Well, sorta.  They did however, make an appearance on the Kimmel show last night, don’t fret.  If you missed it, we’ve got the vids right here for ya.

Also, Los Angelenos, you can catch Nas & Jr Gong this Friday, 5/23/10 at the Wiltern. For more details and to get tickets, visit here.

WORDSPIT:I was In Back of my 3rd or 4th grade class freestyling with some friends and my teacher asked me, “Did you have something to share?” I was like, “yea,” and she made me come to the front of the class, so I started spitting and my classmates cheered. Since then, I knew hiphop was something I wanted to do.

Ge Oh: Who influenced you?

WORDSPIT: My influences are Canibus, Rakim, Kanye, Pharrel and N.e.r.d, Nas, Cold Play, Lupe Fiasco, Massinesa, Wu-tang, Linkin Park, Nirvana, for real it is too many to name.

WORDSPIT: I draw inspiration from everywhere. Before, I would listen to Canibus and want to be the ILLest Mc in the universe but over time I realized I wanted more. I wanted to become a dope Mc and make great music at the same time. I started studying other artist inside and outside of hiphop. I also draw inspiration from my TV, current events, video games. Life gives me inspiration to suffice my creativity.

WORDSPIT: Yea, www.wordspitwashere.com is dope and Im very active on twitter. Not only Twitter, but all of these new social networks have helped me in so many ways. It helps me directly connect with people and that is what’s really important to me. I love being able to chat with people from different parts of the world who like my music. These new social networks play a big part in spreading in getting your name out in the market.

WORDSPIT:Yes, Joystick Madness just dropped in August. The inspiration for the video came from countless hours of video game addiction. I use to go to the laundromat ,pizza shop, arcade and spend hours. We wanted to give People the same feeling as when Xbox online wasn’t available and you had to be in the same room as your opponent. A story… lol…. while trying to spoof the Christian Bale  ”line”  situation, one of the director’s interns walked in and thought I was serious. She was scared! You could see it in her face. That was super funny.

Ge Oh: Joystick Madness is from your new CD, which comes out on Monday. What’s it called, and what is the central theme?

WORDSPIT: Joystick Madness is one of the songs off THE COOLEST BBOI STANCE, That drops Monday. THE COOLEST BBOI STANCE is my tribute to hiphop. At the same time it follows the journey of an artist as he tries to become a great MC. I want people to feel connected to this character. I want people to feel engaged by his story and be able to relate it to what they are going through. Im excited about this project.

WORDSPIT: I laid the ground work Myself. Then I linked with a lot of people who helped me, like my manager David J. Hamilton, Kartay of 3Afilms who shot my first video Not A Joke This Year. What does it take to be succesful?  The drive to reach for your goal even when people tell you no. Networking is a vital key as well, some times it’s about who you know. On top of all that just make good music.

WORDSPIT: Right now I would have to say Nas. He is an icon and I respect his work.

WORDSPIT: Don’t be afraid to get shut down. If one door closes another door will always open with a new opportunity. We The ILLEst.

Follow WORSDPIT at the following websites:

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/wordspit

Myspace: www.myspace.com/wordspit

THE COOLEST BBOI STANCE is available now on www.wordspitwashere.com

I knew that once I had confirmation of press attendance to this years’ touring hip hop circuit Rock the Bells 2009, I would be in for a day of head-bobbing, mean mugging, and enough bass to make my teeth hurt for the next week. Put simply, it was one of the best days this summer has offered me here at Behind the Hype.

Rolling up on the scene, we are greeted by the parking securities, who guide us to the front of the parking lot, just near the gates. After feeling the scene out, we acquired our press passes and had a brief chat with the one and only Shazila M., our liason that got us there in the first place.

We stepped into the press tent while The Knux was doing their thing, and getting the crowd hyped up for the afternoon’s activities. Chali 2Na (of Jurassic 5 fame) was up next after a quick set up to keep things moving. The sound quality in the hills of San Bernadino was amazing, and while the place wasn’t filled up yet, we knew we were in for a good show.

Dan Huse (master of these photos) and I walked the grounds to the Paid Dues Stage, to catch some of my favorite MC’s from the underground hip hop group, The Living Legends. Two of the members, Luckyiam.PSC and Sunspot Jonz teamed up for their side project, Mystik Journeymen. They had us laughing and bobbing our head from the start, throwing out free cds and talking about Lady Gaga’s recent he/she issue. The crew represented their crew quite well, even taking time out to smoke a blunt from a crowd member, before ending the set beautifully.

Immediately after word on the Main Stage, the hill was awash with the sounds from the subjects of my interview, Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko. I now understand how he became the highest selling indie artist in America, with a high energy, semi choreographed set with Krizz Kaliko. DJ Chill laid down some impressive tracks for the crew to get busy to, getting the bikini clad women in the front row all riled up.

