If you've heard Tempa T's "Boy Off Da Ting", you know this track. How Tempz' track isn't out is ridiculous, but HOODLUM excels while y'all niggas fail. Via HOODLUM.
Sean J “Exhibition”: I don’t know anything about Filipino work ethic, but if I used Sean J as the constant in any experiment, the other test subjects would have to pick up their pace to match dude’s drive. For “Exhibition”, he grabs a hold of Jay Electronica’s “Exhibit A” and “Exhibit C” and smacks the shit out of both beats. I remember when everyone had their own “Exhibit C” freestyle, and the Hip-Hop peanut gallery would get so upset, as if there are some instrumentals that cannot be touched. Fuck that. I respect his Marvel/DBZ references in the “Exhibit C” section, and applaud Sean’s braggadocio. This is taken from The Ego Egg mixtape, which is tentatively dropping on Halloween 2010, and presented by Domination Recordings.
Tef Poe “Fuck Everybody Freestyle”: Poebama has never had a problem holding his tongue, and over this war cry, he demonstrates his War Machine atop some lurching, menacing horns. “Fuck your lifestyle”, indeed. Shit like this should be the reason why you should NOT sleep on Young Ric Flair or the rest of The Force. St. Louis is more than Nelly and the St. Lunatics, but you should’ve known that… right? Someone needs to give Poe a drink… or a handjob. War Machine, presented by ThisIs50 and RockTheDub. Forreal, forreal.
Weapons of Audio “Kill My Boss”: Can’t fault WOA for putting out the subject matter right there on the title. There’s nothing like angst at work to fuel your creative juices. I would NEVER go that far, but I can respect people who can channel that negative energy into moody cuts like this. WOA have their album, Bi-Polar, set to drop on the 21st of October, and I’m imaging the rest of the album will fuse these Electro/Pop tendencies with a Hip-Hop bop to them. Feels like what Prince vs. Parliament Funkadelic, with Cee-Lo mixed in for good measure. Some real dance, dance, revolution shit here, yadig? Just don’t really hurt your boss. How else are you going to afford to get your teeth fixed?
The Bomb Zombies "Fuck What You Heard": While a LOT of MCs/producers/DJs/hype men/PR people and other assorted industry types have used that moniker to describe whatever “crillz” they believe their artist is peddling, The Bomb Zombies (aka DJ Nobody & MC Nocando) are actually what you need to hear, and this anthem that “kinda sounds like ringtone rap” is the proper introduction to their Sincerely Yours EP, which is due out on November 9th on Hellfyreclub. It’s good to hear MCs with talent actually crafting catchy tracks over tracks that don’t require a Jansport and a room full of 200 dudes to give it praise. Something that I could play for some females and have them wind their waists to, but still make me smile over the 16s that the MC spits? I’m with that. Aren’t you, hairy palms?
Billy Drease Williams “Just Doin’ It”: BDW sent me three tracks, and this was the one that really sat with me. Coco-butt bass and not much else, paired with Billy’s fly rhymes? Sold. Dude is from Buffalo, so that must be why his flow is so cold. He likes to see himself as a choice for those who dismiss the negativity and bullshit of the stereotypical Hip-Hop life that gets bottled and sold by the record label execs that many like to follow like celebrities they damn self. He’s got a sense of determination, but instead of being just another nigga on the avenue, pushing dirty headphones at you and demanding $5 for their Memorex disc, he’s keeping his nose to the grindstone, and churning out some thought-provoking material. See fi yaself!
Ill Leg is back again for #5 of his 4000-volume mixtape series. Nah, never that, but he has been consistently making heat, and I can’t say it enough – THANKS FOR THE QUALITY FREESHIT! Cuts like “Everywhere I Go”, with its Tribe-vibe, the slick flip on “On My Grind”, “Illscudlib” and it’s straight spittin’… dude has it all on here. The fuck you sleeping for is the question!?!
