The 11 sickest albums of 2008

After reading at least 10 different 'in-the-know' top ten lists it became very apparent that these music critics like to base their choices are what other 'bloggers' are writing about and not about artists who were actually putting out banging music. So as usual, Whoasick has stepped up to give you a brief synopsis of the albums that need to be in your speakers ASAP. You wont find folky/wimpy/sad/emo/L.A.R.P.ing music on this list, minus the Empire of the Sun album cover, I think it was a scene from a LARPer's wet dream. Instead you will be given the list of the music that most of these lists failed to mention or that they moved far down their lists to attemp to fill their list with bogus junk. Since most music bloggers are too busy growing out their mustaches and buying new vintage clothing to actually suggest music people will like, Whoasick has stepped to the plate. Enjoy.

11 - The Cool Kids - The Bakesale



















After setting the internet on fire it was hard to ignore the minimal bounce and catchy lyrics. Literally these guys were forgotten at the end of the year because they started this hipster shit. Their EP was fire from start to finish and without a single guest appearance they proved that you dont need Ron Browz to make your record turn the club out.

Sickest Cut: 88
10 - Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream












After taking first place in the album cover department, Empire of the Sun delivered with their first album. This album pretty much sums up the experience of riding Falcor through a club while taking copious amounts of ecstasy. Do not miss it.

Sickest Cut: Walking On A Dream

9 - Shawn Jackson - First of All



















Wow. Just wow. Excellent album from start to finish and it actually plays like a real album. From the skits to the multitude of sounds ranging from early Eric B & Rakim to the new Detroit knock, no track disappoints. And Charles Hamilton thought he was the only guy making real hiphop.

Sickest Cut: Feelin' Jack

8 - Air France - No Way Down















Air France isn't an original pick for best albums because it has been featured on multiple blogs who claim to have the quintessential taste in music. BUT, the album is so good and creates dreamiest music I've heard since I first listened to Orbital in my fledgling music days. This album makes me want to never wear pants or socks ever again.

Sickest Cut: June Evenings

07 - The Teenagers - The Teenagers


















The Teenagers have been on the remix scene for a minute and have been widely loved as remixers yet their solo album seemed to be completely ignored while writers obsessively wrote about their Britney Spears remix and other various side-projects. Well sleep no more. This album is excellent and extremely funny. Lead singer, Quentin Delafon, does a combination of singing and talking and his broken english and thick french accent make for some hilarious moments. See: 'Not In Love'. I have listened to this album end to end without ever having to staple my eyelids to my forehead as I usually have to do with French pop.

Sickest Cut: Starlett Johannson


6 - G-Side - Starships and Rockets


















This album literally floored me. Whoever thought that you could sample Enya, rap about your "TV screens flippin down" and create a rap classic. The G Side crew from Alabama has done something special here with original samples, swagger that makes Jim Jones look like Mr. Rogers, and lyrics that could be mistaken for either a Talib Kweli quote or Shorty Lo. Diplo took notice with his Huntsvegas mixtape with the crew, but their own release is end to end heat. 'Bama gettin money!

Sickest Cut: The Speed of Sound

5 - Black Milk - Tronic




















Black Milk has continually delivered solid projects and this year he did not disappoint. 'Tronic' absolutely takes a steaming dump on every other 'producer/rapper who has tried to make an album. Ron who? Pharrell who? ALC? Black Milk spits like he has something to prove, and although his rhymes often fall back to typical bragging topics, the guy literally smashes your face in with snares that have been smoking rock all day and horns from another dimension. I produce records and all I can say is...damn. Oh and Dwele plays the Horn on a feature. Need I say more?

Sickest Cut: Long Story Short


04 - LadyHawke - LadyHawke





















As producers go, LadyHawke should be in the top ranks of the pop world. Hailing from Austrailia, she jumped onto the scene this year with her extremely catchy self titled debut. I often tie a head band and watch Flashdance on mute while listening to this. You cant go wrong with another aussie trying to make you dance. Once again, an ignored album by most reviewers because they are racist against aussies. Put another shrimp on the barby!

