Throwback: Geto Boys - "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" (Video)

This year Halloween fell on a weekend...

Classic

Black Thought & Mos Def - "75 Bars" (Video)

After the cypher. Emcees showing emcees respect.

"You wanna hear the core of The Roots, the core of hip hop; It's the beat & the rhyme"
-Mos Def

via Frolab

Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys - "Empire State Of Mind" (Video)

The visuals to the classic.

directed by Hype Williams

Jay Electronica - "Exhibit C" (prod. by Just Blaze) [Radio Rip]

"I make the devil hit his knees and say the Our Father"

The Megatron Don was on Shade45 last night for Tony Touch's Toca Tuesdays and released some gems; "Exhibit C" being the crown jewel. This is epic, and it's only a snippet.
I hope these collaborations are leading up to an album because Jay Electronica is "spittin that He Could Pass A Polygraph"

It's stuff like this that makes me hate the state of music today. This is 'sugar in the raw' HIP HOP, not the Splenda "rap music" that gets played on mainstream radio.
I find it fitting that this should drop the night of the BET "Hip Hop" Awards where Gucci Mane was on stage more than any other artist...We CAN do better people.

DOWNLOAD:
Jay Electronica - Exhibit C (Radio Rip)

Transcribed lyrics here via FWMJ.

Sean Price Is Right (Video)

via Dallas Penn

"Rappers eat...P!"

lol, I miss Pathmark, word...

The Cypher: [Part I - III] (Video)

The best part of the BET "Hip Hop" Awards each year is The Cypher.


Part I - Nicki Minaj, Buckshot, Crown Royyal, Joe Budden



Nicki Minaj surprised me. I never paid too much attention to her before, but if she just spit and didn't use weird voices she might actually be okay. (I get it though)
And Budden went in hard on this...You past your prime, I ain't spit ether yet/You need a major, I just need an ethernet


Part II - Wale, Nipsey Hu$$le, Gsan, KRS One



I don't get the hype around Wale, I'm not feeling him at all. Nipsey Hu$$le is a problem though. And of course, Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone.


Part III - Mos Def, Black Thought, Eminem



This is hip hop right here, real emcees. Even though Mos recycled his verse from "Brooklyn (Go Hard)", you gotta love it. Thought blacked out, never disappoints.
And Eminem...I’m a f*cking cross between Osama, Dahmer, Obama, and Dhali Lama

Melanie Fiona - Street Performance Series: Canada Edition (Video)

The first stop was NYC, next stop Canada (Toronto & Montreal). Still fresh...

The Bridge in stores 11/10.

UNDRCRWN & DJ Jazzy Jeff Present: He's The King, I'm The DJ (Mixtape)

A 49 track tribute remix project, Dope concept...

“I did it exactly as I would play it out live,” Jeff explained. “I kind of wanted to give a feel like you heard it in a club. I didn’t necessarily want to go in a certain order, ’cause everybody in the world plays certain Michael Jackson songs. And I wanted to play songs that not everyone plays, play some obscure album cuts. And if you listen to it, I have some a capella and versions of songs that not everyone had heard. So, I kind of wanted to mix it up and keep people off guard. Just give them an example of all that Michael was like.”
-DJ Jazzy Jeff

DOWNLOAD:
UNDRCRWN & DJ Jazzy Jeff Present: He's The King, I'm The DJ

Track Listing:

50 Cent - "Crime Wave" (Video)

Fif says his upcoming album Before I Self Destruct is like the prequel to Get Rich or Die Tryin. More aggressive content. We'll see...

This is the official video for the street single, "Crime Wave"

Fashawn - 21 To Grow On (Mixtape)

Fashawn's debut album, Boy Meets World is in stores now. Cop that pronto.

via The Beehive

In honor of his milestones -- both career-wise and personally -- I wanted to revisit some of the music he's put out over the last few years.

The result is "21 To Grow On." It's intended to be a "best-of" all his pre-"Boy Meets World" material. It's 21 tracks, pulled from all seven of his mixtapes. If you're looking for either a refresher course or your first introduction, this oughta do it.

