

Complex: So you said you were rapping while trapping, when did you start jotting down rhymes?

Pill: I was writing raps when I was in Kindergarden, it was always in me. I remember my first rap, that shit was like “My name is Slick Tie, I like to rap. I rap on the microphone and talk my crap. I be on time, on the line. When I’m on the microphone I start smoking the dimes. ‘Cause I’m the king of kings and I’m the cool of coolest. Step up to me? You must be foolish. Got a nine in the front and the gat in the back. Yeah, I’m a true mac.” [Laughs] Shit that was when I was five years old! That shit sounds better than a lot of the bullshit that’s out now! You can call my old elementary school teacher from when I was like in third grade because I always remember that. She used to make me recite that in front of the class, so I was always performing as a youngster. I was always on stage a youngster, like talent shows and shit like that. Playing an instrument or doing poetry. I wrote poetry, too. I played the trumpet, I wrote poetry, I played football, baseball, basketball, I drew. I did everything, nigga.

Complex: A true renaissance man.

Pill: You feel me? [Laughs] I did everything! Slung, hung, skateboarded! Nah, I ain’t really skateboard, but I tried and I skimmed my fucking self in all types of ways. I just wanted to do everything because the lifestyle I was leading as a child, I was already… I shot a pistol when I was five.

Complex: Why?

Pill: ‘Cause I was in the ‘jects. I was staying in Kimberly Courts. They were robbing people on the bus, they were robbing the ice cream truck. You couldn’t walk down the streets of Kimberly Court with out somebody taking something from you. They were finding bodies in the woods. I still remember jumping in the bushes from bullets—me and my momma. You had to learn how to pick up a pistol as a child, in case you had to use it. A lot of people is like, “I’ve been trapping and shooting pistols since I stood four feet.” Well I’ve been trapping and shooting pistols since I stood like, three feet [Laughs]. I was just spitting Tip ’cause I know he dead ass and seen it too, ’cause he was in that same lifestyle. So as a youngster it’s kind of how they do it overseas, you take the boy out to the woods and teach him how to shoot a rifle. But when it’s with us, people say, “Oh, that’s messed up!” But he needs to know, and I needed to know.

Complex: What happened the first time you shot a gun?

Pill: I shot a .40 when I was five years old. I asked my brother if I could see and he let me see it. He probably didn’t think I knew what to do with it like, “This little nigga don’t know what he doing. He probably ain’t even strong enough to pull the trigger.” I leaned up against the wall and BAH-POW! Of course it threw me back against the wall and the adrenaline rushed and I was like, “Oh, I wanna shoot it again! C’mon!” He was like, “Boy, get your ass in there, you not supposed to do that shit!” [Laughs].

Complex: How did your friends and family react when you told them you wanted to focus on rapping?

Pill: They gave me a little flack at first but then they started to embrace me a little bit more because they started seeing the older cats were like, “Stay on what you’re doing, that shit’s good.” ‘Cause I started performing right in the trap, at this place called The Ham. You know, “Trap Goin’ Ham,” all that shit. So that was the first time I did that and I brought back to the hood and they were like “Yeah!” I incorporated a few of my peoples names into my raps ’cause of my problems and niggas started to get behind me. They started to come to my shows and it made me feel good because at first they were like, “Aw, this nigga ain’t trap no more, that nigga want to rap! He don’t want to get money no more!” I was still around though ’cause that was the only place I had to go at the time, so of course I would still pick some up or chop something up or drop something off, just to keep some money in my pocket. But I had to make sure that my goal was in sight. I had to make sure there was a bigger picture and that I could be a better man than I was being. Once I brought the CD to the ‘hood, they were like, “Oh shit, that boy Psych! That boy Psych finna’ blow up!”

Complex: Psych?

Pill: They call me Psych in the hood. It’s short for Psycho.

Complex: Where’d the name Pill come from?

Pill: Pill came from football. And I just finagled it into the medicine because as I started to get more serious with the rapping, I was like “Okay, Pill the medicine. I’m the cure for rap cancer.” I was saying that years ago. First it came from football. Julian DeMario Johnson gave me that name. Him and Jamal Johnson. Lil’ Mario, we used to call him, he died in an accident, years ago. I scored a few touchdowns and Jamal would be like, “Oh, here’s the Pill!” ‘Cause that was his name for the football. Like throw me the pill, pass the pill.

Complex: Your first mixtape, 4180: The Prescription, is what got everyone interested in you. How did that tape come about?

