New/Old Brother Ali

I was introducing a friend to Brother Ali yesterday, which made me go back through my collection to find my favorite tracks to send out. That led to searching on the interwebs, and I found a mixtape from the Brother I had never heard before! I figured that since Off the Record is from 2007, and maybe Brother Ali heads I know have not heard of it, it was worthy of a post. A big fan might recognize some of the songs, but most of the 12 tracks are exclusives, buddy.

Download "Off the Record", a mixtape by Brother Ali and his DJ BK-One, here

Thats his little boy Faheem in the pic, by the way. And I gotta say, he spits for a six year old.

Freeness from Cecil Otter and Swiss Andy - Wugazi : 13 Chambers

It seems like this came out of nowhere, but its shaping up to be my favorite remix project that I've ever heard.  Everything sounds so natural and meant to be, just check it out and comment if you think differently.  Oh, and obviously it's free.  As I just learned, the name (and the music) comes from a mixture of Fugazi and Wu-Tang Clan, as described in more detail on the Wugazi website:

Wugazi is a labor of love by Cecil Otter & Swiss Andy. A year’s worth of cutting up every imaginable Fugazi record and trying out every Wu-Tang acapella they could get their hands on, resulted in Wugazi: 13 Chambers (a must listen for anyone who even looked at a skateboard in the 90’s).

Cecil Otter is an emcee & producer, and one of the founding members of Doomtree. He has contributed to over a dozen records. His most recent full-length, Rebel Yellow, was re-released by Sage Francis for Strange Famous Records. He’s now recording his solo project, Porcelain Revolver.

Swiss Andy is a musician & producer residing in Minneapolis. He has been a contributor to several bands including The Millionth Word, Field Guide and The Swiss Army. He is currently working on a remix of Rebel Yellow.

Royce Da 5'9"- Sucess is Certain

Fresh off of mainstream success from the Eminem-assisted EP Bad Meets Evil Hell: The Sequel, Royce is set to drop a new LP entitled Success is Certain a week from now. We got it a week early for ya. Assists are relatively small, from Eminem (half a chorus) on Writer's Block, to Travis Barker on drums on the track Legendary, to Slaughterhouse companion Joe Budden on My Own Planet. Lesser-knowns Kid Vishis, Nottz, and Adonis also stop in to help the cause of Royce, who is now unquestionably the biggest name is the Slaughterhouse quadrant (Brooklynite Joell Ortiz and Californian Crooked I round out the group).

As for the cd, it seems to me that after all the time waiting for the limelight, Royce has become somewhat complacent while in it. Taking a likeness from His braggadocio has always bothered me some, but none more on this cd. Legendary begins the cd, establishing the theme of self-promoting swagger. Royce doesn't often get out-rapped, but on My Own Planet Joe Budden does to him what Eminem does on most of Bad Meets Evil: not ethered by any sense, but definitely a TKO to borrow a boxing reference.

Royce opts for a lot of beats that try to be fast, hard and anthemic, on what seems to be a follow-up to 2004's Death is Certain. The titles tell an obvious story to the mind of Royce during these two recording sessions. in 2004, Royce was desperate, angry, and willing to spit bars to prove a point- that he was better than your favorite rapper. Personal struggles made the project easier to relate to.

The closing track, I've Been Up I've Been Down, addresses his "roller-coaster of a career", it seems to be too little, too late. Through one listen the project, Royce seems to be too focused on the two images on his album cover- cars and cash. The last line of the cd, Royce proclaims "They can take away the cars, they can take away the cash, but I bet ya they can't take the realness that's in me." Realness, maybe. But Success is Certain is certainly far from the pantheon of Royce's career. It is a shame that the biggest release Royce will likely ever receive does not contain his best work, or even a banging single, with apologies to Legendary and On the Boulevard. Oh well, Detroit could do much worse: at least he's not Big Sean.

Grab the album here, thanks to HHA.

Macklemore- Wings

Macklemore finally lets loose the video to Wings, a heartful look at kicks, specifically Jordans. The video was directed by Zia Mohajerjasbi, and off of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' VS. EP. Definitely worth the five and a half minutes of your time.

New(ish) Ish

Happy 7 11 day. Get your free slurpees before time runs out. The picture is that big because it is that important.

Couple of recent cd's to check out. All shouts to HHA because I am too lazy to change all the DL's to Back on the Scene

Prometheus Brown and Bambu Walk Into a Bar- I'm sure my slightly Jewish co-blogger will let you know his feelings on this one once he is done celebrating the Sabbath. Or just whenever he feels like it.

If you are like me and don't cringe when Hey Ma comes up on the shuffle, and even turn it up, then you might wanna check out 2002's Come Home with Me, which Hey Ma was on. I'm not going to, but you might.

