I have to admit that I love the artwork for Blueprint 3. There is something about it that I just can’t put my finger on. I have to thank the homie Meka for this one over at 2DopeBoyz. I don’t know how I feel about the album as a whole though… It’s mostly produced by Mr. West & No I.D., and it seems as though Kanye’s camp is playing a predominant role in theme of this album. I’m not going to get my hopes up for another Blueprint. Follow me after the jump for the tracklisting. Continue reading
I was utterly saddened and extremely expressionless yesterday when I heard that Baatin passed away. One of my colleagues sent me a Blackberry Message asking if “I heard the dude from Slum Village passed”? I almost thought he was bullshitting me right away, but I know he wouldn’t mess around with me when it came to Detroit Hip-Hop. I immediately sent him a message asking him (not sure why) if it was Baatin. He sent me a message that confirmed my previous question. I still to this moment can’t believe it, I almost feel like the whole situation is surreal. Baatin is absolutely seminal when it comes to talking about the Detroit Hip-Hop scene. He was the co-founder of Slum Village, which is easily one of my favorite groups of all-time. I simply don’t know if the Detroit scene would be anywhere near what it is today without Baatin. Detroit as well as the world of Hip-Hop lost an embassador yesterday. My heart goes out to Baatin’s family and everybody that was close to him, you’ve lost an extraordinary human being.
There’s only one thing we can all do now:
RAISE IT UP!
Editor’s Note: ?uestlove actually wrote a great piece on Baatin & Slum Village which you can read here.
Spotted on OnSmash.
On April 11 Red Bull Big Tune made the leap from bass pumping clubs to the living rooms of 340,000 music fans during its American television debut on the BET network. The 30-minute TV show chronicled the adventures of 16 up-and-coming music producers as they embark on the final battle to determine once and for all who has ‘the big tune’ and who will walk away with the coveted title of Red Bull Big Tune Champion and a chance to collaborate with a well-known recording artist in Red Bull Studios.
When the final battle ended the crowd determined that the producer with ‘the big tune’ and the ultimate winner of the competition was 17-year-old Charles ‘C-Sick’ Dumazer of Chicago, Ill. In the time immediately following the final battle, C-Sick had a lot to contemplate. Who would he select to work with in the studio? After some deliberation he selected Def Jam recording artist Nas, one of hip-hop’s most profound lyrical poets. Nas is well known for his 1994 debut album Illmatic, which many consider to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. His upcoming tour and album with Damian Marley has many on the edge of their seats.
Nasty Nas recorded this track over Red Bull Big Tune winner C-Sick beat to make a pretty sweet track.
Download it here.
That’s right, your favorite pie chefs are going on tour with your favorite hipster biking emcees. All throughout the months of August and September you will be able to catch these two groups in select venues across the states. Although The Cool Kids & Clipse won’t be at First Ave, you will be able to catch Clipse there solo on August 14th. Follow me after the jump for the tour dates. Continue reading
Copywrite recently talked to HipHopDX about a few things that pertained to his dearly missed friend, Camu Tao. As many of you out there in the Hip-Hop community may know, the original MHz album Table Scraps has been re-released in both digital & retail. If you haven’t heard Table Scraps before, you are truly missing out on a piece of history. We are talking about an album that put Ohio’s Hip-Hop scene on the map for the first time, not to mention launched the careers of Rjd2, Copywrite & Camu Tao. The thing that is special about the re-release of Table Scraps is that portions of the proceeds will go directly to Camu’s family.
According to the HipHopDX article, Copy claims that many people didn’t even know that he and Camu were in a group. Copywrite feels as though Table Scraps is great music, and re-releasing it is a way to give back to Camu’s family. He also mentions that Table Scraps is exactly what it sounds like, a bunch of recordings laying around that they wanted to throw together for one cohesive effort to give people some insight. Copy also talks about not wanting to be a solo artist coming into the game, but things at Eastern Conference didn’t work out with MHz. In a baffling breath, Copy drops the bomb that DJ Mighty Mi didn’t even want to release Rjd2’s Dead Ringer (which is a catastrophic decision).