Sickest Cut: Love Dont Live Here

03 - Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours



















UGH. what can I say. I love the Breakfast Club. The final frame of that film perfectly sums up with album. I didn't want to like Cut Copy because they are the golden children of the gentrification kids, but the album was undeniably excellent. Zima, Members Only Jackets, Radd, and Corey Haim are all excellent things to have around while you listen to this album.

02 - Flying Lotus - Los Angeles





















If Aphex Twin, J Dilla, The Neptunes and Portishead had a mutant child and it was raised by Stanley Kubrick....eh you get the picture. This twisted soundscape is so dense, bouncy and jagged that it is difficult to discern each song. And that's not a bad thing. This mostly instrumental album brought me back to the days in my dorm where I would listen to Richard D James straight through and start it again. Now if he would only start producing for rappers...

Sickest Cut: Camel


01!!!!!!! - Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend


















Obviously my bias towards Paul Simon, Sailboats, Peter Gabriel, loafers, Ivy League Ed, and African drums means that this album could be in no other place than first for my albums of the year. To some this may be a cop-out, but this album was almost perfect and it plays just as great in the club as it does on your ipod in Sheep's Meadow. If you get any album this year make it Vampire Weekend.

Sickest Cut: Walcott







Sickest albums???? WHOASICK!!!

Redial is SICK

As usual, leave it to the aussies to bring some of the dopest electro pop of the year. First it was Empire of The Sun, then Ladyhawke, now Redial is stepping to the plate with some BANGIN tracks for your dancing hips. There is a little bit of MSTRKRFT, DP, and Justice sprinkled in, but the tracks are still fresh in their own right. Get a few below, and dont sleep even though his cover art is pretty terry cloth.



Redial - Valkyrie

Redial - Revolver

Redial - Valve






Aussie Electro....always sick.

Jackie Chain!!!!

The people wanted it so here it is. Jackie Chain's newest mixtape. This record is put heat. No joke, do not sleep on these crazy guys from 'Bama. Chain could be the next Paul Wall, meaning, a dope rapper who is racially out of place amongst his southern rap counter-parts. Jackie Chain!!!



















PLUS




















Equals
Get the mixtape Here






















Jackie Chain.... WHOA SICK!!!

Big Noyd - Illustrious

Since its the holidays I figured I would put up a stocking stuffer. Big Noyd Illustrious could possibly be one of the greatest albums of the year, and yet EVERY single hiphop/music publication/blog has literally turned its back on the record when talking about GREAT releases of the year. Well here is the album, in full, so even if you cant go out and buy it, which you should, you can listen to it in its QB gangsta greatness.


Big Noyd - Illustrious - http://link-protector.com/675376/

QB....whoa sick.

SICK G-Side mixtapes

If you put Enya, UGK, Sade, Too Short, and Underworld in a blender, the G Side crew is what would be poured into the glass. In a sweet smoothy of southern fried ambient jams, G Side probably is the most intriguing crews coming up in music right now. And it doesn't hurt that one of their stand outs is an asian dude by the name of Jackie Chain... cop their two best mixtapes below.

Slow Motion Sounds - http://www.zshare.net/download/52662367a0d7765e/


G-Side - Starshipz & Rockets - http://www.zshare.net/download/5266254375be1ece/

Rollin Rollin Rollin we aint slept in weeks... so sick.

Whoa Sick is back, out of neccesity.

Whoasick is back, not because of a need to blog, but to break away from the current blogs continual overflowing of crappy content and music. Here once again you will find the best, and only the best. Most major blogs have become unreadable and really have no taste, but just blast content to keep up. As usual whoasick will filter the BS and give you the best. Enjoy.

Japanese Heavy Metal is not SICK

Japanese Heavy Metal Rules - Watch more free videos

HEAVY METAL ON WHOASICK??? wow, that was bad....

