Welcome back for another edition of ‘The R.A.W Report’ bringing you the Top 5 biggest news stories, releases and events, from the worlds of Hip-Hop/Rap and Pro Wrestling!!!
, James Wright Tha 3rd joins us live while serving time to explore the gangster culture and mindset. Talks Rap Music, Alpo, Charleston White, Young Dolph and more.
Short Circuit – Freedom Or Death is a hard edged lyrical rap album with hardcore lyrics and poetry. The album has that East Coast flow and feeling. Short Circuit’s lyrics have much stimulation to them. Short Circuit – Freedom Or Death was a representation of some of No Limit’s albums from the late 90s. Short Circuit was one of No Limit’s finest lyricists as he was super creative and lyrical.
Not many people know this but the original title of this album was Freedom Or Death. However Master P changed the album title from Freedom Or Death to Gone AWOL. This proved to be a smart marketing strategy because Master P knew what he was doing. Master P was the one who made the executive decision to change the title.
Now Short Circuit – Gone AWOL was the No Limit album that never was. Short Circuit – Gone AWOL was supposed to be released on No Limit Records and their sublabel imprint No Limit East in 1999. Gone AWOL was to be released on No Limit before they left Priority Records. However his album remained unreleased because Short Circuit was incarcerated. He was serving a sentence in prison at the time his album was supposed to be released. 1999 was a totally different feel from No Limit. Cash Money was truly taking over for the 99 and the 00. That is why Gone AWOL was never released. He had so many songs recorded for his Gone AWOL album which never got released. Everything was different with the tank when Short Circuit got out of prison. His Gone AWOL album was no longer a priority for the label as other albums from other No Limit artists were being pushed and promoted. No Limit fucked up by not dropping this album.
Unsurprisingly lot of No Limit albums that were advertised didn’t come out during that time for whatever the reasons were. A lot of these covers were designed before the albums were even recorded. Master P was putting out albums like an assembly line. Gone AWOL was one of those albums. The production team never had time to fully mix and master the Gone AWOL album.
Now the album was supposedly released but took off the shelf immediately within less than a few days. Gone AWOL remained fully unreleased until 2019 when Short Circuit himself leaked songs from his album onto his YouTube channel. Of course his other songs have been leaked by various YouTube channels over the years.
I’m Gone is considered to be one of Short Circuit’s hardest songs and is the hardest song on the Gone AWOL album. Short Circuit has a flow and style similar to Cam’ron on this song. “Man, it’s like that pouring rain/That fine miss/That greed in your vains” Short Circuit raps with an East Cost flow here.
Now the horns section is what made the song quite smooth and soothing. You can also hear the tape hiss and distortion from the production in this song. Mo B Dick and Short Circuit brought that East Coast flavor, style, and sound to the song.
Bring My Burners is one of Short Circuit’s most well known songs. This was also one of his most lyrical songs next to I’m Gone. Bring My Burners was a song which came out on the No Limit Soldiers Compilation album in 1998.
Now not many people knew this or know this fact but Bring My Burners was a battle between Short Circuit and Busta Rhymes which happened in LA. Short Circuit took Busta Rhymes out in front of KRS-One. Everybody was there to see the battle which happened over the Black Eyed Peas and Short Circuit. Short Circuit was killing his rhymes three to none. Master P quickly diffused the battle.
Never Take This Away was an emotional banger from Short Circuit himself. The beats sound similar to beats produced by Rockwilder which give the song an edge of commercial pop. Short Circuit explains how he constantly fights for his freedom throughout the song. He tells us he will change his ways, his hustle, and his lifestyle.
U Notice Dat has that old school hip hop/rap vibe and sound to it. Notice how you can hear the tape hiss and distortion from the production in this song. Notice those thick drum patterns and beats. The song was not fully mixed and mastered because his production team never had time to fully mix and master due to scheduling conflicts. Master P was putting out albums on No Limit Records like an assembly line. Short Circuit has a flow and style similar to Redman and LL Cool J on this song. Short Circuit brought an East Coast style to the tank.
The remix of U Notice Dat has that old school hip hop/rap vibe and sound to it. Notice how you can hear the tape hiss and distortion from the production in this song. Notice those thick drum patterns and beats. The song was not fully mixed and mastered because his production team never had time to fully mix and master due to scheduling conflicts. Master P was putting out albums on No Limit Records like an assembly line. Short Circuit has a flow and style similar to Redman and LL Cool J on this song. Short Circuit brought an East Coast style to the tank. The song samples a Just Ice song from the 80s.
HRS Underground’s deadly, lyrical, trio of Fubar, Hidden and M-Acculate have dropped there incredibly dope, 7-track, collaborative EP ‘Three The Hard Way’.
