Archive for October, 2008

www.5vemics.com is the future, yo. Check us out.

Some classic shit for y’all! Enjoy!

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New album by Big Jess (of Unknows Prophets). Good shit!

Title        [High Rule                                  ]        ░██▓
Artist       [Big Jess                                   ]         ██▒
Label        [n/a                ] Genre  [Hip-Hop       ]         ██░
Quality/Size [44.1  @VBR  86,8 MB] Ripped [10-30-2008    ]        ▒██
Grabbed from [CDDA               ] Enc    [Lame 3.97     ]        ▓██
Website [http://www.myspace.com/therealbigjess                  ] ▒██

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Some local talent for you fiends. From the slums of Oshawa, Ontario (I doubt any of ya’ll even know where that is), comes Mic Boogie. A blurb about the project:

Theres Mick Boogie the mixtape king, Mike Boogie the reality show contestant and then theres Mic Boogie, Oshawa MC. Backed by Universal, amongst a few other small labels, Mic Boogies Thats Me is everything a club DJ hopes to get in his or her weekly pile of promos. Virtually every song is a club banger, with percussive drums, synthesisers, R&B or reggae hooks and in-your-face raps. But amongst all the heat it brings it feels soulless  a superficial album so intent on getting radio play that every song melts together and it becomes difficult to tell the difference between two songs on opposite ends like I Don’t Know or Thats Me. Even the Good Look remix manages to turn a KRS-One cameo into an awkward play date as the Teacha tries to freestyle to an MTV crowd. -Omar Mauallem

Tracklist after the jump. Do yourself a favour and cop this now!

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Following the debut album of Brooklyn Academy, the one and only Pumpkinhead is back at it again with Picture That: The Negative. Make sure to cop this when it hits the stores!

Pumpkinhead - Picture That: The Negative

Label.........................: Scifen / Street Grind
Genre.........................: Hip-Hop
StoreDate.....................: Oct-00-2008
Source........................: CDDA
Grabber.......................: Exact Audio Copy (Secure Mode)
Encoding Scheme...............: Lame 3.97 V2 VBR Joint-Stereo
Size..........................: 59,0 MB
Total Playing Time............: 53:57

Release Notes:

bk all day….

Tracklisting

01. Picture That Intro 02:54
02. Vanquish (feat. Royce Da 5′9″) 02:41
03. The Gambler 03:06
04. Coastal Office (feat. Murs, Aloe Blacc) 03:18
05. Get Money 03:46
06. Wake Up (prod. by DJ Rhettmatic) 02:55
07. Ghetto 03:15
08. Of The Same Air (feat. Talib Kweli) 04:21
09. Relax Remix (feat. J Davey) 04:18
10. Stupid People (feat. Jean Grae) 03:42
11. Hands High (feat. Torae) 02:19
12. Hip Hop Dead (feat. Del The Funkee Homosapien) 03:14
13. Underground Massacre (feat. Sha Stimuli & Tools) 03:45
14. Welcome To Rosewood 03:36
15. Fiyakrakaz (prod. by Black Milk) 02:32
16. Lords Of War (feat. Archrival) 04:15

Support The Artists, Buy Their Music….

If you like the preview tracks cop this heater when it drops, the other tracks are just as good!

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I first heard Braille on the Cunninlynguists’ track, Missing Children, but I never really researched much in to him. He’s a spiritual rapper, but doesn’t overdose on the ‘God’ aspect of it. I thought I’d throw this album up in case anybody else was interested in checking him out. The album includes production from Kno & 9th Wonder. Must listens in my opinion are Nobody & Right This Moment. Hit the jump.

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Edgar Allen Floe (of the Justus League) hailing out of North Carolina. His old CD has been collecting dust in my archives so I can’t comment on what I haven’t heard. I’ll give his new one a couple of spins and see how that turns out, maybe I’ll post his older stuff if he’s worthy. Anyways, check the LP and let me know. A bit of info from cdbaby:

Justus League member Edgar Allen Floe releases the long awaited album “The Streetwise LP” October 2008. The album is the second release from Floe’s own imprint, MCEO Records, LLC. Floe started rhyming at age 14, initially wanting to be a DJ. Growing up, Floe would freestyle and recite LL Cool J rhymes in school for Show and Tell. His mother let him listen to LL Cool J’s “Radio” album, and from then on, Floe has loved the art of the rhyme to the fullest. At a young age of 6 years old, Floe lived in Atlantic City, NJ, where he would break dance and perform at annual festivals in the area.

