Peeped the Native Guns a collective a few times, never paid attention to any of the members solo works, but this video/song is super chill. Might have to peep the album that this single is on (…Exact Change, which dropped in 2008). Myspace
Dragon Fli Empire (DFE), a Calagary, Canada dropped this album late last year (in Japan, early this year in the US), and although I spotlighted a few of the tracks from this album on another one of our blogs, I’ve only recently had the chance to peep the album in it’s entirety. I still stick to the notion of them sounding like old school acts of yore such as Large Pro, Dream Warriors and newer acts along the lines of Shad or Supa Koop & Outkome, but their sound (since I’ve peeped more of their material) is less laid back that I initially collected (think production along the lines of People Under The Stairs). Canada has been producing a lot of quality material as of late (or maybe I’m just now catching on), would def recommend this for anybody digging for som easy listening.
Dragon Fli Empire (abbreviated DFE) is a hip hop duo from Calgary, Canada, comprising Tarik Robinson, also known as Teekay (MC/producer), and Adam Hicks, also known as DJ Cosm (DJ/producer).
DFE’s first album, Conquest, was released in August 2004. It was followed by Invasion in 2005, Intermission EP in 2008 and Redefine in 2009. Their music is inspired by classic hip hop beats like those of Pete Rock, Large Professor and Prince Paul. They are known for their down-to-earth perspective, with insightful and comedic lyrics.
Like a large amount of albums I discover to be brilliant, this one sat on my desk(top) for a few months until two days ago when I was high and picked a random track to listen to which happened to be an artist featured on this compilation, Memories Of M.A.W.S.L.O.T. I have no clue what M.A.W.S.L.O.T. actually stands for, but I do know it was once the moniker of K-Murdock (of Panacea & Restoring Poetry In Music fame), a truly brilliant and tragically underrated producer from Washington, D.C. I listened to this right before and after I peeped the new Tanya Morgan joint (which I’m certain will at least break my top 3 this year… seriously, from first track to last track Brooklynati is flawless) and it fit right in with Von Pea’s soulful and often rhythm and bluesque production and usage of samples. This is by no means a purely hip-hop album (although there’s many guest rap spots on this joint), but if you have a love for acts like Digable Planets, Panacea, Resotring Poetry in Music, Pete Philly & Perquisite or a soft spot for Neo-Soul artists such as Raheem DeVaughn, Erkyah Badu, John Legend, or Dwele this one is a must have. What’s more, this compilation (no, it’s not an album) is comprised of rare and unreleased tracks K-Murdock recorded between 2001 & 2004 under his aforementioned moniker. Don’t miss out.
Over the years I’ve heard the name Count Bass D however (and please don’t crucify me for this); this is the first of his works I’ve listened to. I remember seeing the album cover all over the place last year, but there’s an infinite amount of material dropping every day and so I didn’t cop and/or peep until earlier today. I don’t know why I came into the album expecting something with a boom bap feel along the lines of Brand Nubian or J-Live, and although that certainly isn’t what I found, I can’t call this joint a bad album. The first of the tracks on the album (”Make It Flow” ft. Ache) leads one to think this is going to be completely on some futuristic Deltron 3030 tip, the rest of the album proves to be pretty soulful (he does a lot if not all of his own production) and sounds like (in my own personal opinion) a mix of Cunninlynguists & Madvillain…’cmon Kno & Madlib… great ish. I’d have to call the best track on the album “I Love You”, an instrumental track which is just too pretty for words but, that’s not knock Count’s abilities as an MC (although he can get very Doom like at times, for better or for worse).
Like we’ve been saying for over 3 months now, if you like what’s posted here you def need to peep our forums at www.5vemics.com where you’ll find most of the material posted here as well as loads more of goods. Shouts to Whte & mcAudio for these.
Eligh’s first artist name was lower m.c. and created the group Boogalu Badboys with his friend Scarub. At this time they were attending Hamilton High School, in Los Angeles. They later changed the name of the group to Urban Instinct. The two later met Murs, also at Hamilton, and together they formed the group 3MG (3 Melancholy Gypsys). 3MG were part of the Log Cabin crew, which eventually broke up, and the Gypsys wandered separately. Eligh met the The Grouch at a party in the Bay Area and became friends. While the two were working on a song, Eligh met Sunspot Jonz, and was asked to join the Living Legends crew. As it turned out, the rest of 3MG also became Living Legends.
Eligh has credited a wide range of musical influences, including: Michael Jackson, Freestyle Fellowship, and Bob Dylan. He is also known as Gandalf, which is his beat-making alter ego.
This album has been playing non-stop for me over the past few weeks after I saw The Grouch perform at ‘Paid Dues.’ I noticed it hasn’t been posted on here so I thought I would throw up the recommendation for anybody that hasn’t gave this a listen yet. Great all around album. Tracklist is after the jump.