With Von's Peas Gotta Have It dropping on October 12th, I imagine a lot of you niggas might not be familiar with the kid. No matter how many gems he's dropped on various projects, it can be hard to focus on one MC when he's 1/3 of a crew, or 1/whatever of the Lessondary familia, so props to DJ SoundNexx for dropping this mix of strictly-Von spit. Pea has this thing of referencing a lot of shit that I personally feel, and can combine crafting ill stories with being comedic, and just going ham on his composition notebook. Dude's spit quite a few verses that I've quoted on twitter, and many of them are found here. Enjoy this, then go put down your dollars on PGHI on Tuesday.
Dope project from M.anifest: "In a few weeks I'll be headed back home to Ghana for a month to create music with my 89 year old ethnomusicologist grandfather, Prof J.H. Nketia. I've made many thrilling discoveries about him and striking similarities of his work with what I do Hip-Hop wise, including some poetry he wrote in the 40's which when he recites sounds like rap! I kid you not. In the last few years a filmmaker, Justin Schell, has been documenting my musical progress and this connection between my grandpa and me as part of a bigger documentary featuring myself, Maria Isa and Tou Saik Lee.
Here is an awesome video trailer of the Ghana section of the documentary "We Rock Long Distance" (WRLD)":
I don't care what anyone says, Eli got bars. I'd like to hear someone like Cam'ron or Weezy get Eli on a track for a mean 16. No jokes or anything, I rep for Eli.
Peep the "teaser" for the upcoming Doxside Music Group/Bloggerhouse album, "Dare Iz A Doxside". "Dare Iz A Doxside will showcase the various talents of the Doxside Music Group. Expect pure, raw un-cut Hip-Hop from the likes of IMAKEMADBEATS, TzariZM, Butta Verses, Midaz The Beast, Vis Major, R.U.G.G.E.D., Synopse, J Freedome, Ponce, Shino, Aahmeen, Intelx and Relz. Stay Tuned for more details.
I think it was the summer of 1995 when I first went to the Princeton Record Exchange. In the days of buying CDs, you had your Sam Goody, your Circuit City, your Nobody Beats The Wiz, we had Rock Dreams in Hamilton and a few other spots (shouts to Ace). These spots had the mainstream on smash, but 1995 was when I not only discovered future music, but started to really seek out these tones and vibes that Hip-Hop wasn’t giving me. Aphex Twin, Autechre, Goldie, Tricky and other artists were seminal in this timeframe, and from that foursome, my palette developed and matured, with a fondness for the Dub tendencies that I ended up realizing were prevalent in all forms of music, from Pop to Drum & Bass. While some albums were amazing, nothing felt like it really spoke to me on a whole – maybe it’s because the shouting of a confused Jersey nigga who dug instrumental music and living life in headphones never really got heard. Thank you, Internets.
I say all of that because it’s cats like The Two. Fifteens, two brothers who share a fondness for Electronic beats that can fit a Hip-Hop spectrum but still dabble in IDM/EDM, Dub and other textures. I’ve been hooked on their sound for a bit now, it’s almost like this cornucopia of complex riddim is speaking the words I can’t find when I’m typing. It’s the true American Nightmare – a melting pot of Funk that’s creeping on ah come-up. The lost reels of King Tubby and Lee Perry being funneled through a megacomputer from 2910, weaving intricate tapestries of reality and NOW into your home listening device. And you’re still sleeping. With technology taking such a large chunk of our lives and replacing our lives with scattered symbols and bleeps, it’s surprising that our tastes in music still travel in this minute section of an electronics store.
