I found this record in my inbox when I woke up yesterday and figured it would be the talk of the town, as was the case when these 4 teamed up for the Swagga Like Us record a few months back.

I’m not sure if this is leaking slow, everybody’s on vacation or people really aren’t feeling the track (*raises hand*), but it hasn’t made much noise at all from what I’ve seen.

This is supposedly the newest record from Lil Wayne’s Rebirth album coming June 23rd.

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There’s a big runoff election TODAY to decide the Georgia Senate Race and some of Atlanta’s biggest hip-hop artists have come out to support Democratic Candidate Jim Martin.

We won the battle, it’s time to win the war! -Young Jeezy

Get out and vote GEORGIA!

This Week’s Top Stories:

R.I.P Real Rap Beefs

It looks as though the hip-hop industry is really dying for attention. We’ve reached the point where we can’t even get legitimate rap beefs started these days.

Here is what played out in the past 24 hours:

- Thursday afternoon, Thisis50.com, 50 Cent’s social network and hip-hop lifestyle site, began advertising that DJ Kay Slay would be debuting “the ultimate beef record” during his Thursday night show on New York’s Hot 97

- Thursday night, as promised, Kay Slay debuts a “new” dis record featuring Jay-Z along with NYC up-and-comer Uncle Murda taking shots at rapper Fat Joe, with some subtle jabs that may or may not have been intended for DJ Khaled

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- Shortly after the record debuts, the entire industry is buzzing asking profound questions like: WTF? Why? Seriously, WTF?

- As bloggers tried to unravel the conspiracy theories, Just Blaze dropped a bombshell revealing the origin of the Jay-Z verse and letting the public know that this verse was recorded “8000 years ago” or more accurately, during the “Blueprint 2 era”

While there’s plenty of questions left to be answered, it’s quite clear that there is no real beef here and whoever orchestrated this stunt failed miserably.

Lil Wayne’s Milli Dollar Birthday

Lil Wayne was celebrating either his 26th or 29th birthday depending on which calendar you’re going by this week in Miami and was shocked when his “father”, Baby a/k/a Birdman, delivered the gift that is sure to top every child’s Christmas list this year: a briefcase filled with a million dollars in cash.

While many media outlets are reporting Wayne was “shocked” by such a generous gift, the look on Wayne’s face seems to suggest this wasn’t unexpected and his main concern is trying to figure out where he’s at.

This event is clearly another publicity stunt by the Cash Money camp reminding the public of how much money Wayne is earning. In fact, that’s probably Wayne’s money in the briefcase or at least money that has come Baby’s way via Wayne (and probably went right back his way after the party).

At least Wayne is making the most out of his stay in the MIA, as later in the week he popped up as a surprise guest at The Roots concert in the city. A live version of Wayne’s hit “A Milli” flooded the net after the performance.

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In Case You Forgot, T.I.’s the KING

Last week I said T.I.’s Paper Trail album was the best hip-hop album of 2008. While the jury will have until year’s end to prove me wrong, the people have spoken this week as the album debuted at #1 on Soundscan, moving over 568K units in it’s first week.

Not satisfied with his 3rd album to debut at the top of the charts, T.I. also stirred things up on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles Chart by unseating himself at the top with his single “Live Your Life” featuring Rihanna, moving the single “Whatever You Like” to the number 2 position. The one-week jump from 80-1 beat the record T.I. had set just a few weeks back when “Whatever You Like” jumped from 71-1.

It’s time to put my money where my mouth is regarding T.I.’s new album Paper Trail and I should invoice Atlantic Records for that money because of the gospel I’ve been singing about this release.

We all know Tip’s story at this point. He was setup trying to purchase the sort of firearms needed for a small army and at one point in the not-so-distant past, it was questionable as to whether we’d see the rapper at all for 15-20 years and the thought of a new album seemed almost laughable.

While awaiting trial, Tip, confined to his home on house arrest, resisted the self-destructive urges many would find themselves in while riding out their (assumed) last days of freedom, rather T.I. seized this as an opportunity to make the album of his career.

That’s a big statement. We’re talking about an artist who has been almost flawless since he came on the scene less than 10 years ago.

What separates Paper Trail from the rest of his catalog is that T.I. has finally found the balance he was looking for, but couldn’t reach with his previous albums, especially T.I. vs. T.I.P., where the matured, former trapper turned businessman and the sharp-tongued MC who will verbally dismantle any artist coming for his throne must learn to co-exist with one another.

Instead of the schizophrenic concept he brought with the last offering, T.I. comes straight from the heart allowing him to shine on the epic-sounding lead singles like “No Matter What” and the hypnotizing “Live Your Life” with Rihanna, to the modern-day “Ether” directed at his (assumed) nemesis Shawty Lo “What up, What’s Haapnin” (where he never actually mentions the artist by name) or the surprise smash “Whatever You Like”, which many critics bemoaned as too soft for the street-bred rapper until it’s record breaking ascent to the top of Billboard’s singles chart.

I remember sitting on an Atlantic Records street team call after T.I. released King in 2006 and listening to teams from around the country attempt to explain why the R&B flavored, “Why You Wanna” record wasn’t having the same impact as the monster single “What You Know”. The consensus was that T.I.’s core fan base wanted street records, not something forced because the industry formula required an artist to follow up a club smash with “chick song”.

The already proven success of the lead singles from Paper Trail demonstrates that T.I.’s audience has matured with him and they are not afraid to support him as he transitions into a smarter, grown up hip-hop artist.

This album is going to stand up to any other hip-hop release that we’re going to see this year, although I still firmly believe many of these 4th Quarter mega-releases are all talk. But even if say, Jay and Kanye get their projects out, I still don’t think these albums can be better than Paper Trail.

T.I. may have inadvertently found something the game has been missing when making this album, by actually taking time off, albeit not by choice, to compose his thoughts, pick his beats carefully and focus strictly on making an album reflective of the emotion that went into making it. This isn’t an album that was recorded in the back of a tour bus, in between takes on a movie set or in between meetings with investors to discuss his next business venture.

This is a sharp contrast to today’s quantity over quality approach, where we find talented artists rushing to deliver albums too quickly or in some cases leaking their own unfinished tracks that have admittedly been crafted faster than it has taken me to write this review.

Yes, Kanye, I’m talking about you.