One of my favorite releases from 2008. This album must not be slept on. I mean shit, just check the tracklist after the jump. This is a personal rip of mine.
I know Mrs. Badu isn’t exactly your typical hip-hop artist (some may even argue she’s not hip-hop at all), but falling in place with your De La Souls, Q-Tips, and The Roots, I think Erykah fits the bill for content posted on this site in one way or another. My mom used to bump her live CD & Baduizm a lot when I was a kid (My sister played the fuck out of Mama’s Gun), but it was only when my personal preferences in music started to mature and I started soaking up the works of Digable Planets and The Roots that I started taking an interest in her catalog. Hip-Hop or not the (primarily) Roots produced Baduizm in all of it’s afrocentric and 5 percent tinged glory, is one of my favorite albums of all time. She may be no Lauryn Hill (is anybody?), on this effort Erykah was able to bring the world an album with philosophical, political, socio-economic, and religious undertones (everything that your atypical urban mainstream artist is prone to avoid) laced with jazzy/bluesy palate (again another key factor in being anti-mainstream) and still managed to make the world love her in all of her headwrapped glory and gave her a grammy to boot. We all know grammys generally mean little to nothing, but when an artist who exudes uniqueness and individuality wins an award, I can’t help but to cheer.
A lot of you cats who aren’t huge fans of acts of soul/r&b probably mainly know her from her relationships with Common, Andre 3000, The DOC, & Jay Electronica (the father of her youngest child), but you shouldn’t let Electric Circus, knitted kufis and bright colored slacks solidify your opinion of her music. Do yourself a favor and at least peep Baduizm (especially if you’re a fan of The Foreign Exchange or Jazzanova), open your mind and a checktherhime. =)
MURS released his first single in 1993, taken from a self-released album by his first group, 3 Melancholy Gypsies (aka 3MG). The group became friends with Mystik Journeymen, and joined them in the Living Legends collective in 1996.
MURS appeared as a rapper on more than 20 records, EPs, and singles over a seven-year period, both on releases by 3MG and Living Legends. His debut solo album, The End of the Beginning, was released in the spring of 2003. He also worked with Slug under the name Felt, taking a more experimental approach. A second solo album, Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition, was produced by 9th Wonder. Taking a more thoughtful approach than gangster rappers, the album prompted Andy Gill of The Independent to say “eschewing bogus glamour for emotional realism, Murs manages to say more about the corrosive cancer of hip-hop’s gun culture than all the thousands of column inches lavished on 50 Cent’s bullet wounds”. The track “Walk Like a Man” from that album inspired a film of the same name in which MURS starred along with Damien Wigfall. After another solo album with 9th Wonder, Murray’s Revenge, in 2006, MURS signed a contract with Warner Bros., his debut album for the label being Murs for President.This was preceded by Sweet Lord which was given away free to fans.
So Mrs. Diva’s latest effort Spandex, Rhymes, & Sou EPl dropped yesterday (holler if you want it), and I was initially disappointed because I was expecting this mixtape to be what was dropping. I remembered hearing about this drop last year sometime but it just never seemed to surface, but as I did some hunting around for it upon finding out she was to be releasing a different effort, I finally came up on it. An alumni of the (sadly) discontinued Def Poetry Jam and Columbia University (yes, I’m talking Ivy League), Amanda Diva puts shit down in a uniquely spoken word type of flow, all the while remaining as hip-hop and soulful as ever. We did a drop of her Life Experience album a cool minute ago, so it’s nice to have this joint (as well as her new effort) to fill up some of the void left by a stagnant Lauryn Hill in my iPhone.
Another one I’m looking forward to giving a spin once I get home. Don’t sleep.
Ras G has been a fixture on the underground hiphop scene in Los Angeles since the early 90s. He is a proud South Central resident. A carrier of the Backwoods, he is a founder of the ubiquitous Poo-Bah Label. Poo-Bah is a bright light on the map of LA experimental music, from abstract beats to noise. His “Beats and the Abstract Truth” mix for Mochilla is a dirty noisy excursion into the mind of Ras. Like Oliver Nelson blazed in a juke joint on the other side of Jupiter. Lots of fog horns, natty chattin and thump. Bring up the reverb.
Sorry for the lack of updates on my part lately folks. Super busy with work ever since returning from the break. Have no worries though, I’ll be posting a buncha sick content in the coming weeks to make up for it. Stay tuned! I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: this blog is run by the people for the people so Keep the requests coming.
