Thursday 31 July 2008
Joell Ortiz Blogs on Being Dropped
From J.Ortiz' Blog:"It really fascinates me how much feeling people put into a word. I starting thinking a lot about the word “dropped” recently. A few months ago after my former label mate Bishop Lamont told an interviewer I was, ”dropped” from Aftermath. Very shortly after his interview the news of my being “dropped” was all over the net, announced on the radio and even ended up on the evening news in Puerto Rico. People I hadn’t heard from in years called to express condolences after they heard I got, “dropped”.
A few people in my Mom’s building even taped notes on her door to express there grief over my getting “dropped”. My mom has stood by me throughout my struggle to get a record deal and she is really protective of me so that word “dropped” affected her a lot. She called me crying when she heard I got, “dropped”
I explained to her that I asked to be released and not “dropped” but she kept asking me, “Why are doing this to you” I told her no one was doing anything to me but that word,”dropped” had a grip on her. She is cool now but it was hard talking to her during that time. All cause of a word. I’ve attached two conversations about me where people are using the word ”dropped”. You can hear the emotions and the acting out that goes on around the word."
Read the REST HEREKidz in the Hall's Official Statement
Kidz in the Hall's Management just released this official statement:Double O from the hip hop group Kidz In The Hall was assaulted by several bouncers early Saturday morning, July 26, while inside a nightclub in Tempe, AZ following a Kidz In The Hall performance. Group member and friend Naledge, who did not witness the assault on Double O, was arrested outside of the club. Naledge's attempt to get medical assistance for Double O was misconstrued as a hinderence to the investigation. Reports that no injuries were sustained are false as Double O was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries from the excessive force used by club security. On Sunday morning Double O underwent surgery for one of his injuries. He is still in the hospital, but in stable condition.
In the last 2 years, Kidz In The Hall have traveled to over 10 countries, have done 200+ shows and never before been involved in any altercation, big or small, with club or concert security, or police officers.
Big Boi Interview w/ DJ Envy
He speaks on his solo project, the next Outkast album and the beef with Killer Mike.
DJ Sepalot ft. Saigon - Did It Again
This has been floating around for a minute, but seems to have flown below the radar of most stateside bloggers. It’s off DJ Sepalot’s new project, Red Handed, which is available now. He also has a joint with Blu called “Surrender” that is dope, but which I decided not to liberate.
DJ Sepalot ft. Saigon - Did It Again
Shout to Moritz from Germany for the heads up. Hit the jump for a video message from Sai-gitty.
Wednesday 30 July 2008
Prefix Mag Interviews RZA
Ten years ago, when you first introduced the world to Bobby Digital, things were very different. Now that the world has actually turned digital, where does Bobby fit in? He fits in perfect. He’s been trying to tell us about all this, and now here it is. It’s a perfect opportunity to relaunch the character through my music but also through comic books, video games, and we’re planning a feature film in the future. Digi Snax is the reopening of the character. Before, he was ahead of his time. Now he’s right on time.
I always thought the story of Bobby Digital would make a wicked comic book. Are you seriously considering it?
That’s what we’re doing now. We got a comic book coming. When you get the new album, you get a little taste of the artwork and the villains that I’ve created around the character. The Birds of Prey are after him, the main villain being the Raven. You also got the Hawk, the Vulture, the Eagle and the Crane. We have them incorporated inside the artwork of the album, as well. They’re also mentioned in the music, but you gotta listen closely.
Read the rest HEREOkayplayer Features Gemstones
If you ask any rapper to come out of Chicago in the last 15 years, they can tell you how much of a hustle it is to break out. Funny thing is, in a game where it’s all about who you know, Chicago may be one of the weakest examples of that. This story can be directly applied to 1st & 15th, Lupe Fiasco's label, and to a greater degree, Gemstones.Gemstones is or, was, the dude on vocals on all of your favorite Lupe tracks from both Food & Liquor & The Cool. “Go Baby”, he’s chillin in the cut; “He Say, She Say”- your boy was there under the name Gemini- but now, it’s strictly Gemstones, with a reassessed outlook on the game, and indebted focus, for all of those on the come up.
