Deen came back with lavish habits/speaking Spanish. Funny how shit works.  A week ago, a friend invited me to a rap music conference in Houston. Ordinarily, this shit wouldn’t pique my interest, but she used the expression “struggle raps” and the comedic imagery that flashed across my mind had me reconsidering. Besides, Bun B was […]

Deen gives a first consultation free, but after that, it’ll cost you. You probably don’t care about my writing process, but allow my to bloviate a bit in the interest of providing context. More often than not, there’s ONE very specific fact or point of interest that inspires me to write about a song or […]

Deen somehow managed to write this review without making an All Flamerz joke. If you can’t find any rap to fuck with in 2012, then you’re a fucking moron. Period. There’s so much to choose from that it borders on ridiculous. Who would have thunk that you’d hear a non-Roots affiliated rapper outta Philly without […]

Deen believes music is like herpes: you never know when it will strike. I’ll be damned. If it isn’t Medium Sean switchin his steez up on us. Hate to admit it, but this shit kinda works. Now I completely understand that we (who are “we”?) aren’t supposed to admit to messing with Sean the Rapper’s […]

Deen don’t shop at Zales. Quiet as kept, Styles P dropped a gem of a mixtape last week. Given that Jadakiss is my favorite member of the LOX and there are only so many hours in a day, I’ve often neglected Styles AND Sheek. In any case, none of them have managed to put a […]

Mobb Deen told you not to go to the Cheesecake Factory and let them girls order cappuccinos and Pumpkin Oreo cheesecake. I ain’t gonna lie; I only downloaded this shit because I’m really digging shorty’s pose on the cover.  Sex sells and I’m buying. That cover definitely worked on this consumer and that’s no mean […]

In which Deen plays God. Its been approximately six weeks since I heard and later bought Nas’, Life Is Good. In that time, I’ve probably given the album around 110 listens – top to bottom (makes me wonder how I managed to listen to anything else). It’s safe to say that like most observers, I […]

Deen prefers his Kool-Aid unsweetened. Allow me to be slightly presumptuous and assume that you, the reader, have been reading my  posts here. Maybe you may have detected some level of ambivalence in regards to everyone’s new darlings – the Top Dawg Entertainment guys. I’ve read a bunch of complimentary shit about these guys in […]

Down in Houston, Deen is bout it, bout it. Freddie Gibbs and Kirko Bangz? Interesting and unexpected. But there was something about this combo that initially gave me pause. It’s like — to quote the most quotable rapper ever — “mixing vodka and milk.” *  After all, Freddie Gibbs is an unabashed gangsta rapper (versatile […]

This is all Deen knows. Well, that and Tort laws. New day, new Gibbs. What? You thought this song was here for any other reason? It’s pretty solid with or without Freddie aka “Mr. Mush-A-Loud-Mouf-Ho-Out-The-Apartment” Gibbs, but the Gangsta is the star attraction on this smooth cut. This time he runs the gamut from his […]