Posted on 12/16/2005

 

For those who may not be up on Cheap Cologne, lets take it back a little. 2004 could be described as the year that Jay-Z dropped the acapellas to his critically acclaimed Black Album. The Cheap Cologne rendition, The Double Black Album, focused on taking tunes from Metallica and meshing them with Jay’s narratives from his now famed opus. It was one of the most widely recognized remixes which got overshadowed from the fame of The Grey Album created by Dangermouse. Now he moves away from the sample based production on releases such as The Double Black Album, and Broke Ass Beats, to focus on more live instrumentation with up and coming lyricists on his newest release Something Random.

Posted on 12/15/2005

 

Nowadays almost every rapper feels the need to put his homeboys, usually inferior in talent, in the spotlight. The results are usually lackluster, to say the least. After Shawnna and I-20’s solo albums, along with the first Disturbing Tha Peace album Golden Grain failed to make any impact, Ludacris tries one more time with Ludacris Presents Disturbing Tha Peace. The result leaves much to be desired.

Posted on 12/15/2005

 

The first time most people heard of Sean Paul or J-Bo of the Youngbloodz was around 1999, when they released Against Da Grain. Back then, they were distinct in the south, following in the same vein as another duo, OutKast. Such hits as “85” and “U-Way” made them a familiar duo in the south. After last year’s smash, “Drankin’ Patnaz” featuring the radio and club smash “Damn”, the duo is back at it once again on their third release Ev’rybody Know Me.

Posted on 12/14/2005

 

As reggaeton spreads and becomes more famous in the United States, artists already well-established in Puerto Rico are trying to familiarize English-speaking Americans with their work. Thus is the case with Don Omar, whose Da Hit Man Presents Reggaeton Latino is a sort of bastardized greatest hits featuring remixed versions of his biggest songs plus songs he’s performed on other artists’ albums and compilations.

Posted on 12/14/2005

 

“I woke up from that dream I was living/and thanked the universe for all that I’m given…” Sometimes it does take a lot for a person to come full circle to realize the adventures they have been through, and the realizations they have arrived at to get to where they want to go. Ernie Rhodes originally did this on his first release called This Journey, My Mission. And now with his 2nd effort, The Orbital Effect, Ernie plans to make his knowledge known about coming full circle with his journey and mission, and making a stellar 2nd effort from those realizations.

Posted on 12/13/2005

 

The album cover featuring two Daddy Yankees sitting side by side is an appropriate representation of Barrio Fino En Directo: an album that is equally a showcase of Daddy Yankee’s live performances on his recent world tour to promote his last studio release, the platinum Barrio Fino, as well as the format for Yankee to introduce new material on his new home, American label Interscope Records.