Hip-Hop | Ab-Soul – Nibiru (Prod. by JMSN)
Posted by W8 on August 16, 2012
It’s a rare moment to hear this level of awareness being conveyed to this demographic. A track like this comes less often then Nibiru transits. Ab-Soul made the entirety of the track quotable, and JMSN came through with a quality beat. I breathe this knowledge, and it feels like yesterday I was tuned in to the live radio show at the end of this track. I appreciate the lyricism although certainty of any kind bothers me. You know some thoughts and words, me too! Imagine it’s all fiction if that helps. Thanks goes to Anu.
Freestyle, Hip-Hop, Videos | New Childish Gambino on Tim Westwood [Video]
Posted by jeffwbaird on July 14, 2012
It seems that the days of genuine freestyling are all but behind us. Once a critical part of an upcoming emcee’s resume, freestyle sessions (like those of popular English DJ Tim Westwood) have now become a place where artists preview written verses, generally covering up the fact that they actually can’t freestyle at all. In the past year or so, this fact has become even more transparent, with artists like Drake (and now Childish Gambino) literally reading their “freestyle” verses off of their phones. Call it what you want—I’d still say it’s more honest than the opposite—like when J. Cole went on Westwood last year and delivered an impeccable freestyle that we all realized a few months later was just a verse on his debut album. Regardless, Childish Gambino is blowing up fast, and not only that—he is improving ridiculously fast as a rapper. While there are definitely a few songs off of CAMP that I like to bump, on a scale of most impressive elements of the project, his flow and lyricism were dead-last. Royalty, on the contrary (which you can download here in case you missed it), is a showcase of his radical improvement, which occured most clearly in those two areas. Now, he’s on a press tour, and of course makes the critical Westwood stop to drop off a handful of newly-scribed verses (you can tell just how fresh they are when CG laughs at the “bok choy” line). Watch him drop some impressive lines over Usher’s “Lemme See”, and do justice to the Harry Fraud instrumental that has been getting torn apart lately (cc: Kinetics’ “Chris Nolan”).
Hip-Hop | ANTHM Feat. Blu – Polaris
Posted by W8 on May 23, 2012
”Guess who”
Reminiscent of a late night 93 ’til infinity, Polaris can be described as quality lyricism, spacious rhythms, and a star that happens to be 434 light-years from Earth. Featuring none other than the lyrical veteran Blu, Polaris is a great track coming off ANTHM’s forthcoming Joy & Pain EP dropping June 12th.
Follow ANTHM: Twitter//Soundcloud//Website
Hip-Hop, Mixtapes | Moufy – The Preparation [Mixtape]
Posted by Grubeats on May 21, 2012
I present to you Moufy’s pre-EP mixtape, “The Preparation”. Releasing several of the tracks over the past few weeks, including his most recent releases, “F*ck Ni**as” and “Blunt Burn” Moufy has done his part to shun any doubters. I’ve always said Moufy’s storytelling ability is my favorite attribute he purvey’s as an artist. Like his deep emotional track, “Miss Newton”, Moufy yet again displays his ability to step back and analyze the hardships in his life throughout his pursuit of happiness in hip-hop on his new track, “Blunt Burn”. The mixtape definitely includes a variety of sub genre’s like previous projects from Moufy. Fine-tune your ears for this one affiliates, because Moufy’s improved lyricism and clever wordplay will have you constantly hitting the rewind button.
DOWNLOAD: Moufy – The Preparation [Mixtape]
Stream the full tape below
Hip-Hop | Nas – Daughters
Posted by J_Salzer on April 26, 2012
It’s been a minute since we had some Nas that really went back to his old days. But this is pretty dang close. Nas tells us a story catering to all of the fathers with daughters out there. And although I’m sure not many of you have daughters, you can still empathize and enjoy Nas’ flow and lyricism. Check out the lyrics on Rap Genius below along with verified explanations from Nas himself. And although I can not even begin to comprehend the feeling of being responsible for another human being, I hope you guys can enjoy this song as much as me. Nasir guides us on a tale that is both thought AND emotion envoking, and even though I don’t have kids of my own, I can only hope to one day be able to deal with the highs and lows of raising a baby girl. Monologue over.
Hip-Hop | BLU & EXILE – Give Me Flowers While I Can Smell Them [Full Album Stream]
Posted by W8 on December 19, 2011
Blu is the most under-rated rapper of his time and one of the very few still left painting this language with color. Blu, if you let him will amalgamate your thoughts together for an explosion of sophisticated wisdom, a firm reminder that we haven’t lost all our lyricists just yet. Hip Hop has been consumed by senseless lyricism, candy electro beats and worst of all – generations to come have only this garbage to draw inspiration from. Artists such as Blu fly so far out from the boundaries of mainstream music, they occupy another dimension of lyricism. They remain significantly unknown because there’s not enough of us to relate to such genius, only few are privileged to know it exists. Moral of the story – it takes one to know one.
Now what should deeply astonish you is the relevancy of this video above, not only does Blu rap but he’s also a phenomenon in motion art. That video is one of his many masterpieces symbolizing his godlike patience. One of the best videos you will ever watch in this lifetime, I guarantee it.
Hip-Hop | Azad Right – The Fire (Music Video)
Posted by GMONEY on October 21, 2011
Still riding high off the release of his highly successful mixtape The Time Is Right, Azad Right just dropped the video above for his track The Fire. Azad flexes his acting muscles in this video about love gone wrong, directed by Michael Bromberg. If you have yet to download The Time Is Right, do yourself a favor and take some time to appreciate Azad’s lyricism, and be sure to follow our boy on Twitter.
DOWNLOAD: Azad Right ft. Sofia Enggren – The Fire