More free music: Ill Poetic - Souled Out (feat Reef & Eternia)

Feeling giving today...so here's some more free music for y'all, once again, courtesy of the good folks in blog world who love to share this sorta shit. Props.

This joint is solid as hell. Straight up, quality underground Hip Hop from Ill Poetic, Reef The Lost Cauze and E, who all took time out from their recent tours to bang this cut out. Plus Eternia, who sets the track off right, is a close friend of Bekah and myself so anything with her name attached grabs our attention. Dope, dope shit.

Ill Poetic - Souled Out (feat Reef The Lost Cauze & Eternia)

New Eminem; New Fiddy

Aight, two of the most anticipated albums this year (as noted yesterday by Notion) are those by Eminem and 50 Cent. So, thanks to the good folks in blog world, we have links to a new track from each album, so y'all can decide for yourself whether it's finna be hot or a pile of shit.

Eminem feat. Dr. Dre and 50 Cent - Crack A Bottle

50 Cent - I Get It In (produced by Dr. Dre)

Personally, I think both tracks are pretty decent. The Em track grew on me after a number of listens...the 50 one is just straight up, classic 50. I've read that folks felt he is as hungry as he was in his debut here, but I dunno about that...hit a comment with your thoughts, folks...

Oh, and for those interested, here's the tracklisting for 50's new joint, Before I Self Destruct!:

Before I Self Destruct

01. Intro
02. Came To Win (Produced by Red Spyda)
03. Get Up (Produced by Scott Storch)
04. Need Your Hate (Produced by Dr. Dre)
05. Here For A Reason (feat. Nate Dogg) (Produced by Tha Bizness)
06. Good To Be A Gangsta (Produced by Ty Fyffe & Sha Money XL)
07. Don’t Mess With 50 (Produced by Don Cannon)
08. Trust In Me (Produced by J.R. Rotem)
09. Norman Bates Motel (feat. Eminem) (Produced by Dr. Dre)
10. Bitch I’m Sorry (Produced by Needlz)
11. All For You (Produced by Hi-Tek)
12. No Time To Lose (feat. Swizz Beatz) (Produced by The Individuals)
13. Lonely At The Top (Produced by Play-N-Skillz)
14. You Need Us (feat. Lloyd Banks & Tony Yayo) (Produced by DJ Khalil)
15. Different Path (feat. Dave Young) (Produced by Havoc)
16. I Get It In (Produced by Dr.Dre)
17. Somebody Forgive Me (Produced by Jake One)
18. My Reign (Produced by Eminem)
19. Ready For War (feat. Dr.Dre) (Produced by Dr. Dre)

Remot in K-Os Remix Competition

The homie Remot has entered yet another dope remix in the K-Os remix competition. Head to the page and vote for the dude!! He's definitely gonna be one to watch out for, folks...

Inverse - So True EP

The homies Inverse (Tunji and Toby), some of the dopest up and coming cats outta Cali, have finally dropped their debut EP, So True.

And the boys have even put the whole EP up for free download (click the front cover image to download, click the back cover image to head to 2DopeBoyz). Very generous, fellas.

Straight up, this EP is ridiculous. Quality, soulful, real Hip Hop. We were lucky enough to hang with Tunji in LA late last year, and dude was one of the nicest folks we'd met in the industry thus far. We'd never even heard their music before we met - the homie DJ Hyphen put us in touch, so we're really looking forward to getting Tunji on some Movement Fam projects in the very near future. Don't sleep.

Joints You're Gonna Look Forward To In '09......

Yo, I dont know about you guys... but this year I smell a 'lil sumn' sumn' in the air... don't you??? It has to be time for some crazy dope classic ish to come out right?? There's a certain musk, scent of dopeness in the air... a change perhaps... ya dig?

Well!! The Year 2009 has in stall a great feast of things to anticipate... After having a snoop around, I found a few things that are coming soon, and they go a 'lil somethin'..... like this!

Jay-Z offers new installment in series with Blueprint III, lookin like a double team with Kanye, pause! If Blueprint 2 is anything to go by.... saddle up yo! I cant wait! Hopefully there's no F'n auto tune in this!

