Jamla Archives

Carlitta Durand’s Time Has Come. This Little Brother Affiliate Shines (Audio)

For years and years, Carlitta Durand has thrived alongside the Justus League/Jamla Records family on acclaimed releases like Little Brother's LeftBack, Phonte's Charity Starts At Home, and most recently on Foreign Exchange's Love In Flying Colors. The North Carolina songbird is stepping into her own. "Find A Way" doesn't sound... Read more

November 19, 2014 Audio, Fresh

CyHi The Prynce, Rapsody & Caskey Light Up This Team Backpack Cypher (Video)

Team Backpack cyphers have become a staple in the Hip-Hop zeitgeist for several years now. The collective's videos have made stars out of fresh-faced artists, and cultivated talent in a format that Heads can respect: the free-form cypher. It's competitive, it's stripped-down, it's pure MC'ing. So how about this? T.B.P... Read more

October 20, 2014 Fresh, Video

Rapsody Got Drama For Days (Video)

When she wants to dramatize her verses, Rapsody literally goes underground. Jamla's current flagship artist tells the tale of Beauty & The Beast with the latest visual to her just-released EP. With her team surrounding her, the Kooley High alum spins the yarns on why she's among the best, and... Read more

October 7, 2014 Fresh, Video

When Diamond D Releases A New LP, It’s Kind Of A Big Deal. Check The Diam Piece (Album Stream)

This past week, Diamond D released his sixth solo album (fourth studio), The Diam Piece. The Empire-distributed LP from one of the keystones of the Diggin' In The Crates (D.I.T.C) family features Pete Rock, Talib Kweli, The Pharcyde, Tha Alkaholiks, Kurupt, Rapsody, Pharaohe Monch, Fat Joe and Freddie Foxxx, among... Read more

October 4, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Rapsody & 9th Wonder Are Knocking Down Conventions Like Godzilla (Audio)

Rapsody is in her zone! The Jamla MC hops on yet another 9th Wonder beat and has a wordplay extravaganza on "Godzilla." The Beauty & The Beast joint is a strong statement about how only God is illa' and the rest of the MC crop best step aside for one... Read more

October 1, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Edo G & King Magnetic Visit The Zoo Over A 9th Wonder Groove (Video)

Edo G (f/k/a Ed O.G.) has been a guiding light to two generations of MCs for his ability to kick family-conscious tracks, as well as skillfully make traditional Hip-Hop. Additionally, like his contemporaries Kool G Rap and Tragedy Khadafi, Roxbury's finest has also been a beacon for hardcore, fact-filled Rap... Read more

October 1, 2014 Fresh, Video

Diamond D Seamlessly Teams With Elzhi, Talib Kweli & Skyzoo (Audio)

Diamond D laces the track from his just-released Diam Piece album. Although he doesn't rhyme on it, Diamond can surely relate to watching fickle fans, unprepared media, and pauper promoters that aren't treating art and the artists the way they ought to. Each MC takes the theme a little differently,... Read more

September 30, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Rapsody Brings The Drama (Audio)

On her upcoming Beauty & The Beast EP (October 7), Rapsody is trying new things. After more than five years patiently waiting in the Hip-Hop independent crosswinds, Rap' is downright taking hers by force. The Khrysis-produced "Drama" (which Heads got a glimpse of last week) lives up to its name.... Read more

September 23, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Rapsody Says It’s Hard To Choose, But It’s Not Hard To Choose Rapsody (Audio)

Leading up October 7's Beauty And The Beast, Rapsody is pulling out all the stops. "Hard To Choose," produced by 9th Wonder, takes strong audit of the North Carolina native's career, and choices as such. Citing everybody from DJ Kool Herc to Afrika Bambaataa to MC Lyte, Rap' explains the... Read more

September 15, 2014 Audio, Fresh

From CNN Headlines To NFL Storylines, Rapsody Uses It In This Freestyle (Audio)

Some artists have a nonchalant way of showing just how well-read they are. Today, Rapsody dropped a freestyle, "I'm A Beast" overtop the "Hoover Street" instrumental. Here, the Jamla flagship artist showcases her ties to the issues, ranging from the murder of Michael Brown to Tony Romo's missteps at quarterback... Read more