Floe began writing rhymes at age 14, and eventually would be involved in freestyle sessions at lunch time in high school. He met his partner in rhyme, Mal Demolish, in 1994, and they eventually formed the group The Undefined in 1996.

Upon attending North Carolina State University, Floe met 9th Wonder in 1997 at the school’s gymnasium while playing basketball. They naturally bonded through similar tastes in music. In 1999, Floe also linked up with other artists such as Median and Cesar Comanche, and eventually The Justus League was formed in that same year.

The first track ever recorded by Floe and 9th Wonder was “The Righteous Way To Go” in July 2001. This track continues to be one of the most enjoyable tracks in the Justus League catalog, introducing the world to the 9th Wonder sound.

The Justus League built their following from the ground up, performing at local clubs in the Triangle area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC). In 2003, the crew started to gain popularity with the release on their “NC State of Mind Mixtape” (with the assistance of online sites such as hiphopsite.com), as well as the release of “The Listening” album from underground sensation, Little Brother.

Floe has been featured in magazines such as The Source and XXL Magazine, as well as online sites hiphogame.com, ballerstatus.com, allhiphop.com, and featured in the “Next 1000″ by Urb Magazine.

Floe continued to stay on the grind and released his first EP, “True Links” in 2005. Tracks such as “Faith In Love” (produced by 9th Wonder) and “Timelife” were highlights from the project and helped him gain critical acclaim.

In 2006, Floe linked up with independent label, Shaman Work Recordings, and released his second disc, “Floe Almighty”. This mixtape styled release displayed Floe as an emcee as well as a producer (under the alias Slicemysta), further building his reputation as a top notch, next level artist. Tracks like “The Torch” and “Skyward” are considered the top rated jewels from the “Floe Almighty” project.

In 2007, after leaving Shaman Work Recordings, Floe decided to move forward by establishing his own label, MCEO Records, LLC. In hopes to maintain his buzz, Floe re-released his last CD, calling it “Floe Almighty: The Remixture”. This release was full of exclusive remixes and bonus tracks of the original “Floe Almighty” project. “Floe Almighty: The Remixture” was praised by the critics, with a 4 out of 5 stellar review on hiphopsite.com.

Now in 2008, Floe is ready to release his official debut album, “The Streetwise LP”. The album features guest appearances from fellow Justus League members Median (Halftooth Records), L.E.G.A.C.Y. and Sean Boog of The Away Team (Hall of Justus). Producers include 9th Wonder who produced 3 tracks (including the noteworthy “Shine”), Khrysis (producing “Exposure”, a track which gives an interesting breakdown of the undercover hate surrounding North Carolina’s local rap scene), and Blunt (producing the closing track “Won’t Change”, which delivers a vivid image of Floe’s struggles during his childhood).

Tracklist after the jump. You can buy the cd here.

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I used to say this guy was the MF Doom of Canada, but he’s been outdoing Doom lately as far as dropping quality content. Seriously… how many joints has duke dropped in the past year? 5 or more? Shit’s crazy. Anywho, for those of you who aren’t familiar with Moka, he’s a former Swollen Members crew member and has a huge solo catalog as well as numerous collaborative efforts that include albums with Def 3, Prevail & Abstract Rude, Jeff Spec and more. I haven’t had the opportunity to listen to this one in full yet (I’m still trying to catch up with his previous releases from this year) but if it’s anything like his other works it’ll at least be a solid grade album. For fans of Swollen Members, Non Phixion, & MF Doom and a must have for Moka junkies. Peep the low after the jump. Buy it here.

