Cypress Hill, Evidence, Alchemist, DJ Muggs, DJ Khalil, and Pete Rock. The Soul Assassins collective is bursting with amazing talent. These two tracks come from Cypress Hill’s new album Rise Up, out April 20.
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I feel like I’ve been waiting for someone to make a tape like this. Dallas-born New York-based producer Shy Guy sampled all of the James Bond themes in chronological order, stopping at License to Kill, for this incredible beat tape. Shy Guy makes excellent use of his source material; he pays homage to the big band, international romance sound of Bond with head-nodding hip-hop beats. My personal favorite is “Man With the Golden (Beats) Gun.” The sped up and looped vocals sound amazing over the guitar. Download it before we all get C&D’ed into oblivion.
The only other Bond samples I can think of are “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” and this old Wale joint.
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With “Shutterbugg,” Big Boi proves that radio-friendly hip-hop in 2010 doesn’t have to be cookie-cutter R&B bullshit. Big Boi seemingly jumps on the electro bandwagon, but “Shutterbugg” is actually distinctly Outkast and not some Kid Cudi knockoff. Precisely spat double time flow with an A-town twang. And that Auto-Tune on the hook? It’s actually a vocoder (or a talkbox). On some Zapp & Roger shit. But let your friends think it’s T-Pain if that will get them to listen to it. Leave it to Outkast to breathe new life into mainstream hip-hop. MAYBE your local hip-hop DJ will play this between Justin Bieber songs.
Update: video here.
Sphere: Related ContentChalk this one up as another classic for DJ Premier and a career highlight for Joell Ortiz. The paranoia and urgency of the song are incredible.”Project Boy” sounds like boom bap’s last hurrah.
Capone-N-Noreaga will appear on the remix.
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The Slaughterhouse alliance was formed to highlight the group’s lyrical prowess, so each verse and even each line stands on its own. When two or more them get on a song together, it becomes a contest of who can deliver the most clever, memorable, or otherwise impressive punchline. Some of my favorites from “On Fire”:
All I got is a bunch of weaponry everywhere.
When I was a kid I used to machete my teddy bear.I got a big dick, bitch.
That ain’t no punchline, I just got a big dick, bitch.I get Rihanna on a track and won’t even rap on it.
Just let her moan on the song while I’m masturbatin’.Fuckin’ screamer,
Later with your tough demeanor.
You fruit, I’ll V8 Juice your fuckin’ team up.
2009 saw Blu (aka GODlee Barnes) step away from the mic and toward the boards. He produced Sene’s jazz-heavy debut album A Day Late and a Dollar Short and two weird little EPs, NoSleepForADay and HerFavoriteColo(u)r. It seems as if the California native stepped away from the spotlight ever since he signed his deal with Warner Bros. Nevertheless, Brooklyn MC Sene has proven to be an equally potent lyricist. This is an alternate version of “QuarterWater” which appeared on Sene’s album. “Also peep “Follow Leaders.”
via IDontLikeMyTitiesFake (Blu’s blog)
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I’ll say it again, Revolutions Per Minute will be Hi-Tek’s best work. Every song we’ve heard off the album has had a vastly different sound and it’s all heat. This is what happens when artists shake any conceptions of “real” hip-hop and just make good music.
Update: video here.
See also: “In This World,” “Just Begun,” and “Back Again”
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“So Well” is a strange marriage of East and West. MC Eiht smears his California flow over a New York style soul sample. DJ Premier is wearing the executive producer hat for MC Eiht’s album, so it’s required listening.
via dubcnn.com
Sphere: Related ContentThe video for “Janelle Monáe’s “Tightrope” is a rare example of a video enhancing the song. I don’t think I’ll ever listen to this song again without thinking of the crazy dance party in the video. Monae & co. can move! Grab the audio and give it some burn.
via Isis Valentino
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Untagged version of the Statik Selektah produced cut off Quiz Knows a Mixtape. Statik proves that there are still interesting ways to flip a soul sample. I would guess this is a leftover from Statik’s album 100 Proof (The Hangover).
via Statik Selektah
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