Christian The Lion Remix: SICK

Kev Sakoda came through with a SERIOUS REMIX. Check his twitter in the whoasick friends if his remix below isn't proof enough of this guys love for endangered species.



Lions & Whitney Houston??? WHOASICK!!!

Air France: Sick

I think as Summer goes away I become obessed with music to make it stay. Air France is a group out of Sweden which does just that. They remind me of The Avalanches circa 2001 if every song sounded like "Since I Left You". Whether you are lounging in the sand or staring at your desktop background of a pic your last vacation to a beach, Air France sets the soundtrack. Another band that has cracked the current WS top 10. Two standouts from their new album "No Way Down" are available below.

Air France - June Evenings

Air France - Collapsing At Your Doorstep

Air France - Beach Party

Get the new Charles Hamilton mixtape over at Writers Block... not sure about this kid yet, but he is getting massive hype right now and just signed to Interscope.

Also check out the Paul Rosenblog and see the begnning of the end of the world.

Beaches, chill music, a mixtape and a robot??? WHOA SICK!!

Separated at birth by a SICK twist of fate?

That's right... In ferreting out the latest and greatest in hip-hop news, WhoaSickSouth has come upon a stunning rumor (actually, I just made it up, but who's counting?)-- Cpt. Jack Sparrow and Lil' Wayne were SEPARATED AT BIRTH.

Notice their shared penchant for red rags, tattoos and firearms. Notice, further, their quirky dispositions and their seemingly Xanax and Syzzurp induced-oddities... Then judge for yourself.





Whoa... SICK!

Edbird SICK? Nope, Edbird Slim. But he's SICK.

All those who like to think of themselves as sick wit' it should probably get a load of Edbird Slim.

Dude is from Albany, GA (home of Field Mob) and purveys that uniquely rural gully Southern sound that can't be duplicated in the city, even Southern cities like ATL or Cashville.

Give Edbird a listen and see if you don't agree:

Lean

Empire of the Sun: SICK

After a rough week Whoasick is back on track. Moving into september, there will be a whole lot more of a diverse selection of great music featured on the WS. This being that after listening to both the new Young Jeezy and Game records, I have fully become disenchanted with hiphop. These are artists who have delivered great/classic records and have both succeeded to put out two of the most mediocre albums of the year. So for now since my girlfriend moved across the bridge to Brooklyn, I've extended my hand into some excellent hipsterish sounds so I can fit in better when I leave my Manhattan enclave for her Brooklyn abode.

This leads to Empire of The Sun - Walking on a Dream... WOW. I wish I heard this record at the beginning of the summer, but it will allow me to keep summer going through the fall. When the crowd gets rowdy on a night where I'm DJing, I am gonna drop this record and keep it moving. Enjoy this record during the last few days of summer we have left.
Empire of The Sun - Walking on a Dream

And the video is incredible


Brooklyn hipster music? WHOA SICK!

WHOASICK EXCLUSIVE! Sha Stimuli - Roll Model

As if we already weren't providing you with extremely sick content already, one of the hottest artists in Brooklyn decided to let whoasick have an exlclusive track to debut this week for the readers. Sha Stimuli, 2008 UMA Lyricist of the year and creator of the already classic Hotter Than July mixtape, is on a roll heading into the 4th quarter. Sha will be performing at the National Mall for the Million DJ March (August 29th-30th) alongside Saigon, Joell Ortiz & many more. So if you are close to the nation's capitol dont miss this serious line-up! Now enjoy some exclusive greatness from one of Brooklyn's finest. Get the fire below!!!

Sha Stimuli - Roll Model

Sha Stimuli - Look at You

Whoasick exclusives? WHOA SICK!!!

Not SICK: Soulja Boy on a Segway

I recently had the distinctly sad experience of watching Soulja Boy scoot around his characterless suburban home on a Segway Personal Transporter. The video is entitled "Rich Nigga Shit Part 1" and is utterly disgraceful.