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Peter Rosenberg went in the studio with Oddisee and 8 other MC’s (Torae, Tiara Wiles, Skyzoo, Daytona, Saigon, Lil Fame, Buckshot and Nikki Jean). The end result? A Rosenberg Oddisee; straight heat rocks tracks 1 through 6. Be on the lookout for future projects from Oddisee, dude’s nice. A bit of additional info from the good folks at Fresh Selects:

Now, you guys know I’m not usually with the whole “blog syndication” theory of doing things - but I decided to make an exception in this case, since this being a rare example of a blog-created free download EP/mixtape that doesn’t suck. Far from it, in fact - but if you’re at all familiar with DMV-area producer/MC, Oddisee, that should really come as no surprise. Oddisee has already done over 7 officially released mixtapes, landed production placements with artists like Little Brother, J-Live, DJ Jazzy Jeff and countless others, plus has remixed full albums for both Brooklyn-based MC, Wordsworth, and LA’s own, Trek Life. And with all of that work done in roughly just the last 4 of 5 years, you’d be hard-pressed to find a weak track in the bunch.

For this project, Oddisee links up with Peter Rosenberg, a fellow Low Budget crew member turned official torchbearer for underground music on New York’s mega-station, Hot 97. The set-up for what they’ve dubbed A Rosenberg Oddisee involved Rosenberg taking on the A&R/executive producer role and coordinating all of the guest artists to come through and record in a marathon one-day session in New York, while Oddisee held down the production end and occasional mic duties. Among those guests are included some of NY’s finest MC’s - Buckshot, Saigon, Skyzoo, Torae, Lil’ Fame (of M.O.P.) and Daytona, plus a song from everyone’s favorite singing vlogger, Nikki Jean. The 6-track EP includes exclusive songs from all of the above, plus interludes with Rosenberg between all tracks.

The EP was put up as a free download on Rosenberg’s site and the one-day session filmed by SOHH both of which have since been spread on all the usual hip-hop blogs. So, this being Fresh Selects (no ego), I had to go the extra mile and add some exclusive bonus tracks after the jump. Included are streams of personal highlights from 3 of Oddisee’s current and upcoming projects, the Oddisee 102 compilation, and both the vocal and instrumental releases of his remixes of Trek Life’s Price I’ve Paid album. As for the Rosenberg Oddisee EP itself, you can stream exclusive, non-interview versions of two of my personal favorites from the EP below, and then download the full version below.

01. Gratitude (Feat. Torae & Tiara Wiles)
02. So Mafuckin’ Soulful (Feat. Skyzoo)
03. Jealous Niggas (Feat. Daytona)
04. World War IV (Feat. Saigon & Lil Fame)
05. Where I Be At (Feat. Buckshot)
06. Tell The Truth (Feat. Nikki Jean)

Free Download | MediaFire

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Here’s the low on the highly anticipated 4th solo album of Army of the Pharaoh’s alum, Reef the Lost Cauze. Embodying the sound of Philadelphia hip-hop this album is probably best appreciated by those who crave the soulful and the grimy at the same time. For more info peep duke’s myspace here, more after the jump.

Philly emcee Reef The Lost Cauze has been paying his dues in the indie rap scene for the better part of this decade. Along with releasing a solo album every couple years since 2001, he’s also shown that he knows how to be a team player: his album with the Chief Kamachi-led JuJu Mob garnered critical love, and his membership with Army of the Pharaohs [click to read] put him in the company with east coast indie heavyweights like Apathy [click to read], Celph Titled and Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks. Reef’s fourth solo record, A Vicious Cycle, has everything that Reef fans have grown to love, but it’s not without its flaws.

Reef is at his best when displaying conceptual wit alongside his nimble flow, or pumping lyrical calisthenics over beats that can keep up. The fun, woodwind-heavy “Big Deal” sees him boasting about his skills, and Marco Polo serves up a surreal, dusty instrumental for “I Wonder,” on which Reef links music to other important areas of his life. “Amnesia” angrily laments about funny-acting friends, and despite its sigh-worthy song title, “Thug Fantasy” [click to listen] is actually a poignant breakdown of mislead goals throughout the ‘hood. “Nat Turner” sees him rhyming as the storied slave who slaughtered slave owners, and “Bad Lieutenant” is a meticulous portrayal of crooked cops.

