Recently in Buzz Category

Trendy tracks that are also really good.

In which ATG carefully nourishes a monthly playlist of excellent hip-hop that is presently being touted by the streets bloggers. Flip the bass on that office Dell all the way up.


1. French Montana -- Whatcha Want
2. A.Dd+ -- Insomniac Dreaming
3. Kendrick Lamar -- Hol Up
4. Lushlife featuring Cities Aviv -- She's a Buddhist, I'm a Cubist
5. G-Side featuring Johnny Spanish -- Hot Sex and Cold Wine
6. Jackie Chain featuring Big K.R.I.T., Bun B -- Parked Outside
7. Big K.R.I.T., 2Chainz, 8Ball & MJG -- Money on the Floor
8. Jay Electronica featuring Mobb Deep -- Call of Duty
9. Stalley featuring Freeway -- Jungle
10. The Weeknd -- The Birds Part 1
11. Tal B -- Lost Gemz Freestyle
12. Rick Ross -- I Love My Bitches
13. Mr. Motherfuckin' Exquire featuring Danny Brown, Das Racist, El-P, Despot -- The Last Huzzah (Remix)
14. Freddie Gibbs -- Come Come (Kick Drums Remix)

Michael Stipe and co. called it quits on Wednesday, after several harmonious decades as R.E.M. This is somewhat of a bummer, though it'd be disingenuous to claim any sort of long-standing fandom of a band enjoying its heyday as ATG sucked back pacifiers. But as music fans, there's an inherent need to cover the right bases when landscape changes occur. ATG reached out to the pre-eminent R.E.M. scholar in the field, my buddy Josh Bradshaw:

"Before you start, watch Michael Stipe in this clip from The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

R.E.M.'s career is neatly divided between the IRS years (80-88) and their Warner Bros albums (88'-94/96')...and well, the 'meh' years (94 or 96'-now).

I'd recommend starting with the IRS compilation, Eponymous to see which albums the tracks you like are on, then going from there to explore their '80s work. Murmur's great but I feel it's one of those historically hyped albums that's easily disappointing.

Green, Out of Time, and Automatic For The People are the huge albums. Out of Time is easily the poppiest and most divisive (i.e. the "Shiney Happy People" song). Green's a bit heavier and darker (for R.E.M.) and Automatic is one of the best albums ever recorded by anyone ever.

It gets kinda dicey after that. Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi were their last solid albums. Up and Reveal had some good singles but are pretty mediocre. Around the Sun will put you to sleep. If you've managed to get hooked, save Accelerate and Collapse Into Now for last, they are great to end on, but, I dunno, they don't mean much if you haven't heard their previous work."

Photo by Callie Richmond for ATG.

Reggie and I spent the South by Southwest music conference comparing notes and writing for others. ATG will come through with blessed recaps and astonishing photos from an unreal week of hip-hop that boasted staggering levels of star power.

Yes, we got into Kanye: I had to make moves bro, put my shades on and walked in through the VIP line.

Love the albums New Orleans' Curren$y churned out this year. His latest, Pilot Talk II, is efficiently laid out and densely packaged.  

I maintain it's Kanye West's fourth-best record, Reggie does not.

Your monthly run down of new, trending bangers, jams and slow jams. Photo by Callie Richmond for AThousandGrams.

It's been a few months since Reggie and I sequenced a proper mixtape; consider this a tape sans convenient zip folder, accompanying art/theme, and half-hearted one-liners. In other words, consume the below as a playlist of the fall's best, homeless mp3s as all are standouts from abandoned, unreleased, or forthcoming projects.

I advise pulling up a tab, letting the flash player work its magic.


Theophilus London featuring Blu - Life of a Lover (remix)

Chrisette Michele featuring Rick Ross - So In Love

David Banner & 9th Wonder featuring Ludacris, Marshia Ambrosius - Be With You

Drake - Fall For Your Type

J. Cole - Purple Rain

Ghostface Killah - Together Baby

Lloyd Banks featuring Eminem, Akon - Celebrity

Thee Tom Hardy featuring Skyzoo - A Different League

Curren$y featuring Boo - Still Choppin'

Emilio Rojas featuring Yelawolf - Turn It Up

Nottz featuring Asher Roth - Dontcha Wanna Be (My Neighbor)

Elzhi - Undefeated Freestyle

Yung B Da Producer - Acknowledge It

Raekwon featuring Bun B - Never Matter to You

Your monthly run down of new, trending bangers, jams and slow jams. Photo by Callie Richmond for AThousandGrams.


Big K.R.I.T. featuring Yelawolf - Hometown Hero (Remix)

Southern home cooking via rising, well-received rappers from Tennessee and Alabama.


Charles Hamilton - Kat Stacks

The introspective, isolated Hamilton pops up from a semi-absence, raps impressively over a jacked beat and releases five mixtapes at once.


Drake - Do It All

Fresh rap from the genre's biggest summer star, set for some bullshit compilation.


John Legend, The Roots featuring Common - Wake Up Everybody

Legend and The Roots are making an album together, this is the first taste.


Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West - Erase Me

Once you get over fact Cudi's latest is not a rap song in any way, it's an agreeable little number.


Rich Boy featuring Drake, Lloyd - To The Floor

Nice slow burner for last call. I've always found Lloyd's insistence on going by his unremarkable first name to be a career obstacle. There has to be gravitas behind first name solo artists. You'll never hear, "we got a fresh new joint from Frank."


Rick Ross featuring Chrisette Michele, Drake - Aston Martin Music (Extended Mix)
Rick Ross featuring Raekwon - Audio Meth

The two best holdovers from Teflon Don. I'm telling you, the best album of the summer thus far. Recovery is a masterpiece but it's too thick and layered for a season when you need quick cuts between errands.

Bro, I think he might be.

Teflon Don, arriving on July 20, already sounds stirring and boasts an epic prequel. The final tracklisting is mouth-watering: short, cohesive, boasts immaculate guests. Rick Ross's authenticity as a boss/drug lord with connections was long ago disproven but he's retained a penchant for penning enormous, swelling anthems. His voice is a welcome addition to any posse cut (Ross steals just about every moment, especially 2009's who's who roll call, "Fed Up") and without a need to federate existence, we'll get winking, relatable nods to Honey Comb Hideouts.

And more car songs!


Rick Ross featuring T.I., Jadakiss, Erykah Badu - Maybach Music III

Rick Ross featuring Drake, Chrisette Michele - Aston Martin Music

Photo by Callie Richmond for AThousandGrams.


The Austin Ace, Phrancyhze, impresses at another national battle. Don't talk to me 'bout emcees got skills...

Check the furious, three-round fight post-jump. If this were 1997, he'd have a deal from Def Jam. Phran even gets dissed for being too good at freestyling and for being too smart.

His closing line is my favorite: "When I win, son, it won't be the first time a nigga came from Austin to Cali to get shit done...VINCE. YOUNG."