Pill: I just basically made sure I had a bunch of tight ass beats. I knew I had to get some classic shit that people ain’t heard in a minute, I had to get some shit that everybody ain’t rapping on, and I probably had to get one or two of the hottest songs on the radio. I wanted to make sure I did me. I didn’t want to compromise my creativity by just trying to put out a bunch of shit that’s on the radio or a bunch of shit that I think people might like. I did what I think I might like. I ain’t record in no big time studio or no shit like that. I recorded that shit in a basement. I just had a tight ass engineer with some expensive equipment and we set up the studio in the basement. He had a nice studio in his spot but his spot got broken into. So I was like, “Damn that just fucked up my studio!” So we had to bring him from Alabama, a guy by the name of Scrag Lee with grade A music. He actually produced “Trap goin’ Ham”, thats why you hear “Grade A on the beat”. We brought him from Alabama, set up shop, went in, non-stop.

Complex: One thing I liked about the mixtape was your sense of remorse about the trap life. It’s not glamorized or glorified…

Pill: That’s something I do anyway because I don’t want the other kids to follow in my footsteps. There’s a lot of young kids that look up to rappers and I’m starting to realize that kids are going to be listening to me. Of course I’m going to talk about what I talk about but I’m going to find a way to stick a message in there. I am going to talk about the trap and I am going to talk about the struggle and I’m also going to talk about how we need help and I’m also going to let people know that it’s fucked up out here. It’s ugly. Ain’t really much money for not many people, in whatever profession they have. I just want to uplift the people, man, I wanna be the sound track to their lives. I want to be able to make the people feel like they were right there with me when I was going through it and so they can have better judgment on the decisions they make coming up, whether it be adults or kids, young and old, whoever the listener is, I want to make sure that they can take something from my music and apply it their everyday life.

That’s why I made sure in that mixtape I incorporated all types of beats to show people my versatility on each type of beat so they won’t try to put me in this box of “just some nigga that sold dope and rapping about it.” I’m trying to enlighten some people about the shit that’s going on and that we need help out here and it’s fucked up cause they tearin’ the projects down. I got some new shit I just did with ILLFONICS about my mama. She passed away and it took a lot for me to write that song. I want people to get in my mind. Walk down those same streets I walked down or stand in front of the same stores I stood in front of or running from the police—I want them to feel like they’re running, so it can be exciting. It can make you laugh and it can make you cry. I want it to be timeless music. When I do it, that’s not even something I think about. It’s something takes a hold of me and it just comes out. If that’s what comes out then I’m glad.

Complex: You have a very intricate rhyme style, who were your rap influences?

Pill: Of course Tupac. Of course Biggie. Jay-Z, he was always real fly with it, a fresh kind of dude. Then you got Raekwon, Redman, Method Man.

Complex: A lot of New York dudes…

Pill: A lot of New York rappers and what not but then again you have OutKast, who were god damn huge to me. To hear OutKast, to hear Cee-Lo, to hear MJG, to hear Devin the Dude, Too Short, to hear Scarface. I listen to everything. I had the Fat Joe tape when he was still with Tommy Boy and they had the little characters on the back. Whatever was poppin’ at the time, whatever was good. I can’t even front like I was always listening to gangsta’ shit. I mean I took a liking to Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek. I remember when Talib and Hi-Tek had that video in the rain and shit, you remember that shit? Of course Common was the shit, I still remember his beef with Ice Cube. I listened to Cube, N.W.A. was always the greatest. I remember I thought Eazy-E was the coolest motherfucker walking the earth and I wanted them shades! I really got a Jheri curl when I was a child. Seeing that and being able to remember that music is good because that’s when real rap was real rap. Now you got a lot of bright colors.

Complex: What’s real rap to you?

Pill: Real rap is talking about what you’ve been through. Real rap is personifying your experiences as a person and throughout life. If you can’t personify the truth, you’re not making real rap. That’s just shit that entertains the people, that’s just entertainment. Real rap is when you can really talk about some shit that really went down.

Complex: Do you feel like rap is full of entertainers now?

Pill: Yeah a lot of them are just entertainers basically. I mean no disrespect to nobody. Get your money and it is entertainment at the end of the day but damn what happened to it being art in its truest form? That’s what hip-hop used to be. You rapped about what you just did down the street. I remember seeing old tapes of shit where they were just beat boxing and shit and I was like, “That’s what I want to do!” So I automatically started rhyming. I automatically started battling when I was a child. I remember I was in a little group back when I was in first, and second grade and it was like you had to have the the tighter group.

Complex: Talk to me about your creative process. When you write a song do you actually write it out or do you keep it all in your head?

Pill: No, I write. I’m not one of them guys that be like, “Oh, I ain’t write this by the way” or “Yeah, I come off the top!” I freestyle too but I respect the art form, you feel me? I’m a writer. I could be on the train, I got to pull my note pad out. If I hear some shit in my head, I got to write it down.

