1520 Sedgwick Avenue: February 16th, 2009 Monday, February 16, 2009

I conveniently forgot to post on Valentine’s Eve.

Which means I don’t need to burn “I Need Love” this year! Instead, some fighting-trim Cool James. Hit the jump for the latest from ItsTheReal. (more…)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: February 12th, 2009 Thursday, February 12, 2009

It occurs to me that I haven’t properly celebrated Lil Wayne’s Grammy haul.

So, here, “Dr. Carter,” the best song from Tha Carter 3. Enjoy.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: February 6th, 2009 Friday, February 6, 2009

I didn’t get the list I wanted to run today done in time.

I blame this song entirely. (more…)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: February 5th, 2009 Thursday, February 5, 2009

Congrats to Jerkwheat.

Here are four guys who should never be out of work in hip-hop. (more…)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: February 4th, 2009 Wednesday, February 4, 2009

50 Cent isn’t a great rapper. (NSFW)

But he’s pretty great at dismantling foes. (more…)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: February 3rd, 2009 Tuesday, February 3, 2009

This is not hip-hop. But I don’t care.

It’s been 50 years to the day. Think about that.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: February 2nd, 2009 Monday, February 2, 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve been doing 1520 Sedgwick on a daily basis.

But I racked my brain for a Pittsburgh rapper.

Hit the jump for announcements and stuff. (more…)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: January 20th, 2009 Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Our President is black. Let Jeezy and Nas tell you.

And stick with the second video; Jay adapts this text to ignite this song.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: January 15th, 2008 Thursday, January 15, 2009

“Cannon” was one of my favorite beats from whenever it was out.

Wale’s very good on this, but Wayne blacks out. If “One egg short of the omelet/Simon says, shoot a n—a in his thigh and leg/And tell him catch up like mayonnaise” is sick, that O’Bannons line is bubonic plague.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: January 14th, 2009 Wednesday, January 14, 2009

This is from T.I.’s last album, T.I. Vs. T.I.P.

That doesn’t mean it’s not sneering rap with a great Danja beat.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: January 13th, 2009 Tuesday, January 13, 2009

This is would have been Kevin Rudolf with Lil Wayne, “Let it Rock,” but Warner decided to pull pretty much every embeddable version of the music people would share for them for free. So you get Nas’ and Rudolf’s “NYC” instead.

It’s electro-stomp gone male, and with the rumor that Weezy’s going to be releasing a rock album, it seems like something I should at least prepare your ears for. (Sorry.)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: Monday, January 12, 2009

So I listened to Girl Talk for the first time, thanks to DUAN.

That means you may get mash-ups all week.

Oh, and that Year in Review? Next week.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: January 8th, 2009 Thursday, January 8, 2009

I have a better version of this on my computer.

But I post this, Unsigned Hype’s “Gator Bait,” for good luck.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: January 5th, 2008 Monday, January 5, 2009

Here’s the deal: the Year in Review is coming next week. (I know, I’m late.)

In the meantime, enjoy Lupe Fiasco’s alter ego Percival Fats (sorry, Lupe, but I’m pretty sure that’s your voice), singing with his new punk (!) band, Japanese Cartoon. You make sense of that.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: January 1st, 2009 Thursday, January 1, 2009

We haven’t burned the place down. Yet. 2009’s a success!

This is Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘n’ Nite,” in original and Crookers remix form. If it makes it to radio like it should, it will be a minor-to-major hit in 2009: that’s my first guarantee of the year.

(Note: Wikipedia will tell you it’s already a minor hit.)

After the jump, a 2008 rap-up from Skillz. Choice one-liners. (more…)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: December 30th, 2008 Tuesday, December 30, 2008

No video today, and no review of 2008 either. I blame the Rockette for all of this, naturally, but I plan to get back to more normal programming early next week. Until then, happy holidays, and best wishes for the New Year.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: December 29th, 2008 Monday, December 29, 2008

Just a quick post so I can sneak in “Christmas in Hollis”.

Oh, and to tell you that I’ll be here the next two days with a Year in Review.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: December 15th, 2008 Monday, December 15, 2008

I apologize for the scarcity of recent posts.

This is Busta Rhymes and Ron Browz with “Arab Money.” It’s good to see that though our President’s so alienated Iraqis that he’s getting shoes tossed at him, hip-hop’s managed to cling to the capitalism of the Crescent and add some repetitive synths, some Arabic, an insultingly simple dance, and call it a hit.

Though Busta, with a fur coat, a fitted, and black glasses, is still an arresting presence.

Remixes after the jump. (more…)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: December 4th, 2008 Thursday, December 4, 2008

Today is Shawn Carter’s 39th birthday.

Who better to describe it?

(Remember when I used to do this every day? I promise I’ll get back to that, maybe after finals. And, YouTube, you’re on notice: it should not be so hard/impossible to find the originals of songs on your site.)

1520 Sedgwick Avenue: November 19th, 2008 Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I’m not usually a huge Game fan.

But I liked this song.