Benz and a Backpack

This is really that shit. Hard at work over the past several months, Doss The Artist unleashes “Shapeshift The Whip,” a street anthem and the first single off his upcoming mixtape 9Lives. “Shapeshift The Whip” knocks harder than Guns N Roses and boasts a verse and grungy choruses from Doss’ fellow Detroit emcee Greenlee as well as production from the immensely talented producer Hir-O. Here’s the scoop, straight from the good homie glassran:

“Acknowledging the great response on Computer B!ue, Doss The Artist is proud to announce his forthcoming installation entitled 9Lives. A weekly release series starting this Friday, October 14^th, 9Livespromises to highlight all the glittering facets of the Doss The Artist sound. The first track in the series, “Shapeshift The Whip,” features Detroit-based emcee Greenlee, along with particularly robust production from Hir-O (The Voyage Home). It is a seriously entertaining and fun street anthem with potent but infectious rhymes. The series is nine tracks deep with one song to be released per week. It is a warm up to the upcoming LP from Doss The Artist, entitled 86 Miles Tall.”

Download: Doss The Artist – Shapeshift The Whip [prod. Hir-O] | Alternate Link

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While we are patiently waiting for The Kick, Red Pill‘s highly anticipated collaboration album with producer Hir-O, out of the sky falls the visual for this positively diabolical track. With both notching highly impressive debut releases, The Voyage Home and Please Tip Your Driver, the whole Midwest is chomping at the bit to see what happens when Optimus squares off with Megatron for a full length LP. This project is for those of you who are movie-goers (Inception) and feel like Hip Hop is lulling you into a despondent dreamphase with mediocrity and parity (Viacom). This is what you’ve been wishing on a star for. #IronSharpensIron

Red Pill – Don’t Turn Around (prod. Nameless) by BLATPack

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Easily one of the illest beats of all time, and the Blat! Pack homie FowL does it justice. If you didn’t cop Live From The D, make sure you grab it now. FowL’s animated, blunt flow will knock your socks off.

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Last week, Detroit emcee Haz Bey released his impressive debut effort The Haz EP, featuring top-notch production from the big homies Hir-O and ONRA. The Haz EP shows Haz’s lyrical dexterity, and he’s accompanied by talented wordsmiths Doss The Artist, L05, and Dom Sirius. Make sure you keep tabs on the Blat! Pack, because their potential is practically unlimited.

Download: Haz Bey – The Haz EP

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The homie Doss put me on to a fellow BLAT! Pack rhymer FowL, winner of the 2010 Red Bull National EmSee Battle (watch video of FowL’s cinematic victory here. He did it in front of The Alchemist, Mr. Porter, and Eminem to boot). FowL is a very accomplished battle rapper, but he’s honed his song-writing and album-design chops, as showcased by his very impressive tape Live From The D. Production credits include our good friend and the immensely talented Hir-O, the Madliberator, Black Milk, J. Rawls, and many more. Start with these cuts, then hit the skip and download Live From The D. Get at FowL on Facebook and Twitter.

FowL – Live From The D (Album) by BenzAndABackpack6
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As I went back through my iTunes, these are the albums I found myself listening to the most, and generally from top to bottom. You’ll notice KanYe’s album is missing from my list. While I absolutely love (and have dissected) a lot of the music from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, I find myself too often having to tune out the lyrics in order to focus on the music. As such, the album has very little replay value for me. By contrast, Doss & Hir-O (who recently got a nod from K-Nott) crafted, to me, one of the most sonically innovative and timely albums in recent memory. If you don’t already have Computer B!ue, make sure you grab it (for free) right here.

Honorable Mention: Freeway & Jake One – Stimulus Package (Rhymesayers)

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We’ve had these last couple best-of lists waiting in the wings for a while, but major events have gotten in the way of us finishing them up. Here they go, starting with Clutch’s Top 10 Albums, and if you haven’t heard some of these make sure you listen pronto.

10. Aloe Blacc – Good Things (Stones Throw)

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In case you haven’t been keeping up, here is the full compilation, with a track list and D/L after the jump. The artwork has all been from celebrated hip-hop photographer Mike Schreiber, who recently dropped a collection of his favorite hip-hop pictures called True Hip-Hop (available via Amazon.com). Each of his pictures captures some fundamental element of hip-hop: Biz’s playfulness, Nas’ cerebral disposition, Mos’ introverted artistry, Meth’s larger-than-life persona. The release of Mike’s anthology in 2010 is just one of the reasons it was such a wonderful year for hip-hop. Here’s to an even better 2011!

Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 5]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 4]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 3]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 2]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 1]
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If you ever get sick and tired of hearing sluggishly recycled or straight-up derivative lyrics, that’s when you should turn to DOOM (!), or better yet delve into the wonderful world of instrumental hip-hop. This year saw a handful of outrageously talented producers release insanely stimulating beat tapes. Many of them were offered up for free, but those that had a price were worth every dollar (and frankly, the free tapes are worth a pretty penny too). Hit the skip for my favorite instrumental albums of the year. And yes, they are just that: cohesive, fully-conceived albums.

6. Hexsagon – Charlie Parker Beat Tape (shouts to Potholes!)

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I get sentimental on New Years.

Dizzy and I started this thing in April 2009, not really realizing how much this site would become an extension, a narrative of our dealings with music.  It’s a running portfolio of every downloaded mixtape, bookmarked article, interviewed artist, attended concert, and DJ’ed show.  Most importantly, the content is inspired by our incredible group of friends who support us in moving this site forward.

2009 was erratic.  Inconsistent updates, theme changes every couple months, study abroad programs, and a general feeling of “how the fuck do we get this site off the ground” were the dominant themes.  2010 was our first full year, and we finally found our stride.  Believe it or not, there are now people who read this site, 20,000 unique a month strong, from all over the world. We’ve also amassed a team of contributors who help us fill in the holes, both in terms content and musical taste.  Praises are due for seanermc, Sheek Shah, miss a.k.w., Mr. Alexander, jonno, hankerins, chunkee, and ACB.  This squad brought elements to this site that Diz and I would have never been able to conjure up ourselves.  And yes, the main reason you don’t get a 404 error screen when coming here is shoms, our resident Dutchmaster.

As comfortable as we are now, 2011 is inevitably going to be a year of drastic change. You might only catch a couple posts a day on the homepage, but behind the scenes we are formulating something that is truly going to stand up to the heavy weights of the music publishing world, Mickey Ward style. The same way the blogging format is a reflection of our temporal college lives, the next reincarnation of Benz and a Backpack is going to represent the quality and professionalism that will be demanded of us in our coming careers. Every little thing we learn in the “real” world will be re-invested back into this site, and that makes me so excited for the future I have to remind myself I still have a diploma to earn.

We take the most pride in the content we have produced that is original, creative, and exclusive.  With that in mind, hit the skip for the top 10 posts of 2010 in chronological order.

P.S. – I think I was 4 for 5 on my top 5 things to look forward to in 2010.  The Wu album prediction was a little disappointing.

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Curren$y through Earl Sweatshirt, including newcomers Das Racist and Doss The Artist as well as seasoned vocalists Dwele and Marc Anthony.

Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 1]
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After teasing us with this trailer a couple weeks back, Detroit-based super(b)-producer Hir-O released his debut instrumental album The Voyage Home this morning. If you were on Hir-O and Doss The Artist’s top-notch album Computer Blue, you’ll recognize a couple of the cuts (“Headlock”, “I and I”, “Outer Blue”). After just one listen, what really stuck out about The Voyage Home was how musically progressive it is. You can hear Hir-O’s influences: he fuses Dilla’s rhythmic complexity with Pete Rock’s musicality, Madlib’s adventurousness with Ski’s knack for the groove. But there is not a shadow of a doubt about who is at the helm of this space-bound ship; Hir-O is deliberate, tasteful, and engaging throughout. Straight from his BandCamp, where you can get the album for free:

This album is both a literal and metaphorical allusion to my Voyage Home to Detroit after graduating from College. Creatively highlighted by my reconnection with the powerful cultural legacy that defines Detroit. This album is an anthology of audio that forms a gradient ranging from electronic inspired sounds-capes to that Real Live Detroit Sh*t.

The Voyage Home is a globe-trot through muddy electronic waters into the pit of Voltron’s chest cavity, transcending into a soul legacy of movement music for gator walkers and fitted-tippers.

The Voyage Home is an Audio Headlock, an Urban Phantasm, a Negro Shrine.

Following the success of The Tomorrow People, Doss The Artist’s Computer B!ue, and various efforts as a producer for the Michigan hip-hop collective BLAT Pack, Hir-O releases his debut instrumental album.

And after many pursuits of the truest measures, Hir-O makes The Voyage Home.

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