‘I feel like I make music for people just like myself,’ B.o.B’s right-hand man tells Mixtape Daily about his latest release. By Rob Markman, with reporting by FLX Playboy Tre Photo: MTV News
‘My life has been very much a journey,’ Vali tells Mixtape Daily of the motivation behind her debut EP, Kiss the Sky . By Rob Markman Vali Photo: MTV News
‘I spit and I spit for real, so I wanted to bring that hunger aspect to it and that feeling like I gotta be #1,’ MC says of The Hunger Game. By Rob Markman, with reporting by James Lacsina Tito Lopez Photo: Main Pick Headliner : Tito Lopez Representing : Gulfport, Mississippi Mixtape : The Hunger Game Real Spit : Tito Lopez sure is confident; then again, if you could rap tightly packed bars like the Gulfport, Mississippi, MC, you would be too. On his latest mixtape, The Hunger Game, Tito puts all of his skill and confidence on full display. “I named my mixtape The Hunger Game basically because if anybody knows me, they know I love movies,” Tito told Mixtape Daily. Lopez found a parallel in “The Hunger Games” film and the rap game where he hopes to one day be crowned a king. “If you never seen that movie these kids have to fight to the death, they’re kids and it’s really kind of messed up. They gotta fight ’till it’s one winner and I feel like that’s the competition aspect that’s missing out of rap,” he said. On “Try Me,” Tito invites all would-be detractors to the battlefield. “Feast on beats and pick my teeth, if you want some bitch come find me/ I’ll make it hard for you to stand as a man, let alone stand by me, come try me,” he spits to end his first verse. Tito is currently a rap underdog, even though his talent has earned him a deal with Capitol Records. On “Mass Appeal 2.0” he proves his worth lyrically over a re-worked Gang Starr instrumental and then rhymes over another DJ Premier beat with his “Devil’s Pie” freestyle. Both are winners. With “Jessica,” Tito shows that it isn’t all slick metaphors and battle raps, as he weaves an intricate story rhyme about a high-school crush. His current single “Mama Proud” shows even more range; it’s a heartfelt tune dedicated to his come-up in the game. After listening to tracks like “Black Ice Freestyle,” “They Told Me” and “Ventilation,” it becomes increasingly difficult to deny Tito his place in the game. “I spit and I spit for real, so I wanted to bring that hunger aspect to it and that feeling like I gotta be #1,” he said. “If I gotta knock cats out to be that, I will be that.” Joints to Check For > > “They Told Me”— “It’s like a triumphant type joint. I’ve made that just to basically let people know I’ve come along way.” > > “Jessica” — “This is one of my favorite joints period. I tell a story about a girl who she has low self-esteem, she made some bad choices, had a hard life and she don’t have no self-respect or nothin’ like that. Basically during the story, I’m trying to tell her to respect herself more, to make better choices.” Related Artists Tito Lopez
‘I spit and I spit for real, so I wanted to bring that hunger aspect to it and that feeling like I gotta be #1,’ MC says of The Hunger Game. By Rob Markman, with reporting by James Lacsina Tito Lopez Photo: Main Pick Headliner : Tito Lopez Representing : Gulfport, Mississippi Mixtape : The Hunger Game Real Spit : Tito Lopez sure is confident; then again, if you could rap tightly packed bars like the Gulfport, Mississippi, MC, you would be too. On his latest mixtape, The Hunger Game, Tito puts all of his skill and confidence on full display. “I named my mixtape The Hunger Game basically because if anybody knows me, they know I love movies,” Tito told Mixtape Daily. Lopez found a parallel in “The Hunger Games” film and the rap game where he hopes to one day be crowned a king. “If you never seen that movie these kids have to fight to the death, they’re kids and it’s really kind of messed up. They gotta fight ’till it’s one winner and I feel like that’s the competition aspect that’s missing out of rap,” he said. On “Try Me,” Tito invites all would-be detractors to the battlefield. “Feast on beats and pick my teeth, if you want some bitch come find me/ I’ll make it hard for you to stand as a man, let alone stand by me, come try me,” he spits to end his first verse. Tito is currently a rap underdog, even though his talent has earned him a deal with Capitol Records. On “Mass Appeal 2.0” he proves his worth lyrically over a re-worked Gang Starr instrumental and then rhymes over another DJ Premier beat with his “Devil’s Pie” freestyle. Both are winners. With “Jessica,” Tito shows that it isn’t all slick metaphors and battle raps, as he weaves an intricate story rhyme about a high-school crush. His current single “Mama Proud” shows even more range; it’s a heartfelt tune dedicated to his come-up in the game. After listening to tracks like “Black Ice Freestyle,” “They Told Me” and “Ventilation,” it becomes increasingly difficult to deny Tito his place in the game. “I spit and I spit for real, so I wanted to bring that hunger aspect to it and that feeling like I gotta be #1,” he said. “If I gotta knock cats out to be that, I will be that.” Joints to Check For > > “They Told Me”— “It’s like a triumphant type joint. I’ve made that just to basically let people know I’ve come along way.” > > “Jessica” — “This is one of my favorite joints period. I tell a story about a girl who she has low self-esteem, she made some bad choices, had a hard life and she don’t have no self-respect or nothin’ like that. Basically during the story, I’m trying to tell her to respect herself more, to make better choices.” Related Artists Tito Lopez
‘Wiz is a positive dude,’ SGP tells Mixtape Daily, denying any beef in wake of his Taylor Gang dis track. By Rob Markman SpaceGhostPurrp Photo: Behind the Beats: SpaceGhostPurrp SpaceGhostPurrp may currently be at odds with A$AP Rocky, but the Miami rapper/producer doesn’t exactly come off as a troublemaker. Many thought that SpaceGhost and Wiz Khalifa had a problem after Purrp released a track called “F— Taylor Gang,” but together they proved a little conversation can go a long way. “Me and Wiz, we definitely cool, and the song that I made last year about the Taylor Gang thing, it was basically about me saying F the neighborhood,” SGP told Mixtape Daily during a May interview. Khalifa’s reach is wide, and his passionate Taylor Gang fanbase doesn’t just reside in Wiz’s native Pittsburgh. “It’s a neighborhood where there were a bunch of kids reppin’ Taylor Gang and they were disrespecting my Raider Klan, so we had a feud back then, so I made that towards them,” SpaceGhost said of the dis track that he aimed at the unaffiliated Taylors. After hearing A$AP Rocky’s “Pretty Flacko,” a track that Purrp produced, Wiz reached out to the rising rap talent. “I love that beat. I’m like, ‘Man, that beat is hard as hell,’ ” Wiz said when he appeared on “RapFix Live” back in April. “After that he sent me that crazy beat, and me and Juicy [J] went in.” The two were quickly able to hash out any misunderstandings and get to work. The beat that SpaceGhost sent would eventually become “T.A.P.,” one of Khalifa’s favorite songs from his Taylor Allderdice mixtape . “Wiz is a positive dude — the Taylors that was down in Miami, they were ruthless,” Purrp said. “I just wanted him to know that song wasn’t directed to him; it was for the negative people who support his movement in my neighborhood.” Purrp is looking to keep the positive vibes rolling. He recently released his independent debut album, Mysterious Phonk: The Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp, a collection of his best mixtape tracks over the past year. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Artists Wiz Khalifa Spaceghostpurrp
Rapper talks to Mixtape Daily about Sex, Drugs & Video Games ; LP out now as free download. By Rob Markman David Banner Photo: MTV News Don’t Sleep: Necessary Notables Album : David Banner’s Sex, Drugs & Video Games Key Cameo : “Amazing” (featuring Chris Brown) Essential Info : David Banner knows a thing or two about making hit records, and he promises that his latest album, Sex, Drugs & Video Games, will feature some pretty over-the-top music and some pretty notable guests as well. Chris Brown , Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg will all appear on the LP, which Banner is offering as a free online download on DatPiff.com . Sex, Drugs & Video Games, which dropped on Tuesday (May 22), is