Twissa Twis

Twista can be real nice. His latest Category F5 album is one of those times when he is. The music is good, and I'm interested to see the kind of numbers this release will do. It was independent and I thought the marketing was done well. Twista got real tight with the most popular Chicago hip-hop blog and reaped the benefits with tons of relevant exposure. Furthermore, I think they designed the album to encourage single-track download sales, accomplishing this through a number of diverse and well-executed high-profile features. Fan of Kellz? Then you gotta have that "Yellow Light" track. Kanye nut? Then that"Alright" joint is a must. Gucci and OJ devotee? "Walking On Ice" bangs. Oh yeah, and there's that sweet Akon cut. Twista basically just packed an album together with songs he thought would be hits. Nice work.

If you got the official release, make sure to download this stunner with fellow fast-spitter Tech N9ne that leaked last week. It didn't make the album due to sample-clearance issues. The sample is a Jesus Christ Superstar song. The song is fantastic.

Twista - Problems (Feat. Tech N9ne)

It's A Fiasco

So Lupe seems to finally be doing what I always hoped he would--switch up his delivery a little. I always believed that the West Side native had the imagery and lyrical talent to do big things, and his overall musical sound and beat selection were on point. It was just that he kinda sounded the same on most of his songs. He sounded too much like he was reading. Yeah, he's fast, but it wasn't really an interesting fast--more of a drone. This 1st drop from his next full-length, though, this is the business. Plus he's dressing like a full-blown hipster now, which is an infinitely better look than his previous coach potato vibe.

Lupe Fiasco - Shining Down (Feat. Matthew Santos) - (No more link, folks. Lupe wants people to drop .99 on this one.)

No comment on the autotune. Or Matthew Santos, for that matter.

This song just came on in my itunes after. Considering the Young Jeezy post below, I thought I'd add it. This verse really illustrates Jeezy's improvement. Young Buck's is my favorite, though.