Producer: The Neptunes - Freestyle over the Common single, “Universal Mind Control” *Tibs Fav.™
LARGE update here so here’s some thoughts… first and foremost, Bullet.. straight up stepping his game up. DL his ridiculous freestyle of Common’s latest single “Universal Mind Control”. Perfect beat for Bullet 2 shine on with his fast, twisted Chicago flow and they got creative with chopping up his voice in a couple instances. (Not 2 mention Common killed this as well…) He’s on the verge of being the next big thing out of the Chi so don’t sleep. Below, a TON of NEW trax f/ the long-awaited return of Lil’ Wayne on “A Milli”, celebrating his million copies sold of Tha Carter III in the first week. Some more big names of hip hop and R&B featured below like Nas, The Game, Day26 as well as quality trax from some lesser known names like Mickey Factz & The Cool Kids, Dwele, & perhaps my favorite song from the batch below, “Can’t Do Without Ya” by R&B singer, Francisco! Scroll below and you’ll find somethin’ u like and u can also check out some videos featuring Bun B, The Roots, Bobby Valentino, & MORE below! Enjoy!
And for all u Chicago visitors, GemStones is throwin’ a bday bash and mixtape release party TONIGHT!! All the info is on the flyer at the very bottom with GemStones himself performing at midnite (along with some FNF friends, maybe Lupe??). Thanks 2 KayCee and hopefully Max G. & I will be there 2 see ya there! Also, last-minute addition of the K-Salaam & Beatnick RMX of Common’s “Go” & Lil’ Wayne “On Me” that u can DL below (spotted @ HHU)! Enjoy!
***Scroll down below for 2day’s NEW MUSIC f/ a Lupe Fiasco/GemStones collaboration & MORE! Our editorial will be on top all day! Give it a read ;)***
(Originally published 06.10.08 @ 6:28AM)
GWHH are now the officially proclaimed Hip Hop Examiners for the city of Chicago. We Pioneers are on the forefront of a new wave of change. Not only could I reference the Obama campaign, the rise of Gas prices, the rebirth of Hip Hop, but no; what I speak on is the wave of knowledge and information. People all over the country will change how they receive their daily information about…well Life. What I’m referring to is what will be another “home” of ours, called the Examiner.com. We will still be grindin’ with GWHH of course, but now we will also update periodically on:
as the city of Chicago’s Hip Hop Examiners! The Examiner is kind of like a newspaper, but online. What makes it so unique are the Examiners themselves. The site will cover every major city, with “Examiners” providing the people their knowledge about their certain region & specialty. Examiners are people who specialize in a certain field, and share their knowledge with the world. For example, there will be Political, Film, Entertainment, Beer, Gardening, and etc. etc. Examiners for every major city! We are Chicago’s Hip Hop Examiners. For the Examiner we will try to keep it strictly Chicago, so we reach out to the Chicago community to send us any underground, mainstream, art related, event related, Chicago Hip Hop and R&B content for our consideration to post on the Examiner - Chicago. Although the site is in it’s Beta stages; it will soon run full throttle expanding to 60 + cities with much more exposure than GWHH has right now. We here believe that it will change how the country gets its daily information. We strongly recommend for artists, fans, and promoters to reach out to our new Examiner email address at GWHHExaminer@gmail.com with undeniable Chicago Hip Hop and R&B content. It promises great exposure for the city of Chicago. Help us help the city!
So without further adieu, check our first post on the Examiner here, and make sure to subscribe to our page & visit us daily like you do here at GWHH. We will keep you updated with new Examiner information; it’s stages of completion along with its world premiere launch date, and any other important GWHH news!
Big Warm Thank You to all our viewers for the support & love on our past, current, & future endeavors from all of us here at GWHH! [Max G]
For our first post on Examiner.com, we felt it necessary to share our thoughts on what Chicago means to hip hop and how Chicago is a reflected in the artist’s work. While Chicago has always been represented in hip hop through the years by long-time legends like Common and Twista, it has been overshadowed through hip hop’s rise to the mainstream public by other cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. In fact, the city was not considered a prominent hip hop center until the past few years, in large part due to the mainstream success of Chicago native, Kanye West, who is without a doubt the hottest MC in the game today. But before we discuss the specific impact of Chicago hip hop artists, the characteristics of Chicago hip hop must first be defined. Chicago hip hop is a unique, fresh contribution to the genre through the artist’s experiences being poured out through intricate, metaphoric lyrics, usually at such a break-neck pace that creates a trademark fast flow (like twisting your words with the syllables), all spit over jazzy beats, which are partly inspired by the city’s strong jazz influence. Chicago’s energetic culture rubs off on the sound and character of the artist and what makes the most successful artists from the Go even more unique is the mentality and experiences that growing up in the city creates, which is displayed in the artist’s work. In Chicago, nothing is handed to you; you have to go out, make your own moves, earn respect, pay your dues, until the point where your talent, your skills cannot be denied. The hard work the artist puts in will gain exposure and connections one way or the other and then the sky’s the limit. These artists stay true to themselves and their city and do so in their own way, by not conforming to industry standards just to blow up and get paid, rather being themselves as an artist and a person.