Unfortunately, Reef’s absolutely inept when it comes to songs concerning the fairer sex. He sticks to his guns and continues to use his usual dreary production while talking about women; and while this approach is an admirable alternative to blatantly dumbing down for an audience, these songs sound equally uninspired. “Not That Easy” shoots for seductive but lands on boring, with its unbearably bad backdrop and hook. “Listen To Me” fairs slightly better, but still fails with a beat that doesn’t fit the song very well. Insipid punchlines like “I glide by you like the strip at the airport” don’t help his cause, either.

Despite A Vicious Cycle’s quality material and its horrendous material, its biggest flaw is that too much of it falls right in the middle. There aren’t many beats here that are noteworthy standouts, and the album gets off to a slow start, with most of its first half sounding like filler material. He picks up the slack by putting songs like the aforementioned “Bad Lieutenant,” “Nat Turner” and “Amnesia” at the end—unfortunately, a lot of listeners may not make it that far. More balanced sequencing, trimmed fat and a few more guest shots (the Termanology [click to read] and King Magnetic-featured “Gone” [click to read] bangs) would’ve made A Vicious Cycle better, but as is, it’s a solid album that’s worth the listen if you can pick and choose your offerings.

(Via HipHopDX.com)

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Requested by my dude NBS (who’s played an important role in getting CTR back up as well as the new joint we’re working on) requested this one a few days back. I told you’d I’d get to it mayne :D.

  • 2004: Blue Scholars
  • 2005: The Long March EP
  • 2007: Bayani
  • 2007: Joe Metro EP
  • 2008: Butter & Gun$ EP

Emcee Geologic and DJ/producer Sabzi came from vastly different musical approaches to experiment with a unique, new sound that still echoes the classic boom-bap of a bygone era (see: A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets). Prior to their collision, Geo had already begun making local rounds as a distinguished battle emcee and spoken-word poet, while Sabzi honed his skills as a classical and jazz-trained pianist while attending indie ska and punk shows. This unlikely partnership set the precedent for what distinguishes the group from the vast sea of independent hip-hop artists - the ability to strike a balance between worlds usually seen distant from one another. Poetic lyricism with beats you can dance to. Marxist theory with Baha’i spirituality. Musical influences ranging from Thelonius Monk and Aphex Twin to Marvin Gaye and J Dilla.

However, the bridge between the two artists go far beyond musical interests. Blue Scholars is as much rooted in the music as it is in working in the community. Their experiences as college students provide an intellectual dimension to their craft, while their backgrounds as second-generation sons of working-class immigrants keep the music grounded. Armed with a purpose beyond creating music for music’s sake, Blue Scholars take the classic form of the emcee/DJ duo Gangstarr, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Eric B. & Rakim while carrying the essence of militant, yet personal struggle shown by hip-hop luminaries such as Public Enemy and KRS-One.

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Requested by my boy Ant, here low on the official mixtape series for the critically acclaimed anime series, Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks. Anybody who’s seen a few episodes of the show has probably caught onto many of the social undertones and themes of the show (many which have carried over from McGruder’s comic strip by the same title), and his same anti-mainstream society motif shows up in the majority of the musical features on the tapes. Skyzoo, Talib Kweli, Tanya Morgan, Pacific Division, Jean Grae, Mos Def, Little Brother, Blu, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Tribe, Cunninlynguists, AZ, Rakim, Quasimoto, Bishop Lamonot and so many more. Do yourself a favor and at least peep one of these.

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Debut album from The Wrist. Pretty dope cd right here. I’d say it’s definitely worth checking out. Oh and if you like it go and buy it!

