LL Cool J on his music..

“I wanted to recommit myself to the music; you know what I’m saying? I think you have to take responsibility and recommit sometimes. I mean my heart was in it, but I needed to add that focus and I think by adding that focus, the company as a whole sensed my commitment and made them recommit to my project and the idea of supporting LL. It’s an incredible thing.”

LL Cool J on battling right now…..

“I wouldn’t choose anybody. I’ve never been a guy that likes to start that kind of stuff because that’s exactly how you get your hat handed to you; all of that talking tough gets you nowhere. I’ve always been somebody who wants to focus on what he does well and if someone thinks that me dropping “Baby” is a signal to pounce on LL, well, that’s a decision they have to wrestle with. I’m not a trouble maker man, I rather make my music and keep my mouth shut, know what I mean?”

LL Cool J……Your Thoughts???

Sincerely

Low “Keep going, LL” Key

Nelly defends the lil homey!

The crusade for “Leave of Soulja Boy Alone” has now picked up St. Lunatic, Nelly, and the newest addition to Sean John’s modeling team has PLENTY to say. Since the start of this perciluar feud, many of the industry’s OG’z have stepped in to voice their concern in regards to Ice-T speaking out against the 18 year old youngster, many of which, suggest that the Ice man go about his business.

In an exclusive interview with ThisIs50.Com, Nelly, basically lets the west coast legend have it, to say the least. “Hip hop was created for the youth, by the youth, so why is all these old mothafu*kaz trying to control it, you know what I’m saying? asks an obviously aggitated Nelly. He continues later in the clip, “How the fu*k you gon tell a 14 year old boy or a 14 year old girl that they shouldn’t be listening to that, when your parents told you that LL Cool J wasn’t music?” 

It’s actually insanely heat warming to see these established artists step up to the plate and defend Soulja because that lets us further know the hip hop generation gap isn’t that far apart. I wonder if Ice ever thought the reaction to his “I hate Soulja Boy” rant would cause this much controversy? Or, was it a ploy for the old fellar to regain relevancy in today’s Hip Hop realm??

Wait, Nelly isn’t finished with Mr. Colors. He also posed the question, “What are you doing listening to a 17 year old boy anyway, judging him? That sh^t right there is wack, that’s the wackest part ever….it’s like come on man, you look like a fu*king old geezer telling them kidz that. Those kidz don’t know no fu@kin Ice-T”. OUCH!

Well, I COMPLETELY understand Nelly’s POV. And like Ice-T, I once shared the same sentiments of the “Soulja Boy Killed Hip Hop” rhetoric, but once I started to really grasp that the lil homey was just having fun and providing for his loved ones, I quickly sat my hatin ass down and erased the “I’m a 25 year old bitter hip hop brother” sign from my forehead, because in reality, that’s all Ice-T is…..BITTER!

Sincerely

Low “Hate is such an ugly color” Key

Busta Rhymes doesn’t hold his tounge for ANYONE, so when I called him an old school artist in the nicest of ways, he politely corrected me in the NICEST of ways as well. Since there’s a huge SURGE of new artists making their mark in today’s culture, some of the elder artists are sort of a pinch in regards to relevancy.

However,  good ol Bus-A-Bus (who talked about his new album, Blessed, on THIS side of town) and several otheres have found various ways to keep  busy during these trying times. Check out what Busta had to say about evolving with hip hop’s newer generation…..

” I don’t feel that I’m old school so I don’t usually have that problem, for one. Two, I think that whoever is considered old school, has to give the new dudes material that they can’t front on, today. I say that because we’ll never be able to live in the past, so we can’t sit around and be frustrated about sh*t not sounding the way it used to feel, now. We have to evolve with the times and realize the artists grow. Its obvious things are going to be different from when the last dude was doing it a couple years ago. Even when we came after the LL’s and Run DMC’s was different from the way they did it and what makes LL so special is he continues to evolve with the current dudes because he not only had the ability to be ahead of what he did, but he had never had a problem changing with the times and reinventing himself when he was supposed to. As long as artists keep evolving, no one can really front on you; a fan or another artist. Forget what you used to do because people can’t see that, can’t feel that and they aren’t doing any of that right now; stop talking about what you used to do.”

