You thought I’d stop at Bangladesh? No sir. Below is the complete J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League production discography. Call it an homage. Rook Beats, Colione and Kenny have crafted a lush, orchestral sound that’s completely their own. This Grammy-winning platinum trio helped re-architect Rick Ross’ credibility when it seemed like it was past the point of no return. They’ve supplied some of the best in the game with some of their best instrumentals. And they’ve carved themselves a niche that some might consider unfukwitable. If these guys don’t got next, all is lost.

Instead of going song for song like with Bangladesh, I’ve grouped these into different categories based on genre, artist, status, etc. 160 songs of superhero music. All tracks are tagged properly and iTunes ready. No DJ unless noted. First CD is Megaupload, rest are Mediafire. Download below.

Ricky Rozay

1. Rick Ross – 9 Piece featuring T.I.
2. Rick Ross – Addicted to Money featuring Birdman
3. Rick Ross – Aston Martin Music featuring Chrisette Michele
4. Rick Ross – Billionaire
5. Rick Ross – I’m Not a Star
6. Rick Ross – Luxury Tax featuring Lil Wayne, Trick Daddy and Young Jeezy
7. Rick Ross – Magnificent (Remix) featuring Big Boi and Special Ed
8. Rick Ross – Magnificent featuring John Legend
9. Rick Ross – Maybach Music 2.5 featuring T-Pain, Fabolous, Pusha T, DJ Khaled and Birdman
10. Rick Ross – Maybach Music featuring Jay-Z
11. Rick Ross – Maybach Music II featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and T-Pain
12. Rick Ross – Maybach Music III featuring Erykah Badu, Jadakiss and T.I.
13. Rick Ross – Rich Off Cocaine featuring Avery Storm
14. Rick Ross – Trilla Intro
15. Rick Ross – Veteran’s Day featuring Lil Wayne and Birdman
16. Rick Ross – Yacht Club featuring Magazeen
17. Rick Ross – Yacht Club (Remix) featuring Triple C’s and Magazeen

Affiliates (Laws and Ja$)

1. Ja$ – Get Dat Money
2. Ja$ – How I Do
3. Ja$ – The Ballad of La Madrina (Flip) (Tags)
4. Laws – Boys to Men
5. Laws – Flashback
6. Laws – Free
7. Laws – Honor featuring CyHi Da Prynce
8. Laws – Intro featuring DJ Smallz
9. Laws – Overtime
10. Laws – Rain
11. Laws – Runaway
12. Laws – Your Future Favorite Rapper

Wylin’ Cause I’m Young

1. Young AC – The Flyest (Clean)
2. Young Buck – Buss Yo’ Head
3. Young Buck – Do It Myself featuring 50 Cent
4. Young Buck and Lil’ Scrappy – Dem Boyz Don’t Play
5. Young Capone – Choosin’ featuring Mario
6. Young Jeezy – Air Forces 2 (Tags)
7. Young Jeezy – Bury Me a G
8. Young Jeezy – Don’t Get Caught
9. Young Jeezy – Done It
10. Young Jeezy – I Got This (Don’t Worry)
11. Young Jeezy – Rock Song
12. Young Jeezy – We Jook
13. Young Jeezy – Word Play
14. Young L.A. – Fear Factor Intro featuring T.I.

2 Pistols

1. 2 Pistols – Blinded
2. 2 Pistols – Eyes Closed featuring Young Jeezy
3. 2 Pistols – Flexx 2008
4. 2 Pistols – Gettin’ Money Mane
5. 2 Pistols – Intro
6. 2 Pistols – Let’s Ride
7. 2 Pistols – She Got It featuring T-Pain and Tay Dizm
8. 2 Pistols – She Got It (Remix) featuring T-Pain, Twista and Lil’ Kim
9. 2 Pistols – That’s My Word (Intro) (Vocals by Sarah Rohman and Corey Harrison)
10. 2 Pistols – That’s My Word featuring Trey Songz
11. 2 Pistols – The Way I Live (Snippet) featuring Sean Kingston
12. 2 Pistols – We Run It featuring Slick Pulla and Blood Raw
13. 2 Pistols – You Know Me featuring Ray J

R&B

1. Ashley Breathe – Ground Zero
2. Chrisette Michele – Aston Martin Music (Remix)
3. Chrisette Michele – Aston Martin Music 2 (Snippet)
4. Dave Young – Drinking, Smoking featuring 50 Cent
5. J.Holiday – City Boy featuring 8Ball & MJG
6. J.Holiday – Fallin’
7. J.Holiday – Good For Each Other
8. Jason Caesar – Room 269
9. John Legend – Ordinary People (J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Remix) (Tags)
10. Kandi – I Want You
11. Keri Hilson – Who’s That Girl featuring Mase (Tags)
12. Keyshia Cole – Long Way Down
13. LeToya Luckett – She Ain’t Got Shit (Remix) featuring Prime
14. Mary J. Blige – Brand New
15. Mary J. Blige – No One Will Do
16. Shareefa – Butterflies
17. Shareefa – Lately
18. Shareefa – U Told Me
19. Unknown – Love Her

Big League

1. Drake – Baby Come With Me (Tags)
2. Drake – Paris Morton Music
3. Drake – Zone
4. Fabolous – Feel Like I’m Back
5. Ghostface Killah – Guest House featuring Fabolous and Shareefa
6. Gucci Mane – Disaster
7. Gucci Mane – Dollar Sign
8. Gucci Mane – Volume featuring Wooh Da Kid
9. Jay-Z – Dec. 4th (J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Remix)
10. Jay-Z – Maybach Music II
11. Juelz Santana – Rumble Young Man Rumble
12. Lil Wayne – Girls Forever
13. Lil Wayne – Knockout featuring Nicki Minaj
14. Lil Wayne – Runnin’ featuring Shanell
15. Lloyd Banks – I Don’t Deserve You featuring Jeremih