Title        [Recycling Sucks                            ]        ░██▓
Artist       [The Wrist                                  ]         ██▒
Label        [n/a                ] Genre  [Hip-Hop       ]         ██░
Quality/Size [44.1  @VBR  63,2 MB] Ripped [10-26-2008    ]        ▒██
Grabbed from [CDDA               ] Enc    [Lame 3.97     ]        ▓██
Website [n/a                                                    ] ▒██

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Real unique sounding hip-hop / reggae artist outta Sweden. His debut album from 2003 as well as his new one from earlier this year are both fresh to death. As always, don’t sleep people. Sample song for those doubters. A bit of info from his lastfm:

He has already worked with many acts within Swedish hiphop, and been on an almost constant tour throughout Sweden and Europe for the past two years. Swedish MC Chords has made himself quite an impressive reputation among Swedish hiphopers, with his strong punchlines and flowing rhymes.

Chords, or Jens Resch, which is his real name, was born in 1978 in Sweden. He grew up in the realtively small town called Lund, where music became a growing interest at an early age. Being only 14 years old, he started to write his own lyrics as he listened to beats and came up with rhymes to match them. He socialized with people like the wellknown Swedish producer Måns Asplund (Breakmecanix) and by the age of 16, Chords recorded his first songs in the studio.

He was only ten years old then, but was already being influenced and inspired by hiphopers like Run-D.M.C.. Nowdays, you’ll most likely hear old soul classics, hiphop and reagge coming out of his stereo. His passion for music has always been present, although he has both worked and studied other things along the way. He even worked extra at Juju Records, the record label he’s now signed to.

Formely with the duo Chords & Scissors, Chords is now working solo, with guestperformers from wellknown Swedish hiphop artists like Timbuktu and LooptroopPromoe. Chords 12” single, “Idiot Savant” was the first single from his debut album that came out in 2003, and the first release since being signed with Juju Records in 2001.

Tracklists after the jump. Some sick features on his first album, and I might like the second even better.

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This is easily my favourite free release of 2008. The album is so good, it may even be my favourite free download ever.  For the unfortunate ones who have yet to hear about Inverse, it consists of two emcees outta Cali by the names of Toby and Tunji. They’re getting support from some underground heavy weights  (Kno of CunninLynguists and Little Brother to name a couple) so you better believe they bringing that straight fire. Since these are all original beats, Inverse preferes to call this project a street album rather than a mixtape. Peep this, you’ll be wanting more. Beats from M-Phazes, Kno (of CunninLynguists)/APOS Music, 9th Wonder,  DecapBeats,  Cook Classics,  Styalz Fuego and more. Some additional info from their bio:

Inverse is as real as it gets. Through songs that are upbeat, emotional, bracing and oftentimes lighthearted accounts of their true life experiences, the two California-bred rappers share distinct similarities and differences that form the basis and balance for their music. Rapping under their given names, emcees Toby and Tunji appear extremely different on the surface - one white, one black; one from a Jewish household, the other raised Muslim; one raised in Los Angeles, the other in the bay area by Nigerian parents. What they share is a passion for music that transcends any labels. With their honest brand of soulful, straightforward hip hop, the group is part of a newly emerging generation of artists born in the ’80s, raised by hip hop in the ’90s, and poised to help revitalize the culture in the 2000s.

Formed in early 2001, the group cut early demos and songs with Swedish producers Soul Supreme (KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Pete Rock) and K-Laz while still in their teens, leading to internet acclaim and video airplay on MTV Europe (for “The Reason,” chosen as the single from K-Laz’s album The Soulsnatcher). The group spent the next few years playing shows all over California and forming alliances with rising hip hop artists QN5 Music (Tonedeff, CunninLynguists, Pack FM, Extended Famm, etc.), Brother Ali, Little Brother and Trek Life. Choosing to hone their mic and songwriting skills before officially releasing any music, the group recorded and shelved several songs before preparing their first project So Far, a collection of old and new songs and collaborations with close friends that introduces Tunji and Toby to the world. Not to be confused with their forthcoming debut album, the group describes So Far as “a look at who we are, what we’re about, and what we’ve been working on - 14 original songs, some old, some new, all Inverse.”