Complex: What can people expect from the new mixtape?

Pill: I’m going to show that I’m growing at least a little but I don’t want to stray from the formula at all. That’s what people like, so that’s what I want to give the people. I just want to keep people jamming. I’m not going to be one of these guys who is like, “Fuck this shit! I ain’t got no Rolls Royce!” or “I ain’t got no Lamborghini! I’m mad as hell!” That’s not why I do it, I do it for the love. I’d be doing this shit if I ain’t have a dollar or if it weren’t profitable to me. A lot of niggas are claiming they’re making a bunch of money, but they ain’t off of that music shit right now because it’s ugly. Tapes ain’t selling like that. Imagine what type of loss I’m taking and I’m giving away these CDs for free! ‘Cause it’s all about the music. If people can’t hear it then what the fuck are you doing it for? If you’re just doing it for the money, then what the fuck are you doing it for? Straight up, of course I want a lot of money, to live comfortably but that’s not why I’m doing it. I got people that’s on my back right now. Family members that need me right now, homeboys that need me right now. It’s a lot of people that depend on me right now. That’s probably the only reason why I feel like I need money right now, but other then that, if I was just already straight or already rich, I wouldn’t give a damn. I’d do all free shows. But a lot of people just do it for the money and that ain’t good, man. That’s why I think the music went down with in the past couple of years. I don’t want to be solely responsible for it but I want to be credited with bringing this shit back to what it was, real music, real hip-hop.

• CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE COMPLEX MUSIC POSTS!

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

It’s the top of the week and nothing too crazy leaked today, but the selection is still solid. More new stuff from Gucci dropped as usual; Vampire Weekend messed with Auto-Tune; Birdman linked with Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim. That’s not everything on today’s playlist either. Hit the jump to start listening to those songs and the rest…

SONG: “Lemonade”
ARTIST: Gucci Mane
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Another Gucci x Bangladesh track. One of the best leaks from either party in a little while.

SONG: “California English (Live)”
ARTIST: Vampire Weekend
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Auto-Tune might not be so dead after all. Indie rock’s golden boys are hopping on it and it sounds pretty dope. Looking forward to the CDQ.

SONG: “Grindin’ Making Money”
ARTIST: Birdman f/ Nicki Minaj & Lil Kim
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• If we ever thought the queens of old-school and new-school female rap would collab, we didn’t think it’d be on a Birdman record. We were wrong.

SONG: “U Know What U Doin’”
ARTIST: Kevin Cossom f/ Pusha T
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Pusha assists the newcomer on this joint from his EP, Hook vs Bridge, available for free tomorrow.

SONG: “I Wanna Rock”
ARTIST: Snoop Dogg
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Here’s another leak from Malice In Wonderland. Typical Snoop, but we’re not mad at it.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

What’s that you say? That we’ve been hitting you with a different mega-list ever week for the past nine weeks and you’ve had enough? Well, to that, we say: Tough. That’s right, we’ve showed you our Top 100 Sports Moments | Top 100 T-shirts | Top 100 Girls | Top 100 Albums | Top 100 Sneakers | Top 100 Movies | Top 100 Internet Videos | Top 100 Video Games | Top 100 TV Shows and most recently, the Top 100 Style Trends. We might be getting close, but we’re not done sifting through every conceivable facet of Complex culture and presenting them to you in completely subjective (but no less legitimate) order. And next up is that hallowed haven of all things comedic, thuggish, and surgically enhanced. No, not professional wrestling (though that’s not a bad idea)—music videos!

Sure, the record industry may not be what it once was, but that doesn’t mean that the past decade hasn’t seen hundreds, nay, thousands of videos that deserved consideration in our countdown. But we only had room for a cool hundred, and the coolest hundred we found. So set aside a couple of hours, make yourselves comfortable somewhere where people won’t judge you for your viewing habits, and vegetate your way through the greatest music videos of the 2000s…

• CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 100 MUSIC VIDEOS OF THE DECADE!

Late last week, we caught up with the promising young artist on The Blueprint 3 Tour’s second-to-last stop in college town, Champaign, Illinois. We documented the entire night and captured everything from run-ins with Wale and Pharrell to Cole’s thoughts on fashion, groupies, and peer competition. Keep reading to check out a gang of photos and quotes that take you into BP3 Tour experience from a Complex perspective…

Photography by Olga Malkiman
Interview by Ernest Baker

6:30: Playing Video Games On The Tour Bus
“This is the only chance I get to play games, so lately, a lot of time has been going into NBA 2K10. At first it wasn’t that much because we were so caught up with the fact that we were on the road, but we started going at it once that settled down.”

