WIMH was granted the amazing opportunity to be the only blog on stage with the Legendary Big Boi, one half of the most successful duo in rap history Outkast, a couple of weeks ago as he rocked the Pitchfork Music Festival here in Chicago. We also got to sit down and talk with the hip-hop icon and discuss a variety of things such as; his longevity in the game, his experience creating and releasing his first solo album, the whole Jive records/Andre 3000 fiasco & a lot more! Check out the interview as well as some more exclusive pics from Big’s set after the jump!

WIMH x Big Boi Interview by JustynWIMH

This is WHAT’S IN MY HEADPHONES…

While we were in Atlanta there was a Cool Kids x Theophilus London concert that was held on Friday night…our friends over at GoWhere Hip Hop were there to interview and catch some footage of them performing. Up top is an interview with The Cool Kids with a friend of mine GY312 and after the jump you can catch footage of them performing Black Mags and Pennies at Reggies…

This is WHAT’S IN MY HEADPHONES…

Interview footage from our friends over at Ruby Hornet with the bawse Rick Ross, Ricky Rozay…

With the release of his new LP, Teflon Don, less than a week away, Rick Ross hit Chicago for a listening party and promo run at The PHLI Store. While in the Windy City, Rick Ross spoke with RubyHornet.com’s DJ RTC. Ross and RTC talks about the meaning of “Hustlin’” and how it may changed from his breakthrough single til now, Chicago’s rich heritage, and why Teflon Don is Ross’ best album to date. – Ruby Hornet

This is WHAT’S IN MY HEADPHONES…

The good people at Gowhere Hip Hop got a chance to talk with Illa J and T3 while they were here in Chicago this past weekend…

Coming through once again today with a new video – an interview with T3 and Illa J from Slum Village as they were in Chicago this past weekend. Topics include: the upcoming album Villa Manifesto and what is going to be different on this album compared to their previous work, how the collaboration with Colin Munroe for “Faster” came about, what Illa J and T3 are listening to right now, and more!

We recently chopped it up with Rhymefest about his new album “El Che” as well as many other interesting topics including; the state of hip-hop today, why he doesn’t call his free projects “mixtapes,” and the potential creation of a Chicago Hip-Hop Super-Group!

Hit jump for part 2 of our exclusive interview with Rhymefest as well as our in-depth review of El Che, which includes a track-by-track breakdown of the entire album!

Four years after his proper debut, and one month after the stellar “Dangerous 5:18,” Che Smith, aka Rhymefest, one of Hip-Hops most respected MCs, returns without the restraints of a major label with his second effort, appropriately titled, El Che. We put it in our headphones to give it a listen:

1. Intro The Agent – Dope Intro…Fest is on the train, on his way out of town and gets stopped by some agents…he ain’t talking though, so forget it.

2. Talk My Shit – From the first strums of the blues guitar, the hard hit of the live drums and the chanting hook, you already know that this isn’t anything like “Blue Collar.” His name ain’t Terrence Howard, he “don’t hustle, flow and crash!” Two quick 16s to set the tone of the record. The production has quite the edge.

3. Say Wassup (feat. Phonte) – Fest has been getting it in with the LB/Justice League fam, and this track is evident of the chemistry between them. Production-wise, it’s what you’d expect, and Fest uses the smooth groove and to spit some good game (and knowledge) at a chick. It sounds polished without feeling forced.

4. How High (Feat. Little Brother and Darien Brockington) – We got a taste of this on the Dangerous 5:18 ‘tape. Dope track, and Fest trades verses with LB.

5. Chocolates – ‘Fest jacks Forrest Gump’s M.O. to chronicle his adventures with women, likening his lady friends to Chocolate Bunnies, Cadbury Bunnies, and Lady Godivas over a slinky instrumental.

6. One Hand Push Up – Wasn’t sure where this was going until the first came in; he sets out to prove his detractors wrong without holding on to his past. He covers a little bit of the struggles in his career and his personal life. Great beat on this.

7. Prosperity – “You too can have the blood of Christ/Three easy payments, order tonight! $29.95…let me know when that arrives, the driver’s outside, Look, church (is) free, but you gotta pay tithes…” Che goes IN on the modern day church televangelists…anyone that’s been up past their bedtime and saw the Minister laying hands on folks can relate to this. Nail. On. The Head.

