MP3: DJ JS-1 – “Nuthin” featuring: CL Smooth, Brother Ali, and Sadat X 07.02.2009 DJ JS-1 Silences The Game With The Latest Single From New Album “No Sellout”

The Song:

The faint horns, driving bass line, and melodious refrain echoing the words nothing anyone can say welcome the listener to the track “Nuthin.” An inviting and familiar instrumental atmosphere reminiscent of an old blues shack or juke joint is immediately established as DJ JS-1 drops the beat. A powerful team of heavy hitters featuring CL Smooth, Brother Ali, and Sadat X lend their indisputably recognizable vocals to the record. Somewhat of an anthem to the emcees that have survived the changes in the hip-hop industry, “Nuthin” renders the haters silent and commands respect from the industry. “What do you say to a man who been to hell and bac k/ escaped out of Satan’s hands with his head in tact/ made his own plans when there was no welcome mat / dog I’ll tell you what you tell him, you don’t tell him jack.”

DJ JS-1 uses two major samples as the driving forces of the record. The first sample, “somebody say nothing!” is a scratch DJ JS-1 took from a KRS-One feature on a German record that was not released in the US. That sample merged with the sample “there’s nothing anyone can say” shapes the foundation of the record and gives DJ JS-1 the space to create yet another masterpiece. “Nuthin” is a banger off the new album “NO SELLOUT”(Ground Original 2), the second installment to DJ JS-1’s first album, Ground Original. “NO SELLOUT” (Ground Original 2) is now available via Fat Beat Records.

The Background:

As a member of the world famous Rock Steady Crew, partner of Rahzel (the world’s #1 beatboxer), and occasional tour DJ for KRS-One, DJ JS-1 has toured the planet with over 1,000 shows in more than 32 countries and hundreds of cities. During that time, the Queens, NY native has shared the stage with a wide variety of artists, including 50 Cent, RUN DMC, Maroon 5, Wu-Tang Clan, The Roots, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, Redman & Method Man, Wyclef, OAR, Dashboard Confessional, Snoop Dogg, All American Rejects, Mike Patton, and many more. As a producer, JS’ list of accomplishments runs just as long, having worked with a number of artists, such as Common, Will Smith & Jazzy Jeff, Immortal Technique, Big Daddy Kane, Dilated Peoples, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Pharoahe Monch, Brand Nubian, and Kool Keith just to name a few. For the past three years, JS-1 has stayed busy touring, producing, making high-profile TV appearances, and completing his new album. The result is an album will serve to make DJ JS-1 a household name for all within the hip-hop community.

For No Sell Out, an album recorded as an addendum to his previous solo effort Ground Original, JS-1 enlisted the help of an extensive and notable list of guest emcees, including KRS-One, Large Pro, Pharoahe Monch, Canibus, Sean Price, Blaq Poet, Killah Priest, Ill Bill, Kool Keith & Ced Gee (Ultramagnetic Mc’s), Aesop Rock, Vast Aire, Chino XL, Sadat X, AG, OC, Craig G, CL Smooth, Edo G, Prince Po, Akrobatik, J-Live, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples, Krondon, C Rayz Walz, Vast Aire, Nutrageous, Copywrite, PMD, Rahzel, EMC (Masta Ace, Strick, Wordsworth, Punchline), Termanology, Torae, Pumpkinhead, Jak D, Big Noyd, Q-Unique, Brother Ali, Slaine, Virtuoso, Pack FM, Supastition. Block McCloud, Trez, Rugged Intellect, and DJ Premier. No Sell Out is available in stores everywhere via Fat Beats Records.

Streams:

“Nuthin” featuring: CL Smooth, Brother Ali, and Sadat X

MP3: iCON the Mic King – “Drifting With The Tide” feat. Awar iCON The Mic King Is Back With First Song In New Headphone Classic Series

The Song:

After cooling down from his marathon campaign, iCON The Mic King returns with “Drifting With The Tide,” the first song in his new Headphone Classic Series. With this new series, iCON has decided, rather than release a mixtape, to feature individual songs, pairing them with a visuals and videos to give fans a complete look at each song. “Drifting With The Tide” is the first song in the series, and the song, which features Awar of the group Popular Strangers, is driven by a huge, bass-heavy beat that sets up an 80’s-style guitar riff as the perfect melody. Speaking on the song, iCON says, “Drifting With The Tide deals with very real issues of betrayal and unattainable love.” From the opening lyric, “In the war with oneself / You gotta earn some stripes,” through the hook, “We fishin’ in troubled waters, castin’ lines to get a bite / And holdin’ on expectin’ somethin’ from it in this lifespan,” it is very clear iCON’s struggle lies within, and it is a very real, very relatable struggle of lost love.

Web editors contact Dan for interview requests. Print editors contact Michelle.