Dot. Dot. Dot. is the 215’s calling card – if you really wanna know what you should be waiting for in terms of a proper varied plate of bass music, this is where you need to be. African influences, Hip-Hop appeal, Dub aesthetic, and no fear of experimentation and innovation? That’s my kind of tea party – always has been. The one like Daddy Kev put some serious work into mastering this – I know a lot of my peers speak on “CDQ” files and shit, but if you don’t know EDM, you haven’t met meticulous engineering. While a lot of today’s EDM removes Soul from the original works, Kev seems to have let the Soul sit in the forefront, really allowing these tracks to wrap themselves around you, put you in a cocoon and really make you hear. Every. Piece. Of. Music. In. this. Project.
Future music for misunderstood leaders. Quality beats from Cali blastmasters. A testament to the power of modern technology infused with the experimentalism of days old. Or just sick music. This project is all of that, and more…
Michael Uzowuru “Leon”: Here’s a quirky instrumental track from producer Michael Uzowuru. The beat immediately reminds me of something DOOM would use for an interlude (like the Take Me To Your Leader album), and contains a hilarious prank call. I usually leave comedic interludes to Mr. Dibbs and his projects – he has some of the funniest shit breaking up his madcap tracks. I only wish I had MORE of Uzowuru’s shit to bug to. Shouts to Originality Kills.
While I normally listen to music that I wouldn’t let my son rock to, I’m glad these niggas actually put that in their title – that, coupled with the cover art, spoke volumes. Oddly enough, I swear they sampled Mickey Mouse in “Crazy”. And that’s the premise here – flippin’ shit you grew up on, be it a cartoon intro theme or some random song in a kid’s movie, and bastardizing it with the brutality of dope beats and blue lyrics. “Baby” definitely utilized the “is you is” shit from Tom & Jerry – my wife would be so proud. I could seriously go through each track and point out where the sample came from, and I imagine if you sat in front of the TV for a good part of your youth, you know what the score is. Lovin’ how they remixed my youth and gave it the middle finger. Shit’s aggressive, but I flock to it from sheer delight of Ducktales getting pistol whipped and strung for dead.
Iron Lyon ft. Sean Price & Monsta X “On Mission” (prod. by Chad Dubz): Here’s some of that eerie, hair on the back of your neck Rap shit for your pre-Halloween festivities. This is the kind of track that becomes worn out after a nigga like me keeps bringing it back so often. Proper hoodie screwface material, forreal. You should remember Iron Lyon from the Time Capsule project I posted not too long ago. This is taken from his Foundation EP, which dropped yesterday on Fat Beats (digital | vinyl). I imagine you niggas saw Ruck on this and instantly got intrigued. P is a monster, and does his Frank Castle all on this, but don’t sleep on Lyon or Monsta X – both hold their own, slicing the beat swiftly. This EP is pretty Hip-Hop – outside of this track, there are also features from Edo G, Craig G and Pharcyde’s Slim Kid Tre. This is like a Rap City reunion, circa 1995! You fox with the true school? Gobble this one up, turkey.
Pugs Atomz ft. Psalm One, MC Adad & Senor Kaos “Now Baby” (prod. by Mulatto Patriot): Talk about some underground star-studded shit! Pugs’ a certified vet – this nigga is freaking European crowds on the regular, you smell me? And you’d think he’d take breaks from all of that, but he’s consistently coming with fresh material. This track has 16s from Psalm One and Adad, Senor Kaos on the hook, Mulatto Patriot on the beat AND Primeridian’s Simeon on the horn!? Damn. All three verses are some slick shit – drips slowly and slyly, like dipping caramel apples slow-mo. Almost like they are hitting on three different people at an Autumn house party in the 50s. Did I just write the treatment for the video!?! For more flavor like this, go grab Pugs’ Decade compilation.
I see a lot of sites finally jumped onto the Hype Men podcast, but that makes sense – 7 is the God number. Wait, no, it’s because Just Blaze is the special guest. This is possibly one of the nerdiest Hip-Hop podcasts, next to Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds talking about “The Creator” with Pete Rock. Loads of stories about the Roc days, “Pump It Up” and plenty more, including what’s good with Jay Electronica right now. Gotta give it up to Jeff, Eric and Jensen for the consistency. I’ve loved a number of podcasts, but a lot of podcasts don’t keep it going, so props to the Hype Men.
