PAx Noble Thinks A Lot of You Artists Are "Fake AF"

Now I love stuff like this. There's a lot to be said for the way music is going today; a lot of cats want their music to sound crispy as fuck and have a catchy-as-shit hook, and most of the time they take that route because their hooks > their bars, but they can pay for the ill studio engineers,...

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Frank Knight - "Vain (Rediculus Remix)"

You have to love when two hip-hop titans get together to give dope material a new coat of paint. That's what the mighty Rediculus did for Frank Knight's 2015 album Free Lunch. Their new project, Munchies, is a full-on Rediculus remix of Free Lunch, and if this rework of "Vain" is just the tip of...

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New Track City - "Get it, Got it, Good."

You'll never understand how much new artists will excite me. There's something about getting material from someone you'd NEVER heard before, having the music hit you, and letting that familiar rush of excellence wash over you. That's how I felt when "Get it Got it Good," the new one from the trio...

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Ray Dawn - "Shit To Do"

As per usual, Ray Dawn is on his grind and has no time for ain't-shit people in his life. If your hustle is about more than tweeting "#nosleepgang," you can make Ray's latest your mantra...

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Taso Readies His 'New Start'

The TEKLIFE crew has really done the damn thing when it comes to their record label. Not only did they put out DJ Rashad's posthumous Afterlife album, but they recently released DJ Earl's Open Your Eyes; both are prime examples of why the TEKLIFE producers own the footwork scene. If you love the...

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Coldcut and Adrian Sherwood Inna Dub Meltdown

I don't know if I've said it before, but I'll damn sure say it again: if it wasn't for the work Coldcut has put in over the years, I'm not sure if I'd be as well-versed in the sounds of the world as I have been. These two DJs have been doing it for decades, finding a way to go from being the cut-up...

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Young M.A. and De La Soul Get Remixed by Nappy DJ Needles and Benja Styles

I love when DJs have similar DJs, but instead of hitting you with the same flex, they take different paths. Let me explain. We all know that Young M.A.'s "OOOUUU" is one of the biggest records of the year. Homegirl merked her "Chiraq" freestyle, but this record took over radio and had the streets...

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Every Thanksgiving / Black Friday 2016 Mixtape You Need to Hear

Last year, I was so amazed at the sheer volume of Thanksgiving and Black Friday mixtapes that I had to make a post about them. Similar to the IRL Black Friday shopping day, the deals and sales actually start earlier; this year, Gucci Mane and Boosie Badazz already had projects out on Wednesday night....

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Stones Throw Kicks Off Their Subscription Series With Unreleased Jaylib

Now this is great news! Today, Stones Throw announced that for the lovely price of $250, you get one year of Stones Throw vinyl releases. "This includes single albums, double albums, 12-inch singles, 45s, box sets, and special edition reissues," they said. The first release? Madlib and J Dilla's...

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DLR: Escape Into 'Dreamland'

With so much going on in the world of drum & bass, it's easy to become enamored with an artist than totally lose track of everything they've done. I feel like that's what's happened with me following DLR, who I originally knew from his work with Octane before going solo in 2013. Their Method...

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RTDMIX005: Che Grand

I know we just hit you with a smashing drum & bass RTDMIX from Jaxtella last week, but I felt like we had to do something special for Black Friday, and nothing's bigger than Lessondary crew member Che Grand stepped up for a special ZFTP set for the RTDMIX. Che's been one of those artists I've...

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EQ Why Returns With More Footwork Jungle On 'Whythoven Vol. 3: Got My Mind Formatted'

Last month, I shared a banger by the name of "Trash Man" from EQ Why's Whytoven, Vol. 1, which found EQ running through his jungle and dnb influences. There's been some chatter back and forth about the "footwork jungle" scene, which has been a thing for at least four years but is starting to gain...

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rockthedub radio 035: Blanksgiving

You seen that burnt tf up turkey? That's how a good chunk of America felt post-election 2016. I had to go to bed before the results were in, but I already knew what was going down. Most of you? Devastated. We're still here, though, and instead of pouting or crying or trying to figure out the shoulda/coulda/woulda,...

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Every Record You Need to Buy: Record Store Black Friday 2016 Edition

I don't know about you, but I rarely ever go out and do the Black Friday shopping thing. Black Friday is usually reserved for lounging, drinking, then getting the house situated for Christmas. If I was going out, though? I'd be hitting up Princeton Record Exchange to see if I could cop some of these...

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You Won't Be Able to Stand Still While Riddim Commission's "Black Beatles" Remix Is Playing

I case you've been living under a rock, you know that any viral sensation that has a song under it will make that song chart high on Billboard. The #MannequinChallenge, which finds people freezing in intriguing situations, usually has Rae Sremmurd's infections "Black Beatles" playing; the meme swept...

