Benz and a Backpack

If you’ve seen HBO’s new series How To Make It In America, then you’ve heard Aloe Blacc (“I Need A Dollar”). Smooth like butter, Aloe croons like a singer of yesteryear, but he also spits with more depth and clarity than most emcees out now and has a top-notch producer backing him in Exile. We had a chance to sit down with the Panamanian musician and chop it up about his first musical endeavor Emanon, the production squad behind “I Need A Dollar” Truth & Soul, and more. Hit the skip for the transcript!

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The first episode of Entourage’s seventh season received mixed reviews. One thing the HBO hit show always does well: the Music. Tomorrow night, HBO viewers will rock to the future of Duck Down Music, most of them without even knowing it. Skyzoo’s critically acclaimed album The Salvation set the internet ablaze but got him little love beyond that. Now, things done changed. Catch the second episode of Entourage tomorrow night at 10:30 PM (EST) on HBO.

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The trailer for HBO’s smash hit Entourage has been floating around for a minute, so for those of you who haven’t seen it do check it out. By the looks of things, this may prove to be the most substantive and intense season of the show yet, although Doug Ellin does have a tendency towards the vanilla. Either way, viewership and production value will be high, and even if the season as a whole isn’t so great there’re always Ari Gold’s vulgar witticisms to fall back on.

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Here is a brand new video for Aloe Blacc’s single “I Need A Dollar”, the theme track HBO’s “How To Make It In America” (watch the first episode here).  For those of you who haven’t had a chance to catch “How To Make It In America”, the show follows two ambitious but broke entrepreneurs as they start a clothing line in New York City.  The show is best suited for those familiar (or want to be) with NYC subcultures.  The threading of music, fashion, art, and hustling minded people creates the vibe young, trendy New Yorkers strive to be a part of.

The video for “I Need A Dollar”, however, doesn’t emphasize this small dissection of NYC.  Instead, watching it makes me recollect the cold feeling filling your lungs and pinching your ears as you climb a set of crowded subway stairs.  Less attractive, but it’s a feeling I’m sure most New Yorkers are familiar with.

For those of you caught up with the show, hit the skip to see episode 8, the season finale.  For those unfamiliar, get up on HBO On Demand or check out Sidereel.

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We’ve seen a couple collaborations between Snoop and CuDi of late, the most recent of which (“I Do My Thing”) was produced by none other than Dr. Dre. All old school Snoop (and tree) lovers take notice: there’s a new toker in town.

CuDi’s making waves not only in the music world but also in the realm of television. He plays the bottle-popping, easy-going Domingo on HBO’s newest hit series How To Make It In America. CuDi’s character is peripheral (so far), but the show itself taps into hip hop culture in a big way: the two main characters were raised on hip hop in New York City, and now in their late 20′s and with little direction in life they team up to start a denim line called Crisp.

Hit the skip for new CuDi X Snoop, plus a full Mixtape Monday stuffed with goodies from all over the industry (including the very first single off Drake’s upcoming official album AND the first four episodes of How To Make It In America!).

Kid CuDi ft. Snoop Dogg – I Do My Thing [prod. Dr. Dre] [prod. Watts & Ringo]

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Little Brother – Curtain Call

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Drake – Over [prod. Boi-1da]

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