How much longer does Busta Rhymes have left????? C’mon…..let me know, ya’ll!!

Sincerely

Low “WhoooooHaaaa, Got You All In Check” Key 

The Dream Features

Kardinal Offishall ft. The Dream- Gimmie Some

T.I. ft. The Dream- Like I Do

Plies ft. Jamie Fox and The Dream- Please Excuse My Hands

Gym Class Heroes ft. The Dream- Cookie Jar

LL Cool J ft. The Dream- Baby

Songs The Dream Has Written

Kerri Hilson- Energy

Karina Pasian- 16 @ War

Usher- Trading Places

Ciara ft. Ludacris- High Price

Alright ladies and gentleman, let’s start the discussion…….The Dream……Favorite Track…..Now!!!

Sincerely

Low “At press time, LowKey’s favorite is Please Excuse My Hands” Key

Sincerely

Low “Congratulations to 106 & Park” Key

P.S. Skate over to this part of town for more exclusive photos from 106 & Park’s 2000th episode

Mr. 106 & Park, Bow Wow, hits the stage for a surprise performance during the 2000th episode….

Jennifer Hudson celebrates 106’s 2000th episode in, well, Jennifer Hudson style……

Juelz Santana and Jim Jones came out to celebrate 106 & Park’s 2000th episode…

Big Tigger schools Terrence J on some of the early 106 & Park days……

Keyshia Cole, Rocsi and Terrence J share a funny moment during the 2000th episode…

The King of the South stopped by to show Terrence J and Rocsi some love. The hell is Rocsi looking at?????

You BOTH will put shirts on…..RIGHT NOW!

Terrence Howard came by to celebrate as well…..

T.I. and Soulja Boy take a minute for the camera’s backstage..

It looks like film icon, Spike Lee is partnering with The Source Magazine for their 20th Anniversary issue The magazine, which will sport 4 different hip hop legends, is celebrating 20 years of hip hop’s best moments, artists, producers, gadgets, fashion and of course, the best verses since The Source’s existence. Below, are covers one and four. Two and three should arrive shortly.

Sincerely

Low “Congrats to The Source” Key  

I know a majority of you are pretty exhausted from all this Ice Tea/Soulja Boy foolery, but one of the OG’s has just chimed in, and surprisingly has taken the youngin’s side. On a recent episode of Rap City, DJ Q45 posed the question of “What do you think of hip hop today?” As if LL had this response pre-meditated, the GOAT quickly came to the defense of Soulja Boy and stated, “I think a lot of the older cats need to relax. You have to give the young boys their room and let them do what they do.”

With a response like that, I’m sure some of the OG’z are going to spew their hateful thoughts at The GOAT as well as Soulja Boy in the near future.  But wait, it gets better, “These guys need to let these boys get out their and excel. Soulja Boy has the right to make whatever he wants to make. Nobody told Joeski Love 100 years ago he couldn’t make Pee Wee Herman, so why can’t Soulja Boy make what he makes?” Truuuu, truuuu! I remember when Soulja Boy first came out, I too, had the same pinheaded argument Ice T embedded, but then I realized, who the hell am I to dictate what someone else is doing, let alone hinder any positive process they’re trying to maneuver.

And last but not least, LL threw a lil  jab at the Brisk man (Ice Tea. Not funny?? No..Ok lol), “I don’t have no problems with Ice, but Ice needs to relax. Let’s make a movie together. (Gesturing towards camera) Let’s make a movie together, me and youuuu!”

Thoughts????

Sincerely

Low “Let the young boy’s get their money, Ice” Key 

*Disclaimer* I picked that picture SPECIFICALLY for my lady readers!

Alright, let’s get down to business. After several years of hiding or doing whatever it is he was doing, Ladies Loves Cool James has OFFICIALLY made his return. Exit 13, his last body of work on the label he helped build, is set to release August 5th and his first offering, “Baby”, featuring The Dream, is…well, A BANGER!

Off the first listen, I was hooked. I was on the bus singing the hook, on the subway singing the hook, and I’m singing the hook right now as I type to you. The Dream enhances it’s ambiance which makes this the IDEAL summer tune. I’m telling you guys right now, this might have a good chance at being the one of those summer anthems. Ummm, of course this is brought to you by the good people (LowKey) over at B.E.T. You Haven’t Heard This 

LL Cool J ft. The Dream- Baby  

I shouldn’t even ask this question, but I’m sure someone isn’t going to dig this as much as I am, sooooo….

