New! Blue Scholars OOF! EP drops August 25th

Everybody loves Hawaii. Few know better than Blue Scholars’ MC Geo, having grown up in Honolulu in the 1980’s and returning with the Scholars’ dj/ producer Sabzi last year to rock a sold-out homecoming show at Next Door. Love lingered in the air despite all the changes happening outside the sweaty, crackin’ club. “Development” has paved over lush lands and displaced longtime locals, the US military continues its stranglehold on the islands, and tourism runs tings (into the ground). By and by, the people maintain, and Blue Scholars bore witness to life beyond the beaches and resorts.

Oof! is the story about the Hawaii that you don’t see on TV: fish-fry BBQs in Waianae, native Hawaiians struggling for sovereignty, house parties on the Leeward side, uncles playing mah-jong on a lanai in Waipahu, a thriving independent hip-hop and fashion scene, on-air ciphers at KTUH, a room full of folks vibin’ to a mean reggae song, young poets spitting fire into mics, grubbing on poke in the Foodland parking lot, whole neighborhoods leveled by the ice epidemic.




“HI-808″ MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE

Download: Hit up the Blue Scholars blog and you'll find a few free downloads off of the OOF! EP, dropping August 25th.

New! Alien Architect EP

Not sure if there is an official name for this or what, also not sure if I should be droppin' it yet. Until further notice here it is, newness from The Alien.

The ALien Architect Bio:

"The Alien Architect (AA) AKA The Obsurdist Wordist is the "out of this world" Rhythm And Poet (RAP) secret identity of the mild mannered Philadelphia native, Devin Asher Shlomo Cohen. AA has been known to play "beat sets," in which he raps with a Dj and a bass player, "accoustic sets," in which he plays guitar and raps at the same time often alongside a violinist and Philadelphia flute and sax legend Elliot Levinne, "spoken word sets," and "hard hittin' full band sets," which include keys, bass, guitar, drums, and computer nic nacs. HIs lyrics are quite "je ne se pa." And the instrumentation, as well as the musicality of AA's raps are to die for. The ALien Architect is influenced by Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Saul Williams, K-os, Cream, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Blackalicious, The Roots, Look Daggers, and many more.


Download: Alien Architect - New 7 Track EP

Is this blog still alive?

So....I haven't made a post in almost three months, wow. That shit is mad lame. It's been an interesting summer and I'm trying to piece together my recent college graduate life...easier said than done. Who really cares though right. I'll skip the bullshit and get to the point. The blog is back!/I'm back! Stay tuned, I am gonna be posting everything that I have missed from the past few months and more. I'll try not to be such a slacker from now on.

The Social Media Revolution

Damu the Fudgemunk - Same Beat (A/V EP)

From OKP…

Producer/Emcee Damu the Fudgemunk is back with another free project for y’all, Same Beat. The project is an A/V EP. Including the dope artwork (by Joe Buck), an audio file for Same Beat below, and two MPC performance + freestyle vids after the jump. Apparently Damu still does not see himself as a rapper, but I think he’s killin’ it on this one. Shout out to JNOTA for the great work as usual.

Download: Damu the Fudgemunk - Same Beat | Mediafire

Hit up the OKP post for the rest of the downloads.

Truck North - Never Ending Flip(Video)

Oh shit, Truck is finally droppin' some official shit. Dude has wordplay for days, for real. Diggin' the vid too, nice cam work.

Download: Truck North - Never Ending Flip (prod. by Bear-One) | Mediafire

Jay Stay Paid Album Snippets

Here’s 30 second clips of the upcoming J Dilla album. Hit the link for more info.

Download Snippets here

“Hey Boy” - A Defgrip Short

"Hey Boy" - A Defgrip short from Defgrip on Vimeo.

Why are you riding this kids bike?

I don't know why I'm getting these looks from everyone, I'm just tryin' to ride! True dat!


Lovin' this.

A Phshy Morning?

Yess, my homie DJ Phsh just posted this up and I'm lovin it. It's short and def worth a watch. Props to Phsh.

Scanz - The Basement Chronicle

Scanz dropped a new album on us recently, The Basement Chronicle. Check the video below for more info about the album and where you can download the entire thing for free. The features on this jawn are crazy. Props to Scanz for putting some solid ish together and holding down Philly. For now, here is my favorite track from the album featuring Mr. Lif and Akrobatik.

Download: Scanz - The Gauntlet (Ft. Mr. Lif, Akrobatik)

Beat Junkies x J Dilla - Jay $tay Paid (Sampler)

From Shamz at Okayplayer:

"I know asking y’all to wait till June 2nd to hear some more of those Dilla Dilla Dilla beats beats beats is asking too much. So today we are premiering this promo sampler mix of J Dilla’s upcoming album Jay $tay Paid (exec. prod. Ma Dukes, mixed by Pete Rock) put together by the Beat Junkies."

Download: Beat Junkies x J Dilla - Jay $tay Paid (Sampler)

Cas One - Flashbacks f. Brother Ali

Early last month Cas One re-released his debut album, Liberation. This track featuring Brother Ali is on there and is straight fire. Def worth the download. Peep the album on i-Tunes.

Download: Cas One - Flashbacks f. Brother Ali | Mediafire

Flying Lotus - GNG BNG(MeMix) feat. Blu

Wow...this track just blew my mind. Suggestion: roll one up, crank this track up real loud, getcher mind blown...uh huh. Peep the lyrics here.

Download: Flying Lotus - GNGBNG(MeMix) feat. Blu

Coldplay - Left Right Left Right Left (Live Album)

Since May 15th, Coldplay has been giving away this live CD at every remaining show in 2009 (outside of their festival shows). The 9-track collection was also put on their website for free download.

According to the band, the give-away is meant as a recession-busting mark of gratitude to everyone who’s supported them: “Playing live is what we love. This album is a thank you to our fans – the people who give us a reason to do it and make it happen.”

Download: Coldplay - Left Right Left Right Left (Live Album)

J Dilla - Reality Check feat. Black Thought

Shittt...Premiered by the good folks at OKP, which had the following to say about the upcoming project…

"On June 2nd Nature Sounds will be releasing Jay Stay Paid. J$P is a 25 track collection of unreleased (some have leaked) Dilla beats mixed and arranged by Pete Rock. The project is mostly instrumental, but includes vocals from Black Thought, DOOM, Raekwon, Illa J, Blu, Havoc, M.O.P. and more. This isn’t some haphazardly put together album. Ms. Yancey AKA “Ma Dukes” serves as the executive producer to keep her sons vision in mind."

Download: J Dilla - Reality Check feat. Black Thought | Mediafire