technically a free album, but Banner is accepting donations on his DavidBanner.com website to help artists exist outside of big corporations. “What I am trying to do is make the two most important parts of the musical equation … important again: That’s the artist and that’s the fans,” Banner told MTV News back in March of what he dubs the 2M1 Movement. “Corporate entities have made the artists and the fans feel like they’re not important, where without them, it all would fall.” Banner’s goals are progressive, and a good number of his LP’s collaborators operate and are successful within the major-label system. In theory DB’s distribution method could be a conflict of interest for some, but because of Banner’s relationships with the artists he works with, he doesn’t foresee any issues. “I don’t necessarily involve people in my politics. I would tell Chris all the time, Dude, I don’t necessarily want you to be connected with the things that I believe in, because I know there is a certain sacrifice with the things that I believe,” he said. “Only thing I tell people is the record is hot and it’s my album. … Whether I connect these songs to a movement or not, it doesn’t matter because if you strip the movement off of my album, it’s jammin’.” “Amazing,” Banner’s current club banger, features Chris Brown on the hook. Though the Mississippi rapper/producer is sending a message with this album, the song is just about having a good time. “Everybody that’s around me, that supports me, they know what I stand for, and then I think vicariously through me they’re actually able to express some of things that they may not want to express in their own career,” he said. What’s your favorite track off of David Banner’s new album? Let us know in the comments. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Artists David Banner Chris Brown Lil Wayne
Louie responds to ‘Ye’s shout-out on G.O.O.D. Music’s ‘I Don’t Like’ remix: ‘It was crazy,’ Chicago MC tells Mixtape Daily . By Rob Markman, with reporting by Vanessa White Wolf King Louie Photo: MTV News Fire Starter: King Louie It isn’t just a Chicago thing anymore — just ask King Louie. There was a time when 24-year-old Louis Johnson was just making music for fans within his native city’s borders, but in the past year, the Eastside Chi-town MC has seen his name spread like wildfire. A well-timed Kanye West plug only fanned the flames. “I was coming from the dentist, he had gave me all those meds, so I was kinda out of whack,” Louie told Mixtape Daily of when he first heard Yeezy name-check him on the G.O.O.D. Music remix to Chief Keef’s underground riot starter “I Don’t Like.” “Shout-out to L.E.P., J Boogie, right?/ Chief Keef, King Louie, this is Chi, right?” ‘Ye spits on the souped-up remix, which hit the Web last week on May 1. “It was crazy, because you don’t think them type of guys on that level hear your music just coming from the hood,” Louie said of his surprise during an L.A. interview three days after the song dropped. Though Louie plays humble, it has been increasingly difficult to ignore his musical output. His 2011 track “Too Cool” has been consistently buzzing thanks to its infectious hook and polished music video. It also doesn’t hurt that he joined forces with Kanye’s former manager John Monopoly about eight months ago. Now, Louie is signed to independent label Lawless Inc. and continues to pump out street-inspired, hard-hitting, dope-boy music. His latest mixtape, Motion Picture, serves as an appetizer for his upcoming album, Dope & Shrimp . Lou was about 16 years old when he first started hitting the recording studio. He started taking rap seriously after he got kicked out of high school. Now KL is part of a budding Chicago music scene that includes Chief Keef, Rockie Fresh, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, YP and Def Jam’s latest signees Lil’ Durk and Lil’ Reese . “The music scene is crazy. It’s younger and energetic. … It’s fun again,” Louie said of his city’s new crop of spitters. King Louie is particularly proud that he has had a hand in influencing a lot of Chi’s new talent: He and 16-year-old Keef are frequent collaborators. “Makes me feel like I did something right for my peers,” he said. Now that rap’s spotlight is shining on him and his team, King Louie doesn’t plan to let up his verbal assault any time soon. Next up is Dope & Shrimp, a title Louie said he chose because all he does is “smoke dope and eat shrimp.” “It’s more mature; you can tell that I’m growing,” he explained. “You can hear the growth and development in my craft. Sounds like a better Louie.” For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Artists Kanye West
