Hip Hop Herald 03.06.13: Will Smith Song Panic, New Wu-Tang Album, Lil Wayne Tracklist, More
Posted by Bill Wannop on 03.06.2013
News and thoughts on Lil Wayne revealing the tracklist for his new LP, Will Smith's lyrics causing a panic at a school, Method Man discussing the possibility of a new Wu-Tang album, 50 Cent going back and forth on a new G-Unit album and more!
Welcome one and all to the Hip Hop Herald. The column will deal with anything related to hip hop whether it be underground, mainstream, or the new-age pop infused rap (you know the stuff Timberlake and Timbaland make). We will cover news, opinions, release dates as well as feature some music and of course videos.
Be for we start, be sure to check out some of our exclusive interviews as well as follow me on Twitter.
Music Intro
We start this week off with the Music Intro courtesy of Ill Bill and DJ Premier. Bill just dropped his new album The Grimy Awards last week, and the album is full of pure underground hip hop. This is the last track off the album and is a salute to DJ Premier. Check it out:
News Will Smith Music Causes Lockdown of School
In what is a bizarre story it seems as though lyrics from the famous Will Smith theme song, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" has caused the shutdown of school in Beaver County Pennsylvania.
The shutdown occurred after a receptionist called the students phone and heard the voice mail which had the line, "shooting some b-ball outside of the school," which she mistook for "shooting some people outside of the school." The receptionist quickly called police and the schools entered lock down procedures before the student was apprehended and placed in custody. In custody the entire situation was straightened out and the student was released.
Ambridge Area Superintendent Erv Weischedel gave a positive spin on the situation, reports TimesOnline.com. "It gave us a wonderful chance to review our emergency procedures," he said. "It was a good drill that went very, very well."
All I can say is that the situation got out of control really quickly. While I am all for ensuring the safety of children, there is a point at which overreaction can be a negative and this is one of those cases.
Method Man Confirms Wu-Tang Reunion Album
There is finally some confirmation to the long standing rumor that the Wu-Tang Clan will release a new album to commemorate their 20th anniversary. Method Man confirmed the news during a birthday performance where he announced on stage :
"This year will be [the Wu-Tang Clan's] twentieth anniversary," said Meth to a raucous crowd. "How many brothas kept a job for twenty years? The same job. That's the shit. We owe that shit to each and every fan that ever supported our music, and that's real talk."
Mef confirmed that a project would accompany the anniversary. "On that note, man, we got an anniversary coming up. The Wu-Tang anniversary album coming up, we working on that now. Some nice treats on there."
This is great news for Wu-Tang fans, who had started to worry that due to dysfunction in the group that a new release would never come. We now have confirmation that the group is working on an album, so now the only worry is whether they can all work together long enough to finish the album. It is always difficult when you get a lot of big egos in one room. Too many chefs in the kitchen can pull the project in too many directions and result in a bad album. Hopefully that doesn't happen.
50 Cent Bipolar?
It seems like 50 Cent changes his mind depending on what day of the week it is, as he talked about a potential G-Unit reunion again this week. This comes after months of back and forth from 50 as to whether the group would ever record again. First he stated that it was unlikely, then that it would never happen, now he went on record as saying that it is a possibility to get the group back together:
"The original G-Unit, maybe. We might do something. I'll be honest with you. Some of these new artists on the label I don't think are working as hard as they could," 50 admitted. "I don't know how hard they want to work or how much they want it. I could see the original coming back together though."
Fif also spoke about his next album, Street King Immortal, and revealed that a tour was in the works. "'We Up' likely will be on my next CD. I'm going to hit the tour after that. Music is the reason I've been able to be a part of this brand extension. I turned down some film projects to open time to hit the road. It's like hitting the restart button."
Man 50 needs to get an opinion and stick to it, as this makes it seem like he is bi-polar or two faced, as he changes his tune depending on who he is talking to. This could be part of the reason why his albums are always delayed for months (potentially years). The problem with this whole story is that I don't think many people really care if G-Unit releases another album or not. They are not anywhere near the caliber of Wu-Tang, and I don't hear many people heralding Beg For Mercy as a classic.
Release Dates & Album Updates
This week we got some news from Lil Wayne regarding his upcoming album I Am Not a Human Being II which will be released on March 26, in the form of an album tracklisting:
1. IANAHB
2. Curtains featuring Boo
3. Days and Days featuring 2 Chainz
4. Gunwalk featuring Gudda Gudda
5. No Worries featuring Detail
6. Back to You
7. Trigger Finger featuring Soulja Boy
8. Beat the Shit featuring Gunplay
9. Rich As Fuck featuring 2 Chainz
10. Trippy featuring Juicy J
11. Bitches Love Me featuring Drake & Future
12. Romance
13. God Bless Amerika
14. My Homies Still featuring Big Sean
15. Lay You Down featuring Nicki Minaj
There are no real surprises from the album which is somewhat disappointing, as I would like to see Lil Wayne expand his horizons a little on these releases. Looking at the tracklising, some of these songs are old, likely due to the constant delays, and I will be curious to see how well the album sells. That will be a good indication to determine whether people are starting to tire or getting fed up with Lil Wayne and his antics.
Snoop Lion also has released a list of features for his upcoming album, Reincarnated which is slated to be released on April 23rd.
The project will feature guest appearances from a crew of artists including Drake, Busta Rhymes, Chris Brown, T.I., Akon, Rita Ora, Angela Hunte, Popcaan, Mavado and more. The LP has already spawned the single "La, La, La" and will feature a guest appearance from Snoop's daughter Cori B on the follow up single "No Guns Allowed."
"We were searching for true reggae music and the message of peace and hope it reflects," said Snoop in a press release. "It's so much a part of who I am, and this record is all about paying homage and giving respect to those who created and love reggae music, and hopefully introducing it to a whole new audience. I feel truly honored to make this album and respect to all who blazed the path for me."
Unlike Lil Wayne, Snoop may have pushed his boundaries too far, but it is good to see an artist try new things.
As always the rest of the dates can be seen below:
March 5
Demigodz Killmatic [January 2013]
March 19
Swollen Members - Beautiful Death Machine
Justin Timbelake 20/20 Experience
March 26
E-40 - The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 4, 5 & 6
Lil Wayne - I Am Not a Human Being II
CES Cru - Constant Energy Struggles
Papoose - The Nacirema Dream
April 2
Tyler The Creator - Wolf
April 9
Tyga Hotel California
April 16
Illogic & Blockhead - Capture The Sun
Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge - Twelve Reasons To Die
April 20
Styles P & Scram Jones - Float
April 23
Talib Kweli - Prisoner Of Consciousness
Kid CuDi - indicud
April 30
Chrisette Michele - Better
LL Cool J - Authentic
R.A. The Rugged Man - Legends Never Die
May 21
YMCMB - Rich Gang: Flashy Lifestyle
Delayed
50 Cent Street King Immortal
Other Recent Announcements
Nate Dogg: It's A Wonderful Life [2013]
Cee Lo Everybody's Brother [2013]
Goodie Mob Age Against the Machine [2013]
Kool G Rap & Necro The Godfathers [2013]
Eminem TBA [Memorial Day 2013]
Lupe Fiasco - Tetsuo & Youth [2013]