8. Truth On You (Feat. Twone Gabz) – On this track feat. Twone Gabz, they tackle naysayers and rumor mongers, then take turns taking hilarious jabs at each other!

9. Intermission Juan Carlos – Another “El Che” interlude, Fest needs to know how to get out of dodge, so he calls his buddy Juan Carlos for advice…but Juan blows it by telling him what to do over the phone, so he treats the phone tappers to a message, then Juan gets shot.

10. Chicago – This song is more about him than the actual city where he’s from, so the hook is a little misleading, but he spits nonetheless. The track is kind of grimy, which is what the album needed by this point.

11. Agony (Feat, Glenn Lewis) – Whoa shit…if nothing else, props is in order for finding Glenn Lewis for a feature. The song is pretty good, as Fest talks about how he puts in work in the bedroom.

12. Last Night – In this “morning after” track, Fest recalls a couple of drunk stories…where he woke up not knowing where he was and what happened the night before over a nice track.

13. Give It To Me (Feat. Saigon and Adad) – Just beats and rhymes here, and that’s all that we need! Saigon and El Che go in on their verses, only to have Adad steal the show

14. Intermission No Help – The last intermission on the album finds Fest alone in a bar, face to face with the agent that’s been on his tail, grilling him about his decision to go underground…telling him that he made the wrong decision by not chasing the “Blue Collar” lifestyle…

15. City is Falling (Feat. Slique) – On this track, Fest recalls the drama of a breakup and custody battle. The dramatic instrumental and the vocals from Slique provide a perfect backdrop for Rhymefest to voice his regret that it got to the point where he and his son’s mother were on bad terms.

16. Celebration – “Life is a blessing, hopefully you are involved/family affairs are rare and good for us all.” He wraps up the set with a feel good joint reminding us to cease every moment, and that tomorrow isn’t promised.

Conclusion: “El Che,” is definitely a departure from the first album, as we anticipated. A lot of the songs had a personal feel to them. He remained focused throughout and made good choices in terms of production. Overall dope effort, and as we know, hotness cools off, but dopeness lasts forever!

Rating –

-Reg Young

EL CHE will be in stores JUNE 8th, 2010!

Since we have two months until the next issue of Vibe hits shelves, they decided to compose online cover stories every Tuesday to hold us over. Who better to begin this interview series with than one of the hottest rookies in the game today, J. Cole. Jermaine touches on many areas including why him and Drake can’t be friends right now, the creative process behind his still untitled debut album, and how it felt to hear Nas recite one of his verses….

Check out the interview here: The Vibe.com Cover Story: J. Cole

]]> http://whatsinmyheadphones.com/2010/05/19/j-cole-vibe-com-cover-story-interview/feed/ 0 http://whatsinmyheadphones.com/2010/05/17/gowhere-hip-hop-interviews-da-internz-video/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gowhere-hip-hop-interviews-da-internz-video http://whatsinmyheadphones.com/2010/05/17/gowhere-hip-hop-interviews-da-internz-video/#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 01:03:47 +0000 JGill http://whatsinmyheadphones.com/?p=8478

I’ve seen these brothers grow in music and in life…As a personal friend to Kos and Tuo I was glad to hear that they would be celebrating their success back with us here at home in Chicago. In seeing them grow from working out of Kosine’s basement and Da Boiler Room in Chicago, its great to see them succeed and how far they have come. Check out this interview that they did with Go Where Hip Hop on Friday Night of their Write Ya Life Bash…I was there partying right along with them…

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Cannon and Jeezy sat down with MTVNews to discuss his already highly acclaimed mixtape that dropped this past Tuesday, the Malcolm X cover, DJ Drama’s abscence and the inspiration behind TOD2…Make sure you grab that if you have not already. It’s good music to ride in the whip to…

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Ruby Hornet sits down with Naledge of Kidz in The Hall as apart of their What’s On Your Mind series…Naledge goes on to discuss having haters vs. having critics…

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Rya of MTV News goes on a double date with Spitta and Khalifa Man as they chill out, talk about one another, turn on and turn offs. These two are some fools…watch as Spitta goes into mack mode with Rya…

This is WHAT’S IN MY HEADPHONES…