MED drops some music for marinating with Blu. Check out This Is Your Life.
Exile laid down the track. It doesn't get much better than this. Click here to download.... Read more
Audio
DJ Quik’s new album drops next week. To support and show love, he is the subject of the latest Producer Series playlist.
Hailing from Compton, DJ Quik is one of the best producers to ever do it--on any coast--period. He's a DJ, a musician, a producer and a rapper. Though his sound is rooted in the P-Funk, the vast majority of his music is original. His range is such that he can... Read more
STS teamed up with Black Thought last year to form Money Making Jam Boys. Now he is partnering with Freddie Gibbs on a new joint.
Check out Cloud of Endo. Click here to download.... Read more
Outasight goes in on a funk/rock track. Check out So What.
His new album, Figure 8, drops on 4/26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ligPENRdM&feature=player_embedded Click here to download.... Read more
Kendrick Lamar on the verse and J. Cole on the production. It’s gettin’ kinda hectic…
Check out HiiiPoWeR (Kendrick sounds a LOT like Pusha T on this, no? Not a bad thing, but I'm sayin'...). Click here to download (not free--support good music).... Read more
Speaking of dope tracks, check out this one from Diz Gibran & Moonshine called The Return.
It's just drums and an ill horn sample but it's epic. Check it out. Click here to download.... Read more
Curren$y and The Alchemist are making some really good music together. Check out Full Metal.
The ONLY criticism is it leaves you wanting more... Click here to download. Click here for more from Curren$y and The Alchemist.... Read more
ScienZe’s Song in a Glass is a nice metaphor. The track has a smooth jazzy feel to it, with vintage lyrics.
This would fit right in on a vintage Slum Village playlist. Check out the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUkzda27tCE&feature=player_embedded Not a bad mix with something like this, right: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-oLqMwzvBY... Read more
The Beastie Boys have always pushed the boundaries of hip-hop. Why stop now?
Check out their latest called Tadlock's Glasses. Get ready to have your aural and your mental stretched with this one. Click here to download. Click here to check out their last drop, Make Some Noise. BTW, how dope is it that the artwork for their upcoming album, Hot Sauce Committee... Read more
Roy Ayers is a musical giant. His tracks have built some of the most important samples in hip-hop.
There's a documentary coming out on Roy Ayers later in the year (great year for music documentaries, btw. With the amount of his music that has been sampled over the years, Roy Ayers is one of the founding fathers of hip-hop. Here are some of his most influential tracks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zy2ZrIqIpc... Read more
Vado, Jadakiss and Ludacris take it back to the days when a track was hard drums and an even harder hand clap.
Here's Check 'Em Out. Click here to download. Remember when these types of tracks used to be the standard for hip-hop? Check these out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s5DCRAAsyc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4478SMAc2qM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0mKgnC6acE... Read more
Here’s a new Wiz Khalifa joint that should have made the album.
It goes back to his mixtape days where he was showcasing a lot of his G-Funk influences. It's aptly called G-Shyt. Check it out. Click here to download.... Read more
Rockie Fresh reps Chicago well on About It. He’s in the pocket with this laid-back soulful track from Taylor Gang’s Cardo.
Check it out. Click here to download.... Read more
Smoke DZA has dropped a lot of hot tracks over the last few months. Here’s the full mixtape, The Hustlers Catalog.
Listen to the whole mixtape and download it below. Download Mixtape... Read more
It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another installment of #PhilAdeFridays.
This week he slows it down and flows over a soulful Marsha Ambrosius track. Check out Your Hands. Click here to download. Here's the Marsha track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxbYxX-ykbM... Read more
Sade is not hip-hop…but she is a one of a kind artist. And, she just did her first ever collaboration with another artist (of any genre). The honor went to…Jay-Z.
Nuff said. Check out The Moon & The Sky featuring 2 of the best to ever do it. Click here to download.... Read more
Royce Da 5’9″ puts in some serious work on Writer’s Block (he didn’t have it).
The track sounds like it could be from Lex Lugar and features Eminem on the hook. Check it out. Click here to download.... Read more
Kent M$ney from Surf Club has dropped a couple of very solid tracks. Check out Fear of Flying and Miracle.
Fear of Flying Click here to download. Miracle Click here to download.... Read more
Devin the Dude always keeps it 100% funky. With a Herbie Hancock-inspired track and a hook that would make Anthony Hamilton proud, Got Bills To Pay is no exception.
