Mr. J. Medeiros of extinct Procussions has become a prominent solo artist in my opinion. His first album, 2007's Of Gods and Girls was incredible (please go check it out if you haven't). He's a lyrical conscious MC with excellent producers. Above is the video for the track "Holding On" featuring Tara Ellis. The song will appear on his upcoming album Friends Enemies Apples Apples due out in September. Check it out!
New video from Chali2na (mr. deep voice from J5 for those that don't know) of his new album Fish Outta Water which dropped on June 23rd on Decon Records. The track's got a pretty good beat and a guest spot from Talib Kweli. The album is solid and worth checking out for sure.
Atmosphere releases another free gift on America'a b-day to help promote Fifth Element's new online digital selection. Sign up for an account at Fifth Element Online and add Leak at Will to your cart for $0, and then checkout! It's a brand new 7 song EP from Slug and Ant out on what else? Rhymesayers Entertainment
One of my favorites, Rhymesayer's own Brother Ali is featured on DJ JS-1's new album, No Sellout (Ground Original 2) on a track called Nuthin' with CL Smooth and Sadat X. I saw JS-1 last summer when he was DJing for KRS-One.
As usual, Ali tributes the old greats, even mentioning that he has no idea how he wound up on this track.
The track is pretty good and Ali's verse is sick, I definitely recommend the download. Check it out!
Just heard this track posted on 2dopeboyz, and gotta say, it is dope. Beat by DJ Khalil and features the newly formed Slaughterhouse, which consists of Crooked I, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, and Joe Budden.
I went to Sound Set this year on memorial day weekend in Shakopee, MN. It was a blast. Tons of people.
Anyway, one of the reasons I was so pumped about the show was my favorite group, Blue Scholars. If you haven't heard of them, you should most definitely check them out. They are a duo out of Seattle on their own label, Massline Media, consisting of MC Geologic (or Geo) and DJ/Producer Sabzi. They are both incredible at what they do. I've had the fortune of meeting them a couple of times and they are both awesome, down to earth guys that enjoy talking to you.
Anyway, they haven't dropped an album since Bayani in 2007 (although there have been a couple of EPs), but they performed a new song at Sound Set that is supposed to be coming out on an upcoming EP. I cannot WAIT to hear more from them. This song is dope:
Naledge, the rapping half of UPenn-bred Kidz in the Hall, brings you a cool video from his Mix CD Chicago Picasso out on Duck Down Records. Personally, I'm still unsure about how I feel about KITH. Naledge is definitely a talented MC, but their goal to me seems strange. They criticize mainstream hip hop at times, but they seem to be more on the pop side of hip hop anyway. Regardless, this is a great sounding track as you watch Naledge travel through Chicago in black and white stop frames.
I love hip hop!
I am a student at Macalester College and have a weekly radio show with my co-host and friend Lloyd Vogel called the Hip Hop Providers with Lloyd and Nolan on WMCN 91.7fm (www.macalester.edu/wmcn)
Originally from NY, I've found a great new home in the Twin Cities and am a large fan of the local scene. The radio show has had many special guests from the local scene including:
Big Quarters, Sims (Doomtree), Background Noise Crew, Prof & Rahzwell, M.anifest, Orikal, The Usual Suspects, JSL, Ill Chemistry (Carnage + Desdamona), & Kritical Kontact