BK-One: "Here I Am ft. Phonte, Brother Ali, & The Grouch"

Hey! A non P.O.S. or A.R.M. post, what do you know? Courtesy of Rhymesayers Entertainment. BK-One's Radio de Canibal will be released on October 6, and can be preordered right now at Fifth Element.

Better known as Brother Ali's DJ, BK-One takes his years of experience as a DJ and puts on his producer hat joining forces with up and coming Twin Cities beatsmith Benzilla to craft a Brazilian musical bed for some of Hip Hop's most engaging MC's. Rádio Do Canibal features appearances by Scarface, Slug (Atmosphere), Black Thought (The Roots), Brother Ali, Raekwon (Wu-Tang Clan), Murs (Living Legends), Phonte (Little Brother), Haiku D' Etat (Aceyalone, Myka 9 & Abstract Rude), Blueprint, P.O.S. (Doomtree), The Grouch (Living Legends), I Self Devine, Toki Wright, Aby Wolf and The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

When not touring the globe with Brother Ali, BK-One has traveled extensively throughout Central and South America... these travels would become the inspiration for Rádio Do Canibal. The title Rádio Do Canibal refers to the Brazilian poet Oswald de Andrade's "Cannibal Manifesto". Written in 1928, the poem described Brazil as drawing its power from the absorption of other cultures. Decades later, Brazilians were creating wildly inventive music that drew inspiration from a wide range of sources. From the Brazilian sounds of bossa nova, Bahian folk, and samba, to international styles like psychedelic pop, reggae, Portuguese fado, and the soul, jazz, and funk music of the U.S., nothing was off limits. Rádio Do Canibal is a humble attempt to capture the spirit of that Brazilian music, creating something new and exciting.

BK-One: "Here I Am ft. Phonte, Brother Ali, & The Grouch"

Drake: "Think Good Thoughts ft. Phonte & Elzhi"

Honestly, not a big Drake fan. I find him pretty one-dimensional. But this track has got some new Elzhi on it, so I'm pretty much obligated to post. An unfinished, sans-Elzhi version was featured on Drake's Comeback Season mixtape, which I never heard. Apparently now that Drake finally paid 9th Wonder for the beat, as he produced this track, so it can be released properly. Shout to Rappers I Know.

Drake: "Think Good Thoughts ft. Phonte & Elzhi"

Focus: "Homage To Premier ft. Royce Da 5'9", Phonte, & Stat Quo"

Stumbling upon this track was honestly a little serendipitous. While browsing around Twitter, I happened to see that Phonte of Little Brother posted a new track through one of his updates. Naturally, since I found this only a few minutes ago, I don't have much information about it. Could be an older song, but I had never heard it before, and it's ill, so it deserves a post. Produced by Focus, and featuring Phonte, Royce Da 5'9", and Stat Quo, this song, as the title indicates, is an homage to the legendary DJ Premier. Perhaps it's part of a larger project, I'll keep you updated as any new developments emerge. For the meantime, hit the download link below and vibe out to this dope track.

Focus: "Homage To Premier ft. Royce Da 5'9", Phonte, & Stat Quo"

Phonte Disses Kanye West for 808s and Heartbreak

Just spotted this at Byron Crawford's house, and it's really pretty surprising. In a recent interview, Phonte of Little Brother and the Foreign Exchange expressed his dislike of Kanye West's latest album, 808s and Heartbreak (Review). Claiming that Kanye simply does not have enough talent to sing for a whole album, Phonte argues that him using autotune was, more or less, a musical cop out. You can listen to the interview via a zshare link below. I applaud Phonte's honesty in speaking his mind. It will be interesting to see if this develops into anything else, especially since Phonte's two latest albums (Leave It All Behind and Zo and Tigallo Sing the 80s) have featured him singing. I hesitantly gave 808s a spot on my Best Non-Hip-Hop Albums of 2008 list, if only for the fact that that album did not completely suck even though I strongly dislike autotune. What do you people think? Does Phonte have a point? How badly would he destroy Kanye in a (rapping) battle? Or are his comments completely unwarranted? Take a listen and decide for yourself.

Phonte Disses Kanye (Audio)