The Federation - "Go Dumb"
New Bay Area group from me and Ethan's and E-40's favorite semi-slept on hitmaker Rick Rock! Double R cuts the beat from the same cloth as "Breath Stretch Shake", which is one of those beats that's less fun every time I hear it, but it's got that wonderful burbling synth from "Can't Deny It" running under the hook. I think post-BEP the "get retarded" meme should be officially retired from hip hop, but I'm still down with going dumb if it's this hyphy.

Memphis Bleek - "Yes"
Jay shows up on the intro but just for a sec to tell Memph to "go in" like he's Ghostface or something, and I'm starting to mentally place Bleek and Joe Budden in a class together because they both mostly only sound really good over dance-y Just Blaze beats (I know, who doesn't?), but I didn't even realize this was JB (or notice the way the high pitched squealy bits recall "When The Last Time") until someone pointed it out on ILM. I swear, the dude's bag of tricks gets deeper every month. What I love about this is the distorted, almost NIN-y drum sound, and how every kick drum hit is accompanied with a tambourine hit (maybe I'm not describing that right but it's one of my favorite production tricks ever, the best examples are "Can't Deny It" (again!) and Cassidy's "Get No Better"). This week Bleek told Mixtape Monday (Shaheem stand up!) that the big homey is giving "Yes" two weeks to build some more momentum, and if it doesn't do anything, they'll pull it and try a different single. Also, they're taking a vote on that MTV page, and right now the poll is anti-"Yes" by a 2 to 1 ratio, so vote on that shit!

Alchemist f/ The Game and Prodigy - "Dead Bodies"
For the bicoastal collab at the beginning of 1st Infantry, Alc comes on some weird shit, lo-fi piano sample beat that occasionally unravels into something a little too MF Doom-sounding, but it's still cool. It seems like everyone's still very tentative about the Game, keeping close track of his ratio of good to lousy guest verses, and this is another strike against him, he even recycles some rhymes from his "Stomp" verse (the double XL/sex sells couplet, except now he's trying to fuck Trina instead of Mya). Alc played this when he was on Clinton Sparks's show the other night and at one point they had a good laugh about how "white people in the club be loving Got It Twisted". I haven't heard white hip hop dudes try to otherize whiteness like that since...well, since the last time Ethan IMed me.

P. Diddy - "Run This City"
Produced by that Boston cracker Clinton Sparks! The beat is spare and wiggly and it's got a nice cut-and-paste hook, with Diddy going hard like he's got cred to fight for, but I love any time he sounds all pissed off like on "Victory" and "Come With Me".