Check it out. Click here to download. The singer on the hook brings some of that Anthony Hamilton gravely soul music and the track sounds like it was inspired by a faster version of this (starting at 41 seconds in): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo5GcYeh7XA And, here's some of that Anthony Hamilton goodness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4LVf9qdFYA... Read more
The latest installment of the Producer Series Playlists features the music of Hi-Tek.
A lot of love goes to the East and West Coasts, as well as the South, but the Midwest often does not get its props in hip-hop. Hailing from Cincinnati, OH, Hi-Tek has been killing the game for well over a decade. He was one of the staple producers for... Read more
Who says there’s no more conscious rap? Check out Apollo Brown’s The Times ft Oddisee.
It's a great track with meaningful lyrics. If you need some more thought provoking rap in your life, check out this playlist. The diversity in hip-hop the last few years has been phenomenal. Click here to download.... Read more
2 days, 2 solid new joints from Wale. Check out 4am ft Black Cobain.
Click here to download. Click here if you missed Mac Miller's So What ft Wale.... Read more
XV’s album is sounding like it’s going to be hot. Check out his latest song, When We’re Done.
XV's Zero Heroes album drops on tax day. Click here for more XV. Click here to download.... Read more
Curren$y + The Alchemist = Still Soulful
Curren$y sounds best when he's laying in the pocket of a rolling, soulful track. The Alchemist had just what Spitta needed in his bag of tricks. Check out Ventilation. Click here to download.... Read more
Wale and Mac Miller drops some solid verses on So What. Check it out.
Click here to download.... Read more
!Mayday! dropped a hot joint with Cee-Lo and GhostWridah a few months ago.
Here's another quality track from him ft Freeway and J. Nics. Check out the remix for Highs & Lows. Click here for more from Mayday. Click here to download.... Read more
There’s been some good new music coming out of Texas lately. Last week was A.Dd+. Now check out Jim-E-O.
Like A.Dd+, Jim-E-O is also out of Texas--Austin, TX. You can hear The Game's influence in his flow and a lot of the melodic R&B feel associated with much of the Southern West Coast sound from the late 90's and early '00s. Here's Made It Out. Click here to download,... Read more
This new Beastie Boys joint sounds like it would have been right at home on Paul’s Boutique.
Check out Make Some Noise. Click here to download. And here's a gem from Paul's Boutique: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEVfHmjKOrM... Read more
Electro Funk was a key element of early Hip-Hop. It was an essential part of break dancing, particularly on the West Coast. Here’s a playlist of some of the music that used to get the poppers, lockers and breakers going back in the day.
Electro Funk has had a resurgence over the years with groups like Chromeo and games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, but there is nothing like the original joints. And, if you missed Breakin' N Enterin' click here.... Read more
Next up is a new joint from Rapper Big Pooh ft Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul.
Check out RapperPooh-A-Lude, produced by Focus. This one BUMPS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaJVJD6e3Pc Click here to download.... Read more
Pharrell hasn’t spit like this since…well…maybe ever. Check out his verses over a Daft Punk track from Tron: Legacy.
He's always been much stronger behind the boards but this one is respectable. There are minimal drums and bass lines but it works for Pharrell's flow. It's called The Game Has Changed and is courtesy of Funkmaster Flex. Click here to download.... Read more
OutKast regularly get their props for being one of the greatest artists (of any genre) of all time, and rightfully so.
It's seldom, however, that you hear about Organized Noize, the production team that played a key role in architecting the sonic foundation of OutKast's early music, and that of other influential artists coming out of Atlanta in the 90's. The latest playlist in our producer series is dedicated to Organized... Read more
It’s a good day for rappers who hold it down on the independent tip. Salute to Jean Grae who’s been doing it on her own for YEARS.
Check out the video for R.I.P. ft Talib Kweli and Styles P. Click here to download.... Read more
eLZHI from Slum Village is back on the scene with a new release called Verbal Intercourse Pt. 2.
Check it out. Click here to download.... Read more
The Jets keep spitting over soulful tracks. This time it’s Curren$y and Trademark Da Skydiver on GT500.
Check it out. Click here to download. Also, if you missed The Jets new mixtape Jet Life to the Next Life, click here.... Read more
Shad kinda sounds like a cross between Murs and Asher Roth on Give You All I Can.
This one is for the backpackers. Check it out. Click here to download. Check the Asher Roth x Murs comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApHeVGUpNaY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj4gWHzdPF4... Read more
Here’s another Statik Selektah-produced heat rock. This one is by Action Bronson and is called Cliff Notes.
Both the production and Action Bronson's flow would make you swear this came from the late 90's. You can hear elements of Primo in the production and M.O.P. in the verses. Dopeness. Click here to download. Speaking of M.O.P., check out this gem from back in the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hReK_7ARH0... Read more
Blu laced ScienZe with a cool jazzy track on Main Attraction ft Sene. This is a head-nodder.
Check it out. Click here to download.... Read more
Check out this mixtape from DJ Quik. While it’s not new material, there’s some vintage stuff that’s harder to find and may not have hit your eardrums. Even better, it’s narrated by Quik himself giving personal accounts of the stories behind many of his hits.
Quik's new album The Book of David drops on 4/20. Click here if you missed the first single, Luv of My Life. Click here to download The Audiobiography of David Mixtape. Props to LA Leakers for this one. The tracklist is below:... Read more
Statik Selektah and Termanology had a good run last year as 1982. They’re back with a new song ft Bun B.
Check out Race Against Time. If you missed these cats last year, click here for more. Click here to download.... Read more
It’s a great release day for hip-hop legends. In addition to Snoop Dogg, Pete Rock and Camp Lo just dropped a mixtape for 80 Blocks from Tiffany’s.
When you add the release of E-40's Revenue Releasin': Graveyard Shift, it's a real Super Tuesday. Click below to listen to and download the Pete Rock/Camp Lo mixtape and click here for a playlist with some of Pete Rock's best joints. Download Mixtape... Read more
A.Dd+ studied Outkast. You can hear it in their flow, their musical choices and their adventurousness.
But, they didn't jack Outkast. Instead, they drew from those elements and injected their own style and sensibilities into the music. It paid off. They have produced When Pigs Fly, an incredibly solid album that takes chances and rises above the mediocrity. Listen to the whole album and download below.... Read more
Big K.R.I.T. dropped a classic mixtape last year with K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. Here’s his follow up, Returnof4eva along with a behind the scenes video from the listening party.
Click here to listen to previews and download the album. It's free and you can donate to the big homie if you want to support good music. If you missed it, click here for the video to the single, Dreamin'. Here's the video: http://vimeo.com/21657177... Read more
Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar deliver some of that new Cali goodness with Rapper Sh*t.
Check it out. Click here to download.... Read more
It’s time for another New World (Au)der where we take hot albums and re-order the tracks for your listening pleasure. This week’s is Raekwon’s new classic Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang.
NEW WORLD (AU)DER: RAEKWON THE CHEF "SHAOLIN VS WU-TANG Remember all the drama that select members of the WU had with the crew's 5th studio release, "8 DIAGRAMS"? Remember the rumor, that an album called "SHAOLIN VS WU-TANG" would eventually be released, (in spite of...), as a collective Wu-Tang Clan... Read more
Need more basketball in your life? Check out Soul in the Hole a 90’s documentary on New York street ball. The soundtrack that accompanied it was a classic filled with some of the greatest names in hip-hop: Wu-Tang Clan, Brand Nubian, Mobb Deep, O.C., Common, M.O.P., Big Pun, Organized Konfusion…Check out the full movie and a playlist from the soundtrack below.
Click here to watch the trailer. Here's the movie: And, here's the playlist from the soundtrack:... Read more
Quietly, a lot of good hip-hop has dropped (or leaked) over the last few months. Here are a couple of playlists with some of the better joints. On this one, you’ll find Pusha T, J. Cole, Kidz in the Hall, Rapper Big Pooh, Phonte, Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T., Chuuwee, Pharoahe Monch and others.
It has more meditative, darker beats--think 9th Wonder-type music. Click here for the second playlist.... Read more
Here’s some new GhostWrida ft Freeway. Check out Window Cracked.
Here's a video teaser and you can listen to and download the full song below: http://vimeo.com/21500751 ... Read more
There have been a lot of hot leaks from Trademark Da Skydiver, Young Roddy and Curren$y lately. Check out the mixtape.
Listen to all of Jet Life to the Next Life and download it below. Props to 2DopeBoyz for putting this together. Download Mixtape... Read more