Hip-Hop Digest 2 – 6.26.2010 [Kid Cudi, Kanye, Jay-Z, Big K.R.I.T., B.o.B., …) ]

Yeah, so it’s been a year since volume 1. Nobody said shit was organized around here.

So I just finished compiling and writing everything below and I had to ask myself why I was posting so much mediocre hip-hop when that is not even a genre I focus on here. I think that, however, is precisely the point.* I rarely post hip-hop tracks because they rarely grab me. So much of the big league hip-hop feels so lifeless. Anyway, read on, you’ll see what I mean. Or not. Anyway, here is a bunch of stuff that ranges in quality but all relates to hip-hop in some way.

For more jams or by any of these artists use the ‘tags’ links at the bottom of the post!

♫ Kid Cudi – REVOFEV / From Cudi’s forthcoming sophomore album. Par for the course, I’d say.

♫ Kanye West – Power / Kanye West has self-exiled himself to Hawaii to record his first post-immaletyoufinish material and has decided to title the disc Good Ass Job. I’m stoked he is sticking with the African influences but this is not blowing me away. I guess we’ll see which words in that album title will apply.

♫ Jay-Z – Ultra / It’s a pretty annoying radio rip with gunshots everywhere but at the same time it’s new Jay-Z so that’s something. I guess. Other people definitely know more aout this track than me.

♫ Big K.R.I.T. – Country Shit / People are creaming themselves over this Mississippi native’s new mixtape (and subsequent signing to Def Jam) and it’s definitely not bad stuff. The dude definitely sounds more fired up and hungry than the three heavyweights above combined.

♫ Uffie – ADD SUV (feat. Pharrell Williams) / Man, this is bad. Uffie’s big return to the scene feels painfully desperate. If you never knew she was on (or ever left) the scene then don’t sweat it. You haven’t missed anything.

♫ Hoodie Allen – You Are Not A Robot (feat. Marina & The Diamonds) / Hoodie Allen shooting for some indie blog love by laying his rhymes entirely over versions of Marina tracks on his debut album, The Diamond Cuts. It’s well down and a perfect reason to revisit a song that I was listening to a this time last year.

♫ Cisco Adler feat. Moses Haughton – Appollonia / Shwayze sidekick Cisco Adler continues his coattail ride with an pleasantly surprising mixtape that I actually listened to all the way through. “Appollonia” jumped out as an appropriate sample for no particular reason so just head over to his BandCamp for the whole stream/download.

♫ Hugo – 99 Problems (Jay-Z Cover) / Another cover done perfectly. I told you my boy Hugo was working it on this cover! Just don’t get the Cristal on grandpa’s wicker rocking chair!

♫ B.o.B. – Kids (‘Live Lounge’ MGMT Cover) / B.o.B. Kicks out the jams on this rollicking “Kids” cover that should definitely get a proper recording. Is anyone else hearing a little Suburban Rhythm in all this?