MP3/Video: Eminem - We Made You

I've been defending this shit all morning. If you're a fan and can get past the Encore-voice, listen a few times; his flow is actually incredibly on point, and the lyrics in reference to the chorus make sense. "We Made You" is his typical celebrity "you suck" affair. His first singles are always like this. But the production is purposeful - there's a bridge, Dre gave it some swing, it's big and bombastic. The whole thing aims to create a place for him to play. And when he's at play, he's joking around. Everyone of course wants to hear Eminem RAP, and I'm sure he will on the album. In fact, on BOTH albums he's releasing this year. Have faith.

Download: Eminem - We Made You

MIMS Performing "Guilt" At Jamnow.com

Caught up with MIMS over at Jamnow.com's Chop Shop, and he went IN with the title track to his new album, dropping tomorrow, April 7. Most of ya'll know him from "This Is Why I'm Hot," but dude is a straight-up lyricist. When you're gettin love from Pumpkinhead at End of The Weak about how you hold it down, you KNOW he's paid his dues. Props to MIMS for bein an intelligent cat knowing where he's goin in this music shit.



Visit jamnow.com/MIMS to listen to his entire interview and set. Never seen an artist so comfortable going back and forth, dudes a pro. So tune in, talk back and act like you know.

Exclusive: E.Ness Talks New Album + MP3 + Show Announcement

I was over at Jamnow’s Chop Shop not too long ago, and talked with Bad Boy’s Ness, one of the original members of Diddy’s Making The Band cast. He talked about his new album, “Nessessary,” and why he still stays heavy on the mixtapes. Listen to his entire set and interview at Jamnow.com here. On another note, myself and a few other dope artists will be opening for Ness April 20th at Don Hills in NYC. Stop through and show support!

Here are some excerpts from his Jamnow interview, with my video interview below. And be sure to download the new track, “Slingshot Ness.” Props to Chelly and Kevin!

Topics of Interest
“This album is going to have a new sound. I’m pushin the bar, talking about politics, Katrina, the government, current events people are going through, the murder rate in Philly is still crazy, the U.S. recession, and of course, you know, things about myself. What it was like comin up in Philly, the reality show, the whole MTV experience, man, there was a lot of spinoff shows. I’m just tryin to make substantial shit, like, all this fast food music, this microwave music that’s hot right now, I don’t do it. I make soul music.”

Religion & Hip-Hop
“I was raised in a religious family, man, goin to church, prep school, I was pushed along thru school to do the right thing, all that. But how I got into hiphop, I mean, I loved reading and writing and I used to read front-to-back and analyze things, like the psychology, that’s how I penned my rhymes, a beginning, middle and climax. I always enjoyed English and reading and writing and, I mean, if you’re illiterate and you’re proud of that, that ain’t grown and sexy, man, there’s help you can get to get over that. So, you know, I applied that love for words with the breakdancing and the culture, and it all eventually led to the flows and rhymes.”

Writing & The Album
“My mood swings and whatever I’m feelin, if I’m in the studio, man, that’s what’s gonna come out, that’s what it’s gonna sound like. When you’re on a label, like, people got a misconception that Puff doesn’t push or take care of his artists. The Internet is a big outlet so you ain’t gotta fish in stores, and that’s worked it’s way into the industry. For me, it’s the right timing and the right record, I don’t wanna put out a record in the recession, cuz people gotta pay light bills over buying a Ness song. I’ma wait til the economy goin good and then make a push for people to cop Nessessary.”



Download: E.Ness - Slingshot Ness

UFC Notes: W. Silva On Liddell/Shogun, Condit’s Debut, White Talks “Mask” and Training Camp With A. Silva

Sherdog got the extra scoop on an interview with The Axe Murderer the other day. Here, Wanderlei talks about the upcoming fight between his buddy Shogun and the big homie with the looping (let’s hope it’s a CRISP) cannonball right hand, Chuck Liddell. Peep the whole story at ESPN swiping the content from Sherdog:

Sherdog.com: Your friend Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will face Chuck Liddell next month. What do you expect from this fight?

Silva: It will be a very important fight for Shogun. It will be a watershed for him. Probably for both, because Liddell has the rope around his neck. I have seen some statements by the boss [Dana White] saying that he could fire him. I do not know if he would, but he did say. The [word] around here on Liddell is that he got married, doesn’t hang out at night anymore and goes from home to the gym and from the gym to home. It seems that he is training like a madman. I hope that Shogun is preparing well.

I talked a lot with [Shogun], love him. That’s what I told him: Liddell is not Coleman. He is an aggressive guy, has heavy hands and does not give up. If he hits you on the chin, probably a KO. Shogun has a very aggressive style and has to be in very good shape, with much cardio, because he doesn’t stop. He goes with punches, kicks, knees and takedowns. With him there’s no asking to stop. So he has to give good attention to the cardio because his style requires much cardio. He is a very talented guy, but age comes for everyone, including him. Then with time he will realize that nowadays we … must have a higher preparation. The guys are always getting better here. Shogun is a guy who can win the belt soon. He is in the front of the line. I believe in him. I think he’ll have a great performance against Liddell. I would not be surprised if he knocks him out or submits him. If he gets a takedown, I think it ends in the second round by submission.