“It was, 2000 or 2001 when I first hooked up with Lupe,” Gemstones, a Chi-town native began, “and he was doin’ what I wanted to do with the game. We fist met in the studio, and when I learned how he was stepping to everything, and that he owned his own publishing company, I had to get with him.” And after getting with him, things quickly began to spark. Initially with Lupe’s first effort, and then with the explosion of the Chicago underground-turned-mainstream scene.
“It was crazy, the first album. We were just recording whatever, whenever. Lupe would hit me like ‘Yo ‘Stone, lets got to the studio,’ and we were just havin fun with it, and then come to find out, some of the records we did, made it to the album.” This studio comradery fast approached brain trust like stature on The Cool, where writing was clearly “more business.” This chemistry has since then translated to a vibe that is developing, perhaps to brilliant heights, on Gemstone’s forthcoming debut album, The Troubles Of The World.
Read the rest HERE
Rhymefest/Jadakiss/Chamillionaire Track
Anonymous emailer "Prometheus" strikes again with 'Fest material...You got it here first...
Rhymefest ft. Chamillionaire, Jadakiss - What's Up
Lil Wayne's Official Girl Remix
Lets face it. She's not a good singer but lovely to look at. Let Lil Wayne on the official remix and you've potentially got yourself a hit. Thanks to Splash for sending this through.Cassie ft. Lil Wayne - Official Girl (remix)
Young Jeezy ft. Jay-Z - Put On (remix)(CDQ)
This has been expected to drop in the last month or so, ever since it was reported that Jay had recorded verses while he was over in the UK for Glastonbury. Well, here it is. New Jeezy verse. Kanye was axed and replaced by Hova. Here is the CDQ version of the track. Enjoy.Young Jeezy ft. Jay-Z - Put On (remix-CDQ)
Related:
Jeezy Interview
Jay-Z Glastonbury Tracks
Young Jeezy, Kolossus, Jody Breeze, Lil Wayne - Get it Right
Young Jeezy - The Prime Minister (Mixtape)
Air Jordan Olympia Supreme - Melo Edition
Before Beijing, the American team will play in a series of “Friendlies” games in China. There will be three special athlete releases to honor the occasion and these particular Jordan Olympia Supreme and Air Jordan Olympia - United We Rise will be worn by Melo. They are fully customized to Carmelo’s needs. Melo’s jersey number breaks down to seven, symbolizing ‘toughness’, plus eight, which sounds like ‘fortune’ in Chinese. The artwork on the back of the shoe is inspired by Melo’s unique personality and his admiration of dogs. The styling is inspired by Italian craftsmanship and the Jordan Olympia - Melo features distinctive toe stitching and an Air Jordan 10 - like sole which commemorates the years Team Jordan athletes have played in the Games. Thank to KicksOnFire.
Muja Messiah ft. Black Thought - Give It Up
Here’s some newness off the Minneapolis MC’s new LP Thee Adventures of a B-Boy D-Boy, due out 7/29.
Muja Messiah ft. Black Thought - Give It Up
Bonus: Muja Messiah - At All Cost (My Economics) | Muja Messiah - Gorwing Pains
Previously: Muja Messiah ft. I-Self Devine - Patriot Act (Video)
Vintage Audio: Scenario (Unreleased Version) (WOW!)
This is fucking crazy. It’s not everyday that something with this kind of historical significance pops up. Big props to Robbie for getting his hands on this.
A Tribe Called Quest ft. De La Soul, Black Sheep & L.O.N.S. - Scenario (Unreleased)
Here’s part of the backstory per DJ Johnny Juice:
A Tribe Called Quest was doing ‘Scenario’. It was me, Dinco, Busta, Jarobi was there – everybody was in that motherfucker – Dres from Black Sheep was there, both of ‘em, Chris Lighty, Mase and Pos from De La, all them motherfuckers rhymed on ‘Scenario’. Everybody rhymed on it but Q-Tip, and the best motherfucker on that shit was Posdnuos. He fuckin’ destroyed it, and he ain’t even like the beat! And after he finished rhyming, everybody went back and rewrote their rhymes!
