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MauSe giving out paint, the people saying its epic, Mickey Mickey Factz – Sway in the Morning Friday Fire Cypher 2016
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MauSe is Mickey’s graffiti artist alter-ego who is the primary character in Factz’s acclaimed underground mixtape Mickey MauSe. The way Mickey spits verses to convey his art, MauSe sprays graffiti.

In describing MauSe’s paintings as “epic”, Mickey plays off the name of the Disney video game Epic Mickey, in which Mickey Mouse must save the world using a magic paintbrush.

https://youtu.be/RVxRfnmV2Iw?t=13s

Fun fact: MauSe has his own verified account on Genius, separate to that of Mickey’s

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The Achievement: circa '82 The Achievement: circa '82
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Despite having consistently released quality mixtapes since 2006, Mickey Factz’s The Achievement: circa ‘82 marks his debut LP. Backed by labels Soulspazm and W.A.R. Media, The Achievement is Mickey’s finale to his The Leak trilogy, with volumes 1 (The Understanding) and 2 (The Inspiration) having been released back in 2008.

The Achievement was produced entirely by Nottz. And with regards to the album’s title – note that Mickey was born in 1982.

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Ea9b6b625c739d23c95760ce89a3b2d8

110,415

6 years

There’s a deluxe now.

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Sway in the Morning Friday Fire Cypher 2016 Mickey Factz – Sway in the Morning Friday Fire Cypher 2016
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Shortly after releasing his debut LP The Achievement: circa ‘82, Mickey Factz stopped by Sway in the Morning to rap on Sway’s Friday Fire Cypher show.

Sway called it one of his top 10 cypher verses of all time and even dialled up Genius' own Rob Markman live on-air to share his disbelief for Mickey’s verse, saying this is “something Genius needs to have.”

Riddled with comic book, video game and pop culture references, Mickey wrote this cypher specifically for Sway’s show, saying “that’s for all my gamers – if you like video games, you like comics, you like pop culture, that’s for y'all.”

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Ee658767738ba90b43e6fca28950cbe0

73,450

7 years

Ah, after some research I realize that the past tense of “dial” is only “dialed” with one L in American English

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[Hook: Ol' Dirty Bastard]
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll burn, I'll burn, and I will burn, burn, burn Common – Pyramids
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My Hip Hop drops on your head like rain
And when it rains it pours, cause my rhymes hardcore
That’s why I give you more of the raw
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I’ll be burning, burning hot

This vocal sample was taken from Ol' Dirty Bastard’s debut single “Brooklyn Zoo.”

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F9174fc58b9d6375900ef522eb120f3f

4,480

7 years

The rawness of Ol' Dirty Bastard just suits perfectly

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The king unseen, one dream that I had, I was talking to my dad
He said, "Things ain't as bad as they seem"
Is this a God dream the way 'Ye sing it?
The dream seemed to go on as the day lingered Common (Ft. Bilal) – Joy and Peace
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I’m tryna keep my faith
We on an ultralight beam
We on an ultralight beam
This is a God dream
This is a God dream
This is everything
This is everything

While referencing Kanye West’s faith-driven and gospel-inspired song “Ultralight Beam,” Common questions whether this dream, in which he spoke with his late father Lonnie Lynn (aka ‘Pops’), was in fact him receiving a message from God.

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Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book Genius – Best Albums of 2016 Nominations
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He said lets do a good ass job with Chance 3
I hear you gotta sell it to snatch the Grammy
Let’s make it so free and the bars so hard
That there ain’t one gosh darn part you can’t tweet

Following the success of 2013’s Acid Rap and Chance’s standout contributions to Kanye’s TLOP, Coloring Book (aka Chance 3) became one of 2016’s most anticipated albums. Suffice it to say that Chance delivered. Every track takes on a unique sound and personality. Highlights include the gospel-influenced “How Great,” “Finish Line/Drown” & “Blessings (Reprise),” the upbeat 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne-assisted banger “No Problem” and the thought-provoking “Same Drugs” & “Summer Friends.”

With Coloring Book, Chance also continues to pave the way for independent artists in the music industry. In June, Coloring Book set a record as the first ever streaming-exclusive album to chart on the Billboard 200. This year, the Grammys changed their rules to allow nominations for streaming-only albums, and Chance is a serious contender for Best New Artist.

Overall, Coloring Book embodies feel-good Hip Hop and was my personal AOTY. I truly believe it deserves a spot in the top 10. But don’t just take my word for it – check out this album review penned by Genius' own @Roy068 (and Coloring Book top scholar by a country mile).

N.B. Within 2 weeks of its release, literally every line from Coloring Book was, in fact, tweeted.

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E34104791e797d0fb70797ee70acbb70

590,960

7 years

i liked this more than danny and i find myself listening to it more than TLOP. defs feel this is a top 10 record, maybe even top 5.

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Default_avatar_100

157,041

7 years

Yes, Coloring Book is ALBUM. OF. THE. YEAR.