The EP features the usual HRS traits such as dope bars and sick beats to keep your head nodding.
Featuring guest appearances from Dirty Joe, ILLtemper and Sadida.
Hip-Hop artist, and producer, Darko The Super made history, this afternoon, by becoming the first ever 2-time T.E.N Wrestling Social Media Champion after beating Mallz, Tatanka and Justin Credible in a 4-way ‘Champion Of Champions’ clash!!!
The clash saw Mallz defend his title against three former champions in a voting poll on R.A.W Media’s Twitter.
This isn’t the first time Darko has made Social Media Championship history as, during his first reign, he became the longest reigning champion.
A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride was a R&B/soul album with an edge of rugged Southern rap and hip hop. You have the sensual lovely song Lovin’ Me, the rough brash breakup song Bye Boy, and the sexy sensual guitar driven Lexxtacy.
No Limit Records was dabbling into the R&B/soul market after the success with Sons of Funk, Mia X, and Magic right around 1998-2000. No Limit kept it in the family by signing Mercedes’ sister, A-Lexxus, who was scheduled to released her debut solo album “Let’s Ride” sometime in 2000. Yet A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride was another No Limit album that never was. A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride was supposed to be released on No Limit Records in 2000 but never got released.
The main reason as to why A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride was never released was because of timing. A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride was being promoted at the same time as Mercedes’s Rear End album was being promoted. Mercedes was taking all of the shine with the success of her Rear End which was mostly due to the moderate success of singles It’s Your Thang and Ya’ll Ain’t. Mercedes took her shine and A-Lexxus didn’t have a chance. Not only that, A-Lexxus is Mercedes’ sister.
The other reason as to why her album was never released was because other albums from other No Limit artists were being pushed and promoted. Unsurprisingly lot of No Limit albums that were advertised didn’t come out during that time for whatever the reasons were. A lot of these covers were designed before the albums were even recorded. Master P was putting out albums like an assembly line. The problem with No Limit was that they had so many artists which resulted in projects that were either under-promoted or overlooked. A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride was one of those albums that was constantly advertised in No Limit albums throughout 1998-2000. No Limit stopped advertising her album in No Limit albums by 2001.
However A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride had been receiving a proportionate amount of promotion. Alexxus was passing out posters and flyers for her “Let’s Ride” album on a promo tour with Mercedes and Fiend back in 1998. She had been going to different radio stations to promote her debut album. A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride was promoted heavily during the promo tour.
Sadly No Limit dropped the ball by not dropping this album. Master P should have expanded his No Limit R&B/soul roster as they had some much talent. Honestly A-Lexxus – Let’s Ride should have dropped. She sounded more talented than Mercedes as she actually sounds good. The difference between the two is clear. Her tone was less militant than Mercedes.
Now the album cover was designed by Pen N Pixel and had basically paid homage to Mercedes – Rear End. You have the golden iced out lettering with jeweled encasing. A-Lexxus assumed the same sexual position as Mercedes on the cover of her album. However most No Limit fans say Mercedes did the Rear End cover better than A-Lexxus did. Nonetheless the album cover is still provocative.
The album cover for her debut album.
The album remained unreleased for 10 years. That is until Mercedes leaked some of the songs to her debut album onto her MySpace page in 2010. Songs such as Lovin’ Me, Bye Boy, and Lexxtacy were leaked by her. Slay Sean leaked some of her songs onto his MySpace page also. Now this album still remains unreleased in a sense as not all of her song to her debut album have been leaked in their entirety.
The song Lexxtacy is a sexy sensual guitar driven R&B/soul song with that commercial pop sound. A-Lexxus takes you (and us) on a trip to Lexxtacy (ecstasy)with this song of hers undoubtedly. The song appeared on the 2015 compilation album Emmett Dove Files from their sublabel No Limit East. Young Gator is the rapper who is featured on the song.
A-Lexxus will be the one to teach you how to love. She will show you how it’s done. So sit back and enjoy the ride. A-Lexxus will take you to another level of Lexxtacy (ecstasy). She will take your body to ecstasy. She can and will be your fantasy. Her dedication to you is strong and will keep you satisfied. She’ll give you pleasure and romance.
Boy Bye is the rough brash breakup song. A-Lexxus is tired of dealing with these lames (men who are chumps that big let-downs in disguise). The song uses an urban edge of hard hitting 00s style rap beats over a Southern rap sound. Southern rap meets soul on Boy Bye.
