While I was out in Cali a few months ago, I had the opportunity to meet this cat by the name of E Reece. The hard penetrating, self-reflective vocals of this MC poignantly illustrate that true school hip hop is alive and well. Born in the Midwest, raised in Maryland, and schooled in the business in NYC, E Reece is unlike any artist you have ever heard or seen. This talented and hard-working lyricist, songwriter, poet, and musician keeps your attention at every turn and will make you challenge yourself. His music speaks of love, life, and staying true to yourself.
His latest album, L.I.S.n 2 This Live.In.Studio, with his live band Core Elements is everything jazz hip hop fans are craving. Hit the cut to get to know E Reece and check a preview of the album…
“Who’s to say Slaughterhouse and Eminem ain’t did a record already?” And then he laughed. John Public caught up with Slaughterhouse member and Detroit emcee Royce Da 5′9 yesterday after his MTV interview made hip-hop headlines when he confirmed the Shady Records rumors. He answered three of the biggest questions fans have been asking and compared the situation to what Young Money has been able to do, which, in my opinion, was a great analogy. He finished by saying, “Slaughterhouse signing to Shady Records is not a guarantee to me or to Slaughterhouse.”
Canibus and Keith Murray’s debut EP The UNDERGODS is available today, and in Part 3 of their conversation with John Public, the emcees talked about writing their album and what they hope to achieve with it’s release, along with collaborations and unity in hip-hop today among the super-groups. Canibus also talks about the experience of the Shades of Hip-Hop Roundtable with DMX, Mos Def, Big Pun and a few other notable emcees. Cop the EP today, support good hip-hop and hit the jump for a new leak from the EP, “No Brainer.”
In Part 2 of John Public’s conversation, Canibus gets open about the early stages of his career when he was balancing a corporate job with emceeing and the constant need to push back and follow a dream. He also touches on whether or not another HRSMN collab would happen. Keith opens up about his experience recording with Red & Meth and his relationship with Def Squad. They both give some details about the title of their upcoming album, set for release in early 2010, In Gods We Trust, Crush Microphones To Dust.
Us may be one of my favorite albums of the year! Jumpoff.tv got a chance to catch up with Brother Ali while in London. The sound quality isn’t the greatest, but dope stuff nonetheless.
The homie John Public had a chance to chop it up with Canibus & Keith Murray at Wyclef’s Platinum Sound in NYC last week and got some answers to a few things people have been asking. Here they speak on how they originally linked up, give some insight on the two buzz records out right now (”1-2-3″ along with “Show & Prove” feat. Crooked-I) and why it took 15 years to make this album happen. The upcoming segments will feature a preview of “Blackout 2,” Bis talking the Shades of Hip-Hop DVD, Keith talking about being in the lab with Red & Meth and more about their 7-song EP (available Sept 29th on iTunes) and upcoming album.
Man my J The S, sportin a little scruff, chops it up with Mr. Peter Parker in downtown Manhatten. I’m surprised Peter Parker could get Jake to stand still for 4 minutes for this interview… lol. Dude is a monster on stage, if you ever get the chance to see him; he’s all over the place. Check out the interview… I’m personally lookin forward to new J The S. And if he doesn’t put out a Best of compilation this year, maybe we will!
If neo-soul had a grandchild, its name would be Slakah the Beatchild. I say a grandchild because, while he remembers all the core values, beliefs, and systems of the once-upon-a-time in style genre, he also takes the important elements of neo-soul and elevates it into a sound of his own. While he is compared to the likes of Raphael Saadiq, Dilla, and Q-Tip, Slakah (also an emcee and director when not producing) stays loyal to the craft by forever changing it. Working with no-slouch artists like the current “it” kid, Drake, amongst well respected emcees, Shad and Tona, as well as high profile singers such as Nelly Furtado, Ray Robinson, and Melanie Durant, this Sarnia born, Scarborough raised, multi-talent musical and visual jack-of-all-trades is also one half of duo, Art of Fresh (with MC, D.O). Talking about everything from his hometown, to his worldwide tours, to the big names he’s met in studios, to why we should all give a damn about Slakah the Beatchild, KevinNottingham.com gets this sensational interview with an up-and-coming hip hop gem.
Props to John Public for giving us another Preemo exclusive! Here’s what he’s got to say about this clip:
In the final part of our conversation, Premo dropped some science about the origin of his HeadQuarterz studio with Charles The Mixologist, plans for the studio and how his collaboration with Method Man and Limp Bizkit happened. To say he was leery of working with Fred Durst may have been an understatement, but Durst’s legendary stubborness paid off. Props to Kevin Nottingham for hosting this series! For more, visit youtube.com/johnpublicflipcam
Exclusively first at KevinNottingham.com! In Part 2 of 3, Premier talks with John Public about what makes Royce Da 5′9 such a special emcee, and how their chemistry in the lab made recording the album a welcome step back in time. And while the writing/recording might have been easy, Premier also talked about a track produced by D-12’s Mr. Porter that didn’t make the cut because of sample clearance issues and the TWO songs that replaced it. Check the segment when he discusses his new projects and where you can see him spin in NYC. Preme!
We got something special to finish up Premier Wednesday today. My man John Public (who was responsible for our Illmind Producer CEO series) was at Preemo’s studio last night for the Royce Da 5′9″ album listening session. I was invited, but couldn’t make it up to NYC for it. Anyway, DJ Premier was in the house at the listening session and John got Preme to talk one camera for a few minutes. Premier spilled the details of who is going to be a part of the upcoming BET Awards Cipher and it doesn’t disappoint. They got some ill collabs of both new and established artists.
Check back tomorrow for part 2 of the interview where Preemo spills all the details about the Royce Da 5′9″ album, exclusively right here at KevinNottingham.com!
Note from Deez: The Interview is already quite long as it is, so I won’t bother with any type of introduction. Marco Polo and Torae have been put on display on this site plenty of times. You know their names, you know what they do. Enough talking, let’s get to…more talking… with this interview by the homie, Addi “Mindbender” Stewart.
Before the “official” part of the interview, Torae, Marco, and Addi laugh about and discuss the comments regarding the review of Double Barrelhere on the site. Without transcribing each and every word, Torae was cool about the criticizing done towards him and the album. He reinstates his line from “Click,” “I read every blog and every article printed.” At the end of the day, as Torae said, “everyone has an opinion.”
Inner Loop Records recording artist, J-$crilla, recently released his first solo production album, Culture of Honor. With big name features such as Oddisee, General Steele, JR Writer, Cassidy and more, it’s definitely an album worth checking out.
We had the opportunity to catch up with the producer and find out more about him and his work. Hit the jump to get to know J-$crilla…
Adesso of the Lyricist Lounge approached me a few weeks ago to publish an interview that he had just recently completed with Nobody Famous. What were the chances? Of course I couldn’t say no! You can read more of Adesso’s work here, as well as follow him on Twitter. We hope to feature more articles from Adesso in the future. For now, check out this dope piece below after the cut…
Skyzoo has been dropping a weekly series called Saving Our Grace in anticipation of his Jamal/Duck Down release: The Salvation. I didn’t know he was doing this, but we’ll be keeping up with the series until the album drops on September 29. Video’s directed by Mills Miller
The first episode is called “The Doubt.” “The Faith” and “The Hope” episodes after the jump.