WhiteOut “The Good”: In our continuing exercise of bringing forth cats you probably slept on, here’s a cut from WhiteOut. He’s another cat from St. Louis, and this track in particular struck with me. My birthday is on the 11th of October, and just the idea of Fall has me reflecting on days gone by, processing how I got to now, and usually that revolves around the music of my youth. My formative years. And shit, a lot of those times were rough, but I have those fond memories, where there was one particular smile, or one wacky night, those times help me cope with the times these days where I’m robbing Peter to pay Saul… shit is real out here in the field, but you need to reflect on those good times to help you cope through the rough. That’s what this track encompasses, with White expounding over an excellently lazy track. Love that loop. Not sure what dude has going on, but you might want to put something in the air and reflect whilst bopping your head to this one…
MiLKMEN ft. NattyMonstaaa “Monster (Remix)”: The MiLKs go all monster mash on my favorite Kanye leak. And just like the original, this female Natty kinda kills it! It might be hard to fail on a track so undeniable as this, but it’s good to hear some freight-train lyrical murda from a couple of my favorite niggas. Pure NY, clean sneaker heat right here. This is from Red’s forthcoming The Remix mixtape, which is dropping soon.
I'm not the biggest political junkie - my lane is Jersey Shore, Marvel comics and Drum & Bass. However, most of the points brought up by cats like Jay Smooth and Bill Maher align with how I feel about the world in general, and both of them share similar viewpoints on this Christine O'Donnell, who's running for Delaware Senate. I actually remember that Sex In The '90s episode that she was on, so this shit is kind of surreal. Anyways, check out Smooth's latest GIANT Word:
Exactly what we need - dubstep sprinkled with a fucking pulse. Personality is the key if we're trying to get the bass music scene to that next level. Cats are forever working on tweaking frequencies, try and tweak your comedic timing.
Kentaro calls this a mini mix, but at 30+ minutes, it's a great teaser for Ninja Tune's Ninja Tune XX box set. 20 fucking years, starting out as an abstract Hip-Hop/breaks label for some talented UK DJs to a truly forward-thinking, all-encompassing beast, Ninja Tune might be the Duck Down of the Trip-Hop/Future Beats scene. Or it might be mightier. Get a good taste of the XX project in this nice and tidy mixture.
Here is a remix of the 1st single "You Don't Know About It" ft. Masta Ace off Run MPC done by producer The Visiting. Just a nice treat for the fans and something to vibe to if you enjoyed the original. The "Run MPC" Album is available NOW on iTunes.
Ladies and gentlements, I present you with the (instrumental) soundtrack to your drunken excursions throughout the Fall of 2010. Preferably with your top down (yes, in the Fall), screaming at the bright lights in the big cities. Or the little cities. It just requires darkness, lights and wind. Maybe you could stand infront of a big ass fan, while your friends hold flashlights. How ever you get to them Big Lights, get it.
Here's the newest mixtape from TheSeKondElement & Heata Best, Metrical Komposition, mixed by the one like E.F. Cuttin'. Pure lyrics, deep themes and production from the likes of Quest, Poetree and others.
hasHBrown "Who Is Rap Mayor?": On his latest leak, HB flips J. Cole's "Who Dat" for his lyrical assault. Word is HB's Rap Mayor mixtape is complete and set to drop in a few weeks, while Break Something is looking at a December release. Fire from the New Houston spitter.
Via DJ Franchise: "Its been 3 years today. Wow. Time flies. What started as way for few brothers and friends to keep up to date on hip-hop and other topics we deemed cool, has turned into a lifestyle epicenter for thousands of people everyday. But over the years, its core has remained the same – a conversation between friends and family. Thanks and props to AMART, DFLO, Weston, A.Flores and all the other extended KTL fam (JGILLA, Kamikaze Xavi, KG, etc.) for making this a highlight of mine and many others each day. Feel free to peek from behind the digital curtain and say hello in the comments section.
