If there is one thing to be said about the current era of rap music, it’s that artists are more willing to collaborate than ever before. There was a time when rap crews stayed to themselves and never crossed family lines to work with other camps. Back then, if you were Ruff Ryder, you only rocked with the double-R, and if you were Wu-Tang, you only broke bread with your Shaolin army. It’s all different now. DJ Khaled can do a remix have damn near everyone that’s buzzing in every region of the country dropping a verse and showing major love for a common cause. It’s in that spirit of connecting forces that we present to you a new project from two legends in the game: the Bootcamp Duo of Tek and General Steele (a.k.a. Smif N’ Wessun) and iconic Mt. Vernon producer Pete Rock. The individual stats of these two entities are too long to list, but together, their soon-to-be-released project is nothing short of its namesake. ChinaShop caught up with General Steele to get the raw information about Monumental, his colossal new endeavor.
Tag Archives: Wu Tang
Music Friday’s Fantastic Music Magic!
What’s a perfect remedy to a less than stellar start to a morning when one is woken up at 5am to a ludicrously loud garbage truck that beeps incessantly for (no joke) 30 minutes? Discovering the full album stream for Kings of Leon’s Come Around Sundown a full week before it’s release! I have been looking forward to this for months and totes did a little (okay major) happy dance upon said discovery.
As a whole, the album doesn’t sound all that different from Only By The Night, but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest as I loved OBTN. It really frustrates me when people complain how their new stuff sounds so different from albums past and they refuse to like it purely on that basis alone. It’s a good thing that it sounds different. Their first EP, Holly Roller Novocaine came out in 2003, and frankly, if their sound hadn’t grown and changed, they wouldn’t be as successful and people would be complaining that every song sounded the same, and to be honest, their music hasn’t changed that dramatically – which is one of the great things about KoL, in my opinion – they continue to grow and try new things, yet are still able to maintain a distinctive sound.
Daily Dots Daily Dots: Madlib, Method Man, Metallica, Michael Jackson and More
- Madlib goes to Africa. Play
- Def Jam wouldn’t let Method Man record Wu-Massacre on “hip-hop time.” HipHopDX
- Amy Winehouse to design line of Fred Perry crack stained wife-beaters. Billboard
- Buy Michael Jackson’s (RIP) sunglasses given to living Corey. Julien’s Auction
- James Brown’s body has been snatched!!! New York Post
- 160 arrested at Metallica concert riot. Spin
Music DOOM – Super Hero Lyricism
As mainstream rappers continue to spew couplets about how much swag they’ve accrued and how many shiny gems they can fit into their Franck Muller watches, the reclusive and prolific Doom has gone ahead and dropped the best hip-hop album this year – the aptly titled Born Like This. The new LP is a masterpiece any way you look at it; from the selection of exceptional producers (J Dilla, Jake One, Thom Yorke) to the sharp collection of wordsmiths assembled (Wu-Tang’s Raekwon and Ghostface, Freddie Foxxx, Kurious Jorge). But above all, it’s the Metal-Faced Villain’s amazing, choppy delivery, Ginsu-sharp diction and unrivaled imagination that make his latest opus a certified classic.
Music Eastern European Dance Off

It seems like Eastern Europe is finally starting to get some respect from Americans. Nico Bellic and the GTA giant made thick accents cool. Gogol Bordello has been able to take his mustachioed gypsy punk to a mainstream audience while smaller acts like Golem and The Sway Machinery are putting a fresh spin on ancient sounds.
The Sway Machinery’s Hidden Melodies Revealed: “Anim Zemiros”