Go here to read the rest. According to Juice, this isn’t even the version he was talking about, which means there’s another one floating around out there somewhere. Crazy.
Crooked I, Bishop Lamont & Stylistic Jones - Funky Piano
Crook & Bishop along with Stylistic Jones link up to remake King Tee, Ice Cube & MC Breeze’s “Played like a Piano” for DJ Revolution’s upcoming Duckdown release called “King of the Decks”, coming out September 16th.
DJ Revolution feat. Crooked I, Bishop Lamont & Stylistic Jones - Funky Piano
Also, here’s a new Bishop Lamont interview.
Bonus: Clyde Carson feat. The Game & Sean Kingston - In Da Club
[Props to Splash]
To everyone on the left coast that has to face what just went down over there, hold your heads.
Sauce Money feat. Jadakiss & Busta Rhymes - Get That Paper (RMX)
Where’s Sauce Money at? Where’s the, like… where they at?
Sauce Money feat. Jadakiss & Busta Rhymes - Get That Paper (RMX)
How I’m stuntin’ on a disco beat,
And you a fag, your next rhyme should be on the Sisqo beat
And I hate Beans, but fuck it - Kiss gone eat
Raekwon on Karmaloop TV
Bonus: A little preview of what’s
Tuesday 29 July 2008
Juan Epstein - Season 2 Episode 2 (featuring Fat Joe)
Juan’s back again snitches! This time they busted out their new found clout, and grabbed Fat Joe from the Bronx, nope uh…Overtown…oh, South Beach.
“Joe the fat gangsta, cause I chopped the n*gga up… I was cutting the n*gga up in the bathroom with a chainsaw…I’m rich…most of these n*ggas is dead.” - Fat Joe
Classic material right here. Click to listen to Joe talk greasy.
DJ Drama and Ludacris - The Preview (Mixtape)
Luda and Drama bless us with heat. Download that shit:
The State of Black Skate
Very interesting minidoc on the now trendy skateboard community and how experienced skaters have seen the acceptance from the mainstream change in the last few years. Words are by some of the Zoo York Skate Team and Lupe, who speaks on "Kick, Push" which along with Pharrell made skateboarding cool in hip hop circles.
man took long enough for this video to surface. Previously: The Alchemist ft. Prodigy & Nina Sky - Key To The City
Johnson & Jonson (Blu & Mainframe) Album Cover & Tracklist
Here are the cover and tracklist for Blu and Mainframe’s (aka Johnson & Jonson) upcoming self titled project. I also included their video for Bout It Bout It after the jump.
01. Finally
02. Up All Night
03. Half A Knot
04. Mama Always Told Me
05. Go For The Gusto Room (Ft. Bo Bo Lamb as Jack Johnson)
06. Wow
07. The Only Way
08. In The Building (ft. Miguel Jontel as Jontel Johnson)
09. Bout It Bout It
10. Get The Name Straight
11. Long Time Gone
12. Still Up All Night (ft. Co$$ Dollars as Troy Johnson)
13. Perfect Picture
14. Anything Is Possible (ft. Gonja Sufi aka Magic Johnson)
15. The Oath
Johnson & Jonson is due out September 23.
Mighty Underdogs ft. MF Doom - Gunfight
The Mighty Underdogs is a hip hop supergroup consisting of Lateef the Truth Speaker, Headnodic and The Gift of Gab. They’re releasing their first project with Def Jux, Droppin’ Science Fiction, on October 14th.
Bonus: The Mighty Underdogs - Anthem
Props to OKP for the video. Go there to get more information about these folks.
Monday 28 July 2008
Sunday 27 July 2008
Random - Exhale feat. Naledge of Kidz in the Hall (Produced by ME!!!!)
Make sure you check out "Exhale" by Random & Naledge from Kidz in the Hall (Produced by me), it's the first track on my myspace page. It also features on Random's new album "8th Day" which you can cop from his myspace.
