Professor Micheal Eric Dyson is writing a book analyzing Illmatic.

How good is that gonna be.

Related: Large Professor Reacts To Illmatic Being Turned To Book

Props to Gabe and Team Jeezy for convincing the AP that this album is political.

SMH @ Gloria Velez still being a topic of conversation.

Previously: Joe Budden Speaks on Game Beef Pt. 1

I caught these guys and Asher Roth at SOB’s last night. Both sets were too short, but otherwise everything else was dope.

Sean P. doing King Kong live > almost anything else.

Nicolay and Phonte’s Foreign Exchange might be one of backpack hip-hop’s most favorite duos. The origin of the duo–the story of two producers meeting on Okayplayer and creating an album without even meeting each other–is the stuff of modern hip-hop legend. However, their new collaboration, Leave it all Behind is supposedly stepping further away from the hip-hop realm, and its supposedly going to showcase Phonte’s vocal abilities over his mic skills.

The webisodes on their site give a glimpse of what is to come from this album, which promises to be a far darker and introspective album than the last. Even though I get tired of Nicolay’s beats a little too quickly, I’m still excited to see what they can cook up.

And yes, DC is well represented on this album, with Muhsinah, Zo!, and Yahzarah making contributions.

Tracklisting:

01. Daykeeper
02. Take Off The Blues
03. All Or Nothing/Coming Home To You
04. I Wanna Know
05. House Of Cards
06. Sweeter Than You
07. Valediction
08. If She Breaks Your Heart
09. If This Is Love
10. Something To Behold
11. Leave It All Behind

The Foreign Exchange

Lauryn Hill - World Is a Hustle

Some unreleased Lauryn Hill for y’all. Where has she been hiding? No word on if this track is new or old, but its nice to hear at least some new Lauyrn until that “comeback” album sees the light of day.

I don’t know when this show ared (seriously, could you see me watching Ellen??) but I think this might be J*Davey’s first national television performance. The track, “Dollar Or More,” is one that we previewed back in May and, for all intents and purposes on the upcoming “Warner Brothers” release due in 2009. Yes, “Warner Brothers” is in quotes for a reason.

Jack Davey used to work at the Ellen show for 2 years, so I think this is more as Ellen’s favor to Jack than an actual hint that their damn album will come out. But I’m still hoping…

Lauyrn Hill - World Is a Hustle

Some unreleased Lauyrn Hill for y’all. Where has she been hiding? No word on if this track is new or old, but its nice to hear at least some new Lauyrn to get me over the hill today.

Read his Q&A with Dream Hampton here.

Cassidy - How Real Is This

via OS

Many of todays biggest rap stars have something in common besides successful careers: theyve all been shot and have lived to rap about it. Their tales of gunplay, their reactions to the violence, and their changed attitudes after having survived near-death experiences are varied and always compelling.

NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET takes the viewer deep into the psyche of these incredibly talented artists, who share a common thread: the permanent physical scars from the bullets that almost took them out and the corresponding emotional scars that affect them in profound and personal ways.

via Grandgood

Working on The Layover EP.

via 2DB’z

Previously: Fashawn ft. Evidence - Our Way (Prod. by Exile)

Top 5 Or Never.

Lloyd Banks - I’m Right Back

Oh man, I hope Blender’s irate hip-hop fan terrorism insurance is all paid up. Because ‘Pac stans are going to pillage and burn that building when they hear about this ****.

Reuters reports:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Dead rapper Tupac “2Pac” Shakur, the hip-hop icon who sold more records after he was murdered than during his brief career, is the most overrated person in music, according to music magazine Blender.

Shakur tops a tongue-in-cheek list that also includes “places, trends and other junk in rock,” Blender said in its upcoming October issue, due on newsstands next week.

Other overrated finalists included the Grammys at No. 7, encores at No. 12, Pink Floyd at No. 14 and “the music you loved as a teenager” at No. 23.

Tounge-in-cheek or not, ‘Pac stans don’t play that ****. Of course Blender knows this, and leaking the info to Reuters, rather than say Nah Right, ensures that the info reaches the maximum amount of Stanleys as quickly as possible. Nicely played Mr. Levy.

Wow @ this video. Song isn’t bad though.