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Watch DJ Taye and DJ Manny Footwork to "Burnin Ya Boa"

You have to appreciate clips like this; for all of the talk of what footwork is and which crews are doing it, many forget that the essence of footwork is actual dancing. The first time I even knew who DJ Manny was was via a clip of him dancing online, so it's dope to see him alongside DJ Taye (and...

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PremRock and Fresh Kils Lock Horns on 'Leave In Tact'

Over the last few months, I've been trying to dive deeper into the underground hip-hop I've sorely missed. Doing that means running into cats like PremRock and Fresh Kils, who represent New York and Canada (respectively) and are making the kind of hip-hop that champions a higher elevated pen game...

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Lando Chill Gets Live on His 'Madera Canyon' EP

Sometimes, all you need is dope live instruments to turn a song into something bigger. It looks like Lando Chill learned that, and in the months since the release of his debut LP For Mark, Your Son, he's been honing a special group of live performers in Madera Canyon, Arizona to not only recreate...

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Gensu Dean ft. Roc Marciano - "Ball Of Yarn"

The last time we caught up with Gensu Dean, he was getting that Whole Food with Denmark Vessey. The Texan's going for dolo with his next project, RAW, but he's brought the phenomenal Roc Marciano for his latest single, "Ball Of Yarn." It's one of those tracks that you already know is going to be...

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Scott Melker Returns For the Fourth Volume of His "Soul House" Mix Series

Every Thursday, Scott Melker keeps his Soul House party live at the 1 Hotel South Beach Rooftop in Miami. The institution started in New York, and it's dope to see that he blends the vibes of both cities perfectly; there's a load of classic '90s hip-hop alongside all kinds of beautiful music. This...

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Mighty Atom Recreates DJ Shadow's 'Endtroucing' With His Tribute Mix

One of the most important albums in my personal musical journey was DJ Shadow's Endtroducing, which was release 20 years ago. I remember getting it that year for Christmas and being enamored by the way he weaved his sample-based sound in this way. I'd not felt that way since Public Enemy's It Takes...

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Blitz the Ambassador ft. Tumi - "Heaven"

For as long as I've followed his career, Blitz the Ambassador has put on for Africa. For the latest cut from his forthcoming album Diasporadical, he takes his unique blend of the rhythms and sounds of Africa and the American-born hip-hop flavor and turns it into a bright, blazing number entitled...

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Rapsody Wants to Make Sure You're Wearing Your 'Crown'

If you're not up on Rapsody, welcome to her future. Most people might be up on her based on her work with 9th Wonder and his Jamla crew, but in 2015 she had a scene-stealing feature on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, and over the summer she signed with Jay Z's RocNation. Crown, her new mixtape,...

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RIP Sharon Jones

Sharon Jones, who's powerful voice lead Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, has passed away at 60. Their website reports that she had been battling pancreatic cancer. I can't front like I was a huge Sharon Jones head. While she'd been making music for the past twenty years, I'd only started hearing...

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DJ Bailey: The Drum & Bass Preservationist

I sat at my desk for a bit trying to figure out the best way to talk about DJ Bailey. Of course I could say that he's been down with Goldie and the Metalheadz crew for two decades, or how he was the best representation of drum & bass that the BBC had before they replaced him. I could say that...

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RTDMIX004: Jaxtella

We know, we know; we just gave you some drum & bass back in September, but instead of a more calm liquid selection, we're hitting you hard and heavy courtesy of the one like Jaxtella. Call this drum & bass for having to deal with Trump's America. Now, I can't tell you much about Jaxtella....

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This Two-Year-Old Beastie Boys / Daft Punk Mashup Album Has Finally Gone Viral

Yesterday, the world of Reddit gave us The Life of Paul. Today, we catch wind of Daft Science, a mashup album of expertly-edited Daft Punk tracks featuring Beastie Boys vocals by a Canadian producer by the name of Coins. The shit works much better than you'd expect, and surprisingly, the release...

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You Haven't Heard 'The Life of Pablo' Until You've Heard 'The Life of Paul'

Sites like HipHopIsRead have spent years of curating sample sources for some of your favorite albums, and while I've also heard DJs do mixes throwing in the original samples in, I've not heard a project quite like The Life of Paul. Apparently sorted out by a Reddit user, this is probably the most...

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R.O.E. "The Race"

"America is looking like bombs over Baghdad..." Facts, R.O.E., facts. The homey dropped a video for "The Race," which is taken from his latest EP, which is produced entirely by J. Slikk. The GIF up there? It's pretty much that, but truth be told, that's a similar position we have all been in when...

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Silent Knight Vows to 'See You In Hell'

Last week's election has a lot of people fucked up. Some have Henny, some have trees; when you're a spitter, you have your music, and Silent Knight let the people decide if he should drop his new project, See You In Hell. America didn't go with the popular vote, but S.K. did. "I know a lot us are...

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DJ Cable Presents the Best of Old School Grime

Image via Alex South A while ago, I asked DJ Cable if he could sort out some classic UK grime tunes for me. I'd been getting into the grime scene, but had no history. He laced me with a grip of tracks, really proving that he's an authority on this thing. While he rocks with his Triangulum imprint,...