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7:15: Getting Dressed For The Show
“I’m not crazy about fashion. I just pick some shit out. As long as I look presentable. I wanna be seen as the dude who’s fly, but doesn’t give a fuck.”

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7:30: Pre-Gaming On The Bus With Friends
“Some nights are more exciting than others, but we definitely sip before a lot of the shows. It makes watching Hov’s set more enjoyable.”

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7:45: Preparing Backstage
“This is when I start feeling anxious. I try to go through my lines and make sure I don’t fuck up. I wonder what the crowd is gonna look like, especially since I’m the opener.”

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7:50: J. Cole Hits The Stage
“It seemed like the stadium was set up weird tonight, but I still feel good about it. My goal every time is to leave with more fans than I started with.”

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8:45: Chillin’ With Wale After His Set While N.E.R.D Performs
“Originally, ‘Beautiful Bliss’ was gonna be J. Cole’s first mainstream look, because ‘A Star Is Born’ wasn’t even thought of yet. It was my way of saying, ‘Yeah, this is my man Cole. He’s on Roc Nation.’” – Wale

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Complex: What do you guys say to people who think J. Cole killed Wale on that record?

J. Cole: I wouldn’t say that. I got the obvious lines. His verses are still crazy if you really sit down and listen to them. And not to take anything away from my verse, because it’s definitely on point, but we’re in the day and age where niggas are so competitive and people got their favorites, that nobody wants to just enjoy it as a good song, which it is. They wanna say, ‘he killed him.’

Wale: It’s no way to not perceive it as such. He’s the new guy now. His verse is amazing. It’s like when AZ came on “Life’s A Bitch.” It’s a fresh face. I don’t stand a chance as far as perception goes, but I think they’re equally as good. Why can’t it just be a good song though? Everybody feels like they have to like one of us. Nobody was even on ‘who killed who’ 10 years ago.

9:30: Hitting The Blogs In Search Of New Music
“I’m on the blogs, but I don’t get to click as much. It has to be something I really wanna listen to. I go to the blogs almost every day though. I usually just skim and read the posts. Nah Right, 2DopeBoyz, Herfection, Pardon Me Duke, and DCtoBC are the sites I visit.”

10:15: Watching Jay-Z’s Set
“You can’t learn confidence, but I see how much it helps. When we first started I was really unsure of myself. I was all over the stage, trying to please everybody in the crowd. Then I see Jay and he’ll rap an entire verse from one spot if he wants. It’s like he has an invisible box up there. So the importance of confidence is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned from him, but also that you gotta have some hits to get there in the first place.”

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10:30: J. Cole Hits The Stage Again For “A Star Is Born”
“Playing for a crowd that’s still filling in and then coming back out to a full house with Jay is straight motivation. It’s like, ‘Oh. That’s what I want.’ I get to experience both of them in one night. I wanna get to that level, but standing next to Jay makes it clear that I got a long way to go.”

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10:45: Talking To Pharrell
“It feels good to have someone like that compliment you. It doesn’t gas my head up or anything, but it lets me know I’m on the right path. He goes out of his way to let me know that he’s fucking with me or to have a talk with me. I see it as another sign that I’m doing the right thing.”

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11:30: Leaving The Venue
“I might go play more 2K. I don’t do groupies.”

Complex: I’m sure your girlfriend appreciates that. Do you at least have to deal with turning them down?

J. Cole: Not really because we leave so quick from cities. They don’t be backstage or anything like that. So the only time they would get a chance would be at a after-party or something. That’s another thing I thought about the road that wasn’t true. I was thinking it was nonstop. Girls backstage and parties every night, but it’s not. Maybe it’s because it’s Jay and he’s been doing it for so long, but they run a tight ship.

• CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE COMPLEX MUSIC POSTS!

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

The weekend is finally here and the last Shuffle playlist of the week happens to be the most star-studded as well. No upcoming or unknown artists this time. Strictly superstars. We have new music from Kanye, 50, Rihanna, Drake, GaGa, and Beyonce. There’s no way that there’s not something on the list you’re interested in checking out. Start listening after the jump…

SONG: “I’m So Appalled”
ARTIST: Kanye West
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Here’s a new verse from ‘Ye that’s slated to appear on Diddy’s Last Train To Paris album. Hot verse but this tagged up version is the only one available for now.

SONG: “I Go Off”
ARTIST: Beanie Sigel f/ 50 Cent
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• If this is Sigel’s audition for G-Unit then consider him part of the team. Great song and 50’s shit talking is entertaining as usual, but the Jay baiting feels a little forced.

SONG: “Rockstar 101″
ARTIST: Rihanna
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• RiRi is really running with the bad girl image and we’re not the least bit mad at it. She even recruits Guns N’ Roses guitarist, Slash, on this Rated R track to give the rockstar theme a little more authenticity.