Big League Chew

1. Big Remo & 9th Wonder – It’s Like That
2. Boobe – My Way featuring Raheem DeVaughn
3. Celph Titled – Just a Feelin’ featuring Majik Most
4. Certified – Turn Off The Lights featuring Pleasure P
5. J.R. Writer – Riot Pump
6. Joe Budden – No Competition featuring Emanny
7. Juice – Walk With Me
8. k-os – Faith featuring Drake
9. Maino – Here Comes Trouble
10. Rico Love – It’s OK
11. Shawnna – Can’t Break Me featuring Buddy Guy and Shareefa
12. T.I. – Pledge Allegiance to the Swag featuring Rick Ross
13. The Game – Feels Good featuring Yummy Bingham
14. Trina – By Myself
15. Wale – Center of Attention

Southern Smoke

1. 2win – Flying High featuring Nicole Wray
2. Ace Hood – Stressin’ featuring Plies
3. Al Gator – The Bos of Atlanta
4. B.G. – I Hustle featuring Young Jeezy
5. Big Ken – Cutlass Muzik
6. Big Kuntry King – We Iz
7. Bun B – All A Dream featuring LeToya Luckett
8. Bun B – Don’t Go
9. Bun B – Trillionaire featuring T-Pain
10. Diamond – Feels Good featuring Lloyd
11. JohnnyMUzik – This Way (Tags)
12. OJ Da Juiceman – I’m Living It featuring Blaze
13. Plies – 100% Real Nigga
14. Plies – My Girl (Tags)
15. Rocko – Karma
16. Webbz – Divine Intervention

Who?

1. 2eleven – Get That Money featuring Glasses Malone
2. 4-Ize – New Day
3. 100 StackS – Off My Chest
4. Acafool – I Look Good (Tags)
5. Al Gator – Good with Them Numbers (Tags)
6. Blood Raw – Get Away
7. Blood Raw – Ain’t Nothing in My Way featuring T-Pain
8. Carlos Ferragamo – Baby I’m Back
9. Cubo – Get This Work Out
10. Double D – Str8 Like That
11. KayeM – One Ride
12. M.O. Lyrists – Might Could
13. Ohshawn – Not Me (Scriptures)
14. Prime – Zodiac featuring Blaze
15. Sekay – Caught up in the Mix
16. Slim E – Been Swagged Up (Tags)
17. Supa Show – Pressure
18. The Bangz – First Girl on the Moon featuring Lil Wayne
19. Tone Tone – History in the Making featuring Bun B (Tags)
20. Triple X – I’m Leaving You

The Come Up

1. CyHi Da Prynce – Living Wonderful
2. Donnis – Country Cool featuring Bun B
3. Donnis – Country Cool (Remix) featuring Yelawolf and Pill
4. Donnis – Here to Stay featuring Marsha Ambrosius
5. Donnis – I Am Me featuring Colin Munroe
6. Donnis – Sexytime
7. Donnis – Ticket to the Moon
8. Emilio Rojas – Life Without Shame featuring Tenille
9. Fred the Godson – GODSON
10. Jackie Chain – Know Bout Me (Tags)
11. L.E.P. Bogus Boys – Heavens Door
12. L.E.P. Bogus Boys – R.I.P. Outro
13. Lil’ Scrappy – Addicted to Money featuring Ludacris
14. Lil’ Twist – Carte Blanche
15. Lil’ Twist – Lambo Music
16. Nipsey Hussle – New Money
17. Serius Jones – Good (Tags)

OK. I know it’s impossible to organize any producer’s entire body of work. There’s always going to be something missing. But this is the closest – as far as I’ve found – of any complete discography that’s been assembled for Shondrae “Bangladesh” Crawford.

You know his work. Lil Wayne’s “A Milli.” Beyonce’s “Diva.” Ludacris’ “What’s Your Fantasy.” The list goes on. This Iowa-raised, Atlanta-based producer is a beast. He most recently put his foot in the ass of every open ear by producing Weezy’s “6’7″ featuring Cory Gunz. He’s sharp. And he’s got a bright future. Beats for Biebs? One step away from pop royalty.

Bangladesh has come a long way since he put in heavy work on Ludacris’ Back for the First Time, his first big look, over a decade ago. From R&B (Nivea, RL, Kelly Rowland, Sean Garrett) and unheard rap (Hydrolik, Aspektz, DC) to his own group (Charlie Mackenroe), dude has built a solid discog.

There is only a handful of joints that I couldn’t track down (I’ve included them at the bottom – kind souls, please post in the comment section if you have them), but I got a hefty 123 songs with Bang at the helm. Thing here is, I hate when internet folk assemble discogs and some of the songs aren’t actually legit. I researched and listened to each and every one of these and will vouch for authenticity. Split into eight Mediafire .zip files, with the bonus addition of his Passport Music mixtape. All are no DJ versions unless noted. Tracklist below.

