Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Tribe & Big Cats: "DMT Flow" (Music Video)



Here is the awesome new video for TTxBC's "DMT Flow."

Read my review of TTxBC's great new album, Space, here.

Big Cats: "One"


On October 2, Big Cats will be releasing his instrumental solo project For My Mother. The album can be pre-ordered on CD or vinyl here. You can also use that link to buy tickets to the album release party on October 11 at the Cedar, where Big Cats will be performing with a full band. Stream "One" below.



Big Cats
For My Mother release party
The Cedar // October 11
with K.Raydio and the Chalice
Tickets // Facebook RSVP

Mike the Martyr: Lake Street Bar 3 (Instrumental EP)


More instrumentals from one of the Twin Cities most prolific beat makers. Mike the Martyr recently dropped the third and final installment in his Lake Street Bar instrumental EP series via Check the Blog.

Paper Tiger: "Gold Pass"



Paper Tiger's Summer EP will be out on 8/14. Pre-order it here. Stream the first single "Gold Pass" below.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

The Tribe & Big Cats: 'Space' (Review)


For the past two years, each time the Tribe and Big Cats release a new album I declare it “their best work yet.” That trend continues with Space, which came out on July 10 and is available for free download. On Space we find TTxBC taking progressive artistic strides that show their evolution as a group. Unlike FTMS (which was good) and Make Good (which was even better), Space eschews any significant contributions from other artists. Leaving this one up solely to Truth Be Told and Big Cats (this is their first full-length since Pete left the group) is rewarding. As a whole, the album holds up very well sonically and thematically, as Space is their most focused effort yet.

Guante: "This Is The Opposite Of A Suicide Note" (Graham O'Brien Remix)


Graham O'Brien remixed Guante's song "This is the Opposite of a Suicide Note" to give the song some extra kick with his punchy live drums. Guante and Big Cats' album You Better Weaponize is due in the Fall of 2012.
“This is the Opposite of a Suicide Note” is a war cry, a manifesto, an acknowledgement that as bad as things can get, there is always hope and power in community. Guante’s trademark gallows humor and distaste for saccharine, positive-rap platitudes, however, make the journey to that conclusion engaging and unpredictable. And O’Brien’s dynamic, propulsive production work provides a powerful foundation, shifting and evolving along with the lyrics.

Homeless: "Get Gone" ft. K.Raydio (Music Video)



Adam Dunn made a music video for the new Homeless track "Get Gone", so now you can follow along with the lyrics of this Big Cats produced song.

Family Records: The Forest Floor (EP)



The Forest Floor is a brief collection of new tracks from Family Records, which is composed of local rapper/producer Oppi, along with Vinnie, Dada and Monty Montana. The Forest Floor is a appropriate title for the 3-song EP, as the opening and closing tracks are both ambient, atmospheric tracks made for mellow summer drives through the country. The middle track "Bassline" is more of a lyrical exercise cypher joint. Click on through to stream and download the project.

Elzhi: "Blue Window"


Detroit rapper Elzhi, one of my favorite rappers on a purely technical level, has a new single to build anticipation for his recently announced upcoming album, The Weather Man.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Behind Brother Ali's 'Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color' (Video)



Here's a video that gives a deeper look into Brother Ali's upcoming album Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color. The album will be released on August 21 and can be pre-ordered right now.

Hear Three New Songs from Toki Wright's "Speed of Life" Project


Despite the loss of a close friend, Abdulle Elmi, that has touched many artists in the local hip-hop community, Toki Wright has continued his week-long "Speed of Life" project. Here are the three latest songs, which include a dedication to Elmi and a song with Yakub, who recently joined Wright on the Fade Left tour.





Sound of the City, Vol. 11 (Mixtape)



Here is the latest Sound of the City mixtape, presetned by 4Seen Magazine. This one features Toki Wright, I Self Devine, Tribe and Big Cats!, MaLLy, Tek, Mike Dreams, Tomorrow Genius, several Audio Perm rappers, and a monstrous collaboration track from Mike the Martyr, Meta, Muja Messiah and Mac Irv, "Dial M for Murder." Grab the mixtape after the jump.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Toki Wright: "Therapy" ft. Felix, Mastermind, & Mayda


Last year Toki Wright completed his first "Speed of Life" project, where he creates from scratch one new song each day for a week. Now, fresh after heading west for his brief Fade Left tour, Toki is working on the second volume of "Speed of Life." "Therapy" is the first song, and features Felix of Heiruspecs, Mastermind, and Mayda.




Hit the jump for the second song Toki has written, produced, recorded, and mixed this week, the trippy, spacey instrumental "лицо краской."

Mike Dreams: Youngin' from '88 (Mixtape)


Mike Dreams' Youngin' From 88 mixtape is a prelude to his upcoming album Millenial, due out on August 7. The tape should keep you busy for a few days until July 9, when you can head to MikeDreamsMusic.com and pre-order the album.

Mike Dreams: Youngin' from '88 (Mixtape)

PREVIOUSLY:

Mike Dreams: "The Lights, The Life"
Mike Dreams: "We The Ones" (Prod. Gmo)
Mike Dreams: "In The Sky" ft. Tameya Clark

Just Wulf: "The Fire" (Prod. Nicademus)


Saint Paul lyricist Just Wulf is working on a monthly release series title "Just In Time Monthly" where he puts out a new song on the last day of every month. The latest song he's given us is "The Fire" a hard hitting verbal exercise with a beat produced by Nicademus. Listen to it below.