The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Connecticut: @BigStat

I first heard about Big Stat back in September '09. It was his "Don't Quit Your Dayjob" mixtape that caught my attention. At the time he was doing some shows throughout Connecticut and elsewhere and his mixtape was hosted by Redman. So, I checked him out. Dude is cool. He hasn't stopped working hard for his music in the months that I've been following him. I dig his sound. I shared his mixtape back then but now I'll share a few cuts off of it that are among my favorites. Enjoy!

Open Up My Eyes (Produced by Ralphie-O)


I Gave You Everything (Produced by Nachural)


Download: "Don't Quit Your Dayjob"
More info: WWW.BIGSTAT.BIZ

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Download ... @Ritchcraft presents "The Big Band Blueprint"

It's an interesting concept for sure. But I'm not going to say much and let this be one of those joints that I'll let you decide about. Enjoy.

"Halifax producer Ritchcraft, has recently compiled a mixtape featuring the smooth jazz samples from the big band era accompanied by the infectious flow from Jay-Z’ rap classic The Blueprint. The mixtape is titled The Big Band Blueprint, is hosted by Nico Roth, 4 Plae, and Fresh Kut Ave and features 13 tracks, including revamped classics like H to the Izzo & Heart of the City.

Ritchcraft has been involved in the East Coast music scene for close to 5 years. His production credits include working with local MC’s Quake & Kayo, along with a handful of others. His skill lies in his ability to create genre-bending tracks that separate him from his competition. Ritchcraft’s musical influences range from funk to disco to classic rock, there isn’t a style of music that this producer does not borrow from."

ritchcraft.bandcamp.com/album/the-big-band-blueprint-2

www.ritchcraft.bandcamp.com
www.myspace.com/ritchcraft

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TMB's Track of the Week 4/27/10: @TheLyricists "Come On"

I have been sitting on this track for a little while, not because I didn't want to share it but because I wanted to share it as the Track of the Week. The jawn comes from the Port Huron, Michigan (just east of Detroit) crew The Lyricists. It's off their upcoming "Constructicons Mixtape". Enjoy "Come On"

www.myspace.com/TheLyricists

Come On [Download]



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Check It ... Louwop ft Divine Brown "Stay Building"

Shoutout to the homie Chedo over at the thecomeupshow.com for hitting me up with this new joint from Louwop featuring Divine Brown "Stay Building". Enjoy!



www.louwop.com


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What I'm Watching ... G.o.D. Jewels "All Things 'Go"

I first got put on to G.o.D. Jewels by way of his management team. They were cool about the approach in introducing his music. I respected that, so I checked it. I dug it. That was a few months back. Now, G.o.D. is less than a week away from releasing his new project "Greatness Opens Doors". I've heard the advance and it's fresh.

Check the vid for his single, "All Things 'Go". Vid directed by noahCHRISTOFER. Enjoy.



www.godjewels.com
www.myspace.com/godjewelsmusic


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TMB's Weekly Podcast, Episode 5

Check it, another dope episode of The Mad Bloggers Show. Last week we took a break from a regular mix to bring you all Little Brother cuts. Now we're back with music from Adrift, Reflection Eternal, J-Live, Blu, Nametag, Kidz in The Hall, Shad and more. It's a solid episode. Enjoy.

Oh, and don't forget to subscribe, so you can get greatness delivered directly to your music playing devices each week. Thanks for the support!


TMB's Weekly Podcast - Episode 5, tracklist

01. Ridin - Fresh Cut Collective
02. Mixed Emotion - Bitches Is Crazy (B.I.C.)
03. BossCo.2 - Blu
04. Kirby's Airwalk - Theo Martins
05. Nothin (Remix) - Mayday
06. City Playgrounds - Reflection Eternal
07. The Product - Nametag
08. Wait - Soul Plasma
09. The Grizzly Man - Kidz In The Hall
10. Yaa I Get It - Shad
11. Asian Girl - Murs and 9th Wonder
12. Cheap Sunglasses - Apathy
13. The Way That I Rhyme - J-Live
14. DUN EZ - Adrift Da Belle

TMB Podcast # 5 [Download]



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Download ... @DJHyphen's "Sunday Night Sound Session, #256" (Guru Dedication)

Check out the latest episode of Sunday Night Sound Session with DJ Hyphen and J. Moore. They took to the airwaves on Sunday and dedicated their entire show to Guru. I dig Hyphen's intro to the episode. Enjoy some great music!

