$2 for 5, ****** got garbage down the way...

Tonights post is going to be on the hustle. Hustle of what is how you define it. Some cats refer to the hustle as slanging cooked cracks, others about grinding and selling music. But there are all kinds of other hustles from slinging t-shirts, loose cigs, nickel bags of weed, working at mcdonalds, robbing the elderly, if you can make loot outta it then your hustling. One of my little hustles a few years ago was slanging books. See the one night I got on ebay and found this book over in tokyo. Talked to the cats that were pressing it and they cut me a deal. But I saw that they were just middle manning this book and raping me with there cut. So i said fuuuuccckkk that shit and i decided to press up thousands of copies my damn self. At $25 retail and $10 wholesale, I was living real nice for a minute. Didnt have to work and just learned how to make beats. Thats how i hustled. Music works the same way. Im in the process of pressing an instumental album, and learning all the ins and outs of how to independently distribute and promote my own vinyl. So to each his own. One mans hobby is another mans grind. I mean works my real hustle cause thats what keeps the lights on, but its all in definiton. Oh and im not putting Cassidys IMMMA HUSTLER IMMMA IMMMA HUSTLER on this list cause Im sick as fuck of that track. Get it? (Oh and fukkka spellcheck tonight. I think im done doing that. Imma look like one ignorant motherfucker, but tough titty.)

1. The Hustle - Pharcyde
Start off with some bay area ish. These cats used to be one of my favorite groups till they fell off all kinds of hard. Fatlip and J-Swift, one of the cats on the beats (there is actually this crazy ass trailer of this documentory that he did that is real fucked up), started smoking lots of crack, Slim Kid Tre bounced and they just feel the fuck off. Imani and Booty are still rocking the name but I think thats real wack. Thats false advertising. These cats are NOT THE PHARCYDE ANYMORE! There newest joints are booty brown. I heard some of the new tracks and I just wanted to cry. But enough hating. This track here is from when they were insanely dope and really were a dominant force in the indie hip hop scene. There beats always had that dope stoned vibe to em and were just so simple but just fused the lyrics and the whole package together. Also these cats were some dope emcees. The track is about hustling from different angles, mainly rap. Just do it do it do it.

2. Raps A Hustle - Cormega
This track here brings me back to like 5 years ago with me bumping my hooptie jensons in my accord. This is one of my all time favorite albums right here jack. Cormega on this joint just spits that real raw shit about how he pimps the fuck outta rap. And how he compares his rap to banging yayo that got the fiends on lock. Word up. The beat is fire, that real slick sampled shit. Actually this album, Legal Hustle, has good beats all throughout it. If you dont have this album, stop sleeping.

3. Cant Knock The Hustle - Jay-Z
Another real good album from the 90's. I usally dont dig the whole chick on the hook jive, but Mary J, kills this shit. This track here is about Jigga man running around with lots of money and how he hustled to get it and yadda yadda yadda. You know the typical, "I got mad ends and I shit on you" raps. The beat is real dope. Comes in with that slick filtered loop and then those gritty ass drums. Jay-z had that slick ass production team on his album of clark kent, primo, ski, and the cat that actually did this track, some unheard of dude named "Knowbody". This was the first track of the album and really set the vibe of what was about to come for the whole roc a fella camp.

4. Hustlers Theme - The Last Emperor (produced by Da Beatminerz)
This shit is hot. Sorry about evil dees corny voice tags but this was on a press release of Brace For Impak. Last emp has had a crazy career. He started out signed to Dre's label Aftermath, but along with mad other cats, got his shit shelved and was left hanging. He then got down with Rawkus records, but we all know what happened there. After they went under, he left fans fiending for more material, because all they had was some random singles and collabos that he did. He worked with a few artists, and finally did an album in 2003 called Music, Magic, Myth. Hes kinda a nerdy dude, talking bout comic books and all that shit, but he is pretty dope. I like this track, its really one of the only good ones on that beatminerz joint. Me and a friend the one time talked about how Mr. Walt and Evil Dee brag about how ill there record collections are, but then sample some played out shit and barely flip it. I dont get it. They got mad records and mad skills, but they still want to sample classic breakbeats. There sound is a little differnet now cause evil dee is using protools, but still they are some classic cats. This track is dope. The sample is ill and the drums knock. Has the beatminerz stamp all up on it.

5. Stay A Customer - Kaze (produced by 9th Wonder)
Now lets talk about the drizug game. On this joint though its about weak ass motherfuckers selling treez. Kaze advises them to give that shit up and stay a customer. Not really hardcore crack rhymes, cause all these dudes outta this camp would get there ass beat talking bout slanging crack rock. You imagine Phonte or Ninth Wonder slinging rocks? hellllll no. But anyways to the herb game this shit is real as fuck. There is mad clowns that get their hands on a quarter and think they Nino Brown. Keep that shit to the hippies and thugged out cats slinging dimes and dubs. I like this beat alot. Typical Ninth track with the same ol drums. But i like the way dude flips tracks. Gets props but he needs to start making them drums swing a little more. Little robotic. Thats the broke producer/critic in me a talking now.

And thats that. IMMMMMMA HUSSSTLA. We need some Curtis Mayfield on the outro. PEACE.

Clizick fo more!