I’m a big fan of Jay Rock. I was one of the first people to cover him (and I mean do a cover story for a widely respected hip hop publication), but I refuse to believe he ran this off the top of the dome.

He appears to be in the dark, but that blue light would seem to give him an assist…

It’s not like I’m trying to scrutinize the brutha or say he can’t freestyle, but the XXL Freestyle 2010 sessions are supposed to be a big deal right? If ever he was going to perpetrate a fraud this would be the time.

It just looks and sounds to me like he’s reading.

I’m just sayin’…

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Known to rep the set to the fullest, Jay Rock takes this opportunity to shout all the bloods around the world.

From Los Angeles to Denver, Atlanta, New York and everywhere in between, Rock puts it down over a Mary J. sample (”Real Love”).

One has to wonder if his activity will work for him or against him in the long run.

Hip hop is about the hood and repping and hardcore elements, but no one has ever had the gall to rep a gang as hard as he does.

Only time will tell… Enjoy!

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Nipsey Hussle has to have one of the hardest West Coast accents ever! He also bears the mentality and qualities that produce five star albums.

Ready and willing to get it in whenever, whereever and with whomever, Neighborhood Nip discusses how his rap career materialized because he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Equally important, he talks how red and blue make green on this clip he provided The Raw Report.

“We men first,” he says, referring to his decision to work with Blood affiliates Jay Rock and Game. “It’s politickin’ in LA behind that, but at the same time, we gettin’ money. Like I say, we men first.

“I knew Jay Rock and Jay Rock knew me, just like I knew Game. It was just mutual respect. We get it in and do our thang.”

Nipsey is currently promoting the third installment of his street classic, Bullets Ain’t Got No Names.

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Must’ve been a long day in Nickerson Gardens when all this went down!

Some will find fault with the coupling of these two songs/videos, as they are extreme opposites, but it’s simply the duality of the hood.

One minute you’re hoping for change because your parents, the big homies and even the President tell you it’s going to come, then the next, you’re vying for your life, dodging bullets and/or trying to avoid gang injunctions.

Simply put, it’s a day in the life of an inner city youth in Los Angeles, California.

As the two sides of the hood collide in this six minute production, it’s impossible to notiece how hilariously genuine it is to process a hymn composed by a hard core, flag toting, jheri curled gangster. Equally commanding is his immovable presence in the face of adverse circumstnces.

Ya gotta love the hood!

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