Brother Ali: "4th King"

Brother Ali's musical relationship with Jake One has proved to be an exciting one ever since they dropped "The Truth." But with their full-length Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color coming soon, that partnership is proving to be beneficial in unexpected ways. Jake One recently got the most high-profile beat placement of his career in "Three Kings," the Rick Ross song featuring Dr. Dre and Jay-Z. Jake had announced that he wouldn't leak the instrumental, as to avoid avoid the inevitable deluge of shitty freestyles that always happens when a trendy industry beat comes out. However, Ali heard the song and realized he already had Jake One's beat from their previous sessions together. Naturally, Ali had to make the song his own, and eclipsed the generic and lifeless verses delivered by Rozay and Dre. Listen to "4th King" below.

Brother Ali: "4th King"

P.O.S: "Bumper"

This morning delivered one of the best possible surprises with the official lead single to P.O.S's upcoming album, We Don't Even Live Here, due on October 23. I'm pretty sure I've seen "Bumper" played live once or twice — I've definitely heard the brilliant "They on some nonsense, we on some nonstop" hook before — but getting to dissect the studio version is exciting as it hints at what we can expect from the album, which you can read about further on in this post.

Brother Ali: "Mourning in America" (Prod. Jake One)

Brother Ali's new album Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color is due on Sept. 12 (pushed back from it's original August date). Here is "Mourning in America," the raging sort-of title track to the album, which can be pre-ordered now.

Greg Grease: "Rip Well"

Greg Grease's "Rip Well" is a song 3 years in the making. The Mic Titan-produced track is inspired by unwarranted acts of violence in large American cities like Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis and Atlanta, but gained deeper significance due to the recent passing of Greg's friend and musical collaborator Abdulle Elmi. The song builds from Greg starting his rhymes over little more than guitar and 808 kicks to a full-flegged emotional yet paranoid dedication. Greg stated, “I wanted it to be sad but not weepy, angry not aggressive...I really feel like it has its own energy that isn't Greg Grease, I'm just a feature on it”. This intention comes through and makes the track a tribute in the finest form: a statement that resonates powerfully and emotionally without Grease having to preach from a soapbox.



DOWNLOAD - Greg Grease: "Rip Well"

Sean Anonymous: "Hot to Death" (Music Video)

Here is the second music video from Sean Anonymous' Anonymo EP, which can be purchased on iTunes now. The video was directed by Dave Wilson and show in Austin, TX during SXSW 2012.

Prof: "New Kid" ft. Yelawolf

Prof's Kaiser Von Powerhorn 3 is coming out on September 25 and the first single from that project is here, "New Kid," which features a high profile guest in Yelawolf.

Paper Tiger: "The Fortunate Wayfarer" (Music Video)

Paper Tiger just released his Summer EP, an aptly titled collection of breezy beats perfect for enjoying outdoors in these waning days of heat and sunshine. Here is the video for one track off that EP, "The Fortunate Wayfarer," which documents the delightful seaside adventures of a boombox and reminds me of this fan-made video for LCD Soundsystem's "Home." It also makes me want to go to the No Kings Arcade.

Stream the Summer EP after the jump or download it from iTunes.

Franz Diego: "Turnt Up"

The monthly Turnt Up parties at Honey just celebrated their 2-year anniversary (which was documented by Greg Grease via the above video) and Franz Diego released a song to celebrate that milestone.

Franz Diego: "Turnt Up"




BONUS! Here is Noam the Drummer's August 2012 Turnt Up mix:

MasterMind: DenMark Vesey: ICFS, Vol. 1 (Mixtape)

After the excellent single "Hood Dreamin" helping to build anticipation, MasterMind's debut solo mixtape DenMark Vesey: ICFS, Vol. 1 is finally here. This should be a good one. Production from Reggie Reg, and the entire project was mixed by Booka B of the Wants Vs. Needs crew. Hit the jump to stream and download the mixtape.

Maria Isa: "Revolutionary Bums (Illegal Characters)"

This new song from Maria Isa is an early preview from her next album Valley of the Dolls.