Dr. Dre and his forever coming Detox. HAH! Apparently, the legend himself has said that his album will be released after Eminem and Fiddy have released thier albums. Hmmm... aiight. Believe it when I see it lol. I like ya headphones tho' Dre... hah

In other legend news, Mos Def is looking to release "The Ecstatic" due approx. February, and personally, I cant wait for that! Rhymefest is dropping a joint named "El Che", Jadakiss "The Last Kiss", 50 Cent "Before I Self Destruct", hah! There's Chamillionaire's "Venom" album to peep, Evidence and Alchemist: "Step Brothers"! What can i say... Hangin!

Wale's Debut Album is on its way! Keep ya eye on this kid!

The latest edition to the Mathers collection, Eminem is finna drop, "Relapse" due American time Spring 2009. Should be interesting, word is, he's been back in the lab workin' hard on good solid tunes, so hopefully good ol' Slim Shady can rock our socks once again. Heaps keen.

Rapper Rakim is working on his new album with protégé Avion called 'The Seventh Seal'. One for the old-school heads. Respect.

And finally, the shock of the year so far, Bow Wow states he may leave the Hip Hop game in 2009.....OH MY GOD, I'm SO upset... ANYWAY. Apart from that, it seems a good forecast at the next quarter of the year's releases. Google that ish for more details on where to cop, and click the images to hit the artists MySpace pages and enjoy!

Stay real,
Notion.

Atheist Bus Campaign in the UK

Aight, this one will probably ruffle a few feathers out there but fuck it - freedom of speech is a beautiful thing.

In the UK, a (damn hot) journalist by the name of Ariane Sherine (pictured above, with Richard Dawkins (scientist and author of 'The God Delusion') and Polly Toynbee (Guardian columnist)) has created a tongue in cheek campaign as part of the Atheist movement, as a response to the crazy religious advertising seen on buses in the UK. Some of the ads would spout stuff like 'Jesus died for your sins' and then quoting a URL. Folks would head over to their website and it would have (literally) quotes such as 'All non-Christians would burn in hell for all eternity in a lake of hell fire'. Ooooookay. Check the video for the full story, and click the image to visit the Atheist Bus Campaign's website.

As you would expect, religious groups around the world have kicked up a stink, but it's awesome. About fucking time someone did this. I actually, conveniently, finished reading 'The God Delusion' this week, just as I saw this campaign, and it's hit home just how fucked up this world is due to religion. It's not like I didn't know already, but damn, the leeway that is afforded to religion is astounding. I'm not even gonna get into it now, but check it out and hopefully it'll open a few minds.

Japanese Cartoon

Alright, so get this. Lupe Fiasco's new side project is called Japanese Cartoon, and it's an indie rock group where he sings in a British accent. Oooookay.

Surprisingly, it's dope as shit. Well, weird but funny as hell. Entertaining, perhaps.

Click the image or the link to check out an article on the band - where Lupe claims not to be part of the actual band, rather a financier - and downloads for two songs, Heirplanes and Army.

I hope he performs this stuff in his show in Melbourne later this month...

Macbook Wheel?

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Aight, this is from the Onion website, so clearly they're taking the piss. I don't even know if it's a real product or not, it seems to be, but it's funny and it'll be interesting if something like this ever takes off.

lol @ taking 45 mins to type an email.

The Movement Fam Model Feature: Ayanna G.

I have finally have been able to catch with my homegirl, Ms. Ayanna G, who is a behind the desk corporate lady by day, and by night she is a hardworking promo model that stays on the grind.

DJ Grain: Where are you from?

Ayanna: I currently reside in Atlanta , GA.

DJ Grain: How many years have you been modeling?

Ayanna: About 5 years.

DJ Grain: What are the misconceptions people commonly have about models that are untrue?

Ayanna: That models are stupid, lazy or incompetent. I’ve never really understood the reasoning behind incompetent. Sure, you may think that someone who doesn’t have a traditional job may be lazy or less than intelligent. But that doesn’t mean that they are totally incapable of having a 9 to 5.

DJ Grain: What shows, videos, magazines, etc. have you been featured in?

Ayanna: I have worked with Sophisticate’s Black Hair Magazine, various liquor brands and I was feature in an episode of the dating show “Elimidate”.

DJ Grain: What photographers have you worked with?

