New video: Pharoahe Monch feat. Styles P & Phonte - Black Hand Side

Just saw that one of the finest emcees of all time, Pharoahe Monch, had premiered a video for Black Hand Side which is one of the better tracks from his new album. If you havn't listened to W.A.R yet., then you're really missing out on one of the best albums this year...

Remember to check out Pete Rock and Smif-N-Wessun's joint album Monumental and Random Axe's long anticipated debut album later this month. You got to love Duck Down Records for blessing us all with releases that good.

New album: KRS-One & Bumpy Knuckles - Royalty Check

The teacher has just released another collaborative album, and this time it is along with producer and rapper Bumpy Knuckles. Personally I like this way better than any new KRS-One album I've heard in years. I don't know if it is because of Freddie's competetive verses that he has decided to step his game up a bit but damn, the teacher that I have always loved is back on this album with conscious lyrics, good rhymes and incredible mic presence.

This one came out of nowhere for me personally which could be because of the choice of label, and their odd decision to give this almost fuck all promotion anywhere. It is only a couple a months ago that he released the disappointing Godsville album with Showbiz so I guess this is all we can expect from him this year as I simply refuse to believe that he is going to put out the album with Premier this year too.

I don't think it'll get released as a phsycal album so if you want to show some love for the underground remember to download it on Itunes.

As a way of saying goodbye, you can read how this album came to fruition by clicking this word.

New album: Elzhi - Elmatic

I have never been big on Elzhi's music, as a matter of fact I have never given any of his albums a chance, but I decided to download this after having heard one of the singles. Not only is this a great tribute to one of the best albums of all time but it is also a great continuation with his own personal touch and remixes of the original beats. In other words it is not a complete rip off.

It has the exact same type of vivid imagenary and you can clearly hear how he has tried to capture the magic of Nas' rhymes of the original album so to speak.

Rare Big L interview + New album coming out

R.A. the Rugged Man posted this video on his Twitter-page yesterday. It's an interview from 1997 with Big L which he did during his European tour, I guess. Funny to hear how they actually took ratings in magazines serious back then cus nobody gives a flying fuck today.

They are putting out a new Big L album on May 31 with remastered tracks from the Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous and The Big picture recording sessions, tracks that didn't make the final cut back then (+ some freestyles). Considering how dope those two albums were, it can only be hot stuff.

Just Blaze on the technology of music

I found this video on a danish hip hop producer's blog and thought it was interesting. Everyone is so busy saying that they keep it real these days and if you're one of those, this video will definitely convince you that nothing is exactly "real" anyway.

New track: Proof feat. T3 of Slum Village - The Fizzo (prod. by J Dilla)

Detroit legend Proof passed away five years ago after having been shot in the face. Paul Rosenberg, manager of Eminem, started releasing old tracks he and J Dilla made together in the 90's, and a track called "The Fizzo" from 1994 is his contribution to the legacy of Proof this year. I think all the songs come from cassette tapes so the quality aint all that (+ they've been uploaded to Youtube which affects the quality too). Below is also the track (On the go) that Paul leaked last year.

The Fizzo feat. T3 of Slum Village


On the go


Remember to check out this track too. It's a solo track he recorded and released for the first time in 1996 when he was a member of the group 5 Elementz. It later appeared on the group's one and only album called The Album Time Forgot. Produced by Dilla:

Searchin'


Rest in peace, Big Proof!

New album: Spanish Jose - Zemental Vol. 1

I just heard about this instrumental album (the sequel is coming out in May) and thought that I should spread the word. The duo consists of two guys from New York who are trying to get their name out so as the true hip hop fan that I hope you are, please give them a chance to prove their worth to you. If you wanna stay in touch with them then follow them on Twitter.

I'd classify the sound as soul inspired hip hop with a bit of rock.

The great adventures of Slick Rick

I've had this in my collection for a long but only recently given it a proper second listen which I now realize I should have done a lot earlier. Honestly, this is one of the most charismatic albums there has ever been released. Every single song is "story telling" and tells a story about something he has witnessed (quite a few are probably fiction) in such a humouristic way.
I think Jay-Z said in his book that Slick Rick was a master of expressing feelings that he couldn't name so he kindda made funny stories and let the story itself reflect how he felt at the time (the ending of Children's Story is a prime example of that).

When it comes to studying the art of telling stories through rap, this album is the blueprint. You can clearly hear how someone like Eminem was influenced by this album if you listen to a song like Brain Damage.

The production is quite boring although I gotta say that I love the old school sound on some of the tracks (mostly Teenage Love).

New album: Apollo Brown - Clouds

I learned about Apollo Brown last year when I heard The Left's debut album called Gask Mask. Every single beat on that album goes hard and is definitely one of the most interesting projects I have heard in years. It has such an insane feel of the 90's and was rightfully amongst DJ Premier's favourite albums last year.

This year he has decided to put out an instrumental album called The Clouds, and it is absolutely crazy stuff here. Same sound as the Gask Mask which means tons of beautiful beats with a shit load of vocal samples from other genres such as Jazz.

Talking of Apollo Brown, he acutally had a beat on D12's most recent mixtape so I guess it is only a matter of time before he really blows up.

Without a doubt the most exiting young producer at the moment.

Online hip hop "library"

I found this blog a couple of days ago and thought I'd share with you all. I love the history of the whole genre, and I think people should show some respect for legends such as Kool g rap and Rakim and unsung heroes such as Jeru the damaja and Brother J who helped shape the music.

I think the owner of the blog tries to update it regularly with new artists and albums so there's something for everyone.

A video about the misinterpretation of hip hop music

A guy from England made this video. Thought I'd share with you.