Bangladesh Production Discography

8Ball & MJG – “Album Intro”
8Ball & MJG – “Don’t Make”
8Ball & MJG – “Forever” featuring Lloyd
8Ball & MJG – “Get Low”
8Ball & MJG – “Living Legends (Interlude)”
8Ball & MJG – “You Don’t Want Drama” featuring P. Diddy
112 – “Closing the Club” featuring Three 6 Mafia
Ace Hood – “Picture Phone 4Play” featuring Kevin Cossom
Aspektz – “Worldwide”
Atozzio – “Fallin’ Out of Love”
Ayana – “Shake Ya Fatty”
Beyonce – “Diva”
Beyonce – “Video Phone”
Beyonce – “Video Phone” (Extended Remix) featuring Lady Gaga
Busta Rhymes – “I Got Bass”
Charlie Mackenroe – “Amilly” (original version of “A Milli”)
Charlie Mackenroe – “Bingo”
Charlie Mackenroe – “Cook”
Charlie Mackenroe – “Trunk Rattle”
Charlie Mackenroe – “What’s Up It Is?”
Chingy – “I Like” featuring Lloyd
Chrishan – “I’m Making Money”
Ciara – “Hotline”
Cupid – “Spin the Bottle” featuring Shorty Da Kid
Dabo – “D.A.B.O.”
DC – “Sweat It Out”
Dem Franchize Boyz – “Talkin’ Out Da Side of Ya Neck”
DPG – “My Coopdeville”
Fabolous – “For the Money” featuring Nicki Minaj
Gangsta Boo – “Gangsta Walk”
Gucci Mane – “Brand New”
Gucci Mane – “Lemonade”
Gucci Mane – “Man of the Year” (Tags)
Gucci Mane – “Smooches” featuring Sean Garrett (also recorded by Kelly Rowland and Teyana Taylor)
Gucci Mane – “Stupid Wild” featuring Lil Wayne and Cam’Ron
Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne – “Bitches Wanna” (Tags)
Hot Rod – “Back It Up” featuring Trey Songz
Hydrolik – “Respect Those”
I-20 – “Slum” featuring Shawnna and Tity Boi
Ice Cube – “She Couldn’t Make It On Her Own” featuring Doughboy and OMG
Jamie Foxx – “Speak French” featuring Gucci Mane
JareQ (of Innate Forte) – “Rock Ya Body”
Jason Derulo – “Looking for That Oh Oh” (Demo)
Jay Rock – “I Be on the Block”
Jessica Mauboy – “Get ‘Em Girls” featuring Snoop Dogg
Jody Breeze – “Pussy Pop” featuring Too $hort (Tags)
Kay M – “Freeze Frame”
Ke$ha – “Sleazy”
Kelis – “Ah Shit” featuring Smoke
Kelis – “Bossy” featuring Too $hort
Kelis – “Handful”
Kelly Rowland – “Smooches”
Keri Hilson – “Sick of Your Shit” (Demo)
L2 – “Stuck on You”
Lil’ Scrappy – “Pussy Poppin’”
Lil Wayne – “6’7″ featuring Cory Gunz
Lil Wayne – “A Milli”
Lil’ Jon – “Bend Over” featuring Sean Garrett
Lil’ Jon – “Rep Yo Click” featuring Red Cafe and Freeway (Tags)
Lil’ Keke – “What It’s Made For” featuring Blak
Lloyd – “Set Me Free” featuring Mystikal
Ludacris – “1st & 10″ featuring Infamous 2-0 and Lil’ Fate
Ludacris – “Block Lockdown” featuring I-20
Ludacris – “Coming 2 America”
Ludacris – “Freaky Thangs” featuring Twista and Jagged Edge
Ludacris – “Get the Fuck Back” featuring I-20, Lil’ Fate and Shawnna
Ludacris – “Go 2 Sleep” featuring I-20, Lil’ Wilson and Three 6 Mafia
Ludacris – “Ho”
Ludacris – “Party No Mo” featuring Gucci Mane
Ludacris – “Rollercoaster” featuring Shawnna and Dru Hill
Ludacris – “Stick ‘Em Up” featuring UGK
Ludacris – “U Got a Problem”
Ludacris – “What’s Your Fantasy” featuring Shawnna
Ludacris – “What’s Your Fantasy” (Remix) featuring Shawnna, Trina and Foxy Brown
M.I.A. – “Hit That”
Mario – “Break Up” featuring Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett
Missy Elliott – “Click Clack”
Muffy – “Dope Boi”
Muffy – “Get ‘Em Girls” featuring Gucci Mane
Muffy – “Gone Hate”
N2U – “No… Say No”
Nelly – “Move That Body” featuring T-Pain and Akon
Nicki Minaj – “Did It On’em”
Nina Shaw – “My Way” featuring Fabolous
Nivea – “Dance Floor”
OMG Girlz – “Haterz” featuring New Boyz
One Chance – “So Emotional”
Petey Pablo – “Vibrate” featuring Rasheeda
R. Kelly – “Tongues” featuring Ludacris
Richgirl – “Trouble” featuring Gucci Mane and Yo Gotti
Rico Law – “Give It Up”
RL (of Next) – “Do What You Do”
Rock City – “Stop Lying”
Sean Garrett – “All Nighter”
Sean Garrett – “Get It All” featuring Nicki Minaj
Sean Garrett – “She Don’t Know” (Usher Demo)
Sean Garrett – “Strobelight”
Sean Garrett – “Up in My Heart” featuring Gucci Mane
Shanell – “Strut”
Shareefa – “By My Side” featuring Rick Ross
Shawnna – “R.P.M.” featuring Twista and Ludacris
Slim – “Anytime” featuring Sean Garrett
Slim – “Break U Down”
Sonja Blade – “Like This Rollin’”
Sterling Simms – “Can’t Run”
T-Boz – “Get It Get It” featuring Yung Joc and Too $hort
Tanu – “More Liquor”
Tay Dizm – “Beam Me Up” featuring T-Pain and Rick Ross
Tay Dizm – “Dreamgirl” featuring Akon
Teyana Taylor – “Smooches” featuring Ludacris (Low Quality) (original version of Kelly Rowland’s version)
Tha Dogg Pound – “Make Dat Pussy Pop” featuring Paul Wall
The Notorious B.I.G. – “Bust a Nut” featuring Webbie and Too $hort
Turf Talk – “Hubba Rock” featuring San Quinn and Mac Dre
Tyga – “Cut My Check”
Unique – “B N U” (also known as “Loser”)
Usher – “She Don’t Know” featuring Ludacris
Usher – “Want Her Body” featuring LA the Darkman (original version of “She Don’t Know”)
Willy Northpole – “Get Up, Get Down” featuring Chingy
Willy Northpole – “Ghetto Tour Guide”
Young Chris – “Ghetto Girls” featuring Ma$e (Tags)
Young Gunz – “Same Shit, Different Day”
Young Noah – “Get Fresh”
Yung Wun – “I Tried to Tell Ya”

