DURAG DYNASTY x JUST BLAZE - "Neighborhood Dope Dealers"

Durag Dynasty (Planet Asia, Tri-State, Killer Ben) is back again after 2012's highly anticipated Alchemist produced "360 Waves". While that album was definitely dope, it didn't quite live up to the high expectations I've built up after all those extraordinary street singles and guest features, but it still was not one to be slept on. Now it seems the West Coast trio is back working on another project, this time produced by Just Blaze, as two soulful singles have been released in only a matter of days, that both are off the fucking chains. The latest is called "Neighborhood Drug Dealers" and features Planet Asia and Tri-State GOING IN over a laid back but vintage Just Blaze banger. Below that you'll find the recently released "Catch That Feeling". I'm not sure this means Just Blaze and DD is gonna bring listeners an entire album worth but listening to these singles I sure as hell won't mind!

[Album] SAIGON - "Greatest Story Never Told Pt. 3"

Saigon's third full-length LP is finally here as The DJBooth has got the permission to stream the entire album in advance of its official September 30 release. I haven't had a chance to listen to it in full yet but if the previously released singles are a pointer, "Greatest Story Never Told 3: The Troubled Times of Brian Carenard" will not dissapoint listeners. Looking at the track I gotta give Sai props for the way he bridges generations of hip-hop - with the production handled by legends like DJ Premier (three tracks) and Just Blaze (the album opener) as well as the relatively unknown Clev Trev and Deli Beats, plus cameos from Big Daddy Kane, G Rap, Lil Bibby, Papoose, Memphis Bleek, etc. Press play below and get your pre-order on via iTunes or Amazon.

01. "Back to Reality"

02. "Come Alive" (Ft. Corbett)

03. "Street Gospel" (Ft. P Jericho)

04. "Definitions from Byronn Bain"

05. "Sinners Prayer" (Ft. Omar Epps & Papoose)

06. "My Mama Think I'm Crazy" (Ft. Curbside Hustle)

07. "Mine Mine Mine"

08. "Let's Get Smart"

09. "One Foot in the Door" (Ft. Big Daddy Kane)

10. "Nunya"

11. "Best Mistake" (Ft. G. Martin)

12. "Deception"

13. "Bring That"

14. "Mechanical Animals" (Ft. Kool G Rap, Memphis Bleek & Lil Bibby)

15. "Contraband 3 (A,B,C)"

16. "Reincarnation" (Ft. Byronn Bain)

STREAM @ DJBOOTH

[Stream] Freeway - "Diamond in the Ruff"

Former Roc-A-Fella artist Freeway is releasing his "Diamond in the Ruff" album tomorrow, the 27th. The good folks over at DJBooth together with the emcee and Babygrande has provided a free, full stream of the entire album. Production comes from peeps like Just Blaze, Bink!, DJ Khalil, Jake One, Needlz, and more, so this should be good. Pre-order @ iTunes or UGHH (vinyl drops on December 4). 

 

1. Right Back (featuring Marsha Ambrosius)
2. Greatness (featuring Vivian Green)
3. The Thirst
4. Wonder Tape
5. No Doubt
6. Dream Big (featuring Musiq Soulchild)
7. Early
8. Ghetto Streets
9. Numbers (featuring Neef Buck)
10. True (featuring Wale)
11. Sweet Temptations (featuring Nikki Jean)
12. All The Hoods (featuring Miss Daja Thomas & Alond Rich)
13. Hottest Akhi
14. Jungle
15. Money Is My Medicine
16. Lil' Mama

 

FREEWAY - "DIAMOND IN THE RUFF" @ DJBOOTH 

Roc Marciano - "Stop Me"

Check out this new Roc Marciano treat I spotted @ Unkut, called "Stop Me", this is produced by Just Blaze. This is not included on "Reloaded", but if my memory serves me correctly; wasn't Just Blaze one of the producers slated to appear on the album when it was still going to be a companion album to "Marcberg" with remixes and exclusives? Might be wrong about that, but it's a smashing cut however it goes...