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744bc3b7bd77206b4c768fadc9911a25

197,588

7 years

i’d say probably not top 10, but close, say #11-#15. cosign @Vesuvius in general (minus the top 10 part)

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2b9833f0988f53458f5a12d8a2e9787d

47,905

7 years

This is my 2nd favorite hip hop album of the year, and unlike many others, I actually like it more than Acid Rap. But that’s not the point here; I think a big part of the reason people are hesitant to place this album high is because they’re comparing it to Acid Rap or that it was hyped up so much that it was impossible to reach that standard (see: The Life of Pablo). I think this is Chance’s defining project so far in his career, with a very feature heavy album that never feels like it’s out of Chance’s artistic grasp. “Blessings (Reprise)” is a serious song of the year contender for me. I’d like to see this in the top 15.

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Default_avatar_100

815,044

7 years

Wasn’t a huge fan. I think TLOP wiped the floor with this record but… You know. personal opinion.

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C9afb3ba2c2704fa76ff242f1eadcd03

247,933

7 years

Actually I’m talking rubbish, this is still in my personal top 7 or so, not “squeezing in”. I guess I’m just harsh on it because I was hoping Chance was going to drop something that was even better than Acid Rap. Wouldn’t make it our AOTY but it should be top 10 and probably top 5.

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6858477936f585ee3faf9f05d8cbed37

70,263

7 years

Rt'ing everything in the suggestions, I’m more with the overall vibe and the reason Chano’s doing what he is, the album itself is just…ehhhh. Some great stuff, “Same Drugs” for example, but then you have DRAM’s track and it just makes me cringe

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C9afb3ba2c2704fa76ff242f1eadcd03

247,933

7 years

Agree with the general consensus. Really wanted to love this album, and no doubt it’s better than TLOP, but it’s not nearly as compelling as Acid Rap. Before, Chance was a witness to the reality of Chicago life, now he’s preaching. I feel like I like most of the songs when I look at the track list, but I don’t actually like them that much when I listen to them. Feel like top 10 might be fair cause it’s very popular. It’s another one that just squeaks in there for me.

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Ec7bfd1acdc43eaf3bd6948f2070a77f

40,479

7 years

I though this was good, but not amazing. Some songs were just a bit either boring or just too unorganized. But it has some amazing tracks, like No Problem, How Great, and Blessings. I’d say top 20 for sure.

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Cda349f739be92c3a789e4533a43ae96

478,869

7 years

I was very much disappointed by Coloring Book. I loved the messages and positivity but the music fell short.

“No problem” was a microcosm for my issues with the album. I loved chance’s intensity but all of the verses were subpar and the choir felt forced – it felt like compensating for the fact that this was clearly aimed at getting radio play by making it sound soulful without putting much effort into it.

“Summer friends”, “smoke break”, “blessings reprise”, and jay elec’s verse on “how great” were awesome, and most of the rest was solid but unspectacular. I wouldn’t be mad at it in the top 10 because I still love chance and I’m in the minority on this one, but it would scrape the bottom of my top 20.

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E3bddc3505223bb33a4278b4861e2c24

345,676

7 years

imo Coloring Book should be around #10

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Black America Again Black America Again
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Like his previous album, 2014’s Nobody’s Smiling, Common released Black America Again through Def Jam and No I.D.’s ARTium Recordings imprint. The album features Stevie Wonder on the title track, along with appearances from John Legend, Bilal, Marsha Ambrosius, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Syd Tha Kid from The Internet. The album peaked at #25 on the Billboard 200 and was supported by the singles “Lovestar” and “Black America Again,” which was later remixed with guest verses from Pusha-T and Gucci Mane.

Common explained his inspiration behind the album’s title:

[Black America Again] could have been written in the ‘60s, it could have been written in the 1800s and still apply and now it’s 2016. It could have been written in the '90s so the fact right there is why I called it “Black America Again.”

As I wrote the song, it took on a new meaning too. It had a double meaning. “Again” was like, we’re writing a new story now. This is the story that we have lived and we’re acknowledging that and paying respect to our ancestors and dealing with those issues but we also are on the path to write a new story.

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Malcolm London Malcolm London
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Called “the Gil-Scott Heron of this generation” by Cornel West, Malcolm London is an internationally recognized poet, activist, educator and musician hailing from Chicago. He was part of a historic youth delegation to the United Nations in Geneva to address police violence in Chicago. He also runs Chicago’s largest youth open mic alongside friend Chance The Rapper.

In November 2015, London was targeted & arrested by Chicago Police during a protest over the police killing of Laquan McDonald. Due to a international outcry via social media (#FreeMalcolmLondon) & hundreds of peoples' presence at Cook County jail for his court hearing to address false claims, all charges were dropped the very next day.

Malcolm appeared on PBS for the first ever televised TED Talk with John Legend & Bill Gates, and has shared stages with both Matt Damon and Lupe Fiasco as a part of the The People Speak, Live! cast.

Read more about Malcolm from his website.

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Opia Opia
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Chicago poet, activist and musician Malcolm London released OPIA on October 17th 2016 via Soundcloud.

I just want people to feel like they’re staring me in my eyes when they listen

London explained that ‘Opia’ means the ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eyes, which can feel both invasive and vulnerable.

OPIA is executive produced by SAVEMONEY’s EB and features verses by Jamila Woods, Donnie Trumpet and Vic Mensa among others.

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April 23, 2013 - Chance's Acid Rap is nominated for "Best Mixtape" at the BET Hip Hop Awards Genius (Ft. Chance the Rapper) – Artist Archive: Chance The Rapper
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The 2013 “Best Mixtape” BET award category included:

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