______________________________________________



Carlos Condit, jumping, kneeing, looking disgruntled. Now, I haven’t heard the whole story, but apparently dude jumped ship on his camp when he got bumped up to the UFC. Via email. Classless? Yes. Is he still a good fighter? We’ll be able to tell if Kampmann gets in his ass tomorrow night!

Download/Listen to the audio (props Luke Thomas at MMANation, via BloodyElbow) here.

______________________________________________

Dana White Talks TapouT Founder Charles “Mask” Lewis





______________________________________________



Anderson Silva Talks Leites, Talks Fedor & GSP

Middleweight champion Anderson Silva will defend his crown for the fifth time when he collides with countryman Thales Leites in the featured bout at UFC 97 “Redemption” on April 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Silva (23-4) realizes Leites presents many dangers, and he has enlisted the assistance of Brazilian jiu-jitsu superstars Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Andre Galvao, among others, as he prepares for his latest test inside the Octagon.

Based out of the Nova Uniao camp, the 27-year-old Leites (14-1) has never been finished in 15 career fights and has enjoyed a relatively stealth rise up the middleweight ladder.

“Thales is a new kid who’s just starting out, but he’s already proven that he deserves this opportunity,” Silva told Sherdog.com in an exclusive video interview. “He’s a dangerous opponent, just like all the others I’ve faced. He has this opportunity to fight for the title because he impressed the promoters enough to get this chance. The only thing I can say for sure is that, no matter who wins, the belt will stay in Brazil.”

Survival of The Chillest: Ice Drum Set vs. Ice Mouse Trap

Spotted this on Questlove's Twitter today, pretty sick. I'm not sure how they did it, but I'd guess they froze the rims in place, or at least a place-holder and then added the real ones with the skins. Either way, to get any decent tension, they'd have to have some pretty strong ice. Reminds me of these dudes I saw on Discovery (ahem Wreckreation Nation what up!) on late-night and they had this completely ice castle version of the old Mousetrap game. Pretty dope. Both clips are below:

M-Rock + Russell Peters (Juno Awards Composition)

My homie M-Rock from Canada composed the opening sequence of the Juno's this year (Canada's Grammy Awards) and he's got the intro and then the breakdown in the clip. Pretty dope, congrats man!

Jeter And His 3,000 Hit

Tyler Hissy of MVN.com penned an interesting column yesterday about the probability of Yankee living legend Derek Jeter reaching the 3,000 hit plateau in pinstripes. And while I'm inclined to agree his defensive abilities have fallen off in the last few years, he's got certain intangibles that make up for those shortcomings and one of them is his offensive production.

I'm wondering what a switch to second base would be like, if Cano would make that adjustment, or even if it's worth doing. As long as his legs are still healthy, Jeter in left field would be amusing, though I'm not sure his legacy deserves that. But does he deserve to be a utility player in a Yanks uniform or pursue three stacks in another uniform? I'm not sure he'd want to go out like that.

Read the entire article here. Some snippets:

..."Jeter, as cool as he looks with his jump throws from the hole, simply lets too many balls to his left and right side that should be converted into outs go in for base hits, thus inflating the ERAs of every New York pitcher. Objectively, he has been hurting the Yankees, whose terrible defensive efficiency ratings as of late are not just a coincidence, while playing such an important up-the-middle position so poorly. The casual fan has a mental model of Jeter making exceptional defensive plays burned into their brain, from his in-the-stands grab against the Boston Red Sox to the infamous ball flip to catcher Jorge Posada to save a huge playoff game against the Oakland A's.

Mental models, however, are driven by biased, subjective thought processes, one or a few isolated images. Objective data, on the other hand, simply does not lie, nor does it give bonus points to certain players for perceived likeability or star appeal. Essentially, there is absolutely no conspiracy against Jeter because he used to date Jessica Biel and those "basement-dwelling stat heads" who frequently deride his defense only can do so in their dreams.

Statistical analysts do not call him Past-A-Diving Jeter for their own amusement.

Also, while advanced defensive statistics have some flaws, a number of scouts agree with the conclusions drawn in the statistical community. Many scouts have also documented how Jeter has difficulty getting to balls a few steps to his left or right; it would be difficult for a trained talent evaluator, or anyone looking for it on the YES! Network, not to notice.

Defensive deficiencies aside, the soon-to-35-year-old middle infielder has been a productive hitter since winning the Rookie of the Year and helping the Yankees to the World Series all the way back in 1996. He has put up a career line of .316/.387/.458 with a 120 OPS+ in 8,025 at-bats over 14 seasons. Not too many shortstops can boast that kind of an offensive resume, and, though he is a perhaps a bit overrated, there is no denying what he has accomplished with a bat in his hands--especially for a shortstop, even one who is so limited defensively. Despite his shortcomings with the glove, he has also been quite valuable overall; he has produced the following value wins totals (accounting for defense, offense and positional factors) since 2004, respectively: 5.0, 4.5, 6.4, 3.7, 3.7. While he has been on the wrong side of the dollars earned/dollars made chart, for the most part, he has been an excellent player who should not be faulted for accepted such an enormous amount of money from the Steinbrenner fortune."