Download:

Part 1: 8Ball & MJG’s “Album Intro” (from Living Legends) to Busta Rhymes’ “I Got Bass”

Part 2: Charlie Mackenroe’s “Amilly” to Fabolous’ “For the Money” featuring Nicki Minaj

Part 3: Gangsta Boo’s “Gangsta Walk” to Jody Breeze’s “Pussy Pop” featuring Too $hort

Part 4: Kay M’s “Freeze Frame” to Lloyd’s “Set Me Free” featuring Mystikal

Part 5: Ludacris’ “1st & 10″ featuring Infamous 2-0 and Lil’ Fate to Missy Elliott’s “Click Clack”

Part 6: Muffy’s “Dope Boi” to Rock City’s “Stop Lying”

Part 7: Sean Garrett’s “All Nighter” to Tanu’s “More Liquor”

Part 8: Tay Dizm’s “Beam Me Up” featuring T-Pain and Rick Ross to Yung Wun’s “I Tried to Tell Ya”

Bonus: Bangladesh – Passport Music Mixtape (Hosted by Don Cannon)

Tracks Not Included (But Would Be Appreciated):

Big Floaty – “No Drama” (Freestyle) (included on 2004′s Deuces Down: Monkey Sh!t)
Choppa Young City – “Every Time I Stop”
Nucci Reyo – “Move That Way” (included on DJ Absolut’s Mixtape Massacre)
Life the Great – “Whatyoutalkinbout” (Day 22 of the 2008 “JuLife” series)
Shanell – “Thick” and “Get It” featuring Too $hort

You’ve heard his music, whether you wanted to or not. And you secretly liked it. Again, whether you wanted to or not. Dr. Luke, the pop surgeon whose tracks implant viral melodies in your brain, has produced some of the biggest post-millennial hits including Katy Perry’s “California Gurls,” Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone.”

But little known fact: the 37-year-old, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, has a not-so-secret past in hip-hop production. A skilled musician in his own right, the NYC native (by way of Rhode Island) held it down as a lead guitarist in the Saturday Night Live band (you read right) from 1997 to 2007, most likely ditching the gig to devote all his time to becoming the pop overlord.

Now that he’s cornered the pop market, let us not forget the past. Below, I’ve compiled his complete hip-hop production, writing and instrumental discography, with Hulkshare links to individual files and a .zip file of all of them at the end. Joints from Mos Def, Black Star, KRS-One, Nappy Roots and more. I omitted more recent songs by Flo Rida, B.o.B and Lil’ Jon because they don’t really qualify as “classic” Dr. Luke rap production. It gets questionable near the end, but fuck it. Enjoy.

Mos Def – “All My People (The Body Rock Party Break Remixed by Dr. Luke)” (1998)

Damn. Straight out the gate and he was applying his remix skills to Mos Def’s “All My People.” Not a bad first high profile gig. This joint first surfaced on the second disc of four-CD series We Are Hip-Hop, Me, You, Everybody, an unofficial compilation of Mos Def joints. Pretty boom-bappy and loop-based, but it’s got a slightly funky sound that bangs. Not bad.

Black Star featuring Common – “Respiration” (Dr. Luke’s Remix) (1999)

Luke puts his electric guitar skills to the test on this smooth remix to Black Star’s “Respiration,” the second single off their ’98 debut Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. The only thing that varies here on the verses is the drum patterns, while the chorus features the sole inclusion of a sustained synth note. This isn’t complex production by any means. Pretty amateur and uninspired, if you ask me. Guess it was going for more of a vibe kind of thing.

KRS-One – C.I.A. f. Zach de la Rocha and The Last Emperor – “C.I.A. (Criminals in Action)” (Kasz Remix) — Lo-Fi Version and Skip Version (2000)

This was originally produced by Keith Horne, who had joints on Onyx albums back in the day, and appeared on ’98′s Lyricist Lounge, Volume 1. But Luke released this official remix two years later under his alias Kasz, and the results were just terrific. You can hear his style and skill progressing. In my opinion, this is superior to the original beat. The only problem with this joint is that I could find two versions. One is pretty lo-fi but plays smooth and the other has skips but is much clearer. Take your pick.

B. Rich – “Nightmares” (2002)

This joint is pretty awful. Mediocre production and herky jerky rhymes. No wonder this dude never took off. Not wasting words here. Yeesh.

Nappy Roots – “These Walls” (2003)

Interesting. This track, which appeared on ’03′s Wooden Leather, is credited to Kanye West on the production tip, and it even has that early Kanye sound. But Dr. Luke apparently had a hand in this record, too. Who knows? Maybe these two crossed paths earlier on. Or maybe Luke just contributed guitar to the track. Either way, I don’t’ really fuck with Nappy Roots for reasons such as this song.

A-Skillz + Krafty Kuts – “Come Alive” featuring Dr. Luke, “First New Message” featuring Dr. Luke, “Party in Central Park” featuring Dr. Luke (2003)

DJ A-Skillz linked up with fellow vinyl-coddler Krafty Kuts for their joint release Tricka Technology. It seems as though Luke had a pretty heavy hand during its conception. He not only contributes to two of the three actual songs here, but he also contributes his vocals by leaving a voice message on “First New Message,” which seamlessly leads into “Party in Central Park.” Not necessarily bad, but this isn’t really a sign of where his style was heading.

