Something from Zilla Shit Pt II, which is highly anticipated around these parts.
EDIT: Bringing this back up to add Soul Division’s chop.
DOWNLOAD: Zilla – Fuck You Mean Ft. Grille & J.I.G. (Prod By Bossman)
DOWNLOAD: Zilla Ft. Grille & J.I.G. – Fuck You Mean (C&S by Soul Division)
Zilla Ft. Grille & J.I.G. – Fuck You Mean (Chopped & Screwed by Soul Division) by Soul Division
via DGB and Codie G
So Habits & Contradictions leaked. I’m jumping around the tracklist now, went to the A$AP Rocky feature song because… well I just like Rocky. Q clearly has the superior skills between the two of them, which is just as evident here as it was on ‘Brand New Guy‘. But still, they do make a good pair on a track.
DOWNLOAD: ScHoolboy Q – Hands On The Wheel Ft. A$AP Rocky
The first single from iNDEED’s upcoming debut EP. Pretty much everything I like about these guys as a band is neatly showcased by what happens to the beat after the 2:42 mark.
DOWNLOAD: iNDEED – Black Tears (Prod. By DJ Burn One)
via DGB
New G-Side, one of the bonus tracks that is going to be included on the Japanese release of the iSLAND. This should’ve been on the US release too.
DOWNLOAD: G-Side – Trip (Prod By Parallel Thought)
G-Side Trip Prod By Parallel Thought Japan Island Release Exclusive by Codie Global
Thanks to Codie G
Award winning photo by Helen Pearson
New Lee Fields album coming March 13th. FUCK YEA
DOWNLOAD: Lee Fields – You’re The Kind Of Girl
You’re The Kind Of Girl by truthandsoulrecords
As I hoped, these guys put out a good straight forward rap album. Isaiah is a skilled rapper but doesn’t take himself too seriously, mostly he just sports a leveled non-pretentious attitude and a good sense of humor. He’s capable of being convincingly earnest too, when the song calls for it. Hovey’s beats take ques from all over without strongly favoring any particular style, the resulting fusion is not exactly novel but it does the job well and gives Isaiah a strong foundation to build on. The pair clearly have chemistry as a working duo, that helps too. And that’s pretty much all there is to it, just well executed fundamentals. That, and a serious case of champagne addiction.
DOWNLOAD: Isaiah & Hovey – Dr. Hovey & Isaiah the Gentleman (Free Album)
For the past week we’ve seen a bunch of people tackle this album. Writers these days take themselves way too seriously. That or they have these agendas in writing these reviews just to grab a few hits and if they’re lucky maybe a couple of RTs. I’m not a writer. I’m a simple man, I like my beans and rice. We live in a world that is quite simple if you ask me. It’s black, it’s white. It’s good, it’s bad. It’s hot, it’s cold. It’s yes or no. These definitive answers shape who we are.
There is no need to string together a wordy review that only serves as self-indulgent drivel just to deliver one adjective in describing Undun.
We’ve been spoiled for practically two decades now with progression, not regression from The Roots crew. We want Malik B. We miss Len Hub. We want more N.T. collabos. We want more Black Thought verses. We want lengthier tracks and albums; [insert Elaine] yada yada yada.
Quelle Chris’ Shotgun & Sleek Rifle didn’t disappoint. The album fulfills all the basic requirements for a good rap record (writing, delivery, personality, production, cohesion in sound and style, tasteful well-chosen features, etc), then ups the ante with some creative song structures/arrangements and beats featuring slick subtle nods to Detroit’s lauded rock and soul heritage. The result stands strong alongside other similarly minded ‘one foot in the backpack one foot in the future’ albums/mixtapes from this year… think Lost In Translation, Black & Brown EP, MacheteVision. Sometimes it even surpasses them.
This track, which I think was co-produced by Quelle himself and DJ House Shoes, is one of my favorites so far.
DOWNLOAD: Quelle Chris – MFTO
You can preview more tracks and buy the album HERE
If you like rap and have a pulse, you’ll recognize what’s going on here exactly 42 seconds after you hit play (maybe sooner if you’re an advanced rap nerd). The twist is that K-Def didn’t actually use any samples here, he played/interpolated everything himself. Which I guess in a way makes this more of a jazz cover than a traditional instrumental hiphop beat.
The track is taken from K-Def’s upcoming Night Shift album, out this December on Redefinition Records.
DOWNLOAD: K-Def – Supa Heath (LP Version)
K-Def – Supa Heath (LP Version) by Redefinition Records
Stream via Redefinition Records, DL link via DJPremiereBlog
Really looking forward to Volume 5, considering how Ahyve has improved steadily since I first found Volume 2.
