From the category archives:
Donny Goines has been busy working on his new EP, 20X, due out next week. The six track freebie includes production from Versatile, M-Phazes, 6th Sense, Apple Juice Kid, DJ Static, and Nastee. Here we get a glimpse of the cover art and the tracklist…
After the single “Keep Movin” featuring Sean P. exploded all over the Internet just last week, HiPNOTT Records follows up with a preview sampler of the album it was leaked from, A Day in the Life by K. Sparks produced by G.C. mixed by the label’s in-house DJ, DJ Mark 1. The album will drop on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 and will be available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon.com, and other major outlets.
A Day in the Life is a fitting title for this conceptual project, which was recorded in just one day’s time. Listeners are taken from the beginning to end of a typical day in Sparks’ life. The album is an exploration into all aspects of the artist’s identity, a reveal he faces in an intimate and emotionally supercharged way. Sparks provides the A Day in the Life tour using inventive wordplay, internal rhyming, battle raps, storytelling and eye-widening punch-lines. Equally integral to the project, producer G.C. has master-crafted a backdrop for Sparks that glows with rich instrumentation and a comforting jazziness, while still maintaining a raw, boom-bap vibe overall.
Get a glimpse of the title track to ArtOfficial’s upcoming free project, The Payback, dropping April 9th! The final version is said to include a verse from the homie K. Sparks so you know this is something to look out for. The Payback will be sponsored by DJBooth, IllRoots, Refined Hype, and KevinNottingham.com. Check these guys live this Friday night at The Florida Room on South Beach. If you’re going, hit me up; I’ll be there.
The track list for Volume 2 of the HiPNOTT Records 2010 Takeover mixtape has been unveiled, and just days before the mixtape release date of February 15, 2010, “Rockin Ya World” by Jermiside & Danny Diggs provides a third peak at what’s to come. Jermiside handles the mic with a rhyme-packed, lyrical ode to good music and a great hustle, Irish producer Danny Diggs compliments with a light, melodious beat, and DJ Mayhem makes his mark with well-placed cuts throughout. This song is not only representative of the Volume 2 sound, but it’s also a preview of Middle Classic, the Jermiside & Danny Diggs album coming out on HiPNOTT Records this spring.
Hit the jump to download the leak and for a look at the new artwork and final tracklist for the HiPNOTT mixtape dropping this Monday!
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Laws: 4:57 Listening Session from @DecaturDan on Vimeo.
Decatur Dan was invited to a private listening session of Laws’ upcoming 4:57 mixtape and put together this footage as a preview for it. We get to hear the intro “Illumination,” his track with DJ Khalil “Hold You Down” & more. Get your sneak preview above and make sure you download 4:57 which drops next week!
Little Brother is back for the very last time with a new album to satisfy the yearning masses. The North Carolina duo, made up of hip-hop heavyweights Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh recently announced the upcoming release of their fourth and final album, LeftBack, available April 20th via Hall of Justus. With production from the likes of Khyrsis, Denaun Porter, Zo!, Symbolyc One, J. Bizness and King Karnov, LeftBack is poised to take listeners on an epic auditory adventure. Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh will also be extending invites for the farewell party to fellow emcees Torae, Truck North, Jozeemo, Chaundon and Median, while crooner Darien Brockington and chanteuse Yahzarah are on hand to add a touch of the melodious to the album.
As the momentum behind LeftBack continues to swell, Little Brother is proud to unveil the official artwork and the track listing for the album. Fans will be excited to learn that LeftBack features 13 tracks of unadulterated hip-hop, while the album artwork finds Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh standing tall amidst the ghosts of albums past, press coverage and other memories accumulated throughout Little Brother’s celebrated career. “We wanted the fans to have that moment of nostalgia when looking at this artwork” says Rapper Big Pooh. “You are able to take a quick journey from the beginning of our careers to the end as Little Brother by glancing at the artwork.”
I agree with everything Kevin said about Free and Jake One’s collaborative album which hits stores next Tuesday. The last video showed what came with a pre-order copy of the CD, but now the vinyl releases comes with extras as well.
Hit the cut to see what they are saying about the vinyl release.
Chaundon of the HOJ just hit me up about a new project he has dropping on February 14th. The album is called Baby Making Music and features Shuko, Gyphted, Trox, & Beat Medic on the boards. The only other emcee on this joint is fellow HOJ member Median. This project should be dope as hell. You can cop it from Chaundon’s Bandcamp on the 14th and you know we’ll announce it here when it’s released. Hit the jump to check the full artwork…
If a year’s worth of weekly, original, straight-to-the-net songs for his online series “Manic Mondays” wasn’t enough to thrust K. Sparks into the foreground, his musical resume of over 100 mixtape features, six albums, a few promotional CD’s, and download counts for various projects into the 30k’s has surely done just that. A Day in the Life is a fitting title for this conceptual K. Sparks album; he even completed the entire project in one day, sticking to the theme. The South Jamaica Queens artist leads listeners from the beginning to end of a typical day in his life.
A Day in the Life proves that there is still space for music that explores all aspects of an artist’s identity in an intimate and emotionally supercharged way. Inventive wordplay, internal rhyming, battle raps, storytelling and eye-widening punch-lines are all signs of greatness and with this album, K. Sparks inducts himself into that hall of fame. Equally integral to the project, producer G.C. has master-crafted a backdrop for Sparks that glows with rich instrumentation, moments of jazziness and an overall vibe that comforts like the warm crackle of used vinyl.
Hasan Salaam and ‘Noisemaker Media’ present the highly anticipated new debut track release and music video, ‘Angel Dust’. Teaming up with Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian, the track juxtaposes a gripping true life and voyeuristic tale of survival, laying its foundation on a seductive, dark, live instrumental to compliment Salaam’s bold metaphors and lyricism,
“Lost love…She’s Blessed with the vocals of a siren, fallen angel, wings clipped Violin, her dreams fell silent, the stars in her eyelids evaporated when her first, forced his way inside her”.
“The fusion of Salaam’s lyrical prowess and Noisemaker’s edgy technical vision creates a dark and mysterious world”.
Throughout January three teaser trailers were released for fans to catch a glimpse of the amazing shots of Angel Dust, produced and directed by Mark Carranceja. “The cinematic depth and unique perspective that Noise media present to the music video genre in collaboration with Salaam’s Angel Dust, separates themselves as a timeless brand, captivating audiences worldwide”.
Hit the jump to check the trailers and look for the whole video to drop this Monday!
Quite Nyce was telling me that some big news was coming but I didn’t expect this! Check out the above video to hear the announcement that Statik Selektah will be producing RADIx’s new album in its entirety. And remember, pick up a copy of Statik’s dope new album 100 Proof: The Hangover which was released today.
Bobby Creekwater is back with another dope new track entitled “Elevatin.” Also above, check out the promo video for Bobby’s upcoming mixtape Back to Briefcase 2.
Even though half the album has already leaked as singles, Statik Selektah’s 100 Proof has me shaking with anticipation. This IS my #1 most anticipated album of 2010 and believe it or not, I haven’t even listened to a single leak. Nope, I wanna take the album in as a whole. Complex Magazine had the honor of getting an inside peak to the album with Statik himself. Head on over to read what Statik says about all 17 tracks from 100 Proof. The album drops this Tuesday, February 2!
