Daz Dillinger, Kurupt and Snoop Dogg new smash that they dedicated to their hometown, “L.A. Here’s 2 U”. The production provided by Charlie Red. Directed By @therealdahdah.

Hip-Hop fans already know Houston’s own Devin The Dude as one of the most talented rappers and crooners around. This Tuesday, he’ll be showing audiences everywhere that his talents extend far beyond the vocal booth, as he stars in the new film Highway. Also starring Lil Duval (often seen on the MTV2 shows Guy Code and Hip Hop Squares), Highway is the hilarious story of two weed-loving friends in search of a mythical highway leading to “marijuana nirvana.” “It was great working with Devin in the film,” explains director Coke Daniels. “He’s one of the collest most humble people I’ve ever met in my life, and I think he’s definitely got a future in acting.” Highway will be released through Grindstone / Lionsgate.

In addition, this Tuesday will also mark the release of the film’s soundtrack, featuring Devin The Dude classics as well as previously unreleased material from Devin and his crew. The soundtrack also features appearances from the likes of 2 Chainz, UGK, Smoke DZA, Tha Dogg Pound, Slim Thug, Curren$y, David Banner, Coughee Brothaz, Asher Roth, and more. “I think Devin’s fans will love the soundtrack,” says Daniels. “It’s more of what Devin has given them consistently over the course of his career: good-time, weed-smoking hip hop.”

From Dillinger’s Who Ride Wit Us Vol. 5, for those keeping track.
]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/12/25/daz-dillinger-i-love-rap-money-feat-freddie-gibbs-video/feed/ 0 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/07/25/kurupts-the-academy-project-taps-pete-rock-raekwon-royce-redman-and-50-more-of-your-favorite-mcs/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/07/25/kurupts-the-academy-project-taps-pete-rock-raekwon-royce-redman-and-50-more-of-your-favorite-mcs/#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:30:29 +0000 http://www.hiphopsite.com/?p=36652 [cont.]]]>

2011 marks the return of the Compilation like you have never experienced it before, with the birth of The Academy, a bi-coastal merging of the minds that provides an undeniable unity long since forgotten amidst the landscape of popularized feuds, beefs, and unfounded media hypes. “The Academy” will be released on 9-13-2011 courtesy of Terminal 3/Penagon/Bonzi Records.

The material is 100% new, the collaborations are out of this world, and the production value makes “The Academy” the new standard in Hip-Hop excellence. Over 55 MC’s representing the realms of “Major” and “Independent”, “New & Old School, “Legendary” and “Soon to Be” make “The Academy” release a shoe in for fans to feed their need for a superior quality product from a vast makeup of the artists they love and respect in a landscape where subpar albums and scaled back budgets have become the norm.

Executive produced by Kurupt, fans can expect “Academy” appearances from such notable talents as Raekwon, Jadakiss, Kurupt, Pete Rock, Royce Da 5’9”, Redman, Styles P, Crooked I, Sean Price, Method Man, Canibus, LA the Darkman, Keith Murray, Planet Asia, Rass Kass, K-Solo,, Billy Danze (M.O.P.), Pack FM Keith Murray, Chino XL and many more all backed by the breakthrough soundscapes Marlon Price & JP Beats of Terminal 3 Productions (who previously oversaw projects from “Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture”, “The Four Horsemen” and “The Undergods”).

Tracklisting For The Academy LP:

1.) Welcome To The Academy f/ Method Man & Redman
2.) Mashout f/ Canibus, Agallah, & Styles P
3.) Samaryda f/ Raekwon, Kojoe, & Kurupt
4.) Still No! f/ Ras Kass, Phillie, & Rock of Heltah Skeltah
5.) Triple Seize f/ Crooked-I, Copywrite, & Chino XL
6.) Rich Righteous Teachers f/ Jadakiss, La The Darkman, Sav Killz & Billy Danze OF M.O.P
7.) Lets Go f/ Royce Da 5’9”, Bronze Nazareth, Sean Price, & K-Solo
8.) Code Of Conduct f/ Pacewon, El Da Sensai & Illah Ghee
9.) Pick Your Vice f/ Labba, Pack FM, Udi, Dzk, & Stack-A-Dolla
10.) Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal f/ DJ Absurd
11.) Kill Everything (Squad Up) f/ Kurupt, Tri- State, Ruste Juxx & Kevlarr 7
12.) Body Down f/ Styles P, Kojoe, & Jaecyn Bayne
13.) Rock This f/ Pete Rock, Copywrite, & Planet Asia
14.) Paperwork f/ Keith Murray, Sean Price & Big Lou
15.) The Alliance f/ Timbo King & Math Hoffa
16.) M.O.A.N (remix) f/ Prodigal Sunn, 60 Second Assassin, Killah Priest, & Hell Razah (Sinz of Man)
17.) Keep It Movin f/ M-Eighty, Son One, & Jaecyn Bayne
18.) Thief In The Night f/ K-Solo, Born Sun, Killah Priest, & Goldie
19.) Where There I s Nowhere f/ Reef The Lost Cauze, Chopp Devize, & Timbo King
20.) Change The World f/ Matilda, Goldie, & Rusty Redenbacher (of The Mudkids)

