Kicking off the weekend party a day early. But you don’t mind.

Enjoy! (more…)

Identity | The Shocker | A Fool’s Lullaby

His 10-track opus, Love Money and Music, splendidly blends a low-fi approach with novel rap anthems. It’s well worth your time.

Catch 8thW1 at the Knitting Factory tonight. He’s opening for Atmosphere.

A.C. - New Soul

AC’s “New Soul,” which samples music from Apple’s Macbook Air commercial, is a new favorite of mine. The sample is ingenious. The pop references are creative.

Pure proof that you can still inject freshness to the game without using a vocoder.

[Props to yaboy]

Wildahead Portibeast feat 6th Sense - Machine Gun

Some clever rapping from Wildabeast and 6th Sense over a Portishead beat.
There’s a Rap Up shoutout right around 1:25. We major.

P.S: This has to be the #1 song on T.I.’s playlist.

Bekay - 2007 Year in Review

Around this time last year, Bekay dropped his own version of a year in review joint a la Skillz’ yearly Rap Ups. This time, he sums up 2007’s major events over one of the most memorable beats of that year. It sound promising at first, but falls off in the middle. And it’s definitely not as entertaining as the Skillz Rap Ups.

[Full Disclosure: Bekay is part of the Rawkus 50 Group]

Trina - Single Again
Taken from Da Baddest Bitch II, due out in February.

This has all the makings of Top 40 hit. And I bet you she won’t be single for too long.

Ja Rule + Lil Wayne = Uh Oh

(*G-Unit Stans skip this part*)

It’s good to see Ja “the original rap-singer” back on the scene. “Uh-Oh” is the first single from his new album, The Mirror, due out September 25 (Keep in mind: Curtis will now be released on 9/11). It’s also featured on an upcoming Step Ya Game Up mixtape, available via Get A Buz.

Boo Boo could not be reached for comment at press time, as he was too busy soliciting a ghostwriter for his next dis song.

Photo via MTV

Reason #19: see above

A friend once told me that he hadn’t heard enough from Trae to decide whether or not he’s worth checking for. So I’ve strewn together a buncha new songs from the self-proclaimed Asshole by Nature for your listening pleasure. Some of these tracks are also featured on his second Rap-A-Lot album, Life Goes On, due out someday.

>>Smile (LP Version) ft. Jadakiss & Styles P
As I mentioned in my Life Goes On preview, this is an update from the previously leaked version. Jada’s verse is a welcome addition to an already exceptional track. I have a feeling this will end up on everyone’s Best Of- list for ‘07.

>>Bartender (Freestyle)
I don’t really care for the real “Bartender,” but I guess it’s traditional to freejack popular songs these days to prove your versatility. Sounds like something he wrote after a long night out at HK.

>>Throwaway ft. Yung Joc (shhh) and Gorilla Zoe
Anyone who manages to squeeze a decent verse out of Yung Joc (twice!) is alright in my book. This one’s also an album cut.

>>Rock ‘n’ Roll (ft. Nirvana)
Well, he jacked Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for this one. Not exactly what you’d expect from Trae. You’re gonna love it.

>>Swang (Remix) ft. Jim Jones & H-Town All-Stars
Trae called up his all-star friends–Bun B, Slim Thug, Pimp C, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, and Jim Jones–to appease those folks who felt defrauded when they realized that the version of “Swang” they fell in love with didn’t was missing from Restless. I’m not sure why Chamillionaire is not on this remiix (beef?). And Jimmy might as well migrate to the south. We’ve got rebates on used kufis down here.

Download these and 11 more tracks here: Trae Mix

Saigon & Tre Williams - What A Life

T.I. & Eminem - Touchdown (Snippet)

Check out some more of this week’s new music right here, courtesy of Shorty.

Enjoy and discuss!

- Ivan

Rizoh returns in 5 days…

::Image courtesy of vybrantricky::

He dropped a verse on Def Poetry back in the day. He circulated a snippet to tease us back in 2005.
But now, the track has been released in it’s entirety. ‘Ye is officially 3 for 3 as is T.R.U. for keeping their ears to the streets (well, in this case, the internet). ;-D

Enjoy and discuss!

- Ivan