Benz and a Backpack

Building on the strength of their recent body of work, Juan Deuce and Falside proudly present The Mechanics EP, a seven track tape flush with keen raps from Juan and diverse production from Falside. The two Providence natives officially joined forces a little over a year ago, and the subsequent fusion of their emerging styles has been nothing short of synergistic. Couple Deuce and Fal’s dynamism with the electrifying video work of Ricky Shabazz (“Guts” premiered on Rik Cordero’s The Hub Series two weeks ago), and you have yourself a bonafide trifecta. This winter, Juan Deuce and Falside will prepare a full-length joint album. If The Mechanics EP is any indication, we’re all in for a treat.

Stream and download after the jump!
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Juan Deuce and Falside are ready to drop “The Mechanics EP” free on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011. Here is the official artwork and tracklist for the project.

Tracklist:

1.) GUTS
2.) HEY DJ
3.) MECHANICS
4.) FORECAST FT. JAYSONIC (OF TIME MACHINE)
5.) VICES
6.) FRANK & DEAN
7.) KINGS

Raps by Juan Deuce
Beats by Falside
Recorded in Providence, RI.
Mixed by Reason (PDP)

Previously: Juan Deuce & Falside – Guts (Video)

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…put that $5 to much better use and support the production of Ricky Shabazz & The Boom Bap Boys’ second mixtape Free Shabazz 2. Here it is, straight from the horse’s mouth:

“On December 21st, 2010, music video production company, Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys released a free compilation of hip-hop tracks entitled, Free Shabazz. Rising acts such as Homeboy Sandman, C-Rayz Walz, Slaine, Soul Kahn, Chaundon, Sene, YC the Cynic, J57, and more shared exclusive tracks for the project. The album can be downloaded for free via 2DopeBoyz

After a full year, Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys are teaming up with 2DopeBoyz to release Free Shabazz 2. With Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys growing tremendously over the year, the hype for another album has been immense. We cannot disclose any information on the confirmed artists just yet, but you will be pleasantly surprised with the roster to say the least.

We hope to raise enough money to print physical copies to give away, make new t-shirts, throw a release show, and fund one or two promotional music videos. $1,000 is the absolute minimum we need in order to make this project a reality, but In order to accomplish everything, we will need as much funding as we can get.”

Head to Shabazz’s KickStarter and give what you can in support of some of the best music video work being done right now!

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You ready? Thought so:

“We are proud to present “Guts” the new video from Providence, Rhode Island’s wordworker Juan Deuce and beatsmith Falside. “Guts” is directed by Nicolas Heller (Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys) and is presented/honored by Rik Cordero, the acclaimed hip hop video director for such acts as The Roots, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross, Q-Tip, Snoop Dogg, and The Clipse, as an official selection for his Directors Hub series. “Guts” is a song from Juan Deuce and Falside’s upcoming release, The Mechanics EP, which is slated to drop on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011 for free. Please enjoy the visuals, and please share, post, and as always, tell a friend.”

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Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys return to glory with their latest video for Apathy’s single “Stop What Ya Doin,” featuring Celph Titled and production from the legendary DJ Premier. In what’s now become classic Shabazz style, Apathy and Celph wreak havoc on their surroundings, tearing apart a birthday party for tiny children, shoving unassuming dudes off bridges and docks, and passing piff and OE til their eyes turn red. From start to finish the video muddles typically stark contrasts (young vs. old, the boardroom vs. the streets), culminating in a vivid scene where Apathy and Celph, instead of spitting with a city as the backdrop, rap in the middle of the woods while kids plunge off a bridge and into a river behind the two gritty emcees. Are there any absolutes anymore? I don’t think so. Welcome to the future.

Honkey Kong is available now.

Previously: Juan Deuce – Hard Luck (Dir. Nicolas Heller)

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Snark-tastic rapper Esh the Monolith (of Labeless Illtelligence), producer extraordinaire Dox (of Poorly Drawn People) and Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys teamed up on the video for “Bored Games,” off Esh & Dox’s collaborative project entitled The Invisible EP. The tape is available for free via Esh’s BandCamp. For more on Ricky Shabazz (and how to help him get out of jail) click here.

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The Sun Cycle emcee C-Rayz Walz returns with his first ever free full length project, as he connects with the UK’s Dub MD to bring you All Blvck Everything: The Prelude, a 16 track concept album, an amuse-gruel for the main course All Blvck Everything: The Album. The Prelude is a funeral that represents the death of C-Rayz Walz’ old ways that have proven unproductive in the past. It also symbolizes the death of the competition’s careers. Enjoy the wake!