Dr. Oop – “Nights Like These” (2003)

This joint was included on Le Black Love Crew’s The Mixed-Kids Album Vol. 2: “Domestic Terre-Ism”. Believe it or not, tracking this LP down was tough. After days of searching (yes, days – this was the final piece to the Dr. Luke puzzle), I clicked on some sketchy link and in a matter of minutes, it had joined the rest of its MP3 brethren on my hard drive. This is the only track that Luke had done with Dr. Oop (also known as Droop Capone), but it makes sense; Dr. Oop collaborated with A-Skillz and Krafty Kuts on a song called “Peaches,” a cut off the same album (Tricka Technology) on which the above Luke-produced joints appeared. Probably a one-off because he happened to be in the studio when laying tracks with A&K. Statement about the track in liner notes: “Submitted for a compilation. They didn’t like it.”

Arrested Development – “Esmeralda” (2004)

I know, right? Who knew these guys had a recording career after they got the Best New Artist Grammy in 1993. E-shrug. Anyway, this one came off their 2004 album Among the Trees, which I assume no one heard. Here’s a reason to check ‘em out.

Ebony Eyez – “Real Life” featuring J-Kwon and Tarboy (2005)

Anything related to J-Kwon is doo-doo. Plain and simple. And Tarboy? You fuckin’ kidding me? Whatever. I was never into Ebony Eyez. She always struck me as a less talented version of Shawnna. And that’s giving Shawnna a lot of credit here. Anyways, Luke puts his guitar skills back to work on this surprisingly tolerable song, considering J-Kwon and Tarboy cameo. Off her album 7 Day Cycle, most likely a nod to her career’s longevity.

Lady Sovereign – “Love Me or Hate Me,” “Those Were the Days” (2006)

This is where Luke’s began to transition heavily into pop and leave his hip-hop inklings in the past. We all know “Love Me or Hate Me,” the most intolerable pop-rap-grime hybrid in history, but “Those Were the Days” is redeemable for it. Breezy guitars, nostalgic sentiment – hey, maybe Sov wasn’t so bad after all. Oh wait, she was.

Jibbs – “Firr Az That Thang” (2006)

This is where I draw the line. Jibbs had one hot song and then completely fell off. The song wasn’t even that hot, to be honest. And this isn’t either. Club-geared, tinkering, cheap-sounding. He spelled “fire is that thing” as the song title. Someone exile this man immediately.

Download .ZIP of All Files – Dr. Luke’s Pre-Pop, Hip-Hop Production Discography

On the day after the release of Eminem’s sixth album Relapse, I can’t help but feel like I’ve been cheated. When Mr. Mathers first entered mainstream consciousness with The Slim Shady LP, he was on some next level shit. Using people from his personal life as point persons for lyrical fodder and creating horrifying fictitious scenarios involving them (“’97 Bonnie & Clyde” still gives me the heebs), Em took rap to its darkest corners, making his offensive tales lighter by comically framing them. And that’s exactly what America came to love about him: his ability to shape deeply disturbing songs out of not-so-disturbing material, all while joking about it as if it were the national behavioral standard. But on Relapse, which sees Em at a point in his life following the death of his best friend and overcoming an addiction to painkillers, Em turns his back on reality and foolishly assumes the role of a character (stupid voice included).

After Eminem released the substandard Encore in 2004, critics and fans were all speculating that Em might be sapped for subject matter. No longer could Em rap about his mother’s nasty drug habit or killing his wife and do it earnestly; it was just plain boring, and he knew it (Encore was supposed to be his last official release). And the album, unlike his previous efforts, had way more filler than there should ever be on an Eminem release. Remember “Big Weenie?” How about the childish “Ass Like That?” These were songs that a teenager could make if set loose in Dr. Dre’s recording studio, and soon after the album’s release, Em ducked out of the game almost as if he’d never picked up a mic.

Five years later and Em is back with his latest effort Relapse. Since Eminem faux-retired, he’s kept a relatively low profile, his appearances becoming rarer as the demand for a new batch of tunes continuously grew. During his quiet period, a lot happened to Em. His longtime hypeman and best friend Proof was shot and killed, rendering Em depressed and allegedly stimulating a hefty weight gain (reports claimed that he ballooned to over 200 pounds, which, for those of you skinny heads out there, is fat for a dude his size). Soon after, Em apparently dabbled in the rich people art of painkiller addiction, inducing 17-hour naps by popping handfuls of prescription drugs and eclipsing the outside world.

But something snapped Em out of his funk. Not quite sure what that was, but reports started flowing that he and Dr. Dre were back in the studio working on Relapse. Whatever. Then, out of nowhere, this album seemed to speed into existence. In the first week of ’09, “Crack a Bottle,” the album’s 50 Cent- and Dr. Dre-assisted track, hit the net, the first glimpse of what we could expect from the resurrected emcee on Relapse. The track, a sing-song bid for mainstream recognition, achieved just that, leaping up the chart on the strength of digital downloads and heavy rotation. But as any Em fan knows, his lead singles are always duds, not necessarily emblematic of the rest of the album’s sound and a mere attempt to get the masses hyped. Fine.

Then, a few more tracks began to trickle followed by a tracklist, “creepy” promo pictures of a blood-smeared asylum and album art of Eminem’s face made out of a mosaic of prescription pills. If the image was any indication, we were in for a treat: Em looked as though he were ready to address his demons on record, expounding on his struggles with addiction and the hardship that came with losing his best friend. And knowing that Em used his singles as a means to attract mainstream attention, I knew I could expect more from Relapse.

Now, after giving the album several spins, I can confidently say that Eminem has lost what he once had – apart from his lyrical abilities. Instead of sorting through the wreckage of his drug-addled brain fog, the album looks to that personal experience for mere inspiration and rarely touches on anything remotely specific. Instead, Eminem adopts the guise of a character, one that sardonically waxes poetic about murder, homosexuality, drug abuse and even the sodomizing of conjoined twins, all spoken in chronic helium voice. Where albums like The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP actually dug into his closet and ripped out skeletons with meat rotting on the bone, Relapse has no closet. It’s a forced work of imagination – an exercise in fantasy, if you will – with Eminem as a vague shadow that lurks behind the character he’s created to narrate the album. For a man that’s gone through as much rehab therapy as he has, his restraint on this album is remarkable, and his disconnect only cuts down the potential for an album that should have put him back on his throne.

