Watch Lupe Fiasco @ Glastonbury

I guess being in London is letting me see the hook ups that no one else notices. Shout out to BBC for displaying some of the Glastonbury artists' ENTIRE performances. Follow the link below to see Lupe Fiasco's quite energetic set.

Lupe Fiasco: Glastonbury Performance

New Tracks from J.Loonz

So I've had these tracks sitting around for a while, but figured it was time to post them online for anyone who hasn't heard of him. J.Loonz is my man from back home in the STP, who is presently doing his thing in Chicago. He's an up-and-coming emcee with a lot of versatility, not to mention skills on the mic. Check him out, and if you like his music, hit up his myspace and tell him what's up. You may also enjoy The Hustle Group, the group he's a part of. Anyway, just check out the music.

J.Loonz - Hurry
J.Loonz - The Come Up ft. Rotimi
J.Loonz - Igniter

Atmosphere, Brother Ali, & Kidz in the Hall in London (Video)

So, as I have mentioned previously, I'm chillin here in London this summer. Already been here for a little over a month, still have about three weeks left. But last week, on June 18, I believe, there was an Atmosphere, Brother Ali, and Kidz in the Hall concert at this spot called Koko night club here across the pond. Atmosphere and Ali are touring through Europe this summer for their 3 The Hard Way tour. Of course I wasn't going to pass up a chance to see that shit. I even caught both of them at Soundset in May, the day before I came to London, but the more the better.

So I show up to this place, and the venue is absolutely crazy. Koko night club appears to be an old theater that was converted into a music venue. It's got this big floor area, and two or three balconies which provide rather good views for watching a concert. It's also pretty large, so I didn't expect the concert to be very full by any means. This is independent hip-hop in Europe, after all. But how little did I know. To my surprise, the place was absolutely packed. Atmosphere has really laid out the blueprint for how to gain popularity, going from a little known Minnesota hip-hop group to selling the #5 album in the states during their debut week, with Lemons.

As for the concert, Kidz in the Hall rocked it pretty hard. They played some new tracks off of The In Crowd, including "Drivin' Down The Block," which I have some footage of later in this post. Their set was almost a little too loud though, and it was hard to decipher the lyrics at times. Still a fun show. But then it was time for Ali and Atmosphere. One thing I didn't realize about this tour (and which made it really special) was that Atmosphere and Ali were taking the stage at the same time. It was interesting, they kind of traded off songs, with Slug and Ali basically taking turns as each other's hype man. Ant was Djing the whole time, killing the set as usual. They had an interesting mix of songs, and overall if was a spectacular performance. I took some photos and videos, which I'm about to post here, I hope you enjoy, I sure did. I'd have more, but my camera ran out of batteries. Though I'd like more footage of the show, that did thankfully allow me to focus more on the music and go down to the main floor, which was definitely a good time. Great night.

Kidz in the Hall performing "Drivin' Down The Block"


Brother Ali performing "Whatcha' Got"


Brother Ali performing "Forest Whitaker"


Atmosphere performing "Puppets"


Atmosphere performing "Shoulda Known"


Atmosphere performing "Sunshine"

Four Unreleased Lupe Tracks

Damn, son. I don't even know what to say about all of this, just follow the links and check these songs out. Lupe is, and forever will be, a beast.

Lupe Fiasco - Diddy Freestyle
Lupe Fiasco - Where Do I Go
Lupe Fiasco - Mass Appeal Freestyle
Lupe Fiasco - 4 Real

Kanye West Freestyle and Unreleased Track

Here's some older Kanye for you all. This made it's rounds on the blog circuit, though I saw it at 2dopeboyz, like most everything else. It's over Hov's Jigga My Ni@@a beat. Next up is another unreleased song, called "The Stalker Song (Never Lettin' Go). Word is there is plenty of unreleased Kanye and Lupe tracks (as you'll also see in the next post) that will be released to the internet this week. Get ready.

