The Roc--Still Alive?

Take off those stupid-ass glasses.

I've been listening to this new Kanye West joint, The Graduate Mixtape. It's mediocre--too much John Mayer (and by that I mean "Bittersweet," which sucks) and a lot of recycled material, with everything from Kanye guest verses to old-ass freestyles that Kanye fans were rocking back in, like, 2003.

But most notable among the repackaged music--which is sort of becoming a Kanye staple--is this "new" track with Jay-Z and the Memph Man, "Put Your Diamonds Up." The frenetic, whaling beat is fine; I like the energy. And it's sort of cute: Even though Kanye is Kanye, Jay-Z runs Def Jam, and Memphis Bleek is getting picked up at daycare by Beyonce, the Roc is still in the proverbial building. We get it. But the thing is this: Jay and Memph both sounded better when they were killing the original, Amil's "4 Da Fam." I always thought that song knocked, and it was totally overlooked, no? I guess it's a testament to just how much everyone hated Amil.

Anyway, recognize...(and let's not even get into Kanye re-using lines from "Diamonds") (EDIT: As one commenter notes, maybe this isn't a Kanye choice. But regardless, the real point is that the original track was my joint.)

- Amil ft. Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, and Memphis Bleek, "4 Da Fam"

- Kanye West ft. Memphis Bleek and Jay-Z, "Put Your Diamonds Up"