Check It ... "MILF & Cookies" Black EL

I caught this track from the good folks over at Potholes In My Blog. It's fresh, dope and funny. Check it out! Enjoy!

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What I'm Watching ... Bilal "Think It Over" (Acoustic)

I caught this joint earlier over at Rappers I Know and retweeted it a few times. I decided to finally post it up, just in case folks missed those tweets (or aren't on twitter). I want everyone to enjoy this acoustic version of Bilal's "Think It Over" off his upcoming album, "Airtight’s Revenge" dropping in September. Enjoy the smooth sound of Bilal.



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Interview with Rainey "Skates" Cruz from The Rat Collective

I met Rainey at the 2nd annual Toast N Flow show held last month in Danbury, CT. He was selling a table full of the same hats pictured here and it quickly caught my interest. Finally caught up with the busy man to find out more about the hats and about The Rat Collective. Check it out.

The Mad Bloggers: Tell me about The Rat Collective.

Rainey "Skates" Cruz: Well, The Rat Collective is a skateboarding initiative that delivers skateboard goods to underprivileged skaters in The Dominican Republic.



TMB: How was The Rat Collective born?

Rainey: It all started when I was re-visiting my family and the island (after a 15+ year hiatus) 3 years ago. I was just getting into skateboarding and I had decided to take my deck with me on the trip. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I made on the entire trip! The board (and skating in my village) became a magnet for so many kids and new friends. It was pretty amazing to see how interested other people were and how much we all started to share while "learning" to skate. That's what inspired me... I just said to myself "Wow, here I am, from the U.S. with access to so many things that the kids out here don't have access to. Let me start bringing some more stuff!" And so my second trip out, I wound up taking 3 decks with me. Then more, until eventually I just started shipping goods out to my friends to continue fueling their interest.

TMB: How did you come up with the name The Rat Collective?

Rainey: The name Rat Collective just derives from the initiative and skating. I thought Rat because sometimes skaters are called "skate rats" because they just run around so much and get into all kinds of underground things and adventures. Then I thought Collective because this is much more than just one person skating, its about groups coming together to share in a passion for skating. And it involves everyone's effort, from me finding goods, to people donating, to my friends out there receiving and distributing.

TMB: Who's involved with The Rat Collective?

Rainey: Initially the Rat Collective was just my solo effort, but recently it's gotten so much attention among my circle of close friends. Now I have a couple of close friends here helping me with a lot of the logistics and planning. They want to see this get bigger and reach more kids!

TMB: How long have you been doing it?

Rainey: The Rat Collective has officially been around for 2 years now. Since March of 2009.

TMB: How can they reach you if they have any questions or would like to find out more about The Rat Collective?

Rainey: They can check out our blog at theratcollective.blogspot.com or hit me direct theratcollective@gmail.com We're also on Twitter @ratcollective.




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Download ... Mr. Ivory Snow - "Till Death Do Us Part (Memoirs Of A Genius)"

Fresh from Connecticut comes a brand new artist from Conrizzles G5 Label, Mr. Ivory Snow with his second mixtape "Till Death Do Us Part (Memoirs Of A Genius)". This is a mixtape dedicated to his deceased DJ Genius & a special tribute to J. Dilla. This features beats from Mr. Ivory Snow, Conrizzle, Pat Preezy & J. Dilla.

Download Mixtape

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What I'm Watching ... Marco Polo & Ruste Juxx "Rearview"

You might just smack the shit out of someone at the end of this track. Enjoy.



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What I'm Watching ... Auto-Tune the News: BED INTRUDER SONG!!!

I know this dude is the latest 15 minutes of fame star on the internet and people are throwing together all kinds of mixes with this dude Antoine on there. I noticed Q talking about it for a few days and I had to see what the talk was all about. Hilarious. You can't make it up. Well, regardless, here's another version of Mr. Dodson's interview put into a song. Check it out.

After Antoine Dodson, a young hero from Huntsville, AL, saves his sister from an attack, he sings an important message both to his community and to the attacker himself. Evan Gregory then proceeds to play a heartfelt cover of the resulting song.

Follow the Gregory Brothers for more remixes/songifications:

http://www.youtube.com/autotunethenews
http://www.twitter.com/autotunethenews
http://www.facebook.com/gregorybrothers

Original Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua-OqYZC1DA

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True Wine Connoisseurs, Season 3, EP 1

New Sadat X and Will Tell's True Wine Connoisseurs. Enjoy.

Sadat X and Will Tell in the season 3 premier get a case sent to there place from First Drop Wines. Thank you to Matt "Gantos" Gant, John "JR" Retsas and Penny. We would also like to thank Sean and Blue Ribbon Wine bar NYC for having us. Big shoutout to Train of thought clothing co. for proving the gear as well.

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What I'm Watching ... @TheophilusL "Hey Wonderful"

I joined the party a little late but this dude is pretty dope. Enjoy the video for "Hey Wonderful."


Hey Wonderful - Theophilus London from Theophilus London on Vimeo.

theophiluslondon.net

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Download ... "Hood Stories The Remixes" @ScholarMan x @JonesyBeats

ScholarMan is quite the storyteller. Check out the new EP, "Hood Stories The Remixes." Those that have been following ScholarMan these tracks will be familiar, coming from his Hood Stories. Jonesy gives them a different feel but that strong storytelling of despair, struggle and reality remains. Go ahead and download it.

Shortly after ScholarMan and Jonesy released Distant Voices in 2009, Jonesy came up with the idea to remix all of the tracks from ScholarMan’s Hood Stories series and here is the final project. This EP features original lyrics from the first four tracks and a brand new fifth song to close out the collection.

www.soganicmusic.com
twitter.com/JonesyBeats
twitter.com/ScholarMan

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What I'm Watching ... Planet Asia - "Trouble featuring TriState"

Definitely been a fan of Planet Asia's work for sometime. This track, featuring TriState, is off his Black Belt Theater album. Check it.

Produced by Josh The Goon & Directed by 'V' for PyramidWest.

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What I'm Watching ... Prophetic "A Lil More"

It's funny that I just featured this track on Hip-Hop Breakfast and here is Prophetic hitting me via email 15 hours later with the visuals to this joint. The track is dope. The video is dope. Prophetic is dope. Enjoy.



umbrellasup.com

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What I'm Watching ... @magestiklegend "All Eye Know" Video (Teaser)

This track is so dope! I'm looking forward to the video. I don't usually post up teaser videos but this dude is dope and this track always hypes me up! Definitely excited for the full length video!



www.magestiklegend.com
magestiklegend.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/magestiklegend