Random also featured on "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda" by Food Witherspoon which I also produced (and is still on my myspace playlist). Random also wrote a blog on how the whole track came together, which you can check out here
I just wanted to thank Random again for using one of my beats for the album. He's got some amazing tracks on there to suit all moods, so make sure you check it out!
Nahright and Fake Shore Drive threw it up on their sites as wellTre Hardson feat. Fat Lip - Ay Yo My Man
Tre (aka Slim Kid) and Fat Lip (1/2 of The Pharcyde) link up for the first time in over a decade. Directed by Little Red Robot.
Previously: The Pharcyde - Running (Philippians RMX) | The Pharcyde - Passing Me By (w/ Commentary)
Saturday 26 July 2008
Friday 25 July 2008
Thursday 24 July 2008
?uestlove x Nike: The (h)Air ?uesto 1
?uestlove linked up with Nike to create these special edition 1’s that are dropping on 8/1.
Says him:
the twist is the shoes will be sealed.
why?
because the actual shoes are the shoes on the bottom of this photo.
25 lucky people across the US will open their boxes to receive a “golden ticket”—and unlike mr wonka i aint talkin a piece of paper.
the shoes will be golden (the one on top)—them shits are the ones to kill for.
i cant make the “official” announcement on what you will get if you are the lucky ones but lemme just say im gonna stand in line for my own damn shoe.
via OKP
More pics here
Skillz vs. Black Thought Freestyle
Remember real hiphop.
The Million Dollar Backpack is in stores now!
Previously: Skillz feat. Black Thought - Hold Tight | Million Dollar Backpack Album Preview
Wednesday 23 July 2008
Air Jordan 11 (XI) / Air Jordan 12 (XII) Countdown Package
The Air Jordan 11 and Air Jordan 12 will indeed be released together as a Countdown Package later on this year. The pack is rumored to feature the Air Jordan 11 (XI) Retro - Space Jams, as well as the retro version of the Air Jordan 12 (XII) Original (OG) - White / Varsity Red - Black. The featured pictures here are of the original releases and are not concrete. This package is the most hyped up and will cause mass hysteria among Jordan fans. We do not have a set release date as of yet but can tell you that they will be release by the end of this year or maybe going into 2009. Thanks KicksOnFire
VIBE's BEST RAPPER ALIVE
PLEASE GO AND VOTE FOR REAL MCs. I KNOW IT WON'T MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE, BUT LETS NOT HAVE SOME SHAWTAY LOW GETTING TO THE FINAL 4 OR SOME SHIT
LUPE FIASCO TEE & THE WORLD HUNGER CHARITY
Karmaloop and Lupe Fiasco recently held a $1000 contest for the design which best exemplifies excellent style and representation of Lupe's Latest Album "The Cool". The winning design by Spain's own, Guadalupe Cos-Gayon and Miguel Abio, is now available on the Karmaloop Site with 100% of the proceeds to benefit Lupe's charity choice: the World Hunger Year (WHY) Foundation. WHY is a leading advocate for innovative, community-based solutions to hunger and poverty. WHY challenges society to confront these problems by advancing models that create self-reliance, economic justice, and equal access to nutritious and affordable food. The design itself features really intricate details (check out the little skateboarders on his shoulders and martial arts fighter on his ear) and vivid color that is classical and simple yet futuristic and well-detailed - making it an easy choice as the winning design.
Click HERE for more pics and to leave a comment.
Murs (Living Legends) On Freestyle 101 [G4TV]
pretty dope. manages to talk enough video game shit to please any nerd out there. Make sure you check the Murs & 9th stuff in previous posts. its hot fire
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Rhymefest’s El Che Leaks, iPod Thief Speaks
"
So this morning I received an email from someone calling themself “Prometheus” claiming to have stolen Rhymefes’t iPod, which contained his upcoming album, El Che, in its entirety.
Personally, I thought the email was bullshit until I found two Mp3s attached at the bottom. I’d heard the Primo-produced “RNQ”, but the joint produced by Jazzy Jeff is brand new to me, and both seem to be CDQ.
