Crib Notes

By B. Knight

Mason “Mase” Betha may be the first artist to survive Diddy’s Bad Boy label curse. What curse, might you ask? Have you ever noticed that Bad Boy acts usually get shelved after their first CD? Or something happens and a second or a third album is never released? Think about it: Biggie, Junior M.A.F.I.A, Craig Mack, Black Rob, Shyne, Total, Dream, Carl Thomas, Mario Winans, Loon, The LOX, Danity Kane, just to name a few.

During Diddy’s recent visit to V-103’s Ryan Cameron show to promote his new Dirty Money album Last Train to Paris, Mase surprisingly showed up and got Diddy to sign what appeared to be a contract releasing him from Bad Boy after a 10 year delay. It turns out, according to Miss Info, that the paper signed was only an appearance release form which allows Mase to appear on other artists’ songs but doesn’t release him from his Bad Boy contract. (more…)

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On Sunday, in recognition of BET Hip-Hop Awards weekend, Ryan Cameron and DJ Hershey will count down the “Dirty 30″ — Atlanta’s top rap songs of all time — starting at noon on V-103 (WVEE-FM).

So we decided to make our own list to take you back.

Back to the days of MC Shy D and DJ Toomp. Back to the days of Atlanta’s first FM radio rap show “The Fresh Party” (aired every Friday night on V-103 in the mid-’80s). Back to the days of Arnell Starr’s “American Rap Makers” video show on Channel 69.

The compiled list is strictly old-school, meaning nothing released after 1999 is included. Other criteria: All songs were either regional or national radio singles and/or videos that got heavy rotation.

We linked to YouTube videos or streaming mp3s where possible. Let us know what you think we missed.

30) “Jump,” Kris Kross
29) “Cocaine (America Has a Problem)” Kilo
28) “Raheem the Dream,” Raheem
27) “The HItman,” Sammy Sam the Hitman
26) “Can’t Stop No Playa,” Da Organization
25) “Bankhead Bounce,” Diamond feat. D-Roc
24) “Shake It,” MC Shy D
23) “True Players,” A-Town Players
22) “Funkdafied,” Da Brat
21) “Nasty Dancer,” Kilo
20) “Shorty Swing My Way,” KP & Envyi
19) “Watch for the Hook,” Cool Breeze feat. Dungeon Family
18) “Fly Away,” Goodie MOB
17) “Show Me Love,” Kilo
16) “Soul Food,” Goodie MOB
15) “People Everyday,” Arrested Development
14) “Rosa Parks,” OutKast
13) “Tennessee,” Arrested Development
12) “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,” OutKast
11) “They Don’t Dance No Mo’,” Goodie MOB
10) “Scrub Da Ground” Splack Pack
9) “Gotta Be Tough,” MC Shy D
8) “Roll It Up,” Success N Effect
7) “Cell Therapy,” Goodie MOB
6) “Player’s Ball,” OutKast
5) “Who You Wit,” Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys
4) “Get Up, Git Out,” OutKast feat. Goodie MOB
3) “Straight From the Dec,” Ghetto Mafia
2) “The Dirty South,” Goodie MOB feat. Cool Breeze, Big Boi
1) “Elevators (Me & You),” OutKast

Honorable mentions: “Iesha,” Another Bad Creation; “Baby Baby,” Kilo; “Van Full of Pakistans,” Y’all So Stupid, “Holiday,” Witchdoctor

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Is she singing about her former marriage to Bobby Brown or her former status as pop’s reigning princess?

Whitney Houston leaves it ambiguous on her new Akon-produced song, “Like I Never Left,” which leaked over the weekend. It’s a far cry from the classic material of Houston’s heyday, but it’s also the first song she’s released in five years.

When local urban radio stations V-103 (WVEE-FM) and Hot 107.9 (WHTA-FM) played the leaked song this morning, it received mixed responses from on-air personalities and listeners. The typically diplomatic Frank Ski said it sounded “aged.” But some were just happy to have the diva back. Remember, crack is wack.

Click here to listen and judge for yourself.

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ACEY DUCEY: Atlanta’s Anthony David throws up the deuce sign at Sound Shop record store in the Mall West End. The label deal he signed last week with Universal Republic means his record will finally get major distribution.

Two months after V-103 (WVEE-FM) began playing “Words” — Anthony David’s duet with India.Arie from his 2006 sophomore release, Red Clay Chronicles — David has signed a major label deal with Universal Republic.

Though the deal was in the works months before V-103 began playing “Words,” David says getting airplay on Atlanta’s top-ranked radio station helped speed things along. (Click here to read the back story about how the independent artist’s song made it into V-103’s rotation.)

The wheels started turning late last year when David went to New York to perform a showcase for the label execs. Universal Republic is also home to artists such as Amy Winehouse and David’s long-time collaborator, India.Arie.

His first release on the label could come as soon as May ‘08, he says. It will include a re-release of several songs from both of David’s previous albums, 3 Chords and the Truth and Red Clay Chronicles (both released on local indie label Brash Music), as well as a few new songs.

The deal struck by David and his manager, Richard Dunn, will allow David to retain ownership of his masters.

For the last decade, the Savannah native has been a staple within Atlanta’s underground soul scene. David says his independent streak won’t change just because his status has. “All artists should act independently,” he says. “Ultimately, you work for yourself.”

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From the shooting allegedly involving rapper J.T. Money at Opera on Thursday night to T.I.’s gun-related arrest by federal agents just hours before the awards show was scheduled to begin at the Civic Center Saturday evening, the BET Hip-Hop Awards weekend seemed to go from bad to worse and has left an air of depression over much of the city’s hip-hop community.

The cathartic conclusion to the weekend’s events occurred Sunday at Justin’s restaurant, where AllHipHop.com hosted a brunch featuring Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, who addressed an audience of rappers, industry supporters and fans alike about the seemingly dire state of hip-hop.

The emotional floodgates swung open Monday morning as callers and show hosts voiced their opinions on Atlanta’s urban stations, V-103 (WVEE-FM 103.3) and HOT 107.9 (WHTA-FM). When the conversation turned to T.I.’s arrest, listening to the range of comments was almost like dissecting the rapper’s recent album, T.I. vs. TIP, on which his commercially viable persona wages war with his street-loyal, do-or-die self. There was an obvious split between fans who have taken up the cry to “Free T.I.P.” and those who are fed up with rappers such as T.I. (Clifford Harris Jr.) for making ill-fated decisions that often send their careers, and their lives, into a downward spiral (see Tupac).

While supporters acknowledge T.I.’s wrongdoing, if the alleged charges are true that the two-time felon used his bodyguard to purchase unregistered firearms, many echoed the sentiments of the ongoing “stop snitching” campaign popularized by rappers.

“Be careful of the people you let in your circle,” said morning show host Frank Ski on V-103, while expressing his personal hurt over the incident. He then played a portion of an in-studio interview he conducted with T.I. that was coincidentally taped July 3, 2007 — the same month, Ski noted, that T.I.’s bodyguard/cooperating witness first started working with the rapper — in which T.I. states that the only people allowed in his circle are people he’s known for years:

I’m a loyal cat. I mean, if you notice, everybody who’s around me has been around me. Everybody. You know what I’m saying. You ain’t seen me with no new faces since I’m Serious. Doug, C-Rod, K.P., Big Kuntry, Mac Boney, J. Geter … Hannah — all these same people been around every since I’m Serious — from security down. That’s just in me ’cause you don’t find good people all the time. It’s hard to find good people. It’s hard to find genuine people who got your best interest at heart and who [are] gonna do right by you regardless of … the money. (more…)

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