2012 End of Year Awards Nominees

The new year is almost upon us but before the 2013 year of hip hop begins The Beat celebrates the best of the 2012 year. With a number of end of the year awards to hand out we have narrowed the list of nominees to five for each award up for grabs. Below is the list of nominees, feel free to leave comments and let us know your opinions of the choices, whether you agree or disagree.

Album of the Year

Based on a T.R.U. Story- 2 Chainz

Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head- T.I.

Good Kid Maad City- Kendrick Lamar

Dreams & Nightmares- Meek Mill

Self Made 2- Maybach Music Group

Rapper of the Year

Kanye West  (G.O.O.D. Music)
Meek Mill  (MMG)
2 Chainz  (G.O.O.D. Music
Drake  (Young Money)
Rick Ross  (MMG)

Song of the Year

No Lie- 2 Chainz feat. Drake
Pop That- French Montana feat. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne
Swimming Pools- Kendrick Lamar
Mercy- Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T, & 2 Chainz
Amen- Meek Mill feat. Drake

Mixtape of the Year

Detroit- Big Sean
Dedication 4- Lil Wayne
187- Tyga
Dream Chasers 2- Meek Mill
Well Done 3- Tyga

Rookie of the Year

Kendrick Lamar  (Good Kid Maad City)
A$AP Rocky  (Various singles and features)
Machine Gun Kelly  (Lace Up)
Kirko Bangz  (Singles and features)
Future  (Various singles and features)

Video of the Year

Mercy- Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
My Homies Still- Big Sean feat. Lil Wayne
Birthday Song- 2 Chainz feat. Kanye West
Pop That- French Montana
Ball- T.I. feat. Lil Wayne

  Verse of the Year

     Jay-Z (Clique)
     Drake (No Lie)
    2 Chainz (Mercy)
    Andre 3000 (Sixteen)
   J.Cole  (Green Ranger)

Producer of the Year

DJ Mustard (Rack City, I'm Different, R.I.P.)
Hit-Boy (Clique, Theraflu, Goldie)
Mike Will Made It (Turn on the lights, No Lie, Bandz a Make Her Dance)
Young Chop (Mula, I Don't Like)
No I.D. (Daughters, Accident Murderers, Wild Side)

Disappointment of the Year

The Black Bar Mitzvah (Rick Ross)
Cruel Summer (G.O.O.D. Music)
Cabin Fever 2 (Wiz Khalifa)
Jesus Piece (The Game)
Roman Reloaded (Nicki Minaj)

  Lyricist of the Year 

  Kendrick Lamar

  Drake

  Jay-Z

  Andre 3000

  Tyga

Comeback Rapper of the Year

     Nas

    Juicy J

    T.I.

    Dr. Dre

    Joe Budden

One Hit Wonder of the Year

Cash Out (Cashin Out)
Driicky Graham (Snapbacks and Tattoos)
Chief Keef (I Don't Like)
Kirko Bangz (Drank in My Cup)
Trinidad James (All Gold Everything)


Agree with the nominees? Feel free to leave a comment about it as well as tell us who you believe should win each award. Be sure to check back regularly as we will be handing out the awards individually over the next few weeks. 

New Video: 2 Chainz "I'm Different"

Tity Boi is back at it again and this time he hits us with the video for his newest single, "I'm Different". The song was on his album B.O.A.T.S. that was released earlier this year but has now been re released and accompanied by a visual. Watch the full video below and see what you think:

Meek Mill criticizes Cassidy

I think I speak for most hip-hop fans when I say that I forgot Cassidy existed. He hasn't been relevant in a number of years and now he is being thrust back into the news by one of the most relevant rappers in the game today, Philly's own Meek Mill. 

In recent weeks there has been rumblings of Cassidy calling out Meek and potentially battling Meek at some point. Meek has had varied responses to those challenges and nothing will probably ever come of them but Meek sure had some choice words for Cassidy when he heard his new single "condom style" for the first time:

"this is the worst song in the history of rapping....this gotta b a joke! Google #condomstyle," Meek wrote on Instagram.

Anyone who gave it a listen want to weigh in? Anyone? Oh wait,  no one has listened to that and probably no one ever will. Cassidy is trying to stay relevant and get his name in the news by challenging Meek, and it appears to be working as Meek has taken the bait. 