A few things haven’t changed about Eminem, some for the good of Relapse and most others for the bad. To get it out of the way, Eminem’s lyrical ability is supreme on Relapse. His attention to grammatical detail, his cadence, his pacing, his fluctuation in tone at all the right moments – all of it drives Relapse far beyond its face value. Fans look forward to releases from Eminem simply because he can turn a phrase like no other rapper in the game, whether they’ve already come before him or if they came after them. When you hear an Eminem verse, there is so much packed into it that you’re forced to play it again and again to catch every little nuance that he’s created.

For example, on “Deja Vu,” one of the only tracks on these 21 cuts to address anything personal, Em spits, “Maybe if I drink half, I’ll be half-buzzed for half of the time / Who’s the mastermind behind that little line? / With that kind of rational, man, I got half a mind / To have another half a glass of wine, sounds asinine / Yeah, I know.” Do you see what I’m talking about? The way he toys with rhyme-scheme and repeats certain words in his string of rhymes is simply mind-bending, and Relapse soars for being packed with just as many equally engaging rhymes.

But that’s about as good as it gets on Relapse, and the rest of the album’s points are far too low. One thing that hasn’t changed about Marshall (that really, really should have) is his unfailing use of celebrities as lyrical reference points. Celebultards names are tossed around for mere shock value in true bully form: Em tries to bait idiots like Kim Kardashian and Lindsey Lohan into responding to his childish taunts, and in turn, he entertains fans who are tantalized by the prospect of celebrities duking it out. But celebrity culture has changed. No longer are we going to see another Moby/Eminem-level feud, as nearly half of these celebs have already taken the high road and brushed off his brutality (Nick Cannon doesn’t count, and Mariah already made it clear she doesn’t eat candy).

And when it comes to his own persona, Eminem slips into a singsong, nasal tone in order to assume the identity of his forced character. Nearly every song on this fantasy of an album is rapped as if he were holding his nose in the studio as he spit out these rhymes. By the third track, it gets old, and Eminem never quite seems to come to the realization that his tone gets grating – fast. And I’m not alone here. Nearly every comment that I’ve heard on Eminem’s fucked up voice is that it’s stupid and irritating. But what no one seems to understand is that this isn’t Eminem rapping, nor is it an Eminem album. Just like with his alter ego Slim Shady, Marshall has created yet another character to take him to places he wouldn’t normally go. This one is tediously troubled (he gets raped by his stepfather on “Insane,” gets locked in Mariah Carey’s basement on “Bagpipes from Baghdad,” kills a hitchhiker on “Same Song and Dance”), but that’s not what fans expected and the hype simply wasn’t met.

I could go on and on about subject matter and character acting, but I’d rather turn the focus on production. Relapse is almost entirely produced by the secluded Dr. Dre, a pairing of great minds that’s created magic in the past and promised to do so yet again. But like Eminem, Dr. Dre is also fraying around the edges. Musically, Relapse is bland and trite, the drum kits dull as ever and the loops and samples set on vanilla for the duration of this bloated disc. Dr. Dre hits his stride at the beginning of the album with production on “3 A.M.” and “Bagpipes from Baghdad,” but by the middle of Relapse, the beats all sort of blend together. Dre didn’t seem to put too much thought into these beats, and they all get awfully mundane as they fit into the same sonic template, one song after another. Anyone that claims that beats like the ones for “Must Be the Ganja” or “Underground” are genre-bending are only fooling themselves and clearly holding onto the past, because these are some of the most boring, blah beats I’ve heard on a mainstream rap release in quite some time.

So what comes after the disappointing Relapse? Will Eminem kill off this headache-inducing extension of his supressed pain and actually dote on something of value? Em said that he promised that there would be a Relapse 2 released near the end of this year, but that’s hopefully assuming that he’ll read the ink spilled on this album and take notes. People don’t love Eminem because he’s so good at rapping from the perspective of a fictional character. They hungrily anticipate his releases because he’s able to look at the immediate world around him and poetically assemble what he sees into thought-provoking rhymes. On Relapse, he doesn’t even seem to want to do that, and the album consequently fails. Whether or not he’ll face his demons on his next album instead of creating them for a character is up to Em, but as it stands, Relapse might just be one of the biggest hip-hop letdowns of the new millenium.

Joining the ranks of A-Trak, LCD Soundsystem and Aesop Rock to create Nike-commissioned running mixes, De La Soul has just unleashed their 45-minute epic “Are You In?” to iTunes this past week. Being that I’m a runner who’s about to start training for his second marathon (goodbye again, social life), I figured it was only right that I purchase (italicized for a reason) the MP3 and give it a spin during a 6 miler yesterday. So for all you critics and writers out there that are too damn lazy to step away from your computer and listen to a mix intended for play during exercise, here’s a runner’s take on how the mix really fares on a legitimate workout.

I headed down to Jerz this past weekend to celebrate the day we call “Mother’s,” convincing the madre to join me for a Sunday morning jog through the wilderness (literally so – the town is so barren that its focal point is the General Store). The route began and ended at my rentals’ abode, spanning two towns and covering over 6 miles of terrain, the perfect opp to put “Are You In?” to the test.

