This four part series will examine the following subjects:

"Who is Hip-Hop's Next Great MC?"

"Who is the Best Camp in the Game?"

"Has Social Media Killed the Diss Record?"

"Has Hip-Hop Lost some of its Masculinity/Is Gangster Rap Dead?"

The Panelists:

Skoob - Sr. Editor at Hip-Hop Wired, Co-Host of Hip-Hop Unplugged & Music Junkies, has also worked for MTV & VH1 Networks

Alvin "Aqua" Blanco - Deputy Editor at Hip-Hop Wired, Contributed to XXL, Vibe, The Source and former Editor at AllHipHop.com

Kazeem "Kaz" Famuyide - Editor at The Source Magazine & Co-founder of RLE

Austin Miller - Music Producer, #Earned Instrumental Mixtape coming soon, Digital Marketer at ICED Media

Ice - A&R of The Streets

Eb The Celeb - Digital Content Producer that has worked for BET & Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, Digital Content Manager for Ne-Yo's Compound Entertainment

Rahim Wright - Morning Show Producer at Clear Channel Network & Digital Publicist

Melanie Sims - Music Writer & Producer for ABC Radio, Written for Assoc. Press, Vibe & Essence Magazine

Contributing Panelists Opinions

Eb The Celeb

My vote is for Big K.R.I.T.  I feel lyrically, with his story telling, charisma, humility and the fact that he comes off as a really good dude that he has the potential to be around for a long time. I don't necessarily feel his debut will be this huge commercial hit (similar to T.I.'s I'm Serious), but the career that T.I. has had since then, I feel emulates what Krit's will blossom in to.  He also makes his own beats, which also favor his longevity.

Melanie Sims

Kendrick Lamar for $1000, Alex. At this very moment, somebody's enjoying that "Buried Alive" interlude from Drake's Take Care, and they have no clue that they're listening to Kendrick Lamar.  He's underground famous -- not famous famous -- which is unfortunate since the masses could benefit from adding a little O(verly) D(edicated) or Section.80 to their iTunes library. Kendrick also seems to have more heart than he has ego.  There's a rawness and thoughtfulness to his lyrics that the game could always use more of. Please see:  "Ignorance is Bliss," "Keisha's Song (Her Pain)"...

Listen & download below.

Download Here

Recently, Yeezy and various artists have been spotted in London recording the album. No word on when or where the song, produced by Phoenix producer Lifted (maybe this guy?), will be dropping, though.

"Always consistently maintain yourself and be the same person," said Pecas. "Don't try to change or adjust your personality...don't try and be something that you're not, always stay who you are, and always be honest with people. I believe in karma, and good things will come to you, as you give good things to others."

In addition to these helpful hints, Pecas also ran down the list of Def Jam artists set to release projects this year, which included Nas, Rick Ross, Kanye West, and many more.

Gilbere Forté links up with Terry Urban and DJ Booth for the release of his promising mixtape, Year of the Dragon. The feature roster is quite impressive, including the likes of Lloyd Banks, Freeway, Jim Jones and Pusha T.

We also get several freestyles from the rapper over some familiar instrumentals. Gilbere shows versatility with a lengthy range of production styles  as he delivers a true "mixtape" feel with this project.

Click here to download.

Def Jam's Sr. Vice President Shawn "Pecas" Costner sat down with the good folks over at Al Lindstrom, for "#DefJamBack" Part 1. Pecas discusses the assumption that Def Jam was moving away from its Hip-Hop acts and focusing more on R&B. He also speaks on the beef between labelmates Jeezy & Rick Ross, and his stance on the situation. 

"Rick Ross & Young Jeezy are both grown men, and there's enough money in their prospective worlds of what they do," said Pecas. "So I try and take that energy and put it towards making Big Sean a bigger artist...I don't really get involved."

The exec also spoke about Asher Roth, Pusha T, and much more.

Push A Ton drops a video for his "Sweet" freestyle. You know "So Sweet," that Common song the Chicago rapper said was for Drake. Well, Pusha has his own bars for Drizzy here with lines like, "I hear 'em whisper like a hummingbird sings/Of all the trust issues that a hundred birds bring."

Will Pusha say Drake's name, though? Also, new Re-Up Gang mixtape, Long Live The Caine, is still on the way. Peep the Samuel Rodgers directed clip below.

Pusha T assures fans that the Re-Up Gang's Long Live The Caine mixtape is on the way. In an interview with FUSE's 'Hip Hop Shop,' the G.O.O.D. Music rapper, and one half of the Clipse, relayed that he is just excited about the project as his faithful listeners.

“The Long Live The Cain mixtape is something that's going to go back to what you guys know as the Re-Up Gang…” says Push A Ton. “It's so crazy man, I actually can't really wait for it because you've heard me, you've heard [Ab] Liva sporadically this year. And for some reason people act as if though Malice, ya know, once you have it you don't have it anymore. Or they act as if though, they don't know where he's going to go.”

Pusha is referring to his older brother, and the other half of Clipse, who last year released a book called Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind and Naked. Malice has focused more on his spirituality lately, causing some to think it will adversely impact his music. However, Pusha is quick to disagree with any such theories.

“Me personally, I heard him the same way when he was rhyming on the first Re-Up Gang mixtapes,” says Malice. “I don't know why people are even questioning what's it going to be. He always was the more introspective one. He always was the more, to me the more thought provoking and the more consequential of the three of us.”

Malice continues, “Why the big question today? Because he took time off, wrote his book—a successful book, an awesome book. Why the question about the music? I have no clue, but I can't wait to show everybody.”

The Re-Up Gang roster is currently Malice, Pusha and Ab-Liva. Pusha's proper full length G.O.O.D. Music debut—last year's Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray was an EP—is due sometime in 2012. As for Long Live The Caine, it's in the works.

“Right now it's all about finding the right music," says Pusha. "Everybody's waiting on it. But I'm definitely not going to just throw something out there so people can tear it apart, at all. So right now it's about finding the right music and stashing it away. Once we get that solid body [claps], then going forward.”

On Friday, Rick Ross set the Internet on fire with the release of his new Mixtape Rich Forever. As if the release of the project wasn't enough, Rozay followed it up with an immediate release of a video to the most controversial records on the tape, "Stay Schemin'".  The song features a collab with new Bad Boy Records signee French Montana and his Y.O.L.O. partner in rhyme, Drizzy Drake.

The controversy surrounding the record can be found in Drake's verse.

It bothers me when the Gods get to actin' like the broads/I guess every team doesn't come complete wit' N****s like ours/That's why I see no need to compete wit' N****s like yall/I just ask that when see me, you speak up N***a that's all

Back when a N***a reached it was for the weapon/Nowadays N****s reach just to sell they record

I'm just hittin' my pinnacle, you a P***y identical, you like the F****n finish line, we can't wait to run into you.

 

Obviously the Young Money superstar was addressing someone, but who or whom, and where? It sounds as though he's speaking to everyone's that had something to say about him as of late. So instead of doing a song to address everyone individually, it sounds like he fired back at Common, Ludacris, and Pusha-T.

French Montana called into the L.A. Leakers Show to discuss this record, along with who exactly Drake was sending shots at.  Here's part one of the interview.

The G.O.O.D. Music bully gives us a visual for "What Dreams Are Made Of" off of Fear of God 2: Let Us Pray, via Red Bull. Recently, Pusha T tore down the Gramercy Theater in New York City, entering the stage to this very record.

You can't ever go wrong with a Ric Flair sample. Fear Of God 2 is available now. Peep the video.