"Joaquin Phoenix"- Travis Barker feat. Lupe Fiasco

Former Mr. Pamela Travis Barker shows that it's not just all the small things with his blazing mixtape Let the Drummer Get Wicked, a collaboration with DJ Whoo Kid, and this is certainly the freshest beat I've heard in a while.

Most-blogged-about-of-2011 Lupe shows up with a Kendrick Lamar-esque jagged flow to match the pulsing polyrhythms. This track effortlessly fuses the rock and the funk elements in a way that makes the Neptunes and Handsome Boy Modeling School shit themselves so now Barker's dick isn't the only joint of his blowing up the Interwebs now.

Get it immediately. The more I hear that beat the better it gets.

"Joaquin Phoenix"- Travis Barker feat. Lupe Fiasco

Mac Miller- "Donald Trump"

Track goin' ham on my pod right now. White Wiz Khalifa? Hipster Yelawolf? Doesn't matter, I'll take this 8 days a week. This dude is blowing up, stay tuned for more later off his new mixtape K.I.D.S. (Kicking Incredibly Dope Shit) out now.

Mac Miller- "Donald Trump (prod. Sap)"

Jaylib

Awww yeahhhh

Jaylib - Louder (Blast Your Radio Theme) by stonesthrow

Andy Allo, Blu

Blu & Exile's Below the Heavens is one of my favorite hip-hop albums not because of Exile's chocolatey soulful beats and Blu's noticeable post-adolescent hunger. Rather, I find joy in hearing the rare breed of MC delivers an entire album of closely related content with outstanding clarity. In that tradition, here's a newish track featuring Blu at his finest.

"Monster" feat. Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver- Kanye West VIDEO

I was apprehensive when I first saw this, because the third single off Kanye's fourth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, "Monster," has a general sense of foreboding and overall batshit that I felt was better left to one's imagination. For me, the reason the song is so great is because everyone feels like a monster for different reasons. Apparently for Kanye, his reason is that everyone gets so heated that he decapitates supermodels. What's new. So here's a great video (with the Baddest Bitch at her most ghoulish), perhaps the best of all time. Happy New Year, dudes:

CERTIFIED WAVY: Fortune Family- "Take Me Away"

3 reasons why Fortune Family rules:

1. They make tracks at NYU à la Rick Rubin

2. They sample Annie.

3. They explicitly say they are not Drake.

4. Like a similar multiracial backpacker group (hint: it rhymes with Schmiddy Schmang), Fortune Family mixes urban sensibilities with glossy beats. However, they pay their dues to the old school, referencing Nas and Snoop Dogg (when his stick was icy and not peppermint) with sharp lines, in stark contrast to the fluffy flow of Schmiddy.

5. Unlike Shmang, Cool Kids, G-Eazy etc. there is no gimmick. No Sufjan, no BMX, no Tennis, they are just good. I can't emphasize that enough.

6. But they're not that good. They have potential to mature and develop and in a world of mixtapes, it's so exciting to see young dudes who haven't gotten it yet and can grow. They have the potential to achieve the hardest thing in the hip-hop world: staying power.

So these guys aren't the kings. They may run Wayne, PA, but they certainly don't run New York. They probably won't have a hit this year. And that is exciting, because they can get better. Stay tuned because these guys have the potential to be better than good. Cool.

Here's Take Me Away.

"Take Me Away"-Fortune Family

Pac Div

In case you missed this a couple years ago.

Trunk Muzik 0-60

Building upon his greatly overlooked magnum mixtape Trunk Muzik, the Natty Light drinking, skateboarding, pickup truck driving Gadsden, Alabama up and coming rapper Yelawolf released his latest full length a few days ago. Like the mixtape, it's fire. And luckily, it includes portions of the previous release without the annoying DJ drops. If you liked "You Ain't No DJ" off the Big Boi album or if you're just looking for some fresh hip-hop, turn to this guy. Chances are he's not finished picking up steam.

Also, GUCCI.

Yelawolf - I Just Wanna Party feat. Gucci Mane

"Beast Mode"- B.o.B. VIDEO

New Bobby Ray! Coming out throwing 'bows, the Dirty South MC is out with a new mixtape, No Genre, December 7th and he gives us a sneak peek with "Beast Mode". Armed with a pedestrian beat shat out from Xaphoon Jones, B.o.B throws down typically virtuosic verses. Check it out

King Fantastic is...Fantastic

King Fantastic is a testament to West Coast hip-hop in a year that's so run over by Dirrrty South slaps.  Self-described as "a concise study in Westcoastsynthesizerbeachbumgangstermusic, as interpreted by Killer Reese One and Troublemaker", they hit, spit and kill as hard as anyone else in the game.  Killer Reese One is downright one of the scariest obscene rappers, fully embracing the I-don't-give-a-shit mentality while Troublemaker lays down hard-hitting electro beats unprecedented in the scene.  Plus, their redo of the Glitch Mob's track "Drive It Like You Stole It" is straight filthy.

"Why? Where? What?"

"Drive It Like You Stole It (King Fantastic Remix)"

P.S. Pick up their entire debut for free on their website.