Like it, Love it or Leave it??? I advise you to choose one of the first two lol…

Sincerely

Low “Glad to have you back Mr. Smith” Key  

It’s the concert heard around world, well at least East Rutherford, NJ on the night of June 2, 2008. NYC’s HOT 97 officially took over Giants Stadium last night with its 15th Annual, Summer Jam. Unlike last year, the weather for the night’s festivities was crystal clear and the entire Tri-State was ready to go. Seeing how I walked in about 20 minutes into the show, I missed Ray-J and Yung Berg perform their smash single “Sexy Can I” (I didn’t mind one bit). Judging by the luke warm response, the crowd wouldn’t have mind missing it either.

ATL’s own, The Dream hit the stage next. And like his Madison Square Garden set, The Dream took care of business in a timely fashion. To be honest, his backup dancers held my attention for the entire time….I’m not even gonna front like I was paying attention to him. His material (”I Luv Your Girl”, “Falsetto”, “Shawty Is A Ten”) was performed exceptionally well, but them dancers…boooooy I tell ya.

Alicia Keys, who was decked out in a wife beater and some NICE fitting denim’s, pranced out on stage and literally toyed with EVERY male figure in attendance. I mean to be honest, there’s NO reason why she looks that good and quite frankly, I’m fine with that lol. Alicia had no problem running through her slew of hits since (”N.Y. State of Mind”, “Like I’ll Never See You Again”, “No One, and “Teenage Love Affair”) the crowd recited each song line for line. Though her set was amazing, it was her bevy of surprise guests that won the fans over. First, she brings out Brooklyn rapper, Main-O (I’m just as surprised) to do a quick verse from his current single, “Hi Hater”. Next, Raekwon runs out for a quick verse from the classic tune “Incarcerated Scarfaces” which sent the the crowd into a tizzy. Method Man emerged next and shut things down with a verse from “C.R.E.A.M”. Shortly after, Ghostface appeared to add his portion to the song as well. Method Man continued for about 10 more minutes and felt the need to jump into the crowd, which actually won him cool points with the entire Tri-State Area

Hometown favorites, The Lox, hit the stage and they too brought some of their famous friends along. After performing a couple of underground hits (”Wild Out”, “F*ck You”, “2 Gunz Up” and “The Benjamin’s”) Nature and Nore came out for a quick trip down memory lane with a energetic performance of “Banned From TV”. Surprisingly, Red Cafe, Fat Joe, and Fabolous came out to perform the remix to Red Cafe’s “Paper Touchin”. Awesome! Styles P then brings out Swizz Beatz to perform “Blow My Mind” and we all know what that means. Let’s just say the contact I caught was a WONDERFUL experience! Swizz then breaks into his own semi set performing “Money In The Bank” and his new single “Where Da Cash At”. And to close things out, legendary DJ, Kid Capri, brings out Mr. Todd Smith (LL Cool J) for a “wheredidyoucomefrom” type performance which included “Rock Your Bells” and “HeadSprung”. So far, Summer Jam 2008 was shaping up to be a pretty damn good experience.

Mr. Teddy P and his colorful cohorts were next up to bat and boy did they hit a homerun. Quickly running through a couple of his remix verses from “2 Step” and “Walk It Out”, T-Peezy then decides it would be appropriate to add a little dance number to Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss”. Not for nothing, it was pretty entertaining. He then decides to bring the first of his monsoon of guest appearances out. Shawty Lo aka Mr. T.I. Aint From Bankhead, trots out to do a quick 16 from the heavy horned anthem, “Dey Know”, which I must admit was pretty friggin superb. If I wasn’t standing on a frail folding chair, I would have been running in place as well *begins to do so now*. Since T-Pain is on EVERY song ever conceived, I refuse to run down any additional information in regards to his perfomance (quit crying). Instead, I’ll just list who he brought out with him. DJ Khaled, Ricky Ross, Ace Hood, Fat Joe and Akon. Right after a brief “Bartender” performance with Akon, T-Pain proudly blurted out “In the words of George Bush, F*ck ya’ll n*ggaz, IM OUT”. CLASSIC!

