Left To Right: Consequence, Kidz In The Hall, Joe Budden, Sheek Louch, Theophilus London
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…
Public breakups are the worst. Although Tahiry Jose sounded a bit blue when we sat down with her after her breakup with Joe Budden (click here if you missed the interview and gallery), she seems to be in good spirits lately. The same couldn’t be said for Joey, who took to making a series of web videos talking about the breakup.
We thought dude was going to slip into a bout of depression over ol’ girl, until we found out, via web video, that he’s already on the rebound with another dime: Salvadorian singer, actress Somaya Reece. According to Joey, she’s got a better personality and better self-esteem. But that’s only half the battle. What we really wanna know is, who’s hotter? Check out some photo match-ups below and cast your vote…
Don’t ever say Joe Budden never did anything for you. Last spring, Joey introduced us to his girlfriend Tahiry Jose in a series of vlogs that made us feel like we were living with the couple. Tahiry was instantly appealing as a lovable Latin girl with a sharp mouth—but it was her Coke-bottle frame and sick ass-to-waist ratio that left bloggers and commenters wanting more. Whether she was getting ready to go to her bartending gig, fighting with Joey, or just standing around looking sexy, Tahiry always made for good YouTube TV.
After landing the cover of KING’s final issue, Tahiry saw her stock rise higher, even as her relationship began to deteriorate. While there were videos of disagreements between her and Joe, and even Twitter fights, not many people figured the five-year relationship was really in jeopardy, until a few weeks ago when both parties acknowledged that they were through. (Say it ain’t so, Joe!) Budden spoke on the subject briefly, but Tahiry has yet to open up…until now. In this exclusive interview with Complex, Tahiry breaks her silence on what went wrong in the relationship, how she feels about Joe as a rapper, and what she plans on doing next…
We love hip-hop. We love rappers. We especially love rappers who take insignificant slights too far, because then it gives us an excuse to chronicle their fuckery. Case in point: Raekwon and Joe Budden got into a little dust-up over the weekend at a Rock the Bells show in California. Seems Lex Diamond resurrected the static between Jersey Joe and the Wu that got started when Joey talked sideways about being a better rapper then Method Man. (Side note: Joe Budden talk smack about another rapper? Whuh?) A punch might have been thrown, an eye might have gotten a little bit swollen, and more darts might have been thrown in the ensuing bloggery. But only one media outlet was there to capture the whole thing as it originally went down*. And that’s Complex! We’re like the Anderson Cooper of this rap satire thing, maing. Hit the jump for the rest of the story.
SOUNDS LIKE: Punchline-heavy verses from the ’90s x Non-commercial production from ‘09
FUN FACT: The four MCs initially came together on “Slaughterhouse”—a track included on Joe Budden’s Halfway House. Nino Bless, who was also featured on the song, wasn’t invited to join the group because other members felt he didn’t pay enough dues.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: There have been many hip-hop “supergroups” that looked great on paper, but never fully materialized on wax. In that sense, Slaughterhouse—consists of Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, and Royce Da 5′9″—deserves praise just for putting out an actual album. In addition, more praise is due, since all four MCs deliver on the album as a unit. And let’s be clear: Slaughterhouse isn’t necessarily built for the current market. What fans can hear is exactly what you might expect—verses filled with vicious punchlines and sharp deliveries that are guaranteed to get heads nodding.
In weekend rap news, Joe Budden got into a physical confrontation with another rapper’s entourage this weekend. Okay, no sugarcoating, the beef-loving rapper got snuffed by one of Raekwon’s goons backstage on the L.A. stop of the Rock The Bells tour. Shortly after, Joey took to the increasingly ubiquitous Ustream service to tell his side of the story. Sure the Ustream factor of catching a hip-hopper getting punched may be new, but rappers have been putting hands on each (II) other for years. Keep reading to check out our brief History Of Hip-Hop Snuffs…
Few rappers start beef as often Joe Budden—and few squash beef as often, for that matter. The Jersey MC did the latter when he went for a stroll through some Jones Beach, NY shrubbery with Method Man to sort out their problems (luckily Mel D. Cole was there to snap the above photo). How touching.
You might not guess it, but rappers do have the ability to be nicer, more understanding guys than they’re given credit for, as these type of peace talks aren’t all that uncommon. There have been several in the recent years, in fact. Here are the five most heartwarming of the bunch…
Remember the summer of 2007’s #2 pop smash “Party Like A Rockstar” by Atlanta rap group Shop Boyz? The new single by hip-hop’s underdog supergroup Slaughterhouse—comprised of major label refugees Joe Budden, Royce Da 5′9″, Crooked I, and Joell Ortiz—is nothing at all like that. Nah. This shit is lyrical, B! Fuck a ringtone!
Sidenote: someone needs to tell Royce that listening to Nickelback isn’t ironic…it’s just t-t-totally lame!
When Jay-Z quipped, “I don’t wear jerseys, I’m 30 plus”, the landscape of urban fashion changed before he finished the verse. But you knew that already. Hov’s latest revelation? “I will never have a ‘record deal’ again”, he Twittered last week after news broke about his plan for releasing Blueprint 3. After Friday’s debut of the album’s street single, “Death Of Autotune”, Jay-Z further explained himself in an interview with Hot 97. “I just wanted to be totally independent and free in what I want to do,” he stated. Coming from a guy who prides himself on setting trends, we’re expecting to see every rapper following in his footsteps in the coming months. Or at least trying to.
See, deciding you don’t need a record deal anymore isn’t as easy as storing away your throwbacks in the attic. But luckily, there are some other big names who have decided to go the “independent” route whose struggle we can learn from. Take a moment to look back at some of the independent superstars who paved the way for Jay-Z…