Saigon's "Chapter 2: Bread & Circues"

As if a full LP worth of new Lil' Fame and Termanology wasn't enough, today also sees the release of Saigon's second official album and luckily we didn't have to wait another five years for Sai's latest this time. "The Greatest Story Never Told Chapter 2: Bread & Circuses" sees Saigon deliver another solid album that once again utilizes Just Blaze as executive producer. The actual beats are handled by a variety of producers though, among them DJ Corbett and the often overlooked Shuko, while guest vocalists include stic.man, Styles P, and Chamillionaire. Purchase the CD from UGHH or if you're more of a digitized head, grab it @ iTunes. For a sample of what to expect check out the official video to the politically charged banger "Blown Away" that hit the web yesterday. 

Rome Clientel / Just Blaze - "Warzone" [1997]

Rome Clientel's drops another winner from his "The Empire: The Lost Catacombs" EP which hits the web on Monday, sponsored by 2DBz. Trust me, when I say this joint is a must hear as it's a cut that slipped through the cracks from a recording session with Just Blaze all the way back in '97. This is seriously the earliest JB production I ever know to be released and it's unmistakeble that this cat was hit. Can't wait to hear the EP by now, count on finding it here as soon as it drops.

[Mixtape] SAIGON - "WARNING SHOTS 3"

Although it took some serious time and several delays for The Yardfather to drop his banging official debut "Greatest Story Never Told", he always kept his name hot on the mixtape scene. As promised he releases his anticipated "Warning Shots 3: One Foot in the Grave" via DatPiff today. The tape is presented by Just Blaze who also provides a few beats next to producers including Ez ElPee, DJ Corbett, Red Spyda, Scram Jones, Green Lantern and more. I can't wait to listen to this in full!

01. "One Foot in the Grave (Intro)" (Ft. Just Blaze)
02. "BBB (Real Niggas Never Die)" [prod. by Sire]
03. "I Am 4 Real" [prod. by DJ Corbett]
04. "Hungry" [prod. by Sire]
05. "Yeah Yeah" [prod. by Shuko]
06. "Bring Me Down Pt. 3" (Ft. Joe Budden) [prod. by Just Blaze & DJ Corbett]
07. "Say Yes Again" [prod. by Quiet]
08. "Come Again 2012" [prod. by Ez ElPee]
09. "Women Are the New Dogs" [prod. by Red Spyda]
10. "Kinky" [prod. by Sire]
11. "When Did U Get Hot" [prod. by Brain]
12. "Moscato Flow"
13. "CutDaBullshit" [prod. by Green Lantern]
14. "Another Man Down" (Ft. Lil' Fame) [prod. by DJ Corbett]
15. "WFKR Talk Radio Skit"
16. "War And Chaos" [prod. by Just Blaze & Scram Jones]
17. "Where to Find Me" (Ft. Quan)
18. "Learning As We Go Along" (Ft. Rough of Good Guy Gang)
19. "Mr. Cool (That Ain't Cool)" [prod. by Scram Jones]

SAIGON - "WARNING SHOTS 3"

[Tracklist] Saigon - "Warning Shots III"

Saigon's third installment in the "Warning Shots" series drops in only four days and looking at the tracklist below I'm sure it will be pretty damn dope. I'm a little suprised there isn't more Just Blaze productions on here considering that he's presenting the tape but Ez Elpee, Red Spyda, Green Lantern and Scram Jones will most likely deliver. The songs that have leaked so far have all been dope if you ask me, you can check out the latest one called "Hungry" at the bottom of this post.