The Martian, Lil Wayne took to the stage and, well…..did what he does, which I have yet to figure out. Performing his second single from his ALREADY leaked album, The Carter 3, “A Milli” blarred through Giants Stadium while everyone attempted to keep up with Dwayne’s machine gun flow. While spitting his verse from the infamous “Dey Know” remix, Shawty Lo emerges for a quick photo opp and disappears once Wayne finishes the song. Titty Boy appears next, Duffle Bag and all, to spill out the infamous sounds of “Duffle Bag Boy”. To keep it funky, Wayne could have done that tune alone, but Titty still held his own. After sharing the limelight, Wayne reintroduces himself to the audience and gets down to business. He rips through “Cash Money Millionare” and “Leather So Soft” (guitar and ALL…UGH!). Following the horridness of his guitar strings, he proceeds with the full acapella version of “P*ssy Monster” (Yikes!). I’m assuming he was was either on something (like he’s ever sober) or he just got real creative, but during the song, he proceeded to molest the floor in which I turned to my homey Jamal and said “He’s still going to sell 500,000 copies just because of ish like this”. After retiring the random explicit stage acts, he brings out Kanye West to perform the remix to “Lollipop”. DOPE!

Kanye’s performance was confusing, but still entertaining. He performed “Diamonds”, “Champion” “Homecoming”, “Get Em High” (screwed, so awesome), and “Jesus Walks” with so much energy it reminded us why he’s the #1 artist in Hip Hop. After bringing out Good Music artist, Consequence, for a quick verse from “The Good Bad & The Ugly” he jumps into a dope performance of “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” following up with a special but brief appearance from ATL’s #1 trapper, Young Jeezy. “Put On” which features Kanye West, sounded CRAZY on the sound system, but I don’t think to many people were that familiar with the song just yet. After Jeezy’s exit, Kanye starts up “Flashing Lights”, but forgets his first verse (same thing happened at The Garden a couple weeks ago). After fumbling a couple more words, he gets things back on track and finishes up strong. He disappears for a couple minutes and returns for a passionate performance of “Stronger”. After spitting one of the sickest acapella freestyles I’ve heard in a minute (”She watching the draft, she got your jersey already/she bout to pick out a crib in Jersey ALREADY”!), T-Pain comes back out to finish things off with an excellent performance of “Good Life”. SPECTACULAR!

Public Enemy (Flavor Flav and all) hit the stage for a militant, but yet informative performance. Running through their classic catalogue which included “Bring The Noise”, “Shut Em Down”, “911″, “Can’t Do Nuttin For Ya Man”, and “Fight The Power”. During the performance both Chuck D and Flavor Flas gave respective speeches about not believing the hype (their hype was probably different from the audience’s, but most of us understood). Regardless, it was a moving performance and I’m glad HOT 97 incorporated them into the mix, even if that meant half of the audience leaving.

Jim Jones brought out Juelz Santana and the rest of the Byrd Gang flock, but it wasn’t anything special or worth capturing on my camera (it was dead anyway). NYC still welcomed Jimmy and Juelz with open arms as they ran through a couple of their Harlem hits which included, “Santana’s Town”, “Ballin” “Baby Girl” and Jimmy’s remix verses from DJ Unk’s “Walk It Out” and “Two Step”.

Overall the show was freaking awesome, and right now my eyes are 30 seconds from shutting. Attended this year’s Summer Jam, well let me know your favorite part to the show and what part you hated the most. If you’re more attracted to visuals, scroll down and check out some of the photos I snagged during the show.

Sincerely

Low “Summer Jam never disappoints! Well, at least the last 2 years I attended lol” Key

Alicia even looks splendid on the jumbo screen…

I’m telling you, Dream dancers…….SIGHS!

Sheek Louch from The Lox was VERY excited to be on stage…

Swizzy tore it down with his new single “Where Da Cash At”

You can tell T-Pain and his buddies were having a blast……

Weezy was there too……

Rick Ross, Shawty Lo, Fat Joe and DJ Khaled getting busy!

Jadakiss came out to play as well…..

Akon took over with T-Pain, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe and Ace Hood.

Lil Weezy felt it was necessary to have guitar practice during his set……

Really Rick Ross….REALLY?!?!!