Jake One: The Truth ft. Brother Ali & Freeway

So Jake One, this producer who associates with G-Unit, is putting out his debut album on Rhymesayers come this fall, October 7th to be specific. I don't know much about Jake One, because I don't fucks with G-Unit, but he just put out one of his first promo tracks for the album: "The Truth." This joint is absolutely crazy! Who'd have thought that Freeway and Brother Ali would ever be on a track together! This song is great, I can't really say too much else about it. The rest of the album should be just as crazy too. Check the guest list: Little Brother, eLZhi, MF Doom, Slug, Blueprint, and many more. Wow.

Jacked the link from 2DB because I'm too lazy right now to make my own on zshare.

Jake One: The Truth ft. Brother Ali & Freeway

Doomtree: "Dots & Dashes"

Minneapolis hip-hop monstrosity Doomtree, composed of some 9 members, released their second official single to their recent self-titled album. It's called "Dots & Dashes." If you want to know who's actually adding their two cents to this track, it's Dessa with that first verse. She's mad unique and has a nice, spoken-word sounding delivery. P.O.S., of Rhymesayers fame kicks it for the other verse. And finally, MK Larada does his thing on the production, by putting together this crazy beat. There you have it, enjoy, and if you seem compelled, go buy their album. You won't waste your money.

Doomtree: Dots & Dashes

Illa J: "We Here"

Illa J, brother of legendary producer J Dilla (RIP), drops a single for his upcoming album, Yancey Boys. Wanna know what that is? It's a collaboration between the two Yancey brothers; a.k.a. Illa J gettin' down for an entire album for some Dilla ear candy. If "We Here" is any indication, this should be an interestingly fresh release. So cop that once it comes out.

Illa J: We Here (Prod. J Dilla)

Kanye West: "Good Morning" (Video)

'Ye comes out with another dope, original video for the opening track of Graduation. This animated video basically tells the story illustrated in the liner notes/album booklet for Graduation, as those of you who still purchase albums may recall. Dope.

J.Loonz: "Look At Me Now" (Video)

What up peoples? Here is some throwback footy from last school year. St. Paul native and rapper J.Loonz is performing his track "Look At Me Now," presumably at a little Northwestern house party. In case you were wondering, this track is over the Ratatat beat for the Memphis Bleek remixed version of "Alright." Look for this to appear on the upcoming debut solo release from J.Loonz, Nerd-Hop, the mixtape. I'm hyped, are you?

Snatched this from the Nerd-Hop blog. I see you, DJ ZJ.


Look at Me Now **over ratatat beat** from Nerd_Hop Lives on Vimeo.

T.I.: Swagger Like Us ft. Kanye West, Jay-Z, & Lil' Wayne

So I don't know how people didn't take more precautionary measures to protect this track, but it recently leaked to the internet. I'd have put the mp3 on a password protected hard drive, locked that shit in a vault, and had rabid, blood thirsty pit bulls surrounding said vault. Apparently T.I. isn't quite that concerned.

Supposedly, this was initially just a T.I./Kanyeezy collabo, but then Ye had the brilliant idea of getting the other two biggest emcees in rap music to spit over the track as well. True, these four emcees do have plenty of swagger, but sometimes swagger alone isn't the recipe for great music. This is aiigghht. What do you have to say?

T.I.: Swagger Like Us ft. Kanye West, Jay-Z, & Lil Wayne

The Cool Kids: Delivery Man

So Mountain Dew started this new online record label that apparently is just releasing music once in a while. Meh. But at least one of the first songs they put out is by Los Cool Kids, who have been releasing a slew of new music lately.

The Cool Kids: Delivery Man

Add-2: Tale of Two's City, Vol. 2 (Mixtape)

I got this in the inbox just the other day, but haven't posted it until now because, frankly, I've been a little busy. But, I guess I'm doing something right with this blog business because I've got rappers emailing me their shit now. Cool.

Anyway, I bumped most of these tracks when I was driving from St. Paul to my present location in Madison, WI. Add-2, coming out of Chicago, is definitely a talented emcee. He's got a real nice cadence, good lyrics. Production is nice on this mixtape, too. I suggest you download it, and then listen to it.

Add-2: The Tale of Two's City (Mixtape)

Lupe Fiasco: Birds & The Bees

According to other blogs (Read: FakeShoreDrive, the source for everything Chicago hip-hop), Lupe picked this track from a random Kanye beat cd, and wanted to do a track a la Jay-Z's "Girls, Girls, Girls." I don't know about you guys, but I never complain when new (yet old) Lupe finds it's way to the internet. I also enjoy old Kanye-produced tracks.

Lupe Fiasco: Birds & The Bees

Speaking of Lupe, he will be in St. Paul on Sept. 1 for the Take Back Labor Day festival at Harriet Island. Other performers include Mos Def, Atmosphere, and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. What more could you ask for? Unfortunately, I won't be there. But hopefully you will!
Update: I was just informed that actually Lupe has dropped off the lineup for this show. No idea why, no reason provided. Still, Mos and Atmosphere will rock your socks off, and you should still go.

