Hov’s back and still arrogant as fuck: “I don’t know what life will be in H.I.P. H.O.P. without the boy H.O.V.” But don’t blame him for his cockiness; blame the game for it. Hip-hop is damn near dead that Jay-Z has to roll out of his CEO’s chair and step back into the lab to revive her. With Kingdom Come, Hov shows, once again, that he can’t leave rap alone. The game needs him, and he loves you.

Right from “The Prelude,” Jigga knows exactly what hip-hop is missing—”The game’s fucked up / Nigga’s beat is bangin’ / Nigga, ya hooks did it / Ya lyrics didn’t / Ya gangsta look did it / So I would write it if yall could get it”—and he knows damn well how to fill in the gap. Whether he’s reporting on the Katrina crisis, addressing his lost ones, expressing his trouble, or bragging to his mama that he made it, Hov’s flow gets more intricate while his delivery becomes more effortless. With precise wordplays (“Fuck that exclamation, comma, quotation, I love drama, period.”) and sharp punchlines (“Keep my enemies close / I give them enough rope / they put themselves in the air / I just kick away the chair.”), he still proves to be a skillful lyricist who gets even better with time. And the mellowness in his vocal tone shows the matured Jay-Z who makes “30 is the new 20.” Gone is the misogynist, which is good, and remain is the champion of the lyrical roulette who still digs holes to bury his opponents.

As the owner of his 40/40, Jay-Z obviously wants to hear his shits, like “Anything” (with Usher and Pharrell), “Hollywood” (with Beyonce), and “Show Me What You Got,” bumping in his joint. What could be more pleasurable than watching sexy ladies shaking their booties and bouncing their titties to your own tunes in your own club? But Hov has been walking the thin line between big pimping and street hustling all these years without suffering his credibility because he knows how to balance himself. The album-closer “Beach Chair” is where Hov’s skills sold. Over the dope, bizarre, rambunctious beat from Dr. Dre, Hov spits with calm bravado and serene spiritual: “Some said, ‘Hov how you get so fly’ / I said, ‘from not being afraid to fall out the sky.’ / My physical’s a shell so when I say farewell / My soul will find an even higher plane to dwell / So fly you shall so have no fear / Just know that life is but a beach chair.”

With his previous release, The Black Album, Hov rapped every track as if it was his last. He wanted to make sure that we would miss him when he fades to black. With Kingdom Come, he even apologizes that he’s back. Not that he wants to return as a rapper, but as a hip-hop’s savior—“Just when you thought the whole world fells apart / I take off the blazer loosen up the tie / Step inside the booth Superman is alive”—and we might owe him a favor.

Kevin Mahogany had me damn near intoxicated when he took over the stage. Check out his live performance of “Yesterday I Had the Blues” and hear it for yourself. With a deep, strong, and soulful voice, he is the modernist blues shouter. Big ups to the keyboardists, George Duke nad Rick Jasckson, for the kick-ass improvisations.

Vassar’s On Campus Newsletter (online edition designed by Kevin)

DFCKR: Keeping track of design stuff so you don’t have to… (via Tim)

Let’s not forget the classic Apple.com. Even their ads are clean and mininal. And here’s a Mac Daddy’s version: “Once you go Mac, you never go back.”

Tomorrow is the day. Get ready to do your thang, pro. Hat off to those who have done their part. Your support is appreciated.

Superstar Jay & Big T presents First Name Esco (Show Some Respect), an hour plus of raw and badly cuts from the street-disciple, street-poetic, and street-knowledger Nas Escobar.

Enjoy Friday listening, y’all!

Kamasutra AIDS (simple design, clear message)

Pronto Condoms: The quickest way to get it on (easy-to-access design)

CapriR’s “Chuyen Dai Dong” and “Chuyen Dai Dong Tiep Theo” (an entertaining story written in Vietnamese regarding to marrying a young chick in Viet Nam. If you need second opinion on a girl you’re about to marry and bring over, consult sista CapriR for her advice.)

Most of the time album’s intros are pathetic, but Common’s “Be,” the opening track to his fine album with the same name, is not one of them. The chord-progression joint kicks off with a dope-ass pizzicato bass; the electronic keyboard licks in; the big beat drops; Common’s raucous voice joins in: “I want to be as free as the spirits of those who left / I’m talking Malcom, Coltrane, my man Yusef.” Mad props to Kenya West for his blazing production. They should have created the full song out of it.

Lieu is the debut of another mediocre pop/hip-hop kid on the scene, Lieu Anh Tuan. The only track worth mentioning is “Mo Coi,” a swing tune for orphan kids. If he focuses more on jazz instead of “fashionable” trend, we might have something to listen to.

What a splendid solo piano version of “Scarborough Fair” (courtesy of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz) from Billy Childs. He uses the basic structure, but takes the piece into a new direction with his own marvelous improvisation. I would love to see similar interpretation being done to Vietnamese standards.

Life is hard enough for an average person. Imagine what’s life would be like to walk in Cindy Thai Tai‘s high heels? Even though she has transformed back to her feminine side, the road ahead as a transsexual is still rough and lonely, and she recognizes it in her debut Noi Long… Co Don, an album filled with personal expression. From the bosa-nova “Cho Nhau Loi Nguyen Cau (Tinh Yeu Da Mat)” to the jazzy “Cho Em Ngay Gio Xanh” to the sentimental “Noi Dau Ngot Ngao” to the wistful “Uoc Gi,” Cindy’s voice—sweet, slightly smoky with a touch of Thai Thanh’s sensation—floats like a deserted songbird that went through a sea of pain to get a whole new set of feathers. So get past the queer shit, and you will feel the sorrow of a woman who trapped in a man’s body.