Ayanna: J. Knorr, Shawn Dowdell, Craig Sims, Drexina Nelson, Paul Lawson, DeWayne Hathaway, Leo Marshall, Gary McCutchins.

DJ Grain: What photographer(s) would you like to work with?

Ayanna: Derek Blanks.

DJ Grain: Can you describe the grind of a model trying to break into the industry?

Ayanna: Lots of rejection and standing in lines. Loads of photo shoots to practice, build your portfolio and network. You’ll meet some of the most interesting and fum people in this industry.

DJ Grain: Any words for the ladies out there that have aspirations of entering the modeling industry?

Ayanna: Stay positive. Know yourself and your boundaries BEFORE you get in front of the camera. Stay away from the scammers. Have fun and stay healthy.

DJ Grain Ear to the Streets Weekly Hip Hop News Wrap Up - Dec 27th 2008

What up, folks?

Here is my last 'Ear To The Streets' report for 2008 on The Edutainment Hip Hop show.

2008 was a great year and there were many ups and downs. I was able to link up with folks around the world through this music stuff. In 2009, expect many projects from The Movement Fam and several mixtapes from DJ Grain. The artists to look out for in 2009 are Drake, Mickey Factz, Che Grand, Tanya Morgan, and many, many others. This should be an interesting year. I hope everyone had a great new year and are geared up for an even greater 2009.

Peace,

DJ Grain.

PS. I jacked the dope image from Aggregate Dope's blog. Check him out. Oh and I'm taking a break for the first show back on January 3rd, but I'll be in effect the following week, folks.

Check out the audio from my report on Dec 27th 2008:

Also, Cee dropped in for a quick chat with BT, so check the audio for that too:

MIDIMarc...dope beats and shit

If I haven't said it already, Happy New Year, blog world. I can't wait for this year to kick off...a lot of exciting shit is on the cards and I just wanna see how it pans out. Hope y'all have a great year planned, too.

Anyways, I thought I'd spread the word about our homie outta South Carolina, producer extraordinaire MIDIMarc.

When we were in New York with his manager, J. Master, dude played us some of Marc's beats and we were mad impressed. And now that Marc has submitted a gang of remixes for our remix contest on Kevin Nottingham's blog (which, by the way, is technically closed but we're still taking remixes - so producers, click the link and get submitting!), we're mad excited about working with Marc more for our upcoming projects this year.

Head over to his blog, Diary of a Mad Black Beatmaker, and check out some of his work.

Notion - Don't Rush Me leak!

That's right, folks, here is the first official leak from Notion's upcoming mixtape, 'On The Corner of Notion & 9th', a project centered on Notion's raps over 9th Wonder's beats.

The homeboy Kevin Nottingham has leaked the track on his blog already, so click on the image of Notion and go get your download on!

There will be a new leak from this mixtape on the 1st of every month until the project drops, so stay tuned...

Sports Fans! NBA Widgets on MovementFam.com!

Sup yall!!

This one's for all those NBA fans out there, now instead of waiting for all of that junk to load on nba.com you will be able to keep in touch with the scores here with this Widget much quicker! Its dope. Yes, i know you agree. :)

AND also this Video Highlights Widget! Because if you see the scores... dont you wanna see how they did it?? Yup. Exactly.

Enjoy!
Notion.

DJ Grain - Last Thoughts on 2008

Right now it is already 2009 in Australia and most of the world. In the last few moments of 2008, I had to drop one last post. 2008 has been a great year for DJ Grain and Co. I started doing the "Ear to the Streets" segment on 90.3FM Knoxville, TN with my cousin Rapper BT of 2nd String.

Man early in 2008, I almost stepped away from the music because my taste in music was not the same as the masses. But I linked up with my cousin BT and the rest is history......the show is #1 in Knoxville for its time slot. You do the math.

Then I hollered at Cee of the group Cee and Bekah, and man things have started to take off - so in '09 you all better watch out. This year I also have been blessed to link up with many dope MC's from across the world which I never dreamed would happen.

The best thing that happened this year man was getting the degree and beating all the stats that say I should be dead, in prison, or on drugs. With my passion for deejaying and football burning like a volcano, 2009 is going to be the year I move closer to accomplishing my dreams.