I initially thought that Ice-T was off base about Soulja's singlehandedly killing hip-hop. I even thought that he was out of line notifying Soulja that the latter was more than welcome to "eat a dick." I have to say that, after watching this travesty of a youtube vid, I'm swinging more toward Ice-T's side of the issue, however I believe that, rather than hip-hop's singlehanded murderer, Soulja Boy is more of a coconspirator in the disordered plot to do in that venerable art form.

Anyway, see for yourself:

SICK PIC

Elephant in the ROOM!!!! WHOASICK!

Sick: Buff 1

This month has seen a string of excellent new artists so I extremely stoked to see the return of a member of one of my favorite rap groups of all time; Buff 1 of the Athletic Mic League. He drops an album called "There's Only 1" out of no where and its a SERIOUS classic. The production is handled by the Lab Technicians (in the top 5 most slept on producers) and is excellent from start to finish but what is so great about the album as a whole is that it FEELS like a hip-hop record but it doesn't fall into the usual trappings of the underground in trying to sound like a hip-hop record. Get put on to Buff 1, the sickest artist right now creating that classic hip-hop.Do not sleep on this song. Top 10 Sickest of the year.
Buff 1 - Dream Streets

Buff 1 - Beat The Speakers Up


I cant tell if this is a white southern midget rapping or not... check it at blvdst


Hip-Hop and midgets? WHOA SICK!

Can It BE?? A Goodie Mob Reunion Would be SICK!

OK, so nah right broke this bitch first, but I felt that WhoaSick readers absolutely needed to hear about possible big things poppin' in Atlanta... Goodie Mob (all 4 members-- no monkeys attempting to stop the show here!) reunited last night onstage at Tabernacle in their hometown of ATL, at a Nelly concert, of all things.

If this reunion sticks, this is possibly the SICKest A-Town hip-hop development of 2008.

This city needs the Mob back, and apparently the Goodie boys have realized this undeniable fact. Cee-Lo damn sure knows it, as he is quoted on HipHopDX as saying:

There’s no [Goodie Mob] anymore, no one else brave enough to pick up that torch and carry it even further. And [southern Hip Hop] is suffering because of it. But it’s suffering on such a scale that they even recognize it themselves. You may not even have to call their names out. I may not even have to do it because they do realize what a travesty it all is.

One particularly enlightened comment on the HipHopDX post admonishes "Southern ringtone rappers" to "[w]atch out" because "[t]he Mob is back." Indeed, the aforementioned ringtone rappers are, in WSS's opinion, the perpetrators of what Lo aptly termed a travesty-- at their hands, the state of Atlanta and southern hip-hop in general has fallen into such disrepair that we need Goodie Mob to come fix it.

So, laptop gangsters, in your nightly prayers for ATL, be sure to mention the Mob. I know I will.

And here is some Youtube diesel if you don't believe me... Goodie Mob comes onstage at around 8:15...

SICK: Ratatat Remixes

Ok, I know I'm supposed to be bringing you good people new stuff (and this isn't that-- the Ratatat Remixes: Volume 2 mixtape was released in 2007) and Suth-ren shit (and these talented remixers are from Brooklyn), but I just couldn't help myself... These remixes are just too SICK; protocol can be relaxed.

Without further ado, I present to you WhoaSickSouth's selection of the finest tracks on the mixtape:

Young Buck 'Shorty Wanna Ride'

Kanye West 'Diamonds'

Z-Ro, Devin the Dude, Juvenile 'The Mule'

There are many more tracks on the Volume 2 mixtape, and there is an earlier mixtape, both available, along with other SICK shit, at the RATATAT website, so go get it, go-getters. BOOM.