September 8, 2014 Audio, Fresh

9th Wonder Calls Nottz “Arguably The Best Beatmaker On The Planet,” Expands Soul Council

Throughout the ages, Nottz and 9th Wonder have worked on the same albums. Including releases from Little Brother, the Virginia and North Carolina producers, respectively, have a strong overlap in the artists and projects they take on. Both producers with history on the mic too, these heralded musical personalities have... Read more

August 20, 2014 Fresh

9th Wonder Honors The Life Of Bobby Womack With An Amazing Sonic Collection (Mixtape)

Following this week's sad news regarding the death of R&B/Soul icon Bobby Womack, Hip-Hop reacted. Since Little Brother's The Listening, 9th Wonder has quietly and carefully alluded to his love (and listening) of Bobby's music. Thereby, 11 years later, it was 9th who was among the first to honor the... Read more

June 30, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Mixes

Over A Sparse Beat, Rapsody Calls Out The Illuminaughty (Video)

Produced by 9th Wonder, Rapsody's "Illuminaughty" is as effective an 85 seconds as Heads can get in 2014. The song features some whimsical wordplay, but to-the-point lyricism on why terms like "ill" are applicable to the Jamla Records MC. This hails from Winter's Jamla Is The Squad mixtape. Related: Rapsody’s... Read more

June 27, 2014 Fresh, Video

Torae & Skyzoo Are The Next To Light Up Sway In The Morning Freestyles (Video)

With their first collaborative LP, Barrel Brothers, now in stores, Skyzoo and Torae stopped by Sway In The Morning. Insisting that true freestyles are all that they know, Sky' and Tor' (who is no stranger to satellite radio) kick cypher-style, back-and-forth bars very much in step with their styles and... Read more

June 20, 2014 Fresh, Video

Add-2 & Nitty Scott, MC Channel The Depression-Era Sound For A Bonnie & Clyde Cut (Audio)

Aside from OutKast's Idlewild LP, Hip-Hop rarely goes back to the 1930s for inspiration. Add-2 and Nitty Scott, MC ignored the memo, as the Chi-City voice of hope and the Brooklyn-based flower-child put on new costumes in art and in verse. Not like Jay Z & Beyonce's rendition of Bonnie... Read more

June 18, 2014 Audio, Fresh

GQ Gets A Star-Studded Record With Nipsey Hussle & A Rapper Big Pooh, 9th Wonder Reunion (Audio)

On June 24, Jamla Army enlistee GQ is preparing Rated Oakland. The West Coast delegation on 9th Wonder's heralded label follows up with his second project in as many years. On "Count'em Up," both worlds come together. South Central L.A.'s Nipsey Hussle fits in, with that street scholar message, while... Read more

June 12, 2014 Audio, Fresh

GQ is Next Up in 9th Wonder’s Jamla Army (Audio)

10+ years after the release of Little Brother's debut album, The Listening, 9th Wonder is still making moves behind the boards and behind the scenes. His Jamla Records roster includes artists like Rapsody and one of the most talented producer corps in the game. GQ is another soldier in 9th's... Read more

May 22, 2014 Audio

Rapsody’s Betty Shabazz Shows Her Commanding MC Skills All In One Place On A 9th Wonder Nodder (Video)

For some Rapsody fans, this week has been bittersweet. With an acclaimed independent album and a show-stopping mixtape under her belt, many Heads were looking to see Rap's joyful smile grace the upcoming XXL pages for 2014's annual "Freshmen issue." The questions and disappointment from some, when the Kooley High... Read more

May 8, 2014 Featured-homepage, Fresh, Video

Rapsody Plants Some Roses In Your Brain With A Khrysis Beat (Audio)

Rapsody's ill linguistics are constantly elevating. In less than two minutes, Rap' takes a fresh Khrysis beat, and shows out on it. "Roses" follows the concept/substance-driven "Thank You" from late last month, showing some of the many sides of one of Hip-Hop's sharpest pens and performers. Related: Rapsody Thanks Some... Read more

May 6, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Rapsody Paints Her Numbers On The Boards With Some Attitude (Audio)