Readying their debut album Long Day’s Journey for a 2008 release, Inverse draws on influences as far-reaching as OutKast, Michael Jackson, Nina Simone, Atmosphere and The Beatles, but most importantly from themselves and the world around them. Executive produced by A Piece Of Strange Music (the production duo of Deacon The Villain and Kno), the album will feature collaborations with Brother Ali, CunninLynguists, 9th Wonder, M-Phazes and more. The music is refreshingly honest, soulful and raw, anchored by poignant, personal rhymes and catchy melodies. Tunji and Toby rap truthfully about happiness, pain and everything in between, sounding only like themselves. Though only just getting started, Inverse stands poised to help usher in the next phase of hip hop music – just make sure you remember the name.

Tracklist:

1. So Far [Produced by Yoel]
2. Remember The Name [Produced by Cook Classics]
3. Everything Is Beautiful [Produced by Cook Classics]
4. Spotlight feat. Just Will [Produced by Decap]
5. Til The End (C.A.L.I.) feat. Trek Life & Deacon The Villain [Produced by Kno]
6. Constellation feat. A-Dub & Nieve [Produced by M-Phazes]
7. I Believe [Produced by Decap]
8. We Can Fly feat. MUD [Produced by Cook Classics]
9. HipHopSoul feat. Noah King [Produced by M-Phazes]
10. Wanna Groove feat. Tatyana Ali [Produced by MATTER]
11. Sunnycalifornia [Produced by Cook Classics]
12. Look Around [Produced by Kno]
13. All My Tomorrows [Produced by Decap]
14. One Step [Produced by Styalz Fuego]

Free Download

I know zshare has been givin people problems over the last few days. I’m currently at work so I can’t test if it’s not working at the moment, please let me know in the comments and I can upload it from my computer at home when I get there.

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K-The-I??? comin hard outta Los Angeles. Do yourself a favour and buy this right now, real dope CD. Cyclicdefrost.com with a quckie:

Well, we’ve heard the odd track with K-The-I???, and I for one have always wanted to hear more, so here we have a full length on Mush, produced by non other than Thavius Beck. The production is stark, electronic, and robotic, with roots firmly in the Detroit sound, Thavius Beck has always had a great production style, from his own solo projects through to his recent work with Saul Williams and Trent Reznor. With musical references from electronic producers such as Autechre and Shadowhuntaz, the musical palette is edgy, with a hint of the apocalypse.

K-The-I??? has a conscious lyrical flow, which sits perfectly with the production, a futuristic sermon, a similar tone and delivery to MF Doom, but making a lot more sense. Featuring guest MC’s Nocando, Thavius Beck, Vyle, Subtitle, High Priest, Busdriver and Mestizo, flesh out this release to more than a producer’s beats for a lone MC. The interplay between the K-The-I??? and the guest MC’s is what makes this release really work. Even though the guest spots cover quite a broad range of lyrical style, from the indie sound of Subtle, the righteous delivery of High Priest, the crazed voice of Busdriver, to the social consciousness of Mestizo from the Galapagos4 family, K-The-I??? has a knack of adapting his style to interweave with both the vocalist and the producer.

Tracklist after the jump.

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Much has been made regarding the mysterious Clutchy Hopkins. The only thing you and I need to be concerned with is his unique music. A bit of insight from his MySpace:

Who is Clutchy Hopkins?

Though we’ve found a few breadcrumbs, there really isn’t a consensus on the background of Clutchy Hopkins.

Clutchy’s Official Page at Misled Children doesn’t offer much in the way of answers. Though if you follow the purchase link, you can buy a some prints of Clutchy’s artwork. The best piece by far being the painting of Nijella Falhall’s nude bottom by the piano.

The other “official site” is his MySpace page. Here is the official biography from Clutchy Hopkins’ MySpace page:

Clutchy Hopkins is a multi-instrumentalist who recorded under various pseudonyms throughout his entire musical career; his recorded output consists of everything from field recordings of his travels to avant compositions, to jazz to funk. These recordings were up to this point unknown to the public. His father had been a recording engineer for Motown bands and had taught him intricate recording techniques when he was just a young boy. This knowledge Clutchy used to his advantage during his travels, working in recording studios from Bombay to Cairo. The information we gathered of him was from a small biographical manuscript that was found with his recordings under the care of a Mohave shaman who was a descendant of the Cahuilla Indian tribe who Clutchy had studied under. In this autobiography we find the writings of a musical gypsy who traveled the world investigating consciousness and its relation to music.