The Cool Kids: Pennies

The Cool Kids have been performing this track live for a little while now. Now you have it for your iTunes. :)
PS: This is the lead single off of The Cool Kids proper debut studio album, When Fish Ride Bicycles. Album title of the year?

The Cool Kids: Pennies

Atmosphere Interview w/ Fuse

aka Slug talking.

Kanye West: "Champion" (Video)

This is hilarious. Great video. I always liked this song, too.

Rhymefest: "Stolen" (Video)

Fest gets serious on this one. El Che is bout to be my shit!

Midwest Broadcast's Slept On Albums, Vol. 3

Greetings, people. Here we are again, with yet another edition of Midwest Broadcast's Slept On Albums. Today's post, as you'll soon see, is an awfully (and possibly deliberately?) timely one. The album is Detroit rapper eLZhi's Europass. And although this album is sicker than influenza, it should only get you even more hyped for eLZhi's official debut album, The Preface, out tomorrow, August 12!



So what about Europass, you say? Well, eLZhi spent a good portion of this summer touring through Europe. Always hustling, he decided he needed something to be selling after shows at the merch table. Thus, Europass was born. Apparently though, it didn't even sell all that well at shows, but it eventually leaked to the internet here in the states. Thus, it should be understandable how this album may have gone unnoticed for a while.

As for the music, I cannot brainstorm an accurate way to describe eLZhi's magnificent lyricism. The man simply knows how to rhyme. Really, really well. The Slum Village member may just be one of hip-hop's most overlooked emcees today. eLZhi is the total package. His lyrics can melt your face with hard-bodied punchlines, get you laughing with clever metaphors and similes, and get you thinking with introspective, complicated storytelling. All in one verse. Europass highlights his skills better than any of his previous mixtapes were able to. One solid, focused listen to this album should leave you with your jaw dropped by the end. Highlight tracks of the album include "Fire," "That's That One," "Audio Cinematic," and the spectacular "Motown 25," on which both eLZhi and Royce Da 5'9" absolutely black out over a raw beat. Oh, and did I mention Black Milk handles production on about half of the tracks? If I haven't made it clear, this album should be added to your iTunes ASAP. Now, I usually wouldn't do this, but below is a link to download the entire album. This one's a gift. Because the album was only available in Europe on Elzhi's tour, you probably won't be finding it in any local record stores. So I'll be generous and share it with you directly, instead of making you find it yourself. Enjoy.

eLZhi: Europass (An Exclusive Tour CD)

Bonus: Elzhi speaks about Europass and his upcoming album, The Preface

Cool Kids: Schoolin' (Unreleased Track)

Snatched this up from 2dopeboyz. This was recorded during their "Bake Sale" recording sessions, but it got dropped on the cutting room floor. Now it can make it your itunes regardless. Pretty dope track, too, but I could understand it not making the cut for the album. Still, The Cool Kids have to be some of the most consistent artists out there. You may not always be in the mood for their stuff, but you know they deliver a steadily fresh product almost every time.

The Cool Kids: Schoolin'

J.Loonz: Karate Dude

Here's a new promo track for J.Loonz's upcoming Nerd-Hop project. It's called "Karate Dude." Anyone else feeling this track as much as me?

J.Loonz: Karate Dude

Introducing A.R.M. (M.anifest, Krukid, Budo)

What a terrific day. Sun, nice weather, bumpin' that new Muja, and now I come home and see this in the inbox. Ghana native and Minneapolis rapper M.anifest is officially the homie, he sent word over about this new project he's a part of. And you need to check this out.

A.R.M. is apparently a trio, composed of M.anifest, Ugandan emcee Krukid, and Seattle producer Budo. A.R.M. is an acronym for African Rebel Movement, and I'll be the first to admit that if these first two promo singles are any indication, they are making some seriously dope music. These guys have also been grinding for a while, it seems. Krukid has got a couple solo albums out that I'm definitely investigating, Budo is killing the production on these couple tracks, and us Minnesotans already know about M.anifest. Download the songs, pass them on to your friends, and keep promoting good music. I'm peacin' out to enjoy the night now. One hundred.

A.R.M. - Delilah
A.R.M. - Uprisin'

Muja Messiah Interview

This is a few days old. Shouts to Culture Bully and Minnerapolis, who organized this whole set up. Muja Messiah does a lot of clapping and talking here about his newest album, Adventures of a B Boy D Boy. If you don't have it yet, get it! You won't be disappointed, I promise. One of the better releases in hip-hop lately. Bold statement? Then check the album out for yourself and make up your own damn mind.

Atmosphere: You (Live on Letterman)

Oh, whattup Atmosphere? They've been hitting the late night circuit hard. Here's another video of a performance. Unfortunately, they're performing "You," which is really too bad, because it isn't too representative of their sound. But I suppose it's a good move for TV, going all poppy and shit. Atmosphere stans still know what's really good.

And yes, that's P.O.S. singing backup.

Evidence: Cats & Dogs (Promo Video)

Basically Ev is just wilin' out in his studio talking about his vinyl collection.