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Dumfoundead Keeps It 100 With His New Mixtape 'We Might Die'

It's been a minute since we've posted new material from Dumbfoundead, but with the way the world is going, his new project, We Might Die, is very necessary. As he told Complex, "We Might Die was a tape reflecting the mood I was in looking at the world through my phone. The youth and older generation...

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Dave 1 Backs Up His Brother A-Trak With His Own "Music Heals" Mix

A few days ago, A-Trak helped soothe the feels of many across the country with a special soul-infused mix, "Music Heals." While there's no real comment on why his big brother Dave 1 (of Chromeo fame) decided to work out his own "Music Heals" mix, we're glad he did it. If you liked the "Music Heals"...

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Bad Company UK Premieres First Official Return Single, "Nomad"

Back in February, Fresh, dBridge, Maldini and Vegas reunited as Bad Company UK, a foursome that took the drum & bass world by storm with their bangers like "The Nine," "4 Days," "Planet Dust," and many more. They announced that reunion with "Equilibrium," a freebie that took heads back to the...

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A-Trak Helps Us "Process These Emotions" With New "Music Heals" Mix

A-Trak, being the supreme DJ that he is, knows that music is the healing of the nation. With that knowledge, he sorted out a magical 30-minute mix the day after the election. This isn't an EDM anthem-bang or a throwback hip-hop fest; he selected classics like Faze-O's "Riding High," Marvin Gaye's...

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Run The Jewels ft. BOOTS - "2100"

The perfect soundtrack for the frustration we're hearing. Like I said earlier today, I don't need my favorite artists to be political leaders, but I damn sure need them to provide the soundtrack for the revolution. From Run The Jewels: "for our friends. for our family. for everyone who is hurting...

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Mr. Carmack Gave Away His Remix of Jay Z and Kanye West's "Otis"

While I'm not sure WHY Mr. Carmack decided to rework Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness" and Jay Z and Kanye West's "Otis," I'm here for it. It's a bit more of a flip of Redding's classic, with Jay's "guess I got my swagger" back line over some live-sounding drums. Swagger certified. Stream...

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JuJu Rogers & Bluestaeb ft. Regis Molina - "Get Lost"

I'm nowhere near as eloquent as Elucid, nor are my thoughts as collected as Jack Erwin's, so I'll just copy/paste this note from Jakarta and let this track ease my mind for four minutes and 58 seconds. "today is a morning that leaves you lost in the light of last nights election which essentially...

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Elucid Releases His Impressive Cover of Zoe Leonard's "I Want A President"

Without giving me much info, Lessondary member Elucid sent me an MP3 of his cover of Zoe Leonard's poem "I Want A President." I actually played this immediately after placing my vote this morning, and wanted to make sure this impressive cover was released today; low and behold, he threw it up on...

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Four Tet Gave Away a Recent Four-Hour(!) Mix

We're on the eve of one of the most historic—and horrific—elections, like, ever. One would imagine that we should be taking some time to ourselves...just in case. OK, it might not be that serious, but Donald Trump being our is a thing that could actually happen. Might as well live life a bit more...

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OG Maco Dedicates New Project to Kid Cudi, Who Triumphantly Returned at ComplexCon

Image via Complex/Rambo If you were anywhere near social media on Saturday, you had to have seen the #complexcon hashtag; it was trending on Twitter, and giving an entire section of the internets major FOMO. One of the reasons was Kid Cudi, who made a huge return to the stage during the art, culture...

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French Montana Gave Away 'MC4,' Which Everyone Already Had

Not too long ago, Joe Budden told me that it was Drake that stopped the release of French Montana's long-awaited MC4, not sample clearances. French didn't want it to leak, but due to some MVPs over at Target, the project actually got released to the internets back in August. He's apparently been...

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'Stranger Things' Star Millie Bobby Brown Stars In Sigma's "Find Me" Video

This is an interesting one. With Millie Bobby Brown officially set to reprise her role as Eleven in season two of Netflix's Stranger Things, the UK-born star takes front and center in the new video for Sigma's Birdy-featured "Find Me." How? Word is Birdy was a fan of Stranger Things and wanted Millie...

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denitia and sene - "favorite."

Photo Credit: Aaron Vazquez It's crazy to see how the denitia and sene project has grown; I remember posting cuts from Sene four-plus years ago. Back then, he was on his hip-hop ish, but in the time since I'd been working a tougher day job schedule, his producer cap has been on tight, working magic...

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Boxed and Local Action Release Massive 16-Track Compilation For Free

While folks seemed to love Skepta's Konnichiwa, it definitely wasn't the "grime's a thing in America" smash that many assumed it'd be. Hell, some fakers are talking like they aren't even fucking with the genre anymore. Me? I'm kind of glad they are moving away from it. There's no real room for fairweather...

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