Kid Kold - U Love

What's there not to like?

From rhyming over a J. Dilla crafted instrumental(if you know this blog, you know how much we love Dilla), from mentioning the very first Aunt Viv(Fresh Prince) to mentioning Mobb Deep, to questioning the Roc-A-Fella break up, to exposing the combo for Shryuken(down, forward, up, y) and to just providing you with a smooth song and a smooth video that comes along with it.

There's a sense of humbleness that you receive from this artist and we support it. We love the sound and we love that it's local.

Free At Last And Back In The Lab: Prodigy's Return

Ever since Prodigy, Grammy Award winning rapper and member of the hip-hop duo Mobb Deep which also consists of Havoc, entered the industry, he took it by storm. Countless classic albums by Mobb Deep and Prodigy alone have solidified the Queensbridge duo as hip hop legends.

Havoc and Prodigy started rhyming in 1986, then later they both attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Havoc took the role of producer and secondary MC, while Prodigy assumed the position of primary MC. Originally dubbing themselves the Poetical Profits, the duo later changed its name to Mobb Deep in order to "reflect their reputation on the streets." To this fan, Mobb Deep is perhaps one of the greatest hard-core East Coast hip-hop groups of all times. Prodigy and Havoc are best known for their dark and hardcore delivery, gritty instrumentals and their never-ending vivid exploitation of the harsh realities in today's ghetto neighbourhoods. Below are two of my favourite Mobb Deep videos; Shook Ones Part II and Quiet Storm. Quiet Storm is probably in my top 5 videos of all time.

Mobb Deep as a group have released 9 albums: Juvenile Hell (1993), The Infamous (1995), Hell on Earth (1996), Murda Muzik (1999), Infamy (2001), Amerikaz Nightmare (2004), Blood Money (2006), The Infamous Archives (2007), The Safe Is Cracked (2009).


Recently, Prodigy served a three-year prison sentence in a midstate correctional facility. He was officially released on March 7, 2011.

Prodigy comes from a musical family—his grandfather, Budd Johnson, and his uncle Keg Johnson are remembered for their contributions to the Bebop era of jazz. In the year 2000, Prodigy took a temporary break from the group and released his first solo effort. "H.N.I.C." which stands as an acronym for "Head N**** In Charge". Prodigy enlisted a number of producers for the album, including The Alchemist, EZ Elpee, Rockwilder, Just Blaze and his Mobb Deep partner Havoc. The single "Keep It Thoro" (embedded below) received moderate video and radio rotation. A sequel, H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 was released April 22, 2008.



Since his release from prison, Prodigy has been locked up inside the studio with Havoc, close affiliate The Alchemist, a hip hop producer, DJ and rapper from Beverly Hills, California. I stumbled upon a UStream of Prodigy in the booth and the excitement became a constant build up until I saw Prodigy enter the recording booth and start reciting these rhymes that had me reminiscing the old Prodigy. A new song has been released titled, "Dog Shit" which features previous affiliate turned enemy and now friend, Nas.



It feels like it's the return of the late 90's. Keep your eyes out for new music by Mobb Deep and Prodigy.

Cormega: Born And Raised

New York is known for producing some of the greatest lyricist to ever grace the crust of a struggle-filled planet full of soul and charisma, Hip Hop. Filled with artists putting together tongue twisting figurative language, with unforgettable style and tales filled with emotion, character, heart breaks and the mind of poverty.


Havoc of Mobb Deep (left) & Cormega (Right)

Enter Cormega, a Hip Hop artist, born in Bedford-Stuyvesant but grew up in the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Long Island City, Queens. Growing up he formed childhood friendships with future artists such as future nemesis Nas, the legendary duo of Mobb Deep, Nature and duo of Capone-N-Noreaga. When he was 4, Cormega witnessed his mother being murdered. Jail sentences and other unfortunate events put a hold to his ambitions of pursuing a rapping career. Nas directed a great amount of awareness towards Cormega in his song "One Love".


Nas - One Love

A later collaboration with Nas led to the creation of the rap group, The Firm, which also consisted of Nas, AZ and Foxy Brown. Disagreements with Steve Stoute led to Cormega being ousted of the group and replaced by Nature. A fallout quickly happened and friendships were ruined. Since then Nas and Cormega have reunited and settled their difference. The Firm went to release one album titled "The Album" that revolved around mafioso rap-themes, and featured notable production work from Dr. Dre and the Trackmasters.


Nas, AZ, Cormega and Foxy Brown (The Firm) - Affirmative Action

Cormega is one of those underrated artists from the golden era who was never able to break through and capitalize like his childhood friends. He is a lyrical magician with an incredible story to tell. Born and Raised is the fifth studio album he's released. It was released on October 20, 2009, after suffering several delays; the album was originally titled Urban Legend but was changed to Born and Raised after rapper T.I. used the original title for his 2004 release. The album has been met with mostly positive reviews from both fans and critics so far.

He has recently released a cool video for one of my favourite songs on the album, Rapture. The songs features Cormega vividly painting on a canvas of experiences and attitude. A story of nothing to something.


Cormega "Rapture" from Q-Butta on Vimeo.