"Soon after posting up last week’s SNSS on the blog, I heard the unfortunate news that the legendary Guru passed away. While the circumstances surrounding his coma and battle with cancer have been strange, suspicious, and possibly manipulated by his business partner Solar, enough has already been written and gossiped about on that front. Unless some new information comes to light, I’m leaving all that to the parties involved.

What I will hold on to instead is the incredible amount of quality work that Guru left us, both as a part of Gang Starr and with his Jazzmatazz projects. No, he wasn’t the best MC bar for bar and people seemed to either love or hate the monotone voice, but his contribution to this music and culture is one that few rappers will ever equal. Guru didn’t just talk the talk in his rhymes: he was a living embodiment of hip-hop, both the positive and negative aspects (like all great artists). He wasn’t a perfect man, as some in the Seattle hip-hop community can personally attest to, but ultimately, I’ll remember him for his classic records and constant effort to promote positivity in his music.

There have been plenty of great tributes to Guru already, but we wanted to pay our respect by dedicating the entire SNSS episode to him this week. We had about 400 records we wanted to play, ranging from the early Gang Starr stuff to Jazzmatazz to guest spots and b-sides, but we just ran through them live and picked ‘em along with our listeners as we went. We also dropped in a few snippets from our last interview with Guru in 2007. Shout to the entire Elam family, the Gang Starr Foundation, and 7 Grand Records. Enjoy the music and RIP to Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal…"

Show #256 (4-25-10)
RIP Guru Tribute

1. Gang Starr – “You Know My Steez”
2. Gang Starr – “Who’s Gonna Take The Weight”
3. Gang Starr – “Ex Girl To The Next Girl”
4. Gang Starr – “Work”
5. Gang Starr – “The ? Remainz”
6. Gang Starr ft. Nice & Smooth – “DWYCK”
7. Gang Starr – “Step In The Arena”
8. Gang Starr – “Conspiracy”
9. Gang Starr ft. Inspectah Deck – “Above The Clouds”
10. Gang Starr – “Just To Get A Rep”
11. Gang Starr – “Soliloquy Of Chaos”
12. Gang Starr – “Mass Appeal”
13. Gang Starr – “Full Clip”
14. Gang Starr – “JFK 2 LAX”
15. Gang Starr – “Skills”
16. Gang Starr – “Manifest (Remix)”
17. Guru ft. Jay Dee & Bilal – “Certified”
18. **INTERVIEW WITH GURU (7-24-07) (SNIPPET) #01**
19. Gang Starr ft. Big Shug & Freddie Foxxx – “The Milita”
20. Gang Starr ft. K-Ci & JoJo – “Royalty”
21. Gang Starr – “Code Of The Streets (Kenny Dope Mix)”
22. **INTERVIEW WITH GURU (7-24-07) (SNIPPET) #02**
23. Gang Starr – “In Memory Of”

Link to download the mp3 of the show.
back up/streaming link
2nd back up

www.theaudacityofdope.com
twitter.com/djhyphen


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Check It ... P.Genz "Soul Clap"

This joint almost got overlooked in the inbox. Happy I listened. Check it.



www.myspace.com/pgenz

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Download ... @ScholarMan "Indomitable Will" mixtape

I caught the email last night and got the chance to check out the project today. Good stuff! ScholarMan is good people and his music is dope. Check out "Indomitable Will".

Mixed by the ill DJ Nominal, this mixtape features the lyrical talents of K-Mynez, TrueBless, Kats, SoloCypher, Lolo Life’, Chima Anya and BEveready. It also features guest producers Lagbara, Jonesy, X3M, Labmatik, Ardel Limbo, Overlor and Reign.