This month, Pusha T's "Numbers On The Boards" has its first birthday. That doesn't mean that the grimy instrumental created by DJ Don Cannon and Kanye West doesn't still attract MCs from elsewhere to mold it to them. Such is the case with Rapsody. She barely stops for air as... Read more

April 8, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Add-2 Makes Perhaps The Realest Rap Commentary On The Violence In Chicago (Video)

Since long before he was a Jamla artist, Add-2 has been grinding, part of the independent renaissance coming from Chicago, Illinois since the mid-2000s and before. Now teaming with The Away Team/Soul Council's Khrysis, Add is reaching a higher plateau with an expanding audience. Hurt and disgusted by the violence... Read more

April 3, 2014 Fresh, Video

Next Up On The 9th Wonder Collaboration Album List? Talib Kweli (Video)

Even outside of Little Brother, 9th Wonder has built a career with a series of full-produced albums for a host of artists, ranging from Black Moon's Buckshot, to Jean Grae, to David Banner, to Murs, to Kaze, and beyond. In a new interview, Talib Kweli revealed that now he is... Read more

February 25, 2014 Fresh

Buckshot & 9th Wonder Come Back Together For Some 3am Square Biz (Audio)

From 2005 to 2012, Black Moon's Buckshot and Little Brother's 9th Wonder made an Interstate 95 link to record three albums together. These works charted new waters for both artists, who when they set out to collaborate, were largely known for the personas created in their respective groups. By 2012,... Read more

January 27, 2014 Audio, Fresh

BJ The Chicago Kid & Add-2 Apply 15 Minutes Of Fame To Relationships Over A 9th Wonder Beat (Audio)

While Andy Warhol's notion of the "15 Minutes of Fame" tends to apply to well, fame, it can mean anybody's limited moment in the sun. Jamla Records artist Add-2 and fellow Chicago, Illinois native BJ hook up for "15 Minutes Of Fame," looking at fickle romantic relationships cut short. The... Read more

January 24, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Pete Rock, Rapsody & Lecrae Find The Good In Things, On A Khrysis Beat (Audio)

Jamla most definitely Is The Squad, especially this week. 9th Wonder's imprint has set the week ablaze with leaks from the upcoming project, mixed by Statik Selektah. If you thought Rapsody's She Got Game was impressive with its vocal and production chemistry with other artists, you'll enjoy "Be Inspired." In... Read more

January 23, 2014 Audio, Fresh

GQ & Khrysis Pick Up Where Slick Rick’s Mona Lisa Left Off (Audio)

It was cold how Mona Lisa sang (courtesy of a cut-in Dionne Warwick) to "walk on by." Well, 25 years later Jamla's basketball star-turned-professional MC GQ picks up in that same frame of mind, rappin' on a Khrysis flip of the beat that Heads have known for years. This comes... Read more

January 22, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Add-2 & Khrysis Combine Saturdays & Sundays On Club Church (Audio)

The newest enlisted member of the Jamla Army, Chicago's Add-2 teams with the Away Team/Soul Council's Khrysis for "Club Church." Kind of some 2013 ode to Bill Withers' "Harlem," the song combined the party-goers from the club and the spiritual followers in church. A cool concept, and a great beat.... Read more

November 19, 2013 Audio, Fresh

Exclusive: Rapsody & 9th Wonder Are In Our Area, Causing Mass Hysteria (Audio)

As Rapsody pulled from Nas' famous entrance phrase on "Halftime," 9th Wonder channeled Large Professor's echoey reverb and thumbing percussion for "Mass Hysteria"—which we are proud to premiere at AFH. Rap gives some of her finest wordplay on this cut which is mostly about being dope, but veers into some... Read more

October 16, 2013 Audio, Fresh

Rapsody – Never Know ft. Ab-Soul, Nipsey Hussle & Terrace Martin

I really love the Jamla/TDE/Nipsey Hussle connection. What 9th Wonder did so seamlessly with Brooklyn in the mid-'00s (Smif N' Wessun, Sean Price, Buckshot and Jean Grae) now seems to work with South Central, Los Angeles and C-Arson. "Never Know" is a truly versatile joint produced by the professor himself.... Read more

August 7, 2013 Audio, Fresh