Izza Kizza is SICK

Signed before ever performing live, Izza Kizza exploded onto the scene with a mixtape with Nick Catchdubs and the co-sign of both Missy Elliot and Timbaland. Does he deliver? Oh yes he does. His style is tough to classify because the guy is all over the place, but his flow is SERIOUSLY in pocket and never bores me. I am currently really all about original sounding mcs because the game seriously needs them. I really dont care what rappers have to say at the moment, but how they say it. Izza Kizza delivers. Get the cuts below to get put on.Izza Kizza - They're Everywhere

Izza Kizza - Hello

On a sick side note, get the new Southern Crack Mixtape w/ DJ Drama over at Writers Block.

Also on another sick side Nick Catchdubs note, check a preview track from his new blend tape with his SICK Low Re-Edit

WHOA SICK!!!

Why Atlanta is SICK-- Reason #5: Music

All the previous reasons I've enumerated, reasons why Atlanta is SICK, can be viewed independently, and they're pretty damn good.

But when those reasons are seen as just a few of the various moving forces behind Reason #5, it's like Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire have just combined and Captain fucking Planet has just entered the building. Here's the breakdown:

#1: Yes, we've got characters-- and they make their contribution to ATL's musical body of work. Just like Bicycle Bob a/k/a Penis on Ponce (see Reason #1) the Ying Yang Twins conspicuously display the Atlanta tendency toward larger-than-life personae. Without the outright weirdness that is the Ying Yang Twins, would most of America have ever taken a ride-along on a Mr. Collipark beat? Also, these guys had enough intestinal fortitude to rhyme "booty" with "duty" (which they spell "dooty.")

At the risk of sounding like one of those blasted 'Keep _____ Weird' bumper stickers, and at the risk of perpetuating the myth that Atlanta is only good for club bangers, I commend the Ying Yang twins for perpetrating their absurdity on ATL and on the masses. Characters make for innovation in music and good blog fodder, so keep on doing your thing, all you strangies.

#2: ATL Spirit is the essence of the hiphop music made here. Listening to local talent, it's like you walked into an open mic at a high school pep rally, where anyone can perform, but any given performance must contain no less than four references to the mascot.

I hate to harp on New York, but, seriously... if you're thinking "I Love Atlanta," chances are you're thinking of Scrappy's F.I.L.A., whereas "I Love New York" conjures up images of this tranny-licious jezebel: Anyway, the long and short of it is that our school spirit drives our music. It also creates a certain amount of accountability to the whole hip-hop community... If you're claiming a zone on records, you can be sure that the other residents of that zone will vet your claims of legitimacy.

#3: Our mean strip game informs our music. Striphop originated here. Enough said.

#4: Its a mecca, and, as has been noted before, many hip-hoppers come to Atlanta to take advantage of the local environs so conducive to the creation of hit records (e.g., Banner, Too $hort, etc.) In 2005, Weezy F. Baby even came here just to get arrested.

#5: All these things add up to a phenomenal music scene. And, given that this is the (long overdue) last post that tries to establish ATL's credibility in the mind of the reader, I hope you believe me by now, because, as long as I'm blessed to stay here in the capital of the South, I'm going to be contributing as much fresh-to-death Southern music as I can to Whoa, Sick and trying to make the south a viable source of SICKness for y'all.

Anyway, that being said... Fuck with me.

Currency is SICK

I thought I was over listening for punchlines and entertaining lyrics with the constant repetition of the current lyrical state of hiphop. Then I listened to The Tecmo Bowl mixtape by New Orleans artist Currency and was blown away. This dude has the swag of a Harlem World era Mase combined the unpredictable flow of G Dep. I have been eagerly awaiting his new mixtape and now you all can enjoy it in its greatness! SICK!!! Oh and his beat selection is 2nd to none.Curren$y - Fast Times at Ridgemont Fly

Oh and Nah Right has the new Lupe jawn prduced by Kanye!

Curren$y and Lupe???WHOA SICK!!!!

Flying Lotus is SICK.