Watch out in '09 for Tommy Gunnz - Garden State Warrior, Notion - On The Corner of Notion & 9th, Cee & Bekah - The Soul Movement Vol. 3 and many, many more releases from The Movement Fam. Y'all take care and have a safe new year.

On a final note, if somebody downs you for doing positive stuff - slap 'em.

Peace,

Grain.

The Movement Fam's Best of 2008

Alrighty...seeing as it's the last day of 2008, what better time to post a Best of 2008 list from each member of The Movement Fam and contributor to the blog than today?

Notion

Top 10 Albums of the Year
Raheem DeVaughn – Love Behind The Melody
Bliss n Eso – Flying Colours
Elzhi – The Preface
Black Milk - Tronic
Cee & Bekah - The Soul Movement Vol. 2 (Mixtape)
The Game - LAX
Pez – In My Own Mind
Nas - Untitled
Lil Wayne - The Carter 3
Drake – The Comeback Season (Mixtape)

**Special Mentions:
Rick Ross - Trilla

Top 10 Songs of the Year
Elzhi ft. Royce Da 5'9" - Motown 25
Black Milk - Long Story Short
The Game feat Lil Wayne - My Life
Little Brother - Sirens
The Roots – Rising Down ft. Mos Def & Styles P
Drake – Barry Bonds Freestyle (Comeback Season Mixtape)
Nas - Make The World Go Round ft. Chris Brown & The Game
9th Wonder & Buckshot – Man Listen (Cause Ummm)
Emilio Rojas – Young Fresh & Fly
Bliss n Eso - Zion Bash

**Special Mentions:
Robyn Thicke ft. Lil' Wayne - Tie My Hands
Busta Rhymes – Arab Money

Worst Album of the Year
C.R.A.C. Knuckles – The Piece Talks

Worst Song of the Year
T.I. – Whatever You Like

Hottest Broad of the Year
K. D. Aubert

Stupidest Thing of the Year
McCain running against Obama… No chance.. BOOM!

Sickest Blog/Website of the Year
http://www.kevinnottingham.com of course!

**Special Mentions: www.theaudacityofdope.com

Dopest Artist of the Year
Drake

Most Consistent Artist of the Year
Lil' Wayne

Most Disappointing Artist of the Year
Kanye West & his 808’s & Heartbreak

Artist to Look Out For in 2009
Drake

Dopest Beat of 2008
Long Story Short (produced by Black Milk)

Producer of the Year
Black Milk

Bekah

Top 10 Albums of the Year
The Game - LAX
Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things
Jazmine Sullivan - Fearless
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
Robin Thicke - Something Else
Nas - Untitled
Lil' Wayne - The Carter 3
Colbie Caillat - Coco
Kardinal - Not For Sale
The Presets - Apocalypso

Top 10 Songs of the Year
The Game feat Lil' Wayne - My Life
T.I. feat Rihanna - Live Your Life
Black Milk - Long Story Short
Drake - Brand New
Robin Thicke - Magic/Dreamworld
Kanye West - Welcome To Heartbreak/Heartless
Janelle Monae - Many Moons
Butterfly - Jason Mraz
Colbie Caillat - Oxygen/The Little Things
Kardinal - Due Me A Favour

*Special mentions:
Lady Gaga - Just Dance
Neyo – Closer

Worst Song of the Year
That's Not My Name - Ting Tings

Hottest Dude of the Year
Sakis Rouvas

Stupidest Thing of the Year
George Bush getting shoes thrown at him in Iraq - LOL

Sickest Blog/Website of the Year
http://www.kevinnottingham.com

Dopest Artist of the Year
Kanye

Most Consistent Artist of the Year
Lil' Wayne - LOVE him

Artist to Look Out For in 2009
Umm Hello - Cee and Bekah :)

Dopest Beat of 2008
Long Story Short (produced by Black Milk)

Producer of the Year
Kanye West - Great Album!

