WESTCOAST WEDNESDAY.

What you know about this? No seriously...does anybody know a damn thing about G-Mo? In fact, have you ever HEARD of G-Mo? If you're like me, you bumped this underground tape during your sophomore year of high school, and you thought it was pretty dope. The only thing I knew about G-Mo was that he was from West Covina and he liked ballin'. But honestly, that's all you needed to know.

Back in 1995, I bumped the shit out of his album, Ballin 4 Life. I mean, yeah I was 16, and yeah he's not the greatest rapper ever. But fuck, the songs slap. The music is straight G-Funk, and I'm from Cali, so that funk runs in my bloodstream. I can't even help it. So, this shit brings back memories for me, and hopefully opens your ears to new classic (to me) Cali music.

G-Mo - "Ballin"

[VIDEO] El Prez - "Floss Angeles"

Featuring Convinced, Dale Danja, DNEZ, Chris Focus, and C-San. This song appears on Prez's upcoming project, Animal Style!, which is a (2)DopeBoyz Presentation in conjunction with IM-King Clothing. Check for that later this month.

Check out the cameo from the HHO bawse, Daylan.

BAD IDEAS IN HIP-HOP: Ron Artest's Tribute to Michael Jackson.

I swear, this dude's heart is in the right place, but....well, let's just say sometimes his execution is shaky. To say the least. The latest Los Angeles Laker, Ron Artest, decided to record a tribute song to the late great King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Unfortunately, Artest is insane. Like I said, I'm sure the dude means well, but come on, this is just bad.

The lowlights include the lines:

-"Michael, Michael, Micahel, you my nigga" (which happens to be the hook)
-"I know a thug wil cry for you, my dude. No R&B singer really make me cry, make me want to meet you...touch your hand"
-"You used to show me love. I know you didn't know me, but you showed me love."
-"Get off my nigga's back, all his music was straight crack"
-"I know you in heaven, I hope to see you next year." (Whaaaaat?)
-"He's my dude, he's your dude, he's a really tight dude."

and my personal favorite...

"Even though I'm always strapped, I'm putting down my Mac for Mike Jack. He's so wavy."

But don't take my word for it, listen for yourself:

[DOWNLOAD] Ron Artest - "Michael, Michael"

Wow. That was a really bad idea in hip hop, Ron Artest.

[VIDEO] El Michels Affair - "The 38th Chamber"

Ok, no joke...the El Michels Affair album, Enter The 37th Chamber, might be my favorite album of the year. If you're not up on game, let me school you real quick. Basically, it's a New York funk/soul band re-interpreting some of the greatest Wu-Tang songs of all time. A full band playing lacing classic RZA production? It's incredible. Get that shit today. You will be sending me a Thank You card within the next week.

Anyways, above is a video for a medley of cuts off the album, including C.R.E.AM. and Shimmy Shimmy Ya, .

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Shawn Chrystopher.

Hailing from the City with No Seasons, a.k.a. Los Angeles, Shawn Chrystopher is set to break out big. Claiming to be "more than a rapper" is often times a cliche thing to say, but with Shawn you know it's the truth. After receiving a substantial co-sign from streetwear giant L-R-G, and gaining steam from his two previous mixtapes; IWG: I Wear Glasses and IWG2: I Told You So, Shawn's debut album drops this August. It might be a little different from what you would expect from your typical L.A. rapper. And that's just the way Shawn wants it.



[BONUS] download his first single "Untitiled" right here. Stay tuned for more from Shawn, and also check out his blog.

[VIDEO] Joell Ortiz - "Just A Change"

Dope video. You can't beat live instrumentation outside under the sunshine.

[VIDEO] Drake - "Best I Ever Had"

Forgot to post this last week. Forgot to do a lot of shit last week. Sorry.
Directed by Kanye West.

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Wale.

This past weekend, we caught up with Wale at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. He was in town to perform at the rooftop pool party, and talk to us, of course. He talks about his highly anticipated upcoming debut album, Attention Deficit, which is dropping this fall. He also opens up about the an inner conflict her has about never growing complacent and his fears of becoming happy with success. Ch'yeah.

MISS MONDAYS.

Mondays are all about the ladies here at Hip Hop Official. Today, in honor of MJ, I offer up one of my favorite Janet jams of all time. Perfect Monday morning music. Thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Jackson family.

[VIDEO] Kanye West - "Street LIghts"

Pretty fresh animation.

[VIDEO] Jay-Z - "D.O.A." (Death of Autotune)

Featuring Harvey Keitel, LeBron James, and explosions. I can't get over how banging this track is. No I.D., you're a fool for that one.

Crown Royale (Buff1 x Rhettmatic)- "Get It Up" [Live]

Ann Arbor's Buff1 links with DJ Rhettmatic of the World Famous Beat Junkies to form Crown Royale. The duo fell through the studio to debut one of the new bangers from their upcoming collaboration project exclusively for Hip Hop Official. This shit knocks. Contagious as fuck. Word.

BEST MICHAEL JACKSON SAMPLED HIP HOP SONGS.

There's no denying Michael Jackson's impact on music. He influenced so many musicians across so many genres, it's hard to even quantify his impact. So I wanted highlight some of the greatest hip hop songs that took inspiration from the King of Pop, by sampling his music. There are some CLASSIC hip hop songs in here. Here they are, in no particular order:


Nas - "It Ain't Hard To Tell"
SAMPLE: Michael Jackson - "Human Nature"




De La Soul - "Breakadawn"
SAMPLE: Michael Jackson - "I Can't Help It"




Naughty By Nature - "O.P.P."
SAMPLE: Jackson 5 - "ABC"




Ghostface (ft. Mary J. Blige) - "All That I Got Is You"
SAMPLE: Jackson 5 - "Maybe Tomorrow"




Q-Tip - "Move"
SAMPLE: Jackson 5 - "Dancing Machine"




Kanye West - "Good Life"
SAMPLE: Michael Jackson - P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)




Jay-Z - "IZZO" (Hova)
SAMPLE: Jackson 5 - "I Want You"

R.I.P. MICHAEL JACKSON.

(1958-2009)

Wow.

Words truly escape me right now. I'm speechless. This is surreal to me. MJ was that dude. I grew up on his music. He was a staple in my life. Thriller was the first cassette tape I ever owned, back when I was 6 years old. I used to listen to it and dance around my living room, practicing my dance moves. I had the silver glove and everything...

I never thought I would see this day. Honestly. The unbelievable has truly happened. The King of Pop, Michael Jackson has passed away today at only 50 years old. Jackson was rushed to the hospital this afternoon after suffering from a cardiac arrest. He arrived to the emergency room in a coma, and was pronouced dead shortly.

Despite all the rumors, the crazy trials and tribulations, the altering of his appearance - no other artist has ever (or will ever) accomplished what Michael did in his career. I mean, he has sold over 1oo million copies of his album Thriller - that's ONE ALBUM! From the ground breaking music videos, the dance steps, and electrifying world tours, Michael truly was an artist before his time. He transcended musical genres, and was truly the biggest and most famous musician of our lifetime. Hands down.

Jackson had planned to hit the road again to perform 50 shows this summer, in what was going to be the biggest concert event of the year. Tickets for the entire series, which were scheduled to kick off July 8th, sold out in hours. 50 show dates sold out in hours. Amazing. That was a testament to his star power, and that after 40 years in the music biz he still was in enormous demand. Mike, you were a pioneer and an icon, and you will truly be missed.

Rest in Peace.

STAKES IS HIGH.

New De La shirt from the good people at UNDRCRWN. Available now at Metropark.