Heavy Gold - Tha Testa (Forever Musik/Stay Gettin' Entertainment)

In the past couple months, I've posted an announcement of Heavy Gold's signing to Epic Records and written a City Paper feature about the dude. But I still hadn't gotten around to posting a little something about his current solo mixtape, Tha Testa, which is available as a free download on DatPiff. It's a cool low key mixtape from right before he got signed, lotta freestyles, a few original beats from Forever Musik and from Stay Gettin', and Kuntre from SGE hosts the disc (by the way, Stay Gettin' is still working with Cam'ron, and produced 2 tracks on the Public Enemy #1 mixtape he released last week, "Why They" and "Callette," which are tracks 2 and 13 on the first disc). There's also guest appearances from Tony Bosco (another MC signed with Stay Gettin') and the "I'm So Fly" remix with Skarr and Bossman and D.O.G. and Barnes and all them. Heavy Gold also did an interview with hiphopgame.com recently, and he's performing at the big Bossman show at Fletcher's this week.

Heavy Gold - "Who Dat" (mp3)
This is Gold's single, might be the first song that Epic puts some official promotion behind, it's catchy and has a good concept, I think Stay Gettin' did the beat.

Labels: Barnes, Bossman, D.O.G., Heavy Gold, mixtape/album review, mp3, Skarr Akbar, Stay Gettin'

It's official: Heavy Gold got a deal with Epic Records. I got a text message from Stay Gettin' this past Monday with the full announcement:

Stay Gettin' Ent. has done it again. Heavy Gold has signed to Epic Records after having three labels at the door and all this with no radio play just talent.
Thanks to everyone that supported Stay Gettin' and Heavy Gold
Special thanks to Jay Claxton the official "Stay Gettin' DJ"
Y'all know the name
We takin' over...
Check Heavy Gold out on HipHopGame.com
Look for him in upcoming XXL Vibe and Source magazines...
The signing party is being put together now and also we have a crew coming down to shoot 2 videos
Jay Claxton will be putting everyone on point with schedules and everything else
Once again thanks to all the supporters

I kinda knew this was coming, when I saw Kuntre and Millz from Stay Gettin' at the Making The Right Moves conference a few months ago, they said they were working on a major deal for Heavy Gold, and that they were trying to end up somewhere other than Def Jam, since their Young Leek deal over there ended up going nowhere. If you don't really know who Heavy Gold is, he's been in the Baltimore hip hop scene for a long long time, he was one of the original members of N.E.K. who left the group, along with Cash, when the focus got put on Bossman's solo career. More recently, he's been rolling with Skarr Akbar as a member of his crew, The Arabz, and working with Stay Gettin'. I've posted a couple songs with him on it this year, his solo track "Charm City" and Skarr's "I'm So Fly" remix.

I'm definitely excited for Heavy Gold's deal, and I wish him the best, although I hope he made the right decision and does have a good relationship with this label. If you follow the music industry much, you may already know that Epic Records has not even had an urban music staff since last December, and there was a story more recently that they had to outsource hip hop/R&B marketing help from Koch Records just to break the Sean Kingston record. If you look at the current Epic roster, it's pretty pathetic as far as hip hop is concerned. The biggest rapper they've got right now is that Yung Berg dude, who's garbage and didn't even get to put out an album when he had a hit single, just an EP. I might sound like a real pessimist here, but I'm just reiterating what I said in the Best Doomed Major Label Contract blurb in this year's Best of Baltimore issue: getting a deal is really the beginning of a whole new struggle. I hope Heavy Gold watched what happened with Bossman and other local cats who got deals, and learned from it. Maybe he's is one of the first artists Epic plans on using to rebuild its urban roster, but I just hope his team is ready to get his buzz going without the label's help.

Anyway, the bottom line is that Heavy Gold is a dope MC who has paid his dues in this city, and this could be the start of something big for him. Check out the tracks on his MySpace page, his single "Who Dat" on Stay Gettin's MySpace, and the YouTube video I put in this post, it's for his song "Drug Dealer," which really flips the whole concept of what you'd think a song with that title would be about in a smart way. Here are a few of my favorite Heavy Gold collabs:

Bossman f/ Heavy Gold, Dollars and Ameisha - "Last Dance Part II" (mp3)
This is a track from Bossman's 2004 independent album Law & Order, produced by Debonair Samir.

Skarr Akbar f/ Heavy Gold - "What Happened To That Boy" Freestyle (mp3)
Skarr and H. Gold on one of my favorite Neptunes beats, good shit.

Bossman f/ Tony Manson, Dollars, Skarr Akbar, Heavy Gold, Goose, Hots, TestMe, Tim Trees and Caddy Da Don - "Bmore" Freestyle (mp3)
This is a track from that End Of Discussion mixtape I just posted about a couple weeks ago, just a monster posse cut, 10 MC's in 9 minutes, and Heavy Gold is somewhere in there in the middle.

