Mixtape Mondays (Saturdays) with Tim - Chi-Town Guevara Mixtape

I apologize for skipping the past week, I know y’all needed your weekly fix, but just like every college student in America, finals worked me over like an un-neutered Rottweiler on a French Poodle. But here we go with one of my favorites, Lupe Fiasco, and his Chi-Town Guevara Mixtape, with help from DJ Envy. This CD was actually a gift from Lupe’s official site if you pre-ordered Food & Liquor (Lupe’s 2006 full-length), but now I’m presenting you with this “Toy in a Cereal Box” mixtape as a must listen.

What makes “Outty 5000” my favorite hit on the mixtape is because it does what every good song does, and that is creating a flow that meshes perfectly with the beat, just like Jordan and Pippen (or Gilbert and Caron, what up Friendly). Lupe Fiasco takes the instrumentals from Nas’ “Get Down” and smoothly raps about being the “young boy from the Lambda Lambdas”. The only problem is that the song is too short; I wish he would last longer (That’s what she said…sorry, I had to).

If someone could shout out Dr. Phil in a song legitimately, it would Lupe, and he does in my second favorite song, “Switch”. “Switch” features Mike Jones’ “Still Tippin” instrumental, but that’s not the thing that makes this song a work of art. Lupe raps in a bipolar style, where one style is talking about money, cars, and the women (the rap that he despises), and then he says “Switch”, moving to a more intellectual style; the style that put him on the map. It is by far one of the most creative songs I have ever heard, props to Lupe.

There is only one problem I have with this mixtape, as well as any other mixtapes like this: The DJ needs to shut up. I don’t want to hear “DJ ENVY CHI-TOWN GUEVARA MIXTAPE” in the middle of the song, interrupting the flow. It’s like if I was at the musical “Cats” (which I would never be at) and suddenly DJ Clue comes out of now where going, “DJ CLUE! THIS SHIT IS SO HOT RIGHT NOW! CAT LITTER!” (or something ridiculous like that).

Other songs to check out: “Twilight Zone” (Nas’ Thief Theme Instumental),”Mean and Vicious”, and “Just Might be OK”.

MP3: Lupe Fiasco - “Outty 5000″
MP3: Lupe Fiasco - “Switch”

Lupe Fiasco // Official Website // Buy Chi-Town Guevara Mixtape // Buy Food & Liquor

Say “No” to drugs,
Tim

Mixtape Mondays with Tim - Da Drought 3

Upon request, I have decided to review Da Drought 3 Mixtape by Lil’ Wayne. The Cash Money rapper from New Orleans has done it again with another hot release that rivals his other solid efforts; The Greatest Rapper Alive and Dedication mixtapes. Da Drought 3 is definitely in my top five mixtapes ever and it was very hard to pick just three songs to write about, so shout out to my boy Jonah, the biggest Lil’ Weezy fan I know, for helping me pick out these three songs:

On “Upgrade U”, Lil’ Wayne justifies a hot beat originally used as a Beyonce and Jay-Z duet with his sick flow. Honestly I prefer Lil’ Weezy over Beyonce artist-wise, but for as for who is the better arm candy, that’s a whole different story. Lyrically, this is one of the hottest tracks on the mixtape.

The no-doubt summer hit, “We Takin’ Over” by DJ Khaled and others, has the electricity to get anyone going, and Weezy Baby doesn’t disappoint by coming at us with even bigger energy in his rendition, “My Daddy”. He even brings up the controversial picture of him and Baby kissing, pimp-slapping all the haters along the way.

Swizz Beats is an unreal producer. He is not an unreal rapper. Combine Lil’ Wayne’s insane lyrical flow with this hot beat and you have “Swizzy (Remix)”, a song that dwarfs the original.

MP3: Lil’ Wayne - “Upgrade U”
MP3: Lil’ Wayne - “My Daddy (We Takin’ Over Remix)”
MP3: Lil’ Wayne - “Swizzy (Remix)”

Lil’ Wayne // Official Site // Cop Da Drought 3

Peace in the Middle East,
Tim

Mixtape Mondays With Tim - Inaugural Post

Welcome to the first post of Mixtape Mondays. I’m Tim Nazanin, the newest contributor to the All Things Go family, here to talk about hip-hop mixtapes that you, the loyal reader, should know about. A little about me: I’m from Chicago (the suburbs, but we got a hard life with tax fraud and soccer moms), and I love everything about hip-hop, from the old-school style of Tribe, Wu-Tang, Biggie to Leanin’ and Rockin’ with Dem Franchise Boyz and Snappin My Fingas wit Lil Jon. I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for those songs, but I can’t help it. But enough intros, let’s get to today’s mixtape:

The mixtape that you guys should definitely hit up is Drive Slow: The Mixtape by GLC and A-Trak. GLC is Kanye West’s protégé and A-Trak is Kanye’s DJ, so you know that this mixtape is going to be hot just by these two being associated with Mr. Chi-town himself. There are two songs that headline the mixtape that you guys should take a listen to.

On “Drive Slow (A-Trak Remix)”, A-Trak takes a song that is already hot and ups the hotness by adding an epic twist with orchestral strings to accompany the original instrumentals. Then there is a little surprise in the middle during Paul Wall’s verse, as A-Trak tosses in a screwed version of Paul Wall’s “Sittin Sideways”, and then goes back to the orchestral string assemble. The only way this song could get better was if Nate Dogg came in and sang the hook…not a bad idea…I’ll bring it up when I see him at bingo night tomorrow at the community center.

Can you top the chorus (“I gotta stay fly-y-y-y-y because I’m from the CHI-I-I-I”) in “Stay Fly (From The Chi)”? GLC and A-Trak take the song that started the infamous career of Academy Award Winners Three Six Mafia and sprinkled some Chicago on it, reinventing the party song.

MP3: GLC & A-Trak - “Drive Slow (A-Trak Remix)”
MP3: GLC & A-Trak - “Stay Fly (From the Chi)”

Thanks for taking the time to read my first post. If any of you have any suggestions on how I can make it better or just want to hook me up with a mixtape to listen to and write about, just email me at tnazanin44@hotmail.com
I’m out…give it to the world, peace love and Gap.