DOWNLOAD:
Fashawn - 21 To Grow On

Track Listing:
01. The Phenom
from: "The Phenom Vol. 1," 2007

02. The Phenom 2.5
from: "The Phenom Vol. 2," 2008

03. Streets of Fresno
from: "Grizzly City Vol. 1," 2006

04. F.A.S.H.A.W.N.
from: "One Shot One Kill," 2008

05. The City is Mine
from: "The Phenom Vol. 1," 2007

06. F.C. (feat. Planet Asia & Turbin)
from: "The Phenom Vol. 2," 2008

07. Prima Donna (feat. Bravo)
from: "Grizzly City Vol. 1," 2006

08. King of Grizzly City
from: "The Phenom Vol. 1," 2007

09. Pretty Thing (feat. Diego Redd)
from: "The Phenom Vol. 1," 2007

10. Strange Love (feat. Rob the Voice)
from "Grizzly City Vol. 2," 2007

11. Wall to Wall
from "Grizzly City Vol. 2," 2007

12. Come on Baby (feat. Planet Asia)
from "Grizzly City Vol. 2," 2007

13. Fash Plays it Cool
from "The Antidote," 2009

14. Got It Sewn
from "The Antidote," 2009

15. Back to the Block
from: "The Phenom Vol. 1," 2007

16. Relax (feat. Thurzday)
from: "One Shot One Kill," 2008

17. Missing You
from: "The Phenom Vol. 2," 2008

18. Day 'N' Nite
from "Higher Learning," 2008

19. Sunday Morning
from "Higher Learning," 2008

20. Shut Up and Let Me Go
from: "One Shot One Kill," 2008

21. We Taking Over (feat. Planet Asia, Diego Redd & Shake Da Mayor)
from "Grizzly City Vol. 2," 2007

Kanye West - "We Were Once A Fairytale" (Video)

What was originally supposed to be the video for Kanye's "See You In My Nightmares" from 808's & Heartbreak turned into a short film directed by Spike Jonze. Strange...

In the film, Kanye plays himself drunk at a club acting belligerent and boastful, telling starstruck club-goers that the song playing in the club is his. He wanders into a side room where he encounters a beautiful woman. They start having sex and then he passes out on her leopard print dress. When he comes to, he finds himself in the VIP room with his pants down – he was hallucinating and fucking the pillow. The realization startles him and he rushes to the bathroom where he vomits what look like rose petals.

Then it gets weird.

Kanye finds a bowie knife in the bathroom and cuts into his stomach, spilling a torrent of more petals. He digs in the knife deeper and then with his hand rips out a small furry rodent, like a demon, only its quite cute. When Kanye realizes it’s connected to him with an umbilical cord, he pulls it hard, ripping it out of him for good. He then puts the demon on the sink and hands him a tiny bowie knife to fit the critter’s scale who then uses it to commit hari kari.
-The Daily Swarm

"Tell everybody that you know!"

RZA on The Colbert Report (Video)

RZA dropping knowledge on Stephen Colbert and promoting his book, The Tao of Wu.

The truth is mathematically correct, it’s never something that belongs to somebody. One plus one is two no matter where you go. Uno, uno still translates to the number two. Mathematics don’t lie, so we use mathematics to express our truth more than anything.
–RZA

Melanie Fiona - Street Performance Series: NYC Edition (Video)

Fresh...

The Bridge in stores 11/10

DJ Matt Cali & Russell Fong - The Little Green Tape (Instrumentals)

Dope...

via Hold the Throne

Bay area turnablist DJ Matt Cali and New York music guru/graphic designer Russell Fong craftily pieced together The Little Green Tape, an hour-long sonic journey through turntablism, break-beats, and instrumental hip-hop with sprinkles of electro-experimental and funkified rhythms throughout.

Broken down into four parts, the duo works together as Cali mixes and scratches the sounds that Fong has expertly chosen.

Among the laundry-list of sampled artists are Wu-Tang Clan, J Dilla, Mobb Deep, Jake One, The Xecutioners, Peanut Butter Wolf, DJ Shadow, Lewis Parker, etc...You get the point, these two don’t play around.