The Background:

Hailing from Philadelphia, iCON the Mic King has had a long career and first gained notoriety on the battle circuit. Winner of several rap battle competitions around the globe, iCON proved his ability to create lyrics on the spot, and achieved success in this arena until 2001, when he officially retired from battling to pursue composition and recording as a solo artist. iCON had been making music before he gained fame as a battle rapper and decided to focus on his studio chops. In 2002, he released Music for Bootleggas, which he sold in person and via his website. In 2004, he released his first studio album Intricate Spectrum, and has since released Mike and the Fatman and Rent Money Music II: C-Notes for the Car Note. iCON has the utmost pride for his work, and has decided that for his latest project, Headphone Classics, he will change up the distribution process. Rather than releasing an album or mixtape, Headphone Classics is a series of songs that will be accompanied with visual and video images, and iCON plans to release each in sequence.

Streams:

“Drifting With The Tide” feat. Awars

NEW! Royce Da 5′9″ – “Gun Harmonizing”
From the digital EP “The Revival” – Available 7/7

Royce Da 5′9″ – “Gun Harmonizing” produced by Emile

Royce Da 5′9″
The Revival EP – Available for download July 7
Street Hop LP – In Stores August 22
One Records

The Revival EP Tracklisting
1. Gun Harmonizing 3:16
2. Count For Nothing 3:37
3. Warriors 5:10
4. Street Hop 2010 2:53

About Royce Da 5′9″

A “rapper’s rapper.” It’s a phrase that has been used to describe the best of them. A complete M.C. that possesses the characteristics to make other MCs jealous. A unique and rare combination of lyrical skill, musical prowess, artistic integrity, vocal control and a mastered flow, Royce Da 5’9” is a complete MC who meets the definition of a rapper’s rapper. He’s got the talent all other rappers today want to own.

This respect that Ryan Montgomery, aka Royce Da 5’9, has earned amongst his peers has been ten years in the making. Though he began his career at a time when these qualities were still abundant in the rap game, Royce is the last of a dying breed in 2009. He is one of the few artists today to put the quality of his music above everything else, choosing to opt for perfection over conforming to an overcrowded genre of mediocrity.

Now, in an age where hip-hop’s drought has forced the audience to weed out the nonsense and search for the answer to a dull and uneventful art form, Royce returns with Street Hop, his full-length rescue mission to show MCs how it is supposed to be done.

Executive produced by DJ Premier, Street Hop is Royce’s most personal project to date. Though it is chock full of creative ingenuity and picturesque stories that have wildly astonishing twists, Royce shows his versatility by mixing in songs like “Shake That,” which recounts the turmoil and stress Royce felt as not only an artist, but also a husband and a father, while being incarcerated for a year.

Growing up on the West Side of Detroit, music was a constant companion for Royce. His father played guitar and made sure to expose him to Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and Bootsy Collins, while his mother favored pop stars like Janet Jackson. However, as timing would have it, it was hip-hop that caught Royce’s attention. Memorizing songs from Run-DMC and LL Cool J, and getting immersed in artists like D.O.C., Steady B, and N.W.A., Royce became inspired to make a name for himself around the D as a ferocious battle MC tearing up open mics at Maurice Malone’s famed Hip Hop Shop, Ebony Showcase, Napoleon’s Retreat, and C-Note Lounge. It wasn’t long before his buzz caught the attention of the then up-and-coming Eminem, whom Royce’s manager arranged a meeting with in 1997. The two clicked and began recording songs as the duo Bad Meets Evil. One of these songs, “Bad Meets Evil,” made it’s way onto Eminem’s debut, The Slim Shady LP. Through his relationship with Em, Royce began his famed ghostwriting career, writing Dr. Dre’s heartfelt, “The Message,” on 2001. His hard work led to a deal with Columbia Records, who partnered with EI records to release his debut, Rock City (2.0), in 2002. A staple in the underground rap scene, the album spawned the DJ Premier-produced classic, “Boom.”

Regardless of radio support or BDS spins, Royce has become one of Detroit’s undisputed heavyweights, and hopes to keep having a positive impact on his hometown. “I’m proud to be someone who went through a lot of ignorant things and got past it,” he says. “I’m the leader of a city and I want to be looked at as a leader and lyricist.”

With a proven track record as a superb lyricist, Royce has always delivered on his early promise to make music that his fans, and even his fellow MCs have always come to expect. In 2004, he released his sophomore album, Death Is Certain, and followed it with the independently released, Independent’s Day. Although the project was originally supposed to be a mixtape, his distributor insisted it be released as an album. Royce then quickly added the superior mixtapes, Bar Exam and Bar Exam 2, hosted by DJ Premier and DJ Green Lantern, to his catalog. “I think the Bar Exam mixtapes made up for what Independent’s Day was missing,” Royce says. “It reinvented me and let people know that I’m serious. Bar Exam 2 is probably my most lyrical project to date. And my new album, Street Hop, is going to top that.”