Labels: Bossman, Debonair Samir, Heavy Gold, Hots, mp3, Skarr Akbar, Stay Gettin', Tim Trees

The Making The Right Moves Entertainment Conference is this weekend at the Baltimore Convention Center, and it's shaping up to be a pretty interesting event, I can't remember anything like this ever being done before here, at least on this scale. As I mentioned last month, I've been invited to appear as a panelist on two panels, which I believe will be on Saturday at 12 noon and at 3PM. So I'm gonna go check it out, meet some people, try to contribute to the discussion, and hang around and maybe see some of the speakers and showcases, and probably write something about the experience for the City Paper's Noise page. I put pretty much all the info I have about it below, and there's more at http://www.milestonemediaonline.com. I hope the turnout's good and the whole event lives up to its potential, it'd be cool to have a conference like this every year.







July 27-29, 2007
@
THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER
Panelist include
, DJ Heat(Justo Award Winning DJ, WPGC 95.5 FM,Kelly Connelly( Music Monthly,Frank Johnson ( Alantic Records), Wil Roc( UnRuly),Rogue Versatile( Bmore Vibe Magazine),Mike MacIntosh( ARS,Architentects Ent) Antonio Motts ( U Turn Marketing and Promotions),Al Shipley ( Government Names Blog, Baltimore City Paper) Adeniya Omisore, Cheryl Slay ( Business Law attorney with a particular focus on Intellectual Property and entertainment industry matters) and many many more

KEYNOTE SPEAKER SATURDAY 4PM- 5 PM
ICE T
( NEW JACK CITY, LAW and ORDER, Multi- Platnium Recording Artist)

DIP SET/ BYRD GANG RECORDING ARTIST
NOE
Deshawn Taylor ( Author, CEO Real Hiphop.com, BET's Ultimate Hustler Contestant
Liris Crosse (Best Man,The Source, XXL, Music Videos,),
Gary Gentles ( CEO/ Founder SingersRoom.com)
Venom ( Hot 103.9FM SC)
The WILD CHILD DNA ( Rountable Ent, Rooftop Ent XM66 RAW Radio, Mixtape King
DJ LIL MIC( XM,WEAA 88.9,KJAM 105K Tulsa OK, WQIZ 93.1 The Beat Amarillo,TX,Raheem Devaugh Tour DJ)
David Ivory ( Grammy Award Winning Producer, Songerwriter),
Pork Chop ( 92 Q, Big Phat Morning Show, Billboard Charted Artist)
TOVE COOPER ( Author Of LADY B. MOORE and Founder/CEO of GOOOD Books
CEO, Actress, Studio Owner, Promoter and Host her own Series of Street DVD's
BMORES TRUE BOSSLADY

Paul Gardner

Since Attorney Gardner began the Gardner Law Group to specialize in entertainment and business law matters. Attorney Gardner has been the legal advisor to some of the following sample high profile clients like Actor/Comedian Tommy Davidson; the Prince of Fashion Travis Winkey; and many

Mike Williams

Publisher of Exclusive Magazine. Exclusive Magazine is an urban music publication with distribution in 10+ US markets as well as overseas in Germany with over 20,000+ readers. They have produced shows for television and college radio in the Hampton Roads region of VA. The TV show was called The Fixxx which aired on WVBT Fox 43 for 6 months and the Radio show was on Old Dominion University and was called the Block with the 1st Lady of College Radio which aired for 2 years on WODU AM 1630

JUST ADDED... STAY GETTIN ENTERTAINMENT

WE NOT DONE YET ............ More will be added this week

FRIDAY
MEET AND GREET PARTY @

Sponsored by ORIGINAL INC. Clothing
Music by DJ SPONTANEOUS
9-2 AM
TASTE INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANT & ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX

4314 Curtis Avenue Baltimore, MD 21226

Phone: 410-354-5566 Fax: 410-354-5567

Performances start @ 10
Baltimore's Best Sound System

PERFORMING ACTS

- BOMB
- POETIC
- CAPO
- GRAMZ
- MINISTER DaUrbanledjen
- UnREAL
- Greenspan
- Bree Ft. Adonna
- S.I.- Buck Head Records
-Sudden Distraction - Buck Head Records
- The New Familia - Buck Head Records
- Kasper aka Young NOVA
- Broadway the Governa
-The Head Bangers
- Cyndiva
-Tydale Clayton
- O.D.R.
- Fat Dog
- C BAN

and many many many more suprises

Saturday

JUST ADDED FOR SATURDAY HIPHOP WORLD.NET

Registration

Conference, Panel Discussions and Fashion Show

SITE: Baltimore Convention Center

1 W Pratt St

Baltimore, MD 21201

Phone:(410) 649-7000

Rooms 302 and 303

Staff 8:45 am

Check In 9.00 am

TIME WHERE EVENT

10 am Room 303 Fashion and Imaging

11 am Room 303 Get Your Business Started the Right Way

12 pm Room 302 Are you Using the Internet to Fully Market Yourself

1 pm Room 303 Touring on a Budget

1 pm Room 302 What are the Alternative Outlets For your Music

2 pm Room 303 Women in Media

Intermission 3-4

3 pm Room 302 Street Team and Gorilla Promotions

3 pm Room 303 Manager or Agent Whats Best and How Do I Get Legal Representation

4 pm Room 302 How to get distribution for My Product

4 pm Room 303 Demo Listening Session I

ROOMS WILL BE COMBINED

6 pm Key Note Speaker Ice-T “How to Hustle the Industry”

7 pm – 8 pm VIP Reception
Sponsored by EGO Productions

8 pm – 10 pm Fashion Show Presented By:

Avon Dorsey and Fashion 101

VIP Reception for ICE- T 5 PM to 6 PM

Fashion Show Powered by
AVON DORSEY &Style 101
www.style101.com

DOORS OPEN 6 PM
@ The Convention Center
Advance Tix 15.00... Get at me for Tix...they are going fast...
VIP 50.00
MORE AT THE DOOR

For Tickets contact
AVON 410-926-5184
HOWARD 484-347-7898
REGGIE 410-900-6380

AFTER PARTY & ARTIST SHOWCASE
@ 5 Seasons

830 Guilford Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21202

The Mount Vernon Plaza

next to Dunkin Doughnuts

- Sluggerz Entertainment
- BOMB
- POETIC
- CAPO
- GRAMZ
-MINISTER DaUrbanledjen
- Karon
- Beat Box
- Bree Ft. Adonna
-Sudden Distraction - Buck Head Records
- The New Familia - Buck Head Records
- S. I Buck Head Records
-The Head Bangers
- Cyndiva
-Tydale Clayton
- O.D.R.
- Fat Dog
- C BAN
- TONEY BONE
- Heavy Gold/ HG Stay Gettin Entertainmnet/ Arabz

Sunday
Staff 8:45 am

Check In 9.00 am

TIME WHERE EVENT

10 am Room 302 Music Publishing for Songwriters

11 am Room 303 Another Way to Make the Big Time

12 am Room 303 Target Songwriting

1 pm Room 302 Demo Listening Session II

2 pm Room 303 Kids in the Industry

2:30 pm Room 302 Independent Film and DVD’s

3 pm Room 302 The Power of Video Exposure

4 pm Screening “ How Hip Hop Saved My Life “

Labels: 5 Seasons, 92Q, B.O.M.B., Bosslady, DNA, flyer, NOE, Stay Gettin', UnReal

I already gave you my Best Baltimore Hip Hop Albums and Mixtapes of 2006 a couple weeks ago, so now it's time to look forward to the future with what I'm anticipating in '07. Of course, with the kind of delays you always get with rap albums, even underground projects, you never when anything's gonna drop, and a lot of these were on my most anticipated of '06 list. There are a lot of people that I know are dropping projects this year, but here are the ones I'm most lookin forward to that have set titles and labels right now:

1. Bossman - Law & Order (One Up/Virgin Records)
Hate him or love him, Bossman's still the one to watch as far as seeing if a major label audience is really ready to support a Baltimore MC this year. Everything I've heard that's going to be on this album is hot, so the quality isn't really a question so much as what it's gonna do.

2. Darkroom Productions - Hamsterdam 2: The Re-Up
This is gonna be out real soon, because the release party is this weekend, and I just got word that Darkroom will be featured in tomorrow's (January 4th) edition of the Baltimore Sun, so check that out. This is gonna be a must-have item just for all the songs that were used in The Wire. I hope the Diablo album Shop Closed drops this year, too.

3. D.O.G. - Champagne Dreams (Invisible Set/Universal Records)
Another major label project that it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. The album had already been delayed for a long time even by last summer when he got signed, so I've kinda been ready for this and I hope they don't wait so long that all the buzz he had last year dies down.

4. Tim Trees - Wayne Jones: The Business (Built For Business)
When I profiled Tim in the City Paper over a year ago, it sounded like the album was more or less done, but then nothing happened. But he's been performing live a lot more lately, including at Comp's mixtape release party this weekend, so maybe we'll finally get TT's third album this year.

5. various artists - Baltimore Club Crack (Milkcrate/Koch)
Another one that I haven't heard any progress or news about in a minute. When I interviewed Debonair Samir last summer and heard a rough mix of this album, he made it sound like the deal with Koch was done and the album would be out in '06, but I haven't heard any official word of it being on Koch's release schedule yet. I hope it does come out, though, it's a pretty dope compilation.

6. DK - A Part Of History (Babygrande Records)
DK's mixtape was one of my favorites of last year, and I just got word from him recently that before his debut album Words Of Art drops, there's going to be an EP/DVD called A Part Of History dropping in February.

7. Sonny Brown - Ginger Bread Man
Another mixtape I've been waiting on for a while now. I know Sonny's got something hot up his sleeve.

8. Los - Fly, Hungry, & Rich (Da Bloc Inc./Bad Boy)
I interviewed Los for the City Paper a couple months ago, but the article still hasn't come out because he's been really difficult about getting a photo shoot done. Talented cat, though, I hope he can do something within the major label system.

9. Midas - Battle Royale
His mixtape was nice but I know he's got some crazy material he's saving for the album.

10. Young Leek - Somethin' To Prove (Stay Gettin'/Def Jam)
Yet another project that seemed like it was making progress and they were getting ready to shoot a video and do some serious promotion, and then, nothing happened. Leek may not be a real hardcore Bmore MC or anything, but I'm definitely rooting for Stay Gettin' and the other people in his camp to have some success.

Labels: Bossman, D.O.G., Darkroom Productions, Debonair Samir, Diablo, DK, lists, Los, Midas, Stay Gettin', Tim Trees, Young Leek

Baltimore production duo Stay Gettin' Productions are featured in the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of Scratch Magazine, on page 58 in the Boiling Point column. You might remember the Baltimore City Paper article that I wrote about them earlier this year, or the production discography I posted here on GN, or the mixtape I posted about a couple months ago. Congrats to them, they're good dudes and I was happy to see them get shine in my favorite hip hop magazine. In related news, Papoose just released a video for one of his older songs, "Alphabetical Slaughter", which was produced by Stay Gettin'.

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, magazines/newspapers, Stay Gettin'

Stay Gettin' have stayed busy since I wrote my City Paper story on them a few months ago, so I've updated their production discography, and here's some recent tracks they've done:

Dope Boy Music f/ Glue - "Zoo" (mp3)
Dope Boy Music is a group of MC's from North Carolina that SGE and Def Jam A&R Plain Pat have put out a mixtape for, and this is one of the four tracks produced by Stay Gettin'.

DJ Kay Slay and Greg Street f/ Ghostface, Kool G Rap, Raekwon, Lord Tariq and Big Daddy Kane - "5 Deadly Venoms" (mp3)
Stay Gettin' produced 4 tracks on that new Kay Slay/Greg Street album, which I reviewed recently. This is one of the tracks they did, which I posted last week on my other blog, Narrowcast. That's a crazy lineup they got to do a track with.

Labels: mp3, Stay Gettin'

Labels: 5 Seasons, Barnes, Bosslady, Dirty Hartz, DNA, flyer, Ms. Stress, Ogun, Skarr Akbar, Stay Gettin', UnReal

I'd been hearing from various artists and producers around town for the last couple months that MTV had been here interviewing people and shooting footage at the Believe Tour, and finally MTV's You Hear It First: Young Leek and the Baltimore scene (cached here) has started airing this weekend (usually during the last 10 minutes of every hour). I just caught some of it but haven't seen the whole segment yet. It's mainly about Young Leek but they also talk to K-Swift and Bossman and Debonair Samir and Shawn Ceaser and play tracks by Blaq Starr and Rod Lee in the piece. Supposedly there's talk about doing a My Block: Baltimore too.

Supposedly you can view the piece on the MTV Overdrive site, but it's Windows-only and I can't get to it on my Mac. If anybody can record the MTV segment and maybe upload it to YouTube or some other site like that, please let me know, that would be awesome. Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled to MTV for the next few days. I know some of y'all are gonna be mad that Bmore's finally getting some shine on MTV and the focus is primarily on a kid who's from New Jersey and just started making records in the past year, but like I said before, I support the whole Stay Gettin' movement, and I'm just happy to see any of this happening. Obviously, if they asked me what the show should be about, I'd do it completely differently and showcase a lot more artists, but whatever, I can't complain, this can only lead to bigger and better things.

Labels: Baltimore club, Blaq Starr, Bossman, Debonair Samir, K-Swift, Rod Lee, Stay Gettin', Unruly Records, Young Leek

This week in the City Paper, I have a big feature on Big Kuntré and Mike Milz, also known as Stay Gettin' Productions. I'm not really gonna say too much, because you can read the article, and you can check out their MySpace page and a list of all their productions that I put together below, which features a few mp3's. Even if you don't know the name you probably know at least a couple tracks they've done. I know that some folks are salty about Young Leek getting a deal when there are still so many overlooked MCs in Baltimore, but SGE are good dudes and veterans of Bmore hip hop themselves, and if their project does well then it's definitely gonna open doors for the city. They produced almost the whole Young Leek album aside from "Jiggle It," and the tracks that have been released so far, "Check" and "One Million" are pretty good, and there's a video of Leek and Kuntré performing "One Million" on YouTube. Anyway, check the resume:

Stay Gettin' Productions Discography

Big Kuntré - Vol. 1 (2001)
1. “Intro”
2. “Street Anthem”
3. “Black Rain”
4. “Stay Gettin’”
5. “Line Of Sight (Haters)”

various artists - Operation Come Up (2001)
16 tracks

Tim Trees - Dalton, Vol. 1 (Bdamore Records, 2001)
2. “Recal”
7. “F.M.P.”

Tim Trees - Dalton, Vol. 2 (Bdamore Records, 2002)
2. “Family” f/ Tony Bosco, Stee and S.N.L. (mp3)
4. “Smoke” f/ Pluggy
7. “410” f/ Little Clayway and Skarr Akbar (mp3)
8. “Sky High” f/ S.N.L.

Bunny Man - What’s Real (Orpheus, 2002)
1. “Intro” f/ Big Kuntré and Antney J
7. “Back, Back”

Ogun - The Movement (ROP, 2003)
14. “War Games” f/ Ooh of Brown F.I.S.H. and Profound

Cam’ron - Diplomats Volume 5 (Streetsweepers, 2003)
9. “Shut The Fuck Up” (mp3)

DJ Kay Slay - The Streetsweeper Vol. 2: The Pain From The Game (Columbia, 2004)
6. “Harlem” f/ Cam’ron & Chinky Brown Eyes
11. “Alphabetical Slaughter” f/ Papoose
12. “Drama” f/ Lil Jon, David Banner, Bun B and Baby D
14. “Get Retarded” f/ The Diplomats and Twista (mp3)
16. “Through Your Head” f/ Jae Millz, Angelous, Cashmere, Trife, Maino, Tru Life and the Bad Seed

Cam’ron - Purple Haze (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, 2004)
14. “Bubble Music”

The Diplomats - Diplomatic Immunity (Koch, 2004)
4. “Get Use To This” f/ Juelz Santana and J.R. Writer
13. “Dead Motherfuckers” f/ Cam’ron and Juelz Santana
15. “Aayo-iight” f/ Cam’ron and Juelz Santana

Comp - Bang-A-Rang Mixtape, Vol. 1 (DNA, 2004)
1. “Intro”

Ogun - Real On Purpose (ROP, 2005)
8. “Come On Man?!” (mp3)

Papoose - Mixtape Murder (Streetsweepers, 2005)
3. “Bonnie N Clyde 2005” f/ Remy Ma (mp3) (also known as "No Competition")
4. “Versatility” (mp3)

Papoose - A Threat And A Promise (Streetsweepers, 2006)
13. "Shots Fired" f/ Bump J and Stat Quo

Dipset - Cam'ron Presents Duke Da God: The Movement Moves On (Koch, 2006)
15. "We Ain't Going Nowhere" f/ A-Mafia

Cam’ron - Killa Season (Asylum, 2006)
14. “Girls, Cash, Cars”

DJ Kay Slay & Greg Street - The Champions: The North Meets The South (Koch, 2006)
5. "Drama Gang" f/ Cam'ron, Juelz Santana and Jim Jones
14. "5 Deadly Venoms" f/ Ghostface, Kool G Rap, Raekwon, Lord Tariq and Big Daddy Kane
16. "The Introduction" f/ Vein
17. “Big Problems” f/ Lil Jon, Lil Flip, Lil Scrappy, and Lil Wyte

Stay Gettin' Ent & Plain Pat presents Dopeboy Music (2006)
1. "Intro" f/ Bgz
4. "Zoo" f/ Glue
6. "Supa Dupa Trap" f/ Bgz, Ricky Ruckus, Kenney G and Glue
15. "Heavy Chevy" f/ Glue and Ricky Ruckus

forthcoming:

Young Leek - Somethin' To Prove (Stay Gettin' Entertainment/Def Jam)

Papoose - Nacirema Dream (Jive)

Freeway - Free At Last (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)

(photo by Sam Holden)

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Comp, Little Clayway, mp3, Ogun, Skarr Akbar, Stay Gettin', Tim Trees, Young Leek

Young Leek just got signed to Def Jam. Congrats to K-Swift and Blaq Starr and Next Level Management for making it happen. Bossman and Paula Campbell and now him, one more step towards getting the whole damn city signed.

Labels: Blaq Starr, Next Level Records, Stay Gettin', Young Leek

Ogun - Real On Purpose

Still At It
Produced by Niige "Hitman For Hire" for ARS Productions, who does 3 tracks on this album and also did the title track on Bossman’s Law & Order. "Got fans in Japan mispronouncing my name", shouts his phone number on the track like Mike Jones.

BMore f/ Aswad
The hometown anthem that was also Ogun's track on The Movement #2.

Why I Write
One of the best tracks, produced by another Baltimore MC, Skarr Akbar, who does a lot of his own beats. They snuck a quick 16 bars by Ammo, the 15-year-old MC on ROP, over a different beat at the end of the track.

Come On Man?!
Beat by Stay Getting Productions (Cam'ron, Kay Slay, Tim Trees), another standout.

