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.

Freeness from Sareem Poems - Black and Read All Over

Another MMG Free Fridays Summer Giveaway, this time coming from Sareem Poems.  It is quite the quality release, and once you see the guest list you'll see huge amount of talent that worked on this album.  This was released several years ago, so it is not fresh enough in my mind to give a review that is to useful but just trust me and check out this free release (for a limited time only).

BBQ!

Hooray for America. Happy 4th everybody from the Ginger and the Jew

Kendrick Lamar- Section 80

While we haven't really done any posts on it, Kendrick Lamar has garnered significant buzz from the underground in preperation for his project Section 80. In a time where some of the described next big things are putting out horrible singles (cough J Cole cough), Kendrick is coming through with real lyricism on top of solid beats. Some background on K.Dot- he is from Compton, is 24, and is working with Dr. Dre on Detox, whenever that is gonna come out. He also was a XXL 2011 Freshman along with Big K.R.I.T., Cyhi Da Prince, Yelawolf, and some others. He is unsigned but with probably get on Dre's Aftermath labe

With hot singles like HiiPower and Ronald Reagan and a cosign from Dre, Kendrick Lamar is here to stay. Download Section 80 and get some good rhymes in your head this 4th of July.

DL the project here (gotta have torrents though)