Guaranteed heat coming your way soon.  Head jumpward for the full cover.

It was 2 years ago today that the very first post on 5 Star Hip Hop was made.  It was one year ago today that we celebrated that one year with you and thanked you for being a part of 5 Star Hip Hop’s success.  We’d took suggestions, congratulations, and wanted to hear what you had to say.

After two years, we’ve accumulated 7,500 posts, 5,500 comments, and 10.3 millions page views.  With all aspects of the site growing steadily, things might look just a bit different!

You are looking at 5 Star Hip Hop version 3.0.  In celebration of 2 years, we had to change things up a bit.  We took a poll a while back and you all pretty much said the old site layout sucked, so we worked to improve the site, and this is what we came up with.

On behalf of all the people of 5 Star Hip Hop, I’d like to say thank you for choosing us as your daily source for 5 Star Hip Hop!

Let us know what you think of the new design, send your congrats, suggestions, comments and all things alike.

Keep rockin’ with us!

Sidebar: There are some kinks still being worked out , but its 5am (as I type this), so they’ll be fixed at a later time….

1. Walk Alone (Truck North, Porn, Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez)
2. Dear God 2.0 (Jim James, MOF)
3. Radio Daze (Blu, Porn, Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez)
4. Now Or Never (Phonte Coleman, Dice Raw)
5. How I Got Over (Dice Raw)
6. The Day (Blu, Phonte Coleman, Patty Crash)
7. Right On (Joanna Newsom, Sugar Tongue Slim)
8. Doin It Again (John Legend)
9. The Fire (John Legend, Rick Friedrich)

Only 9 songs?  Really?  Hit the jump for the full artwork.

Im looking forward to tracks 8, & 10. “The War Report 2? drops sometime this summer. Full cover and tracklisting after the jump.

That’s right! You are eligible to win a chance to see Kid Cudi and Chip Tha Ripper live at a show tomorrow night (January 6th) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

To enter to win, add me on twitter and @Reply me (@yoleviguy) with the subject matter being “Kid Cudi ticket.” That’s it.  That’s how you win. I will pick the winner at random and you will be notified via Twitter.

For details of the concert, click here.

So, not to get anyone too excited or anything like that, but MTV News is reporting that two of the dopest rappers out of New Orleans, Curren$y and Jay Electronica, are teaming up with Mos Def to put together an album. Think about those three going line for line on an entire album. Gives me goosebumps. Apparently, Curren$y met Jay for the first time at Jay’s secret show the other night, and with Mos Def along for the ride, the idea was sprung. I’ll let MTV tell you the rest.

“Just chillin’” with Dame Dash may have just spawned a rap supergroup project. On Wednesday, at Dash’s new facility (art gallery, TV studio, music studio and more), DD172, critically acclaimed underground lyricist Curren$y told MTV News that he, Jay Electronica and Mos Def have combined forces to start recording an entire album together.

“That’s ridiculous!” Curren$y said. “Jay Electronica is from my city, he’s from New Orleans. I never met homie until I stepped foot in this building. He came here to meet Mos. And Mos, I had only known him for 24 hours prior to that. But genuine people could recognize [each other], it was like, ‘Let’s go.’ ”

Curren$y said Mos came up with the name of “Center Edge Territory” for the trio. When asked exactly what the moniker means, Curren$y would only comment emphatically, “Everything! That’s everything!

“We all know the game is in turmoil. We know the machine messed it up,” he added, explaining why they will be putting their music out independently instead of with a major label. “We know we don’t even need to play that game, especially with access to all of this sh–. We are our own machine.”

So far, Center Edge Territory have recorded six records together, but they have no concrete plans as to when the full-length album will drop.

“The funny thing, it came from just chilling,” Dash said. “If you’re gonna be here [at DD172], there’s no hanging out.

“There’s no reason to be here unless you have the ability to work or you’re working,” Dash explained of the space Mos nicknamed of the “24-Hour Karate School.” “This is like an office where you work in a different way.”

I would just like remind everyone that Curren$y’s newest release, Jet Files, is out today on Amalgam Digital.  Please hit up Amalgam’s website (link at the bottom) and purchase, yes, purchase yourself a copy.  It is only $9 of your money and the quality of music is well worth the price.  Curren$y’s unique New Orleans flow and beat choice makes him one of the best rappers out right now.  Pick up Saigon’s Warning Shots 2 while you are at it.

Link: Amalgam Digital

MTV caught up with Royce Da 5’9″ and discussed some of the rumors floating around about Slaughterhouse getting signed by Eminem. From what it sounds like, this situation is a definite possibility. Nothing is final yet, but we could be seein some collabs goin on soon. All of this hype is gettin me pumped.

Sidebar: Oh, and the couple things I have heard about Relapse 2 have been positive. Let’s hope Em can get back to what we’re used to.

So, I have some good news for all up and coming producers and DJs. Brent shot me a message the other day, telling me that he set up a contest where producers and DJs can remix Nathan Official’s Dirty, Sexy, Money for a chance to win $400.oo from Guitar Center. So if you have what it takes, then click the link below for more information. Good luck.

For more information, click here.

DOWNLOAD: Nathan Official – Dirty, Sexy, Money (MP3)

Looks like Rolling Stone was the first to have official tour dates of the upcoming “Fame Kills Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga” tour. I am excited to see that both artists are going to be performing together, with complimentary sets and no opening act. It seems that both artists have mutual respect for each other’s art, so both decided that no opening act was necessary, which will give the fans more of each artist.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Lady Gaga and her art, and as I have said before, I am a Kanye stan, so you can imagine how excited I am for this tour.

However, we must all shoe gratitude to DJ Reflex because it was him who introduced each other last year.

Courtesy of DJ Reflex:

Hit the break to check out the entire list of the Fame Kills Tour, and if they stop in/near your city, you must go.

Like I have said before, if you cannot make it to Jay-Z’s upcoming September 11th, “Answer the Call” show at Madison Square Garden, then you may still be in luck. As expected, Jay will be making some tour stops in accordance to his upcoming Blueprint 3 album, which will make his fans quite happy. Looks like I will make heading to the November 12th show a priority.

You can check out the complete list of tour dates after the break.

We’re proud to announce our sister site, dapsandpounds.com: a site about everything…..and nothing.  It’s that simple.  If you’ve ever downloaded a song from 5starhiphop.com (which, if you’re reading this, you most likely have), take a second to check out the new website as payback for us providing you with the latest music.  It’s the least you could do.  Make sure to add us to your RSS reader as well.

Add dapsandpounds on twitter for site updates.

DapsAndPounds.com

or

DapsNPounds.com

(it’s easier to type)