11/01/99
Kind of intense story about a family fight going too far and then the cops getting called on him, and getting thrown in a jail, then fighting in jail and getting thrown in a single cell. Then suddenly he starts shouting about God and the story kind of goes offtrack.

BMore (Remix) f/ Jitter B.U.G. & EJ
This was the big finale at the release party for the album. The fact that Jitter B.U.G. can make "Maryland" rhyme with "whirlwhind" is a pretty great example of a Baltimore accent.

A Ma! f/ Rochelle and Kendra
Sweet bluesy guitar sample with soft organ, song for his mom with his 2 sisters singing along. Reminds me a lot of Kanye's "Hey Mama", same subject matter, same vibe.

Labels: mixtape/album review, Ogun, Skarr Akbar, Stay Gettin'

DNA & Def Jam presents Comp: Bang-A-Rang Gang Mixtape, Vol. 1

Intro
Produced by Stay Getting, "YES YES!! Motherfuckers, YES YESS!! YES YES!! Motherfuckers, YES YESS!! Yo, it's your boy Comp, I know a lot of you wanna know what the name means, well, allow me to break it down, Clever On Many Perspectives, and that's how I'm reppin', OH! Bmore! And I ain't gonna talk you to death, I'll let the motherfuckin' name do the rest"

Strip Down
One of the 2 Track Boyz productions, funny sounding high pitched loop, just one verse and chorus that they stop halfway through and run back a 2nd time.

Ghostface interlude
"bangin' on niggas out this bitch, nah mean, you know how we do, we gon' bang, we ain't bloods, we ain't crips, y'nah mean, we just dipped in all black right now, right now y'all niggas is fuckin' with the Bang-A-Rang Gang, y'nah mean, it's on man, when you hear that you hear nothin' but hammers, man, and ain't no real live 3rd grade shit when I say it like that neither, man, on some Bang-A-Rang shit, man, and we ain't no motherfuckin' gang, man, we the motherfuckin'...we that Tang, nigga, y'nah mean, it's real like that, and this is Ghost, I'm out this bitch, one."

Eye Problem
Weird clicky drums, hostile hook with Track Boyz whispering: "now what the fuck are you lookin' at?", Comp: "what you got, eye problems?"

Beanie Sigel interlude
scratchy voice over the phone, constant voices in the background: "State Property, motherfuckers, I'm chillin' with my man Comp, yeah right, I'm drunk, I don't give a fuck... but Comp don't mean you get shit for free, motherfucker, Philly and Bmore, you motherfuckers, I'm out here with the police, nah mean, I ain't really with the police, but they out here and I'm watchin', they got holsters in they guns n shit, I don't give a fuck about they glocs, cause my man got a mac eleven in the truck, they got 32 in the clip and one in the pipe, for whoever want it. fuck all y'all niggas man, this is Mack Mittens and I'll be out the end of June! you motherfuckin' bitches, the fuck outta here, nigga, Broad Street Bully holla at me, nigga, get your weight up you lil nigga"

Get Ya Mind Right f/ Notorious B.I.G.
I like this beat more every time I hear it, it fits perfectly with the ridiculously awesome Biggie verse, from Aaron Hall's "Why You Tryin' To Play Me", and one of Comp's better verses. it's kind of a shame this isn't for the Biggie duets album.

Get Em f/ Layzie Bone
It sounds like there's 2 or 3 different drum kits going on in this beat that are all slightly out of sync with each other, piccolo snare fills flipping in and out of time with the hi-hats and the booming distant snares.

Harder
uh huh, yeah right, Comp
[vocal sample: harder, harder, hard, hard, harder]
listen...
I was tryin' to make money, now I'm [makin' it]
haters really wanna take it but they [makin' it harder]
(right, yeah, you see where I'm goin' with this one)
I just got in the game and I'm a starter
I'm a rookie playin' with pros, so I'ma play [harder]
(yeah, you got that right, I got to)
jealous ones hate me 'cause I'm [makin' it]
you dudes comin' soft but Comp is [makin' it harder]
I was destined to shine to get where I'm at, with the help of my father
when I pushed, he pushed [harder]
(yeah, for real, man...Pockets, I love you for that, man...listen)
even though I'm on top now I'm [makin' it]
I'm still quick to off ya, stop [makin' it harder]
seperate yourself from controversy, you can learn from Shawn Carter, R. Kelly made it [harder]
you never did drugs til you started [makin' it]
you high on your own supply, now you [makin' it harder]
(you only killin' yourself, man, that's all)
this is textbook and Comp is the author, I can show you a easy way when things get [harder]
(believe it or not, believe it or not, man, c'mon man)
you got a deal but you still not [makin' it]
labels shelf your project, [makin' it harder]
(damn!)
you filled with sin, you cleansed your soul, wack off to them devilish thoughts, always make it [harder]
I'm fakin' 'em, shakin' 'em, bakin', I'm [makin' it]
I'm ten steps ahead of you, [makin' it harder]
(how you gon' catch me when I'm that far, man?)
writin' them rhymes, the music I was [makin' it]
my first CD got outdated, [makin' it harder]
(shit, that was a...that was a classic, man)
some didn't want this to happen, me goin' far with rappin', now I'm laughin'
pocketful of dead guys I don't even know
I secured my family life with a flow
I embarked on tons of cash, which made everybody hate me on the ave., it's so sad
you see the ones that you used to chill wit, and now they wanna kill shit, and you the target
and you're the youngest Def Jam artist, rap style flawless, I'ma eat regardless
they talk sideways, calm your comments
I earn my respect so you pay me homage
like it or love it, love it or not, I now rate for the hood, I can write up a block
so watch and learn, wait ya turn
the game is hard and you ain't half as firm
it's fucked up how things really are
just when shit gets hard somehow it gets [harder]
(it's cool, though...'cause I'm gonna make it, man...by any means necessary...one day or the other...believe it or not...I'm gonna make it...it's just my destiny...Comp)
[harder]
[makin' it harder]