Infinite Archetype

Top 10 Albums of the Year
Blue Sky Black Death - Late Night Cinema
Elzhi - The Preface
Black Milk - Tronic
EMC - The Show
Murs - Murs for President
Buckshot & 9th Wonder - The Formula
Buff1 - There's Only One
Danny! - And I Love H.E.R.
DL Incognito - A Moment Captured in Time
Guilty Simpson - Ode to the Ghetto

Top 10 Songs of the Year
Black Milk - Long Story Short
EMC - EMC "What It Stand For"
Elzhi - Motown 25 (feat. Royce Da 5'9")
Buckshot and 9th Wonder - No Future
88 Keys - Handcuff 'Em
Common - Make My Day (feat. Cee-Lo)
Q-Tip - Official
Josh Martinez - Underground Pop (feat. Moka Only & Scratch Bastid)
Jedi Mind Tricks - Death Messiah
Blue Sky Black Death - The Era When We Sang

Worst Album of the Year
Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreaks (I'm sure there's worse out there this year, but if there is, I haven't heard it. Sorry Cee, we still cool right?! hah)

Worst Song of the Year
I'm not exposed to much outside of what I choose to listen to. My radio is never on and I don't watch TV. So its gotta be:
Kanye West - Welcome To Heartbreak/Heartless

Hottest Broad of the Year
Jessica Alba (and it will be next year too)

Stupidest Thing of the Year
The McCain camps pick of Sarah Palin. Dumbest move for them. But good for the Democrats.

Sickest Blog/Website of the Year
I second http://www.kevinnottingham.com cos I don't ever go on blogs and I got some free music from there. I like free music.

Dopest Artist of the Year
Elzhi (Coz no-one, and I mean no-one, can mess with his flow. Dude has it sussed.)

Most Consistent Artist of the Year
Murs (I would go on to say Most consistent Artist of the Decade. Highly Underrated.)

Most Disappointing Artist of the Year
Kanye. Sorry. And this is coming from a long-time Kanye Fanboy.

Dopest Beat of 2008
Blue Sky Black Death - The Era When We Sang. Beautiful. Just Beautiful. There isn't one better.

Producer of the Year
Blue Sky Black Death (But there's two dudes. So guess it's producers?)

Marc

Top 10 Albums of the Year
Nas - Untitled
Elzhi - The Preface
Cyne - Pretty Dark Things & Starship Utopia (technically 2 albums but released in the same year...should have been a double album!)
EMC - The Show
Devin The Dude - Landing Gear
Q-Tip - The Renaissance
Immortal Technique - The Third World
Black Milk - Tronic
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 1

Top 10 Songs of the Year
Just one!
Elzhi - Talking in My Sleep
Conceptual Dopeness!

Worst Album of the Year
Common - Universal Mind Control

Worst Song of the Year
Common - Sex 4 Suga

Hottest Broad of the Year
Emmanuelle Chriqui (From 'Entourage' and 'You Don't Mess With The Zohan')

Stupidest Thing of the Year
Eastlink

Sickest Blog/Website of the Year
http://speakerb0x.blogspot.com/

Dopest Artist of the Year
Elzhi

Most Consistent Artist of the Year
Black Milk

Most Disappointing Artist of the Year
Common.....Please leave the rap game, and your acting is shithouse!

Artist to look out for in 2009
Torae

Producer of the Year
Black Milk

Dopest Beat of 2008
All of Flying Lotus - Los Angeles

Cee

Top 10 Albums of the Year
The Game - LAX
Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things
Jazmine Sullivan - Fearless
Freddy - Mes Couleurs
Black Milk - Tronic
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
Robin Thicke - Something Else
Nas - Untitled
Lil' Wayne - The Carter 3
Colbie Caillat - CoCo

Special Mentions:
Immortal Technique - The 3rd World
The Foreign Exchange - Leave It All Behind
Jamie Lidell - Jim
Adele - 19

Top 10 Songs of the Year
The Game feat Lil' Wayne - My Life (hook of the year for sure!)
Jazmine Sullivan - One Night Stand
Jazmine Sullivan - Lions, Tigers & Bears
Black Milk - Long Story Short
Drake - Brand New
Robin Thicke - Magic
Robin Thicke - Dreamworld
Kanye West - Welcome To Heartbreak/Heartless
Janelle Monae - Many Moons
Butterfly - Jason Mraz

Worst Album of the Year
C.R.A.C. Knuckles - The Piece Talks

Worst Song of the Year
That's Not My Name - Ting Tings

Hottest Broad of the Year
Kim Kardashian

Stupidest Thing of the Year
George Bush getting shoes thrown at him in Iraq - classic!