Flying Lotus is a producer from Winnetka, California. What is it with these Cali producers and always coming with the most inventive sounds??? I would say that 3 most innovative producers of the last 2 decades have come from Cali, these being : Madlib, Battlekat, Dr Dre. Now add Flying Lotus to that mix of producers who have seen beyond the scope of a club/electro/rap mashup and really went in their own lane. This guy sounds like a combination of Aphex Twin, Tricky, The Neptunes and sprinkle in a little Bjork. Amazing work. Below are two standout tracks. This dude is in my top 10 of the year.


Flying Lotus - Roberta Flack Ft Dolly - http://www.zshare.net/audio/17032840f433d706/

Flying Lotus - Camel - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1703299465c10057/

A flying lotus??? Whoa! SICK!

Phrench is SICK!!

Phrench, what more is there to say. The lightness of the Riviera with the stylings of New York. Step into a new realm with Phrench's new mix, Headphone Phun. This mix is crazy, channeling every type of song you SHOULD be listening to right now into a bouncey package that will not only make you nod your head but also contemplate your life. Enjoy.
Phrench - Headphone Phun - http://www.zshare.net/audio/168994674316df6a/

Phrench... WHOA SICK!!!

Jockin Jay Z WHOA... SICK!!!

As usual Whoasick is up on the new ish... well here comes another post of a future hit. But I just cant resist because of all these stupid rappers rapping over stale stupid beats and you wonder why Kanye and Jay always win. Listen to what it sounds like to make real music and still make hiphop. Step your game up like these guys and anyone else featured on this blog.

Jay Z - Jockin Jay Z (produced by Kanye) -http://www.zshare.net/audio/16894774fffdf816/

Classic hiphop... WHOA SICK.

Why Atlanta is SICK-- Reason #4: It's a Mecca, but only a Regional Mecca

Perhaps Banner said it best: "Daddy, I'm from Mississippi/ But I moved to Atlanta."

Mr. Crump provides a nice illustration of the fourth, penultimate reason that y'all should be pointing south and uttering your obligatory WHOASICKs-- we're that place at the bottom where the pilgrims come. Out-of-towners flock to Atlanta for innumerable reasons, but come here they do, and they contribute. But that's no different than a whole host of other cities, right?

Not really. See, the influx of new bodies into Atlanta carries with it something the groups of immigrants to other cities lack: the unifying theme of regionalism. Unlike New York or Los Angeles, people don't flit off to Atlanta from all over the country because it is some mythical land of promise, where everyone can be successful in their pursuit of becoming the quintessential tortured artist or swinging dick movie star. Atlanta doesn't bear the stigma of the rest of America's dreams.

People come to the capital of the South for, largely, pragmatic purposes. Thus, they come, largely, from places relatively close to Atlanta. Be it a Misssissippi rapper who wants to take his entrepreneurship to the next level or a Katrina refugee who doesn't want to get too far away from his gumbo, we generally get Southerners, and that's OK with ATLiens.

See, when an Atlantan is out at a bar, talking to a cute girl or guy, seven out of ten times, the latter will be from somewhere the former knows; somewhere that if the Atlantan has never visited, he can at least point to on a map. From this ability comes the common ground that seems to drive interpersonal interaction down here.

How many writings have you seen from a New York author whose gripe is that someone on the subway or at the club came from Cornpone, Iowa but now lives in NY? How many times has that same author complained that they had nothing to discuss with this foreigner, tacitly implying that they were much smarter than the newcomer (probably because they'd lived in NY about 2 months longer)? Well, down Atlanta way, we don't have to worry about that shit, because we're all from the South, and we're all dumb.

I have to confess, at this point, that I'm not from the South-- so I tend to disprove my own hypothesis-- but I have observed this phenomenon, one of acceptance based on shared regionalism, in action. Being from the South isn't the glue that holds Atlantans together, it's the KY Personal Lubricant that keeps them moving smoothly between each other.

There are, of course, tensions between various factions of southerners (e.g., Jeezy's xenopho-larious calling out of Gucci Mane, "King of Decatur, I thought you was from Birmingham?" or that time when someone at the barber shop told me that all the really hard crack dealers from New Orleans were running the Atlanta-bred rock pushers off of the corners) but mostly we keep it civil. There is no subway snobbery, and there is none of that Angelino-elitism.