01. "One Foot in the Grave (Intro)" (Ft. Just Blaze)
02. "BBB (Real Niggas Never Die)" [prod. by Sire]
03. "I Am 4 Real" [prod. by DJ Corbett]
04. "Hungry" [prod. by Sire]
05. "Yeah Yeah" [prod. by Shuko]
06. "Bring Me Down Pt. 3" (Ft. Joe Budden) [prod. by Just Blaze & DJ Corbett]
07. "Say Yes Again" [prod. by Quiet]
08. "Come Again 2012" [prod. by Ez ElPee]
09. "Women Are the New Dogs" [prod. by Red Spyda]
10. "Kinky" [prod. by Sire]
11. "When Did U Get Hot" [prod. by Brain]
12. "Moscato Flow"
13. "CutDaBullshit" [prod. by Green Lantern]
14. "Another Man Down" (Ft. Lil' Fame) [prod. by DJ Corbett]
15. "WFKR Talk Radio Skit"
16. "War And Chaos" [prod. by Just Blaze & Scram Jones]
17. "Where to Find Me" (Ft. Quan)
18. "Learning As We Go Along" (Ft. Rough of Good Guy Gang)
19. "Mr. Cool (That Ain't Cool)" [prod. by Scram Jones]

SAIGON - "HUNGRY"

2011 in Review: #10 - Saigon

[#10] SAIGON - "THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD"

Few albums could to build up the hype “The Greatest Story Never Told” did. Saigon’s few singles and guest verses leading up to the album spoke for themselves and any album produced by Just Blaze should be worth your money, right! First promised in 2006, fans had to wait five years more before The Greatest Story was finally told. So was it worth the wait?

The majority of Saigon and Just Blaze’s long-awaited album does not disappoint but at the same time it could have appeared higher than #10 on this year-end list. When it’s good it’s absolutely amazing, both as for The Yardfather’s performance and Just Blaze’s blazing production. What drags it down a bit to me is a bunch of songs that unfortunately can’t live up to the high standards of the larger part of this project. This made “The Greatest…”’s impact lesser than it should’ve been. The reason that some of the tracks didn’t meet the high expectations was the extreme amount of hype that had been built up throughout the years coupled with some cheesy hooks that didn’t at all fit the vibe of the album. Add a few beats that were skippable and the album, which should and could have been flawless, instead only manages to come close to the perfection many had hoped for.

On a positive note though, Sai’s lyrical performance was nothing short of brilliant throughout the whole project; brutally honest, heartfelt delivery, clever metaphors, important and well-executed concepts and overall great songwriting. Tracks like “The Invitation”, “Oh Yeah (Our Babies)”, “Better Way”, “Preacher”, “Greatest Story Never Told”, “Come On Baby”, the brilliant two-part concept in “Friends” and “Enemies” more than made up for the less inspired songs. His voice is distinct and outstanding and he knows exactly how to captivate the listener and now with Just Blaze by his side he clearly got a bright future. Just and Sai’s chemistry are as amazing as some of the best MC/producer duo’s out there; they both bounces off eachother and bring that much needed street element to their music here. Just chops samples like a true champ, dwelling deep in the soul records crates to ushers Sai’s ghetto tales in dreams of high-pitched gospel and hard R&B; and always with the real heavy drums on top. And you can count on it sounding so damn good!

I’m still waiting for a proper vinyl edition of this album so in the meantime I’ve been banging my own iPod version since it first leaked and it’s one of the few albums that haven’t been deleted it since it was first added. The version I bump is slightly modified though; instead of the 17 tracks on the CD I bump a tracklist of 11 songs (including the intro and “The Winner Is…” outro). This shorter edition makes for an absolutely mind-blowing, close to perfect front-to-back listen that’s reminiscent of old rap classics that featured 9-12 tracks over about 45 minutes time.

So in closing, the production is fantastic; Saigon is fantastic with the execution of concepts and that remarkable delivery and distinct voice proved that he’s one of the most charismatic emcees to emerge in quite some time and if he can make his next album even more focused (like making it 45 minutes rather than 78) it will probably be the classic I now know he has in him.