But that's not the case. Although I have used sites like Megaupload, Rapidshare, Zshare, and Mediafire to download over 100 gigs of music for free, I still long for a way to legally purchase my music. Even though I've acquired thousands of dollars worth of music for less than a penny, I would much rather pay a reasonable (and stable) amount for the music. But therein lies the problem.


This is where the music industry is to be blamed 110%. Say they had predicted the Internet might become a cornerstone for musical commerce, they could have created a giant unified database. Undoubtedly, they probably would have sold CD's for retail prices, but still it seems a little more logical to buy music from a record label, (where the music is crafted, packaged, marketed, and distributed) then from a manufacturer of MP3 players.
If they had created such a database, an annoying piece of technology called DRM could have been completely bypassed. Music you bought from the database would be compatible to the interface of Zune or IPod or Creative... or what have you. What's the point of having mp3, mp4, wma and all sorts of other file types, when you can have a single universal one?

Would this cut down on bootlegged music? Probably not. If music had not expanded to the internet, record labels could have created a technology eliminating the ripping of CD's onto a computer.
But if you get your music straight from the internet there would be no CD ripping involved anyway.


A counter-argument to a "database" is "What's wrong with getting music from Itunes, Zune Marketplace, eMusic or Rhapsody?


Me personally, I hate all these stipulations involved once you do pay for the music you download. I have a Zune, yet I would never use Zune Marketplace.
Why not? First, I would not download individual albums off Zune Marketplace because I can find them cheaper somewhere else.
Second, if you buy a monthly subscription to Zune Marketplace you can download as much as you want... for about 10 dollars or so. Sounds good right? You can take the music you downloaded and put it on your Zune, and listen to it away from your computer. Sounds really good right?
Only one problem. Say your like me and you want to download as much as you can in one months span, and then cancel your subscription.
After you cancel your subscription all the music you downloaded is "locked" until you renew your subscription. Locked meaning you can't listen to it from your computer or your Zune even though you paid for it.
So, it sounds like a good deal, but after a few years, it costs over 500 dollars, which would be an exorbitant amount to pay for music, especially with the ability to download it for free.
Rhapsody is similar to Zune, but has even better advertising. Rhapsody is advertised as the ideal download service. Cheap prices, easy downloads... but if you do download music from Rhapsody you can't transfer it onto your MP3 player unless you own a Rhapsody MP3 player. Once again, tricky advertising.
I'm not a user of ITunes or eMusic, so I can't say anything there. I would never buy an IPod strictly because I would have to use ITunes, and I have better things to do than become a pawn in Steve Jobs' quest for total world domination.
eMusic is probably the best alternative, but I don't use it, and thus can't say anything about it.


Lastly, "Whatever happened to those lawsuits against bootlegged music uploaders"?


If you remember a few years ago, there were quite a few lawsuits conducted by the RIAA against people who uploaded music on Limewire, Bearshare, Kazaa and so on. These lawsuits were also cleverly planned. If I remember correctly, the DMCA would contact the criminals who uploaded the music, and would set a fee of $3,000 or so. And about 95% of the time, these cases were cleared up outside of court.

Just as they began to scare the pirating community, they stopped the lawsuits. My guess is they see bootlegged music as a bigger problem than shared music and that's why they are targeting blogs now. It's obviously a little harder to track down the culprits, because not everyone uploads the links on their page. Numerous bloggers simply index working links from other blogs.
And it also seems as though the clear-cut strategy is to take down links of new albums, and best sellers. It is fairly difficult to find a link to the new Q-Tip album, as most of the links have been taken down already. But it's also hard to find links to Tha Carter III, Paper Trail, The Recession, and L.A.X.

Overall I think the DMCA is a bullshit organization, but there might be a little bit of good to what they're doing. Maybe.

Are you a good rapper but don't know what to name yourself? Do you want your name to sound violent and generic at the same time? If so, we here at FunCrusher can help you out with our 16 Tips To Make An Unoriginal Rap Name!!