Spiffy New Zion I

Yay Area hip-hop duo Zion I just dropped a supa-dope record Atomic Clock yesterday, and it's a bumpin' one.  There's a lot more growth on this record, with AmpLive mixing up more diversely influenced beats, and Zumbi blastin' off his usual calculated flow that never gets boring.  Be sure to peep their collabs with Seattle MC Macklemore and Rebelution (fuh-ree at their website).

Rep it, you will.

Twista & Raekwon Show Their Game

No doubt, these two have only refined with age.  Spitting fat rhymes like they never left, they swoop in and do their thing like another day at the office, no bullfrills.  Take notes, 'cause this is a crash course on crisp rap.

Intricately crafted flow from they who know: "The Heat"

Grynch

This new face in hip-hop hails from Seattle and combines the sensitivity of Blu & Exile with the upbeat sample heavy instrumentals of classic Pretty Toney. Check out Grynch's album My Second Wind.

Grynch - It's a New Day

"Start it Up"-Lloyd Banks feat. Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Ryan Leslie and Fabolous

G-Unit's best (sorry 50 Cent, Jay-Z's a dollar) put out this track on Monday and it's polarizing. Swizz Beatz' phat beat is nearly obscured by terrible stupid dumb synths, but Lloyd Banks and Kanye bring it on their verses (the highlight being Ye's "Beauty is why God invented eyeballs/And her booty is why God invented my balls") but Fabulous steals the show in the first half of his-until the beat slows him down and fucks it all up. Can we give Swizz Beatz money not to make beats?

"Start it Up"-Lloyd Banks feat. Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Ryan Leslie and Fabolous

Fresh Bay Slaps: Droop-E is Loaded

E-40's son is legit, especially with the E-hyphenated name.  He's throwin' down a mixtape with BLVCK SCVLE and Diamond Supply pretty soon, and this track is a delicious preview.  "I'm Loaded" features Sade's far away bongo-jazzy "War of the Hearts" sample that creates the personality of the track, and Droop-E flies with his own brand of swag, probably taking after his father, who runs the nasty train straight through his guest verse with his trademark BLAP.

Bump it and cruz brah: "I'm Loaded (feat. E-40)"

"Waspy (feat Tennis)"- G-Eazy

Sorry DP Double Play, jacked this one. Hype Machine dicksucker G-Eazy teams up with Tennis, the cutest band ever, for this topsider-clad chillfest. Sampling the breezy vocals and doo-wop bass of the yacht-club jam "Marathon", "Waspy" is about a poor rapper who hits the jackpot, bagging a slumming Yalie whose 'booty ain't that fat but her wallet is.'

This song is interesting only for how uninteresting it is. Asher Roth sound-alike plus trendy indie jam du jour plus references to topsiders? Throw Chiddy Bang's "Adults (Opposite of Kids)" in Vineyard Vines, and "Waspy" pops out like a cold sore. However, in the new music culture, is it worth putting any thought into a song that will be relevant only until the next Urban Outfitters anthem comes out?

Clearly, G-Eazy did not mean to make any profound statement in the writing of "Waspy", and it's a fun song, but it just makes you want to listen to "Marathon." Stupid rappers in skinny jeans who make songs for self-referential white people irk me like nothing else. "Waspy" is an obvious prostitute for my demographic, so I'll give G-Eazy my ironic "dollars", but nothing more.

"Waspy (feat Tennis)"- G-Eazy

Gucci Mane- "Trap Talk" VIDEO

GUCCI! The best worst hip-hop artist is back with the third single off his new album The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted (drops Sept. 28th).

Now before you haters click out of the page, disgusted that TWS would ever endorse Mr. Lemonade, hear me out. Better yet, hear this beat out. Oh my goodness, that bass can sterilize a woman from 50 feet.

Problems with Gucci Mane:

1. His cadence is slower than Jim Thome to first base.

Yes, but his voice slowly drips out of the speakers like codeine into a Solo cup. He's got great flow, but it requires the proper beat.

2. He doesn't have a song without the word "trap".

Jay-Z does not have a song without some permutation of "H.O.V.A." And no one cares.

My point is, you can hate on Gucci until the cows come home, if he's got a beat this fat, it doesn't matter. His flow is subtler than you would think. Check it out.

Camu Tao

Out now on Def Jux, RIP.

Pharoahe Monch

Following up the brilliantly soulful and polished release, Desire, Monch will be back with a new record this October. Look out for this single, exemplifying the former Organized Konfusion MC's ageless lyrical ability.

Pharoahe Monch - Shine feat. Mela Machinko
Bonus Tunnel Banger: Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says
Bonus Relevant Throwback: Organized Konfusion - Stress

Curren$y

Ever wondered why the beat to New Orleans MC Curren$y's album cut "The Day" featuring Jay Electronica and Mos Def has eerily similar bass and guitar interactions to "Politics As Usual" by Jay-Z off Reasonable Doubt in '96? Perhaps the reason is that both were produced by none other than the legendary hip-hop beatmaker, Ski Beatz. Back in the 90s he went by "Ski" and fronted a more prolific career with beats for the likes of Jay-Z and of course nearly the entire Uptown Saturday Night album by Camp Lo.

Curren$y - The Day feat. Jay Electronica & Mos Def
Jay-Z - Politics as Usual