9th Wonder, David Banner Death of a Pop Star (Mixtape)

• Diamonds On My Pinky
• No Denying (Channel 3)
• Slow Down
• Be With You (feat. Ludacris)
• Stutter (feat. Anthony Hamilton)
• Hip Hop (feat. Marz)
• Something Is Wrong (feat. Lisa Ivey)
• Silly (feat. Erykah Badu)
• Strange

Unless I have missed something in my research, Death of a Pop Star marks the first time these two southern hip-hoppers have joined forces. It’s not entirely surprising, though, even if they were relatively close in proximity. For years, Mississippi MC (and sometimes producer) David Banner and North Carolina producer (and sometimes rapper) 9th Wonder operated on opposite ends of the spectrum. Banner, though he injected social consciousness into some tracks, was more of a boisterous upstart while 9th’s previous work was rooted in traditional boom-bap working with Little Brother and Buckshot. So far, though, it sounds like Death of a Pop Star is an amalgam of both the rapper and producer’s previous work, just kicked up to a headier and heavier level.

Abstract by Andrew Martin