JAY-Z - "Evolution Of My Style"

JAY-Z opens up about how his style has evolved over the years. This video can also be found on Jay-Z's official "Decoded" iPhone application.

12 Days Of RazMas: Day 3. No Tears - Top $ Raz

We're three days into this celebration of RazMas and now we're taking a listen to track 2 on "Spilled Milk", entitled "No Tears". It's a very personal song for Top $ Raz produced by Thinker.

You know they say the good die young and I'm only twenty-one, I'm scared,
Homie hold knives, hold guns round here
I'm thinking that they killin us for fun, I swear...oh yeah, but we men...




1. For a song like "No Tears" what frame of mind do you get into to write it? What's recording a song like that feel like to you?

Recording a song like "No Tears" is scary because it's very personal. On it I talk about my brother's rebellious attitude and his father's addiction to crack. I didn't make that up, that's real ish. It's my favorite song on the album. Thinker's production on it is just crazy. Those drums spoke to me.

2. Is it true that you don't write? How do you feel about young artists that denounce writing as if it is a 'weak' thing for an emcee to do, and make attempts at free-styling everything they do, instead of really trying to put thought into their songs?

Yes it's true, I don't write. But I think it's very corny to brag about it. It's just a different way of doing things. I find it tedious to write the lyrics down, because my mind is always ahead of my fingers, and it's easy for me to retain the information in my memory. It's like writing the song in my head, it may take a whole 2 weeks before I finish a verse in my 'mind book'. A lot of these other cats get it twisted and think not writing something down is 'freestyle'. It's not, even the most famous of the non-writers, Jay-Z, will tell you it's not an off the top of the head process. Put effort in to your songs, for the most part you don't get props for saying you don't write. Most people just think you're trying to be Jay-Z when in fact many artists, like Common, Biggie(RIP), and T.I, don't write lyrics either.

Tomorrow, "12 Days Of RazMas" continues with Day 4: "Get Up Get Her"...

>Download "Spilled Milk" <
Follow Top $ Raz on Twitter www.twitter.com/topdollaraz
Follow Thinker on Twitter www.twitter.com/thinx19
Follow Twiturm http://twitter.com/twiturm <-Upload your own tunes and embed them!

Feb. 24th "A Monthly Bondfire @ The Bowery Poetry Club"!

Freehiphopnow.blogspot.com presents,

"A Monthly Bondfire @ The Bowery Poetry Club'! A Show That Begins On
Time!

Hosted by The Bronx Über Villain
Sounds by DJ Ready Cee
Photography by Techie NYC

Cover $5 after 11:30 $10 ( Free Hiphop Now Blog subscribers get in for $5 all night. Just mention you're a subscriber at the door).

Door opens at 10PM (Open Mic Sign Up at 10PM. Limited list. Be on time!)
Bondfire Mic's Open Show begins at 10:30 -11:30
Bondfire Concert Series Begins at 11:45

"Being plastered all over the cover of entertainment magazines generally has no bearing on whether or not the artists pictured, actually live up to what the articles inside them mention..."

On Tuesday Feb. 24th at the Bowery Poetry Club you will witness two entirely different artists that are very similar when it comes to their amazing talent. No seriously.

Both prolific and profound writers of intricate music, they both deliver with marksmen like accuracy and have the ability to not only move the crowd but have members of that crowd go home with a new appreciation for the art.

At 11:45 meet the 'Gif' as he unveils a condensed version of his one man show that recently had a very successful debut at the legendary BAM Opera House at BAM Cafe. He is accompanied by an awesome band that transforms powerful soul sampled production into the instrumental master pieces he narrates his compelling stores to...

At 12:30 meet Cavalier (member of Brooklyn group The Dugout). Responsible for the stellar debut album 'The Breaking' that has been called by more then a few respected sources, 'better then Nas' 'Illmatic' and Jay Z's 'Reasonable Doubt'. Cavalier is a force to be reckoned with.

Bondfire: Mic's Open Show 10:30 -11:30pm

Think MTV Unplugged, Def Poetry/Comedy Jam & SNL. During Bondfire: Mic's Open Show, open mic participants are guest of the host, 'The Bronx Über Villain'. Like medieval times where kings were entertained by the likes of jesters and musicians, performers do the same for the audience as well as , 'The Bronx Über Villain'. Each performance concludes with a mostly humorous comment from the host. The official show once edited for television and dvd will have a mix of the most outstanding open mic performances and out takes, live performances from the Bondfire: Concert Series, video interviews with various artists, comedy sketches and special ‘The Bronx Über Villain' commentary.

Bondfire: Concert Series 11:30pm-until

People aren't too enthused these days with live shows. They never seem to start on time. Artists either cancel or show up and aren't that impressive when they do. New York is a great city that has a reputation for being the starting point, and place of discovery of some of the greatest musicians to ever do it. Bondfire: Concert Series is about regaining the confidence of music lovers and creating lasting memories. Simply having a wonderful time. We're saying, 'No To Mediocrity!'.


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Guaranteed, you won’t get any mind fluff from us. That’s for sure.

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Unbelievable: The Notorious Edition

Mick Boogie and Terry Urban present... Unbelievable: The Notorious Edition.

Download here!

Alternate download link coming soon...

Tracklist...

1. Diddy Intro

2. Biggie and The Clipse: Blow

3. Biggie and Jay-Z: Brooklyn Go Hard

4. Biggie, Game, and Darien Brockington: On Top (Produced by The Kickdrums)

5. Biggie and AZ: Brooklyn

6. Biggie, Craig Mack and LL Cool J: The Flavor (produced by Frequency)

7. Biggie and Big L: Let The Games Begin

8. Biggie & Redman: Machine Gun Funk (produced by DJ Premier)

9. Diddy Interlude

10. Biggie and Fashawn: Going Back To Cali (produced by Remot)

11. Biggie and Kanye West: Kicks Open Doors

12. Biggie and Jadakiss: All Day Every Day

13. The Madd Rapper: Still Mad Interlude

14. Biggie and Lil Kim: Only One Thing

15. Biggie and Young Chris: Young G's Part 2 (Produced by Moss)

16. Diddy Interlude

17. Biggie and Jay-Z: The Commission

18. Biggie and Gravy: Ready To Die

19. Biggie and Nas: It Aint Hard To Tell

20. Biggie and Prodigy: Escape From NY
21. Biggie and Sheek: Things Change (produced by nVMe)

22. Diddy Interlude

23. Biggie and Lil Wayne: If You See Me (Produced by Garbs)

24. Biggie and Mobb Deep: Last Dayz.

25. Diddy Outro
26. Biggie, Big Daddy Kane, Ms. Jade: Set It Off

the press play show