This man is trying to get with A-Lexxus. The way he is approaching A-Lexxus is all wrong. The way he approached her was not right at all. All the flashy material things such as shiny jewelry don’t impress A-Lexxus at all. However he is unaware of this. She needs a strong thug on the premises. She wants a real relationship built on love, trust, and compassion. A-Lexxus is tired of dealing with these lames. However the men who are trying get at her are unaware of this.
You’re the Only One explains how the man A-Lexxus wants to fall in love with is the only one for her and she cannot let him go. This is actually Mercedes song which was included on her Rear End album in 1999.
He is the only one for A-Lexxus. He is the finest thing she has ever seen. It all happened about a year ago. They both had made a promise not to let it go. But now A-Lexxus has gotten this far. She couldn’t help but let it go. She knows that he is aware of the in the past she felt for him. A-Lexxus never let him know what’s going on because she never really let him hold het this way. But now she is coming to him honestly. A-Lexxus tells him, “Boy, you are the only one. You are the only one for me.” This is evident in the lyrics to Verse 1.
I know you know of things in the past That I felt for you Never let you know whats going on Cause I never really let you hold me this way
Mercedes wondering if he feels the same way that she does. The feelings that Mercedes hold within her heart. She hopes to never part with him. She hopes he knows what she feels for him. She has a thing for him of course.
Lovin’ Me is A-Lexxus’ soulful R&B cover of One Way – Don’t Stop Ever Loving Me. You can feel a mixture of both the old school and new school on this song. The 80s meets the 00s. Daz Dillinger makes a guest appearance on the song. The song was rereleased as a digital single by A-Lexxus herself in 2014.
Welcome back for another edition of ‘The R.A.W Report’ bringing you the Top 5 biggest news stories, releases and events, from the worlds of Hip-Hop/Rap and Pro Wrestling!!!
Samm – Enemy of the Streets is a No Limit album that never was that could have been a hit. Many fans had anticipated that this No Limit album would be released in 2001 but that is not the case. The album was kept unreleased because Master P shifted towards releasing albums with more of a commercial pop rap sound from him, Lil Romeo, and 504 Boyz. Lyrical gangsta rap had been an underground thing then. So his promising debut album was ultimately shelved.
Another issue was Master P playing basketball for the NBA. He couldn’t help artists promote their music as much while playing for the NBA. His NBA career hindered many artists success rate and prevented their albums from being unreleased. Mac’s unexpected incarceration was also a factor which prevented this album from being released.
The poster for Samm – Enemy Of The Streets was designed by the legendary Pen N Pixel back in 2001.
The album was completed and finished. 20 songs were recorded for Enemy of the Streets. However the all the DAT tapes with songs for his Enemy of the Streets album had got lost and displaced during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Even the backup files were lost. XL is still looking for the DATs for this album to this day. He has only found a few DATs for the songs to the Enemy of the Streets album. Songs such as Rise, Ride, Paradise, and They Murdered Me were on the album. Enemy of the Streets has songs from albums that were mostly scrapped or lost.
Enemy of the Streets drew influence from Soulja Slim and MAC. That makes sense because XL had been producing songs for them. XL produced a bulk of the album. XL produced 15 songs for the album.
The album cover has Samm standing in front a wall of fire with two cobras depicted on both sides of him. Hands are going out of the ground on all sides. Now the album cover was designed by Pen N Pixel as all No Limit album covers were during that time.
This album should have been released because Samm was a hard spitta. His verses were extremely lyrical. Too bad nothing came out or was ever released. Sadly he was and remains overlooked.
On Tuesday (Nov. 16), Angie Martinez posted a clip from her recent interview with the “Foolish” singer where she spoke about the importance of owning her own music. Irv took to Instagram to clarify what was going on. “Just for super clarity. I own all those great Ashanti Albums Angie,” he commented under Martinez’s post. “I own the Masters. And I Produced all those great Ashanti Albums. So, I also own a good portion of the Publishing. What she is trying to do is re-record all those great records. And put them out on her label. She can do this under the COVER laws. But she is basically trying to fuck me out of my Masters.”
Ashanti to re-record her debut album
Irv then wrote that Ashanti is hoping her “loyal fans” listen to her re-recorded LP instead of the original that he owns the masters to.
He also said the situation was “fucked up,” but he wants to hear what her versions will sound like to see if it “matches the magic we made.”
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Three independent law enforcement sources confirmed to FOX13 that rapper Young Dolph was shot and killed in Memphis Wednesday afternoon.
Maurice Hill, the owner of the shop where the shooting happened, Makeda’s Butter Cookies, told FOX13 his employees said Young Dolph, 36, walked into the store to buy cookies. Someone then drove up and then shot and killed him around 1 p.m. on Wednesday at the bakery in South Memphis.