I can’t imagine ‘Fest would be dumb enough to leave this shit just laying around, but I guess this type of stuff happens all the time. People are just ruthless in this day and age. That being said, I considered not posting it out of respect to ‘Fest, but you know what they say, if they don’t get it from me, they’re going to get it somewhere else.
Either way, someone lost. Who will respond first?
Here’s the letter “Prometheus” sent over this morning:
To whom it may concern:
Whoever reads this open letter, whether it be Allido Records, J Records or Rhymefest (I don't care), listen very carefully.
To all rappers and producers: DO NOT LEAVE YOUR iPOD OR LAPTOP UNATTENDED WHEN YOU ARE IN A PUBLIC PLACE. I will get to that in a second.
First of all, I am a huge fan, and I love your music. I'm one of those people who consider you to be a highly underrated artist, partly due to the wack-ass label you signed to and their lack of promotion, partly due to how lame the Hip-Hop industry is and partly due to your inconsistent record releases. But, I'm going to help you. They say an artist can only create great art through great suffering. I'm going to make you a better artist, and I do this out of love for your music.
I'm not going to say where or when (because then you may realize who I am), but you were in a public place recently with your iPod hooked up to a sound system playing music for people, and I caught you slipping. You actually walked away for 15 WHOLE MINUTES!!! Then, you forgot it!!! Wow. I grabbed MAD music off of your iPod. And what did I find? A ton of songs you recorded for EL CHE. Maybe you shouldn't label the songs soo obviously.
This shit sounds incredible. Actually, this shit is HOT FIRE!!! Why isn't this shit out, nigga? Don't answer that. It doesn't matter. I'm going to help you out, and here is why.
I bought BLUE COLLAR when it dropped. BLUE COLLAR and Busta's THE BIG BANG were the most noteworthy releases that year. And you didn't even go gold? How the fuck does that happen? Oh, my bad: J Records. But, I digress...
I went to some of your shows. I even traveled to see you perform when I could. Hot shit every single time, dude. You never disappoint. But, you would do shit on your MySpace that would build up a fan's anticipation, and then you wouldn't do shit! The EL CHE logo contest? You never said shit about a winner. The PLUGG CITY tour? My cousin submitted her info, and you never said shit about a winner. Who the fuck does that? But, hey: I'm a fan. You must have had a reason, right? Don't get me wrong: I'm not a Stan or some shit like that. I simply need you to do what you say you're going to do.
Then, you claim that EL CHE was coming out last year. Then, it was this year. More contrived industry inconsistency. I've heard some songs like "Angry Black Man on a Elevator" and "Real Nigga Quotes" and I even heard "Exodus" for the 3.5 seconds you put it on your MySpace. That shit sounds incredible. I watched the YouTube videos with the Just Blaze and Jazzy Jeff joints. What the fuck is up with that Jazzy Jeff project, dude?!? Either you or your label are some fucking liars regarding what the fuck is coming out, and I, for one, am tired of it. And, another thing: how the fuck are you going to come at Lupe Fiasco for his political views when you didn't even have an album out? Was you trying to get attention, nigga? Is that it? Attention for what? A new single? EL CHE??!!!?? I don't see a release date, my nigga. Where art thou, release date? Was it worth it? MAN IN THE MIRROR was dope as fuck. Why the fuck isn't somebody trying to figure out how to sell THAT shit?!? I'm confused by you music dudes, for real. I love your shit. I buy your shit. I heard you were working with Dr. Dre on DETOX. Are DETOX and EL CHE ever coming out, nigga? I NEED NEW MUSIC.
I got songs from your iPod. I'm going to leak a record from EL CHE every week until you drop a single or a video or some shit. The people have NO FUCKING IDEA how hot this shit sounds. Well, I'm going to show them. You had everything on your iPod. Even old, vintage shit. I'm gonna drop that, too. Until you or your weak-ass label keep your word and start dropping some fucking music. And, I'm not playing. I'm going to make you a better artist. I can't wait to see what you do.
Let's get started.
Rhymefest - BRING IT BACK (Produced by DJ Jazzy Jeff)
Rhymefest - RNQ (Produced by DJ Premier)
More to come...
Prometheus
"bringing fire to mankind""