The last statement rings true in the city’s biggest rap stars - Kanye West, Common, Twista, & Lupe Fiasco. Kanye… do we even have to say anything? He made a name for himself for being so different, so outlandish, so passionate… and we can go on. Common… throughout the years he has stayed within himself as an artist, allowed himself to grow and express his experiences through intelligent, conscious lyrics that have put him on the short list of hip hop’s all-time greatest lyricists. Twista… he gained attention because of his undeniable talent of rapping at such a high pace, earning Guiness World Record status. And perhaps the newest, freshest face to come out of Chicago, Lupe Fiasco… spitting conscious lyrics on worldwide issues in such a fresh, never before seen fashion while humbly gaining attention for him and his label of artists. And that’s not to mention other notable names doing their thing throughout the years with artists like Rhymefest and GemStones on the cusp of mainstream success, artists like The Cool Kids and Kidz In The Hall with Chicago ties, holding down the underground sound of hip hop in general, and many other names past and present that dip into various sub-genres of hip hop like Do Or Die, Crucial Conflict, Da Brat, Shawnna, Yung Berg, Bump J, The Legendary Traxster, GLC, Really Doe, Mikkey Halsted, Psychodrama, Qualo, & Bullet just to name a few.
When the genre of hip hop was in such a downward spiral that some of its greats were calling it ‘dead’, it was Chicago that was the central reason for its resurrection. To quote from our exclusive interview with Chicago rapper GemStones, “When hip hop was on life support, I believe Chicago is the reason the plug didn’t get pulled.” We cannot agree more with that statement because of the impact of guys like Kanye, Common, and Lupe on not only Chicago but other artists outside Chicago who kept doing things their own way and keeping a positive and meaningful perspective in hip hop. The way they were doing it, expressing themselves as an artist and a person through fresh lyrics that connect to the people really brought some freshness back to hip hop, when it was sorely needed since people were tiring of the bling, rims, etc. that defined hip hop in the early part of the decade. In the process of what we believe was saving hip hop, these artists paid respect and homage to the city that helped develop them as an artist and as a person. They know Chicago helped form them into the person and artist we see today and with pride and passion, they recorded Chicago anthems that evoke some of the similar emotions in Chicago’s citizens and their fans. And you can download these anthems below! Yes, we know there are many more songs dedicated to the city of Chicago, but it is these three artists that we feel helped progress hip hop and Chicago the most. (Max G. also added some videos that were shot in Chicago and evoke the same sense of hometown pride!) These songs never get old… CHI-Town UP! Enjoy! [Sgt. Tibs]
Stay tuned for MORE updates 2 come… I actually missed Kanye’s performance, but its off da hook (comin’ back from another T’Wolves game! :D)… Props 2 To Jr. for the find! Jyea!
Update: 01.11.08 - Here’s some more vids f/ Alicia Keys @ the Grammys!
CONGRATS 2 GWHH’s favorite artist LUPE FIASCO for his 1st Grammy Award as he won the Best Urban/Alternative Performance Grammy for the song “Daydreamin’” f/ Jill Scott! I’m very happy for Lupe and it’s just awesome 2 see him get awarded and recognized for his great music! And hopefully there will be more 2 come for Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool next year!
In accordance with KanYe’s performance of “Stronger” (which was really sicko) here’s a tribute to the original movie that the track and video was based from: AKIRA!!
The film Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his manga of the same name. The film is set in a neon-lit futuristic post-apocalyptic Tokyo in 2019. Much of the film was adapted from the manga read, and is considered one of the greatest animated films ever made. Check it out!
If you get the Honda Fusion, you can buy a mod for it, and install it yourself to make it “Akira-esque”, which is super dope (like the one above). I’d love to see one in tha Chi flyin’ past the AIC on Michigan Ave! Ballin’
Here are some requests we have received recently. We would love to do this weekly or even daily, so if there are any tracks - old or new - that you may have missed or are dying to hear and download, feel free to send an email to gowherehiphop@gmail.com ! Also check the monthly archives and artists on the right and the song you may be looking for might already be there!
Kanye, Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek are the remnants of what Hov used to call a “dynasty.” Beanie Sigel, Peedi Crakk and Tru Life are the dedicated benchwarmers also holding tight to that dream. This song may be the last we hear of the Diamonds posse. In fact, I’d bet more professional athletes are throwing the diamond up than professional musicians.
Track List: 1. Stronger (live)
2. exclusive freestyle
3. Can’t tell me nothing
4. In the mood (ft. talib kweli)
5. Grammy speech interlude
6. Still dreaming (ft. nas)
7. Put your diamonds up (ft. memphis bleek & jay-z) [prod. by ceasar]
8. pro nails
9. John mayer speaks
10. Bittersweet (ft. john mayer) [complete version]
11. Through the wire [remix] (live)
12. Fucced up
13. message in a bottle freestyle (live)
14. Red carpet freestyle
15. Because of you [remix]
16. Better then i’ve ever been (ft. nas & krs-one)
17. Can’t tell me nothing
18. Can’t tell me nothing (live)
19. Mixtapes freestyle
20. Came back for you
21. Exclusive freestyle
22. Weak shit (ft. odb)
23. Sippy sippy interlude
24. The good the bad the ugly (ft. consequence)
25. Crashing mtv interlude
26. Make me better freestyle
27. All falls down (live on def poetry jam)
28. Milkshake freestyle
29. Can’t tell me nothing
30. I still love h.e.r.
31. The food (live) (ft. common)
32. Drive slow (live) ft. glc)
33. Robot interlude
34. Stronger [remix] (ft. jay-z)
35. Can’t tell me nothing (chop & screwed)
Bullet “Universal Mind Control Freestyle” - MORE
Ballin’