But right from the start, I knew there would be issues jogging to this marathon mix. There are a few essential components a song and/or mix must have in order to qualify as a good running soundtrack, the most obvious being its pace. As impressive as it is that De La Soul maintained a steady tempo for a solid 45 minutes, the BPM of “Are You In?” is either too fast or too slow. From the beginning of my jog, I tried running in time with the opening song “Mornin’ Rise” featuring Raheem DeVaughn, but it was going approximately 10 miles per hour or 4 miles per hour (depending on if you tried to double time it or not). For all you non-runners out there, an acceptable running pace is between 6 and 7 miles per hour, so De La’s speed mix wasn’t going to cut it. I tried catching up to the beat, but that had me moving at a speed impossible to maintain for more than 30 seconds, let alone 6 miles. Then, I tried slowing down to try to catch the beat again, but it put me at a walking pace. By this point, I’d already accepted that the next 45 minutes would be spent jogging to music that fought against my natural running pace.

Aside from pacing, a good running mix has to be motivating, built on invigorating instrumentation and inspirational lyrics, and it’s here that De La Soul’s composition truly did the trick. Throughout the run, I consistently found myself inspired and pushed forward by both instrumentation and rhymes. Being that this course was a series of back-to-back hills, I needed motivation to help get me through the rough points (you know, those trying moments where your legs are telling you to quit when you’re only a quarter way up the hill). “Mornin’ Rise” helped ease me into a smooth rhythm, gradually getting grimier as fatigue started to take over and “Good Morning”‘s sour synthesizers kept me moving.

At around the 2-mile mark, “Good Morning” bled into “Big Mouf,” a straightforward rap track that would have fit nicely on an album like The Grind Date. Here, the group spits braggadocio rhymes (“Do a whole collabo together and call the joint ‘Business Class’ / Then run up in first so the biz can last”) over a clunky industrial smattering of keyboard samples. By the end of the segment, the three were chanting the first truly inspiring moment of the mix, rapping, “Shout, talk about it, say something / Ya heard that? / Louder, it’s the big mouf.” As the trio repeats the hook, the instrumental transformed into an ’80s-tinged rock confection with clanging cymbals and rapid-fire drum fills, something along the lines of a montage accomplice to the training portion of a Rocky sequel.

At this point, I needed a pick-me-up. The night before was filled with Johnnie Walkers and Amstels as far as the tongue could taste, and I was fighting against inner gravity (note to self: cut self off after the first few rounds). Then, out of nowhere, De La Soul starts egging me on, commanding me to “Pick up the pace” and dropping ruminations on existence like “Life is just a race.” Encouragement and metaphors? What more could I ask for??

But seriously, I was lagging at this point, and was just reaching the worst of the run. You know, that part of the land that God purposely made hilly just to fuck you over? With De La chanting on full blast, I actually listened to what they were saying and pushed harder. I’m not usually inspired by musical commands (having Beyonce tell me to check up on it while I’m at the halfway point of my run usually doesn’t jive), and De La definitely did a nice job of running their mouths on the appropriate up- and downbeats of “Pick Up the Pace (Run).”

Soon after, though, this turned into a jazz-brushed scratch-fest, right at the middle of my workout. Fortunately, I didn’t need as much musical juice to do the relatively downhill portion of the jog, and the breezy instrumentation served as a nice complement to the fresh surroundings (would you believe me if I told you I was running past horse farms in the middle of New Jersey alongside a trickling stream? I knew you wouldn’t). While I zoned out to the DJ cuts, the mix gradually blended into the Flosstradamus-produced “We O.D.” where the group O.D.’s on electronic synthesizer melodies as they rap about food. At this point, I was basically envisioning the gorge-fest awaiting at home, and just needed some coasting music to get me through the worst. Then came the rocking hair metal guitar of “Victory Laps,” a track that recalled C&C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” and topped with some gushy rhymes.

The mix was coming to an end and the finish line for the run was in sight. Unfortunately, the trail ended with a hill tilted at a 70 degree incline (now that is what I call an FML moment, for all you acronym abusers out there), and “Are You In?” decided to slow down, completely ignorant to the hell that laid ahead of me. Digressing into a greasy soul number dubbed “Forever,” De La Soul straight up assumed that everyone uses the end of their workout to slow their roll, and as I shouted at myself to keep moving (don’t worry, I looked around to make sure the local hicks didn’t think I was a animal hunting target), the music was working way too hard against me.

Fortunately, I made it over the hill and the mix melted into silence, leaving me to scramble to flip on Jacki-O or some shit as I jogged to home base and headed straight for the stocked refrigerator. So how did De La rank on the running tip, you ask? As an experienced runner, I’d have to say that they did a pretty good job. The music was impressively kept at a constant pace (even though it was a pace unmatchable by any human other than Paula Radcliffe), and it managed to continously build and peak at all the right places. I’ll admit that only fools like myself would wait until the end of the run to charge up a monster incline, but had I done what normal people do and abided by the golden rules of running, De La would have served me incredibly well. Would I run to this again? You betcha. And it’s not just because I shelled out $9.99 on iTunes to have it on my iPod: it’s because it’s genuinely good.

“Psychologists, gynecologists, here’s a papsmear / Is that clear?“

Another new one off the upcoming (comeback) album Crime Pays, in stores next Tuesday. Hit the jump for the ShareBee.

Cam’Ron – Never Ever

Novelino puts his own spin in Sir West’s knocking original. Not gonna lie, I enjoy this much more than the original (not having to hear Jeezy’s awful “die high blood pressure” declaration is a win in my book). Is it just me, or does Novel’s take sound something like a cross between Stevie Wonder and John Legend? So soulful, don’t you agree?

When Kelis first linked up with Nas five years back, I was confused. Here were two artists on completely different planes: Kelis hadn’t yet traded in her frizzy clump of hair for a flat-ironed coif and ironic gold fronts, while Nas was just reclaiming a spot in the top 5 D.O.A. after holding his own in one of hip-hop’s greatest battles. So with the recent announcement that Ms. Kelis Rogers has filed from divorce from Mr. Nasir Jones, can I just say that I saw this one coming?