SONG: “Scriptures”
ARTIST: Drake
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• The Heartbreak Drake mixtape series is always good for exclusive Drizzy material. Several new songs leaked last night, but this probably the best of the bunch.

SONG: “Telephone”
ARTIST: Lady GaGa f/ Beyonce
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• It was inevitable that two of pop music’s biggest stars would work together. The collab lives up to expectations for the most part too. This will be the second single off GaGa’s The Fame Monster.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

See, before he was known to Nike fiends across the globe, the DJ produced some seriously classic hip-hop records from artists like Jay-Z, Rakim, CNN, and Biggie. To help bring you up to speed, we put together a compilation of our 10 favorite records produced by DJ Clark Kent…

Chubb Rock “The Chubbster” (1991)

As a prominent NYC DJ and A&R for Atlantic Records, Chubb got his feet wet by producing a gang of remixes in the early ’90s. One of his first hits was the radio mix of the third single from Chubb Rock’s album The One, which shot to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart.

Little Vicious “Nika” (1994)

Doug E. Fresh’s kiddie reggae artist broke through with the beat-box anthem “Freaks,” but it was his second single that smoothed things out. Using the ever-popular “Between The Sheets” sample from the Isley Brothers, Clark made a reggae/hip-hop fusion that stands the test of time.

Junior Mafia “Player’s Anthem” (1995)

Clark first got a chance to work with Biggie on his crew’s debut album, most memorably on this party-starting second single that samples a groove from Detroit funk band New Birth.

Jay-Z f/ The Notorious B.I.G. “Brooklyn’s Finest” (1996)

It was only right that Clark, a Brooklyn native himself, produced the quintessential BK anthem. Clark’s first connection to Jay-Z came in 1993, when he did A&R and production for Original Flavor, a Roc-A-Fella-affiliated group that was executive produced by Dame Dash.

Rakim “Guess Who’s Back” (1997)

After staying out of the spotlight for a few years, the original God MC needed to come back with a bang. He enlisted Clark to produce the first single from his solo debut The 18th Letter.

Capone-N-Noreaga “Closer” (1997)

CNN’s The War Report is one of the grimiest, darkest albums in ’90s rap, but Clark came through with this smoothed-out, jiggy R&B cut that ended up being the LP’s final single.

The Notorious B.I.G. f/ 112 “Sky’s The Limit” (1997)

One of the few non-Hitman producers to contribute to Biggie’s epic Life After Death, Clark stood out with this nostalgic cut that came to life thanks to Spike Jonze’s kiddie-rap video concept.

Canibus “How We Roll” (1998)

Before linking up with Wyclef, before battling Uncle L, Canibus recorded his debut single with Clark, the song that truly blew him up before his career came crashing down a year later.

Mariah Carey “Loverboy” (2001)

Clark has branched out into the R&B world several times, most successfully on the lead single from Mariah’s ill-fated Glitter soundtrack which features Larry Blackmon from the sample’s original group Cameo.

50 Cent “Fuck You” (2002)

While Boo Boo was plotting his 2003 takeover, he released his now-classic street album Guess Who’s Back. Clark laced him with this Primo-esque joint that still bangs to this day. I don’t give a fuck who you are!

RELATED: DJ Clark Kent’s Top 50 Air Force 1’s Of All Time!

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

The week continues to roll on and we continue to hold down the new music fort at the same time everyday. Today you’ll find selections from artists as distinct as Gucci Mane and The Flaming Lips, but pretty much everything on the playlist is respectable. Hit the jump for songs from those guys as well as a few others. The MP3 streams and download links are waiting for you…

SONG: “My Own Worst Enemy”
ARTIST: Gucci Mane
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Gucci addresses the ongoing conflict between him and Jeezy, but it’s less of a diss song and more of a glance at the details of the situation. Of course, you can download the track at the link above, but be sure to check out the exclusive Miss Info interview too.

SONG: “Bac Ya Boyz Down”
ARTIST: Freeway f/ Beanie Sigel & Jakk Frost
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Beanie’s chances of collaborating with Hov in the future are slim, but other (former) Roc members aren’t off limits. Here the Broad Street Bully links with Free for a cut off the Best Of Both Beards mixtape.

SONG: “Watching The Planets”
ARTIST: The Flaming Lips f/ Karen O
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We’ve been rocking with this track for a minute, but it’s everywhere now thanks to just-released, controversial music video. You can watch it here, but understand that it’s very NSFW and it’s not just girls running around naked either. We warned you.