When Clutchy was just 20 years old he traveled to the Far East and was under the tutelage of Rinzai Zen monks in Japan for many years investigating silence and the rhythms of silence in music. Later, he studied Raja Yoga in India to master and articulate the movements of the body and its relation to sound. In his autobiography Clutchy relates his fascination with drums and their effect on consciousness so he decided to travel to Lagos, Nigeria to study with a master percussionist by the name Oba-lu-Funke. During his stay there he became a political revolutionary and gun-runner, and staged rebel missions to fight the oppressive government and its policies of Apartheid. During his intensive studies and travels, Clutchy was constantly recording music.

When he returned to the US Clutchy used his recording techniques to produce his own music and create instruments of his own. He has played with many groups primarily in the jazz, funk, avant setting. During his recording with other musicians Clutchy refused to contribute his name to the recordings, preferring to use a pseudonym or no name at all. He was purportedly good friends with Moondog and did some recordings with him; these recordings are yet to be found. His recordings span from the early 70s to the late 90s covering a whole spectrum of musical styles. After these recordings came to the surface, we have tried to contact the original source where these recordings were found unfortunately that source has since died. It is said by locals who knew him that Clutchy Hopkins returned to the Mojave Desert to finish his life out living in an underground cave; no one has heard from him since.

Clutchy_Hopkins-The_Life_Of_Clutchy_Hopkins-2006-F*D
MF_Doom_Meets_Clutchy_Hopkins-The_Life_of_Clutchy_Hopkins-(Crate_Digler)-Promo-2006-SO*P
Clutchy_Hopkins_And_Misled_Children-Peoples_Market-2005-F*D
Clutchy_Hopkins-Sleepers_Never_Dig_Diggers_Never_Sleep-Bootleg-2006-F*D
Clutchy_Hopkins-Walking_Backwards-(Advance)-2008-H*X
Shawn_Lee_And_Clutchy_Hopkins-Clutch_Of_The_Tiger-2008-F*D

Tracklists after the jump. Support this dude, he definitely deserves it!

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Here’s the second single off the upcoming Jedi Mind Tricks album, A History Of Violence, which drops on November 11th. I’m really feeling this single. There was a time when I was really into JMT, and I’m hoping this album can get me back into them. Jus Allah is rejoining the crew for this album, so I’m interested to see what he can bring back to them.

Jedi Mind Tricks - Godflesh | Rapidshare Download

First single and the inital album cover:

Jedi Mind Tricks - Monolith | MediaFire Download

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Good to be back and posting again. Thought I’d throw this up. I saw it making its rounds yesterday and figured CTR needed a post for this. I can always appreciate some new Mos. This is the first release off of him upcoming album, The Ecastatic, which is being released this November.

Zshare Download | Rapidshare Download

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This CD is pretty fucking amazing. I advise ya’ll to go to your local store and buy this now! A blurb from Fat City Records:

‘I Am Not for Sale’ is the culmination of over a decade of tireless work from one of Hip Hop’s most slept on MCs and all round renaissance man - John Robinson aka Lil Sci. Many of you will know J.R. from his work with Sol Uprizing or Scienz of Life or from the stellar output of his own Shaman Work label which he runs together with Chris Craft. John’s is also a unique voice you may recognise from a glut of guest apperances for and collaborations with Madlib, Count Bass D, Rawkus Records, MF DOOM, Daedelus, Ammon Contact, Dwight Trible, Jneiro Jarel and Flying Lotus.

Having teased the underground community in the last two years with the widely acclaimed mixtapes ‘The Leak Edition’ Volume 1 & 2 (and subsequent vinyl sampler ‘Leak Edition EP 1’ on Fat City) J.R. is ready to unleash his official debut album release. Production on this project comes from some of the most groundbreaking beatmakers around today namely FLYING LOTUS, JNEIRO JAREL & IG CULTURE, perfectly complimenting John’s poetic flow and forward thinking vision.