Finally, Houston's own Trae the Truth comes out with his album Street King. Despite not getting a lot of national exposure before, Trae has been around a while, putting out music since 1999, and its nice to see him get a feature from everybody in the game. In particular, check on the last track I'm On, featuring Lupe Fiasco, Wale, Big Boi and a hook from MDMA. If nothing else, you will get some solid verses from the guests, but don't sleep on the truth.

Cool Kids- When Fish Ride Bicycles

The Cool Kids, hailing out of the fantastic city of Chicago, have been around the scene for years now, but various label fuckery has not allowed them to put out a cd. This all changes tomorrow when Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish drop When Fish Ride Bicycles on Mountain Dew's music label, Green Label Sound. Kinda weird, but I'm all for allowing artist creativity, and I have slammed a few Dews in my time. (Fortunately I still drop Peter North-sized loads, so no signs of the dreaded Dew-effect yet haha.)

Anyways, I was a little surprised by this cd in that that signature simple, booming production is not as evident as it was on The Bake Sale and other Cool Kids joints. The signature sound I associate with the duo seems to have slipped from memory, and Mikey and Chuck even get assistance from Travis Barker and Pharrell for a couple of production credits. The two always seem to be intent on setting trends, through music or fashion, so maybe this is just the next step. The two are not outshined by numerous guest appearances, notably Bun B, Chip tha Ripper and Ghostface. Their lyrical game has stepped up, but in my opinion this was never really what the Cool Kids were about. This cd plays more as a summer party album (see Swimsuits ft. Mayer Hawthorne and Summer Jam ft Maxine Ashley), and through a few spins it falls short of my high expectations. What seems to be a major problem in the rap game today, mixtapes and EPs end up being much better than albums.

No download link for this one, as the kids are streaming the whole album over at Green Label Sounds Facebook Page: href="http://www.facebook.com/GreenLabelSound?sk=app_178091127385">. If you do not have a Facebook and are reading this blog, I just don't know what to say to you. Also check out the video below for "Bundle Up", what was supposed to be the first single but didn't even end up on the album. Smh at what is going on over at Mountain Dew, and here's hoping The Cool Kids end up as more than just sharp dressing rappers.

(i)Tunes in the Zune II

Contrary to popular belief, which may have been influenced by my lack of recent postings, I do still exist and still think about improving this blog.  Hopefully this segment is an improvement over our last one, and as this continues to develop I will implement a creative (at least as creative as I can be) rating scheme to allow for people to actually understand what I am trying to say.  Because I haven’t thought of anything yet, you will be forced to suffer through my reviews at least one more time.

Masta Ace – A Long Hot Summer (2004)

Ace has truly mastered the concept album.  It plays like a movie and is pretty cohesive, flowing from angry to laid back tracks seamlessly with the storyline.  This provides the backdrop for Masta Ace to shine, on classic tracks like Beautiful and the pre-eMC Travelocity featuring Punch N’ Words.  If you are unfamiliar to Ace or this album, smack yourself in the head several times, then go pick this up.

Atmosphere – The Family Sign (2011)

Atmosphere has been Twin Cities music for over a decade, drawing almost 20,000 fans for their set at SoundSet this year.  Although their music has changed dramatically as of late, they still flex their skills on this album.  Only time will tell if anymore classics will emerge from this album, but besides a few missteps (one of which occurs when Slug attempts to croon) the album is solid if you are willing to adapt to their changing sound.

Masterclass – Masterclass (compilation) [2011]

Wow.  Pure beat tape goodness that deserves to be on constant repeat.  Definitely buy this if you can, but somehow this insane ish can be gotten for free!  Visit bandcamp to delight your eardrums.

Hasaan Mackey – Soul For Sale (2011)

Some good, hardish raps with substance from the good folks at Mello Music Group.  Nothing off the wall amazing upon first listen, but with the free price tag everyone should venture over to bandcamp for a listen.  Listening to this as I write the brief review, and I would say that the previous lines don’t quite do justice to this project.  It is quite good.

Kids These Days – Hard Times EP

Young, witty MC firing lines the wonderful tunes of a live band.  The track Summerscent definitely put a smile on my face.  If my one line description peaks your interest at all, hop on over to the wonderful Musical Schizophrenia for a sample track and more.

http://musicalschizophrenia.blogspot.com/search/label/Kids%20These%20Days

M.E.R.C. & DJ A to the L – Daylight Marauders

A tribute album to the classic Midnight Marauders, this effort does not embarrass the original ATCQ crew.  Although I’m not incredibly well versed in ATCQ albums (let the stream of angry comments from our one loyal reader [if you actually exist] begin), this is an enjoyable listen and worth the time if you are looking to listen to new artists.

Check the link for the free download.