RIP junclassic

Damn. This one hurts; it always hurts when someone I know passes, especially when the word comes out of nowhere, but damn, I really rocked with junclassic. I don't remember how we first linked up; back when we were really rocking over here, emails would just hit the inbox on the regular. Hell, I was getting mail sent to the crib. Thing is, jun still sent his albums. I have a few CDs sitting around somewhere; he was always working, and was always looking out.

Back in 2009, Kid Hum allowed me to let a bunch of dope emcees rap over beats from his Fossil Fuels instrumental album; when I was reaching out to folks for the tracks that would become Offshore Drilling, I feel like jun was one of the first cats to submit tracks. Hell, he has two solo joints on the project, and he made sure to throw in "you gotta rock the dub, baby." I never asked; that's just how he was. Stand-up individual. Hard worker. Dope as fuck with the pen. Dare I say one of the more prolific artists I've ever come across.

Kid Hum · 06 Junclassic "Angst" (Produced by Kid Hum)

Kid Hum · 14 Junclassic "Passport" (Produced by Kid Hum)

jun is also all over The KhemLab, the spiritual sequel to Offshore Drilling if you will; one of my personal favorites is the J57-produced "Khemistry," which finds junclassic kicking the final verse. I always loved the last line of his verse: "keep ya shit tighter than African hair braiding." jun was always ready with a tight verse, a dope project, and his warm spirit, always down to rep for the culture.

You will be missed, jun, although it looks like you have a project dropping Friday, so you'll definitely still be with us. Rest easy. 

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RIP Jay Kountree

Local legend Jay Kountree passed away early Tuesday morning; he was 38. Reports say he was killed during a situation involving a motor vehicle crash, which is fucking tragic. Not only was dude a phenomenal DJ—I'd seen a few sets in the city of Trenton where he'd be going ham with the '90s house—but he was just a good dude. Seeing him out meant a smiling face and someone around my age who was a father and would geek out on the same culture I'd geek out on.

What sucks is that Kountree, who was already a staple of the club scenes in Jersey and Philly, was making some dope material over the past year, dropping a four-track release WWJKD in January, followed up by a two-track remix EP, DEDICATED<3 in February.

Jay Kountree · WWJKD

Jay Kountree · DEDICATED <3

There have been a number of tributes and thoughts about Kountree, especially throughout the Trenton and Philly scenes on Facebook. I could share a bunch of thoughts, but honestly, Trenton Social's Facebook post may sum things up:

"Kountree wasn’t just behind the decks," they said, "he was the energy, the heartbeat, the soundtrack of so many unforgettable nights here. Thank you for the years of music, laughter, and memories you gave everyone. Your presence filled this place with life, and your legacy will always echo through every beat that plays in this home you helped build. You will forever be missed, forever loved, and your music will forever live on."

Rest in peace, Jay Kountree. And if you want to contribute to the GoFundMe for his funeral, please do.

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Deal - The Villain drops 'EPos'

Fifteen years ago, this very blog was moving in such a way that I had a lowkey digital distribution situation going on. There wasn't a lot that RTD dropped, but one of the absolute best projects was the homie Deal - The Villain's EPic, which dropped in Feb. 2010 and found DTV doing what he does best: bullying his beats with his bars. Dude's a mad scientist and someone I consider a homie, so when he said he was back at it with EPos all these years later? You gotta love it. Glad my brother continues to do the damn thing. Some fucking gems in here, too, and if you're smart, you'll cop because DTV has the instrumentals on DECK. Stream the full project below, and cop via Bandcamp.
 

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Joey Bada$$ ft. Ab-Soul & Rapsody - "STILL"

 

Seeing that Joey is going on tour with Ab-Soul and Rapsody, it makes sense that tracks like "STILL" are hitting. Kinda wish Rapsody did more than the hook over this Statik Selektah-produced joint (although folks who want to hear more of what Rapsody should have checked out her latest, MadRaps, which is produced by Madlib). (Sample of that HERE!) "STILL" shows the mature side of Joey, the side that most folks wish they could see on an album project. Glad that Joey isn't just sitting on his work, though; he's putting out what he think works by any means necessary. Gotta support that, "DARK AURA," and more via Joey's site, all ahead of the release of Lonely At The Top, Joey's latest mixtape, which is out on August 29.

Joey Badass Dark Aura Tour Dates:

10/16 – Boston, MA
10/17 – Montreal, Quebec
10/20 – Toronto, Ontario
10/21 – Cleveland, OH
10/22 – Detroit, MI
10/23 – Chicago, IL
10/25 – Milwaukee, WI
10/26 – Minneapolis, MN
10/29 – Denver, CO
10/30 – Salt Lake City, UT
11/1 – Seattle, WA
11/2 – Portland, OR
11/4 – San Francisco, CA
11/6 – Los Angeles, CA
11/7 – Las Vegas, NV
11/8 – Anaheim, CA
11/9 – Phoenix, AZ
11/11 – Austin, TX
11/12 – Dallas, TX
11/13 – Houston, TX
11/15 – Atlanta, GA
11/16 – Nashville, TN
11/18 – Washington, DC
11/19 – Brooklyn, NY
11/21 – Philadelphia, PA

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