Lewis Parker, Eastkoast, El Da Sensei & Shabaam Sahdeeq Make A Joint Worthy Of Soundbombing (Audio)

Yesterday (January 20), Joey Bada$$’ B4.Da.$$ hit shelves and digital outlets as a callback to the lyrical, free-form, expressionist Hip-Hop from the East Coast of the late 1990s. Not a throwback exactly, Brooklyn’s Bada$$ studied the O.G.’s, listened to the tapes, and aimed to show the grassroots take on Hip-Hop, and the world at large.

Two MCs who not only lived through that era, but were stars of it were El Da Sensei and Shabaam Sahdeeq. El of The Artifacts took a graffiti-writing, train-riding aesthetic, and brought it to the major label system on two great albums, and a host of strong solo sets that followed. Shabaam was the one waiting in the wings of the Rawkus Records movement, hindered by legal trouble and a changing direction of the monumental indie Rap label of the ’90s and early 2000s.

Teaming with Lewis Parker and EastKoast, these are four acts that are winning at the old game, in spite of the new rules. “Superior MC’s” is just that—with a sound, feel, and mic approach that feels like one of the great unheard 12″ singles of yesteryear, with 2015 energy. Feel the vibe, and all four of these folks have plenty of recent music and back catalog highly deserving of deep perusal—including Shabaam’s latest tape, The Sound & The Fury, Vol. 2, premiered right here at AFH.

ElDaSensei_2015

#BonusBeat: The Artifacts are appearing on Cannibal Ox’s just-announced sophomore LP…the ultimate tribute, as a likely influence on Vast Aire and Vordul Mega.

Related: Shabaam Sahdeeq’s New Collabo Project Includes Ras Kass, Rah Digga, Masta Ace & Harry Fraud (Mixtape)