      It appears that Tha Dogg Pound has slid back into their comfort zone which means rapping about bitches, hoes, mo’ bitches and even mo’ hoes. Nothing really diverse here. But the problem with Dogg Chit is that this is just way too dated, too lame, not to mention  totally lacking the production impact that drove those poignant “bitches ain’t shit” lyrics home over a decade ago.
On the bright side, “It’z A Good Ass Day” is a refreshing summer jam. Nothing potent lyrically, but a breezy beat that carries Kurupt and Daz along. The hook is dull, but you can look past that this one time (more on that later). Aside from the explicit title of “Pull Ya Drawz Down”, Snoop joins his old Cali brethren to romp around like they used to. Game joins in on the evil “Anybody Killa” to steal the show from Daz and Kurupt. But enough of the bright moments, as the rest of this album is actually pretty bad.

     As dope of an emcee Kurupt can be, on Dogg Chit he seems to regress considerably. Daz has always been style over substance but Kurupt has always commanded both. His only issue was directing the angst in his lyrics to make sense out of something more than chicks gobbling dicks (Dr. Dre’s “Explosive”, anyone?). But here he abandons anything lyrically compelling in favor of the “good ol days” of shit talking. It just isn’t what you really want from Kurupt when you know the kid can spit.

    The content on Dogg Chit is nothing remotely new and can seriously wear thin on anybody’s nerves in this day and age. Daz & Kurupt can’t honestly expect that their old audience still want to hear about guns and hoes like its 1994 all over again. Can they? They must because everything on this album wreaks of the same early 90′s flavor, but just not as good as they did it a decade ago.

    The putrid hook of “Can’t Get Enough” (“I can’t get enough of your tongue in my pussy”) is laugh out loud horrible and one cannot understand what in the hell made these guys come up with this idea for a hook.  Just when you thought the ignorance couldn’t get any worse, “Dat Ain’t My Baby” comes on to almost (read: almost) wipe out the memory of “Can’t Get Enough”.  This hook is just as bad when Daz and some hoodrat go back and forth saying “Bitch That Ain’t My Baby/Nigga That Is Your Baby/He Looks Just Like You/Bitch You Must Be Crazy”. Seriously….where’s the laugh track to go with this nonsense. To make matters worse, a syrupy backdrop accompanies it so it almost looks like a smoothed out track. Alas, it’s not.

    Dogg Chit wreaks of the album title. This is flat out a bad album. Even more so because we know that DPG can make better music than this. Instead we get some cheap rhymes, cheaper beats and even cheaper song titles. This may be the end of the line for these California emcees.

In all actuality, the tracks on this album are about as “new” as anything that’s shown up a posthumous 2Pac release in the past five years. “Just Doggin’” (feat. Nate Dogg), while once produced by Dr. Dre, when it appeared on the Sunset Park soundtrack, is now remixed by Cold 187UM , yet still bares the doc’s signature in the album’s credits. Another curious inclusion is “Livin’ The Gangsta Life”, which features Xzibit. This song, which also appears on the just released D.P.G. “Dillinger and Young Gotti” album is an obviously unfinished demo version, but now includes an inappropriate and especially out-of-place verbal threat to Snoop Dogg, courtesy of Big C-Style. Finally, the “all new” track featuring Jay-Z, is none other than the incredible out-of-place “Change The Game Remix”, featuring Daz, Kurupt, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and the usual unnecessary yelling from DJ Clue.

Naturally, the majority of the album’s other material are vaulted tracks recorded when The Dogg Pound wasstill down with Death Row. Certain tracks such as “Roll With Us”, “Smoke”, and “Every Single Day” (feat. Snoop) definitely capture the sound of the classic Death Row era, but the majority of this material - most of it recorded after the label fell apart – sounds ridiculously dated or is simply evidence of why it was shelved in the first place. Another factor that doesn’t make this album any better, is that it uses itself as a platform to spotlight the Row’s new roster - and with the possible exception of Crooked I, this strategy will probably make little difference in the future of the label’s success.

The ultimate paradox of 2002 is that it shows the label’s desperation to hold onto past glories, and even worse, it bows Death Row down to today’s hitmakers by using them as selling points. Ironically, these artists, (Dr. Dre, Snoop, Jay-Z, Xzibit), are the same people they’ve instigated beefs past and presently. As to how or if they got the rights for these artists to appear on the album - Whether through legal paper work, or hanging them out a window, or both - remains a mystery, but it still doesn’t save 2002 from being an embarrassment to a label that is now a parody of its former self.