This is good news, it sounds like NORE’s What What is actually going to drop.

There’s some talk about Big Daddy Kane vs. Rakim talk in this week’s episode for those of you who don’t care about former Clipse rappers.

This episode is official as The Chef really goes into the nitty gritty about his career and the legacy of the Wu-Tang Clan.

The Combat Jack Show crew visit the Evil Empire to discuss the rap radio game.

Salutes on 100 Episodes. Combat calls out fellow Haitian Wyclef Jean before the crew talk to Fabolous and Elliott Wilson, which sparks an interesting discussion about veteran rappers adapting to the new era.

In honor of Jigga catching the train today, here’s a little something I posted back in 2005 from my Tim Westwood tape collection:

An excited Jay-Z chops it up with Westwood, shortly before the release of Reasonable Doubt. A lotta memories on this one – remember when Hov was talking about ‘this is gonna be my only album’? During this interview it’s clear that he’s enjoying the initial success of ‘Ain’t No Nigga’ as it began tearing up the clubs, and he’s brimming with confidence when discussing his soon-to-be classic debut. He also speaks about his early days rolling with The Jaz, and introduces a little label by the name of Rocafella Records before he drops a couple of verses over Funkmaster Flex rocking doubles of Sadat X‘s ‘Stages and Lights’ beat.

With Dallas on vacay, who will keep the peace between Premium and Combat?

The Combat Jack Show feat. RZA & Melyssa Ford

Mega drops science with Combat, Dallas, Premium, Matt, Just and A-King.

So I offered $100 to the first member of the team to ask Bleek if he was a Weed Carrier. It’s fair to say that CJ went above and beyond the call of duty…Dallas Penn did well to throw in the corrections. #WeedHolders

Turns out The Chef is quite the economics wiz… special shout to the fruity-ass JJJ hosts who call Rebel INS ‘Inspectah Decks’.

Been off the air for a minute since my modem blew-up last week so I’m playing catch-up… just caught DJ Eclipse‘s Dec. 5 edition of the Rap Is Outta Control radio show, which featured the one and only Neek The Exotic playing rough mixes of three cuts from his new album due next year, as well as this dope freestyle session over Grand Daddy I.U./Marco Polo‘s ‘Hard To Kill’ beat.

Neek The Exotic & Satchel Page – Rap Is Outta Control Freestyle

Here’s something I wrote about Neek for Canada’s Pound magazine a couple of years ago:

Neek reminds me of a thinking man’s NORE, bringing the same kind of belligerent attitude but exchanging Swizz Beats/Neptunes ‘Tunnel bangers’ for crunchy Large Pro beats. Ever since his super- amped Yo!MTV Raps performance of ‘Fakin’ The Funk’ with Xtra P, Neek has been snapping ‘backs ‘ necks’ with a series of highly entertaining indy 12″s sporting bugged-out titles such as ‘Rip ‘Em Flip ‘Em’ and ‘Money, Thugs’. Whether it was the fact that he uttered the line ‘I keep it moving like Soul II Soul’ on two different songs on his album with little concern, or his boast of being willing to ‘straight piss on bitches”, Neek never fails to endear himself to the listener. His quotables are seemingly endless, whether he’s reminding us that ‘Me and rap stick together like hookers and patent leather’ or hipping us to the fact that ‘I skate on niggas like the Icecapades’. It’s hard to pin down what exactly sets this Wastelandz resident apart from the pack, but N.E.E.K.’s combination of excitable ‘Shout Rap’ delivery, unique timing and occasionally ignorant content over banging tracks is a good combination in any situation.

“Rap Is Outta Control” 12/5/10 Playlist and Download links:
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Combat Jack is on a roll right now, having recently penned this superb True Stories Behind 25 Rap Classics for Complex as well as hosting his always entertaining show on PNC Radio (which also features my semi-regular Weed Carrier Report) with Dallas Penn and NY Delight. This week’s episode featured Super DJ Clark Kent, Maffew Ragazino and Sean P in the studio, which added an extra Brooknam flavor to proceedings.

The Combat Jack Show, 1 October, 2010

Bonus: Audio of just the rapping.

Original Concept‘s Doctor Dre used to have a radio show called The Operating Room back in the days, and he just happened to get BDP into the studio just as the Bridge Wars started popping-off. There is no other way to describe these recordings other than effin’ awesome. The late, great DJ Scott La Rock and KRS-One don’t mess around as they tell the listeners exactly what they think about Mr. Magic, Shan, Marley, Shante and Poet. Rest assured that many shots are fired.

BDP - ‘Operating Room Interview, Part 1′

BDP - ‘Operating Room Interview, Part 2′

Spotted on the Criminal Minded [Elite Edition] 3CD via Traffic.

Photo: Alexander Richter

This week’s episode of The Combat Jack Show included a guest host by the name of NY Delight and some folks calling in, including some douche hammer called Robbie from Unkut dropping science on the Greatest Weed Carrier of All-Time.

The Combat Jack Show feat. Dallas Penn – ‘Episode 3′

Thanks to Ivan Rott for the quick turnaround on the rip.

So I was listening to some AM radio in the car for some reason (i.e. my ipod battery ran out) and caught the last part of a conversation with Adam Bradley, an Associate Professor of Literature at the University of Colorado who wrote a book called Book of Rhymes about the connection between rap and poetry. Hardly the most exciting premise, but after enduring the usual bullshit about the difference between rap and hip-hop he was actually posed a decent question by the interviewer, which resulted in this jewel being dropped:

Who is the contemporary Shakespeare of the rap world?

Adam Bradley: It’s a heavy mantle for anyone to bare, but I think the one who could probably do it the best would be Jay-Z – and I say that both for the longevity of his career but also the range of his subject matter. As he’s evolved as an individual his music has evolved to reflect that. So while he was rhyming on his first album about street life, about dealing drugs, about all kinds of nefarious activities, on his latest album he’s rhyming about being married to Beyonce, he’s rhyming about life as a mogul, as an entrepreneur. As a visionary in business as well as music. So that kind of breadth, that kind of development, I think is a sign of an artist who is willing to grow. Willing to grow even past his own popularity, past the time when people expect a particular thing of him – and yet he finds new ways of appealing to a new public, and that’s precisely what Shakespeare did if you look across his body of work. He never stayed the same. Whether it’s tragedies or histories or comedies, he’s always shifting and expanding.

Sure, I may not be the president of the Hova Stan Club but I have to admit that the Prof. has a pretty strong case. Don’t forget, William Shakespeare wasn’t highbrow in his day – he was penning the stage equivalents of Summer blockbusters, knocking out those hits. But it wasn’t until years after his death that he was declared to be “the greatest writer in the English language…Shakespeare was never revered in his lifetime, but he received his share of praise”. S. Carter may never make a song as great as ‘Halftime’, but – like it or not – history may just prove him to be the G.O.A.T. after all.