I’ve been waiting for this one for awhile. Here is the premier video for Royce Da 5’9″s single “Part of Me”, which is one Royce’s new album Street Hop due out April 21st. I can’t tell you how much I am anticipating to hear this new album of his, and this video is a great preface to it. Royce is one of those cats that has an unbelievable ability of story telling. The concept for this video is amazing and shouldn’t be missed. Make sure you go out and get Street Hop on April 21st, could be a major contender for album of the year.
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Video: Royce Da 5’9″, “Part of Me” (Official Video)
Posted in Video with tags Detroit Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Part of Me, Royce Da 5'9", Street Hop on Monday, February 16, 2009 by Tim AlthausR.I.P. Big L (May 30, 1974 – February 15, 1999)
Posted in News, Video with tags Big L, Roc-A-Fella on Monday, February 16, 2009 by Tim Althaus
The month of February is a sorrowing time for the history of Hip-Hop. We lost James Yancey (Dilla) 3 years ago, and we also lost Big L (Lamont Coleman) 10 years ago yesterday. Many people to this day regard Big L as one of the greatest freestyle emcees of all time and many say that if he was still here would be a modern day legend. He was only able to officially release one album entitled Lifestylez ov Da Poor & Dangerous which had two hits that cracked the billboard top 25. He did have a second album titled The Big Picture which was released posthumasly in 2000 after he died, but many say that Lifestylez was his shining gem as an artist.
The thing that saddens me the most is that Big L was just weeks away from signing with the Roc-A-Fella camp when he died. I can’t even begin to fathom what could have happened if Big L was rhyming over Just Blaze & Kanye West beats, I don’t think that there would be a better emcee in the game right now that’s for sure. Big L had some of the nastiest punchlines and the best story telling that anyone had ever heard at the time. It’s truly a shame that the good die young. Big L was only twenty four years old, he had a long career ahead of him with many accolades he could have accomplished. I’m sure that Big L and Dilla are up in heaven making some of the dopest music anyone has ever heard.
Company Flow talks about the re-release of Funcrusher Plus
Posted in News, Video with tags Big Jus, Company Flow, Def Jux, El-P, Funcrusher Plus, Mr. Len on Monday, February 16, 2009 by Tim Althaus
My heart jumped with great content today. I was browsing over at Pitchfork and apparently El-P, Big Jus & Mr. Len did an interview with the people at Pitchfork about the Funcrusher Plus 12th anniversary re-release. Apparently El-P is going to be releasing the album on his own label Def Jux. Might I also mention that El-P’s answers in this interview are downright hilarious, he’s chalked full of humor and it makes for a great read: Pitchfork: “Why reissue Funcrusher Plus now, 12 years after its original release?”, El-P: “I think I got my first hand job at 12.”
I personally can’t wait for this no brainer classic to be re-issued. Funcrusher Plus to me was so far ahead of its time. According to an article this re-release will feature some pre-1995 tracks that Company Flow did before Funcrusher as wel as tracks that were after the Funcrusher release. This album has been out of print for awhile now, so you know hardcore heads are going to be grabbing this album right when it comes out (hint: me). This last year also marked the reunion of Company Flow at a live concert. I wonder if we will get to hear any new creative genius anytime soon? (Lets all hope to god that we will)
Just a few things that have been said about Funcrusher Plus:
“One of the most influential rap groups of the late ’90s, Company Flow laid the groundwork for nearly all the experimental hip-hop that followed, and its advancement of hip-hop as an art form is still being felt.” ALL MUSIC
“Widely recognized as one of the genre’s greatest achievements.” PITCHFORK
“Company Flow became heroes to alternative rap fans when they released their Funcrusher album”. ROLLING STONE
You can read the interview with Pitchfork here. Make sure you go out and grab the re-issue of Funcrusher Plus when it comes out because it’s going to be a great addition to your collection, as well as a great album. But, don’t leave now; click read more and make the jump to watch Company Flow’s classic video for “8 Steps to Perfection” from the original release of Funcrusher Plus… Continue reading
Download: Cymarshall Law, Cyology 3: The Freedom Writer
Posted in Downloads, Video with tags Cymarshall Law, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop in the Soul, Hip-Hop Official, Mr. Joeker, Vimby on Monday, February 16, 2009 by Tim Althaus
I was very elated to see that I had a message in my inbox containing to mixtapes of Cymarshall Law. This guy is an absolute beast on the microphone and never fails to leave the microphone torn apart. As I had metioned before in a prior post, Cymar was a part of one of the best albums of last year Hip-Hop in the Soul with Mr. Joeker. I have been playing out that album like crazy lately and I am glad that I was able to get some more of his material in my hands. This guy is definitely one of the most official emcees I’ve heard in a while. When you put a dope ass beat behind this guy the result is uber insanity with great lyrical content.
It’s great to hear a guy like Cymar dropping more music and ultimately making himself more accessible to Hip-Hop heads. I think that if he can consistently drop this beat torching material, he is going to solidify his position in the game. I truly hope to hear a lot more from this guy in the near future, Hip-Hop in the Soul had a huge impact on me and I have a feeling that I am going to feel the same about anything else Cymar does.
Here is the download link for Cyology 3: The Freedom Writer.
Also Check out Freedom Entertainment’s Two Thousand Mine hosted by Cymarshall Law. Hit read more and make the jump to view some stellar video features on Cymar from Vimby and Hip Hop Official… Continue reading
Video: Dope Dilla Tribute
Posted in Video with tags J Dilla, Stones Throw on Friday, February 13, 2009 by Tim Althaus Vodpod videos no longer available.
