(photoshop via EgoTrip’s video montage)

Let us quickly recap the season of Common vs. Drake Beef thus far:

Common dates Serena Williams. Drake dates Serena Williams. Common is down with Kanye. Drake is down with Young Money. Common spits subliminals at Drake on “Sweet.” Drake makes subliminal outburst onstage in Cali. Common admits to Drake subliminal disses on the song “Sweet”. Drake spits subliminal lyrics in “Stay Scheming.” Common disses Drake by name on “Stay Scheming” remake. Common tells interviewers the beef is just normal “hip hop competitiveness” and that he’s done….

But does Drake see this as just rap battling? Will there be a rebuttal? Nahright’s Nation (a liner-noted friend of Drake’s) got an exclusive comment from Drake on the set of “The Zone” video:

Nation: So people want to know: will you respond to Common?
Drake: No. Because despite how it’s been worded by him that situation is not a “hip hop moment” or a “battle for the sake of musical integrity”…it’s a ploy for attention around the release of an album. More than anything it was just disappointing cause what kid isn’t a fan of what Common has done for our genre. A guy who made such an incredible career for himself based off expressing genuine feelings about life and love is now targeting me for sharing my story.

Oh. Dang.

After the jump, Drake explains why he took a shot at Kobe’s wealthy ex-wife on “Stay Scheming”….
(more…)

Weezy is taking this skateboarding all the way. Aside from popping up at different skateparks in the middle of the night, Lil Wayne has just launched his first skateboard-inspired clothing line. The brand, which he named Trukfit, is gearing up for a nationwide release at all Zumiez locations later this year. Earlier tonight, Wayne popped up at another private event for his new fashion venture. A small group of buyers and industry folk gathered at the Hotel Americano, where Trukfit’s founder made a surprise appearance. Dressed in a pink fitted and t-shirt, Wayne greeted guests and snapped a few flicks before retiring back to his VIP section. Yours truly was there to get some quick footage of his walk through.

Check out one of the first Trukfit t-shirts after the jump…
(more…)

oh my god, I can’t breathe. Really what’s awesome about the “beef” between Common and Drake is that we have two artists who have similarly “diverse” attributes and career experiences, similar achilles ankles, and are both very talented. Common obviously has more hip hop history to draw from, and Drake obviously has youthful buzz. But you don’t get the sense that (even if the seeds of this beef are personal) anything truly ignorant or destructive will happen here.
What will happen though…is amazing parody. Like the Egotrip list of possible Common x Drake duets…
And now this genius moment: Egotrip’s video montage of Common and Drake’s fantasy cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

So awesome.

Related:
Birdman Comments on Drake vs. Common: ‘That’s Not What We About’
Common Unleashes New Drake Diss: “You A B–ch”
Drake Disses Common On New Video: Rick Ross Feat. Drake & French Montana “Stay Schemin”
New Video: Common “Sweet”
Common Confirms He Dissed Drake on “Sweet”…Butt, Is This Really About Serena Williams??

(You may be wondering why the Brooklyn Bridge is covered in denim… the answer lies at egotripland.com)

Jay-Z already heralded the birth of his “smarter faster me” Blue Ivy Carter with the song “Glory”….but as the celebratory news of Hov and Beyonce’s new baby daughter broke over the past two days, so too has the ridiculous speculation of events surrounding it. Not the least of which was the rumor (perpetuated by lines from a new song, “Glory”) that Jay-Z had arranged for the Empire State Building to be lit blue in honor of Blue Ivy Carter’s birth. Turns out the NYC landmark’s hue was actually due to the NY Giants’ playoff game on Sunday. Oh well, we can pretend. In fact, there’s gotta be all kinds of ways we could imagine Jay-Z pulling some strings to publicly celebrate this monumental event with the rest of the world. Here – with the help of our friends at EgotripLand – are a few. Yeah, we can just see it now… Together we came up with 10 other ways Jay-Z could celebrate daughter Blue Ivy’s B-Day.

