MTV's Mixtape Monday - April 24th 2006

Artist: Icadon

Representing: Bushwick, Brooklyn

Mixtape: IC: Raps Most Wanted

411: Actor Jamie Kennedy goes from Malibu to BK? No, really. He hooked up with Brooklyn mixtape-circuit hustlers Sickamore and Icadon, who you've heard for years making music with Redman. But this mixtape isn't a forum for Kennedy to spout some jokes; it's more of a wake-up call to record-label execs who are sleeping on IC. He wants a deal.

Joints To Check For:

* "Family Affair" featuring Treach, Mr. Onez, Ike Dirty and Stack A. Dolla. Fifteen years ago, Treach was actually considered one of the best spitters in the game. Here, he shows he still has his flow over Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair" beat. Meanwhile, IC kicks his rhymes about chicks, whips with brand-name tires and living the lavish life.

* "Sorry Mommy Freestyle." Already know what you're thinking. This is not a musical apology to Icadon's mother for whatever skullduggery he was going through in the streets. It's actually a record trying to dissuade a pestering mistress from wanting him as her boyfriend.

* "Gilla Hit" featuring Redman. How could you not love a beat that has a continuous loop of a man belching as a sound effect? Red and IC unveil their breathless highway-chase-like flow.

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week:

* Benny Cassette's Welcome to the Jungle
* Big Mike's The Ruler's Back 2006
* Cam'ron's "Killa Season" DVD
* DJ Delz's D187 Hood Radio
* Dub Floyd's All Star Radio
* Final Chapter's F--- a Meeting
* DJ F Sharp's California Love Pt. 3
* DJ G-Spot's Common vs. Kanye
* DJ Gyvis' The Brooklyn Documentary
* J. Armz The Punisher 10
* DJ Kay Slay's Can't Stop the Reign
* DJ LGee's Best of Producers Series: Swizz Beatz Edition
* DJ Pudgee-P and Stack Bundles' Bring You Tha Riot Squad
* Sway's This Is My Promo
* My Block Puerto Rico: The Official Mixtape
* What's Up With Dre Kagney the Mixtape

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

* Beanie Sigel featuring Freeway - "Philly N---as"
* Busta Rhymes - "The Big Bang"
* DMX - "Nowhere to Run"
* Flagrant - "Putcha Hands Up"
* Mobb Deep - "Capital P, Capital H"
* Papoose - "Russian Roulette"
* Playaz Circle featuring Ludacris - "U Can Believe It"
* Quan - "G Call"
* Remy Martin featuring Papoose, Jae Millz, Trina and Lil' Wayne - "Conceited" (remix)

Celebrity Faves

One is Jermaine Dupri's longtime girlfriend, the other is one of his closest homies and a collaborator he always finds success with. The latter, Mariah Carey, said she's definitely open to working with J.D. gal pal Janet Jackson if the super-producer has the right idea. "He never talked to me about that," she said. "But if Jermaine has a concept, we should go and write something. I love Janet. I've been a big fan of Janet since 'Con-tro-ol!' " Mariah wouldn't, however, tell us who her favorite DJ is. She said she has too many friends who are spinners and doesn't want to get in any trouble.

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Swizz Beatz says Busta Rhymes' rhyming on his beat for "Touch It" almost didn't happen. The track was originally meant for the former first lady of Ruff Ryders, Eve. "Working with Busta Rhymes is like working with DMX. We're old friends," Swizz said. "We never talk about music. He calls me, and we talk about everything else but music. But this one time, I guess he needed my help. I had 'Touch It' for Eve, but I think the track was a little too aggressive for her. She probably thought the same. She knew the beat was a hot beat, but she never did the beat."

Swizz said he's given Eve plenty of other beats for her long delayed next LP, which will now be a joint venture between his Full Surface label and Dr. Dre's Aftermath. "She's one of the realest rappers, period," he said. "Her album is very crazy. Sick. ... This album, we got T.I. on the album, Busta on the album, Adam Levine from Maroon 5, Shakira — that song is huge. So many people on the album." Swizz's tracks continue to be heard all over the airwaves and mixtapes, and recently he hit the big screen once again, scoring the movie "Take the Lead." "It's almost like I'm an actor," he said. "A musical actor. The music has to play a role as much as the actors. ... My music had to be a character in the movie." ...

It's been a long time since we've heard from Nathan Morris and his group, Boyz II Men, but Nate is back — this time behind the scenes. He's managing new Def Jam cutie Megan Rochell, who has the club banger "The One You Need" out right now. "We met in Philly," Rochell explained. "I happened to be walking down the street. Nate was driving with [Boyz II Men's] Shawn [Stockman]. He asked me where I was coming from. I said, 'My producer's house.' He said, 'What you do?' I said, 'Sing.' " Nate told her to prove it, and Megan, surrounded by half of Boyz II Men, wasn't going to let that opportunity pass by. So hours later, she was in the studio singing for Nate. "I had to show off," the half-black, half-Puerto Rican Philly native said. "He's Nate from Boyz II Men. He has mad credibility to me. So I showed off and he was like, 'Yeah, I have to manage you.' "

In January 2005, Nate walked Megan into a meeting with Island Def Jam head L.A. Reid, and once again she had to stunt. "I'm like, 'This is L.A. Reid, this is no bullsh--. This is the real deal,' " she remembered. "But once I started singing, it was nothing." Megan's debut album, You, Me and the Radio, is due this summer. The title, she explained, says, "This is how you're gonna establish a intimate relationship with me, by listening to my song on the radio." For her song "The One You Need," which features Fabolous, Megan had to use her imagination. In the song, she's trying to get a guy who's stuck on someone else, but a cute girl like her never had to go through that in real life. "The record is basically I'm friends with this guy," Rochell said. "While he's around me, he has another girl. ... I'm telling him, 'I'm the one you need. I been here first. What is the problem?' It's challenging the dude to choose me, basically."

Source: www.MTV.com