Spotted on Vandalyzm’s Tumblr, visuals for “The Allspark,” the opening track from his record Megatron Majorz Redux. You can stream the whole album on Vandalyzm’s BandCamp, or you can cop it on iTunes. I highly recommend you do both. With beats from Khrysis, 9th Wonder, FlyLo, and Vandalyzm himself, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s a banger. If you’re in the Brooklyn area tonight, get to Southpaw on 5th Ave and Sterling Place at 9PM to catch Vandalyzm live!
In honor of 15 years in the business, Dru Ha, Buckshot and the other members of Duck Down are dropping an anniversary album including tracks from each year since its inception (plus some other goodies). Hit the skip for the tracklist, release date, and videos only Duck Down roster members could pull off.
In the classic Jaylib song “The Mission,” Jay Dee spits: “Come see the Dilla lay with the fifth / Maybe you can write an article about how Jay play with them whips / And who said producers ain’t supposed to rap? / They don’t want the Ruger to bang well close your traps.” A lot of artists now learn the trades of rhyming and beat-making simultaneously, giving them an unprecedented versatility (see: J. Cole, Evidence, Blu, B.o.B., et cetera).
Then there’s the other group of artists who are primarily producers, or who made names for themselves as producers first, but then began dabbling in the art of spitting as a means to fill out their careers, and their corners in the industry. Most recently, North Carolina native 9th Wonder of the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League ventured into the realm of rapping under the moniker 9thmatic, dropping a couple tracks (one produced by DJ Premier) featuring his skills on the mic:
9thmatic (9th Wonder) & Khrysis – It’s On [prod. DJ Premier]
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Big Remo ft. 9thmatic – Go
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It’s only natural for producers to feel the urge to spit, seeing as they’re constantly surrounded by emcees and surely have beats on deck that nobody could spit on correctly but themselves. Who are the best producers-turned-rappers? Hit the skip for the Top 5, then vote for your favorite.
I think I cracked the promotional formula for underground rappers, I call it the telescope model:
1. Announce an album with a release date TBA,
2. Release a couple mixtapes spaced out evenly before your album drops.
3. In between mixtape releases, drop teaser tracks to get people pumped for the mixtape.
4. In between teaser tracks, drop a couple videos for some of your new stuff.
5. In between dropping videos, do a couple interviews for on-line hip-hop sites.
I’m onto you guys.
Speaking of loose tracks, here are two mixtapes from 9th Wonder and Blu, respectively. Both are compilations with tracks that have been released but may have fallen to the wayside. They are definitely worth checking out if you’ve been sleeping one these dudes the past few months.
Shout out to The Word is Bond.
Duckdown representative and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League pseudo-affiliate Skyzoo had a nice run on 106 & Park’s Freestyle Friday several years ago, but he ran into Jin and caught an L on what some consider the best Freestyle Friday ever. Even if he was right, Skyzoo sealed his own fate on the show when he insulted A.J.’s style; Free’s face in the background after that line says was all I needed to see to know who won. Jin holds it down, per usual.
Since then, Skyzoo established himself as a mainstay in the underground and dropped his debut studio album, The Salvation, to much critical and popular acclaim last year. The album featured production from 9th Wonder, Illmind, Just Blaze, Nottz, and more, and if it’s any indication then Skyzoo is going to be around for the long haul. Jin, on the other hand, faded into relative obscurity in the U.S., and most recently dropped a mixtape called Free Rap Mixtape in China. Some might have thought Jin was going bigger places than Skyzoo after this battle, but it just goes to show: don’t judge a book by its cover (or something like that).
Hit the skip to see what other big underground rapper was defeated by a relative no-name on 106 & Park’s Freestyle Friday!
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I am mostly of Irish descent, but I’ve come to discover that Cuban culture, in all its warmth, graciousness, musicality and plain old fun, resonates very strongly with me- kind of like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and wind but without all the shattering. Clutch, who just spent four months in Cuba and is Cuban through and through- told to me a few weeks ago that B-Real from Cypress Hill was a Cubano, so it was with particular interest that I checked the new single off their forthcoming album Rise Up entitled ‘Armada Latina,’ featuring Pitbull (Cuban) and Marc Anthony (Puerto Rico).
The track caught my ear immediately because the it samples CSNY’s ‘Judy Blue Eyes’ and the drop is drum break is ridiculous. It also struck me that Marc Anthony- who bagged the baddest chick in the game at the height of her popularity in North America- can really, really sing. Production on the track was done by Jim Jonsin (of T.I. and Lil Wayne fame).
Cypress Hill ft. Marc Anthony & Pitbull
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Just for fun…
Joe Budden – Focus
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The Audible Doctor ft. Sene – A Chance To Say
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Hit the skip for the DL link, plus a Mixtape Monday Tape flush with brand new Cole, CuDi, XV, Murs & 9th Wonder, Big Sean, and more!
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Two summers ago I was lucky enough to catch the Paid Dues Tour at New York City’s Nokia Theatre in Times Square. I was particularly excited for it because the lineup included a bunch of artists I’d never seen in concert before: Kidz in the Hall, dudes from Boot Camp Clik, Blackalicious, GZA, all culminating in what I hoped would be a satisfying set from the godfather of hip-hop, Rakim.
I remember the show with particular clarity because my boys and I endured an hour-and-a-half-long train ride that should’ve only lasted twenty-five minutes. The stifling June heat had us sweating our shirts out while we were held in station after station by train dispatchers. People in our car were fanning themselves with whatever they had: Yankees and Mets fitteds, celebrity gossip magazines, folded-up copies of the Daily News (with a picture of a smiling Barack Obama- who’d just secured the Democratic Presidential nomination- under a headline that read: ‘HISTORY!’).
Once we pulled into 42nd Street, we bobbed and weaved through swarms of people in the station and on the fume-filled streets (hustling because we were already way late), and by the time we got to the Nokia Theatre we’d practically melted. Making it through security felt like clouds parting to allow us entrance into a very well air-conditioned heaven.
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9th Wonder – A Million Dollar Situation from @DecaturDan on Vimeo.
“I’m in the world, fam. I’m in the real world.”
Shouts to KN for the heads-up.
2009 was fine, but 2010 will be fucken crazy! The album will feature Erykah Badu, 9th Wonder, K’naan, Snoop, Stevie Wonder and more. Tracklist under the cut.
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It’s that time of year again. The 2010 Grammy Nominations just rolled in, and as we lay expectantly in the cut we can chalk up a few small victories for hip hop in the midst of this pop-dominated music world. Although Taylor Swift, Lady GaGa, Kings of Leon, Beyonce, Kanye West and many other mainstream-pop-centric (yup, I said it, that’s where Kanye lives now) artists received a large percentage of the nominations, a few nominations in particular should bring smiles to the faces of hip hop heads ’round the world. Hit the skip for the full list of the Grammy Nominations, plus the standouts.
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