Sickest Blog/Website of the Year
http://www.kevinnottingham.com of course!

Special mention: http://www.wydublog.com

Dopest Artist of the Year
Drake - only released a few mixtapes in '08 but they had major rotation with me.

Most Consistent Artist of the Year
Lil' Wayne

Most Disappointing Artist of the Year
Q-Tip - album was meh, was expecting a lot more

Artist to Look Out For in 2009
Janelle Monae and Emilio Rojas

Dopest Beat of 2008
Long Story Short (produced by Black Milk)

Producer of the Year
Black Milk

Clint

Top 10 Albums of the Year
Nas - Untitled
Lil' Wayne - The Carter 3
Drake – The Comeback Season (Mixtape)
The Roots – Rising Down
The Game – LAX
Notion – World Domi-NoTiOn (Mixtape)
Cee & Bekah – The Soul Movement Volume 2 (Mixtape)
Guns & Roses – Chinese Democracy
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
Xavier Rudd – Darker Shade of Blue

Top 10 Songs of the Year
Flight of the Concords – Business Time
The Game feat Chrisette Michelle – Let Us Live
Lil’ Wayne – A Milli
Nas – You Can’t Stop Us Now
Nas – Black President
MGMT – Electric Feel
Lil’ Wayne feat Robin Thicke – Tie My Hands
Lil’ Wayne – Dr. Carter
Notion – White Australian (Mixtape)
Dizzee Rascal – Dance With Me

Worst Album of the Year
Kid Rock – Rock N Roll Jesus

Worst Song of the Year
Kid Rock – All Summer Long

Hottest Broad of the Year
Alicia Keys

Stupidest Thing of the Year
Sarah Palin winking at the camera and Tina Fey getting more publicity for parodying Sarah Palin

Sickest Blog/Website of the Year
http://www.davidgorcey.com/

Dopest Artist of the Year
Lil’ Wayne

Most Consistent Artist of the Year
T.I.

Most Disappointing Artist of the Year
The Ting Tings

Artist to Look Out For in 2009
Lupe Fiasco

Dopest Beat of 2008
A Milli (produced by Mr Bangladesh)

Producer of the Year
Timbaland

Tommy Gunnz

Alright yo, here goes. First of all I'll start out by saying I didn't listen to anywhere NEAR as much music this year as I have in the past. Kinda stepped out of the critic game, but I think I was less than inspired by a lot of the music I did hear this year. A lot of the albums in my top ten probably wouldn't get near it another year.

Top 10 Albums of the Year
The Roots - Rising Down
Nas - Untitled
Pez - A Mind of My Own (probably my favourite album of the year, and probably my favourite Aussie Hip Hop release ever)
The Game - LAX (a guilty pleasure, everyone needs their junkfood music)
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
360 - What You See Is What You Get
John Legend - Evolver (not as good as I hoped, but still good enough)
Inverse - So Far: The Collection
...that's all I can think of.

Top 10 Songs of the Year
Kanye West - Heartless
Royce Da 5'9" - Shake This
Elzhi feat. Royce Da 5'9" - Motown 25
Pez - Keep On
Pez - The Way It Should Be
360 - A Subtle Way of Suicide
The Roots - Rising Down
Lil' Wayne feat. Robin Thicke - Tie My Hands
Nas - America
The Game - LAX Files (best hook of the year)

Worst Album of the Year
Can't do this one. I'm sure there was plenty of worse stuff out there than the stuff I didn't like.

Worst Song of the Year
Same again. Although I really don't like Kanye West - Robocop.

Hottest Broad of the Year
Of the year? Not sure how that works, but I'll say Jessica Alba.

Stupidest Thing of the Year
Fashion in Melbourne. Why can't I buy a decent t-shirt for less than $90? In fact, why can't I buy a decent t-shirt?

Sickest Blog/Website of the Year
www.spankwire.com/you'rewelcome

Dopest Artist of the Year/Most Consistent Artist of the Year
Pez: with the exception of "I Wanna Go" which kinda seemed like a poorer version of 60's "My Old School" he brought the heat pretty much every track, including cameos.

Most Disappointing Artist of the Year
Jay-Z: dude didn't drop an album this year, so he needs to hurry the F up. Oh, and I heard Common's record was disappointing but I haven't heard it yet.

