Big Boi f/ Raekwon & Andre 3000 – “Royal Flush“

from Royal Flush 12″ (Jive, 2008)

Big Boi f/ Mary J. Blige – “Something’s Gotta Give“

from Something’s Gotta Give 12″ (Jive, 2008)

Big Boi f/ Backbone – “Dubbz“

Big Boi f/ Andre 3000 – “Lookin For Ya“

from Sir Lucious Left Foot Sessions (unreleased, 2009/2010)

Big Boi – “Theme Song (Ringtone)“

Big Boi f/ Gucci Mane, Project Pat & Bun B – “Shine Blockas (Remix)”

from Sir Lucious Left Foot Billboard Bonus Tracks (Def Jam, 2010)

It’s rare that a studio outtakes post is necessary on the day of an albums release but Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Leftfoot, which drops today, has been marinating for close to three years in the Jive vaults and a lot of excess has been trimmed from the final release. Apart from the two blacked out Andre tracks, “Dubbz” feels like the only essential omission here. Backbone has an outstanding rap voice and more artists should be taking advantage of it. That poorly executed Mary J. song appears for comprehension’s sake alone. I also posted the Billboard bonus tracks because I had no idea that Billboard sold mp3s until I heard about there being Billboard-exclusive bonus tracks. “Theme Song” was originally leaked to the web last year as “Ringtone.” Buy the album wherever you can.

The double purple vinyl seems to have been pushed back to July 20th.

I put a list of the Top 25 Organized Noize productions together for Complex.com in preparation for the forthcoming VH1 Hip Hop Awards. It’s a singles driven selection, so it might seem like old hat to the initiated Dungeon fans but if arguing intangibles like whether or not “So Fresh, So Clean” is better than “Jazze Belle” is your thing then have at it. In the coming weeks we’re going to have similar lists for all the artists and labels featured at the VH1 show.

Notorious BIG – “Me & My Bitch (Unreleased Original Mix)“

from Ready To Die Advance (Bad Boy, 1994)

Too Short – “Paystyle (Boy Scout Remix)“

from Paystyle 12″ (Jive, 1996)

Cool Breeze f/ Dungeon Family – “Watch For The Hook (Vibes MIx)“

from Watch For The Hook CDEP (Organized Noize, 2000)

A few more quick re-ups, by request.

Last week NPR’s All Things Considered ran an interview I conducted with Bun B about one of his (and my, and your) favorite rap albums – Goodie Mob’s Soul Food. As is often the case with radio features the conversation was condensed considerably for time, so I’m bringing you the extended cut over here. Bare in mind that the conversation was originally intended for a bigger-than-rap audience, so forgive me if the questions are a too leading or expositionish. Shout to NPR and the great Frannie Kelley for making this all happen. And to Bun, of course.

Noz: What made you choose Soul Food?
Bun: I picked Soul Food because at the time it dropped I was an artist, I was part of the industry and for different reasons I was starting to become [disenchanted] with the industry. After being on the inside I started not being crazy about everything worked. I was having a lot of issues with sample clearance and being able to promote myself or market myself the way I thought we should have been and I was like “is there still room for an artist to make the music that they want to make?” When I heard Soul Food I realized that [there was]. It was obvious that Soul Food was not made for a record company’s commercial standpoint. (more…)

Intro / “Goodie Bag”

Just a quick collection of youtubed handcam footage from last night’s Goodie reunion. Hopefully some better quality clips will find their way online over the next few days. As expected, it looks like it was a pretty incredible show. (more…)