Feed the Beast Week 9 - Nico raps along with Weezy and...Ashanti?:
By now, you should all know the drill for Feed the Beast. To promote his debut album, No Beast So Fierce, Philly emcee Nico the Beast has been selecting two user-submitted beats each week and dropping an original verse over each of them. So far, Nico's batted 1.000, lyrically knocking all sixteen beats out of the park like a rap version of Chase Utley (can you tell that I have the All Star game on while I'm writing this?).
Nico tells me that this week's entries have been his favorite set of songs for Feed the Beast, and after listening to them, it's easy to see why. What he's put together for week nine goes well beyond the original freestyle concept, with two entries that are complete songs in their own right.
The first song, with a beat (Lil Wayne's Hustler's Music) selected by Nico's little brother Nooch, features Nico at his best as an emcee. Showcasing his proficiency at the (lost) art of storytelling, Nico drops a verse that manages to be both "street" and sincere. A lot of the songs on No Beast So Fierce have a similar feel to them, so if you like this one you should definitely be into the album:
The beat on the second track (submitted by Jimmy Giambrone, who also took the above photo), caught me off guard, as I didn't expect to hear Nico rap over an R&B joint. I wouldn't have expected someone to submit an Ashanti beat, either, but it worked out surprisingly well. Flipping the concept behind Ashanti's love song, Nico turns the whole thing into something significantly more hip hop:
You're right about that Hustler's music song. It reminds me a lot of that one song on the cd where nico talks about his brother and sister. Track 12 or 13 I think. But anyway I thought that was one of the best songs on the cd. Good stuff this week, as always.
7/16/2008 6:55:12 AM posted by Will I Am
I can't front on Ashanti because...well...damn, has everyone seen her? Anyway, another Matt Holiday hit out the park for Nico. Still waiting for the fresstyle over Pee Wee's Dance by Joeski Love. Big ups to Fresh and crew. Cheers.
@Will: I believe that's track 13, Loving you a lifetime. Definitely one of the standout tracks on the album. For the record, I think my favorite is Croskey Street (#14).
@Commish: You've got a couple of days left to get that instrumental over to Nico if you want to make that happen! And totally off topic, but since you're here.... Camby for a second round swap? What?
7/16/2008 1:42:59 PM posted by fresh
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