With “Street Hop,” Royce will finally cement his hip-hop legacy above ground, by introducing the masses to the same MC that so many rappers have grown to respect. Fueled with a sadistic sense of humor and biting sarcastic wit, songs like “Gun Harmonizing” and “Far Away” are haunting ditties illustrating the consequences that accompany going against Nine Nickel and his goons, and will appeal to the most hardcore hip-hop heads. Other songs such as “Part Of Me,” may have a breezy laid-back club-ready beat, but the story’s graphic ending will make any professional skirt chaser think twice about his ways and is controversial to say the least. “I could care less about radio. I don’t like nothing that’s on the radio, so why would I cater to radio,” Royce admits. “I’m just going to stick to doing what I do. Radio’s either going to come to me, or it’s going to remain being corny.”

Realizing that there is strength in numbers, Royce joined forces with three other MCs to form the hip-hop supergroup, Slaughterhouse. Joe Budden, Crooked I and Joell Ortiz all have the skill to impress even the toughest hip-hop critic. And together, they have decided to set off a massive hip-hop takeover. With Slaughterhouse’s upcoming appearance on the Rock The Bells tour, a growing list of writing credits (Royce has already contributed to Diddy’s next album), and popular video bloggin that has the internet on lock (ImNaShitFoolTV), Royce Da 5’9” is poised to make his biggest splash yet. Rappers, get ready.

Trife Diesel Drops New Mixtape, The Project Pope (Hosted By Tapemasters Inc.)

The Project Pope (Hosted By Tapemasters Inc.)

Trife Diesel, aka Trife Da God, releases new mixtape, The Project Pope. The mixtape features hip hop heavyweights Ghostface Killah, B.O.B., and Termanology. See below for track listing and download link to The Project Pope.

Trife Diesel – The Project Pope (Full Mixtape)

01. I’m Saying It Now
02. War Scarz
03. 85 Hip Hop
04. Biscuits feat. Ghostface killah
05. War
06. Hustle Hard
07. The World Is A Ghetto
08. Blockstars feat. Lounga Lo
09. Grew Up Hard
10. Think It Over feat. Termanology
11. Beefing For Nothing
12. Fyuz feat. Termanology and Sun God
13. Speed of Light feat. B.O.B. and Inspectah Deck
14. State To State
15. The Game Don’t Change
16. Miguel Sanchez

MP3: DJ JS-1 – “Murder” feat. Chino XL, Sean Price, & Killah Priest | JS Recruits Killer Guest Emcees For New Track From No Sell Out

The Song:

DJ JS-1’s latest release, a 21-track, 40-plus guest-featured onslaught of hip-hop, turns to a violent page for the track “Murder.” Chino XL, Sean Price, and Killah Priest each lay down a verse over a beat that blends old school West Coast bumpin’ with a new school dark consciousness. Even the rappers, in the midst of their own braggadocio rhymes, give it up for the ferocity with which JS creates this groove. Chino XL raps, “First of all if may / Explain the many ways JS will murder a DJ the way I murder wordplay / Hip-hop is dead, in a state of dismay / I desecrate you favorite emcee while JS digging in the crates.” By this point, anyone can tell that JS-1 is killing it.

JS-1 had this to say about the track: “This was a beat I had recorded a demo track on with my friends, but I knew Chino would kill it! He did, and then I got Sean Price and Killah Priest next. We kill phonies with words and scratches, but judging by Chino’s biceps, he might strangle a few people here and there too! I like that all of these emcees have been known for their ‘I don’t give a fuck, I’ll say what I want to say’ attitudes. I am kinda like that myself, and I can relate to that aggressive style. I’m quick to call out cornball djays, so I love a good braggadocios.”

The Background:

As a member of the world famous Rock Steady Crew, partner of Rahzel (the world’s #1 beatboxer), and occasional tour DJ for KRS-One, DJ JS-1 has toured the planet with over 1,000 shows in more than 32 countries and hundreds of cities. During that time, the Queens, NY native has shared the stage with a wide variety of artists, including 50 Cent, RUN DMC, Maroon 5, Wu-Tang Clan, The Roots, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, Redman & Method Man, Wyclef, OAR, Dashboard Confessional, Snoop Dogg, All American Rejects, Mike Patton, and many more. As a producer, JS’ list of accomplishments runs just as long, having worked with a number of artists, such as Common, Will Smith & Jazzy Jeff, Immortal Technique, Big Daddy Kane, Dilated Peoples, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Pharoahe Monch, Brand Nubian, and Kool Keith just to name a few. For the past three years, JS-1 has stayed busy touring, producing, making high-profile TV appearances, and completing his new album. The result is an album will serve to make DJ JS-1 a household name for all within the hip-hop community.

For No Sell Out, an album recorded as an addendum to his previous solo effort Ground Original, JS-1 enlisted the help of an extensive and notable list of guest emcees, including KRS-One, Large Pro, