By William E. Ketchum III & Legend

88-Keys - Adam’s Case Files [click to listen]

Adam's Case Files is the long-awaited mixtape prequel to The Death of Adam, 88-Keys' [click to read] debut album that investigates the life and untimely demise of fictional character Adam and the power of the "The letter P." Kanye West was so wow'd by the album that he hopped on to be its executive producer, and after hearing Case Files, it's easy to see why. 88-Keys instrumentals are genre-bending and experimental, and the artists he enlists—Grafh, Tanya Morgan, and others—all stay on task. Even more gratifying is the way that Keys' samples tell the stories just as much as the emcees/vocalists do themselves, which adds to replay value. When the samples and the lyricists mesh, it's audible perfection: check Guilty Simpson [click to read] telling off wifey while the sample wails back that he's "Just LIKE A Man," and Kid Cudi complain about a new jumpoff being a bugaboo on "Wasting My Minutes" as the sample echoes his sentiments. And on songs like "Young Dumb & Full Of…" and "True Feelings," 88’ proves himself as a capable emcee as well. Adam may be dead, but good music lives on.

Nas - The Nigger Tape (DJ Green Lantern) [click to listen]

When was the last official Nas mixtape we’ve heard in the past year or two? I can’t recall. That mere fact, makes us expect this less. The official jumpoff tape before the album drops next month comes firing like the cops Nas speaks of on the third track ("Cops Keep Firing"). From top to bottom, there is not one track to skip over, not even the skits. "Black President" and "Association" just speak that real ish. On "N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and The Master)" and "Ghetto" featuring Joell Ortiz [click to read], he drops that knowledge while Joell Ortiz goes in brutally. Round that up with one of the best singles ("Hero") Nas has put out since “If I Ruled The World”, an unreleased track ("Surviving the Times"), a couple remixes and a timeline mix of every major song in his catalogue and this holds to be one of the best mixtapes of the year. The funny thing is they might have only used only three tracks from the actual album, so all this material is still new to your avid Nas fan who should be left drooling after one spin of this Green Lantern tape.

50 Cent - Sincerely Yours, Southside (DJ Whoo Kid) [click to listen]

Looks like Curtis is going hard this year. This is a quick change of pace considering he’s been coming more street than I can remember since Get Rich Or Die Trying [click to read]. This time he decides to jump on some '70s and '80s classics. "I’m Rising To The Top" is smooth like Luther Vandross serenading his lady. "My Heart" samples Taana Gardner's “Heartbeat” on point so much that a young’n might mistake this for the original. "This Is for You" takes it back to the good times where music was more fun than business. Artistry is so often compromised nowadays for mere pennies, and you can’t knock 50 Cent [click to read] for being so creative. I’m sure there will be people who take this blueprint and apply it to their own product in the near future. Lyrically, Curtis isn’t shocking us, and listening to classics you haven’t heard in some years definitely boosts the strength of the material (not to mention the crossover promotion), but one thing to take note is that Puff Daddy mastered this in the '90s. Even though 50 Cent’s creativity is definitely shown on here, it’s not something that hasn’t been done before. The problem is, most of the new generation wasn’t here to hear it, so to them this is still “new” and “innovative” and 50 is a genius for pulling it off with such precision.

LL Cool J - The Return of the G.O.A.T. (DJ Kay Slay) [click to listen]

LL Cool J’s a legend: I get it. His longevity is essentially unparalleled in rap: I respect that. Hip Hop should follow the lead of other genres, and do a better job of showing respect to its veterans: I agree. But with all of that being said, this new mixtape with Kay Slay isn’t much to write write home about. LL sleepwalks over both newer tracks and legendary instrumentals, making the former songs look like contrived attempts to keep up with the young’ns, and the latter tracks looking like desperate grasps to past glory. From scattered flashes of brilliance over the past few years, we know that LL still has the lyrics and delivery to make strong records; but he seems to be too content with his legacy to spit hungry verses. Return improves substantially in its second half, with tracks like the Lil Mo-featured, trademark Ladies Love Cool James track “I Cry” and the street soul of “New York Gangstaz.” But the high moments on this mixtape, aside from the aforementioned joints and seeing him hold his own in the star-studded “5 Boroughs (Unreleased Version),” are the previously released “The Truth” and freestyles by Sheek Louch [click to read] and Grafh over classic LL tracks. His capabilities are still intact—let’s just hope that he has the work ethic to make this next album worthwhile. Continued on page 2 »