I felt nostalgic later on in the day when Big Boi came out with Sleepy Brown to perform mainly Outkast songs past and present. I wish that: Andre 3000 was in attendance to  make it official, and that Big Boi performed Royal Flush from his upcoming album Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. All this however, were made up to me by the picture I snagged with the duo later on.

During the day, I spent some time talking to the security guard next to the stage; and we discussed who the secret performer of the evening would be. I was (correctly) skeptical when he told me it was going to be Jay Z, because he and Nas aren’t on speaking terms again. Silly boys. It was none other than our (second) favorite Londoner, Slick Rick.

I was shocked more than impressed really, because I thought he got kicked out of our country for his romping around with a gun in the 09’s, but ah well. I did love however, that he got us all hyped with his classic track Children’s Story before the set to the end of the night extravaganza.

Next up was one of the most talented performances I have ever seen, brought to us from the legendary Roots crew. The Roots are known for their top notch live shows, and I see why. At first they started a lovely jam session, just to get everyone’s chops up to speed, before breaking out their new single, How I Got Over from their upcoming album of the same name. After seeing them live, I had renewed vigor to stave off my hunger for that album’s October release date.

The most powerful part of the night however, was the Nas and Damien Marley collaboration. Another journalist from a certain Los Angeles web magazine (you know who you are young lady) had no faith that he would come out. Apparently, last year Nas was a no show, but I knew once I had the pleasure of meeting Mulatto (one of Nas’ live band crews), I knew it was official.

The lovely journalist and I waited patiently while our photographers snapped away during the action. We were asked by a guard if we wanted to go up on stage (or the side of it at least) to get a better look at Nas, and after the shock wore off; we obliged the man, and headed up.

There we were, ten feet from Nas while he performed If I Ruled the World. Needless to say, I felt more energy seeping off that stage that just about every concert I have ever been to. I stand proud to have shared the moment with such a talented photographer and fun-loving journalist (even if she was the competition) on that stage…even if we did get yelled at by the head of security for being up on the stage.

Dan and I took that time to say our goodbyes to the festival, and enjoy the amazing Ice Cube on the way out to the car, for the end of one hell of an engagement. This was a surreal and true honor, and I hope I’ve brought some of it here to you today.

Until next time my friends,

~Flak

P.S.- As you know, my work was not done all alone, nay. I want to give a shout out to Shazila M. and Aaron F. from MSO for making the day what it was. Without them, we wouldn’t have gotten the honor of press passes and contact information to what we needed to get done. Also, Megan at Juggernaut Sound for setting up our interview with Tech N9ne (which is coming shortly). And finally, that sultry journalist over at LA2Day for sticking it out with me all day, and getting on stage with Nas to cause some trouble.

LISTENNNN! WE THE BEST! WE GLOBAL! ME ANNOYING! Ahem, now that I’m done screaming and being obnoxious, here’s a review. Believe it or not, 3 of the 4 things I just yelled out are actual titles of albums by tonight’s reviewed artist. I’m talking about the latest album of DJ Khaled entitled: We Global. This is a positive review of course, but let me just make it clear to all the Khaled fans out there, you have to admit it’s a bit funny to see this big dude with an annoyingly high voice screaming all over his tracks. On the other hand, when he’s screaming “We the best!” it’s because he is (as far as mix tape DJs go anyhow).

So who is this DJ Khaled? Let’s chat about it for a minute. His actual name is Khaled Khaled…and honestly I don’t know how to feel about that, but I’ll move on. In his songs he is known for his shout outs for Dade County, Florida. Dade is also home to rappers Trick Daddy, Trina, and Flo Rida to name a few. Born in 1975, he’s a 33 year old Palestinian American, from Pembroke Pines. Khaled is a part of rapper Fat Joe’s Terror Squad, who releases their albums through Koch Records, the largest independent label in the United States.

Released mid September, We Global is Khaled’s third studio album, which featured the return of Akon, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Bun B, Trick Daddy, and Birdman. I don’t know how Khaled can afford to have all these guys on his releases, but apparently rappers come to him, he doesn’t seek them out. Anyhow, let’s BaRF on this album so you can get a better picture.

Beats- 10/10

Honestly, I can’t stop playing this cd, because even if for some reason you hate the schmorgisborg of rappers on this album, the beats are incredible. More familiar, are The Runners, who produced a previous Khaled mega hit I’m So Hood. The lesser known, but now more respected producers on this album are Akon, Cool & Dre, The Inkredibles, Danja, Gold Ru$h, DJ Nasty, LVM, Isaac Opus, The Diaz Brothers, DJ Montay, Gorilla Tek, and J-Rock.

Track 2, Go Hard, stands out as a good sign that the album you’re about to bump is ‘gonna hit you in tha head’. The Runners have always impressed me with their creativity and ability to jump from artist to artist and bring out the artists’ true form. The other insane track by The Runners is track 4, Go Ahead; which I hope becomes one of this winter’s club hits. It’s easy to dance to, and has the lyrics to boot. But more on that later.

