Inverse - So Far from Donlee Brussel on Vimeo.

Dert's CMYK is Instrumental Victory

click the image to preview the EP for free!

I was thinking of naming this blurb "Dert is that piff" and other Juelz Santana related adlibs, but I think calling the CMYK EP instrumental victory is high praise enough.  Well deserved-praise indeed.  He has the entire EP available to listen on his website which is linked through the image.  Make sure to peep it in its entirety.  The description of the project is Dert's instrumental interpretation of the 4 key colors used in the traditional printing process.  I vibe with the entire project, and it's Dert's first that doesn't use samples.  It's synth-heavy, reminiscent of J. Dilla's most recent material.  The vibe is on some colorful ish, and it feels like Dert met his goal with Ussain Bolt swagger on this record.  I love how Dert builds a beat and completely flips it to something different like on "Cyan."  "Magenta" is getting a lot of props as well across the blogosphere.  I've been a fan of Dert since I stumbled on his Jose Gonzalez mixtapes, and he continues to prove he is one talented dude.  There is one joint with rappin' featuring Surreal from the Hip-Hop is Music family, "Black", which makes you hope Dert can make some of these synth heavy beats for more MC's.  I mean, the break on "Cyan" is on some Dilla shit for real.  I'm very late on this post as Dert tweeted that I received this about a month ago.  gets swamped with crappy promo email, so this is a general apology to those whose emails I lose!  Now go listen to this record, and if you feel it cop it!! It's at least 5 bucks which is mad cheap, and well worth it.

Substitutes for greatness

Truthfully a lot of artists we used to admire fall off and we end up paying attention to the cats available while still yearning for our favorite artists to drop something.  Here are some pretty adequate substitutes to the legends/emcee's ya'll are missing. 

Missing Gang Starr? - Listen to Marco Polo & Torae - Double Barrel - I know you might think I've lost my mind, but hear me out.  Both groups have one great producer and one signature emcee.  Double Barrel is not at  a Hard to Earn or at Moment of Truth level, but this album is definitely banger.  Decidedly more gritty than a diverse Gang Starr record, but you at least get that hungry and fresh NY sound from this album.  Ask yourself a question...do you think this album is up to par with at least The Ownerz?  And furthermore, the last Guru solo featured autotune, so you know it's nothing close to a Gang Starr record.  I suppose the Blaqprint album is supposed to bring it back, but I predict the Double Barrel album will be better.  If you haven't already, do yourself a big favor and GO BUY THIS ALBUM!!

Missing Canibus? - Listen to Eminem's Relapse - I must be the only writer out there who even still mentions Canibus.  I like many people my age, were heavily invested in Canibus as an emcee.  We all thought this vicious, lyrical pitbull steez was going to be around for years and drop dope material.  Instead "he went to Iraq" and lost his mind and made some meddling discs.  The Eminem v. Canibus debates seem so ancient now, but Canibus fans can appreciate the way Eminem rips verses on this album.  The first verse on "Medicine Ball" is absolutely vicious.  Maybe my favorite verse of the year because of the way he raps the verse.  Eminem only raps the fraction of the way most Hip-Hop fans want, but damnit, he is good at what he does.  I can't wait for the day he gets over his mom and drug addiction and gets Jay-Z type swagger with it.

Missing Mixtape Weezy? - Listen to Curren$y and Wiz Khalifia - These dudes remind me of Mixtape Lil Wayne because of their hunger, swagger, and all of those intangibles.  This Ain't No Mixtape is one of my favorite albums of the year, PERIOD.  Curren$y goes in, and I think Wiz Khalifia is similarly suited.  Both are currently working on a mixtape together which should hopefully garner them even more attention.  The major label Wayne is all rocked out and loves auto-tune rhyming so if you miss that mixtape Wayne who can rap his ass off, look out for these two.  Case in point: "Checkpoint" - Wow @ that beat, these dudes know what's up. 

Missing Outkast? - Listen to the Cunninlynguists - I know what you are thinking.  Big R, you are out of your cot damn mind, just because CL are from the South doesn't mean they got anything related to Outkast.  What I think what Outkast have is the point of view from their own plane, a hybrid of ATL and Mars we all know and love as Stankonia.  CL write from the perspective of a group who is truly global (They sell out shows in Lithuania), but with a southern appreciation.  Beyond that, both groups rely on UNIQUE production.  No one drops beats like Kno, and you know you are going to be in for production worth your dollar.  CL seems like a group that is still growing and evolving into something better with each release.  Can't wait for the Strange Journey Vol 2 release. 