"Indomitable Will" [Click to Download]


Soganic Music
www.soganicmusic.com


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The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Connecticut: Pruven - "Destiny's Path"

Pruven, an MC I've gotten to see perform numerous times already, is a very humble and down to earth individual for someone towering at 6'2"+. His album, 1st Words: Earn Everything, released in January of this year gives you plenty of cuts with a few surprising features from Mr. Lif to Copywrite as well as his affiliates Cee Reed and Roc One, along with others. I chose this track titled "Destiny's Path" off that album because I was digging it as I was going through a bunch of Connecticut artists' music. Anyways, check it out. Hear for yourself...

Pruven - "Destiny's Path"


Pruven's MySpace
Pruven's Facebook

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The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Connecticut: Man-U-Ill

(Photo by Selfmathematiks PhotoGraphy)
At Toad's Place last week, I networked with a few artists trying to get their music out as they were set to perform for the state's radio station's contest. That's where I met a bunch of people from Man-U-Ill's camp that was representing him as he was unable to make the night's show. I have seen Man-U-Ill perform twice before. This would've been the third time. Dude got skill on the mic.

Continuing on with our Journey To Hip-Hop: Connecticut, I give you music from Danbury, CT's Man-U-Ill with a video of his off his upcoming "Who's Man-u-iLL Pt 2 (You Should Already Know".





Man-U-Ill's MySpace
Man-U-Ill's Twitter

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When She Speaks, You Listen: @LadyBlogga - "Music Breakers Nowadays: Is it still the DJ or has it become the Blogger?"

Music Breakers Nowadays: Is it still the DJ or has it become the Blogger?

The music that we get on mainstream radio was handpicked by some suits that run a record company. Who told them that’s what the people want to hear?? For years they’ve been giving us crap. Don’t get me wrong, they have let some gems out but for the most part, it’s garbage. These past few years especially, mainstream music for me, is on a rapid decline. This is why the underground/independent movement is detrimental to this here Hip-Hop game. It is music that gets created for the people and gets supported by the people. Yes, mainstream music gets supported by the people but only after continuous brainwash play on the radio. Sometimes, it feels as if you have no choice but to like it.

There used to be a time where the DJ at a club had the new tune in his crate. He would play a song, watch the crowd’s reaction and report back to the artist. Or, the artist would walk in and see how the crowd reacted to the tune. You knew if it was a banger based on that. DJs and artists still do that but now there are other influences. DJs are not true to the game and accept money and other bribes to break certain songs. Songs they know suck. I think that is a disservice to the people and they should have their turntables, I mean iPods revoked.

We don’t have to depend on those types of sellout mainstream DJs anymore. Underground DJs are still true to the game and there is a new force on the horizon...The Blogger. Blog sites and Internet radio are making and breaking underground artists. Bloggers and Internet radio shed light on artists who might not otherwise be heard. This is a big deal because blog sites and internet radio are read and heard WORLDWIDE!!! There are artists who look for certain bloggers to post their music because they have a huge following and their sense of music is keen. They will get a raw, honest opinion from blog readers as well as a real people perspective from the blogger.

There are some signed artists who don’t want their posts on blogs. That could be for various reasons. Either you don’t care what the public have to say because they know mainstream clown radio will play it anyway, or maybe you know the public will rip your wack shit to shreds or you know that the public will see right through your shenanigans and you will lose supporters rather than gain. *Take that. Take that.* #ShotsFIRED

At the end of the day artists, you should know that the public should be your top critic. DJs used to be a reliable source but some of them have become tainted and cater to the industry bullshit. Music companies will tell you whatever and turn an artist into anything they think will sell. Blog sites and internet radio is run by the people, for the people. I trust the word of the sites that I read and follow. We do it because we have a genuine love for it, definitely NOT because we get paid, which in my opinion, makes it a very credible opinion source.

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