99 Problems: A Tumblr That Takes A Look At The Real Issues Jigga Has...

Jay-Z is one of my favorite musical artists in the game. He has been since the first time I heard Dead Presidents (his first official single) way back in 1996. One of the most memorable musical moments of his career has to be The Black Album, an album that many thought would be his last at the time. The 2004 album is a masterpiece, and also featured the return of long gone uber producer Rick Rubin with the track '99 Problems'. The songs hook has been used in many instances by people since 2004, but I have never seen an interpretation as fantastic as the blog 99 Problems. This tumblr features daily pictures by Ali Graham, and the pics depict a cartoon Jay-Z dealing with everyday problems. While a bitch might not be a problem Jigga has to deal with (hehehe), things like not getting the part in a movie or tying a bow tie lead to some hysterically animated pieces. There are 67 entries in the blogs roll so far, and I am not really sure is Graham plans on continuing after she reaches 99, but you can click here and check them all out and click here to buy prints. You can also check out my personal faves after the jump. Great idea for a blog, and even better execution by a very cool artists.

 

No Church In The Wild - Jay-Z & Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean

Watch The Throne was my favorite album last summer, uniting two hip hop legends like Jay-Z & Kanye to produce a pretty great record. One of the hottest tracks on the album had to be 'No Church In The Wild'. The beat is bananas, the lyrics are fantastic, and Frank Ocean's street sounding R&B sound complete a perfect track. It has such an ominous beat that it has become the "it" song for movie trailers since last summer, featuring prominently in the Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds film Safe House & the upcoming Leonardo DiCaprio version of The Great Gatsby (Huh... wtf?). So it seemed fitting for the crew to reach out to Romain Gravas, who has a knack for making music videos that may only be 4 minutes long but are like full length movies. This one is full of drama and intensity. Plus I love that they used the unedited version of the song for the video. Check it out embedded after the jump....

Adele Teams Up With The Throne For Two Awesome Songs

I haven't featured a lot of music lately here on CCD because honestly I haven't heard anything worth featuring. But over the past week I have heard not one, but TWO tracks from songstress Adele featuring both Kings of The Throne Jay-Z & Kanye West. I like both tracks, but the Jay one gets the slight edge in my book. You can hear both tracks after the jump...







Which one do you like best? Tell us in the comment section below....

Is Jay-Z Really Going To Buy Llamas For The Whole Hood???

So, I'm sure there are more then a few of you guys trying to figure out where I'm going with this post. You see, one of my favorite parts of the past presidential election was all of the rap lyrics that began to focus on the first black candidate to ever run for the presidency. Everybody from Kanye to Young Jeezy got in on the Obama name dropping, and this practice continues still as we enter year two of the "Age of Obama". But my favorite lyric by far came from Brooklyn boy Shawn Carter, also know as the one and only Jay-Z. In his freestyle over Lil Wayne's track "A Milli", Young Hov renamed the track "A Billi" and rapped about all the royalties he has accumulated over the years. But His biggest boast, even though it didn't seem so at the time, involved our president. In a declaration towards the change that would be coming under the newly appointed commander in chief, Mr. Carter dropped the following gem:

"So Brrrrrack, lick a shot, for Barack Obama, Change gon come-ah, If not, I'ma buy the whole hood llamas on me!!!"

For those of you who don't speak street, basically Jay told us to pop shots in the air to celebrate the change Barack Obama was going to bring America as president. And if for some reason Barack didn't change anything after the election, he promised to buy the whole hood guns (llamas, cause they spit bullets) to force that change. Well, its been a year, and so far not much has changed. Well, that's not totally true. Massachusetts, the most blue state in the country, just got their first republican senator in 47 years. I guess that's change, just not the kind democrats were hoping for. Good thing Mr. Hova has all that cash...

Jay's home borough of Brooklyn NY has about 3 million people residing in it, and NYC's population has swelled to over 8.5 million. That's alot of guns to provide, and even more to buy all those bullets... Good thing Jay-z is caked up. Looks like Beyonce might have to start settling for the Steve Madden Tims and Burberry for more then swimming...Lol!!! I included the youtube video of the freestyle, pay close attention at about the one minute mark.