As a thank you to everyone who has stopped by I made a mix to celebrate our 3rd birthday. I’ve been working on it for a few months but got it finished and ready last week. Like KTL, I kept the theme – positive, upbeat, and influential. With every mix, there’s a little piece of my sweat and alot of my soul. So enjoy or destroy – whatever pleases you".
Stack Boys "Got The Answer" (prod. by Max Dollas): Back in April 2010, Pistol Da One & Dutch New York took you to Stack Land; this heatrock right here is taken from Stack Land: Season 2 and shows that the Boys have more tough tracks on deck.
Not saying my water looks like this, but goddamn...
Depending on what you read, the Trenton Water Works foul-up that's caused my area and surrounding neighborhoods to "boil water before consumption" was either from the recent rainwater that hit the Delaware River not being filtered properly before hitting the Prospect Street reservoir (due to someone not showing for work on Sunday), or just too much rain. All I know is, I'm not touching my tap. My wife actually had to call my son's daycare, because Trenton hadn't notified my city's district about the brown water. Sad, right?
This rests sorely on the bumbling Mayor of Trenton, Tony Mack, as he's the head of this here thing. Whenever this was discovered - regardless of the reason for the tainting of the water - proper officials for every township affected by Trenton Water Works needed to be alerted. Trentonian reports are saying some officials didn't know until 5:30PM that this was going on, which is totally unacceptable, considering that some word trickled down around 3:30PM - hell, I knew about this from a co-worker around 2PM! It's kind of sad that the word of mouth flows quicker than the word from city directors in situations so important as this. I can only imagine if a devastating tragedy hit our area - how long would they wait to alert us of a deadly hurricane or virus?
For now, if you live in a town that's affected by Trenton Waters Works, don't touch your tap. And if you do, get it to a rolling boil for a minute before even thinking about using it.
When Bun B received his 5 Mic-rating in The Source for Trill OG, their praise was mixed with a lot of hate, for varying reasons (most having to deal with The Source not being The Bible it once was for Hip-Hop). We here at RTD and HOODLUM Music wanted to give Bun B a proper tribute, so enjoy this special compilation of DJ Nappy THUGSTEP refixes featuring bars from Bun B. Included are gems like the Slim Thug "3 Kings" jawn with T.I., Lil Boosie's "Show Ya Tatoos" and my personal favorite, Khalifah's "Light A Fire", which is a scorching anthem. Hit the jump for the goods, and salute a true 5 Mic General!
Legit & L.A. Van Gogh "When Boredom Strikes" (prod. by L.A. Van Gogh): Nice laidback lyrical assault from Chitown's Legit and L.A. Van Gogh. I'm not sure if this is leading up to anything, but I'm more than happy for the comedic reality infused in these lines. Good track to wake up to on a lazy Sunday morning.
Lyle says that this is "the follow-up to my first instrumental tribute to The Twilight Zone. The majority of the samples come from some of my favorite episodes, as do the song titles. This may not be our last visit, either...".
I actually forgot to post this when I first got it. Camo UFOs are a retro-jungle crew who have been getting their remix on for some major players, and lazers. This mix they dropped last week is pure ol' skool Jungle, which is something I used to make sure I would fuck with on weed/beer-induced Saturday nights years past. Nowadays any late-night beer sessions on the weekend are devoted to DnB, but only b/c I'm editing for DOA, but it's always good to take an hour and remember the days...
Ant THHE: "We are very proud to present Craig Bass’ latest mixtape titled The Hip Hop Effect vol.3, the tape is just Bass kicking bars over dope beats that I chose and sent to him. Me and Bass both agree that this is one of his best most complete projects to date".