SONG: “Center Of Attention”
ARTIST: Wale
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Wale’s debut, Attention Deficit, dropped this week and it’ll be interesting to see if the positive response from the Twitterati translates to real sales. This iTunes bonus song offers some insightful commentary on our celebrity-driven culture and it doesn’t sound half-bad either.

SONG: “Dope Man”
ARTIST: Slum Village
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Slum Village fans are in for a treat. The Villa Manifesto Digital EP and a full-length album of the same name are on the way. This is the first release from the set of projects.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

For some it’s Veteran’s Day. For some it’s just another Wednesday. But there’s another Shuffle playlist to look forward to for everyone. New music from Snoop and Nipsey, indie favs Hot Chip, former Shady affiliate Obie Trice, and more. The MP3 streams and download links are on deck as always. Start listening after the jump…

SONG: “Upside Down”
ARTIST: Snoop Dogg f/ Nipsey Hussle
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Probably the hottest leak off Malice In Wonderland so far. Music video is on the way too. Check out the behind-the-scenes for an idea of how the visuals to this old-school/new-school West Coast union will turn out.

SONG: “Take It In”
ARTIST: Hot Chip
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• The electro-pop favorites are gearing up for the release of their next album, One Life Stand. This record isn’t quite as infectious as some of their previous work, but it’s not bad either. Fans of the sound will enjoy it regardless.

SONG: “Got Hungry”
ARTIST: Obie Trice
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Mr. Real Name No Gimmicks is no longer a member of the Shady Records fam, but the rhymes are still on point. Look for this on Special Reserve–out December 15.

SONG: “The Screens”
ARTIST: Atlas Sound
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• A few albums ago, Bradford Cox’s music was so weird that it was sometimes impossible to decipher the lyrics. He’s toned the left-field approach with his latest track. Still not for everyone, but it’s got a much better vibe that a wider variety of listeners will appreciate.

SONG: “Chewed Up”
ARTIST: Felt (Slug x Murs)
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Underground staples Slug and Murs are continuing work as their collaborative side project Felt. The LP, Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez, drops next week. Give this a listen and decide if you’re copping or not.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

How do you think their new cover matches up against the illustration from their 2001 debut Lord Willin’ and the money-filled image from the 2006 follow-up Hell Hath No Fury? Learn more about each of Clipse’s covers and cast your vote for the best below…

ALBUM: LORD WILLIN’ (2001)
ILLUSTRATION BY: Vicki Berndt
DESIGN BY: Courtney Walter
For their official debut, the Thornton brothers went with an illustration that shows them riding through Virginia Beach with black Jesus in the back seat. Damn, he couldn’t get shotgun?

ALBUM: HELL HATH NO FURY (2006)
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Jonathan Mannion
DESIGN BY: Courtney Walter
What better way to convey the crack music inside than by photographing Pusha and Malice with a kitchen stove? The international currency on the wall was definitely all obtained through legal channels.

ALBUM: TILL THE CASKET DROPS (2009)
ILLUSTRATION BY: KAWS
He’s already done cover art for all of their 2009 singles—“Kinda Like A Big Deal”, “All Eyes On Me” and “I’m Good”—and KAWS continues the up-close graphic motif on the official album art, which shows a pink casket and the artist’s signature X’s.

RELATED: Album Preview: Clipse’s Till The Casket Drops
• Complex’s Clipse x KAWS Cover Story

The thing is, O’s bad idea isn’t even a lock for the award. Nope, R&B dudes have spent the past couple of years steadily one-upping each other with horrible domes (ayo2K!). Don’t believe us? Read on…then print it out, take it to the barber shop, and let ’em know: “ANYTHING but this.”

OMARION
Oh, good, now we can finally have an uninterrupted view of what his barber calls the “You Got Served…A Shit Sandwich.”

OMARION BONUS!
Wait, we went to college with that dude. Last time we saw him, he was at a Palestinian Rights rally wearing motorcycle boots in 90-degree weather and gazing soulfully at chicks with leg hair.

R. KELLY
Gold jewelry, gold overcoat, gold braids. Where does it end, gold showers? Wait, don’t answer that.

BOBBY VALENTINO
Gentlemen of Leisure S-curl? Check. Faded sides? Check. 1984 prom picture look complete? Check. How can such a tiny man be so sensual?

BOBBY VALENTINO BONUS!
Attention fans of this look: only available with limited-edition Number Asshole clippers.

LLOYD
Hey, isn’t that Yanni?

LLOYD BONUS!
Nah, our bad. That’s just an ugly chick who looks kinda like Yanni.

AVERY STORM
Congratulations, Avery—you’re the first person to out-porn-actor Pitbull!

