Saturday, July 11, 2009
Bossman - "Off The Record Part 2" (mp3)
The original "Off The Record" was released in November 2004, a few weeks before the Law & Order album hit the stores, and I remember how hyped up I was the first time I heard it. Bossman had already been all over 92Q with "Oh" and "I Did It," but "Off The Record" was really the song that made me a fan of his, just the fact that he got on the radio with such a personal, lyrical song, especially in Baltimore, back at a time when pretty much every local song that got spins was a club-ready Rod Lee track. I feel like what he was doing on there, the kind of meta commentary on what's going on in hip hop, has become really commonplace in recent years, independent rappers always rushing to weigh in on the latest controversies, but back then him speaking really frankly about celebrities and the industry was kind of refreshing and bold. I even geeked out and transcribed the lyrics for the fuck of it at one point. If you've never heard the original, I posted a DL link as part of the top 10 of my 5th anniversary retrospective a few weeks ago.
Back when Bossman was still signed to Virgin, I remember there being talk of an update or sequel to "Off The Record," and at one point there was a remix with Lil Mo that changed up a few lines in the song to make it more current at the time. So I didn't really expect, almost 5 years after the original, for the One Up camp to hit me with this, a proper follow-up, whole new song with a new beat and hook, dealing with current topics but still with the same blunt observational tone, from what went down with Jermaine Dupri to Michael Jackson to Jay-Z's "D.O.A." and speaking straight up truth about that Drake kid. I ain't mad at him at all for getting success with "Break Me Off" and the AutoTune records (OK, in the spirit of being truthful and not sparing anyone's feelings, he does sound pretty terrible when he sings on those songs), but it's good to hear Bossman going back to what made me really rep for his music in the first place.
Labels: Bossman, mp3, One Up Entertainment
Comments:
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I like this type of music from him too. The problem is it just doesn't go as far in the mainstream as the more commercial stuff. I actually liked him singing on break me off it was very catchy. I guess it comes down to what kind of hiphop you like - commercial or underground. I think he would rather do this type of music which I believe was the reason that he never dropped an album with Virgin( the labels want radio singles). But I think he now realizes that in order to achieve mainstream success he has to create more commercial records, which will not appeal to his underground fans. I understand what it is and I know in order for him to make music as a career he has to make money in order to sustain himself and his family. I'm interested to hear his album as we have been hearing singles and their purpose is to reach as many people as possible to promote the project.
# posted by 
: 9:40 AM
: 9:40 AM
bossman shouldve stayed consistant with doin him..its hard to come back after u sold your soul to auto tune
the only problem is you would go broke. It's hard enough for someone from bmore to get on as it is. The public and the label aren't consuming Nas, Krs-One or that type of music. At the end of the day it's a business and the labels only want what they believe will sell.
I think Tupac was one of the best at bridging underground and commercial and still dropping knowledge and making hits at the same time. I think we have to allow artists' to be versatile. Every track doesn't have to be a radio single and every track doesn't have to be underground. That's why an album is a collection of records so your not going to get the total picture of the artist until you hear the entire album.
With that said according to Bossman's twitter page ( www.twitter.com/Bossman410 ) his album is dropping on:
8/11/09
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I think Tupac was one of the best at bridging underground and commercial and still dropping knowledge and making hits at the same time. I think we have to allow artists' to be versatile. Every track doesn't have to be a radio single and every track doesn't have to be underground. That's why an album is a collection of records so your not going to get the total picture of the artist until you hear the entire album.
With that said according to Bossman's twitter page ( www.twitter.com/Bossman410 ) his album is dropping on:
8/11/09
# posted by : 8:36 PM
: 8:36 PM<< Home
