Benz and a Backpack

Cole world is back, er’body! J.Cole is coming off his first Grammy nomination for, “Cole World: The Sideline Story”, in the, “Best New Artist”, category. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that, that nomination will be the first of many more coming in J.Coles scintillating future in music. And what better way to keep the good vibes rolling, than to release new music for your hungry, and rapidly expanding, fan base.

I’ve noticed a new trend (no pun intended) on twitter with many rappers: It’s the idea that once an artist has reached a certain amount of followers they will release a new project or something exciting for their fans to get behind and support, as a token of the artists appreciation of their followers adoration. J.Cole recently hit 2 millions followers on his twitter account and decided, as a way to say “thanks”, that he would release his newest song, “Grew Up Fast”, produced by, Canei Finch. Canei Finch digs through the crates for this one and chops up a classic from the late 60′s for J.Cole to flex on. Sip on the silky smooth, David Ruffin, sampled track, “The Double Cross”, below, and hit the skip to stream, “Grew Up Fast”, and find the link to download after the jump!

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Chicago-bred rapper/producer Omen is featured on my favorite track off  J. Cole’s  Any Given Sunday series so I was not surprised to see his mixtape getting some serious love today. For the most part, Afraid of Heights deals with the difficulties of making your passion a top priority. On “Answers” he takes on the enemy in the mirror and then on “Liberation”  he finds inner strength, rising above his uncertainty to announce “I do it for the dreamers.” Now, I’m just gonna be straight up: this dude is nice (and can fly; see artwork above). Not convinced? To sweeten the pot he got Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole as features. Omen also produced the entire mixtape himself, an impressive feat on it’s own, and if you listen carefully you’ll even notice a nod at Kanye, the self-proclaimed king of emcee/producing.

Hit the skip for the link, tracklist, the jaunt with Kendrick, and a video of Omen performing on his Fender Rhodes.

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I must admit, we’ve been a little deficient in repping the Benz component of Benz and a Backpack over the last several months. In an effort to rectify things, here’s Beyonce’s newest video for “Party” featuring J. Cole. In addition to looking absolutely great (she must have front loaded shooting her videos before or during the first couple months of her pregnancy), B does a great job establishing a contrasting aesthetic between high fashion and trailer park life. Cole spits flames, per usual, and dammit if life were as simple as this. Let’s pick up and move to a trailer park!

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It seems like everyone is either looking for or getting into some kind of trouble lately (but let’s be honest– the people causing the most trouble right now are the Pats’ two tight ends). Here Bei Maejor and J. Cole unleash the video for “Trouble,” a radio-friendly song in the vein of Cole’s smooth collaboration with Miguel last year. “Trouble” won’t have nearly the same staying power as “All I Want Is You,” but it’s sure to do at least moderately well for a little while. Is Cole heating up, or cooling down?

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Since Cole has been getting seemingly infinite love from the blogosphere (and some very well-tempered criticism too), I’ve been somewhat opposed to giving Cole shine on this site. To be perfectly honest, it’s been difficult to watch Cole’s progression from little-known emcee to on-the-cusp-but-not-quite-ready-but-maybe-soon-if-HOV-lets-me star. He began his career with two surprisingly impressive mixtapes that at times showcased lyrical brilliance and the elusive ability to convey complex raw emotions through a track. Though I’ve listened to almost everything he’s dropped since The Warm Up, I’ve been disappointed by a lot of it because I had my expectations set so high.

I can only hope Cole really brings it on Cole World, because at this point I’m not very confident in his ability to crossover or Jay’s ability to manage one of Roc Nation’s most talented artists. Thoughts on Cole, and the “Work Out” video?

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Alex Haldi and Bestest Asbestos present the final official single from the Official Glorification Of Gangster Soundtrack. Here is “The Heist” from Jon Connor, produced by Elite. “The Glorification of Gangster” is a multimedia installation that Alex Haldi is putting on tomorrow (May 12th) from 7-11PM at The World Monuments Fund Gallery located at 15 East 27th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues.

Alex Haldi has worked as an art director and designer to help develop some of the biggest names in music including Jay-Z, Rihanna, Ludacris, Big Boi (Outkast), Wu Tang, and J. Cole. Having spent the majority of his career in the hip hop industry, Alex became astutely aware of the violence and machismo that defined ‘gangster’ rap. The fascination with the theme of organized crime was not only limited to the music industry; cultures, religions and even cartoons from all over the world are captivated with the gangster life.

In the exhibition, Alex explores this cultural obsession with visual art, original music and installation. The show will include live performances and an accompanying Soundtrack of original work, remixes and classic covers. Featured performers and contributors include J.Cole, Kris Kasanova, Elite, Jon Connor, Netherfriends, lowercaseletters, Loyal Divide and many more.

Jon Connor – The Heist [prod. Elite] by BenzAndABackpack6

Download: Jon Connor – The Heist [prod. Elite]

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Earlier tonight Roc Nation signee J. Cole dropped “Disgusting,” the newest track from his now confirmed summer album Cole World. On “Disgusting” Cole displays both his versatility and well-roundedness: he sings a catchy pre-chorus, spits a grimey KanYe-esque chorus, laces quotables throughout both verses, and (the cherry on top) he produced the cut too! Propelled by an active bassline and hand claps that alternate every eight bars, “Disgusting” is a fine precursor to Cole World.

J. Cole- Disgusting (prod. by J. Cole) by TheRapUp

Download: J. Cole – Disgusting [prod. J. Cole]

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Dreamville Records released the video for J. Cole’s smash single “In The Morning,” which features Drake on the second verse and chorus. If you’re like me, you’ll have a lukewarm response to the visuals, a hot and bothered reaction to Cole’s female counterpart, and an intense nostalgia for the original, no-Drake version of “In The Morning.” Without a doubt Drake’s appearance on the track was a commercially-motivated move, but the thematic through-line in Cole’s original three verses is so much more powerful and evocative than the track in its current form.

J. Cole – In The Morning (Original) by BenzAndABackpack6

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If you’re a fan of J. Cole then you’re a fan of Elite, even if you don’t know it yet. This New York City-based producer has been with Cole since The Come Up (and the story of how Elite and Cole met is truly a testament to the technological wonders of our time). Between being an in-house at Ruff Ryders and working with Cole from the ground up, Elite has a wealth of experience and knowledge to draw upon. We caught up to chat about self-reflection, compression, and the value of making educated decisions. With stellar collaborations and his solo debut album in the works, Elite is poised to make waves big enough for his whole team to surf on. Hit the skip for the full interview. Shouts to Shawn!

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Elite: “I feel like you can tell somebody’s musical tastes just by listening to them. Artists that have good musical tastes are usually good. Well, it’s hard to say ‘good,’ because it’s all opinion, but I feel like if you’ve only listened to a small selection of artists in your life you don’t have as broad of a palette; you don’t have as many colors to draw with. The more you know and listen to, the better your music is going to be.”

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These were the free releases that stayed in our collective rotation the longest. 2010 was kind to many artists for wholly different reasons: Apollo’s knocking on the proverbial door, DZA’s got his foot in it, Freddie’s got the door halfway open, Cole’s got it open all the way, Das Racist is opening several doors at once, and Wiz is about to tear the door of its facken hinges. Enough with the door metaphors, hit the skip already!

Honorable Mention: Nipsey Hussle – The Marathon

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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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Juan Deuce #2 through Roc Marciano, with representatives from the DMV, Detroit, and T Dot. Includes R&B crooner Miguel, a re-established Lloyd Banks, plus Johnny Blaze, Tony Starks, and Lex Diamonds.

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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