Proclaim your youth! No one want to listen to an old man flow, you have to be young and exude that "I don't give a fuck" mentality. The easiest way to master this name trait is to make your first name Young and the second part of your name can be anything. Just write down the first thing you come up with, Young ________. Remember, this still works even if your old. No one will listen to Middle-Aged Jeezy, but Young Jeezy is another story.
Young examples: Young Hot Rod, Young Black Teenagers, Young MC, Young Soldiers, Young Noble, Young Buck, Young Jeezy, Young Dro, Young Justice, Young B, Young Gunz,Yungstar and the list goes on.



Say that you want to prove that your young, but your also short and small. Use the first name Lil', it's much easier to say than Young Short Small _______. And plus the Lil' name has a great lineage:
Lil examples: Lil' Scrappy, Lil' 1/2 Dead, Lil' Bastard, Lil' Boosie, Lil' Bow Wow, Lil' Brotha, Lil' Cease, Lil' Flip, Lil Fizz, Lil' Jon, Lil'Keke, Lil' Kim, Lil' Malik, Lil' Mama, Lil Rob, Lil' Romeo, Lil' O, Lil Wayne, Lil' Troy, Lil' Wyte, and the list goes on.


If your a plus sized individual, those two suggestions didn't do much. You don't want to be a faker right? So if your a little bit larger, you want to be Big______. Don't worry about beefs with this name, it's as intimidating as simplistic names come.
Big examples: Big Pun, Big L, Big Pooh, Biggie Smalls, Big B, Big Tuck, Big Syke, Big Pokey, Big Hawk, Big Moe, Big Gemini, Big Jess, Big Reese, Big Daddy Kane, Big Mike, Big Tymers, Big Lo, Big Noyd, Big Quarters, Big Shug, Big Stackssss, Big Stress, Big Kuntry King, Big Herk, Big Gipp, Big Mello, Big Lurch (check out this crazy motherucker), Big Rube, Big Pimpin' Delemond, Big Boi, and the list goes on.
If your pretty secure with your body type, why not apply an easy label? It's much less time-consuming than Big _____, just call yourself Fat __insert your name here__. This works best if your Italian or if you used to be in the mob, because insiders know that the fat ones are the dangerous ones. You could also go the other way though, and call yourself Skinny ______. Skinny rappers are usually pimps, so it's at your discretion if you want to insert that into your name (it never hurts).
Fat examples: Fat Joe, Fat Pat, The Fat Boys, Fat Tony The Ill Sicilian, Too Fat(Phat), and the list... kind of stops here.
Skinny examples: The Skinny Boys, Skinny DeVille, Kingpin Skinny Pimp, Skinny Black, and once again the list abruptly stops.




What's more important than the money? You have to reference money somehow in your name, or else people won't see you as a ravenous, money hungry vulture who could care less about the culture. Like I said it's a necessity. Paper, Cash, and Money are the typically used ones here, no real need to be creative,
Money Examples:
Rappin 4-Tay, Paperboy, Curren$y, Fidel Cashflow, Young Money, Dead Presidents, Cash Money, Young Moula, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Ray Cash and the list goes on.



Why make up a name of your own when you can use somebody else's? That should be common logic. But, this one is kind of tricky. You don't want to just use anyone's name. Say you decided to use the name Big Bird, you might get some looks. So, in order to create or "borrow" a GOOD name, choose someone whose had an overglorified movie or two made after them. John Gotti seems to be pretty popular here (hint, hint).
Gangsta Examples: Rick Ross, Freeway, Nas Escobar, Scarface, Dreddy Kruger, Noreaga,Capone,Irv Gotti, Yo Gotti, Big Gotti, Don Goitti, Juan Gotti, Bazooka Joe Gotti