Track 5, I’m On, was created by Cool & Dre, a producing team from Miami. What I loved about this track, is that you Nas fans out there will feel like the song is perfect for him, with the gothic bell introduction. The violin bridge to the chorus left me feeling like the song was trying to achieve an epic tone, with success.

When I heard the 8^th track, She’s Fine, by Danja, I felt like this was the only track that would be suitable for Missy Elliot and Sean Paul to work together on. Busta Rhymes is also on it, but I’ll admit it felt like a bit of an awkward placement.

Track 10, Fuck the Other Side, by Gold Ru$h wins my approval due to the eerie noise and voices lingering through most of the song. I wasn’t the only one to love this song apparently, as DJ Drama sampled the beat on his latest album, Dedication 3. Both DJ’s kept the flow potential of this beat intact.

Track 12, Blood Money, has a raw beat that made it perfect for Brisco (one of the new artists on Cash Money Records). Isaac Opus will become a favorite of the gangster rap production world if he keeps up this record of talent.

At the end of the day though, I have to give the crown for the beats to the 11^th track, Bullet. To be honest, I almost didn’t even listen to the track, because the random Jamaican rambling in the introduction just didn’t push my buttons. While letting the cd play all the way through, I realized that it was my type of beat. I love when beats go from a high to low scale. Also, I’m fond of the random beat dropping and returning during the duration of the track. There’s a subtle guitar doing a funky strum every change of note in the verses, so listen for that as well. Finally, I think it’s hard to find the right balance between Rap and Rasta. The last time I heard such a good mix was on Damian Marley’s album Welcome to Jamrock.

Rhymes- 9/10

Again, Khaled is showing and proving a lot better that people are looking into. For instance, he delivered the only Kanye West verse in last year that I loved. This is on the second track, Go Hard. He talks about how he knows that he’s so sick with himself because of how big of a cocky asshole he is, while giving a dynamite final 4 bars (I won’t spoil the fun, just listen to it). But he’s only speaking the brutal, gut wrenching truth that made me love Kanye in the first place. None of this 808’s and Heartbreak nonsense.

As I stated earlier, what I’m hoping is a club hit for the next while is track 4, Go Ahead. I hadn’t really heard from Fabolous since that song Breathe he did years back, but he came in with a strong opening, and gave a decent verse. The second star of the song is Lloyd with the chorus that was pure Saturday night fun:I know you see me starin girl

I see you lookin at me
You’re fine and it’s apparent girl
You feelin lucky ?streak?
Girl tell me, what’s on your mind, let me know
Girl give me the go, give me the go ahead
What’s on your mind, let me know
Girl give me the go, give me the go ahead

Track 5, I’m On, was good all around because Nas (or as Khaled says by the rappers first name Nassir) kills it with his talk about the good ol days in the ghetto. The chorus sung by Cool (one of the producers) mixed with the strings and the bass guitar made this song a favorite of mine:

Out of the shadows, into the lights
I have a power, take back it’s mine
We have a power
We are alive

Rick Ross has never really been a huge contender in my playlist, but I can’t stop listening to Track 11, Bullet. Without a doubt, this is the best I’ve heard Rick Ross. Jamaican artist Baby Cham rounded the song off perfectly, as this is a fundamentally Jamaican song. To be honest, I don’t think the lyrics are completely astounding, but the beat is so good, that the lyrics wouldn’t fit any other song as well as they did on this track

Featurettes- 7.5/10

This album features a plethora of artists who I respect, and I don’t think there’s really a better pool to work with for this type of music. But the reason my score isn’t higher because Lil Wayne was nowhere to be found on this cd. I feel that this cd would have been perfect with him somewhere on it. When I first got it, I noticed all the other Cash Money Records members on here, but Weezy was nowhere to be found.

But alas, this cd does have Nas, Flo Rida, Kanye West, Missy Elliot, and a few others who I highly respect as artists. If anything, all of them have moved up a notch from this album. Also, trying to top the featurettes of DJ Khaled’s album We the Best is no easy feat. That album had both versions of I’m So Hood and We Takin’ Over; with rappers who made that album a hit by themselves.

Frankly, DJ Khaled has the best collection of rappers that you’ll see on a mix tape, and I can’t wait for his next mash up of talent. There’s definitely a formula for success, and I can’t figure out how he did it, but I appreciate his dedication and hard work to the mix tape game.

I think that any hip hop lover needs to add DJ Khaled to their collection, if only to bump something with gratuitous amounts of bass in your neighborhood to look cool. Since I was introduced to his music, I try to keep tabs on what he and the people he’s working with are creating. If you get the chance, pick up the Best Buy exclusive version of this cd for three extra tracks. iTunes also has a version of the cd with special tracks included exclusively. I hope you’ve enjoyed another BaRFed-on cd review, and that you give this album at least a one-through.

Until next time.

~Flak