SoleHaven has an interview with DnB legend Goldie up for their "Kicks N Mixtapes" series. It's kind of a silly feature, the actual interview is really short, and really uninformative (unless you REALLY need to know what Goldie's favorite colorways are), but it does include this mix from Goldie during a night in July at Cable in London. I'm not sure this was made available before (I hadn't posted it on DPD anyways), so for that, I commend them.
And here's Strictly Steele's DviousMindZ-produced Black Lights EP. UK to Canadia, Steele's got some wild lyrics - bouncing off the walls of these beats, ya dig? Dude has a different voice, kind of reminds me of early Wise Intelligent. Anyways, roll something sticky up and rock to this, trust.
Upcoming beat-smith Confidence is pleased to present his debut mixtape, ReCon. The MA-based beat-smith carefully resurrects 16 classic's from the mid-90s on this hour long mix, all without compromising the authenticity of what made these tracks so iconic. For good measure, DJ Grazzhoppa, the 1991 European DMC champ, cuts & blends the tracks together, showcasing turntablism at its finest hour (celebrity DJs & Serato newbies need not apply). ReCon features some of the 90s most time-honored cuts from O.C.'s "Time's Up", Black Moon's "How Many Emcees" & CNN's "T.O.N.Y", to some underground treasures circa the Stretch & Bobbito era, e.g. Big L's "American Dream" & Big Noyd's "Recognize & Realize". The only thing ReCon is missing is a tape deck...don't sleep!
Tef Poe ft. Theresa Payne & Rockwell Knuckles "Crazy" (prod. by Tech Supreme): Here's a double-duty single from The Force; this cut is taken from Tech Supreme's Obligation compilation, and will also be found on the ThisIs50 x RTD presented War Machine project from Poebama. The track title is true, with Poe spittin' over futuristics about this chick who is driving him insane. It actually has this Timbaland feel to the hook, which works and actually sounds better than what Timbo has been giving the Pop lovers lately.
Seems like more and more of these Juan Ep's are Rosenberg getting his Rolodex on. Bret Hart followed by every nigga's favorite fugly, big booty white porno chick? My lawd!
This week we continue with the Ninja Tune 20th anniversary celebrations with label owners Coldcut plucking out a few gems from the back catalogue as well a look forward with tracks from the Ninja Tune XX compilation. DJ Vadim, The Bug, Ghislain Porier all feature alongside remixes of Coldcut tracks from King Jammy and United States of Audio, plus they have their own take on The Heavy's 'How you like me now'. In the second hour it's more Ninja Tune artists both old and new with Toddla T, Mr Scruff, Eskmo and DJ Food giving us their personal favourites. Toddla T gives us a tribute to the mighty Roots Manuva, while Mr Scruff digs into the archive, but both Eskmo and DJ Food pick tracks from the Ninja Tune XX compilation.
Gerald Bailey ft. Ye Ali "Other Girls" (prod. by G-Scott): I'm glad the beat on this track is so damn interesting, otherwise that pic would've been a waste. That beat is different - evolves into some shit that might be considered some IDM if it was just an instrumental. This cut is taken from Bailey's EveyrthingOrNothing EP, which drops in October, as well as his The Billionaire Block Boy Vol.2 The Blackout tape, which is out soon and presented by RTD-friends like YNotMyDream, OutrageousAshley, What's In My Headphones and illCity.
Indianapolis born Producer/Rapper Indiana Rome is gaining attention in the St. Louis hip-hop scene with the anticipation of his new album. He is currently producing for the likes of Tef Poe, Rockwell Knuckles, Corey Black, Kings of Midwest and more. As the newest member of The Force Indiana Rome is making his mark and turning heads. Indiana Rome’s upcoming project “Who the Hell Left the Gate Open?” promises to be well rounded with contributions from The Force’s Tech Supreme, DJ Needles, Rockwell Knuckles and more.
Who The Hell Left The Gate Open? is set to drop October 26th; hit up Rome's Bandcamp page for up-to-date leaks from this project.
