Statik Selektah slipped this super smooth jawn onto the upcoming Reflection Eternal mixtape The Re:Union. I love the crisp snare and Royce’s show-stealing verse.
Statik told Rap Radar that this will also appear on his album 100 Proof, but without Kweli’s verse.
via Rap Radar
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Is it safe to say that Oddisee is the face of underground DC hip-hop?
via illRoots
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Screw hip-hop for a second. A group called Zelda Reorchestrated spent the last six years recreating the soundtrack to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to sound like it was recorded by live musicians. Ocarina is possibly the greatest game of all time and the soundtrack is freaking timeless.
Zelda Reorchestrated almost realizes the dream of a fully orchestrated Ocarina soundtrack – the project uses a virtual orchestra, which sounds good, but isn’t entirely convincing. We’ll have to wait until another day for the real deal.
via Joystiq
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“Keep Going” comes from Album of the Year, one of three albums Black Milk is dropping in 2010. From the sound of it, it’s going to be a good year. Black Milk uses live drums and vocals for an epic return. It actually sounds a lot like his first single for Tronic, “Give the Drummer Sum.”
via illRoots
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Here’s a song off ADaD and Exile’s upcoming collab album. The beat features one of Exile’s signature chopped up, stuttering melodies.
RubyHornet via Fake Shore Drive
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Anything Jay Electronica puts out is going to be held to the standard of “Exhibit C,” which has received an overwhelmingly positive response (as was reflected in our Beat Drop). The New Orleans rapper has fans hanging on his every word.
“Just Begun” is pretty low-key for a song boasting such eye-catching features. It doesn’t try to compete with “Exhibit C”’s anthemic sound, but it’s verses are just as strong.
This and “Back Again” are set to appear on Revolutions Per Min, dropping this Summer.
Year of the Blacksmith via OnSMASH
Sphere: Related ContentSwine flu, Balloon Boy, Michael Jackson, Iran, and Cash for Clunkers.
At least there were some cool beats.
For our end of the year Beat Drop, we asked our friends to pick their favorite beats of 2009. Part 1 featured artists; today we have everyone else.
Sphere: Related ContentSo, what have we learned in 2009?
Raekwon is more trustworthy than Dr. Dre. No one believed either of ’em when we were told that Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II and Detox would drop in our lifetimes (R.I.P. to those that didn’t make it long enough), but Rae played the role of the tortoise, creeping upon the finish line, while Dre continues to stroll, seemingly uncommitted as to whether his magnum opus will live up to the hype. In the meantime, we have a handful of average-quality sounding reference tracks (with a surprising amount of T.I.), a Dr. Pepper commercial featuring a beat that may make Detox (though, it has already been utilized by Wale and Rick Ross & Birdman), and some $300 headphones (to enhance the listening experience of music that actually sees the light of day).
Albums don’t matter anymore. At least, that’s one rationale as to why Eminem is not one of MTV’s 10 hottest MCs (despite selling 600K of Relapse, his first release in five years, in its first week), omitted in exchange for several MCs who either did not drop albums this year (Weezy, Jeezy and Yeezy) or dropped mediocre-at-best albums (Fab). (Sorry if I’m downplaying the “heat” of Katie Couric interviews and Taylor Swift speech interruptions. Also sorry if I’m implying that MTV’s list has that much credibility.)
Not even 50 Cent can sell records in today’s industry — and this is the same 50 Cent that once sold Curtis to the buying public! Maybe it’s time to redefine “flop” — not that we ever had a Webster’s definition for it — because if 50 flopped, then what do you call Wale’s first week numbers? That’s not a diss, either — I like Wale a lot, and ML’s been tracking his career since 100 Miles & Running back in ’07. In fact, the only reason I don’t have a physical copy of Attention Deficit nearby as I type (I had to resort to iTunes) is because I couldn’t find one on any Best Buy store shelves — though, for whatever it’s worth, the Best Buy employee who told me that they didn’t have any copies also told me that it was dope (I should’ve asked him where he copped his copy).
Gucci Mane is a rap star. I never would have imagined this based on his first two videos — to me, he was just another terrible rapper from the South with no charisma. Now, he’s a pretty good rapper with, well, a little charisma. Good enough, I guess.
Rappers continue to diss Jay-Z and get no response. Game put out a diss record, which was kind of sad (in a lame, pathetic sort of way). Beanie Sigel put out a diss record, which was also kind of sad (in a “doesn’t feel right” sort of way). 50’s been trying to bait Jay for a while, but to no avail — The Blueprint 3 didn’t have a “Takeover”, let alone a half-a-bar for everyone to share. The only rapper to get a response record from Jay in the last few years? Jim Jones. That may be what’s the most sad about all of this.
And, last but not least, the following beats are dope…
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Creature offers his CDs to passersby free of charge on 6th Avenue between 8th Street and 9th Street. “Do you like hip-hop?” he asks. If you say yes, he might tell you about how he appeared on Viktor Vaughn’s 2003 album Vaudeville Villain on the song “Open Mic Nite, Part 2.” And if you take one of his homemade CDs, he’ll ask for “a modest donation” in return.
An underground rap artist, Creature peddles his music on compact disc, a format made commercially available in October 1982. But in the independent record store upstairs, the walls are coated with vinyl records, a format which rose to dominance 40 years prior.
According to Nielsen SoundScan data, vinyl records posted record breaking sales numbers on November 8. Two million records were sold, which is 37% more than at the same time last year, and the most since Nielsen began tracking vinyl sales in 1991.
“Not in our market,” scoffed DJ Eclipse who oversees retail at Fat Beats, an independent record store specializing in hip-hop.
Even though vinyl plays an integral role in hip-hop production and DJing, Fat Beats has not enjoyed a share of the surge in vinyl sales. Music industry experts predict vinyl will play a significant role in the recording industry while hip-hop fans and record collectors don’t foresee vinyl expanding beyond a niche audience of audiophiles and enthusiasts.
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Black Milk plans on releasing three albums in 2010. Random Axe, his collaboration with Sean Price and Guilty Simpson; Searching for Sanity with singer Melanie Rutherford; and Album of the Year, his next solo album.
He previews material from all three in this video.
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