Onto this release. I’m still at work so I haven’t given this one a spin yet, I’ll probably burn this along with another fresh drop from today and blaze it up on the way back home. Should be ill. Here’s a bit of info about Magnum Ki:
Together known as Magnum K.I, Winnipeg vets Ismaila and Kutdown have been working together since the Frek Sho days, writing and recording a seemingly never ending mountain of songs for their forthcoming album. Gun Shy is a great ep released to help raise money for an ailing homie L-Rock, who contributes with a mix of unreleased tracks by the aforementioned rap duo. Check out their myspace to preview a couple tracks from the ep.
Tracklist after the jump. Make sure and cop this one here!
Grabbed this a couple of days ago but as usual didn’t really have a chance to check it out. I’m always down to try a new Japanese producer (there’s so many talented ones out there!) so I checked out these two during some down time at work earlier today and was very pleased. A must for fans of the ever-so-popular Jazz-Hop fusion genre. Info from his MySpace:
Amongst the Hiphop DJ’s & Producers in Japan, DJ RYOW is one of the most famous. He is from Nagoya and He belongs to several crews and units such as “Ballers”(key member of M.O.S.A.D. from Nagoya,Tokai area.), ”Endless File”(with WATT, Rapper), GRAND BEATZ”(with TOMOKIYO,Tarck Maker). As a DJ, he has regular parties in Nagoya(”THE BALLERS” with his crew), Fukuoka, Kagoshima etc… Moreover as a guset DJ, he spins at a lot of parties in many cities, everyweek. He has played with so many artists and DJ’s from US such as DJ GREEN LANTERN,DJ WHOO KID,DJ ENVY,DJ ENUFF,THE ALCHEMIST,DJ CIPHA SOUNDS,D12,JUST BLAZE etc… As well, he released over 64 titles of his Mix CD’s, “BEST OF TOKONA-X”, “NEXT GENERATION”, “STREET MIX TAPE” with AK-69, “052 LEGENDS”, “THE CLASSICS”etc. These MixCD’s are highly praised by Hiphop listener in Japan. As a Producer, DJ RYOW has cut over 170 tracks for various artists, include “TOKONA-X “(who created “WHO ARE U?” the theme song of the film “Kazuyoshi Miura File Case” and the opening song of K-1fighter “Tomihira”), M.O.S.A.D.,”E”qual, AKIRA, BALLERS, AK-69, KALASSY NIKOFF, 般若, GANXTA CUE, Mr.OZ, EL LATINO, LA BONO, 307 BOYZ, YOUNG BERY, BIG IZ MAFIA, SHADY, SYGNAL etc. He’s released his own albums “Project Dream”,ENDLESS FILE & SYGNAL “FROM THE BALLERS CAMP”,ENDLESS FILE “BEGINNING OF LEGEND”,DJ RYOW & TOMOKIYO(GRAND BEATZ) “PROJECT DREAMS PT.2 ~ PT.4″ etc… DJ RYOW has won “Blast Awards 2007, FIVE GRAETSET Japanese Hiphop producers of the year”(in the Hiphop magazine “Blast”). But his carrer is not limited to Japan. He’s currently making an official remix track for “DEEMI”, and he spins in NYC Club.Also he release a Mix CD “The Dream Term” in collaboration with DJ ENVY. His dream to expand his career to the whole world. he has recently started his own record lavel, “ICEBERG STEPS”, and a clothing brand “Dream Team”. He never stop even for the moment. And definitely he will be a crucial person for the Hiphop industry of the next generation. NO,1 street mix tape king !!
Been super busy the last couple of days. The launch of 5MC’s hasn’t helped, and going back to work has been a big-time bummer. Here are a few requests that I got around to checking out during the holidays. I’ll be posting some sick discographies in the comin days so be on the lookout fam!
Real fresh mix brought to ya by Skratch Bastid. The skill of scratching really is becoming a lost art which makes me appreciate this mix a lot more. Check it out..
This is the latest mix-cd from the great Canadian DJ Skratch Bastid. This follows up the amazing “Get Up from 2007. This mix features a very wide variety of music all blended perfectly by Bastid for your listening and dancing pleasure.
And we’re back Good to be back as noted on the side, I’ve definitely missed CTR just as much as you’ve missed us. I hope the time off gave you a chance to check out our new project over at 5Mics. It’s hot!
Living Legends is back with another sick compilation of rare and previously unreleased material from their extensive catalogue. Cali stand up!
Here’s another submission we got from one of our readers. Shouts to xBriteFuturex for this one (and two other drops). I personally had no clue there was any kind of hip-hop scene in Oregon whatsoever, but BF is bringing it to light for us. Peeped their myspace page, seem straight. Def check this one if you’re looking for something completely new.
