More random thoughts on heroes and villains of recent raps. Is it Summer yet?

Jay Electronica f. Diddy “Ghost Of Christopher Wallace” [mp3]
One of my favorite MCs of the moment links with one of my favorite non-rappers of ALL TIME. Seriously, 4+ minutes of nothing but Sean Combs adlibs at the end. So with it.

DJ Webstar Straight Outta Harlem [mixtape]
DJ Webstar f Gudda Gudda “Drop That Ass” [mp3]
Speaking of Diddy, I first heard about this Webstar tape from one of his tweets (not to be confused with his “inspirational blog”) but still haven’t seen it posted up on any rap sites of note. Which is a shame. Webstar’s “Chicken Noodle Soup” stigma is hard to (Harlem) shake, but he’s a reliably fun producer who’s keeping NY’s polyglot party DJ tradition alive in ways he’ll never get proper credit for. Serani and Ricky Blaze borough-only hits, freestyles over Doble T y Croc’s “Pepe,” lots of Jim Jones and T-Rex, Nicki Minaj on some Annie Lennox shit, the ice cream truck song… that is hip-hop, people! Don’t act surprised.

Jadakiss f. Uncle O and Meek Mills “Lets Get It” [mp3]
The only surprise about the new Jada tape is how (shockingly) comfortable it is with it’s own mediocrity. Way too long, way too padded with filler, even Green Lantern and DJ Drama doing their best Twinkle And Stink on the sports announcer skits can’t get this one started. The first Champ Is Here was an instant classic, the second (Kiss My Ass) was peppered with gems like “Don’t Stop Jada” but this one is a total non-event, save for a few typically great Jada-isms (even on a bum song, hard for the man to pen a bum verse) and this loose little Philadelphia feature.

Waka Flocka Flame “Head First” [mp3]
I know this came out on mixes last year. But it’s new to me! And there’s no expiration date for Raymond Scott interpolations with yelling over it. Not a surprising choice for a man with a song called “Bugs Bunny” who (as far as I’m concerned) is named after an Animaniac.

Charles Hamilton “Gauchos” [mp3]