QUE FROM DAY 26
What’s so bad about a high, tight fade? What’s that? It’s not a fade? It just looks that way because the side of his head are dyed platinum blonde? Well, in that case, please shoot us in the head.

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Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

It’s that time of the day again. Today was a good day on the blogs too. Clipse dropped another crazy record from the upcoming album; Bassment Jaxx is back in the game; Wayne added a verse to the Khaled single; Plies linked up with Jeezy; John Mayer linked with Taylor Swift. We know there’s something in there that you wanna check out. Hit the jump to get started…

SONG: “Doorman”
ARTIST: Clipse
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Till The Casket Drops is less than a month away and heat from the album continues to hit the web. The Neptunes handled production on this one. The music video premieres on Monday.

SONG: “My Turn”
ARTIST: Bassment Jaxx f/ Lightspeed Champion
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• The DJ veterans are back on the scene and it doesn’t feel like they’ve missed a step, even after all of these years. The instrumental is on point and British singer Lightspeed Champion goes in on the vocals. Think about your old girlfriend when you listen to this record.

SONG: “Fed Up”
ARTIST: DJ Khaled f/ Lil’ Wayne, Usher, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross & Drake
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Yeah, Khaled’s single is old news (two weeks in Internet time), but the Weezy verse is brand new. Swap this version in for the outdated one sitting on your hard drive.

SONG: “So Bad”
ARTIST: Plies f/ Young Jeezy
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We’re not sure what project this collab is meant for, but at the rate that Plies releases albums, it’s a safe bet that this might wind up on whatever LP he’s cooking up next. Beware: the complete record hasn’t leaked yet.

SONG: “Half Of My Heart”
ARTIST: John Mayer f/ Taylor Swift
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Why not? Mayer’s last single was dope and Swift is the second hottest chick in the (country music) game. You know this will have the elevators and coffee shops on lock.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

We shouldn’t be too hard on A-Rod, though, there’s been tons of awkward Rocafella Diamond sightings anytime there’s a chance for a celebrity to get a photo-op with Hov. Don’t believe us? Check out the random assortment of celebrities who felt the need to throw the Roc up like they were bulimic, then check the Jay-Z songs we associated them with. Diamonds up!

OFFENDER: FRAN DRESCHER
ROC ANTHEM: “2 Many Hoes”

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OFFENDER: WRIGLEY’S EXECUTIVES
ROC ANTHEM:“D’evils”

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OFFENDER: TOM CRUISE
ROC ANTHEM: “Cashmere Thoughts”

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OFFENDER: JESSICA SIMPSON
ROC ANTHEM: “22 Two’s”

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OFFENDER: JOHN OLIVER
ROC ANTHEM: “Kingdom Come”

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OFFENDER: JOBA CHAMBERLAIN
ROC ANTHEM: “Imaginary Player”

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OFFENDER: TINA KNOWLES
ROC ANTHEM: “Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)”

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OFFENDER: NED GRABAVOY
ROC ANTHEM: “Crew Love”

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OFFENDER: KOBE BRYANT
ROC ANTHEM: “99 Problems”

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OFFENDER: DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE
ROC ANTHEM: “Diamonds are Forever Remix”

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OFFENDER: 50 CENT
ROC ANTHEM: “Friend or Foe”

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OFFENDER: JIM JONES
ROC ANTHEM: “Friend or Foe Part II (’98)”

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OFFENDER: ELLEN DEGENERES
ROC ANTHEM: “I Know What Girls Like”

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OFFENDER: DENZEL WASHINGTON
ROC ANTHEM: “American Gangster”

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OFFENDER: SLIM THUG
ROC ANTHEM: “Change Clothes”

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OFFENDER: AL SHARPTON
ROC ANTHEM: “Politics as Usual”

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OFFENDER: DESHAWN STEVENSON
ROC ANTHEM:“Hate”

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OFFENDER: RYAN BAKER
ROC ANTHEM:“Public Service Announcement”

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

The weekend is over and nobody with a case of the Mondays wants to spend their time looking through a million blogs for new music–that’s our job. Today’s Shuffle includes collabs between Robin Thicke and Jay-Z and Shakira and Kid Cudi, a bonus cut from the 50 Cent album, and more just-released tracks from Pill and Lady GaGa. We keep the playlists diverse around here. Keep reading to start listening…

SONG: “Man’s World”
ARTIST: 50 Cent
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Here’s a bonus track from today’s digitally released version of Before I Self Destruct. This one’s in line with the rest of the album’s aggressive content.

SONG: “Dance In The Dark”
ARTIST: Lady GaGa
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• GaGa leaks new music more often than some of these rappers. This record will be featured on her upcoming album, The Fame Monster. The new LP is no longer a re-release of her debut with bonus songs either. Eight new songs for $8.00. Smart.