And when you don't have to deal with newbies who don't talk and act like you, it's a lot easier, right? Think of this: would things run smoother in the face of a huge wave of immigration from Canada or from Turkey? I'm not saying we shouldn't tolerate Turks, I'm just saying that the community won't be so factionalized with a bunch of Canucks in its midst.


That's how Atlanta works. People from Misssissippi, Florida, the Cackalackas, Alabama, and Louisiana are our Canadians, and it keeps things running like greased owl shit on a hockey rink. So the David Banners and the Gucci Manes and the Rich Boys keep coming here and making music, fitting in from jump street because they, like the people they come here to do business with, are Southerners. And, you've all seen it... they end up putting out something SICK.

OK, tomorrow is Reason #5, and we're gonna talk about it... Music. Hold on to your corn liquor.

DJ Skeet Skeet remixes are SICK!

Hands down some of the most fun remixes at the moment. Obviously if your name is Skeet Skeet these tracks better live up to their remixer's name. Trust me, I cant wait to drop these in the club. This guy has a great ear for bringing multiple genres together for a wonderful synergy of electro/rock/hiphop. Keep the summer months going with these fresh little numbers from a DJ who is sure to be rocking a club near you.

Lil Wayne - A Milli (Skeet Skeet Remix) - http://www.zshare.net/audio/16875190c4b5e865/\

Party Like A Rockstar (Skeet Skeet Remix) http://www.zshare.net/audio/168753926555d37c/

Skeet Skeet....WHOA SICK!

A SICK Viciou$ Track and a Little Education

Greetings dirtbags.

Why are you reading this blog on Sunday when you should be at church? I guess its not overly important, because Atlanta's own Viciou$ and I are gonna take you to church. Or school? Fuck it, call it Sunday school.

Anyway, here's the track: Viciou$ feat. Trap Life- Zone 3 Up in this Muthafucka.

Here's Viciou$ doin' his thing (click the pic for his myspace):

And here's the education: The track's title, "Zone 3 Up in this Muthafucka" points up the following question: what, exactly, is Viciou$ saying is up in this particular muthafucka? I don't mean to make you feel sheepish about your lack of knowledge of the terms of art used in ATL hip-hop, so I'll tell you that, before I lived here, I didn't really know what those crazy crunkers were talking about with their omnipresent shouts of "Zone 3!" etc. Well, now I know, and I want to share that knowledge with the uninitiated.

The Atlanta Police Department has divided the city into separate zones (see image below), each zone having a its very own police precinct. So, the great majority of rappers, being (at least if you believe their claims) nefarious dope boys who must be intimately acquainted with police activity, adopted the zone designations as a way of differentiating their respective communities.
For further reference, I recommend Gorrilla Zoe's mixtape track 'Atlanta, Georgia,' (embedded below) which correlates the various zones with some of the more infamous neighborhoods contained therein (e.g., "Zone 4; MLK, Adamsville, Ben Hill down to Cascade.") If you wanna talk trap with the best of 'em, put yourself up on it.

Matchstick is damn SICK

The next installment in the Reasons Atlanta is SICK will be coming on Monday, but for now, here's a little southern SICKness to tide you over, brought to you by WSS. Screw your wig on tight and light your shit up with Matchstick... the track is called "You Ain't Gotta Worry About Me"

Matchstick, a surprisingly fluent and fluid southern rapper from Dothan, AL.

Why Atlanta is SICK-- Reason #3: We've got a mean strip game

I know what you're thinking... "But WSS, every city has strip clubs!" Well, you are wrong about that, as a great many municipalities have put zoning ordinances in place to keep the Porsches and Diamonds off of their turf. But, quibbling aside, I see where you're going with that, rhetorically. So, I won't begrudge you the admission you seek from me: yes, a truckload of cities, towns and shitheel burgs offer some variation of the gentlemen's club. But you still don't know what you're talking about.

