This interview with Eminem, supposedly his first, is one of the worst goddamn things I've ever seen. Can you imagine what type of human being he must have been in 1998? He obviously knows he's about to be famous, which is the only possible explanation for his decision to act like a caricature instead of an actual rapper. It's like he binged on a few seasons of Yo! MTV Raps and this was the most reasonable approximation of an emcee he could come up with. "This is real. I put my feelings on wax!" He's also wearing exactly the kind of thing a cop would put on to blend in, infiltrate the club, and taze the hell out of a drug dealer. Shit looks like a disguise. 1998 Slim Shady was a buffoon.
Shaquille O'Neal ft. ShaqIsDope - "Karate Chop"
Oh yeah, this is happening. Big Aristotle has returned to rapping. While Shaq was never very good at it, his massive size offering no clear advantage in the studio, that didn't stop his first record from going platinum. Shaq Diesel was followed by Shaq Fu: Da Return in 1994 with contributions from both Method Man and RZA, because the universe is random and unfair. His third release, You Can't Stop the Reign, even featured appearances by Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G in a hilarious mockery of established laws and traditions.
Biggie Smalls is dead now, so you get Toronto rapper ShaqIsDope instead. I'm told he's a real person.
Main Attrakionz - "International"
Oakland cloud rap geniuses Squadda B and MondreM.A.N. have a new mixtape set to drop this month, a collaboration with Sacramento producer Tynethys that promises to do something good to your earholes. Main Attrakionz last collaboration with Tynethys ended disastrously when their completed material was lost in a hard drive crash, likely an indicator that one of these dudes looks at weird stuff on the internet. Instead of re-recording the lost tape they decided to write a new one, an inspiring decision shrouded by terrible inefficiency.
At just over two minutes in length, "International" is the fun sized candy bar of rap songs. If you haven't sampled Main Attrakionz yet, now seems like a pretty good time.
James Blake ft. Chance The Rapper - "Life Round Here"
English OG and electronic music king of men James Blake has a fresh take on his single "Life Round Here" from the album Overgrowth released earlier in 2013. He's recruited Chance The Rapper for some hot rhyming action, and that's damn sensible. Chance is beating rap's ass like he just finished a video game and got to start over with all of his special abilities and inventory intact. There are few up-and-comers as promising as Chance, having been featured in XXL and Complex as a rapper deserving of your unwavering affection and eternal devotion. Probably.
I don't read XXL or Complex.
Pusha T ft. Future - "Pain"
Your weekly reminder that My Name is My Name is out now, going hard for hip hop album of the year.
Well apparently Eminem is beginning to 'feel like a rap god." Even threw a Zod reference in that motherfucker.
Yah James Blake.