I saw this over at Stones Throw’s website today when I jumped over there for my weekly dose of news. It’s about a minute and thirty seconds long and it features some bad ass animation. It goes through Jay’s career with different clips of songs that he did during that era.
Stephen Malkmus Interview with Pitchfork
Posted in News with tags Pavement, pitchfork, Stephen Malkmus, The Jicks on Thursday, February 12, 2009 by Tim Althaus
The genius behind the highly influential band Pavement Stephen Malkmus sat down with an interview with Pitchfork Media recently. I can’t tell you how much I absolutely love this man’s music. He is my favorite musician in the Rock world, and this guy is one of the most genius human beings I have ever had a pleasure of listening to. I constantly say that I don’t listen to rock music a great deal; I will always listen to Pavement. Pavement is long and gone though, and now Malkmus is with a new group called the Jicks. They put out and album last year entitled Real Emotional Trash. I thought the album was great and the dynamic is definitely there, not to mention Malkmus’ guitar is the best it’s ever been. Being a huge Pavement fan, I don’t know if anything he does can compare to the Slanted & Enchanted days. Pavement is a stamp in 90’s rock history. It’s shocking to think that 2009 celebrates the 20th anniversary of Pavement’s existence.
In the interview Malkmus did with Pitchfork and to be honest there is a lot of talk about Pavement in the interview. Many of the questions that are asked during the interview pertain to how he approaches music now, as compared to the Pavement days. This is a great fucking article and a lengthy read if you love Malkmus or Pavement. There’s a great deal about the album Brighten the Corners because it was Pavement’s fourth album, the Jicks’ new album was also their fourth. It’s great to hear Malkmus talking about Pavement again, and it’s great to hear some insight from one of the greatest voices of the present.
You can read the original article here.
Video: Black Milk, “Losing Out” (Featuring Royce Da 5’9″)
Posted in Video with tags Black Milk, Detroit Hip-Hop, Losing Out, Royce Da 5'9", Tronic on Thursday, February 12, 2009 by Tim AlthausMan, today has been an insanely good day for me as far as posting is concerned. Videos were released for two of my favorite songs from the last year. The first one was “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Evidence, and now “Losing Out” by Black Milk. This song was a clear stand out on Black Milk’s album Tronic. The beat on this song is absolutely amazing (the sample is incredible, I heard the original song while riding around with my dad weeks ago) and Black Milk & Royce Da 5’9″ destroy every bar on this track as if it was their sole mission. I can’t tell you enough, if you haven’t picked up Tronic yet you should be kicking yourself in the ass. Make sure you watch out for Royce’s album Street Hop due out soon!
Talib Kweli Speaks: Reflection Eternal Before Summer, New Liberation?
Posted in News with tags Hi-Tek, Hip-Hop, Liberation, Madlib, Reflection Eternal, Talib Kweli on Thursday, February 12, 2009 by Tim Althaus
Talib Kweli recently did an interview with KevinNottingham.com about current projects and things with his label Blacksmith. It sounds like the next year is jam packed for the god emcee from Brooklyn. I am excited to hear that Kweli has been in Cincinatti with Hi-Tek working hard in the studio on the new Reflection Eternal album, which they hope to release before summer. Talib metnioned that the new Black Star that I was hoping for will not be released this year, but I’m sure we can look forward to that in the future. Talib also mentione there there is a possibility of another Liberation album with Madlib.
All of the previously mentioned information makes me very anctious to hear what Talib has in store for us. Like I’ve said before the original the Reflection Eternal album pretty much changed the way that I listened to music, who knows what this one will do. It sounds like it could be an amazing year for this man and my guess is it will be. You know as soon as I have any updates I will keep you posted right away.
Video: Evidence “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
Posted in Video with tags Evidence, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Hip-Hop, The LAyover EP on Thursday, February 12, 2009 by Tim AlthausVodpod videos no longer available.
Here it is, the moment we’ve all been waiting for (at least I know I have). The “For Whom the Bell Tolls” video is now up on MTVu. Thanks to yours truly I was able to grab the video off of MTVu and post it. This video is pretty much amazing and is about to get my nod for video of the year in 2009 and we’re only 2 months in. All of these emcees together on one track makes for an impressive showing, and the concept for the video makes it even more impressive. This was actually the lead single off of the The LAyover EP but this is one of the only songs that EV didn’t shoot a video for until now. Make sure you check out the video, and if you haven’t, go out and get The LAyover EP because it was easily one of the best releases of last year.
Video: Dilla Keeps Shining (Jay Dee Tribute)
Posted in Video with tags Hip-Hop Official, J Dilla, Pharoahe Monch, Phife Dawg, Talib Kweli on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 by Tim AlthausI’m really glad that Hip Hop Official had this video up. I actually used a clip of this video last year when I gave a speech on Dilla, I think the clip I used was roughly a 30 second summary of this one. This video has names like Pharoahe Monch, Phife Dawg (of Tribe Called Quest) & Talib Kweli. These guys are all talking about their feelings on Jay Dee’s music. Talib tells a great story about Dilla and the Grammys. Apparently The Roots were nominated for a Grammy on a track that Dilla produced, when Kweli said something to Dilla he didn’t pay it any mind, he just kept making beats. This video has some of the best names in emceeing all talking about how Dilla changed the production game. This is a great video tribute for a great man.
MIND INVERSION 