Metal Lungies

Celebrate the release of Double Barrel next week at Sutra. From the looks of the flyer, there will be no shortage of hip-hop legends in the building.

Finale gives stragglers yet another reason to check out his album A Pipe Dream and a Promise. As always, Finale’s bars match the quality of his beat selection. For the last two minutes, Prince Whipper Whip of the Furious Five lectures rappers on writing meaningful lyrics.

Download: Finale – Issues (produced by Dimilite)

via 2dopeboyz

Here’s another track off The Paxtons’ upcoming album Work. Their rendition of Ghost Town DJs’ “My Boo” cool, but nowhere as magical as Cam and J.R.’s version.

Download: The Paxtons – Just Tonight (ft. Ra the MC, AP & Te’Luv

Southern California emcee Anterluz emailed me a while back, and I never got around to posting his stuff. Let me make up for it now, and get you acquainted with two recent tracks.

“I Ain’t Know” has a classic West Coast sound to it, with woozy synthesizers, rolling bass and what sounds like the drums from “More Bounce”. Ant rips the ominous, psychedelic beat on “We Get It Done” with a steady, forceful flow. “We Get It Done” sounds like it could be an Alchemist production, and I mean that in the best possible way. This kid’s got a lot of promise and great production behind him, I advise to you to get familiar. Ant’s album Fight For The Crown drops this summer.

Anterluz’s MySpace

DOWNLOAD: Anterluz – We Get It Done (Prod. By Matt Monsta)

DOWNLOAD: Anterluz – I Ain’t Know (Prod. By Max-I-Million)

…as shown by his floormats. You know we love to jump on anything hip hop + hockey related. Continue watching to see Young Buck talk about his cars & bikes.  Be sure to note Young Buck rocking the motorcyle helmet, proving Young Buck has the sickest non-traditional hat game in hip hop.

With today being Biggie’s birthday, I thought this was a must post.

Via The Real’s Twitter.

In a slight departure from your usual Metal Lungies fare, here’s a feature article on producer Marco Polo.

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Marco Polo records most of his music in Studio A, a room in his apartment where the ceiling is unfinished and the walls peel where they aren’t covered by J Dilla and Masta Ace posters. Across the hall is Studio B, a makeshift recording booth soundproofed by foam padding on the door.

“There are certain things in my setup that could be a little cleaner,” lamented Polo, but he added “Sometimes you don’t want your shit to sound clean. You don’t want it to sound like a Britney Spears record, you want it to sound like hip-hop.”

Light-haired and pale, Polo is tall and skinny with a shaved head and a protruding stubbled chin. Despite the growing pop influence in hip-hop today, the Canadian producer insists on making music for an audience that wishes it was still 1994.

Polo has reprised the classic one-rapper one-producer formula with Coney Island’s Torae for Double Barrel, an album reminiscent of the genre’s glory days.

But major labels have long since abandoned backing aspiring artists who make traditional hip-hop. Instead, Polo has gone the less glamorous independent route with both Double Barrel and his first album Port Authority. Polo records and produces from his meager home studio in Brooklyn with no regrets.

Read the rest of this entry »

Common and Funny or Die make light of the financial crisis with a little blaxploitation jive. So funny, I almost forgive him for his last album. Almost.

via illRoots

Funky West Coast shit! Kurupt has the Streetlight album with Terrace Martin coming out this Summer and BlaQKout with DJ Quik coming June 9. Collaborations ahoy!

Download: Kurupt & Terrace Martin – I’m One

via 2dopeboyz

Bonus: Kurupt & Terrace Martin – Build You Up, Tear You Down (ft. Soopafly, Snoop Dogg)

via Nah Right

What’s this? Danny Brown and Johnson & Jonson? A Danny Johnson album? Apparently, Detroit rapper Danny Brown is doing an entire album with Blu and Mainframe who comprise the duo Johnson & Jonson. Last year’s Johnson & Jonson album was amazing and Danny Brown has shown that he’s a beast on the mic. “Can’t Find My Mind” is interesting, but it remains to be seen if this peculiar combination can put together a great album. Color me excited.

Download: Danny Brown – Can’t Find My Mind (ft. Constantine) (produced by Johnson & Jonson)

via okayplayer