Missing Wu-Tang Clan? - Listen to the new Slaughterhouse album - I know, another bold statement.  What makes Slaughter House remind me of the Wu is the internal competition between the emcees to spit the hottest verse.  The best thing about Wu albums is the diversity of lyricists and trying to figure out who best murked the track / album.  I think the Slaughterhouse album will inspire similar discussions.  Plus Royce, Joe, J. Ortiz, and Crooked I are all veterans of destroying verses.  This will be the best album that Joe Buddens has ever been a part of.  My only worry is that for the people at the listening sessions, none of them have had "OMG" type twitter blasts.  I look forward to peeping the rekkid though. 

Two Free Mixtapes from the Freshmen you need

Wale & 9th Wonder "BACK TO THE FEATURE" - This album has been in anticipation for many, many months now.  Fresh 9th Wonder Beats with Wale featuring some of the hungriest rappers out there.  Who else is loving all these album quality mixtapes being released for free?  This whole internet thang again is forcing artists to step up their game up.  The features on this album are insane - Black Thought, Kweli, Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Royce, Kenn Starr, Curren$y (who steals the show), Skyzoo, Torae, Freeway, Young Chris, K'naan, AND MORE.  See why they called it "Back to the Feature"?  With all of those features, you can thank Wale's lyrical prowess for being able to still be able to hold his own against so many dudes.  Wale just has a nice style, plus him being from the DC area fills me up with pride of course.  And the beats for the most part are original and are real dope.  9th Wonderful is still progressing as a producer and you can just tell dude is ready to make even more haters shut the hell up.  "Wonder Why" featuring Big Sean and Kenn Starr, "Wordplay", and my favorite song "Rather Be With You" all feature some of 9th's best beats, ever.  For a mixtape release as epic as this, I'm glad to hear so much dope new music.  "Rather Be With You" features J. Cole (more on him in a sec) and Curren$y completely black out over this beautiful 9th beat.  This is a full release which will dominate my study sessions, thanks again to 9th and Wale for delivering straigh butter.  By the way, Curren$y absolutely steals the show with this swaggerific/jets demeanor.  That Curren$y/Wiz Khalifia mixtape is going to be amazing. 

J. Cole "THE WARM UP" - J. Cole is an MC from Fayateville, NC who spits with INTENSITY.  So much so, I had to rock the caps.  He is the latest signee to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label.  J. Cole is starting to make a buzz with his mixtape features and dude raps his ass off.  His appeal comes from his fierce style and dope lyrics.  I suppose that's a description of every good rapper out there, but J. Cole also knows how to select a beat or two.  There are some great original joints with fresh beats like "Heartache" and "Welcome" which portray dude's lyrical ability.  His cadence is reminiscent of old school NY, but he has that southern swagger.  Wale's mixtape is getting a lot of love right now, but I might be listening to this mixtape more.  I wonder how his debut album will sound, because he sure knows how to make a mixtape.  I'm sorry for being late on dude and I know people have been shouting him out on the box - and here's my official entry on the J. Cole fan-wagon. 

is the email that pays me.  Oh yeah, I was going to write about how much I liked the Mos Def record, but then J. Cole / Wale dropped and I completely stopped listening to Mos Def's album.  No disrespect, but I'm just vibing with hungrier cats right now.  Doesn't it feel great that mixtapes are back to such a level of importance?  I was going to write about how I thought Kweli's solo career in my opinion surpassed Mos Def's, but apparently that's not very controversial.  I thought it would piss off a few people, but it seemed everyone sees that Reflection Eternal is about as good as BOBS, while Kweli has had Quallity and Ear Drum which were real fresh while Mos has had two crap records plus The Ecstatic.  I guess ya'll can do the Math a la "The Takeover".  Ok now I'm really out!

RIP and REP D. Ellis

The Slaughterhouse Rules from jeff on Vimeo.

Big R: This is from a press release on Soulstice's new record.  Sounds interesting, so I thought I'd post it for ya'll.  I'll hit up Soulstice and ask him if he has any leaks for the record.
 
Beyond Borders to be released on June 23, 2009 – features guest appearances from G.L.C., Oddisee, Kev Brown, Supastition and Zap Mama and more.

After releasing North By Northwest (2005) and Dead Letter Perfect in 2007 (which have led to features on SoulStice in XXL Magazine, The Source, Urb, various other key urban publications and websites and a song placement in an upcoming Warner Brothers film), SoulStice returns with Beyond Borders, which he dubs as an “international concept album.”