Honorable Mention:
1. Name yourself after a sex(ual) act: 69 Boyz, Cunninlynguists, Silk the Shokker, Swollen Members, Shorty Shitstain, Da Bush Babees, Yak Ballz,
2. Name yourself after something illegal, dangerous or violent: Tony Yayo, Peedi Crack, Anonymous Roundz, Kon Artist, Bone Crusher, Uncle Murda, Brotha Lynch Hung, 2 Pistols, 40 Cal, 8 Ball, C-Murder, Kokane,
3. Make your name sound like an animal: Chamillionaire, Birdman, Chali 2na, Spider Loc, Peanut Butter Wolf, Snoop Dogg,
4. Sound grown yet violent: Puff Daddy,Trick Daddy, Daddy Yankee, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Mr. 3-2, Mr. Criminal, Mr. Knightowl, Mr. Lil One, Mr. Shadow, Mr. Silent
5. Just think of something really goofy: Devin the Dude, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, CC Lemonhead, Busdriver, Papoose, Insane Clown Posse, Limp Bizkit, Crunchy Black, Flo-Rida, Funky Aztecs.
6. Use your real name (Boo): Mike Jones, Kanye West, Sage Francis, Andre Nickatina, Talib Kweli, Saul Williams, MC Paul Barman, Asher Roth
7. Describe yourself with avid adjectives- Messy Marv, Bubba Sparxxx (get it like Bubba smokes, very clever), Master P, Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch, SkateBoard P, Rappin' Duke, Keak da Sneak, Afroman.
8. Make your name an adjective or an unidentifiable object- Nelly, Chingy, Fabolous, Jkwon, Baby Bash, Juelz Santana, Papoose.

Second to lastly, you can always end in man, and can always insert the word Baby anywhere.

Lastly, always end your name in Z, ALWAYS!!!
EX: Dem Franchize Boyz, New York Timez, Da Notorious Prime Playaz, Da Muzicianz, Boss Hogg Outlawz.... and almost half of the previous names we used.


An ideal name for me might be:
Mr. Young Lil' Drug Trafficking Gotti Venereal Big Fat Baby Sex Skinny Dogg Guy Fawkes Ironic Cash Manz

Isn't that so much better than anything you could have done yourself?

What up, Wally $ean back at ya. I was quite bummed to hear that BET's program "Rap City" will air it's final episode on Wednesday, October 29. Granted, it wasn't no "Yo! MTV Raps," but it was still pretty dope for a while. Nowadays, "Rap City" is virtually identical to the shit-tastic "106 and Park." But at least there were some sick freestyles. It was the only show where you could possibly see Talib Kweli, Buckshot and KRS-One tear shit up in the booth (see the video below- FYI, Buckshot kills it).


But why am I waxing poetic about "Rap City"? As I said before, it more or less sucks nowadays. Regardless, the cancelation of "Rap City" marks another critical decline in hip-hop, another nail in it's coffin. Those few moments where you would see ill emcees spitting hot fire? The won't happen again on national television, because BET refuses to show that kind of hip-hop 'cus it isn't marketable. The rap game's never really been just a game, but nowadays, it's just a fuckin' corporate scheme. Like Wall Street, greed has replaced artistic integrity. That's why there haven't been any new Pacs or Biggies or Puns or Ls: because every major label rapper is a fuckin' spreadsheet of sales numbers and revenue (yes, even Jay-Z; why you think he's resorted to doing crap like "Swagga Like Us"?). And those numerous underground emcees that could be legendary like Pac and the three Bigs, forget it. They'll only ever be underground legends (which is not such a bad thing, 'cus then at least they won't sell out). And up-and-coming rappers like Papoose, Saigon, Joell Ortiz, etc...they get the shaft hardest. They get such a buzz for their incredible talent, but instead they get their albums shelved or get dropped from their labels because they don't have an Auto Tune song or a DJ Khaled-assisted club track. Right now, I kind of question whether new hip-hop is even worth the time and money that should be invested in it. If you remember the Golden Era, it seemed like every record released was a fuckin' classic. Nowadays, classic albums are few and far between. So maybe Nas was right: hip-hop is dead. And if not, it's sure as hell dying. But that's just my opinion, and I've always been a lil' pessimistic.