‘I Am Not For Sale’ is merely the beggining for J.R. as 2008 also promises a full collaboration album with MF DOOM on his own Shaman Work label.

Preview tracks and tracklist after the jump.

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New Premo mix, you know the deal. Buy the CD here.

Title [DJ Premier-Time 4 Change ]
Artist [VA ]
Label [Year Round ] Genre [Hip-Hop ]
Quality/Size [44.1 @VBR 83,9 MB] Ripped [10-25-2008 ]
Grabbed from [CDDA ] Enc [Lame 3.97 ]
Website [n/a ]

Track Time Title
©–öª ©– ©– -ö- -ò óª - ª

DJ Premier-Time 4 Change

01 DJ Premier & Biggest G - Time 4 Change
02 Nygz - Policy
03 Big Shug - When I Strike
04 House Of Reps - U Gotta Love Us
05 Termanology - Hold That
06 Blaq Poet - Ain’t Nuttin Changed
07 Prodigy - Veterans Memorial Pt. 2
08 Statik Selektah Ft. MOP, Jadakiss - For The City
09 Young Maylay - I Showed You
10 D-Flow (DITC) - Like Dat
11 Scarface - Emeritus
12 Jake One Ft. Little Brother - Bless The Child
13 Ludacris Ft. Floyd Mayweather - Undisputed
14 LL Cool J - Dear Hip Hop
15 DJ Revolution Ft. Planet Asia - School
16 Bumpy Knuckles - The OG Pt. 3
17 Royce Tha 5′9″ - I Gotta Shake This
18 DJ Revolution Ft. KRS-One, DJ Premier - The DJ
19 Black Milk Ft. Pharoahe Monch, DJ Premier, Sean Price - The Matrix

Totals
01 78:38 min

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Another big release. Q-Tip is back with his newest album, and even though I don’t know much about this project I know he’ll come correct as he always does. Here’s a quick blurb I came across:

The Renaissance mixes soul beats, piano, guitars, and Q-Tip’s usual thought-provoking lyricism, which takes you on a trip from relationships and summer songs to social issues of late, and has a kind of 90’s feel to it.

The album features: Raphael Saadiq, Norah Jones, D’Angelo and Amanda Diva.

Tracklist after the jump. Buy the CD here.

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Couple of new JL tracks, enjoy.

ARTIST: John Legend
TITLE: Evolver
LABEL: Columbia/Sony Music Japan
GENRE: R&B
GRABBER: EAC (Secure Mode)
ENCODER: LAME 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new
QUALITY: 168 Kbps Avg / 44.1 KHz / Joint Stereo
PLAYTIME: 0h 08min 13sec total
SIZE: 9.88 MB
RELEASE DATE: 2008-10-22
RIP DATE: 2008-10-24

[ TRACK LIST ]

01. Floating Away (JP Bonus Track) 4:17
02. Set Me Free (JP Bonus Track) 3:56

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Debut album by Boot Camp Clik affiliate Ruste Juxx presented by Sean Price. I’m bumpin it right now. Sound pretty good so far…

Label…………….: Duck Down
Genre…………….: Hip-Hop
StoreDate…………: 10-28-2008
Source……………: CDDA
Size……………..: 76,2 MB
Total Playing Time…: 55:01
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Jazz-Hop extradanaire Mark Farina hailing from San Francisco is back with Volume 6 of his Mushroom Jazz series. Some info from his Myspace:

The Legendary Series Is Back With The Sixth Installment.

The series is back and the wait is finally over! Get those neck braces out! Om is proud to present Mark Farina’s highly anticipated “Mushroom Jazz 6.”

To the un-initiated, Mark Farina is the master of the blend! The new album features new and unreleased material from the finest in Mushroom Jazz music (funky instrumental hip hop, downtempo, soul and blunted beats mixed together to perfection by Mark Farina himself), and on this sixth edition of this legendary ser