From the start, this relationship seemed ephemeral, something like a summer fling that stretched into an Indian summer and them some. To examine it from the character perspective, Nas has always seemed like he needed an around the way bitch to put in the corner, not an R&B singer whose first single called for nationwide female empowerment. And as for Kelis? Before she brought all the boys to the yard, she was an angry weedhead, mellifluously cooing over early era Neptunes beats for some of the gushiest post-neo-soul jams of the new century.

Low and behold, these two somehow linked up after rubbing elbows at a 2002 MTV VMA’s afterparty, stepping it up a notch by instead rubbing on each other and becoming one of hip-hop’s most confusing power couples. Then came the marriage in 2003, and that’s right about where things got weird. Rumors started swirling that the pair had such a loud, raucous bedroom life that they had to buy a house out in the middle of the country so as not to disturb the little old ladies in their Queens shanties. Now, I can imagine that Kelis is probably a screamer, but I thought Nas blew his load on “One Mic” and left it at that.

But when they took their collaborations out of the bedroom and into the studio, the results weren’t as mighty. Of the collabos these two have laid down, few have had any replay value or longevity. Kelis’ tracks that featured Nas were all sex-based aurgasms: “In Public” plays like a computer virus, while “Blindfold Me” is entirely too gratuitous for a Kelis song (she gets a free pass for “Popular Thug”). Nas took it upon himself to get personal on his tracks, relegating Kelis to hook duties on tracks like ”Hey Nas” (not gonna lie, I still bump this), “Not Going Back” (yawn) and “American Way” (that Condoleeza Rice reference is already laughable).

From there, Kelis started to change, and not for the better. Married life had done something to her. No longer was she that sassy ass bitch gliding around roller rinks with the dudes from Clipse. Instead, she was holing up in the studio with producers like Dr. Luke and Max Martin, getting “Bo$$y” on her singles with Too $hort guest appearances. What happened to the chick that was once fronting explosions in the video for “Young, Fresh ‘N New?” I get that evolution is necessary for any artist, but this was shaming the past for the sake of the present.

And then the most uncharacteristic of events occurred: Kelis got arrested. While in Miami in early ’07, she spazzed out on a handful of undercover cops dressed as prostitutes, resisting arrest and slinging racial epithets at these fake whores. Would this have happened if she hadn’t become the chick tattooed on his arm? My guess is no, and that she probably would have gone down a different path had she stayed in her lane and kept on with her bad self.

Meanwhile, Nas continued to stretch out his legacy even further, keeping heads interested by doling out gimmicky album titles (Hip-Hop is Dead sent shock waves through the urban world, and we all know what happened with Untitled) and backing them up with slabs of hit-or-miss jams. Nas seemed to be the one holding the reigns in the relationship, rarely making reference to his wife while she flaunted that shit like a brand new pearl necklace. The imbalance of power had become apparent, and with Kelis missing from her hubby’s track list on Untitled, it looked as though something was up.

Seven months ago, Kelis and Nas announced that they had just conceived their first child (a boy, if I understand correctly), and while a blessing like that would be cause for celebration, rumor had it that not all was well in the camp.

Now, after months of media speculation that they were on the cusp of a breakup, Kelis has filed for divorce. And while I would normally be celebrating their split (if you know me, you already know I’m soulless so this shouldn’t come as a surprise), I can’t help but feel sad. Looking over their court documents, you’ll see that “Unborn child” is listed under Declaration Regarding Minor Children, a harsh reality to see on a legal form. Now, Kelis is going to become an unwed mother, a heartbreaking lifestyle thrusted upon an artist that once stepped on dudes’ backs in high heels.

Not only that, but even the haters can’t deny that Kelis must have been put through hell. Nas was allegedly fucking around and verbally abusing her, a horrible thing to do to your pregnant wife even if she was being a hormonal basket case (pregnancy changes women, duh).

Reflecting back on their relationship, I feel sorry for Kelis, not only for the fact that she’s been kicked to the curb, but that Nas won’t face any repercussions for the way that things went down. Hip-hop fans don’t necessarily care if an emcee fucks up in his or her personal life (um, Rick Ross anyone?), and this won’t be an exception. In fact, Kelis will most likely have to pull out of this one on her own, as her career has been on hold ever since her last album Kelis Was Here didn’t fare that well (her next album has been in limbo for quite some time).  If only it weren’t for that one fateful night back in 2002, Kelis might have pulled through and continued on as the baddest bitch in R&B. But now, you can’t help but pity her.

Last night, Georgia’s own Izza Kizza hit up NYC’s Red Bull Loft to celebrate the release of his newest mixtape The Wizard of Iz, the follow-up to his highly acclaimed debut tape Kizzaland. As guests put down free Asahi beer and Red Bull and vodkas, Izza posed for pics and mingled with the crowd, taking the stage at 11:30 to perform cuts both old and new. Throughout the set, Izza, backed by 88-Keys on the 1′s and 2′s, ran through cuts like “Red Wine” and “I’m the Izza Kizza,” entertaining the likes of Missy Elliott (she sipped Grey Goose and OJ at a nearby table) and DJ A-Trak. Hit the jump to see more pictures from the event (I couldn’t resist including one of me and Missy, who, by the way, told me that we should expect her album “soon” – whatever that means).

At first, I thought this guy was just trying to get put on by brandishing a rap name that Missy Elliott once spit out during an exorcism (I believe she called that “Work It”). But after I saw him rock the stage at Decon’s Showcase last year during CMJ, I knew this guy was more than just a name. I wore out his debut mixtape Kizza Land, a sonic chunk of futuristic hip-hop that could take clubgoers to outer space. Now, the Southern gentleman has taken a break from recording at Missy’s studio in Virginia (looks as though copping that name did something good for him) to release his free new mixtape The Wizard of Iz to the internet masses. Hit the jump to download this ridiculously excellent tape.

Izza Kizza – The Wizard of Iz (Mixed by Nick Catchdubs)