| the single life: issue eleven |

left you single-less for a while, so here's a drop of the best of what I've come across in the last month or so (in no particular order).

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// Kanye West f. John Legend & Chris Rock - Blame Game //

 

News broke today that Rolling Stone has awarded Kanye West's upcoming fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, a rare 5-star rating. Remarkable enough as it is, this actually marks the second time Kanye has achieved the coveted perfect score from the influential magazine (the first time being Late Registration). While he has hyped the entire album as a comprehensive work of art, Yeezy fingered "Blame Game" as his favourite track off the album. Having had this on repeat for most of the night thus far, I can attest that the John Legend- and Chris Rock-assisted track just might be Fantasy's crown jewel. As blasphemous as it may be, I've removed Chris Rock's portion of the song for this post (sorry 'Ye, but I'm just not feelin' this part). If you're curious, the full version can be heard here. November 22nd, guys... the official launch of Kanye's next Grammy season.

 // Wiz Khalifa - Black and Yellow //

Though Pittsburgh isn't known as a hip-hop hotbed, Wiz Khalifa could be the key to putting the city on the map. Since the 23-year-old MC put out "Black and Yellow" in early September, he's been toasted as the man who brought the Steel City a new anthem. Steelers, Penguins and Pirates fans alike are getting up every time the track hits the speakers. It's early to say if he's starbound, but damnit this song is really catchy. Kind of makes me wish we could unify all of our sports teams under one song title too...

 

// Lloyd Banks f. Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, Ryan Leslie, Fabolous & Pusha T - Start It Up RMX //

 

HFM2 will easily be Banks' most anticipated album since 2004's original Hunger For More. Mostly due to the surprising heat he got for "Beamer, Benz or Bentley," The G-Unit teamster is taking another shot at superstardom. It helps when you have one of those stacked tracks of the year under your belt. Phenomenal amount of talent coming together on one track = one of the best rap joints of the year. Note: Pusha's verse was originally a separate freestyle, but I added it myself. There's another mix out there like it, but it has DJ tags. Thankfully, I don't yell my name over simple mixes that I make. Enjoy!

// J. Cole - Before I'm Gone //

All before J. Cole drops his first studio album, the Roc Nation rookie of the year is slated to release a highly-anticipated mixtape featuring a number of his unreleased tracks and street singles. The soulful first single, "Before I'm Gone," will surely help build his reputation as the new truth in hip-hop. By all accounts, the guy does it all. He writes, raps, produces, and even does a little singing here and there. Don't sleep on this superstar in the making.