All Blvck Everything: The Prelude lists a strong line up in both features and production, with heavy hitter beats by the likes of 9th Wonder, Bronze Nazareth, The Beatnikz, Marley Marl, Isam’il Mitchell and more. Collaborations include M1 (of Dead Prez), Freddie Bunz, iCON The Mic King, Psalm One, Hap Hathaway, Complex, to name a couple. Stream All Blvck Everything: The Prelude below, and download it from Dub MD’s BandCamp. Then hit the skip to see Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys team up with C-Rayz for something truly, truly special.

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I heard about Fresh Daily a long time before I met him. On a snowy day last winter, I was trekking around Brooklyn handing out Benz And A Backpack stickers. I happened into Ride Brooklyn, a bike shop on Flatbush Ave, and after hearing about the site the guy behind the counter (clearly trying to put me on) sang Fresh’s praises with such enthusiasm that you would’ve thought he and Fresh were related by blood. I left the store feeling a little skeptical: how many people talk about their friend/brother/cousin/mother who raps? It seems like everyone in America either knows someone who’ll be the next big thing, or they’re the next big thing themselves.

Fast forward a year and a half and I’m standing at a roof party in Bushwick. Who’s hosting? Fresh Daily. By this point, I’d heard his music and I knew it was tight, and based on the love all the party goers were showing him I was pretty sure my man in Ride Brooklyn was right. 

The Quiet Life is Fresh’s most recent release, and it’s perfect for the summer. The combination of soulful, breathable production and Fresh Dot’s astute rhymes implores you to give pause and appreciate the finer things. What’s the key to living this quiet life? Dream the impossible, leap over obstacles/say what you mean, speak when it’s honorable.

Stream The Quiet Life below and download it for free via Fresh Daily’s BandCamp. Keep tabs on Fresh via Tumblr (the homie does design work, too), and hit the skip to see the product of a Fresh Daily X Ricky Shabazz collaboration.

Download: Fresh Daily – The Quiet Life (Album)
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Another new cut from Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys, this time for the famalam Juan Deuce and Falside! “Hard Luck” is one of the tougher tracks from the Fameless Fam’s compilation album Eat Fly which dropped last month. The video is full off vintage throwback jerseys, trench coats, blow up sex dolls, incredible chest hair, the Spike Lee Double Dolly Shot, kiddie pools full of pudding, and a bunch of other crazy shit too. Tell a friend, bitch!

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Nicolas Heller is at it again. He stopped in Providence this past week for a video shoot with the good homie Juan Deuce (which is coming soon), and today another of Heller’s videos graced the world wide web. This time, Ricky and the Boys lent their handiwork to New England-based emcee Reks for his track “Mascara,” off his recent album R.E.K.S.

Produced by Statik Selektah, “Mascara” is a powerful song in which Reks highlights the insidious dangers of minstrelsy and “whiting up.” Reks’ ownership of these practices effectively undercuts their power as a tool of ‘Othering’ non-whites. Also catch the homie Falside’s cameo around 2:25!

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You may know George Watsky as the “Pale Kid Who Raps Fast“, but his talent as a musician is much deeper than spitting words out of his mouth quickly.  A San Francisco native who transplanted to Emerson college, Watsky might be more appropriately described as a poet, a worker of words who happens to be able to recite them rhythmically.  He was featured on season 6 of Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam and has a couple youth championships under his belt.  The backwards montage conceived above for “Stupidass” is very reminiscent of Ricky Shabazz’s video for Homeboy Sandman.

Hit the skip for some extra George Watsky video treats.

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Having directed videos for Copywrite, Falside, Time Crisis, and Homeboy Sandman, Ricky Shabazz can now add the incarcerated Max B to his growing list of clients. Convicted in 2009, Max B, known for having an even more outlandish personality than Jim Jones, was sentenced 75 years for planning a robhery and murder. Because he was not at the scene of the crime and seems unsatisfied with the work of his lawyer, he is now in the process of appealing his sentence, which could take anywhere from 18 months to 3 years.  In the meantime in between time, he is still releasing new material from behind bars. Ricky Shabazz has officially entered the ranks of legendary directors who have their videos posted on World Star Hip Hop.  Congrats dude!

Previous: Chaundon – Don’t Stop [Prod. Khrysis] X Free Shabazz Mixtape

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