The movie Die Hard was playing in the background at the studio while I was writing one day,” Marc tells Billboard. “At this same time, quitting a couple bad habits had been weighing heavily on my mind and the idea just really developed from there!”

In 2016, Bassy released his debut album, Gossip Columns, under the Republic imprint. It included features from high-profile artists like YG, Kehlani, frequent collaborator G-Eazy, and more. The San Fransisco-native recently embarked a 35-city tour with Jon Bellion.

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Remember that time DeShawn Stevenson called LeBron James overrated?

Think back: 2008 NBA Playoffs, Stevenson, a member of the Washington Wizards at the time, said that  James, then in his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers was an overrated basketball player. James, seemingly unfazed and chasing his first NBA title at the time, replied stating that Stevenson would be like “Jay-Z responding to Soulja Boy.”

Soulja Boy used that statement to his advantage and attended a playoff game between the two teams. He even cheered on Stevenson while sitting courtside and did the Superman dance from his seat.

That’s when Jay-Z stepped in. Sampling the instrumental and vocals from Too Short’s Blow The Whistle, Hov went ham!

For those with amnesia or tardy to the party, he said in the diss track:

“Ask my n**** LeBron! We so big we ain’t gotta respond. When you talkin to a don, please have respect like you’re talking to your mom. We let the money do the talkin. As you see we be talkin rather often. The ROC Boys in the buildin. Another hundred fifty million don’t it sound like we yellin?!!! Who the f*** overrated?! If anything they underpaid him. Hatin that’s only ‘gonna make him spend the night out of spite with the chick you’ve been datin. We the best of the best. We ‘gon be here so the rest could take a rest, I gotta get this off my chest, No pause none of that s***, get off my d***”

The Cavaliers would eventually eliminate the Wizards in that playoff series and Jay-Z would get his point across without LeBron saying a word. Too $hort’s song also got new life.

So much life, that eight years later, Drake’s vocals came in on For Free, a single on DJ Khaled’s Major Key album. On it, Drake would rhyme $hort’s classic, ‘on and on’ as his opening verse.

Simply putL Drizzy and Hovi gave it the old Toronto and Brooklyn one-two punch!

“It just gave the song a new audience every now and then,” Too $hort shared with me.  “Like every two or three years some new area just discovers Blow The Whistle and it’s like a new song all over again.”

Check Out Too $hort and Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson Discussing The Whole She-bang on Scoop B Radio

But we digress!

Appearing on today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Too $hort walked listeners through the inter-webbing of Jay-Z’s request to use the track and his decision to side with LeBron. Too $hort indicated that Jay-Z had a concert in Oakland after James and Stevenson were going back and forth. Too $hort says that Jay-Z decided to play the song at the concert.. “I didn’t come on stage but he played it and like sent me a shout out and the crowd went crazy when he played the song,” Too $hort told me on Scoop B Radio.

“So I guess in his mind he was gearing up to, at that point I think he was thinking about signing LeBron and having him play for the Nets and he was courting LeBron and LeBron was special to him and ‘ol boy [Stevenson] stepped on LeBron’s toes talking shit and Jay was like I’m going to shut this down. And he probably saw the moment where the crowd reacted to the song and then that was on his mind.”

If you recall, Jay-Z, a close friend and confidant of LeBron was a minority owner of the Nets at that time. A non-issue, but good for theater, nonetheless.

Seizing the opportunity, Too $hort said Jay-Z called him, asked for his blessing and requested the Blow The Whistle beat.

“He was like: ‘could you send me the instrumental to that?’ If a rapper called me and said: ‘send me the instrumental,’ I’ll probably say something like: ‘we didn’t even bounce the instrumental, so we don’t even have one.’ When Jay called, I was like: ‘ it will be there in a couple of hours man.’ I had no idea what he was going to do with it, but I am glad he did.”

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The post “Jay Was Like: ‘I’m Going To Shut This Down'” – Too $hort On LeBron James, Jay-Z, Soulja Boy, DeShawn Stevenson’s 2008 Beef appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Hip-Hop icon E-40 releases his highly anticipated new EP titled Poverty & Prosperity, his first in over 20 years, since his 1993 EP, The Mail Man. The Bay Area Ambassador shows no signs of slowing down with the release of this new project, on the heels of debuting his hot new single “Gamed Up” featuring artist Rayven Justice.

“In the midst of working on my two albums, ‘Sharp On All 4 Corners Volume 3 & 4,” the good Lord tapped me on the shoulder and gave me an assignment. He told me to speak to the people, to tell it like it is and call it how you see it. E-40 you got something to say!” explains the rap veteran.

Fresh off his nomination for Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year at the Soul Train Awards for his collaboration with Big Sean on “IDFWU,” and releasing four new remixes of his hit single “Choices” featuring French Montana & Kid Ink; Zero, Slim Thug & Kirko Bangz; 50 Cent &Snoop Dogg; and Migos & Rick Ross, E-40 continues to show the next generation of artists how hard work and consistency pay off.

After three decades in the game, E-40’s talent and business savvy keep him relevant in an ever-evolving industry, while also allowing him to branch out into the beverage industry with the successful launch of his signature Earl Stevens Selections, Sluricane Hurricane and his new 40-ounce malt liquor hitting shelves in December.

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN to Poverty & Prosperity HERE

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E-40 is giving fans something new to rock with with his Rick Rock-produced single “Gamed Up” featuring L.A. artist Rayven Justice. The new banger is a preview of what’s to come on E-40’s highly anticipated upcoming E.P. dubbed Poverty & Prosperity, due to be released on Nov. 20^th.

The Hip-Hop icon wasted no time in dropping new music after putting out four new remixes of his hit single “Choices” featuring French Montana & Kid Ink; Zero, Slim Thug & Kirko Bangz; 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg; and Migos & Rick Ross.

The Bay Area Ambassador, who was recently nominated for Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year at this year’s Soul Train Awards for his collaboration with Big Sean on the hit song “IDFWU,” continues to stay on the grind. While releasing new music and hit records, the rapper maintains success in the beverage industry with his signature Earl Stevens Selections, Sluricane Hurricane, and his new 40-ounce malt liquor.

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A-1 and Mikos Da Gawd drop a visual documentation of the creative process with “Artist in Residence.” Bay Area’s A-1 and Mikos visit Ex’pression College (an Audio/Recording college with top tier music facilities consisting of serval campus locations across the Bay Area) to record their soulful, acoustic/piano version of “Thurlian.” Throughout the duration of creating the sound, the Soulection members chronicle the forging nature of the Bay Area, it’s major influence on music as a whole, and display the unparalleled chemistry between the two of them collectively. “Artist In Residence” is a testimonial of two artists collaborating to devise a piece that will hopefully stand the test of time. From the sound of it, A-1 and Mikos Da Gawd’s expedition is well under way.

Check out the Acoustic/Piano version of “Thurlian” below.

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Download “All” below and check out his upcoming project “Prerolled” May 2.

The post Royce Rizzy Feat. HBK Skipper – “All” (Prod. By Kato) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

San Francisco producer Fly Commons drops his original production album “Greyscale” featuring Erk Tha Jerk, Jay Ant, G-Eazy, D. Bledsoe, and more. The 12-track album strays away from the typical Bay area vibe, displaying a wide-range of musical influence, from softer melodies to upbeat jazz-like instrumentation. Fly Common’s use of ambient embedding and sonic diversity allow for a well-rounded and inventive sound, putting the west coast in a different creative space.

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