Elzhi's long-delayed mixtape Elmatic is rumored to finally be coming out sometime in 2011. I'll believe (and be very excited) it when I see it. However, this is a promising start. "Verbal Intercourse, Pt. 2" is a bonus track from the project. Assist from 2DopeBoyz.
"Afterlife Insurance" is the lead single off of No Bird Sing's upcoming sophomore LP, Theft of the Commons. I'm sure more details regarding that release will be soon to follow. For now, just enjoy the track by streaming it below.
"Stand" is the first single from Wide Eyes' upcoming EP, Follow Through. Mally was recruited for a guest verse, and was also recently selected to perform at Soundset 2011. 
Chicago rappers Mo Greene and Jordan Looney recently hit the studio to put down a remix to Jay and Ye's single. Jordan Looney's final installment of his Nerd-Hop series should be coming down to pipeline soon.
Rhymesayers Entertainment and Rose Presents bring you the fourth annual Soundset Festival: the official Midwest kick-off of the summer with nine hours of the best independent Hip Hop music in one day. It all goes down at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN (rain or shine).
In 2010, Rhymesayers and Rose Presents produced the third year of Soundset to an outdoor festival setting at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN with over 18,000 people in attendance, including: two stages with over 40 artists performing, B-Boy battles, MC battle, live DJs, live artists painting, skateboard demos and a custom car show.
Soundset 2011 is expected to be even bigger this year! After their sold out 'To All My Friends' and 'Welcome to Minnesota' tours Atmosphere returns this year to the Soundset mainstage in support of their upcoming April 12th album release The Family Sign. On the heels of his highly successful and critically acclaimed release Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, Big Boi, one half of superstar combo Outkast, brings his legendary live show and catalog to the Twin Cities for one of the best hip hop sets you'll see all year. Slaughterhouse, including the full lineup of Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Royce da 5’9” & Crooked I perform together in Minnesota for the first time in 2 years! Referred to as “one of independent Rap’s strongest voices” by HipHopDX, Brother Ali will once again deliver his raw emotion on the main stage. Fly Society founder and Jet Life CEO Curren$y makes his Soundset debut. Soundset veteran Blueprint takes the stage in support of his upcoming April 5th release Adventures in Counter-Culture! Named one of XXL Magazine's “2011 Freshmen”, Mac Miller makes his Minnesota debut performance at Soundset. Doomtree returns with the entire crew for their first mainstage performance. In support of his upcoming Rhymesayers debut release Cat & Dogs, Evidence teams up with Rakaa-Iriscience, hot off his new release Crown of Thorns and DJ Babu to bring you a special combined set showcasing their solo efforts while giving fans some Dilated classics as well. And this year we're proud to announce a first ever De La Soul Soundset performance. Whether young or old this iconic hip hop group’s performance will be a favorite of the year!
With options of two stages delivering over 40 artists performing nine hours of diverse music, an expanded B-Boy/B-Girl DJ tent which includes the newly added Red Bull EmSee Battle, live painting exhibit, skate demo area, Soundset custom car show and a special Last of the Record Buyers production showcase, Soundset 2011 is guaranteed to provide fun for the whole family!
Tickets are on sale Friday, April 1, 2011 at 11:00AM local time to the general public through www.ticketweb.com and Fifth Element. General admission tickets are $38 ($3 facility fee and parking are included in ticket price), 18+ VIP options are also available for $90! VIP Includes:
- Limited Edition swag bag
- Soundset Festival shirt
- Exclusive VIP parking
- Separate VIP entrance to the festival grounds
- Access to a special exclusive VIP area near the main stage bleacher style seating viewing the main stage
- Shaded tent chill area
- Meet and greets with artists
- Separate restroom
- VIP bar with adult beverages, the only location on site that will serve liquor
- A special limited edition festival laminate and more
I've been sitting on this for too long since Egypto Knuckles sent it through last week, but here is a new release from The Quiet Dude. "The Tunnel" is to be a taste of things to come, preparing listeners for his upcoming projects — a new EP and LP, to be specific — throughout the rest of the year.
Let's continue the Level Heads LP re-release project, shall we? Here is track 6 from the album, "Misled." The homie Mike had some words to share about the track, too: "Misled" is a song that was never meant to be, but has come to be the favorite song on the Level Heads LP to many. The beat was masterfully crafted by Lokes in such a way that it jumps from key to key, has different breakdowns in tempo, and purposefully misleads the listener to keep you engaged. Lyrically, it's about breaking molds, tip-toeing the boundaries that we all conform to and challenge in order to stay fresh, hip, relevant and ahead of the game. Download your free copy of "Misled" now!Lipset: "Misled ft. Alissa Paris"
1) Outro (Credits Roll)
2) Distortion
3) Murderous Cypher
4) Frustrated
5) New Era Kids ft. Duenday
More new material from Mike Dreams. It's the first song to be put out through his new "Spring Cleaning" release series, where he'll be putting out monthly singles, freestyles, videos, and more.1)Mally: Maximizing SXSW as an Indie Artist! Mally made the trip to SXSW 2011 and was able to make many connections, get on a showcase, pass out some music, and open some doors to future opportunities. He’ll share those experiences with you so that you can properly prepare for 2012!