NEW ALBUM: Game "Jesus Piece"

As he falls off harder and harder from his days with 50 Cent rapper (The) Game reaches out for help from Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz and others to sell his 5th studio album set to be released December 11th The Beat has it here first and as long as you skip past Games verses its not that bad! Listen and comment below

THE BEAT ALBUM GRADE: C-

Listen & Download Here

Happy Birthday Jay-Z

The Beat wishes a happy 43rd birthday to the one and only Sean Carter. The jigga man celebrates today and we wish him the best. He may be known now for being the minority owner of the Brooklyn Nets, but he will always be Hova to us.

The ROC boys in the buildin tonight, oh what a feelin I'm feelin right.

T.I. Already Planning Next Album

Tip's album, Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head, drops on December 18th, but according to the trouble man himself, he is already planning his next project. The next installment of the Trouble Man concept, Trouble Man: He Who Wears The Crown is now underway and Tip says he had so much material he wanted to make a second project:

"Well, I had so much music man. I recorded like 120-something songs for this project, and I imagined that, you know, if just giving the amount of music that we had left over that we weren’t able to put on this project, that we’d do a sequel. So, you know, the sequel to this album will be He Who Wears the Crown. That’s the primary reason for the subtitle. That's the purpose of the sequel, so we’ll have a platform to display and release these songs.” 

We will wait and hear the first installment of Trouble Man before we judge the second, but to hear Tip making that much music looks to be a good sign to me.

Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head, December 18th.

NEW VIDEO: ASAP Rocky Feat. 2 Chainz, Drake & Kendrick Lamar - "Fuckin Problem"

WORLD PREMIERE VIDEO:
ASAP Rocky Feat. 2 Chainz, Drake & Kendrick Lamar
"Fuckin Problem"

Watch Here

Wiz Khalifa's New Album O.N.I.F.C. Leaks Online

After much success from his last album "Rolling Papers" Wiz Khalifa's 4th studio album "O.N.I.F.C." (Only Nigga In First Class) drops tomorrow officially after being leaked early this weekend online. The Beat got it here first check it out and leave your comments below!

THE BEAT ALBUM GRADE: B-

Download & Listen Here

Nicki Minaj Keeps Beating A Dead Horse

With the sales success of her first album, it made sense for Nicki Minaj to re-up on the idea, and go for another round with her Pink Friday idea. However, listeners felt differently and it showed with Nicki's suprising low sales when her latest projected dropped this year. Her low sales were attributed to the female MC recycling an old idea, and putting out an album that was basically the same as her first. So naturally you would think vthat even Nicki realizes this idea is played out and more than stale right? Nope. Not even close.

Nicki said today in an interview tht her third project will once agian be an extnsion of her Pink Friday albvum this time called "Pink Friday Roman Re-Loaded: The Re-Up". If you have to add that mant extensions to your album name, maybe you should try to think of a new idea. That must be a crazy thought to Nicki as she continues to try and feed off of her initial success by hammering the same ideas and lack of creativity into her fans heads. Its time for a new idea Nicki, its getting old. Shouldnt the low album sales have been a clue to move on to a new faze in your career, and give fans some new material. Oh wait nevermind, she decided to blame the low album sales on Walmart instead. She bashed the store for not carying her album due to explicit lyrics, and claimed the reason her ablum flopped was because people couldnt get it at Walmrt. You dont think people coukld have gone and bought it at anohter store if they really wanted it Nicki? Or online maybe? Ever heard of itunes? Look in the mirror Nicki, and admit that it wasnt Walmart orany other stores fault that fans didnt want your ,usic. It is your fault for putting tired ideas on the shelkves and expecting to fool fans into thinking it is something new worth buying. And now your going to try and feed us the same chewed up, played out material AGAIN? Youre album should flop.

Nicki's sctick is getting old not just her music creativity. She is trying so hard to stand out and be a celebrity instead of an MC. Its growing old and her album sales should be a message to her, and a wake up call. Chnage it up and give hip hop fans something new to listen to, or go away until you have something new to put out. Your craziness isnt charming anyomre its just gotten annoying, and we dont want to listen to you yell anyomre.

Nicki has the raw skill and she certainly has talent, but she needs to worker harder to show it to us. Too many rappers these days sell out and get lazy. With Wayne as one of her mentors it isnt  wonder that Nicki sold out so fast. I just hope she gets back on her grind and gives us some fresh music that shows her skill, for the fans sake and her career's sake.