news/musings on new cd's, d12,eminem, pac

[mellowman]

since i've been gone so long i feel like i owe you some catch up posts. i have some free time tonight, tommorrow night and saturday. after that my schedule is so hectic i won't be around for about 3 weeks. i have some topics i want to address this week, so i ask that you don'' post any more questions to me for a few weeks.
on to the news. on the aftermath front not much has changed since my last news posts. a lot of aftermath releases are being tuned up and perfected so keep staying patient. i know you might be getting tired of waiting but it will be worth it. you will be rewarded with your patience. i sound like a broken record with that quote so i'll shut up. but once the first one falls the rest will snowball. it looks like the first aftermath release since the Marshall Mathers lp will be Truth Hurts. late summer is a possibility but fall will probably be when its released. the other albums being worked on are Wash soundtrack, Oh My God, Diablo soundtrack, Hittman , Kokane, Eminem's third aftermath album, and of course DETOX.
Xzibit's man vs machine is not an aftermath release but its as close as you can get. as you know dre gave X a lot of beats to work with. dre's so busy he's letting X work with his tracks on his own and eventually they'll get together to finish the album for release in early 2002.
most of you have heard Kurupt's new joint. i have mixed feelings on the album. the production is top notch and the collabs are good(somehow even fred durst is better than his usually pathetic rhyming and delivery). quik and daz put out some bangers but Fredwreck hits with some major earthquakes. he's using dre's "2001" style and making it his own. (more on fred on another upcoming post.) a few weeks ago when i heard "the life i live" i thought it was one of the dopest cuts of the year. why he kept it off the album is hard to fathom. the major dissapointment in the album is kurupt too often wasting his talent on stupid lyrics and tiring themes(again). how many ways can you say "fuck a bitch, suck my dick", etc. if artists like kurupt don't change lyrical directions and topics more often people will become more and more turned off to hardcore rap. outside a slim number of successes, gangsta rap is struggling in sales and its gonna get worse. people are tiring of the violence, sexism, and negative lyrics, just like they are tiring of bling bling, ice and cars bullshit. its getting close to the danger zone. its time to move on and change the game(let another topic). the songs where kurupt is more positive and reflective stand out.
the eastsidaz album is also off the hook production wise and snoop is really stepping it up. again the only disappointment is the tired lyrics and topics. and the crips stuff has no place. i know its part of their life but we all know who they are affiliated with and how bad it is in the hood. what can we do to change it? no one wants to stick their neck out and try to break the chains we strapped to.
on to eminem and d12. the topic about them sure caused a lot of controversy and fighting and racial comments. like i posted the weeks before devils night came out i love the album's production, flow and artistry. i reccommended it mostly for production on songs like revelation, blow my buzz, fight music, thats how and nuthin but music. people complaining about the production obviously love samples and unoriginality over live instruments and creativity. i also laughed at the argument that d12 was a pop album. only in a country this fucked up would an album talking about raping women, violence, sexism and the devil be considered pop. an arguement that em sucks because he is "pop" is ludicrous. some people claiming em and d12 are pop were people who support puffy(the access hollywood regular, teen girl group producer, dre style stealing, king of pop rap). how ironic is that?
a lot of people are all over eminem. a lot of it seemed to be race oriented. who the fuck cares what race em is. now i totally agree that em and d12's shock rap is stupid. ive said for a while now em is wasting his huge talent on beefs and stupid lyrics. he has the talent to be so much more. some of you will disagree, but em has the chance to have the impact pac did. y'all know how much i love pac. but there is little difference between the two, except skin color and how people relate. both artists relate to all colors, but pac mostly related to the struggling black youth and em mostly relates to the alienated white youth. both had/have stupid beefs and conflicting sides to their tortured souls. both relate to their audiences in positive and negative ways. is em better than pac? NO. but he has a chance to have the impact on people like pac did. em's upcoming third aftermath release fortunatetly is for the most part dumping the disses and shock rap and focusing on social issues and em's life, tortured soul and troubled past. i hope the current direction of the album doesn't get sidetracked or reversed. if it doesn't i hope you give em a fair chance. we'll see what happens. peace.

[bodyrott]

I agree with you on Kurupt, he keeps using the same themes over and over. How keeps saying gangster in like every track, also on the end of the tracks instead of letting the beat kick he gotta keep representing 'DPGC' etc.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

The Space Boogie CD was only 65 minutes long...He coulda' added all 3 of the bonus tracks!!! Mellowman...Your 100% right with everything...I agree with everything youve said especially with Kurupt stuck on "Fuck a Bitch"...

[Doggystylin]

Damn, mellow is always on point, i aggree with all that,

thanx for the info mellow

[Hades]

u right about The Life I Live

that joint is hot as fuck, it's a shame it's a bonus track

www.westcoastaftershock.com

[The Big Bad Ass]

I agree with mellow, and everyone else in here so far about the kurupt fuck a bitch shit. I swear in half of his songs all I hear is eat a fat dick, get a bowl of this dick bitch, swallow the dick.. and shit. Gets real old real fast. Kurupt is so much more talented than that. I think he is afraid that he will lose fans if he strays away from what worked, but most of the people who are Kurupt fans, have grown up, and want more grown up issues, and stories. Just my opinion.

[Trauma-san]

I Agree About Kurupt's Lyrics, But Like You Just Said, He's probably Facing A Choice Between Newer Lyrics, And What Worked In The Past...

Either Way, He'll Alienate Some People.  He Should Move On, And Write More Mature Stuff, But In Doing So, A Ton Of Peeps Will Be Pissed (Look At The People That Say Dre's Soft Now Because He Dropped (Kinda) Tha Gangsta Image).

Peace

[Sir Hambone]

I agree with u all the way..the fuck a bitch is cool n all..but it got old.....

and yes...Fred Wreck is starting to sound like Dr. Dre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I dont know if that is good or bad....but it gets my head to nod.........

[The Big Bad Ass]

You just hit it on the nose, he keeps your head ringin, and that is a good thing.

[Sikotic™]

Kurupt represents so much on this album it should be a "Tribute" album to the DPG and the art of fucking bitches.

[The Big Bad Ass]

^^ lol good point.

[tizerri]

Will Battlecat have tracks on the wash soundtrack? What other producers?

[AfterMathematics]

I guess this means HITTMAN isn't out of the game just yet!  Thanks mellow.

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

I DON'T AGREE ABOUT THA EASTSIDAZ'S NEW ALBUM POINT

[bez]

Mellow-man u rock dude!  Thanks man!