So, this project is dope. It's been in my inbox since June 22. That's my bad. Sometimes I wish I just had more time to check out dope music.
Anyway ... "The Build" from Premonition, with Willie Green as the executive producer is a solid listen from beginning to end. At 12 tracks this joint is perfect! One of my favorite cuts is "Wait" (approaching that age when I start to self reflect...)
And really that's what this project is about, as Prem explains in his press release, “It represents the progression of a young artist. The Build is a metaphor for the struggle of the artistic process, taking the good with the bad, which comes together to give you progress.”
With production from Willie Green, KO Beatz, Spills and Premonition, "The Build" is definitely worth the listen. Check it out!
Theo Martins is a cool dude. His music is dope. Check the new track!
The year is 1931. Persistent rumors of a tentacled sea monster attacking ships in the Pacific Ocean have created fear amongst sailors, disrupting the shipping lanes and slowing trade. Captain Theo Martins and his assistant board their vessel and make their way to the deep blue sea to find out what is really going on.
After months scouring the vast ocean, the monster strikes, ramming the naval frigate. The ship’s hull is destroyed and Captain Theo is thrown overboard. He drifts in the ocean, eventually finding a strange-looking metal vessel, and realizes the “monster” is a man-made “submerging boat,” that has been deserted.
Blown far off course, Theo enters uncharted territory. In this new land there’s a great cave, and inside it lies “The Feather,” a treasure guarded by a great nest of giant squid for the last two centuries. If used improperly “The Feather” could harm millions.
As he nears the cave, a squid attacks, and he’s caught in its tentacles. Ned, having escaped from captivity in the struggle, jumps to Theo’s rescue and saves his captor’s life. Theo takes hold of “The Feather” and intends to share his gem of the sea with the world.
Check the homie OnCue's freestyle for DJBooth.net.
The 189th entry in our DJBooth.net Freestyle Series comes courtesy of OnCue, the Connecticut native who earned reader approval for mixtape cuts Friends and Crashing Down. On his brand new, exclusive If I Could Feel freestyle, the AtWork Management rapper flows over a Chris Webber-produced instrumental originally featured on Nas’ Surviving the Times. OnCue is currently preparing for the August release of his new, rock-themed street album, Mick Boogie, Terry Urban, Chris Truth & 2DBZ Present: Cuey Sings the Blues.
The artwork for Vandalyzm's new project Megatron Majorz/Redux hit the net earlier today and then this track. MP (The Mad Bloggers Weekly Podcast DJ) put me on to dude a few months back. I dig his music. I dig this new joint too. I'm looking forward to the new project. Shout to TSS for the link.
Melissa is like family. I'm excited about her new project. I had intended on attending this release party but because of politics at the 9-5 that wasn't possible. I'm wishing her well and will be bringing you music from the upcoming project.
You already know that the Revolutions Per Minute album is dope as hell. If you don't, then fix that issue. Check out this video that is speaking on the issues of the oil industry and the oil spill that we Americans are now dealing with. Pretty dope visuals to go with the lyrics Talib is spitting.
O and I were there last year when J. Period took the stage for what we thought would be a normal DJ set. We figured he'd spin a couple of records and get the crowd hyped. He did more than that as he bought out a gang of guest artists. Apparently it's J. Period's thing to get the crowd hyped with special guest at BHF. He's on the bill again this year and he's got a few surprises in store! I'm excited to see who will be rocking with J. Period this year. Chea!
Brooklyn Bodega & Mixtape King J.Period (MTV Top DJs / Official DJ Hero™) are pleased to announce another exciting edition of theJ.PERIOD LIVE MIXTAPE—an electrifying 30-minute DJ set featuring a TOP SECRET LINE-UP OF HIP HOP LEGENDS – live onstage for the 5th consecutive year at BROOKLYN HIP HOP FESTIVAL (SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2010)!
The “J.Period Live Mixtape” brings the excitement of a J.Period mixtape to the stage – LIVE! – and has become notorious for igniting the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival crowd into a frenzy year after year! Previous “J.Period Live Mixtape” surprise guests have included: Black Thought, Brand Nubian, Crooklyn Dodgers (Special Ed, Masta Ace + Buckshot), EPMD, Smif'n'Wessun, Chubb Rock, O.C., Crazy Legs (Rock Steady Crew) & more...
Fans never know who will take the stage next - some guests are planned and some are completely impromptu - but the result is always one of the highlights of the Festival. When Black Thought took the stage for the finale of 2009's Live Mixtape, the roar of the crowd was deafening... and his freestyle over “Brooklyn Go Hard” was unforgettable.
This year, J.Period has assembled another all-star cast of hip hop legends guaranteed to bring BHF fans to their feet...but the secret is under wraps until showtime!!! Hints? One guest will pay tribute to a fallen comrade... One guest will keep the Native Tongues alive... One guest will illustrate how a real MC controls the crowd... And the grand finale...? We ain’t sayin nothin. Any guesses?
Join Brooklyn Bodega, Saturday July 10, under the bridge in DUMBO Brooklyn, for an amazing lineup of hip hop, with headlining acts including: De La Soul, Boot Camp Clik, Money Makin Jam Boys and The “J.Period Live Mixtape.” It’s guaranteed to be another incredible year at Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival 2010... Don’t miss it!!!
Check the Black Thought "Brooklyn Go Hard" video from 2009
I've heard the full project. Yeah, it's good ... mellow, smooth and dope! Check the first single from "Time and Space" from the homie Lance Drummonds.
