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Having released The Cause and Effect in 2006, Seattle emcee D. Black didn’t take leaps and bounds until his striking appearance on “God Like,” off of Jake One’s White Van Music. With the doors wide open, D. Black has returned to deliver Ali’Yah, a distinct conceptual album served up alongside a plate of passion and power.
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Kid Cudi made such immediate hype in hip-hop a little over a year ago with the release of his mixtape A Kid Called Cudi [download]. When he released the instant hit “Day ‘n Night,” Cudi’s hype further exploded. A firm protégée of Kanye West, Cudi has received the seal of approval from numerous artists in the hip-hop game and outside the game as well. Released on G.O.O.D Music, Man on the Moon: The End of Day far exceeds traditional hip-hop and throws itself into an alternative, yet, conceptual abstract of Kid Cudi’s life journey.
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At first glance, 21-year-old Tess Henley gives off a soft-spoken and shy persona, one that may even be classified as a naive innocence, however, the release of her debut album Easy To Love proves otherwise. Tess’ remarkable writing abilities and buttery vocals put this image to rest, as she reveals a compelling story about the trials and tribulations of love.
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As one half of Art of Fresh (website) (along side Slakah The Beatchild (myspace), the emcee, D.O. aka Duane Gibson (myspace), has accomplished quite a bit. After putting out a few solo EP’s, the Sarnia and Toronto bred MC was declared XXL’s “True Freestyle King” after he freestyled for 8 hours and 45 minutes consecutively, thus, setting a new Guinness World Record in the category. Defy the Odds claims the microphone with a strong presence alongside his Juno award winning, BBE Art of Fresh Producer (Slakah), but is truly no slouch when set aside to do his absolute own thing. His most recent project Stay Driven is already causing whispers among the international scene, and as the buzz of Slakah rises, so will the buzz of D.O- deservedly and vice versa. KevinNottingham.com’s eA had a chance to chat with D about the state of Canadian hip hop, Art of Fresh, real freestyling, and what is truly “fresh.” Check after the jump for the dope interview.
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Welcome to Bucktown U.S.A. is more than an album; it’s a living soundtrack to the streets of Brooklyn, NY. To any fan of the early Duck Down projects, ya’ll know that “Bucktown” was a staple in the terms slanged around in the gritty, rugged, raw lyricism of the various BCC Soldiers. As the first official release off of the Bucktown U.S.A Imprint, an umbrella of Duck Down Records, General Steele (of Smif-n-Wessun) rolls through fast and furiously to present an album loaded with that same raw, grimy feeling Duck Down fans got back in the mid 90’s. As usual, its shoot ‘em up, slap ‘em up, shake ‘em up, hip hop at its finest.
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At a time when music has been saturated with money and the heart of a lyric has been replaced by auto-tune, it couldn’t have been a better moment in time for Maxwell to reappear into the music scene. It’s been nearly a decade since Maxwell’s last album (Now) but by no means has the seasoned neo-soul veteran fallen flat. Maxwell returns with BLACKsummers’night, the darker installment of a 3-part series (blackSUMMERS’night and blacksummers’NIGHT in the works), only to re-introduce the world to his unforgettable sound.
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Straight out of left field, Freeway stunned us all with the announcement of a third album to be released in early 2009. He simultaneously captured our attention with The Month of Madness, a vigorous release of 32 consecutive songs. Free’s ambitious December 2008 project [of course we followed it, check it out here: Month of Madness] was pure heat and only perpetuated an excitement in the air for Philadelphia Freeway 2. Acting as a continuation of Freeway’s 2003 album Philadelphia Freeway, PF2, the post- Roc-A-Fella album released on Real Talk Ent, had fans reeking with anticipation.
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With the release of their fifth album, the Black Eyed Peas establish The E.N.D. of a musical era and propel their own music into an electronic space age. The E.ND. – Energy Never Dies – is nothing short of a goulash of a variety of genres with core roots in dance and electro funk.
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An everyday morning at work magically turned into this artist spotlight. After receiving a link in my drop-box (Thanks Drew!), I automatically fell in love with the sultry sounds, passion and soul of Liya. Having worked with recently spotlighted artists Ayah [read here] and Eternia [read here], she’s well versed in both the R&B scene and the hip-hop scene. After (very) recently dropping an EP, she’s generating a lot of curiosity and praise around the way. Although an unconventional interview format, thanks to Tanya at S4 Entertainment Inc., KevinNottingham.com is once again proud to present an up and coming artist, her name being Liya.
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Not even a disgustingly rainy night in Toronto could ‘rain’ on GZA’s parade – rather, I should say concert. GZA came through to the Phoenix April 3rd, bringing along JD Era and Beretta 9 (also known as Kinetic 9) to perform to a full house. Opening doors at 9, the audience slowly but surely filled the concert house juicing up in anticipation for the nights events. All of this was possible with the help of Jay of REMG. Big shouts Jay, thanks!
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Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Deenis Haysbert, Alfre Woodard
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
A twist on a classic love story about falling in love with your childhood best friend, Love and Basketball presents the conflicts between the love for the game of basketball and the love for another person. Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s first feature film, co-produced by Spike Lee, looks beyond the surface of a coming-of-age tale, and further explores a feminist view of the relations between women and the world of sport through the trials and tribulations her characters face.
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With West Coast heads still boppin’ to 2Pacalypse Now, Pac’s 1993 album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z hit the streets with his socially conscious views of the world. The album acts as a tool to juxtapose Tupac’s passion for life and the socio-political turmoil that radiated the surrounding L.A. communities.
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To understand K’naan’s music, it’s necessary to know his past. The Somali born, Toronto based rapper grew up on American hip-hop in a war-torn country with a violent, dangerous, yet, uplifting life that some can’t ever dream of. This history led to multiple lyrically insightful gems on his 2005 Juno Award winning release, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, showing that even in darkness light will shine. The success helped develop to projects with Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Pharoahe Monch and the Roots respectively. K’naan has always been open to exploring pop, electro-funk, rock, and traditional African music, but wit the release of his sophomore album, Troubadour, he takes the audience on a world tour.
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After a 2-year hiatus from the scene, El Da Sensei, one half of the debunked New Jersey duo Artifacts, has reappeared with his sophomore album Global Takeover: The Beginning. Teaming up with The Returners, a Polish production team formed of Little and DJ Chwial, El’s newest project throws the hip-hop game back to the Golden Era. Alongside Sensei’s sharp tongue, The Returners stretch horn loops, rubbery baselines and a healthy dose of vinyl scratching, to produce a melancholic sound reflective of the sonic boom of East Coast boom-bap rap.
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One Day it’ll All Make Sense is the follow up to the classic album Resurrection, as well as the last album to feature producer No ID, who was responsible for the majority of the production on Common’s previous album. Fresh off of the settled beef with Ice Cube, the once booze-laden rapper was evolving in front of our eyes into a mature master of ceremonies. Although this album led to the now critically acclaimed Like Water for Chocolate, One Day provides the backdrop for Common Sense to show his growth not only as an artist, but also as a man.
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