First album from the alliance crew. the crew consits of G_Force, Rapsodee P. & DJ Celsius. theyre great unknown nw hiphop artists that reside in my hometown of eugene, so if you like them please buy theyre isht and support some real hiphop.
from thier myspace-
>>>>>>The Alliance Crew is a Northwest Hip-hop group based out of Oregon. Its cofounders, G Force and Rapsodee P., were long time friends before starting the group in 1999. Nine years later and with the addition of DJ Celsius they\’re sound has continued to expand and mature to the embodiment of a solid Hip-hop trio. With G Force\’s professional production and unique flow, DJ Celsius\’s scratching expertise which have gained attention from the likes of such heavy weights as D-styles, and Rapsodee P.\’s wordplay and recognition as veteran lyricist, the trio has begun commanding respect throughout the northwest.
>>>>>>>They have two releases, the most first of which dropped in 2006 entitled: “The Theory of Natural selection.” The album is a combination of all of the elements one might find in Hip-hop music. One\’s never let down with G Force\’s expansive repertoire of laid back melodies, soothing jazz rifts, soulful samples, and bassy head bangers. However, the beats or only the beginning; with DJ Celsius\’s skillful solos and rhythmic manipulation of vocal samples, the precision of their product only becomes more evident. To sum up the rest of the equation Rapsodeep and G Force ride the rhythm with “…no resemblance to new jack emcee(s)”. Their subject matter is all encompassing from content like from political awareness, poetry, raw wordplay, boastful bravados to personal experiences, spanning all sorts of tempos and flows.
>>>>>>>> Their second release dropped in May of 2008 entitled: “Don\’t Know How to Exist.” This new album was created in a matter of weeks. Having started the album in early April, and finishing the material with in less time than expected, the album was officially released on May 24th 2008, at the \’Get Your Ass off the Couch\’ event sponsored by BTM Records. The album was created around G_Force\’s productions, which encompass soulful chops all the way to synth based beats. As usual G_Force and front man Rapsodee P. spit back in forth with stylized wit and seasoned chemistry. Backing the two, as always, the renown Dj Celsius mans the turntables with a distinctly clean and unique style, lacing up synchronized scratch chorus and skillful solos. Also appearing on the album are a couple BTM regulars you might expect, such as Knox and Efekt. But some things the album offers you might not of expected are guest appearances by Rochelle Hunter (of Girl Meets Gravity) on Galaxy Trip, and guest productions by 5th Sequence and Goofru. Check the album out!!! Its AVAILABLE NOW in stores @ Portland and Eugene OR (message us for the list of locations), I Tunes and Cd Baby.com
>>>>>>The first single released from the album is entitled “Paid No Mind” and you can hear on the ALLIANCE CREW\’s official www.myspace.com/thealliancecrew.
>>>>>Alliance has been unyielding in their musical momentum having performed at a variety of venues, college co-ops, cafes and other events. They have opened for the likes of, Tre Hardson, Zion I, Lyrics Born and more. When not being invited to accompany other acts they\’ve sponsored and promoted shows of their own including the Tre Hardson concert. Whether performing with other acts or sponsoring their own events Alliance has turned out crowds anywhere from 200-800 people.
Follow PackFM on a 10-year voyage down memory lane with this LIMITED EDITION collectible DVD, FMania: The Best of.. Built from the ground up for QN5 collectors – only 1000 of these have been made and numbered.
Packed to the gills with content, this DVD brings you never-before-seen concert footage, interviews and behind-the-scenes commentary, including a candid interview where Mr. FMakalishus recaps his Top 5 Favorite Moments on stage. Plus, ALL of your favorite PackFM music videos in full DVD quality including the EXCLUSIVE “Nigga Pass” animated cartoon and more!
FMania: The Best of. also comes with a bonus CD that includes an 80-minute blend of the greatest and rarest PackFM tracks including his very first recorded track ever “Hit List” – all on one disc!
Tracklist after the jump. You can cop this one here.
Haven’t listened to this one out yet but it looks real interesting. Check out what Theme Magazine had to say about Cosmic Headphones:
Brooklyn’s Eagle Nebula brings to the world her debut album “Cosmic Headphones, a musical collection of high creative tastes produced by Georgia Anne Muldrow and executive produced by Dudley Perkins (of Stones Throw fame). Her throwback delivery and playful lyrics immediately brought back memories of a time when true hip hop was king. Witty and intelligent, Eagle playfully rhymes about living with optimism in “Daily Debut” but can switch gears to the personally contemplative “What I Like” without skipping a beat. Her message is positive and inspirational without coming off as tacky or preachy. “Cosmic Headphones” is a fresh breath of air in a rap game that is currently polluted with ringtone singles and recycled cliches as an excuse for lyrical content. Do yourself a favor and see what the new wave of hip hop sounds like.
Tracklist after the jump. You can buy the CD here.
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Good to be back as noted on the side, I’ve definitely missed CTR just as much as you’ve missed us. I hope the time off gave you a chance to check out our new project over at 5Mics. It’s hot!
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