Random thoughts of the day: Dr. Dre's frequent procrastination and T.I.'s rare good decision

Dr. Dre just announced that he will be releasing a new iPod dock called Beatbox, which will play songs from your iPod or iPhone crisply and clearly without any interference. The new dock will join his Beats By Dre line of headphones and earbuds in his catalog of products available from Monster. It will also join these products, along with his laptop computer by HP, Aftermath cognac, Dr. Pepper commercials, hanging out with Jimmy Iovine at Red Sox games, and beginning work on his next album, on a list of things he has been doing instead of finishing and releasing Detox. Get your easily distracted ass back to work, Dre!

In other news, T.I. announced that his upcoming album will no longer be titled King Uncaged… good call.

Where Are They Now: Hittman

Recent undercover footage at a Compton bus stop reveals what former Aftermath rapper Hittman is up to these days:

The Art of Selling Out

As part of their "Be The Match" campaign, the National Marrow Donor Program has been running a series of commercials featuring the song "Puppets" by celebrated underground hip-hop group Atmosphere (the commercials also feature Shaq, another hip-hop legend). It reminded us that hip-hop music has been used in commercials since the 80s, and can make for a pretty enjoyable 60 seconds or so. Other times, however, these ads come across as gimmicky, corny, or just plain ridiculous. Check out our list of the best, worst, and silliest hip-hop commercials EVER MADE! Also, who is the biggest sellout in hip-hop?

Is that your hits?!

Jay-Z always seemed to have a fine eye for talent, but he isn't without his missteps. Take his protege, Memphis Bleek, for example.  Bleek has relentlessly sucked at everything aside from reciting the occasional Jay-penned verse, he released four full length albums, each of which went triple Styrofoam, and his best album track was a Jay-Z solo song. When Jay left Roc-A-Fella Records in 2008, he took it as an opportunity to drop Bleek like he was hot (although Bleek has never been hot). We theorize that Def Jam, stuck with Bleek's contract and not wanting him anywhere near a studio, put him in charge of selecting Jay-Z songs for compilations. That is the only explanation the disappointing and puzzling tracklisting recently announced for the upcoming Jay-Z release, The Hits Collection Vol. 1 (see the lineup below).

King Uncaged 2, coming in 2012!

A year ago the King was caged, serving tee-ball numbers for being a convicted felon and trying to equip a small army with illegal weapons and accessories. But T.I. soon saw the error of his ways, did a song with Justin Timberlake, and came out of prison a whole new man whose days of criminal activity were behind him. Or so we thought. 

Yesterday, T.I. was sentenced to another 11 months behind bars after being arrested about a month and a half ago while driving around West Hollywood with his pet pig. While his arrest came as a result of a fluke, unfortunate series of unavoidable events that no one really could have foreseen, let’s see if there are any lessons that can be learned from this regrettable situation.

Amazing Music Video of the Day: Nelly - "Just A Dream"

Remember Nelly?  He was that one bandaged guy from St. Louis who sold a ton of records at the turn of the century.  A common misconception is that he hasn't released anything since his ingeniously titled and moderately successful Sweat and Suit albums in 2004.  A little known industry secret, however, is that he actually released another album in 2008 entitled "Brass Knuckles", apparently named in anticipation of its sales, as it would go on to be certified brass.  How did Nelly go from selling 9 million-plus copies of Country Grammar to 200,000 in just 8 short years?  In our estimation, the answer is simple:  he didn't make enough ridiculous music videos.

BTDubb: Producers make terrible rappers

On their website, XXL is currently counting down the 10 best producers turned rappers, and doing just a terrible job of it.

First of all, producers that try to rap generally suck, so trying to compile a top 10 list is like trying to make a list of the 10 best photos of Amy Winehouse. Secondly, if you must make this list, don't swizz it up! The only lists Swizz Beats should ever be on is a list of annoying sounds (right above being shot in the ear) and a hit list.

The 5th Best Hip-Hop Album EVER MADE

In our last installment, Ethan praised The Notorious B.I.G.'s hit and story-filled double album and Scott showed love to Mos Def's contemporary old school classic. Get ready y'all, because we are about to crack the TOP 5 best hip-hop albums ever made!

Whack song of the day: "Remember Me?"

I was just giving The Marshall Mathers LP a listen after probably a good five years and man, what a great album. My vigorous head nodding, however, came to an abrupt, screeching halt (mid-nod) when "Remember Me?" came on.  My head then remained in a firm, upright position for the next 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

BTDubb: Why is Kanye dropping on a Monday?

... because he is fucking silly.

In case you've never heard of this Kanye West guy, he is a little bit narcissistic. Thus, if something is considered normal or customary, it's not good enough for him. He's not gonna let his success in hip-hop stop him from making a singing, auto-tuned, emo album, he's not trying to date chicks with hair, and he damn sure isn't about to rock the same stage as all the ordinary musical guests on Saturday Night Live. So, if everyone else (pretty much ever) is dropping albums on Tuesday, you better believe this man is dropping on a Monday (November 22).