As SoulStice explains “the project is a collaboration between myself and Belgian beatmaker, SBe, who provides all of the instrumental music for the album. As far as the vocals, the songs are collaborations between myself and many of my favorite artists from around the world. We've got artists from the US, UK, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Africa, and Canada. The first time I ever traveled abroad was a trip I took Russia in 2000. The fact that the globalization of hip hop had reached all the way there really made an impression on me. Since then I've grown as an artist and have toured around the world, seeing firsthand how hip hop, as a US cultural export, has grown and become something new and different in these various places. Yet, the underlying theme is the same everywhere: hip hop continues to be the mouthpiece for people who exist outside of the mainstream to make their voices heard throughout society and around the world.

These songs and the ideas they contain were the result of studio sessions in Maryland, Belgium, Chicago, Paris, New York and many other places, late nights at SBe's house in Ghent, photo sessions, international phone calls and text messages, and long flights overseas to perform in Europe, Japan and Mexico.”

Beyond Borders will be released on June 23rd, 2009 and will feature appearances from G.L.C., Oddisee, Kev Brown, Supastition, Wordsmith and Zap Mama and is entirely produced by SBe.

Tracklisting and Credits for SoulStice’s “Beyond Borders”:

1.) Speed of Sound - SoulStice
2.) Chi Worldwide - SoulStice, G.L.C. (Chicago)
3.) Strange Kinda Love - SoulStice, Monique Harcum (Philly / Belgium)
4.) Unfold - SoulStice, Oddisee (Maryland), and Stef (Belgium)
5.) To The Limit - SoulStice and Brainpower (The Netherlands)
6.) Beyond Borders - SoulStice, Supastition (North Carolina) and Angelina (UK / Russia)
7.) Bird's Eye View - SoulStice and Kev Brown (Maryland)
8.) Chicago to Germany - Nico Suave (Germany)
9.) No Place Like It - SoulStice, Eternia (Canada) and Richie Filth (Ireland), and Stef (Belgium)
10.) 2 Days in Paris - SoulStice and Kohndo (France)
11.) I Found It - SoulStice, Haysoos (Maryland) and Krewcial (Belgium)
12.) Better Way - SoulStice and Wordsmith (Maryland)
13.) World Star - SoulStice, Zap Mama (Belgium / The Congo)
14.) Closer - SoulStice and Isabel Novela (Mozambique)

Return of the Boom-Bap

Only thing meaner than the grille Marco Polo has in the background, are his beats.

Maaan do Marco Polo and Torae have you covered for that boom-bap Hip-Hop heads have been fiending for!  Double Barrel won't sell as much as it will get bumped this summer, that's for sure and also a damn shame.  Why I'm buying this record - the tried and true method of one dope producer / one hungry emcee always creates great records.  Saigon got a lot of momentary applause for his effort on the stellar, yet still slept on All in A Day's Work.  Torae's effort is up there with Saigon, but I'm hoping it will have more legs for him and keep his name in a discussion of MC's to watch out for.  Marco Polo does his signature North of the Border grizzly production with stellar tracks like "Double Barrel", "Coney Island", and the epic-feeling "Crashing Down."  One knock on the record is that every beat sounds the same due to the tempo.  I think there is enough variation to appreciate and discern each track.  Marco Polo's Port Authority seems like it dropped mad long ago, but in a year he has done it again with another DOPE album filled with banging production. 

Everyone has been crying for that NY rap for years and have hoped acts like Jadakiss would deliver that banging record.  "Who's Real?" sounds like a bad nursery rhyme while Torae and Marco Polo have made a record that makes it okay to wear baggy jeans and timbs in the middle of the summer.  As soon as I heard this album, I stole a kid's ice cream and ate it in his face while doing the John Cena "You can't see me taunt."  What makes a good record great? It's the intangibles.  This album has that "I need to play this and get unnecessarily violent/aggie" kind of vibe.  It plays through great and not to be slept on from the strong production is Torae's rhyming ability. 

