Mixtape Mayhem II

     It's about time for another Mixtape Mayhem round up of the latest mixtapes that have been dropping and worth listening to.  Top artists are still consistently putting out free music directly to their fans in large quantities.  After a year where all music sales numbers declined significantly, Hip Hop still managed to increase their share of the overall market.  That's very impressive considering the only genre of music to do that.  Rolling Stone has the numbers in their current issue, with of course, Weezy on the cover.  Rap is today's Rock and Roll.  I think part of that can be attributed to artists building loyal fan bases through social media outlets such as Twitter but also giving out their music for free.  They're counting on that fan to out and get their major release album when it drops and buy their concert ticket when they tour.  Plus any other associated product that musician endorses.  Sprite anyone (Drizzy voice).

     With all that said, let's get into the latest releases in the past couple months.  First off, the Boss himself, Rick Ross put out another great mixtape on Christmas Eve as a present, called Ashes to Ashes.  He just re-released it with two more tracks, one being with Drake.  It has an all-star guest line up and one of my favorites.  Next up is brand new from The Game, a two album 29 song mixtape called Purp and Patron.  Dr. Dre, Pharrell, and even my man The RZA contribute tracks along with Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and a ton of other of guest stars show up all over the album.  His situation is different than others since he's had an album ready to be released, but record label tape has held it up.  So he continues to drop mixtapes to the public to keep himself in the conversation.  JCole dropped Friday Night Lights a while ago and I still need to give it a full listen but from what I've heard, it's been consistent with his others where he delivers a great product.

Young Chris from the Young Guns from the Roc's State Property group has been on his grind and is now on Division 1 records led by super producer Rico Love.  His mixtape called The Re-Introduction  sounds like a veteran artist who has done this before and now has the confidence as a solo artist with his own hits.  I'm expecting big things from Chris and Rico.  CyHi da Prince put Royal Flush out a couple months ago, but he definitely brings a fresh sound to quality metaphors.  His name has been in rotation as he's been on Ye's G.O.O.D. Music label and on Kanye's latest album.  This mixtape is one I've listened to regularly, it's got a good sound.  I also support Wale and his latest More About Nothing has been out for a while as well, but Wale works harder than most artists and puts 120% into his mixtapes.  If you like smart rap, it's a must download.

Ashes to Ashes here. 

Purp and Patron here. 

Friday Night Lights here. 

The Re-Introduction here. 

Royal Flush here. 

More About Nothing here.

**Download at your own risk, not responsible for any problems. 

Do You Like to BoonBooRee?

     The US Men's National soccer team played an international friendly on Saturday against Chile.  They tied 1-1 on a penalty kick from Teal Bunbury.  The announcer Pablo Ramirez adds his own flair to the goal celebration and makes it a classic.  Please tell me....do you like to BoonBooRee?

Baby Girl

 Aaliyah is one of my favorite artists of all time.  A combination of super beauty, talent and grace that everyone admired.  Unfortunately, she's no longer with us but she will always be remembered.  Her birthday was January 16th.  Here are some videos, click below for more after the jump.

Cement Jordan III

     This is the E-Smart tribute for one of the all time classic sneakers.  The third retro release of the Jordan III is this weekend (Nikestore.com sold out in 50 minutes).  A ton of history goes behind the shoe designed by the legendary Tinker Hatfield for Nike as it was originally released in 1988 and represented a major commitment by Nike to Jordan and his line of sneakers.  He was rumored to be leaving Nike if it wasn't for this sneaker.  MJ then proceeded to win Defensive Player of the Year, All-Star MVP award, league MVP and then beat Dominque Wilkins in the legendary Slam Dunk contest which became a poster in every kids room, including mine.  Michael is known to have made these memories in these sneakers.  The "Cement Grey" colorway, infamous elephant print, and first time visible Air bag make this sneaker a timeless classic, one of the best.  This release has the special edition shoe box and old school plastic Nike AIR plastic tag.
This pic is courtesy of Sneaker News.

Star Art

     Here's a great 3 piece poster set from artist Olly Moss for the first 3 Star Wars original movies.  He did it for the art house Mondo and each poster is hand signed and limited to 400 copies each.  They look fantastic  and you can find more information here.

  

Two Words

     I'll dedicate my 100th blog post to one of my all time favorite songs and it features Kanye West, Mos Def, and Freeway.  The video for "Two Words" from the College Dropout album is nothing special, just some effects to make it look old and it shows footage of Ye's hometown, Chicago.  Lyrically though, this is one of the nicest, as you're not going to find too many MC's nicer than these three.
Definitely a Rizz Classic.

Spaceships!

     Great video of actual footage of our country's own spaceship and more specifically our Space Shuttles.  It's a long video but go ahead and pick any point and you'll see pictures that nobody has really seen until recently.  NASA engineers narrate the piece and provide great information.  It really is some fantastic camera work and photography of where billions of our tax dollars went and you can see why.   Add it to your YouTube favorites to watch whenever you get bored.  Space stuff is awesome.

Mr. Jackson's Real World

     Steven Jackson is one of the football's most consistent and powerful running backs.  His physical, bruising style makes onlookers in the stadium and HDTV watchers say "ouch" as he hits defenses.  

A lot of people wonder what it would be like to play in the NFL and be a star like Jackson.  Here's a great 3 part series that he has on his website that shows what a week in the NFL is like.  Including the bruises.  Below is the trailer and then click here to get to his site to watch the series.

P-Pad

     Not much description needs to go into the visuals of Pharrell Williams Miami home.  Here's a fantastic glimpse of the notorious half of the genius musical production duo, the Neptunes, Skateboard P.  These simple pics show his extensive collection of Kaws adult toy sculptures (which Rizz has been around himself) to vintage Louis Vuitton trunks.

  You can spot a Keith Haring as well as modern art is a favorite of the musical mogul.   Heavenly views of the Atlantic Ocean can easily make it seem like you're waking up in heaven every day.

Let the pictures do the talking.....courtesy of the selby.  Click here.

The Michael Vick Experience

     It was only four  years ago when we were watching these commercials and Michael Vick was coming off seasons of getting the Falcons to NFC playoff games.  He was the face of Nike and was must see TV at that point of his career.  What a pretty remarkable roller coaster ride Mr. Vick has been on since then.   Back as a must see every Sunday and now going into the playoffs,  he's been seen in some local Philly car dealership TV commercials but I'm sure the big companies will be following up shortly and deservedly so.
Relive his Nike days with these clips.  He is one of the most dynamic quarterbacks the league has ever seen and more importantly, someone who is making the right choices.....this time.