1. Rent fleet of prop planes to crop dust Tri-state with atomized Blue Nile. Muslim oil merchants rejoice

2. Remove term “poison ivy” from all medical journals and English dictionaries in Western Hemisphere.

continued after the jump…

(more…)

Where you see Nicki Minaj, you see Safaree Samuels aka Scaff Beezy aka her hype man/right hand/advisor/road manager/rumored homieloverfriend. This has been true since the very beginnings of Nicki’s rise, and the bond seems tighter than ever. Recently SB tweeted about a meeting with Cash Money boss Birdman, leading some to wonder if a spinoff deal is in the works…and then tonight, Safaree released his own track, “Count It Up” right before he and Nicki went on Ustream. She previewed her “Stupid Hoe” video for her adoring fans and pulled in Big Sean, who was also in the studio. We’ll add video of the ustream session soon. (song spotted on Flex’s IFWT)

New Music: Scaff Beezy – “Count It Up”

Safaree’s nickname is VVS Beezy, as in the diamond clarity rating “Very Very Slight Inclusions.” So he and NYC’s Avianne Jewelers created a diamond-covered gem testing tool…for SB to wear as a pendent.
See it after the jump…
(more…)

Awesome Plug Research duo Quadron released a gorgeous soul album earlier this year. They’ve done a string of shows opening for Raphael Saadiq, and releasing some great Remix EP/Maxi-Single (remember those?) projects as well. Here, Coco covers Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” with awesome results.

Damn, I miss Lauryn Hill.

After the jump to check their cover of Michael Jackson’s “Baby Be Mine”

(more…)

Our co-worker DJ Mr. Cee invited Kiss FM’s Ed Lover to take over the Hot97 Throwback At Noon for a special tribute mix to Yo! MTV Raps.

New Mix: Ed Lover’s ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ Throwback at Noon mix

This Sunday, MTV2 is bringing back that iconic hip hop video show, Yo! MTV Raps, with a special episode called Classic Cuts. The show features the original host, Ed Lover, along with our pals like Shaheem Reid, Jayson Rodriguez, Peter Rosenberg and more…as well as yours truly, Miss Info. We’ll be talking about “classic cuts” like ATCQ’s “Scenario”, Ice Cube’s “Today Was a Good Day”, Geto Boys’ “Mind’s Playin’ Tricks On Me” and more. And the show hunted down the legends behind the songs and their contemporaries, interviewing Q Tip, Scarface, Ice Cube, Wiz Khalifa, DJ Khaled, Questlove, Busta Rhymes, Mac Miller, Machine Gun Kelly, Young Jeezy, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife, Fat Joe, Common, Mike Epps, Ice T, Meek Mill, Tyga, and Naughty By Nature. The show airs at 12 midnight this Sunday, Dec 4th…right after the MTV2 Sucker Free Awards (which I think I’m also on, lol).

Thank you so much to the Sucker Free Awards team and the ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ Presents Classic Cuts team for inviting me to be part of their shows : )

MOBILE USERS…listen to Ed Lover’s mix…
After the jump
(more…)

A little over two weeks ago, bubbling up-and-comers Radio Galaxy released the video for their single “Feel Trip” and a few days later their full album We Come In Peace. Singer Khimmy J and production duo King Coz have been working on the album in relative seclusion for the last 2 years or so, garnering pretty good praise from their peers as well as listeners of “backpackery”, underground musics, of which I’m a tunnel visioned champion of. I liked what they were doing so much that I did their album art for them for peanuts and cashews. #schwag

continued after the jump…

(more…)

Our friend Darrin Byrne is producing a new MTV2 series called the Guy Code which airs tonight at 11pm EST. And while I pity the fool that learns how to be a man or lady via half-hour comedy shows, it’s way better than learning other skills via the web (read: sex via pr0n). And anyways, the show is a funny/fun way to address some pressing life questions, like…should men shave “down there”? Are peen pic texts appropriate only upon request?
The answers….
And another funny Guy Code clip with Darnell Rawlings…
After the jump
(more…)

I love this Drake x Complex cover image! So classy! This riff on vintage Blue Note jazz record covers stands out, especially in comparison to the plague of pop culture magazines who, with their last breaths, hope to grab eyes instead of also minds. Anyways, that’s just me being a cover snob. But I do like this alot, props to Egotripland’s Brent Rollins, NCB et al.

I started jotting down my thoughts about Drake’s Take Care album after digesting it over the weekend, and now after reading Damien Scott’s cover story on Drake, I’m having the same reaction to both. In both cases, we have to dodge this pendulum that swings from thug-posturing to emo-sniffling just get to the thoughtful and very sharp artist behind it.

At one moment, Drake is realizing his dream of having a spa shower installed at home:

“It’s a shower that’s lit by all LED lights,” he explains. “It has 10 jets, an overhead, and it sprays out lavender or whatever scents you want. It’s something I’ve always wanted.”

The next moment, Drake is cracking his knuckles in a pair of baggy OJ Simpson gloves:

“I’m ready for whatever,” he says. “I don’t give a fuck. I want to move through life in the most non-confrontational way possible, but I’m not a pussy. Don’t ever get that mixed up.”

It’s both the most absurd and most entertaining part about Drake, the celebrity.

More excerpts, thoughts and photos after the jump…
(more…)