Rap

Whenever I get the chance to show love to a Diplomats member - whether it's a lowly alum like Un Kasa or the king of kings himself, Cam'ron - I'm going to do it. This is because the Diplomats (better known as Dipset) will go down as one of the best rap cliques of all time, a distinction that, at least for me, requires no second-guessing. It was the Dips' timeless hits, outsized personalities and the insane Harlem flair they brought to everything they did that made them rap's hottest crew for a few years.

Sad news out of Long Beach, Calif. this morning: Nate Dogg (born Nathaniel Hale) died Tuesday at 41. The cause of death is unknown, but Nate has had recent health problems (a stroke in 2007, another in 2008). If you're like me, you're not a Nate Dogg historian, but you're well aware that California's G-Funk era would be much weaker, with less soul and personality, without the ice cold croon of Nate Dogg. Along with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Tha Dogg Pound and more, Nate was an integral voice in crafting a defining time in rap and pop music.

An overlooked song from an overlooked album finally gets a video. “Home Sweet Home,” the Lloyd Banks/Pusha-T collaboration from Banks’ H.F.M. 2 , goes down a gritty alley of bleak black-and-white shots of New York City. The video doesn’t show us anything we haven’t seen (Blunt ashes! A dice game! NYPD!), but “Home Sweet Home” is, above all else, a display of chilling rap bars. Banks, a gifted wordsmith in love with internal rhyme schemes, and an invigorated Pusha-T create a contrast of styles.

On the campaign trail, mayoral candidate Frank Conaway can often be heard passionately criticizing his opponents. Today, the Baltimore Circuit Court Clerk does it in rhyme. Conaway, 77, posted a rap on his campaign website where he takes a few cutting digs at the mayor, and candidates Otis Rolley, Catherine Pugh and Joseph "Jody" Landers. On the minute-long rap, he opens with a "I'm Frank Conaway and I approve this message," and then asks some of his opponents, "How you gonna take advice from the gift card bandit?"

Playing with fire in the countyI am disgusted with Baltimore County's fire chief, Elwood Bannister. His latest money-saving move is to reduce emergency medical services. Sometime soon, he will close down the EMS supervisors in Randallstown and in northern Baltimore County.When volunteer units do not have the needed personnel on hand and an emergency arises, the supervisors ride with the volunteers, eliminating the need to call other units from farther away, which delays care. The unit from Randallstown handled more than 2,800 calls last year alone.

Let's face it: there's too much new music in a year for any one human being to digest. "2011 Gems" is a December feature on Midnight Sun where I highlight some of the tracks that might have flown under your radar. Next: Nas' throwback to excellence, "Nasty. " The song is full of curse words so if that's not your thing, move right along. Nas, "Nasty" Being an elder statesman is hard. Ask Nas, a potential bust on rap's Mount Rushmore, who has spent almost his entire career chasing something greater: an album better than his classic debut, "Illmatic," a decisive win in "Star Wars"-sized rap beef with Jay-Z ("Takeover" trumps "Ether" according to this writer)

It's an argument always heard in rap-talk: Where's that hip-hop with substance? Surely that question is followed with complaints about Waka Flocka Flame (seriously, his name comes up every time) and other swag/money/women-first artists. I love that type of rap, but I can understand the sentiment (yet I can't get behind the curmudgeon/"rap sucks now"/"what happened to lyrics" preaching). But there's nothing wrong with balance, and when portrait-of-a-life realism rap is done well — no finger-pointing, no hip-hop-is-dead grandstanding — it can be downright refreshing.

Here are the pros and cons of "Otis," the second offering from Kanye West/Jay-Z's collaborative album, Watch the Throne , which drops Aug. 1 digitally. If you like buying CDs (bless you), you can purchase it Aug. 5. The suits are taking down all of the YouTube videos, so head over to the Life + Times website to stream it. PROS •••• Kanye sends a subtle diss to Drake ("N----s talking real reckless / stuntmen" plays on Drake's famous line "I made enough for two n----s, boy / stunt-double")

Could it be that Salt-N-Pepa represents some secret underground side of rap music?It scarcely seems possible. After all, not only has the trio enjoyed a steady string of successes on the pop singles chart, from "Push It" to "Let's Talk About Sex" to the current "Whatta Man," but its four albums have sold at least a million copies each. In fact, the most recent, "Very Necessary," is double platinum and still going strong.Yet whenever pundits and policy-makers talk about the state of rap music, somehow Salt-N-Pepa is always overlooked.

Although Wiz Khalifa’s Pittsburgh-repping calling card “Black and Yellow” still sits at No. 18 on Billboard , the song will soon likely fade just as the Steelers’ Super Bowl hopes did last month. So here’s “Roll Up,” another Stargate-produced track poised to dominate radio. The beat’s shimmering synths and surprisingly knocking drums will sound at home on pop radio (get ready, Z104) and rap station 92Q. If you’re not sold on Wiz’s lyrical ability, “Roll Up” won’t change your mind – these are elementary lines easy to memorize, recite and regurgitate.