First of all, I'm absolutely blown away by Wale's new album, "Attention Deficit". It truly exceeded my expectations and it has definitely changed my perception of Wale as a rapper. Beyond the fashion, sneakers and Hollywood lifestyle, is an incredibly deep thinker, that isn't afraid to speak his mind. The track I'm posting, "Shades", is by far one of the most daring songs on the album. Throughout the song, Wale speaks about how he grew up seeing lighter skinned African American being treated differently than those with darker complexions. He takes the issue one step further by asking his listeners, "What if Barack's skin was all black… would he be a candidate". I think Wale is 100% on point with everything he says in this song. I grew up in a predominately black neighborhood and I seen the insecurities that many people had with their skin, whether it was, guys that avoided the sun, or girls that never showed anyone their real hair. Everything he says is real, and its happening everyday. But the message that Wale places in his song is that it doesn't matter what shade of brown that you are, because at the end of the day, it's what's on the inside that counts.

Wale and his production team, Best Kept Secret, are simply impressive and they definitely deserve to win an award for this song; it's remarkable!

"Shades"
Artist: Wale
Featuring: Chrisette Michele
Produced by: Best Kept Secret
Album: Attention Deficit
Year: 2009
Location: Washington DC
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/wale
Twitter: http://twitter.com/WaLe

This song is brilliant… (or should I say brill)! Apparently Kano has been getting very annoyed at many of the critics whom have voiced their negative opinions about his new mainstream sounding singles, so Kano decided to release a combative record, titled NWMOS, to address all the journalists, bloggers and fans that have been asking him to revert back to his original style of music. The idea to loop a Jay-Z line from Blueprint 3 was absolutely fantastic. And Kano definitely didn't disappoint. I'm fairly neutral on the argument of whether Kano should revert back to his underground style of lyricism. Personally, I'd listen to Kano's music regardless.
I can't wait to hear this new album!

Download: Right Click Save As

"NWMOS"
Artist: Kano
Samples: Jay-Z - On To The Next One
Samples: Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
Production Credits: Mikey J, Swizz Beatz, Justice
Country: UK
Year: 2009
Kano on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kanorecordings
Kano on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheRealKano
Label: Bigger Picture Music

This is Sway's brand new single, "Mercedes-Benz"! I've been waiting for this song to be released in CD quality for quite a while, ever since he premiered a one minute snippet of it earlier this year.  Since I'm a bit of a Sway fan, I was planning on buying the digital version of this single though Itunes, but unfortunately, I ran into an annoying and familiar problem… This Single Hasn't Been Released In The US!!!! European rappers really need to start releasing All of their music in All six major continents! This is one of the reasons why music piracy is so rampant these days. I couldn't buy this record legally if I tried (and trust me… I've tried). Now, all these Sway fans that are here in the US, that have been waiting for this single to drop are going to be forced to download this record for free, even though they may have had full intentions of spending the 99 cents to purchase the high quality version of this single.
Now I understand that there hasn't been any promo, or major radio support for this song here in the US, But… that doesn't mean that people the here in the States haven't heard of Sway DaSafo. C'mon Konvict Muzik…

Either way, whether legally or illegally, everybody needs to download this record! It's definitely one of the biggest party records of the year! And to Sway's management.. PLEASE BRING THIS RECORD TO THE USA!

"Mercedes-Benz"
Artist: Sway
Samples: DJ Mark the 45 King - "The 900 Number" (1987)
Samples: Marva Whitney - "Unwind Yourself" (1967)
Album: The Signature 2
Year: 2009
Location: UK
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/swaydasafo
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Sway_Dcypha
Label: Konvict Muzik

Watch Henok Achido's "High On Life (When The Drugs Don't Work)" on Tripletimexl.com!

Is Henok Achido's video for "High On Life (When The Drugs Don't Work)" one of the best Independent rap video to ever come out in Europe? You decide. Here's my opinion:
It's one of the only rap videos currently in circulation that doesn't depict images of jewelry, cars, cash, models, and fashion; but that's not what makes the video great. The reason why this piece is so captivating is because tackles issues that are rarely spoken about in the hip-hop community. Issues such as isolation, depression, homelessness and mortality. It shows a side of urban life, that the public rarely gets to see. The social aspects, such as, the night clubs, parties, public gatherings, are replaced with images of confinement, paranoia, and desolation. When looking at the big city, we often focus on the lights, skyscrapers, and glamorous events, yet, we rarely think about the thousands of people confined within their apartments living with an array of social anxieties, addictions and mental disorders. We see a beautiful bridge in Brooklyn, but we don't see the people living under it.
Henok Achido, once again, proves that he's simply cut from a different cloth. A rapper that refuses to follow the mainstream trends of the music industry. Henok Achido has exalted himself to an unreachable plateau by creating one of the best Independent rap videos to ever come out in Europe.