Kanye West Freestyle
Kanye West: The Stalker Song (Never Lettin' Go)

On a side note, is it me or has Kanye encountered a string of bad luck/been fucking up lately? I don't even remember all the shit that's been going on, but first he got fucking torn up at Bonnaroo because his set didn't start until 4:30am, once most of the people went to bed already. Apparently he had to cut his set short because it's a light show and the sun was already beginning to rise. Then he absolutely let loose on the Bonnaroo promoters on his blog, calling them a bunch of fucking idiots. Then he endorsed Soulja Boy in the Soulja Boy/Ice T beef, which also seemed rather idiotic. I don't have much of an opinion on this, as I'll probably get down with Ye's music either way, but it's starting to get a little ridiculous how much trouble he keeps getting himself in to. That ego is getting a little carried away.

Midwest Broadcast's Slept On Albums, Vol. 2

A while back, I made my first posting of an album that I believe slipped through the radar, but is far too dope to deserve to go unnoticed. Volume 1 featured Brother Ali's Off the Record, and the posting can be seeing by following this link. Volume 2 returns now with another criminally slept on album, One Be Lo's The R.E.B.I.R.T.H.

You may (or may not) remember One Be Lo from the group Binary Star, who released another relatively slept on, yet underground classic, Masters of the Universe (I sense a pattern here). Well, that group broke up, and One Be Lo dropped some heat with a couple of solo albums. But it was 2007'sThe R.E.B.I.R.T.H. that really raised the bar. The album is an acronym for "Real Emcees Bring Intelligent Rhymes To Hip-Hop," and One Be Lo does just that. The opening track, "Rebirth," features a steady barrage of hip-hop quotables, over a thumping sample-based beat. One Be Lo is a versatile lyricist who skillfully covers a wide variety of topics on his album. "Born & Raised" pays homage to his home town of Pontiac, Michigan. "Don't Sleep" is an absolute heater, featuring battle raps from One Be Lo and some fresh horns on the beat. And "House Rules" honestly might be the best rap about a dice game since Big L (RIP). As a whole, the album holds up cohesively, making for a very complete listen from start to finish. This album is definitely worth your money - and I'd assume you could find a used copy online for relatively cheap. But, if you're broke ass is too stingy to cop The R.E.B.I.R.T.H., then I'm sure you could find a downloadable copy online, I just won't link to you it. Either way, this album is terrific and should definitely be an addition to the collection.

One Be Lo: The R.E.B.I.R.T.H. at Amazon

Common: The Corner (Remix)

I'm lazy. Here it is, an unreleased remix of Common's "The Corner," off of Be. It features guest raps from 'Ye and some cat named Mikkey Halsted, who apparently has been killin' it in Chicago right now.

Common - The Corner (Remix) ft. Kanye West & Mikkey Halsted

My Last Soundset Post (I Promise!)

Here are the only two videos I took during Soundset. Like I said, I got very lazy, and was too involved in the actual shows to sit and take much footage. Here it is anyway. Sorry for the poor quality, at least the sound is pretty good!. I promise to make amends: I'm going to concerts by Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Kidz in the Hall, Cool Kidz, and Jay-Z while I'm here in London, and I'll get better footage there!

Saint Paul Slim


Brother Ali - "Lookin' At Me Sideways" (Verse One)

Lupe Fiasco Unreleased Track

Here's a fresh track by Lupe that's probably pretty old, and never ended up getting released. It's called Cold World, and was posted by FakeShoreDrive, aka the blog for everything Chicago Hip-hop.

Lupe - Cold World

Kanye Freestyle at Hot97 Summer Jam

I absolutely love how Kanye isn't scared to actually freestyle during huge shows. He's brash, but a great performer.

Common Interview/Performance Footage

Got this over at OKP, it's some pretty ill footage. Got a Common interview talking about J Dilla, then some sick performance recordings with Mos Def (Why can't Mos always spit it like that anymore?)

Soundset Recap, Continued (Videos)

HUGE shout out to this dude at Youtube who posted a bunch of self-recorded videos from performers at Soundset. He was apparently in the front row or two, 'cause seldom do random hands/heads in the crowd get in the way. Plus a song from the afterparty! Nice stuff. Here are some of the best videos, in chronological order as the day progressed (as far as I can remember):

Mac Lethal: Make Out Bandit


Blueprint: No Half-Smokin'


Blueprint: Boombox


Brother Ali: Walkin' Away


Brother Ali: Forrest Whittaker


Little Brother: Say It Again


Slug, I-Self Devine, Musab, Brother Ali: Flesh (Remix)