Much like his one-time partner in rhyme Tragedy, Cormega suffered a number of set-backs and betrayals early on in his career, but he’s continued to develop his technique and catalog over the years to the point that he’s now independent mainstay, thanks to a tireless work ethic and genuine respect for his loyal fan-base. Here are some of the highlights from my conversation with this QB veteran earlier this week as he prepares to release his third official solo album next month.
Robbie: Did you used to have a little MC crew back when you first started or were you always a soloist?
Cormega: Me and Tragedy were partners for a little while.
Your earliest appearance was on DJ Hot Day’s album, and later with his group PHD. Where did you know Hot Day from?
I knew him from the streets. And I knew Poet, ‘cos Poet was like a warrior amongst rappers in Queensbridge. We made the song, and the rest is history, man. (more…)
Cali is bringing some dope young rappers to the table right now. I’ll let my dude Legend explain the rest:
While the West Coast keeps bubbling with talent, Fashawn has to be one on the forefront of the movement. With breakout tapes like One Shot, One Kill with Mick Boogie and Higher Learning, Fashawn is out to prove he can spit with the best of them. His debut album Boy Meets World (entirely produced by Exile) drops October 20th, and while this has a different sound than the album, an entire tape produced by Alchemist is an achievement on its own. Expect that gutter, “razor under the tongue rap” on this. Fresno, CA has once again found a new voice.
01. Intro
02. Shall Come A New Name
03. Fash Plays It Cool
04. The Antidote
05. Gone In 60 Seconds (Feat. Bravo)
06. Rap Seduction
07. Whats Your World
08. From The Creation (feat. The Alchemist, Roc C & OHNO)]
09. FYT
10. Lost In New York
11. Got It Sewn
Time to give shine to another under-appreciated rhyme verbal assassin – Cormega. With his latest project Born & Raised due in October and featuring another outstanding selection of producers and guest MC’s, now’s the perfect time to take a look back at some of his finest work to date. Let’s set it with some of his better team-ups… (more…)
How about some hype hardcore? It seems that 90′s rappers are all the rage this week, as three old favorites once again attempt to make some noise in this here rap game. Are any of them actually worth walking to your local record store though? (more…)
Who you think scanned this from their Icewater CD? I don’t need a watermark, look at the angle…
You can’t own no loops in the rap game, but the fact that I was already more than familiar with the basis of six tracks from the Cuban Linx II album is seriously detracting from the listening experience. One or two I could have dealt with…but six? Really?
Killa Sha created the best rap album of 2007, but thanks to limited distribution and an absence of gimmicks, not enough people experienced his addictive GOD Walks on Water the first time around. With a follow-up titled The Shepard due in the near future, as well as a complete album with Large Professor in the works, there’ll be plenty of opportunity to catch Sha Lumi in action.
Robbie: I didn’t realize how long you’ve been in the game initially.
Killa Sha: When it’s time to come out and breathe, I come out and breathe…I been in the game for a long time… when like the Juice Crew started! It’s just crazy that I kinda waited until now to put out a project, but I’m glad that I did wait, ‘cos I got to see the ups and the downs of things.
You were also a member of Super Kids with Tragedy?
You know when you little and you’re just venting into things? That’s what Super Kids is about, basically. It wasn’t no official group, the three of us…it was another DJ that was with us called Chilly Q, which was one of the first younger DJ’s that was on the radio, on WBLS. It was basically just people being young, just venting, trying to do different things. (more…)
This is the first single from new group The Closers, which is Shabaam Sahdeeq & Redeye combined with Queens-based production duo Thorotracks. Look out for my interview with Sam Thoro in the near future.
Depending on who you speak to, either everything after All For One was rubbish or In God We Trust was an under-appreciated classic. But you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who considers any other Brand Nu LP’s to be worthwhile, which is not entirely accurate. Consider the long awaited return of Grand Puba and Alamo to the fold in 1998 to be a case of bad timing, but far from the cynical cash-in that it might initially appear to be. Since Arista was making a pretty penny from Bad Boy, it ‘ain’t no mystery’ that they leaned on the brothers from Now Rule to deliver them some ‘jiggy’ shiny radio-friendly material, which explains the atrocities that are ‘Let’s Dance’ and ‘Back Up Off The Wall’, while even some of the contributions from the D.I.T.C. production squad are uncharacteristically smoothed-out. With some careful editing, however, you’ll uncover some of their finest records since their universally-heralded debut.
‘The Return’ is the solid, if unspectacular, DJ Premier driven ‘comeback’ song, but as soon as the catchy riff of ‘Shining Star’ drops, it feels just like old times as the crew deliver a spirited rags to riches tale that hits all the right spots. ‘The Beat Change’ is noteworthy for a stand-out shot from the sometimes under-performing Puba, while ‘Brand Nubian’ and ‘Straight Outta Now Rule’ (courtesy of Buckwild and Lord Finesse, respectively) are worth the price of admission alone (whatever they’re charging for it in the cut-out bin these days). Not to mention that the sleeve design was laced by Tony Bones, who also takes no shorts on the design tip.