I'm Tired
Cartoonish vocal sample going "I'm tirrrrrrrrred" for the hook, kinda clunky piano beat by Ray Lugar from the Stay Hi camp, but lyrically I think it's Comp at the best I've heard from him so far, just being honest and real about the shit in his life, no shouting:

verse 1: I'm tired of being at the point in my life where I'm politically correct but I can't get right, listen, I'm in the club on Saturday, the church on Sunday, and hello Monday, it's fucked up, I'm throwin’ my body in hell just for a hard-on, I notice I'm changin' the channel every time God on, I say they frauds but I pull scams, that's my reason for turnin' to MTV Jams, damn, I ain't gonna make it, am I? niggas havin' babies every day by Brenda, and I done went to war a couple times, I remember, just like it was yesterday, way back in the winter, a natural born sinner seekin' God for some help, but I can’t find him when I'm searchin' for myself, but I’m so tired and I'm gettin' more weak, I'm smokin' more weed and I'm catchin' less sleep, but you would never know [I'm tirrred]

verse 2: I'm tryin' to get my mind right, cause I'm not sure I'm ready for this limelight, for real, I'm gettin' lazy like [?], not takin' control of this career opportunity (on some real shit) as well as I should be, I ain't goin' hard at like I could be, honestly I wanna ride around, fuck and watch movies, all day every day like usually, I'm spendin' less time in the studio, spendin' more time in the booty hole of a ho, it's like I took a deal for granted, tryin' to be Michael but I ain't workin' hard as Janet, DJs need drops for they mixtapes, shit I need to come out with a new mixtape, but as long as the shit waits, the more and more my album switch dates, for God sakes, niggas, [I'm tirrred]

verse 3: [I'm tirrred], but I would never doze off, until I'm layin' on that tray with my clothes off, until that time come I gotta stay awake, like the owl on that tree branch by the lake, cause I'm not perfect from a long shot or even a foul line, I'm tired of a [?] bein' trial time, when I'll say one thing and do another, dumb shit like spazz out on my mother like I don't love her, and that's somethin' she'll ever forget, that I can't take back like clothes that don't fit, shit, I gotta live with that like a handicap, I can’t end it and give that back, some things you gotta learn on your own, when you young and hard headed tryin' to be so grown, I feel stressed out, leave me alone, you can hear it by the voice in my tone, [I'm tirrred]

Rep Til I Die f/ Lloyd Banks
Not a real collabo, just the pre-Hunger For More mixtape joint "Gz Up", with one Lloyd verse and then Comp and some Bang-A-Rang dudes coming on verses and their own version of the hook.

In The V.I. (V.I.P.)
This is kind of cod-crunk like what the Federation and them are doing, not really trying to sound like Lil Jon, but doing their own flip on the wilding out in the club shit, the beat's really good, the best of the many Spit-1 productions on here, hope he's holding onto this one for the album.

My Thoughts interlude
"it's your boy, Comp, man, never forget that, make sure you get that album, My Thoughts, y'nah mean, when I release that upon you, My Thoughts comin' real soon, so make sure you check that out, boy from Bmore, you know the fuckin' name"

Comp (What's My Name?
from the Def Jam:P Fight For NY soundtrack, ok song with a "Jigga My Nigga" flip on the hook.

Jim Jones interlude
"Bodymore, Murderland, that's how we say that, Comp? yeah, nigga, ain't nothin' changed, nigga, we down in Bodymore, Murderland, they know how I get down down there, too, nigga, it's capo status, nigga, shouts to my dude Comp, he comin' up in the game, and he bitin' niggas, ya heard? no homo, nigga. we will eat ya food. holla at me."

