Bumped a bit, ’cause niggas need not sleep on this one.

Great, great, great album. Top 3 of 2008 hands down.  Dropped a review of this joint on WGTJ:

The story of Adam plays out like a movie from the first track Morning Wood until we reach his untimely death on the finale Another Victim. 88 Keys tells the well crafted story of Adam, a sex hungry young cat who’s original goal of getting a certain dime into bed turns out to be more than what he bargained for. After initially wining and dining this particular female, Adam is told he’s more like “a big brother, like a best friend” than a lover and his sexual advances are rejected. Pissed and disgruntled Adam meets a new girl at a nightclub, yet after getting her to agree to go home with him he finds he’s having a hard time keeping his errr… his soldier at attention. On the Kanye West assisted track Stay Up (Viagra) & There’s Pleasure In It things begin to take a toll for the worse when Adam is unable to please his new cutty buddy after one round of sex (lol). Track seven( Awww Man (Round 2)) finds Adam arguing with the girl and thus, in the morning Adam decides to pretend as if he doesn’t know the girl in order to get her to leave at which she hilariously replies “Oh, so you’re trying to play me? You don’t know me? So you raped me?”

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Been expecting the new Sadat X for a little bit, I sure hope it’s worth the wait! A bit of additional info from www.hiphopgalaxy.com:

The self-proclaimed Dot Father himself, Derek “Sadat X” Murphy, has returned with his brand new, fifth solo collection, the appropriately titled, Generation X. The Will Tell produced project, in a one-off deal with urban indie, Affluent Records, is being introduced by the set’s hard hitting, lead offering, ’Never.’

Not having heard from X since ’06’s solid, but commercially panned, Black October, Sadat is back in fine, rare form, showing that he hasn’t missed a beat since the days of old with his group-mates, Grand Puba and Lord Jamar, of the legendary Brand Nubian collective.

Originally known as Derek X, the Brooklyn, New York, resident emcee made his national debut in 1989 with the release of the group’s premier single ’Brand Nubian’ b/w ’Feels So Good,’ followed by their critically acclaimed, first outing, One For All. The classic set spawned three additional hits ’All For One,’ ’Wake Up,’ and ’Slow Down.’ Inspired by the teachings of Islam, One For All eventually sold over 350,000 units, nearly going gold, and won the coveted 5 Mic rating in Hip-Hop magazine, The Source.

Sadat, who borrowed his moniker from former Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, eventually recorded and released his solo debut, Wild Cowboys [1996]. The stellar record contains superb production from some of the industry’s finest beat-makers ; Buckwild, Diamond D, Minnesota, Da Beatminerz, Pete Rock, Showbiz, and Dante Ross.

Three additional solo projects, and a pair of Brand Nubian efforts later, and the “X-Man” is about to unleash, possibly, his most powerful opus yet, Generation X.

With a career that spans nearly three decades, and possessing one of the genre’s most distinctive voices, veteran rapper Sadat X is definitely a much needed, breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale Hip-Hop sound-scape.

Generation X, which features appearances from Twanie Ranks and Thirstin Howl III, will be released digitally on September 30th 2008, followed by an actual in-store date November 4th 2008.

Buy the CD here.

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New Diggin’ in the Crates Crew! I personally haven’t had a chance to check their newest project; I’m sure it won’t be anywhere near the classic gems they used to drop back in the day but it’s really not fair to measure up against those. The goons over at HipHopDX with a review:

In 1992, Showbiz & A.G. released a song called “Diggin’ In The Crates” [click to read] on the Soul Clap EP. Joined by fellow Jazzy Jay protégés Diamond D [click to read] and Lord Finesse, the foursome were among the most versatile in Hip Hop, employing the ability to outdo most in the cipher, with a shared love of breakbeats and rare groove-based production. As the family tree expanded to include emcees O.C., Fat Joe [click to read] and the late Big L as well as producer Buckwild, D.I.T.C., an acronym of the song became synonymous as a link between Hip Hop’s fundamentals and its present day streets. Although individually, the group all has classics under their belt, the lone 2000 release and collection of live recordings, bootlegs and mixtapes have oft been two great singles surrounded by filler. The Movement may not be a sum of D.I.T.C.’s remaining parts, but it’s high and above the group’s previous false starts in the last decade.

Using the D.I.T.C. name alone may be questionable to purists for this release. Besides Big L, the Diamond D and Fat Joe sect is notably absent from the group. Although renaming the collective Wild Life was discussed five years ago, the banner remains as O.C. and A.G. hold down the fort. Even the controversy of the absences is addressed on “Time Travel” [click to listen]. Andre the Giant totes, “I don’t really care how small my crew get / Y’all care about who left, I care about who’s left.” Still, the autobiography of the group addresses all members past and present, in recognizing why the brothers united, and career highlights. Again, it’s the two initial namesakes that make “Energy” come alive, as A.G., a historically descriptive emcee, seems to have added a strong dose of arrogance to his influential delivery. Although this pair of singles would’ve been another acclaimed D.I.T.C. twelve-inch, it’s the reliance upon people like Ghetto Dwellas alums Party Arty and D-Flow and Money Boss Players where Diamond, Joe and L once stood that make this release blasphemous to some, if not a departure lyrically.

As he gave us a glimpse on 2005’s Street Talk before some kinks on Live Hard [click to read], Show is back in full force, behind the boards. “Boys Doin It” is a broken down Funk sample in the vein of late ‘90s “Whoa” or “Hard Knock Life” production. A loop or not, Show’s careful technique hints towards a man that made classics like KRS-One’s [click to read] “Sound Of Da Police.” Lord Finesse, whose polished production may be an even rarer commodity, drops in with “Time Travel” and “Air Y’all,” featuring an energetic Joell Ortiz [click to read], the album’s most impressive guest. As with the lyrical substitutions, over half the album comes from E Blaze and Drawzilla, with longtime affiliate Ahmed also chipping in. Again, one has to question if throughout the ‘90s rise to acclaim, D.I.T.C. would’ve tolerated any helping hands.

