Welcome back with another Tale Of The Tape. You already know the deal, its five mixtapes, four ratings, and a mix of the best tracks at the bottom to give you a sample of what you’re getting yourself into.
Beefing with label mates happens to be a hot commodity. Charles Hamilton and Soulja Boy are snapping back at each other for no good reason; it’s tiring, but since the streets are buzzing, Tale Of The Tape leads off with the The Pink Lavalamp. Right behind it is MC Eiht, E.Ness, and a small cache of Young Money with Wayne and Drake.
MC Eiht
All Stars & Straps
One & Done
MC Eiht is the West Coast version of a Ronin. Sure, most young ones will know him from being OG A-Wax in Menace II Society, but the real OG’s know him as the main anchor in Compton’s Most Wanted. In years past, he has bounced from label to label looking for a home, all the while dropping music for his fans. He continues to do so with All Stars & Straps, and while there are some gems (“Compton’s Most Wanted”, “Authentic”), he still sounds dated like Jheri Curls and city riots.
Lil Wayne
The Drought Is Over 6
Peep It
Imagine this. You help propel a rapper’s career by putting together a mixtape series of his best street material. Said rapper gets on the radio and says “F*** mixtape DJs” and specifically meant you. What do you do? If you are The Empire, you put out The Drought Is Over 6 against his own official mixtape and show him up.
Instead of just a shell of mixes like most DJs try, The Drought Is Over 6 gives “Carterettes” what they want with more Wayne (“Best Thing Yet “) and dope features (“Red Magic”). This one is just better than The Dedication 3.
E. Ness
No B#######-Ness
Peep It
E.Ness happens to fit the M.O. every other Bad Boy artist not named Christopher. They have some minor shine, and then drop off the map faster than you can say special delivery. It must make Diddy’s artists want to drop a refrigerator on him, one of those double door joints.
In the end, all an artist can do is continue to put out music. No B#######-Ness reminds people just why he was the best out of Da Band. His Philly style (“Gangsta Gangsta”) shines when he uses it. When he steps out of that zone it sounds forced (“Lollipop Freestyle”) or nasty (“Put On 215”). Diddy might pay attention now.
Drake
Heartbreak Drake (The Best of Drake)
Heavy Rotation
Many TV stars think they can rap. Don’t believe me, head to their Myspace page and you will see them with a backwards cap doing their best Jay-Z rendition; terrible stuff, unfit for anyone with ears. Drake happens to be the exception.
Many are just starting to get to know him after the Lil Wayne / Young Money co-sign, but he has a wealth of material. Heartbreak Drake works great as a primer, giving an hour look at both his rapping (“The City Is Mine”) and singing (“A Little Bit”). It just got a bit warmer up north.
Charles Hamilton
The Pink Lavalamp
Heavy Rotation
Charles Hamilton is an eccentric individual. Even so, the music he makes is pretty dope. The Pink Lavalamp isn’t too much different from his older material. It features his heavy handed sample based production (“Come Back to You”) and doused with some rhymes from here, there and everywhere (“Shinin’”). Soulja boy haters that give this one a shot may find a new artist worth checking for.
Tale Of The Tape