Harm City freestyle
Over that awesome beat from the Fab/Blaze "Can't Let You Go" rmx, doin' some weird ass creative similes and metaphors: "yeah I know you got cream like a genital boil, rims lookin' like chopped up aluminum foil, that's because you sell the stuff that look like milk when it spoil"

I'm Dancin'
One of a couple of self-produced joints on this, Comp can do beats himself alright but this is just kind of a goofy track overall, fast tempo and silly synth sounds and a funny high voiced flow. Hearing him on stuff like this and the "I'm Tired" beat and you can almost see him being one of those indie rappers that alternates between silly and sincere when he's not in gully shouting mode.

Outro
"ay man, whenever you in Bmore, make sure you slide down Edmonson and Mt. Royal, holla at my man Rome, he got you, Sounds In The Hood, you know where it's at, man, fuck, it's in the hood, stupid nigga...and yo anyway, yo, shoutout to my man Backland, he was in a bad car accident, y'nah mean, he gettin' better, he healin, too, man, yo shoutout to him too, but anyway, this is the outro, now play that shit again"

Run (rmx) f/ Lil Wayne
Last winter on I think another DNA mixtape there was a "Run" remix that was just different freestyles over the beat cobbled together, Raekwon and Weezy and Comp (a different verse from his one on the original), here's that on yousendit. This is pretty much the same thing but with the choruses cut out and both Comp verses and Wayne and no Rae.

Labels: Comp, mixtape/album review, Stay Gettin'

Oh shit, Stay Getting also have a song on Purple Haze -- check track 14, "Bubble Music". More heat from the Dipset/Bmore connection! Speaking of which, on first listen I'm surprised how hot PH is. Until maybe a week ago, I'd pretty much written it off as delayed for too long and probably not worth the wait. But this has way surpassed my expectations.

Still, they don't seem to have timed this too well, considering it's been delayed like 9 months. I mean, "Girls" is barely on radio yet (and I really don't think it was the right choice for the single anyway...forget how old it is, "Killa Cam" could be a huge). I mean I'm sure it'll sell ok but it's not gonna compete well in the 4th quarter without a serious hit. Still the video does have one great moment:

random guy: Cam, you see my wifey in here wildin' out?
Cam: yo, that's not your wife, that's everybody's friend!

Labels: Stay Gettin'

JR Writer and Juelz Santana - "Get Use To This"
Crazy hyper stuttering beat by Stay Getting, the Baltimore-based production duo who've done tracks for local people like Tim Trees and Comp and are starting to get some national shine, doing beats for Kay Slay and now 2 tracks on Diplomatic Immunity 2 (this and the Cam mixtape classic "Dead Motherfuckers"). It's kind of a shame JR Writer sounds so typically Dipset (flow like Cam, voice like a cross between Juelz and Cam but higher), otherwise he might actually get props from people. On Diplomats Vol. 5 he had that ridiculous "What Up Gangsta" freestyle where he went 6 minutes with no stops, just unloading his inventory of rhymes seamlessly, Cam in the background talking and keeping time ("this might be 400 bars right here!").

Nas - "Sekou Story"/"Live Now"
Both featuring "Scarlett", which is like Nas's version of "Camille", Prince's female alter ego from the '80's that was just his voice pitched up to sing from a female perspective. Of course, Outkast do that shit all the time too, but biting Prince is pretty much what they do. For Nas to do it is kinda nutty. At first I thought it actually was a girl or a kid or something until the part where he/she says "a ho has to" in the exact same way as the "'cause I'm my owwwwn master" part in "Bridging The Gap" gave it away. Both are totally weird two-part epic songs with beat changeups. "Live Now" is a bit much for me, especially the part where Scarlett's coughing as as she raps and then at the end dies and you hear her machine flatline or whatever. That's just too much. The 2nd half of disc 1 is maybe the only part of Street's Disciple where I really lose the plot, the rest sits pretty well with me.

Ludacris - "Numba One Spot"/"Potion"
OK, it was bad enough when Jay was saying "I got my mojo back" and "oh behave" on songs after his girl did the last Austin Powers flick, but now it's like 8 million years later and Luda is sampling that Quincy Jones track they used in all those movies and talking that "yeah baby" shit (Kanye jacking the "allow myself to introduce myself" line was lame, too, but biting bad jokes from movies is pretty much what he does). I mean, the way they chopped the sample is kinda hot, and in a way it's kind of fun to hear references to catchphrases that were annoyingly unavoidable a few years ago instead of "I'm Rick James, bitch" or whatever else is played out this year. But damn, these dudes need to get some new DVDs on the tour bus. / "Potion" is one of the beats Timbaland plays for Jay in Fade To Black. It's so boring and nothing that it's not surprising he ended up settling for "Dirt Off Your Shoulder", which probably sounded hot in comparison (can you imagine what kind of wack shit Pharrell must've tried to sell Jay before he settled on "Change Clothes"?). But Luda actually kind of makes the beat work with the sheer force of his voice, pushing it around and putting some rhythm into it in the absence of any hi-hats or anything really going on in it.

Labels: Stay Gettin'