To help you, the poor, bouncin-in-yo-face-booty-deprived reader establish some baseline level of understanding, I invite you to consider the following:

Let's just say, for purposes of argument, that residents of the largest city in the United States sometimes launch into empassioned rants asserting that their city has the best of everything to offer, and, what's more, their beloved metropolis offers the best variety of the best of everything.

I don't want to name any names, so I'll refer to this spice-of-life boomtown by a code name I devised by translating the city's actual name into an incomprehensible foreign language. We'll just call it "Nueva York." Subterfuge = consummated. ZANG!

Nueva York, I have only this to say to you: HOGWASH. Sure, you may enjoy seemingly nationwide recognition of the superiority of your pizza. You may bask in the glory that surrounds your (admittedly pretty frickin' great) public transportation. And the availability of taxis on your frantic streets is unparalleled.

But what good is a rail system without numerous stops within a block of a building chock full of fake boobs; or a big foldable slice not enjoyed with a big, bare ass in your face? And, if we're honest with ourselves, taxi cabs are really only good for one thing: delivering the eager gentleman to a club especially tailored to his gentlemanly needs. Without the pervasive presence of the booty palace, a city has no soul.
Now, you may take that allegation of soulessness as the baseless charge of an ignorant southerner, especially in light of the fact that Nueva York has itself some goddamned strip clubs. (you would only know that, however, if you were sufficiently intrepid in your codebreaking to see through my codename artifice... others can take my word for it, yes, Nueva York does "have itself some goddamned strip clubs.) That being said, however, the overall presence of sweaty g-strings and seven inch heels in that place (I guess we can shorten it to NY, even at the risk of blowing my little charade) is fairly described as anemic, at best.

You don't believe me. Fine. Instead, you WILL believe the authoritative source on all things inane and trivial... that source, of course, is THE INTERNET. Some facts:

*CitySearch (which, sits, together with a few other sites, like wikipedia and urbandictionary, on a sort of de facto Supreme Court for the world wide web) lists no less than 29 separate strip clubs in Atlanta. (Don't believe me?) That selfsame site lists a paltry 14 for Nueva York. (Still a doubting Thomas?)

*The US Census Bureau estimated, in 2006, that 8,214,426 people live in Nueva York, whereas the population estimate for Atlanta at the same time was 486,411.

*Thus, if everyone in Atlanta was herded into the strip clubs as some sort of blessing-in-disguise internment camp program, there would be roughly 16,773 people per fleshmecca (and they're pretty roomy down here.) In contrast, each of the bootyrooms of Nueva York would be packed with 586,744 foulmouthed miscreants.

Taking the above two facts together, and accepting as true the proposition above that a city's dens of debauchery (or, gentlemen's clubs, as those in the industry call them) comprise its soul, we reach the inevitable conclusion that Atlanta has comparatively more soul than this Nueva York place.

Hit play for further evidence of The A's abundance of soul and some diesel USDA striphop:



Please understand that I don't mean to minimize all the fabulous qualities of the comparison city, I simply use it as the gold standard (in this instance it may be more of a gold-plated standard, but who cares about semantics anyway?) to which other cities should be compared. So, its not like I'm saying that NY is bad, per se, I'm just saying that if Atlanta can one-up that beacon of elitism so handily, at least in the present consideration, I think ATL just might be pretty SICK.

So, Nueva York, you've got a couple of options:

1) Start making better friends with those "bridge and tunnel" people I've heard you talk about in such vile tones... I understand they're holding a good bit of the Tri-State's soul... Maybe they'll share?

OR

2) Come down to Atlanta, get yourself to Pinups, and kick your trip off right by indulging in several hours worth of $5 dollar lapdances. At 4am or so, when they start cooking the free breakfast (unfortunately, not a joke), I'm gonna need your mea culpa, even through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, in the form of a resounding "WHOA, SICK!"