Left To Right: Wale, Lil’ Wayne, Rihanna, Yeasayer, Raekwon
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.
If you haven’t noticed, the music blogs were slow today, but we’ve pulled together five noteworthy records from the weekend that you probably missed out on while you were trick-or-treating. There’s an album cut from Wale, Rihanna’s second single, a bonus track from Wayne’s new mixtape, and more to look forward to. Hit the jump to start listening…
FUN FACT: Busta Rhymes was originally tapped as an executive producer.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: Because we promised y’all that whichever album got more votes in our Battle of the Rap Sequels post would become our Album of the Week. And the ‘Net has spoken: The Chef’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt II is better than Jigga’s Blueprint 3.. At least according to you, our readers. And we’re gonna have to agree. While we think Blueprint 3 is a great piece of work, and like the fact that Jay made an album that can bump in BK barbershops as well as find rotation in Mayor Bloomberg’s “Music Black People Like” playlist, it would have been better off being called Kingdom Come 2, as it doesn’t really feel to have any connection to the 2001 opus. On the other hand, Raekwon’s OB4CL2 completely takes us back to the Wu’s grimey, dusty, gloriously grimy, shank to your neck, kilo in the duffle, glory days. And that’s just the kind of rap album we needed to close out the first decade of the 2000’s…
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.
Today we’re hitting you with an unlikely dubstep collaboration, a hilarious take on one of the week’s hottest leaks, and a few more jams guaranteed to keep your playlists fresh. Listen to our latest Shuffle choices and download them immediately after below…
The wait(s) is over! In the last 2 days, the hip-hop world has been overwhelmingly preoccupied with leaked versions of the year’s most anticipated albums, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 (which leaked Monday) and Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II (which leaked Tuesday). Both are sequels to undisputed NYC rap classics, and both hit retail stores next week. Naturally, the argument is on: which sequel album is better? Listen to samples from each below (you’ll have to find your own leak downloads…it’s not very hard), then vote for which album you think reigns supreme. The winning LP will be featured as Complex’s Album of The Week next Tuesday, so choose wisely!
After endless delays, it looks like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II is really happening. There’s a single with a music video and everything! Jokes aside, we couldn’t be happier about Raekwon’s follow-up to his 1995 classic finally seeing the light of day. In typical Wu fashion, Rae called upon a few members of the Clan for assistance on this “House Of Flying Daggers” joint. The animated video just hit the Internet and rest assured that there’s enough blood, guts, and violence to keep it off television networks and us entertained. We smell what The Chef is cooking and we like it.
Tune in to Complex.com every morning at 8 AM for your daily “Wake N’ Watch” video.
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.
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…
