Toki Wright's Fade Left Tour Preview (Video)

Toki is hitting the road soon with Burnell Washburn, DJ So Gold, and special guest Yakub for their Fade Left Tour. Check out the video above to see what's in store for the tour.

BeSceneMpls Presents: Rooftop Cypher I (Video)

Much of the rhetoric in hip-hop media these days centers around the false dichotomy between what's "real rap" and what's not; Nicki Minaj backing out of Hot 97's Summerjam becuase of DJ Peter Rosenberg's comments is the latest example in that clash. The debate often centers around a traditionalist vs. non-traditionalist approach. If you watch the BET Award cyphers or listen to a "freestyle" on Nah Right and grumble that it's prepared or pre-written material, you probably sympathize with the traditionalist stance. If so, you'll definitely be a fan of this new Be Scene Mpls video series (if not, there's still a good chance you'll enjoy it). Jake and Eamon at Be Scene want to take the cypher back to it's older iteration, where the gathering is more free flowing and improvised. So they rounded up Lizzo, Manny Phesto, Freez, Big Dylan, Yakub along with Tristan (aka Mic Technique) to beat-box. Check out the results above, and stay tuned for more videos from the Be Scene crew.

Non Grata: "Hungry, Happy, Sleepy ft. Niles Miller" (Music Video)

Non Grata is a local group comprised of Big Dylan, Yakub, and producer Maxx Appeal. "Hungry, Happy, Sleep" is their new 4/20 inspried song featuring Niles Miller, a MN native currently holed up in Brooklyn.

WagOutParty.com Presents: Wag Out! The Mixtape

To say Minneapolis' Wag movement is starting to reach any sort of niche cultural significance would be selling it short. Franz Diego is hosting multiple parties per month at Minneapolis venues. The term is reliably blowing up on my Twitter timeline. And now, WagOutParty.com is releasing a free mixtape featuring music from all sorts of artists associated with the Wag scene: Illuminous 3, Greg Grease, The Usual SuspectS, P.O.S., Mike Mictlan, Spyder Baybie Raw Dog, Lizzo, Yakub, Audio Perm, Mike Frey and more. Hit the jump to see the entire tracklist and download the free mixtape.

Yakub: "Monkey Food ft. Mike Mictlan" (Music Video)

The video to this new song by Yakub and Mike Mictlan, and produced by DJ Three A Day, was recently premiered at the Be Scene promoted local hip-hop video showcase. It also definitely supports my theory about local rap videos and their prominent use of cameos from other local artists.

Toki Wright: "Real Live ft. Yakub" (Music Video)

I'm mad late on this video but if you haven't seen it yet, here is "Real Live" featuring a guest verse from Yakub. Toki is performing tonight at the 7th Street Entry with St. Paul Slim and Kids Like Us. It's only five dollars to get in the door, so if you don't have any plans for tonight I highly recommend checking that out.

Toki Wright: "Real Live ft. Yakub"

I posted the teaser to the music video for "Real Live" yesterday, now here's the full song, produced by DJ Three A Day. You can stream it below, or purchase it from BandCamp or iTunes.

Toki Wright: "Real Live" (Music Video Teaser)

Toki Wright's got a new video for "Real Live," which features Yakub, coming down the line very soon. It'll be out on Thursday, so check back for it then. Also, in case you didn't catch this, Toki announced that his new album will be titled Channels.

Audio Perm Block Party - Saturday August 27

The flyer above is all that's actually necessary for this post, but allow me a brief moment to help announce the Audio Perm Block Party. The event will take place on Saturday, August 27 at Shuga Records in Northeast Minneapolis. The lineup is basically a can't miss assortment of rising and established local artists, including Toki Wright, I Self Devine, Audio Perm themselves, Kanser, The Tribe & Big Cats!, and more. The California trio Pac Div are headlining. It costs $10 to buy an advanced ticket, and $15 if you show up the day of the show. All signs point to this being a terrific day; you'd be wise not to miss it.

You can RSVP to the event on Facebook, and follow its associated Twitter account here. The MN Daily also posted an article about the event this morning.

Yakub, Franz Diego, Bobby Richardson & Big Dylan: "Bodhisattva" (Prod. Taylor Madrigal)

This song is the second installment of Audio Perm's weekly series “Permed Out Wednesdays”. Catch the first song in the series, along with Audio Perm beat tapes and other free music right here.

In case you're wondering about the song title "Bodhisattva", do some research.

Yakub, Franz Diego, Bobby Richardson & Big Dylan: "Bodhisattva" (Prod. Taylor Madrigal)

Last of the Record Buyers speaks with Yakub (Video)

Local producer and Last of the Record Buyers regular Yakub had perhaps his first career-defining moment when a track he produced was picked up by Ghostface Killah and used as the first single to Ghost's upcoming album Apollo Kids. Stream "Together Baby" right here. Anyway, Medium Zach was able to sit down with Yakub and chop it up, check the video out above.

BONUS: Check out Yakub's free beat tape at his Bandcamp website.