Artist to Look Out For in 2009
Saigon

Dopest Beat of 2008
Motown 25 (produced by Black Milk)

Producer of the Year
Matik

DJ Grain

Top 10 Albums of the Year
Young Jeezy - The Recession
Ludacris - Theatre of the Mind
T.I. - Paper Trail
Johnson & Johnson - Blu+Mainframe
Kanye West - 808's and Heartbreak
Common – Universal Mind Control
Lil’ Wayne - The Carter 3
Kay and Nicolay - Time:Line
Murs - Murs for President
Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II

Top 10 Songs of the Year
Bartender - T-Pain Ft.Akon
Swagger Like Us – T.I. ft. Lill Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West
A Milli – Lil’ Wayne
Whatever You Like – T.I.
Easy - Ilwil ft. Jermiside
Overdose of Life - Drake ft. Mickey Factz and Travis of Gym Class Heroes
Lollipop – Lil’ Wayne
One More Drink - Ludacris ft. T-Pain
Fly Guys With Glasses - Donwill ft. Kay
Otherwordly - Ilyas

Worst Album of the Year
V.I.C. - Beast

Worst Song of the Year
V.I.C.- Get Silly
On a lyrical level, it’s garbage, but it’s club banger that will get folks dancing

Hottest Broad of the Year
Meagan Good

Stupidest Thing of Year
AIG executives going on retreat to an expensive resort less than a week after getting a $85 billion bailout from the government. Not to mention the $440,000 tab that they racked up, while at the same time they were laying off hundreds of people.

Sickest Blog/Website
http://www.kevinnottingham.com

Dopest Artist of Year
Kay

Most Consistent Artist
T.I.

Most Disappointing Artist
Q-Tip

Artist to Look Out for in 2009
Drake

Dopest Beat of 2008
Swagger Like Us (Produced by Kanye West)

Producer of Year
Kanye West
Honorable Mention: Nicolay

Tunes for the ages

Once in a while, certain songs come along that you can't help obsessing over. I don't mean obsessing in the 'crazy ex partner won't accept the fact that you're not together anymore' sense - it's the good kind where you hear a track and something in that song resonates within you. I mean, you play it, then start nodding your head and you feel it - I mean really feel it.

After the track finishes, you go about your day doing your thing, but then that track comes back on through your playlist and the whole world stops again for the next 3-4 mins while you're in that trance. It's happened to me a few times in my life...okay, maybe more than a few but it never really stopped to think about it. Is there something deeper about these songs? Is it just the beat, the melody or the culmination of it all that makes us go, for lack of a better word, crazy?

So here's a bunch of songs that has, for some reason, jumped out and grabbed me (in no particular order):

A Milli - Lil' Wayne
Whoop That Trick - Deejay (Terrence Howard from the Hustle & Flow soundtrack)
Juicy - The Notorious B.I.G.
Dead Wrong - The Notorious B.I.G.
Party Up - DMX

Drake- Smile ft. Voyce

More of that smooth ish from Young Money signee, Canadian artist Drake. This guy is quickly moving up my list of top MC's in the game. Look for his new mixtape coming in Jan.

New ish from The Understudies

Yes yes, our good folks The Understudies Crew, outta the East Bay, California, recently got a New Artist Spotlight on Wake Your Daughter Up! blog (shouts to Trav). These cats are some of the illest underground Hip Hop I've heard in a minute, check out the story:

The Understudies on WYDU

And while you're at it, the fellas also just started a YouTube Channel and their own UTV. Classic.

The Understudies YouTube Channel

Movement Fam Thrownback ish-Melbourne City

This is the first track that I heard from Cee & Bekah and after hearing it I was like man I need to hit these guys up. The sound was very soulful and the rappin was smooth and steady. Fast forward to the present and you have the Movement Fam, that is gearing up to do big things and show that world that when you have a young southern gentleman and an Aussie gentleman combine their minds you have something serious!!!

360, Pez and Seth Sentry live on RRR

Check this vid out. The homies 360 and Pez, along with Seth Sentry, spat a few new verses live on the Top Billin' radio show on RRR here in Melbourne recently. Stumbled on 6 Dog's blog and found the link to the vid. Nice shit, boys.