I’ve been offered an opportunity that I never could have imagined.
 
I’ve been selected along with Brainfeeder artist Ras G to travel to the african nation of Uganda to teach a youth program about hip-hop and record a project with Ugandan rap artists.
 
The project was conceived and developed by LA hip-hop non-profit organization J.U.I.C.E. and has been partially funded by a grant from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
 
The grant, however, calls for matching funds. This means that they fund half of the overall budget for the project with the responsibility of the other half being on us.
 
We began with a fundraising goal of $7,000. At the moment we’ve generated $1,200. We still have quite a bit of ground to cover.
 
We need any help that you could provide. 1 dollar, 5 dollars, 1,000 dollars. Each and every bit of assistance we get will help this once in a lifetime opportunity come to pass.
 
The song we’ve presented here is just an exercise in Ras and I putting something down. Its raps I wrote to a beat of his that I liked. We did this very quickly and I think it came out great. Whats in front of us tho, is the opportunity to visit another culture and and have experiences that could change our lives and help us make a project that could be a landmark in both of our careers.
 
Please help us and donate here:
 
http://www.stayclassy.org/events/juice-intl-hip-hop-artist-exchange-agya-uganda/e8079
 
Open Mike Eagle

Portland’s Taco Neck, producer of ‘Why Pianos Break’ from Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes, re-imagines ‘RPR’ as a dream sequence.

 
Gotta say I like this smoothed out version more than the squelchy original.
 
DOWNLOAD: Open Mike Eagle – Rent Party Revolution (Taco Neck Remix)

 

My album “Rappers will Die of Natural Causes.” was released last summer on Hellfyre Club Records.
 
The entire record is a treatise on perception and black male identity.
 
Hopefully I wont have to answer that question in interviews anymore.
 
The above sentence is the single most pretentious thing I’ve ever written that I actually meant.
 
The sentence above this one proves that within five sentences I can go completely off-topic.
 
The album moves in the same sort of manner. The title track sticks to the thesis in a straightforward manner (twice.) but in exploring the topic I end up touching on everything from Weezer, to NBC’s Community, to the order in which I select dishes to wash.*
 
*silverware, cups, bowls, plates, pots/pans for those keeping score.
 
I have so much to say on the subject that I’ve chosen to expand some of the material into a series of standalone EPs. Four to be exact. Each one anchored by a remix of the song on the album that inspired it.
 
The first in the series is the Extended Nightmares Getdown: The Dark Blue Door
 
1. Nightmares (Busdriver Remix)
2. Billy’s Quagmire (prod. Blockhead)
3. Four Days feat. Serengeti (prod. Busdriver)
4. The Secret to Negro Alchemy (prod. N/A)
5. Experimental Dream FLCL (prod. Awkward)
 
This EP can be obtained for zero american dollars for you and you only at the following link:
 
http://www.mediafire.com/?23919457eb59vh5
 
This first EP is a group of songs that were written by my shadow self. They all feel like the darkest part of happy. They are cotton candy monsters that smell like night-time. The prevailing themes are reminiscence, anime, and my grandmother’s ghost.

We’re still a few months away from the year closing out, but we all know the 4th Q is usually for big names, big labels and even bigger releases. This list is about 10 rappers who have been grindin’ for years. True lyricists who each put in work year in year out and still seem to lack the appreciation they rightfully deserve.  This isn’t an all-time list, it’s just a group of 10 rappers I feel are currently underrated, unappreciated and warrant the recognition.

Hip-Hop has  been good to us these past years. With the emergence of Big K.R.I.T., Danny Brown, Freddie Gibbs, French Montana, Action Bronson, Tyler The Creator, Fashawn, Pill, Mr. Muthafuckin’ Exquire, Blu, Elzhi, G-Side, ASAP Rocky, Curren$y & Roc Marciano just to name a few, we’ve had to double up on our hard drive space.