It’s been a very long time coming with this album and I have learned so much. But today marks a first. The video below was shot during “The Fly Experience Volume II” @ BlVD and kudos to Char Loro for lovehard productions, who MASSACRED the editing and footage of the live performance. Shoutout to my band who continues to amaze and entertain. Shoutout to my co-writer Old Money, who helps me take songs to a new level. And Shoutout to anyone who posts this song or video, tells a friend about it and gets the word out that Lance Drummonds is someone to watch out for! But without further delay, May I present to you, “The Opposite of No,” the first single off of my debut album, “Time and Space.” May it take you on a journey and bring smoothness into your atmosphere.
We find ourselves in July and it's been a pretty good year thus far musically. There's been a gang of outstanding tracks released so far. A lot of stuff flying under the radar too. I decided to put together a list of my top five, with a few honorable mentions. These are some tracks that have found themselves on repeat in the car, on my iPhone/iPod or at the house. These are jawns that I'm really digging. Disclaimer: This is my list, not the end all be all list for the top 5 joints of the year. Hit up the comments with your top five.
I hope you enjoy.
Tracklist
1. Kanye West Feat. Dwele - Power
2. Shad - Yaa I Get It
3. Signif x HAZ SOLO - Unleashed (BIG Beard mix)
4. Jay Mills, RaTheMc, Emperess - Trouble
5. Big Boi - Shutterbug
6. Eternia and MoSS (feat. Tiye Phoenix & Jean Grae) - The BBQ (remix)
7. Rob Roy - White Shoes
8. Theophilus London - I Want You (Marvin Gaye Cover)
9. GhostWridah (feat. Mayday) - Still Not Famous
10. Miguel (feat. J. Cole) - All I Want Is You
11. The Roots (feat. Monsters Of Folk) - Dear God 2.0
Check my thought process and ranking ...
# 1 Power (Kanye West feat. Dwele) - The first time I heard Kanye's "Power", I thought two things, 1) He took the buzz from all of the Drake leaks and 2) Kanye is still a problem musically. I was almost late to work over this track when it dropped. I had just downloaded and ripped a copy to my iPod before I left the house and was sitting in the parking lot at work blasting it! I looked down at the clock and realized what time it was, let the track ride out to the end and punched in 6 minutes late. Good ass job, Kanye (pun intended).
# 2 Dear God 2.0 (The Roots feat. Monsters of Folk) - "How I Got Over" is one of the strongest albums released this year. But since folks don't support good music, the numbers won't support that claim. I know it though, in my heart, how strong this album is. "Dear God 2.0" supports my claim at the album's strength. Black Thought goes off on this track ... "They said he's busy hold the line please, call me crazy I thought maybe he could mind read ..." The sample is tough and Thought delivers lyrically.
# 3 Yaa I Get It (Shad) - The first time I heard this track is was via Shad's teaser video for the track. I usually hate video teasers for tracks. But this was serious. The beat hit and Shad rips through the first few lines, "Maybe I'm not big cause I don't blog or twitter ... dog I'm bitter..." and then he just lays into it on this track. A lot of folks sleep on the homie from north of the border but lyrically Shad is a beast. The dude is talented and his latest offering "TSOL" shows it.
# 4 Shutterbug (Big Boi) - This track is serious. The first time I heard it, I visualized what the video would look like. A few weeks later when the video dropped, it was basically what I had seen, give or take. Big Boi provides that ride slow in your Caddy music. After hearing "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty" sans the Gucci track , I guess it's time to get a Cadillac for sure so I can dig the music appropriately.
# 5 The BBQ Remix (Eternia & MoSS feat. Tiye Phoenix and Jean Grae) - I like both versions of this track but for me it's Jean Grae who makes me favor this track more. Plus Eternia holds her own and Tiye Phoenix brings it. Both the original and remix get a lot of play but this one just a little bit more. By the way, Eternia & MoSS' "At Last" is a great album from front to back. Get that!
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)
All I Want Is You (Miguel feat. J. Cole) - The first time I heard "All I Want Is You" I was in the middle of finalizing the tracks for episode # 2 of the podcast and this track made me rework the whole thing. Miguel's vocals and J. Cole's verses sold me. This track is definitely a winner this year.
Trouble (Jay Mills, RaTheMc, Emperess) - The first time I heard this joint from Jay Mills, RaTheMc and Emperess (three fierce emcees who just happen to be women) it was basically acapella at a live show (I peeped the tape). It immediately became a favorite. It took me a few weeks to track down the mp3. When I finally did, I blasted it. I shared it. I supported it. I'm hoping for a remix to this track with a few more dope ladies. This track is definitely trouble.
I Want You (Theophilus London) - When I first heard Theophilus London's "I Want You", I immediately thought that the track was a solid winner. Sampling Marvin Gaye could either be good or bad (horrible if you can't deliver). Theophilus delivers and lets the track simmer (copyright Michael Jackson) in just the right places.
White Shoes (Rob Roy) - "White Shoes" is off of Rob Roy's "King Warrior Magician Lover", which is technically a track from last year however Rob Roy just released the project this year for free download. The full project is dope and "White Shoes" is one of my favorites off of it. "White shoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooes ..."
Unleashed (Signif) - "Unleashed" was on Signif's "Beautifly Flawed" project and released this year on "The Transition Remixes" produced by Haz Solo. The first time I heard the newly produced track was at 6:15 in the morning as I was getting ready for work and it was brought to me by some dope visuals from the homie Darren Cole's Alphabang Productions camp. Yeah, "Unleashed" gets a lot of play.
Still Not Famous (GhostWridah feat. Mayday) - Still Not Famous gets the wild card selection. A new track that just hit my inbox a few days ago but has been getting steady plays since. I definitely dig this track a lot from the Miami emcee with a little help from Mayday. GhostWridah's "In Love With My Future" project is filled with some pretty solid tracks.
