This past week was quite an eventful one, as the Coachella music festival saw some of music’s biggest living stars join perhaps its most popular dead one, Tupac Shakur, in a barrage of great performances. In addition, the relatively unknown Lockness Monsta (the rapper, not the creature) released a vicious dis of the website Worldstar Hip Hop, calling it out for its lowest-common-denominator shock postings.
Other than that, it was a relatively eclectic week. Redman, shockingly for a man who starred in a movie called How High, sings the praises of the sticky green; Nino Bless tells us in detail about a day that will never happen; Consequence big-ups the lady who tells him what clothes to wear; and veteran Jadakiss tells us about creative ways to get new cars. Here is the week that was:
5. “I was raised on a hard block/Flip it twice, get the drop and the hard top” — Jadakiss, “Respect It” lyrics
The man with the famous laugh is mere days away from releasing a new mixtape called The Consignment. On this teaser track from it, he runs through his normal litany of boasts. However, this one jumps out from the pack. Neither drugs nor cars are a new topic to Kiss, but he always manages to combine them in clever ways. Here, he sells a kilo of cocaine twice so that he can afford two different rides.
4. “I been styled by June, had styles on my tunes/So my sense of style’ll prove I’m that dude” — Consequence, “Killer Instinct” lyrics
It’s not often that the trying-so-hard-to-be-real world of hip-hop even acknowledges that it has stylists, never mind shouts them out by name. Here, Cons gives a long-overdue nod to stylist-to-the-stars June Ambrose.
3. “I’m for real, though — smoking more than most of these rappers/My A-team smoke grade A weed, call it B.A. Baracus” — Redman, “Zip Lock” lyrics
Reggie Noble freestyles over the iconic dead prez song “Hip Hop” and, naturally, turns it into an ode to marijuana. Here, he puns on the iconic 1980’s TV series The A-Team, and its hotheaded character played by Mr. T. We pity the fool who doesn’t get a chuckle out of this song.
2. “The day you see me, ock/ASAP Rocky will out-rap Slaughterhouse at a release party for the Detox” — Nino Bless, “Get Ready Pt. 2” lyrics
Nino, who we have long loved, absolutely kills this long freestyle. Here, he boasts of his abilities while nodding to his sometimes collaborators in the super-group Slaughterhouse. He (rightly) notes that they rap circles around current hipster favorite ASAP Rocky (who, in his defense, dresses really well and makes funny videos), and also jokes about Dr. Dre’s long-delayed mythical Detox album.
1. “Majority of your promotion is ignorance/A bunch of dumb-ass videos of ni**a sh*t/I’m a rebel without a pause; b*tch, I’m an outlaw/’Cause ain’t nothing really hip-hop about y’all” — LockNess Monsta, “F**k Worldstar” lyrics
We at RG try not to speak ill of fellow hip-hop websites. And we bear no particular grudge against Worldstar Hip Hop, a site that combines rap videos with homemade footage of street fights, would-be video vixens gyrating, and teenagers with bandannas over their faces showing off their guns. However, LockNess comes against the site with biting critique, insight, and, most importantly, a Public Enemy beat — the song uses the music from the group’s song “Rebel Without a Pause.” All of these factors combine to win him our line of the week.
Hot Songs of the Week
Cee-Lo Green – Fight To Win Lyrics
ASAP Rocky – Goldie Lyrics
Nas – Another Black Girl Lost Lyrics
Theophilus London – Big Spender Lyrics
Wiz Khalifa – California Lyrics