The Vernon Parish, Louisiana, MC didn’t have Lil Wayne or Boosie connections, so he made his own way. By Rob Markman Joe Cool Photo: MTV News Fire Starter: Joe Cool There weren’t any local rap heroes for Vernon Parish, Louisiana, MC Joe Cool to pattern himself after, but that didn’t deter the 23-year-old upstart. He was too far from New Orleans to have any Cash Money connection, and hip-hop hot spot Baton Rouge wasn’t exactly nearby, so Joe just looked to his close buddies for support. And now it is all starting to pay off. “I started rapping when I was like 15. All my friends rapped — I was just chillin’ in the background. I used to make funny songs and stuff,” Joe told Mixtape Daily during a February interview. It was those “funny” little songs that then turned into hooks for more-developed local rappers. But at the urging of a friend, Mr. Cool decided to take his craft a bit more seriously. “I just kept going, and by the time I hit high school, I was like, this is something I want to pursue,” he said. Joey dropped his first project, Mixtape for No F—in’ Reason, in March 2011 and then followed up with his most recent, Cooley Hi, at the top of this year. The majority of the tape is self-produced, a skill that JC picked up by necessity at a young age. “By the time I hit 16, I really couldn’t find all of the beats that I wanted to go over, so I just started trying to make my own beats,” he explained. The rap rookie is still climbing up the hip-hop ranks — he performed a few sets at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, last month — but he still has a way to go. On “Fame,” one of the tracks off of Cooley Hi, the Young MC ponders the money and recognition that awaits him. It’s not that he is trying to be a prima donna, he just believes in himself that much. ” ‘Fame’ was pretty much me feeling like I just know I’m supposed to be here. It’s waiting for me,” he said. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines .
‘I wanted to pick a wild name,’ N.O.R.E. tells Mixtape Daily of his new Crack on Steroids tape. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Adam Murphy N.O.R.E. Photo: MTV News Main Pick Headliners : N.O.R.E. and DJ Green Lantern Representing : Queens, New York Mixtape : Crack on Steroids Real Spit : The Super Thug is back at it again. Almost a year after dropping his N.O.R.E.aster EP, Noreaga returns with the drug-induced Crack on Steroids. “I wanted to pick a wild name so when people look at it, they’ll say, ‘What the hell is that?’ ” N.O.R.E. told Mixtape Daily about his latest release. Picking up where he left off last year with his street single “Nore Shot Somebody,” the C-N-N rapper keeps things “Grimey” on the tape-opening “Kenny Powers.” It’s not exactly an ode to the popular HBO comedy ; instead, N.O. uses Danny McBride’s fictional character as a thinly veiled reference to his distinct brand of cocaine. While partner-in-rhyme Capone was locked up in the late 1990s, N.O.R.E. proved he could hold things down as a soloist, crafting a number of hits like “Super Thug” and “Grimey.” On C.O.S., however, the Queens, New York, MC invites a number of his rap friends to the party. RZA shows up for “Hare Krishna” and Game, Busta Rhymes and Waka Flocka Flame pitch in on the Chris Brown-sampling “Lehhhgooo.” On the latter, producer Charli Brown flips Breezy’s opening ad lib from “Look at Me Now” and turns it into a catchy chorus. Wale also jumps on “Get Her” and will.i.am channels Slick Rick on “We Ain’t,” then Nore’s latest signee, Glacierz, proves she can hang with the fellas and delivers a standout verse on “War Song.” For all his guest spots, though, N.O.R.E. maintains his vibe throughout the tape — not that we expected anything less. Joints to Check For
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