DOWNLOAD:
DJ Matt Cali & Russell Fong - The Little Green Tape

Track Listing:

Mike Tyson on Oprah (Video)

I feel like sometimes that I was not meant for this society.
-Mike Tyson

The Classics: An Album Cover Art Exploration (Video)

A video comprised of classic album covers and vintage interviews from Run DMC [@2:20], Leaders of the New School [@6:45], and LL Cool J [@9:40].

via The Rap Up

DJ Jazzy Jeff - "Rock The Bells" Intro (Video)

On 10/13, VH1 Hip-Hop Honors will pay homage to a record label for the first time, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Def Jam.

?uestlove captured footage of DJ Jazzy Jeff scratching the intro to LL Cool J’s “Rock The Bells” at the event. Classic magnificence.

Duck Down Records - Download The Right Thing (Mixtape)

"This past year Duck Down Records has remained active with a onslaught of quality releases from a growing roster of artists. Rather than force fans to scour the Internet looking for low quality MP3s on our product, we have taken it upon ourselves to provide you with a collection of music from various MCs on Duck Down through the DOWNLOAD THE RIGHT THING sampler mix cd.

Hear music from KRS-ONE & Buckshot, Sean Price, Kidz In The Hall, Blue Scholars, DJ Revolution, Heltah Skeltah, Random Axe (comprised of Sean Price, Guilty Simpson and Black Milk), B-Real of Cypress Hill, Skyzoo, Team Facelift, Naledge, Smif N Wessun, Marco Polo & Torae, Ruste Juxx, General Steele and Boot Camp Clik."

DOWNLOAD:
Duck Down Records - Download The Right Thing

Track Listing:

Foreign Exchange - "I Wanna Know" (Video)

This is my favorite cut from Foreign Exchange's Leave It All Behind album. Directed by Matt Koza.

Vybz Kartel - "Yuh Love" (Video)

I'm feeling the Rastafari-conscious Kartel as oppose to the ghetto confrontational Gaza. Tuff tune.

RIP Mr. Magic

"Every Saturday 'Rap Attack', Mr. Magic, Marley Marl; I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped..." (c) Biggie Smalls

"I got to have it, I miss Mr. Magic..." (c) Nas

We're losing our pioneers. Mr. Magic aka Sir Juice hosted the 'Rap Attack' on WBLS in NYC with Marley Marl. This was the first all hip-hop show anywhere on radio, ever. Mr. Magic was also instrumental in one of the earliest rap beefs; Boogie Down Productions vs. The Juice Crew.

DJ Premier's Letter:

I WANT TO SEND OUT THE UTMOST RESPECT AND CONDOLENCES TO THE MEMORY OF JOHN RIVAS aka MR. MAGIC

HE PASSED AWAY THIS MORNING OF A HEART ATTACK.

TRUE HIP HOP HEADS KNOW THAT HIS HISTORY IS SO LONG DUE TO HIM BEING THE FIRST RAP MIXSHOW TO EVER BE ON COMMERCIAL RADIO ON NEW YORK’S WBLS (107.5) WITH MARLEY MARL AND FLY TY IN 1982-1984. THEN WENT ON TO WHBI IN OCTOBER OF 1984 AND THEN BACK TO WBLS IN 1985 AND WDAS in PHILLY SIMULTANEOUSLY

HE PAVED THE WAY FOR ALL RADIO STATIONS THAT EVER DID MIXSHOWS AND ALSO SPARKED THE CAREER OF BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS DUE TO THE DISS HE SHOWED WHEN THEY CAME TO SHOP THEIR DEMO TO HIM AND WAS TURNED AWAY WHICH THEN SPARKED “SOUTH BRONX” AND “THE BRIDGE IS OVER”.

HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS DIRECT AND SARCASTIC ATTITUDE ON THE AIR AND EVERY ARTIST WANTED HIS APPROVAL WHEN IT CAME TO BREAKING NEW RECORDS. HE EVEN HAD SONGS DEDICATED TO HIM BY THE LEGENDARY WHODINI (”MR. MAGIC’S WAND”) WHICH WAS SURPRISINGLY PRODUCED BY ONE OF MY FAVORITE ARTISTS THOMAS DOLBY.

SHOUTS OUT TO MARLEY MARL AND FLY TY FOR THE CORRECT INFORMATION ON THIS.

REST IN PEACE MR. MAGIC………….DJ PREMIER