I was introduced to Torae through his collabos with Skyzoo.  He brings that lyrical / underground punch on "Word Play" but sounds the best when he is really talking about something.  "Crashing Down" might be my favorite song of the year, straight up.  I feel like expressing the state of being an up and coming Hip-Hop artist where no one buys albums and it's damn near impossible to get by in this economy is an extremely difficult task. Torae tackles the subject matter with strength and skill.  You can get a preview of key tracks @ http://www.myspace.com/doublebarrel08.  Also when it comes to features, it has Masta Ace (!!), Sean Price, Rock, Saukrates, Guilty Simpson, and more.  Oh yeah, DJ Premier is also dope to hear on the intro. By the way, I really feel like this will be that NY boom-bap record this year and will even surpass The Blaqprint.  I'm going to buy this as soon as I can get to Best Buy, and if they don't have it, I'm copping it as soon as I get back to my laptop.  Fantastic album, props to both Torae and Marco Polo for giving Hip-Hop heads something to get geeked about. 

A quick word on E1 [Formerly Koch Records] releases coming -  Royce Da 5'9, Joe Buddens, Crooked I, and Joel Ortiz are about to release their record together.  This has the makings of an epic record that we all wanted with The Horseman crew, except it's actually dropping.  There is no way this album can have whack production can it?   Rumored producers include the boy Alchemist.  We also have to look out for Alchemist's Chemical Warfare which features damn near everyone relevant.  I've been loving the stuff he has been doing with Evidence.  Isn't it funny we rely on him for that gutter NY sound, and he is a dude from LA?

Conspiracy Theories

Time to get a little crazy on this post like Britney/Lindsey/(insert future pop star and apparently Eminem) without her pills.

Barack Obama spends his nights as Rap star Drake - You ever see Barack Obama out at night anymore?  He is following his primary dream of being the hottest thing in Rap music since Lil Wayne with a sunburn.  The comparisons are uncanny to some, mildly impressive to most.  Both are half-black and half-white.  Astonishing!  Both are known for their oratory skills behind a mic (paaaause).  Also, think about Barack Obama's biggest competition - an old, senile man named John McCain.  Drake's biggest antagonist is also old white people, they hate Hip-Hop.  Hip-Hop and its ability to provide heavy bass, loud curse words, and happy minorities have hurt old white people for decades.  Barack Obama's ascension is just something to be emotional over.  Remember Jesse Jackson crying at his victory celebration?  The thing with Drake's mixtape is I have a great group of friends, my health, awesome gf, a few degrees and I still just want to sit around and be emo listening to "Say What's Real."  Say word.

Raekwon has recorded Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, but the hard drive crashed - This has been how many years in the making?  He has talked about this coming out like every year for the past 6 years.  More rappers/producers have been tapped to hit the record like it was Super Head.  I feel like this is that college thesis that constantly gets lost to shitty computers.  I doubt Raekwon has been watching PC v. Apple commercials, if he had been, OB4CL2 would have been saved from Windows Vista and likely come out years ago. 

Eminem never had a pill addiction, he just can't get away with talking about stepfather rape/Christopher Reeves otherwise - And who can blame the guy?  He got away with being juvenile for so long and the only excuse he has left is drug addiction to spit some some of the craziest lyrics ever.  Here is a brief list of topics he talks about on Relapse: Drug abuse, rape by his stepfather, him raping and killing girls, performing abortions with a wire hanger, eating the dead fetus, putting umbrellas inside a girls hoo-ha, putting balloons inside their hoo-ha, random homophobia, and sadly- the list goes on.  How else can you get away with being such a lunatic? Fabricate the drug addiction!  Side note - "Medicine Ball" proves Eminem can still spit by the way. 

Cage - Depart from Mehhh

Cage comes with his second full-length on Def Jux entitled Depart from Me.  I became a bit of a Cage junkie after copping Hell's Winter.  That album had some of the fiercest production, hungry raps, with an overall banging feel.  Cage found a balance with his newfound direction and horrorcore past perfectly on that last album.  Depart From Me is heralded as a "growth" record.  As a fan/writer, I tend to think artists rely too much on this growth argument when they make albums that aren't up to par.  Maybe because it's summer and I'm in a good groove, but this album just didn't stick well with me.

"Nothing Left to Say" starts this album real strong. Cage has that weird drugged out singing-out intro to that track that was rather grating and annoying until he starts spitting and the beat flips to something nasty.  The album is a little too much of the first part of the track, and less rapping that we are used to from Cage.  While Hell's Winter sounded hype due to lively Hip-Hop production, the energy comes from someplace darker with rock influence and a seemingly strung out Cage getting at the beats.  We know his current look feels more like indie emo rock and it seems like his music is moving in that direction. 

I don't knock the growth argument for some artists, but from my point of view, the production on this record just doesn't match his last one.  El-P and Blockhead provided the beats on the last record, but Cage is going for a more grungy feel and I'm not really vibing with it.  Maybe this would be better released in winter, because it's summertime and I just want to drink lemonade and listen to RAWSE.  Cage's slow, drawn out lyrics give me more of a headache then I should.  I imagine I wasn't the target audience for this sort of album, I mean I'm not trying to hear Cage sort of sing-rap his way through honestly weak production.

"Strain" is kind of cool, he also has solid content on the Fat kids joint, but his delivery makes the track barely listenable for me.  The last 3 tracks kind of make up for the mediocrity, but it still doesn't pack a powerful enough punch.  Maybe it'll grow on me in a different season, I just can't see this being bumped in public.  This kind of music is meant for your headphones only or in groups of emo high school kids smoking cigs and contemplating dying their hair blue.  Damn, I'm coming off mad haterish.  I'm just not feeling the vibe of the album, can you blame me?

Jay Stay Paid, at least we hope so

Another posthumous record from the late and great J-Dilla.  Before popping the headphones I made sure to recognize this is his second posthumous record.  Probably the majority of the heatrocks were on The Shining, so I was just going to try to enjoy the instrumental freshness.  I was pleasantly surprised with this album with those expectations tempered.  Having the ability to scour through Jay Dilla's unreleased beats must have been a real treat for Ma Dukes and the team who put this album together.  Some of the notable instrumentals include "10,000 Watts", "Kaklow", "9th Caller", and more.  This album is a hybrid of unreleased instrumentals with lyrical guest features.  It's kind of like a mash-up of The Shining and Donuts.  "Smoke" features Blu on a rather lazy/laid-back track with a vintage nasty/ghoulish beat from Dilla.  "Make it Fast" features Diz Gabran and a dirty, filthy J-Dilla produced track.  "24K Rap" features OG's Raekwon and Havoc of Mobb Deep over another grimey piece of production.  Black Thought spits a pretty sick lyrical track that does border on kinda tool-ish because "Reality TV" just references bad reality shows.  I'm not the biggest Frank-N'-Dank fan but Frank Nitty's guest feature on "Pay Day" is pretty slick nasty. 

My one complaint with the record is that I was hoping for more lyrical features.  James Yancey has had a huge effect on the majority of Hip-Hop artists out there.  I feel like acts like Common, Kanye, and artists at that level would have contributed on the album.  Big artists aside, I was hoping for more of the new blood like Blu on the album.  Wale, Kid Cudi, and especially Skyzoo would have taken this record to another level.  Who knows, budgetary constraints are mo-fer especially in this economy.  Either way, this yet ANOTHER great release dropped this week.  Jay Stay Paid reminds you of how great a producer he was, and how lucky we are to be in the digital age that his music can still be released 3 years after his tragic passing.  Matter of fact, I'm going to pop Donuts in right now...

Ok, more posts later folks. Thoughts on my views? Get at me @ Don't forget to support real Hip-Hop buy purchasing both Double Barrel and Jay Stay Paid.

RIP and REP D. Ellis

Fresh Daily - Tomorrow is Today - Brooklyn-bred MC, Fresh Daily has released a great mixtape.  The production he borrows and provides is on that futuristic tip.  I'm loving the re-worked Gorillaz "Tomorrow Comes Today."  His next full-length LP features production from illmind, Oh No, 88 Keys, and more.  Oh yeah, MR. Fresh Dot Daily can get at a beat too.  Don't sleep on this tape, it's free, fly, and hard (pause) like a free mug hurled at your face.  That was a terrible metaphor, but in my defense it's dumb early and I'm just trying to enjoy this album!  Other notable tracks after one quick listen "Apollo 13", "Winterfresh - Flying Lotus Remix", "Universal Medicine", "Film Noir."  I don't know if it's on the buzz quality of So Far Gone, but Fresh Daily has created a mixtape that deserves to be in the conversation of best tape of the year!

Oddisee - Odd Summer (Instrumental)

Click the image, get the free freshness.

My favorite producer/emcee from the DMV and maybe in the states period provides a free instrumental CD with Put Me On It.  Click on the image to peep the source blog with a link to download the instrumental freshness.  Oddisee is also on the Fresh Daily mixtape too, he is just running my music world this 2009 between the Diamond District and everything else he is putting out. 

Back to the grind, even though I graduate, I never have time off! Have a good Friday ya'll, and I hope this music helps ya with that mission. 

RIP and REP D. Ellis