Metal Lungies

At least Def Jam’s bungled promotion of Ghost’s Apollo Kids album gave us a dope video for the single. Between this and the Sheek vid, the rap label of yore seems to know who to call to make a standard, but fun rap video.

Gangrene is about to tour Europe, but they need to be playing this in Egypt and Tunisia right now. The “Demons” remix is a leftover from Gutter Water, one of the few great rap albums of 2010.

Download: Gangrene – Demons (Remix) (ft. Evidence, Fashawn)

via Xclusives Zone

Ever since Rittz played AZ to Yelawolf’s Nas on “Box Chevy,” I’ve been waiting for him to drop something of his own. My prayers will be answered in the form of his upcoming project White Jesus. “High Five” shows that Rittz’ burst of fast rap was no fluke. Rittz sounds like a mix of Paul Wall and Big Pun. Burn One actually gave us an unmixed version of this back in September, but here’s the finished product.

[audio:http://ia700408.us.archive.org/35/items/Rittz-HighFive/HighFive.mp3]

Download: Rittz – High Five (produced by DJ Burn One)

via The Smoking Section

Co$$ told us about his album Before I Awoke back in August 2009. Since then, he took a detour and did a mixtape with Florida producer Numonics. But he appears to be back on track with this introspective track. Co$$ puts more genuine feeling in one line than most rappers have in their entire catalogs.

Download: Co$$ – Through the Flames (ft. Blu) (produced by Beatnick Dee)

via 2dopeboyz

When I was in middle school (early 00s), my friend once took me and a bunch of other kids to Benihana in Manhasset, NY for his birthday. I know, very baller. After dinner, one of us noticed LL Cool J was sitting at a table with his family. He noticed us whispering and staring at him and he waved at us. We all went over and got his autograph.

It’s a good thing Curly Castro wasn’t there. He calls “Eulogy to L” “my lament of the former existence of one of our stalwart emcees, turned media spectacle and glittery popstar.” ML BFF Zilla Rocca on the beat. Winston’s Appeal drops January 28.

And here’s the only Philly posse cut you’ll ever need.

Hip-hop took everything from soul. They got the pain from Syl Johnson, the melodies from The Delfonics and The Stylistics, the drums from Melvin Bliss (or rather Bernard Purdie), and the gangster shit from Curtis Mayfield. So it’s about time hip-hop gave something back besides royalties (“I’m sitting in the house now that was built with the Wu-Tang money,” –Syl Johnson).

Wildcookie sentimentalizes the same substances as Pusha T, but instead of summoning fiends with virulent couplets, Anthony Mills recalls his favorite heroin(e)-addicted jazz players with a 1974 falsetto. He’s singing about what the best rappers rap about: drugs. Take into account the incredibly funky beats and you’ve got a soul project that hip-hop heads will be able to appreciate without removing their mean mugs.

A Wildcookie/Ghostface collaboration is at the top of my wish list. The album, Cookie Dough, drops February 21. Here are some select cuts.

I usually associate Mistah FAB with shit you turn off after 30 seconds, but wow, this is dope. Even though it’s a generic concept (bringing boom bap back) with an even more generic title (“Boom Bap”), this is just potent hip-hop. B-boys and graffiti. No surprises, aside from the fact that this is coming from Mistah FAB, no complaints.

Also, I love that his producer is white and nerdy enough to write for Metal Lungies.

Last Wednesday, Nintendo hosted a preview event in New York to showoff the Nintendo 3DS and announce its release date and price (March 27, 2011, $249.99). I showed up too late to partake of the muffins and yogurt, but I did get to try the thing out with a bunch of different games.

The 3DS is Nintendo’s new handheld and the successor to the DS — it’s not a redesign, but a new device with new games. The top screen displays images in 3D without any special glasses. You can adjust the 3D effect with the slider right next to the top screen. You can turn it up and down or turn it off completely.

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KD and Burn One at it again. This time he breaks down the fast life.

Download: KD – Slow Down (produced by DJ Burn One)

via KD

On the voodoo space hippie side of things, track five from Bilal’s Airtight’s Revenge gets the video treatment. And not just any treatment — Flying Lotus makes his directorial debut, lacing “Levels” with suitably crazy visuals. Shafiq Husayn’s beat is so powerful that it’s no problem at all that Bilal doesn’t come in until two minutes into the song. And when he does, it’s with a melancholy croon that breaks your heart.

The “Levels” EP is out today and it includes a FlyLo edit and remxies from KenBts. and Sonnymoon. Grab the KenBts. remix below.