There are always going to be rappers with strong co-signs, better geographical residency or those who lean on friends and favors for that mass appeal. I wanted to put together a list of 10 active emcees that all deserve your attention and in my opinion are truly underrated.

So without further ado, here are my 10 Most Underrated Emcees of 2011.

10. Turf Talk

Point blank, one of the sickest rappers to come from the Leftcoast since Ras Kass. Download the new mixtape Return of The Jedi here.

9.  Phonte

Some people have dismissed Little Brother, but in doing so they dismissed Phonte. Bad move holmes. Phonte continues to find his zone as he is entering his prime. He recently released Charity Starts At Home and the stellar “The Good Fight“ is just a taste of what you’re missing.

8. Tragedy Khadafi

The man didn’t get the props as Intelligent Hoodlum and in 2011 he still doesn’t command the respect as Tragedy Khadafi. This is the man who gave us Grand Groove , made The War Report classic. If you ask me he is just as responsible for putting QB on the map as MC Shan or Nas. Tragedy hasn’t lost a step and before its over people will realize just how great a lyricist he really is.

7. Open Mike Eagle

I could write a bunch of shit to sell you on why Mike is so underrated or I can just post these two videos.

Nightmares

6. Meyhem Lauren

While his partner (Action Bronson) has been making plenty of noise of his own, this Queens native has been winning over the internet one blog post at a time.

Animal Science (Crossroads) feat. Roc Marciano

5. Shad

Had Shad lived in the Tri-State he’d have a much larger presence. Unfortunately he isn’t down with Lil Wayne, so this Canadian rapper by way of Kenya will have to continue making dope tracks to win the U.S. over, one state at a time.

Yaa I Get It (Oddisee Remix)

4. Sean Price

We’ve been waiting on Mic Tyson to drop for years now. It was suppose to drop before the real Tyson even became an actor. By the time this album sees the light Iron Mike will probably be on Inside The Actors Studio discussing his accomplished film career. There aren’t many emcees as honest and entertaining as P, but I think I speak for everyone–DROP THE ALBUM already!

Figure Four

3. K-Rino

There may not be a rapper as hard working, consistent and equally as talented as K-Rino. He is truly hip-hop’s best kept secret and has been for years.

2. Slug (of Atmosphere)

Slug is no stranger to the game and while he’s been doing this for almost a few decades now, he’s finally breaking into new territory. Whether it’s a KRS-One & Buckshot collabo, a  Bun B shout-out or Joe Budden personally courting for him to get on his new album, Slug is reminding people why he is one of the best story tellers in the game.

Atmosphere – Beware

1. Black Thought

As far as I’m concerned, until the day he retires Black Thought will always be #1 on this list. He hasn’t spit a weak verse in forever. He continues to get better with age and he pretty much eats up every guest spot ever given to him. Black Thought is the epitome of a rapper’s rapper. He is without a doubt the most underrated emcee of this year, last year and forever.

Men @ Work (Live)

or

For those not in the know…

Just go get this album. It’s great.

via TSS

PREVIEW/PURCHASE VIA BOOMKAT:

Read full review of Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes – OPEN MIKE EAGLE on Boomkat.com ©

I had fun making this single art the first time I did it. I had less fun doing the MS Paint correction.

I had fun making this song because Taco Neck is a sick producer and P.O.S. makes the great raps.

Some things are free. Some things are streamable. This thing is both.

via Mike’s tumblr. New album Rappers Will Die Of Natural Causes coming June 14th

Download

I’ve kinda semi-slept on Mike – I generally like the music I’ve heard from him, but never really properly dug into it. It’s probably about time I did so, this song is great. The combination of wit with a super relaxed flow really hits the spot. Mike comes off like that one friend everyone has who is beyond burnt out but is still somehow very smart and funny as hell, and I mean that as a 100% compliment.

Awesome cover too.

Open Mike Eagle-Nightmares by Hellfyre Club