When Big L ripped his Hip Hop Quotable verse overtop Diamond’s stone-cold chop on 1999’s “Day One,” seven years after it started, every listener knew what D.I.T.C. was about not by telling, but by showing. Nine years later, “Time Travel” proves it’s more about telling these days. Production purists and enthusiasts for O and A’s mixture of weed, women and wisdom rhymes may appreciate, but the fire is a great deal dimmer. The Movement is hardly over and hardly week. Lyrically, the aforementioned duo provides more interesting rhymes of recent, but with a rumored collaborative LP due in 2009 in their own right, this effort seems to be another table cleared of strong material, patched together with guests and fill-ins, living in the both the shadows of what was and what could properly be.

Buy the CD here.

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I was checking out HipHopDX.com over the weekend and noticed that they were reviewing 30 albums in 30 days which I thought was a cool concept. With that in mind, I figured who else would be better to bring you these albums than the fine folks here at CheckTheRhime. I’ll post the other 9 albums they’ve reviewed throughout the day, a few of them you’ll find in our archives to begin with. Check out the review here:

If there’s one thing to be certain about Detroit native Trick Trick, he is not one to be trifled with. Known more for his run-ins with fellow rappers Trick Daddy [click to read] and Yung Berg than his rhyming, Trick Trick isn’t generally as adept on the mic as some of his Midwest peers. However, you’ll be hard-pressed to find and emcee these days with as much intensity and gritty, violent subject matter and the résumé to back it up. But does that necessarily translate into the best music? Trick Trick’s appropriately-titled The Villain aims to answer that question.

After an eerie intro, Trick Trick eases into his role as the villain on the track “Trick Trick.” With a clapping, anthemic beat, the Detroit emcee comes out guns-a-blazing, as expected. The adrenaline continues on “U Can Get Fucked Up,” but the gun talk gets a little tired by the time “Who Want It” [click to listen] rolls in. The song has a momentary reprieve in the way of an effortless flow supplied by Detroit’s most famous son, Eminem, but in the end it still falls flat.

The Villain continues to plod along with uninspired, similar-sounding production and rhymes until hitting a bit of a bright spot with the Young Buck-assisted [click to read] “Let’s Work,” which features one of Buck’s best verses in some time. The album’s stock continues to rise with “Hold On,” which provides a slinky beat by Dr. Dre. Over the good doctor’s guitar strums, Trick Trick provides more of his more lyrical offerings. The impressive guest list continues as Lil Jon and Ice Cube [click to read] each contribute on “Let It Fly.” The song is a bit of a letdown, as it seems both Jon and Cube phoned in the beat and verse, respectively; still, it’s a much-needed change-up in sound.

Trick Trick (somewhat surprisingly) rises to the challenge of keeping up with Royce Da 5’9” as he brings it back to Detroit on “All Around the World”: “It’s the same old sound/Everybody is a killer, man I’ma tell the truth/Most of ya’ll ain’t killers till yo’ ass in the booth/Take a look in the mirror and be honest with yourself/Got gwap on records off another nigga’s wealth.” This is followed by the highlight of The Villain: the absolutely incredible tribute to Run-DMC, “2getha 4 Eva,” as Trick, Esham, Kid Rock, and the late Proof nail the ’80s sound with the boom bap and record cuts.

The Villain’s main problem is quality control. Several of the tracks could’ve been easily cut out, and would not have been missed – particularly in the beginning of the album. The first four songs are essentially interchangeable, which drags the album down from the start. A stretch of solid features and production, as well as more inspired efforts from Trick Trick drag this album out of the trenches of mediocrity into a generally enjoyable album. Moments like “2gether 4 Ever” are truly brilliant, and Trick Trick proves on songs like “Crazy” that he can truly be compared with Detroit’s elite on the mic – so why allow average songs like “My City” and “A MF Pimp” tarnish a genuinely good effort? Whatever the case may be, The Villain is a solid release; however, had some of the fat been trimmed from the track list, it could have been great.

Buy the CD here.

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Was gettin ready to go to bed when I saw this drop. Real sick ol’ skool mix for the youngsters.=, check out a bit of background info for those unfamiliar with T-Love (via Yahoo):

One of many underground MCs to emerge from Los Angeles in the ’90s that wasn’t beholden to gangsta/hardcore styles of rap, T Love (real name Taura Taylor-Mendoza) was a part of the Heavyweights Crew that included members of the Pharcyde and Freestyle Fellowship among its ranks. In and out of recording studios and open mic battles, T Love landed a deal with Capitol in the mid-’90s as one half of the duo Urban Prop. The relationship didn’t yield any releases, but certainly made the rapper more savvy about the music industry. Her debut EP, Return of the B-Girl, was released on her own Pickaninny label in 1998 and featured contributions from Kool Keith, Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na, and Breakestra’s Miles Tackett.

Never sure of her chances within the music business, T Love kept a second, concurrent career as a freelance journalist, writing for several hip-hop magazines and contributing to the books It’s Not About a Salary and Girl Power. Meanwhile, her EP had met with moderate praise in the U.S. but was better received overseas, prompting a successful visit and eventual relocation to the U.K. It was here that she worked on what became her 2003 full-length debut, Long Way Back.

- Wade Kergan, All Music Guide

Tracklist after the jump. Make sure to cop this biatch here.

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