Evidence Becomes the 5th Beatle

Evidence responded to an album leak by giving away a solid album for free.

Album leaks have been a recurring issue between musicians and the internet for about a decade. Coinciding with John Lennon's memorial and his own birthday, Evidence of Dilated Peoples planned to release one song off his Beatles-themed EP, "I Don't Need Love." The album was leaked, and Evidence embraced it.

The free, nine-track mixtape features bandmate Rakaa Iriscience, Oh No, Alchemist, Dirt Nasty and Fashawn. Every track samples a Beatles song with production from Twiz The Beat Pro. The Beatles concept has been done with Danger Mouse's "Grey Album" mashup of Jay-Z.

The new twist is how the samples are incorporated to turn the tracks into hip-hop beats. It also has greatly mixed interview clips from members of The Beatles. "Frame of Mind" references drugs, including John Lennon saying, "By then, we were smoking marijuana for breakfast at that period."

Evidence stays true to his roots, dropping his guard and speaking about everything from weed to writing habits. The end of "Think'n Bout Thinking" samples "Hey Jude," with Evidence rhyming about debt, stating, "I bought a crib in the shitty side of town, interest only, with no money down, it looked nice but really a facade, tried to grow some pot, burnt down the garage."



"The World" has Evidence talking about natural disasters, rapping, "Maybe what I hear is all a figure of speech, go figure, see the day Cali falls in the beach."

"I Don't Need Love" is a good mixtape and appetizer for Evidence's upcoming "Cats and Dogs."


Note: "To Be Continued" is not on this album, but it serves as a preview to "Cats and Dogs."

Copywrite raps about The Life and Times of Peter Nelson

Copywrite comes off as awkward and scatterred, but remains lyrically impressive.

On "The Life and Times of Peter Nelson," Columbus-based Copywrite's second full-length album and first since 2002, change is evident. Copywrite has seen both of his groups, MHz and Weathermen, dissolve and a marked transition to becoming more of a storyteller than a punchline rapper.

This album consists of 20 songs and lasts 80 minutes. The production is varied, as Twiz The Beat Pro appears most often, handling four tracks. Twiz produces the most gripping track, "Three Story Building," which features Dilated Peoples telling stories about their childhoods over a heavy drum and horn beat, with MF Grimm's catchy hook "We let the beat tell the story for us." The track also has great scratching of Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere."

While all three emcees have quality verses, Evidence of Dilated Peoples takes over on the closing verse and dazzles: "Watching hot kettles cook and boil Top Ramen, Gettin' locked up, told my people I ain't bombin', Started to rap, told my momma I'd be Common, she thought I meant normal, I said let's be honest."



The album has a few strange ventures, with the unimpressive "Rob the Club" and "Bored," and the weird Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love ballad "Shotgun." Copywrite sounds like he has a lot to tell about the past eight years, and he is effective on "Wish You Were Here," discussing his grandfather, Skip Nelson, who sang and played for the Glenn Miller Band, "Confessional," and "Forever and a Day," a dedication to Camu Tao.