2)Siddiq (Rhymesayers CEO): Will speak about the state of record labels and what labels, including Rhymesayers, are looking for in artists in todays market!
3)Randy Hawkins (First Ave & Rhymesayers Sound Tech): Proper Soundchecks! This is one that many local artists need to be in attendance for. As a pre-cursor, soundcheck doesn’t mean “stage practice”. There are particular things to listen for and certain techniques to getting most from your sound tech for the best sounding show possible.
4)Kevin Beacham: Maximizing Retail! Advice on how to get the most out of having your music in a retail store. Including ways to help your CD stand out from the 1000 other releases out there.
5)Dave Wilson: Videographer Profile. Dave is the man behind Atmosphere’s latest
video from “The Family Sign”, “Just For Show”. As well as videos for Prof, A.G., etc…
6)Jam Party Remixed Computer Game Presentation (Game features St. Paul Slim, DJ Snuggles, Heiruspecs, Dessa, and more!!)
Atmosphere agreed to be part of Dr. Ralph Borka's Family & Group Therapy Video Series. Dr. Ralph Borka has worked with individuals, couples, families, groups and businesses for more than 25 years. His video series demonstrates a psychotherapy approach using cognitive-behavioral therapy.Preorder The Family Sign from Fifth Element!
Below is the third episode - Dr. Borka continues to work with Atmosphere to address their feelings regarding collaboration and working together. Tensions can arise during these sessions when a member of the group voices criticism of another member, as you will see in this video segment between Sean and Nate.
Mike Dreams has been inspired by Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All's resident R&B crooner Frank Ocean's latest album, to the extent that he remixed a couple of his tracks. Check them both out below.
Here's another new track from Big Jess' upcoming double album, Self Therapy/Good Clean Fun 3. The albums will be available for free tomorrow, via the Unknown Prophets website. They feature guest appearances from MaD SoN, Braille, Musab, Muja Messiah, Mally, and more. Keep in mind that Big Jess and Big Zach of Kanser are throwing a concert together to celebrate the release of Jess' double album and Zach's New Crayons album. That will be on Thursday, March 24.
The original "All of the Lights" already featured about 10 of the biggest names in music, and then Kanye had to go and recruit Lil' Wayne, Big Sean, and Drake for the remix. And the track is rumored be unfinished, as Kanye himself amongst others have yet to contribute additional verses. Whew. Props to Nah Right.
Here's another track to Big Jess' upcoming double disc project Self Therapy/Good Clean Fun 3. This one is the title track to Self Therapy. A cool tidbit is that Jess did the scratches with the Flare Scratch app on his iPhone. I'm young and it makes me feel older writing that sentence. Pretty soon producers will be composing entire songs on their cell phones. 
Soulcrate Music recently stopped by the Daytrotter studios to record a 4-song session. Check it out below.
Local supergroup GAYNGS lent songs from their 2010 soft-rock LP to the members of Doomtree for a little remixing. Oh, pardon me, I meant "regrinding." The GAYNGS AFFILIYATED showcase will be at First Ave on Sunday night.Sunday, March 6
GAYNGS AFFILIYATED SHOWCASE
6:30PM/18+/$20
•Mainroom: GAYNGS, Doomtree, Solid Gold, Megafaun, Leisure Birds, Alpha Consumer, Plain Ole Bill, & DJ Jonathan Ackerman
•7th St Entry: Slapping Purses, Har Mar Superstar, Marijuana Deathsquads, Spyder Baybie Raw Dawg, Moonstone, Albert, Radical Cemetery, and more
•Record Room: Doomtree solo sets and more
Blueprint just released another song from his upcoming album, Adventures in Counbter-Culture. "So Alive" is an electro-pop single with a vintage feel because of the drums and vocal samples. Printmatic also does more singing on this track than I can ever recall. Stream the song below."So Alive" Remix by Budo
"So Alive" Remix by X:144
"So Alive" Remix by Innerpartysystem
Here's another track from Mally and The Sundance Kid. They've been releasing these monthly songs for a while now, hopefully the duo leaks some information regarding the drop of an official EP or LP. Here's what Mally had to say about "7 Days": 7 Days is a musical tale of when a boy sees a girl and is instantly hooked so much so, that he willingly learns everything about her. The infatuation this boy has (as many might) becomes so strong that they can explain what the girl does from the time she goes to work all the way down to how she chews her food on a Tuesday. In this case, the chase just might be better than the catch... Or is it?Mally: "7 Days" (Prod. The Sundance Kid)