"High On Life (When The Drugs Don't Work)"
Artist: Henok Achido
Music Producer: Vito
Album: Almaz Charming Child
Year: 2009
Director: Mattis Gustafsson & Oskar Ljungholm of www.slagskottfilm.com
Cinematographer: Erik Nordlund of www.skapetskasta.se
Editor: Alexander Widerberg
3D Imager: Fredrik Nilsson
Henok Achido on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/henokachido
Record Label: DLX Entertainment/Secret Society Club
Contact: thesecretsocietyclub@gmail.com

I had to put question marks around this one because I'm not exactly sure if GLC and Bun B. are going to be on the final version of the remix. All we know, so far, is that verses from GLC and Bun B. were recorded for the much anticipated Mirrors Edge Remix. Will these verse make it on to the final cut of the remix… I guess we'll have to wait and see…

This is the full and finished video for Jay-Z newest song "Run This Town" which features Rihanna and Kanye West. It's the second single off his album "Blueprint 3" which is scheduled to be released on September 11, 2009.

"Run This Town"
Artist: Jay-Z
Featuring: Rihanna and Kanye West
Album: Blue Print 3
Year: 2009
Location: New York
Label: Roc Nation

Last month there was an informational conference held in Washington D.C. called "Healthcare Remix" that featured Malik "Phife Dawg" Taylor of A Tribe Called Quest, and J. Dilla's mother Maureen Yancey. During the event, the panelists (which also included Hip-Hop Caucus CEO Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr and SEIU Healthcare President Dr. L Toni Lewis), expressed their deep concerns about the growing number of self employed musicians that are dangerously uninsured.

Healthcare Reform is the most important political issue affecting today’s hip-hop community of artists, producers, promoters, managers, and fans. It could potentially provide coverage to over 20 million of the self-employed, uninsured Americans which consist of the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, and the music moguls of the future.

I urge all of the men and women within the hip-hop community to support the Presidents plan for a comprehensive change within the health insurance industry.

Eminem strikes back against Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon after the multi-platinum pop diva recently released a music video for R&B single, "Obsessed", where she dresses up like Eminem and portrays him as being a compulsive stalker. Eminem has responded with a brand new song titled "The Warning" and it is by far one of the most graphic songs that Eminem has ever written. In the new record, he gives very vivid details about the alleged short-lived sexual relationship that he once shared with Mariah Carey. This feud has definitely taken a turn for the worst. Listen to the song below:

"The Warning (Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon Diss)
Artist: Eminem
Album: Unreleased… (Relapse 2)
Label: Shady Records
Year: 2009
Location USA
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/eminem
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?zjtmo2dwhmt

Someone on youtube said "What a good wedding song!". Sorry, I had to laugh at that one. This is another typical Akon record, with a catchy hook, a great instrumental and a chorus that glorifies strippers and gold diggers. All around it's a good song. Sway, from the UK, did a great job in putting this song together. I spoke to him a couple weeks ago when he was in New York City and he told me that Konvict Muzik was planning to release and market this song here in America before the end of the year. He performed it at the Urban Music Awards, earlier in the month. It received a lukewarm response, possibly due to his British accent. At times, I felt as if I was the only person in the front row dancing to it… maybe I was. He made a reference to his accent in “Silver and Gold“, when he says ""She's always telling me that she loves my accent but she's thinking to herself what the hell is he saying". Personally, I don't think the UK accent is really that hard to understand, although, maybe I’m just accustomed to hearing people use it because I have family over there. Last year when Sway released the "Go Hard" freestyle, he spoke about how his accent prevented him from getting signed to many American major labels. ""I was in New York trying to give them my disc, walked into Shady Records and said listen to this… Peter Rosenberg said 'this is a hit but because of your accent, I'm going to give it a miss.'" In my opinion, Sway's accent is barely noticeable especially when you compare it to other UK rappers such as Ghetts. But that's the way my country is, everyone knows that if "Silver and Gold" featured a rapper with an American accent, the song would be 3x platinum and #1 on the Billboard Charts. No matter what the underground critics in the UK say about Sway‘s new sound, you have to absolutely respect him. He's breaking down a lot of barriers here in this country and he's opening the doors for UK rappers to market their music and find success here in America.

"Silver and Gold"
Artist: Sway
Featuring: Akon
Album: The Signature LP
Year: 2009
Location: UK
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/swaydasafo
Label: Konvict Muzik

This is a fantastic video for Smoke Bulga's "Money On My Mind" featuring Jim Jones! It was directed by DanTheMan, who has filmed music videos for Prodigy, Termanology, 50 Cent and more. It was filmed on location, all throughout Boston (except for the scenes with Jim Jones which were filmed in New York City).

This is by far, the most expensive video and song that any Boston rapper has created all year. The rentals alone that are featured in this video will probably amount to $5,000 or more. Jim Jones was most likely paid, somewhere in the thousands, to appear on the song. Dan The Man is one of the best hip-hop music video directors in the Northeast. His camera alone, the Panasonic AG-HVX200, is worth over $5,000. The production costs of this video must have went "through the roof". I don't think anyone from Boston is going to top this one. At least not this year. Not with a recession… and a 8.7% Massachusetts unemployment rate. Smoke Bulga is the definition of "Ballin"! Ballin in a recession. Overall, Great song, Great video, Thumbs up!

"Money On My Mind"
Artist: Smoke Bulga
Featuring: Jim Jones
Director: Dan The Man
Location: Boston & New York City
Year: 2009
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/smokebulga
Label: http://www.myspace.com/smokebulga
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SmokeBulga