Copy met Camu in ninth grade and they soon found out that they had a lot of things in common as far as lifestyle. He notes that when Camu learned to make beats he elevated his game right away, “He was crazy with his style. He always wanted to do something different”. He remembers Camu as a good friend, and a cool, energetic dude. This is really a great article that has many eye opening facts. I highly suggest you read this, it’s an example of some great Hip-Hop journalism.
In addition to the information about MHz, Table Scraps & Camu Tao, Copywrite also talks about his upcoming album The Life & Times of Peter Nelson.
You can read the original article here.
Shout out to Okayplayer for the news. I recently posted a single from this album by Beatnick and K-Salaam called “Don’t Die” featuring Bun B, Talib Kweli, and Colin Monroe. The full album, called Where the Streets Have No Name has been released for free, courtesy of Imeem and illRoots. The album download comes with 12 different covers and features the like of Lil Wayne, K’naan, and Young Buck in addition to those mentioned before.
Download the album here
Today, Rhymesayers and Brother Ali announced Ali’s new album, entitled “Us” due out September 22nd. RSE and Ali are offering a special pre-order deal of $9.99 and the opportunity to win a free ipod touch loaded up by Ali himself with all of his work including the out of print Rights of Passage. The album artwork is below:
In addition, they announced the Fresh Air tour (click here for dates and the official announcement) featuring Ali, Evidence, Toki Wright, and BK-One, which my man Tim recently posted about. Tickets are on sale now as a special Fan Pre-Sale and will go on sale for the general public next week.
Be ready for the new album and get your tickets ASAP! I’ve heard 4 new tracks off the LP and they are all fantastic!
Blue Scholars, my favorite group, has announced that they have signed to a joint venture to Duck Down Records. I’ve suspected this move for about a year now since I saw the Scholars talking to Duck Down CEO Dru Ha before their show in NY. The move will allow them to continue to control their own music via their label Massline while getting better distribution of their record. On August 25th, they will be releasing an EP called “OOF!”. On September 1st, their 2007 album Bayani will be re-released and will be called Bayani Redux. It will include one brand new track and 2 songs that were previously available only digitally.
Personally, I don’t really understand the move. Blue Scholars sound nothing like anything else on Duck Down, musically or lyrically. I think the distribution is great for them, but I am puzzled by the move by both parties. However, I do hope for their success with this decision.
More new music from the Scholars is also expected soon so sit tight!
The video above shows Sabzi on Seattle’s brand new Light Rail and at the end has someone asking him about signing to Duck Down.
You can download the track “Coo” off their new EP here or on their blog. I saw them perform it live at Soundset this year and its a sweet song.
Brother Ali already released the critically acclaimed Truth Is Here EP this year, and now he is gearing up to release his full length Us which is due out this fall. Ali isn’t usually known for large amounts of guest appearances on his albums, but on this outting we will see more than we usually do. Joining him on the mic will be Chuck D, Freeway, Joell Ortiz & Stokely Williams. There is no word yet on the production for the album, but knowing Ali’s traditional formula I’m guessing Ant will have a huge role in this one. Those 2 have never made a miss, always hits but I wouldn’t mind seeing Jake One adding some of his pristine production to the bill.
Brother Ali is touring with Evidence & Toki Wright this fall in support of the new album, as well as Evidence’s new album Cats & Dogs. You can follow me after the jump for the tour dates. Continue reading
MIND INVERSION 
Joe Budden Offers “No Comment”
Posted in News with tags Joe Budden, No Comment, Padded Room on Monday, July 27, 2009 by Tim AlthausHere is a new track from the straight jacket phenom, Joe Budden. If you didn’t peep the Padded Room review please make sure you do that, it’s a great album. This joint is called “No Comment”, and if you really listen to this track you can tell that it’s aimed at someone. Joey is one of those cats that spits some potent ass bars just about every time he manhandles the microphone. The only thing that this track makes me think, is that some serious shit might go down…
Download: Joe Budden, “No Comment” (Radio Rip)
Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz
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