Can you beat it?

I just like this picture.

The Worlds Hardest Game. I’m sure the namesake has tried this already; if not, sorry Bubs. You can’t stop. I got to the last level last night. I’m a loser. After trying it for a while, I got really bored and distracted and closed it accidently. It might be a week or eight before I try it again.

Also, here are some bonus slaps off of the Green Eyes Million Dollar Dream mixtape of yesteryear:

The Perfect Murda – Andre Nickatina
This one’s been around. Short track from Nicky T, reminiscent of “Let’s All Get High”. Cop it if you don’t have it already.

Nino [CR3 Preview] – Andre Nickatina
Old school Nickatina is tough to beat.

Show Me the Way – Mac Dre/San Quinn/ Equipto
Nice little diddy I used to have, and rediscovered after re-downloading the album. Puts an interesting spin on The Doors’ “Albama Song (Whiskey Bar)”.

1 Day @ a Time – Mac Dre/ Harm
Sinister beat with a sinister chorus.

M.H.C.G.W. – Baldhead Rick/ Cellski
Sick beat with one of the Bay Area’s finest. And Baldhead Rick.

That’s a lot. Download the whole album if you like. Pay for it, though.

Out like Ocho Cinco (hopefully) from Cincy.

Dress Archie's Great Rap Verses (Song #5: Dre Dog- Situation Critical)

Andre Nickatina holds a special place in all of our hearts; I remember being in 8th grade or so and simply downloading any song of his I could find on Kazaa, enthralled by his catchy beats and the fact that he held a relative "underground" status and hailed from my hometown. Having 100+ of his tracks would easily make me hella cool if I ever went somewhere, like college, where I could disseminate my knowledge of King Nicky to the blind masses.

But something happened along the way; Nicky T lost his luster. As I grew older and my knowledge of rap expanded, I grew tired of his repetitive and oftentimes incomprehensible lyrics, his passion for coke, and unwavering desire to record everything with Equipto. Don't get me wrong, I'll still slap some of my all-time favorites ("Baking Soda in Minnesota", "Show Gone Wrong", "Crackin' Like Pistachios", and "Crack Raider Razor", to name a few), but most of his stuff has fallen to the wayside anytime I make a new playlist or simply feel like listening to some good music.

Recently, I returned to one of the places where it all started, I Hate You With a Passion. This album holds a special place in my heart because, for me at least, it marks (pun intended) the beginning of my friendship with the wonderful Mark Friese. I mean, not only did he burn it for me, but he made a fake cover and CD graphic on his computer and printed it out, then taped it on. That shit was official.

Anyways, before I get teary eyed, I Hate You With a Passion was Nickatina at his best; as Dre Dog. The opening line of the album, from "Muthafucka" sets the tone perfectly: "Muthafucka so I heard you like to run yo mouth/well eat this rhyme so you can taste what I'ma talk about". Dre Dog had bigger shit to rap about than Scarface and making money, and he was pissed the fuck off, too.

Nothing showed this better than his third and final verse in Situation Critical:

"My indo have an increase this week from eighth up to a half/

Ain't nothin funny motherfucka, nigga why you laugh?/

So fuck this fame and fuck these records, motherfuck these raps/

My mother's broke there ain't no hope, her son ain't got no snaps/

Its the same old song, I'm doin wrong, fool this is typical/

Fuck the fuckin world mama, situations critical."

The way he picks it up to another level in the third line proves that he's for real; but what does it for me is that he's pissed at his audience, but he's also pissed at himself. You simply don't see that kind of introspection in his later stuff, much else from alot of other rappers out there.

I know most of you have this song, but I just had to share the pleasant surprise I experienced when I remembered that this dude used to be pretty raw back in the day. It's really helped me deal with the issue that one of my childhood idols (maybe "idol" is too strong of a word) has become pretty much irrelevant in my life.

As Nicky said in this very song:

"Cuz coke is queen and money is king and niggas want the crown/

So all you niggas goin' up you fuckers comin' down."

EDIT:

Archie asked me to make him a CD/zip similar to the Winter Break CD to End All CDs. Here it is.

Not sure what order the tracks are in, but the list is:

1. Da Rockwilder - Method Man and Redman

2. Danger Zone - Big L

3. Respect- Notorious B.I.G.

4. N.Y. State of Mind - Nas

5. Brownsville - M.O.P.

6. Liquid Swords - Genius/GZA

7. School's In - J-Live

8. Gettin' It - Too Short

9. Smoke II Much - The Fixxers

10. Ten Crack Commandmants -Notorious B.I.G.

11. Hits From the Bong - Cypress Hill

12. Verbal Intercourse - Raekwon

13. Ether - Nas

14. Let's All Get Down - Mac Dre

15. Sunny Meadowz - Del tha Funkee Homosapien

Enjoy. If you don't have some of these songs and want them, I can do my best to upload your requests one-by-one. The Big L, M.O.P., J-Live, and Del all come from Oh Word's 50 Greatest Rap Songs You Need to Hear Right Now, and are all highly suggested.

Cam'ron vs....Dre Dog?

I was recently exposed (no homo) for the first time to Children of the Corn. No, not the movie (which is teh rox0rz, btw), but the rap group. The group featured a few big names: Big L, Cam'ron, and Ma$e, among others. According to Wikipedia, the group formed in the early 1990's, led by Big L. They soon disbanded due to different reasons, most notably death, but in 2003 22 of their tracks were put together to compile a "collectors edition". I highly recommend the album as a whole, but this post is about something much more specific. While jamming to its funky grooves, I found myself bouncing to a familiar beat:

Harlem Nights

Sound familiar? If it doesn't, let me pose a follow up question: are you my friend? I actually mean that, not in a mean way. Anyone who's not one of my (many) newly acquired acquaintances from college should know where this beat comes from, but if somehow you don't:

Smoke Dope and Rap - Dre Dog

Is this a sample? Or, is this a stolen beat? If the latter, who used it first? Dre Dog, a.k.a Andre Nickatina, released "Smoke Dope and Rap" in 1993 on New Jim Jones, while Children of the Corn formed sometime in the early 90's, but their first official CD wasn't released until 2003, but Big L died in 1999, and Bloodshed died in 1997, and I just fartedaaaugggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!eoneon11!eeleven!1

I feel like I'm setting myself up for a colossal embarassment here, like people who claim Ice Cube ripped "it's like a jungle sometimes..." from Andre Nickatina. Assholes.

If anyone can dig anything up about this, please let me know.

Speaking of Ice Cube, here's his new video to "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" (how's that for a fucking segway???///.slashslsahs.///??):

I can't tell if the video is overkill, or perfect. In any respect, it's good to see Ice Cube up to his old tricks.

Here's the track.

It also gives me a good line the next time I forget to take out the trash.