French producer Astronote sounds like he could be from Detroit. His beats have that hard-to-define knock and he works with the best of the Motor City’s lesser knowns like Finale and Magestik Legend, both of whom spit acid on his new album Weapon of the Future. Listen to the choice cuts below and the whole thing here. Previously: “Big Trouble Little China.”

Even though JR Mint looks like Mac Miller’s stunt double, the Canadian rapper mostly sidesteps frat rap topics, with the exception of a great smoker track produced by MoSS. He’s an able enough rapper who really shines when he has the right beat (Super Mario World sample?!?). Download the whole album here and listen to the standout tracks below.

Blu released a new eleven track project called jesus on Tuesday. Most artists would have preceded such a release with months of teasers, leaks, interviews, music videos, and behind-the-scenes clips, but Blu posted a link to the project on Twitter without any explanation.

He didn’t even link directly to the album. He posted a link to a thread on the KanyeToThe.com forums which then links to a Bandcamp page where you can stream the album or download it for ten dollars. All of the text on the page is lowercase. The artist field just says “b”. The given release date is June 1, 2011 and when you try to view the lyrics for each song, there are cryptic descriptions like “lucky left e .” and “r a g g i d y.” The only concrete description is “production by alchemist, madlib, hezekiah, knxwledge, nathan & g o d lee barnes,” but it doesn’t say who produced which tracks.

It’s not entirely clear what jesus is. Is it an EP? An unreleased album? A mixtape of loose tracks? When were these songs recorded? I’m not even sure how you’re supposed to write the name. It’s annotated as “je s u s ” on Bandcamp but the cover says “jesus.” I can’t include the little triangle symbol, because WordPress keeps displaying it as a question mark.

Blu fans are used to his oddball web presence. He does stuff like this all the time. Maybe Blu thinks this discreet approach affords him a cool mystique. Maybe he’s too lazy to hype a project for three weeks before he drops it. Maybe he doesn’t care. Maybe he thinks eschewing a promo cycle emphasizes the music, which I’ve ignored for four straight paragraphs.

They call themselves “the Texas Wu-tang” and the claim isn’t entirely without merit. There’s a wide range of talent in Austin’s League of Extraordinary G’z collective. It consists of eight guys spread across three groups: Da C.O.D, Dred Skott, and Southbound. The common thread is precise rhyming and sample-based beats, but members might rap like Big Boi, Bun B, or Phil Da Agony. Highlights include two great Jake One-produced tracks, a weeded Jackie Chain cameo, and a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” sample that surprisingly doesn’t suck. But the whole thing is great and it’s clear that these guys are just getting started.

Download: The League of Extraordinary G’z – Concealed Weapons 3

via DJBooth.net

A year ago, I was the biggest Starlito fan outside of Nashville. Renaissance Gangster and Living in the Past were the work of a charismatic rhymer whose demeanor jumped between jeering and somber. He rapped with a stoned apathy, reciting the next line purely at his convenience. He was Lil Wayne without the bullshit.

I don’t remember exactly what happened next. Then there was a series of subpar mixtapes leading up to Starlito’s Way 3: Life Insurance in December, which disappointed. I was just about ready to hang up my homemade “#1 Lito Fan” t-shirt when out of nowhere, his tape from last week recaptured some of the magic.

Three tracks on @ WAR w/ myself stand out. “Felt Like Giving Up” is back-against-the-wall trap rap with Lito rapping his heart out, “Like Mike” is a DJ Burn One track about hoop dreams, and “Thinking of You” uses a trapped out version of the same Jackson 5 sample as J Dilla’s “Time: The Donut of the Heart.” Whole tape here, best tracks below.

First there were Jeezy-themed movie posters and now animated mixtape covers. Internet, I love you.

Look at the vibrating cup of drank and the flying rubber band on the cover of Juicy J & Lex Luger’s Rubba Band Business 2 and tell me you don’t want to tell all your friends about that shit. Or the cascading c-notes on DJ Scream and DJ MLK’s Saks Fifth: The Clearance cover. They’ll keep falling as long as there’s juice in your laptop battery. This is the future of album art. Jonathan Mannion, step your game up.

Let us know if you’ve seen any more of these. And to all the rappers and DJs out there, if your next tape doesn’t have an animated cover, you’re officially falling behind.

It’s hard to dislike Big K.R.I.T. The blog-favorite turned Def Jam signee is endlessly humble (watch the video for “Dreamin’” below where he plays a school janitor) while still capable of mustering the gusto for heat like “Sookie Now” with David Banner. He wears his influences (Organized Noize, UGK) on his sleeve and he appreciates a good sample. Even if a mild-mannered Mississippi rapper isn’t your thing, K.R.I.T. pulls you in with big, beautiful, engrossing beats full of guitars, strings, and all kinds of analog love. And it’s free. There’s no reason to miss ReturnOf4Eva.

Download: Big K.R.I.T. – ReturnOf4Eva

via ReturnOf4Eva

Watch the video for Dream’ after the break.

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“Box Chevy Pt 3″ was the high point of Yelawolf’s breakout mixtape, but the song’s standout verse belonged to an unknown rapper whose scalding double time verse prompted many a Google search of the name “Rittz.” All they found was a MySpace of a guy who looked like Carrot Top’s country cousin. It turns out Rittz was on the verge of hanging up the mic when Yela called him.

Over a year later, the Georgia rapper is signed to Yelawolf’s Slumerican imprint and he has his own mixtape out. Packing dozens of words into each second, Rittz lets out a lifetime’s worth of frustration with women, friends, and his career. He also parties it up with lots of drugs. It’s a true country rap affair with appearances from Yelawolf, DJ Burn One, and Supahot Beats. Time will tell if White Jesus does for Rittz what Trunk Muzik did for Yelawolf.

Update: Apparently, the tape has been “Re-Mastered,” so download it again.

Download: Rittz – White Jesus

via DJBooth.net

Heart Failure wouldn’t work if Torae didn’t have a sense of humor. His Valentines Day mixtape is all about rapper-specific relationship issues:  ‘Why are you coming home at 3:30 in the morning?’ ‘You have to go on tour again?’ and of course ‘Who are those groupie bitches?’ Remember, this was the guy who was at the forefront of the boom bap revival in 2009 with an album called Double Barrel (that means guns).

It’s an homage to the “for the ladies” tracks that show up halfway through an album when the rapper thinks it’s safe to show you his sensitive side. It’s way more Hot 97 than you’re used to from Torae, but it’s still sample-based production and a vintage flow. The previously mentioned “Let It Go” is a favorite.

Here are some photos from the release party, including a shot of yours truly. I’m one of the white people.

Train! Fight! Die?!

DJA and Dirty South Joe have distilled the essence of motivation and physical and mental exertion into musical form. The product of their labor is Heaven 2 Hell, their second 80s action soundtrack mix. As with any action sequel, the stakes are higher and the danger level has doubled (maybe even tripled). Put this on and get inspired.

Find the track list after the break and don’t forget about part one. Keep it locked for Blood Bros 3!

via Mad Decent