I support the illegal downloading of music... how's that for blunt and to the point? Ironically, half the people reading this post are probably looking for free music this second. The hip-hop blog-overse seems to be pretty divided on this topic. You have the traditional bloggers who never post download links, subliminally hinting to you to buy the shit yourself. You have the new-age bloggers who provide links for individual songs and artist-approved albums, still hinting to listen to it, then buy the shit! And you have a small minority of bloggers who post all sorts of free music, and hint that if you could get the shit for free, why pay for it?

Personally, I'm a hybrid of the second and third blogger. I don't feel there's anything wrong with getting your music for free. If the artists want more money, they'll make the money touring, and if they make an exceptional album (it happens once or twice a year), I will buy it. Gone are the days, where you hear a hot single on T.V. or the radio and rush to buy an album. Those days are gone! As much as you may want them back... they are gone! Most people listen to an album in it's entirety two or three times before buying it these days. Still, I think I can prove that pirated music is a good thing not only for you, but also for the industry.
Remember back in '79, when Sugarhill Gang released "Rapper's Delight" (I don't, I wasn't even alive back then). Even though they got hip-hop it's much needed attention, the hip-hop community looked down on them as "sell-outs" of sorts. Skip about 18 years or so, and your in the declining years of the "Golden-Age" of hip-hop. This marks the beginning of untalented rapper's influx and over saturation of the hip-hop industry. Starting with the whole Bad-Boy team other than the recently-deceased Biggie Smalls, and flooding the coasts you have gimmicky rappers making club bangers and simplifying their lyrics to gain mass appeal. Why did they do this? Well, by this time it had become obvious that it didn't take much to become a rap superstar.
Starting in the late 90's and still today, anyone can trade their scale for a mic. It's even become difficult for "real" rappers to succeed, notice that Killah Priest, and Chino XL are throwback rappers, yet success has alluded them because of their unwillingness to conform to the industry's standards. Yet rappers without a touch of flow, cadence, or lyricism have made millions of dollars in this industry... Ja Rule, Soulja Boy, Vanilla Ice, DJ Khaled, Shawty Lo anybody?
And I believe that we as consumers are completely at fault here. Those of you that bought that Plies album and left Nas' sitting on the shelf... those who supported Nelly and LL Cool J but not Jake One and Ill Bill.
But the internet has provided us with a way to reverse it, how you ask? With artists making less and less money off album sales, within a few years the allure of being a rap star will have faded. You can't be a street dude running a blog... it will be harder to sell bullshit in a few years.
Once all these average rappers see that, they will back off, leaving the rapping to professionals that have mastered their craft over years, not freestyling over a beat your local DJ put together in a matter of minutes.
So what's my call to action? What am I asking from you, the consumer? I am asking you, or heavily hinting that you should download as much as possible, it's just a matter of time before it takes a turn for the better. And while your at it, if you come across a dope album, go out and buy it. Sure, I could give a fuck less about C3 and "The Definition of Real", but "White Van Music", and "Politics as Usual" are well worth your money. Let's not scare off the talented artists while ridding ourselves of the snakes.
As a treat, an unbiased one at that... I put together 10 or so sites (non-contributor affiliated) where you can find a lot of good material. From mainstream albums, to underground mixtapes, one of these sites has to have it.

onlyrealhiphop.blogspot.com
http://haasishmuhzak.blogspot.com/
http://www.getrightmusic.com/
http://psychorealm999.blogspot.com/
http://etalonhiphop.blogspot.com/
http://another-sound-mission.blogspot.com/
http://rhhb.blogspot.com/
http://thehiphopcollection.blogspot.com/
http://darksiderydagoodz.blogspot.com/