SONG: “Meiplé”
ARTIST: Robin Thicke f/ Jay-Z
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Not only does Mr. Thicke (ayo!) dress well, but he might have another hit on his hands with this Hov-assisted record. It’s kind of silly, but it could catch on within certain circles.

SONG: “Did It Again”
ARTIST: Shakira f/ Kid Cudi
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• You’ll only find this Kid Cudi feature on the American version of Shakira’s album. It’s pretty much the type of pop record you’d expect from a collab between these two. It’ll probably do some damage in the clubs.

SONG: “Coastin’”
ARTIST: Pill
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We keep posting leaks from Pill’s 4075: The Refill mixtape because, well, he keeps leaking good songs. This isn’t as hot as last week’s standout, but it’s still dope. The tape should be great.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds every day, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

Like we always do at this time! It’s 5:00, so that means it’s time for us to hit you with the five songs you should be bumpin’ today. There’s a new Lloyd track featuring the most consistent rapper in the game, Bun B; the prince of the trap, Pill, comes through with another leak off his upcoming mixtape; Luda links up with Jennifer Hudson for some Grammy bait; we got one of the hottest tracks off 50’s new album; and, finally, we hip you to some dope international club music. Sounds like just the right mix of tunes to carry you into the weekend. Hit the jump to start listening. We’ll see y’all on Monday…

SONG: “Like Me”
ARTIST: Lloyd f/ Bun B.
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• As he’s shooting the video for Young Money’s next single, “Bed Rock,” Young Lloyd drops this smooth and breezy ditty featuring the other king of the south, Bun B. This guy’s been droppin’ some heat lately, now that he’s a free agent. Someone needs to sign this dude. We’re lookin’ at you, Weezy.

SONG: “Hear My Cry”
ARTIST: Ludacris f/ Jennifer Hudson
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Luda’s back! Last week we heard “Get Low,” which had us happy Luda was returning back to his old, jovial self. But then he drops this dope introspective collabo with Jennifer Hudson and we’re reminded this guy is once again hunting for Grammys. At least it’s much better than “Runaway Love.”

SONG: “Afro-Sheen”
ARTIST: Pill
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• If you haven’t noticed, we ride with Pill around here (interview coming soon!). The latest Atlanta sensation leaks another gem off his upcoming 4075: The Refill mixtape. This time he hijacks Kanye’s “Diamonds” beat and goes nuts.

SONG: “Rollerskate”
ARTIST: Matias Aguayo
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Electronica singer/producer Matias Aguayo describes his music as “for the city and for the night,” so you can understand why we’re inclined to like him. He recently (as in last week) dropped his latest (and best) album to date (Ay, Ay, Ay). Here’s one of the album’s standout tracks. Hit the link to download and read an interview he did with the Fader fam.

SONG: “Stretch”
ARTIST: 50 Cent
DOWNLOAD:[LINK]
• If you didn’t know, 50’s upcoming album Before I Self Destruct leaked. However, for some reason, Curtis doesn’t seem to be that upset about it. Maybe because this album shits on Curtis? Who knows. All we know is this track goes hard. Head on over to Nah Right to peep the song’s video, which dropped today.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

No big leaks or releases today, but we still came through with five solid songs that should satisfy the new music seekers. You know should know how this goes by now. MP3 streams and download links after the jump, as always. Keep reading to start listening to today’s playlist…

SONG: “I Don’t Know Yall”
ARTIST: Young Dro f/ Yung LA
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• The mixtape was great. Now it’s time for Dro push his next LP, P.O.L.O. Here’s the first single.

STREAM REMOVED BY REQUEST OF SPOON’S RECORD LABEL
SONG: “Mystery Zone”
ARTIST: Spoon
DOWNLOAD: [LINK REMOVED]
• This seemingly out-of-nowhere leak is from the acclaimed band’s upcoming album, Transference. Fans will definitely love it. Those not familiar with the, might too.

SONG: “Hear Somebody Comin”
ARTIST: Pill
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Here’s the first record from Pill’s next mixtape, 4075: The Refill, to hit the ‘net. Tha Bizness produced this one. Look out for the full tape on November 17.

SONG: “Like A Boss”
ARTIST: Mannie Fresh
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• The title of this track is a bit misleading. This is more of a personal, insightful song from the former Cash Money producer. He’s not much of a lyricist or anything, but it’s easy to rock with.

SONG: “Keep It Pouring”
ARTIST: Flo Rida
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We’re not the biggest Flo Rida co-signers over here, but his singles always do retarded numbers on iTunes, so some of you are listening to dude, whether you admit it or not. Plus, all things considered, this really isn’t that bad.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.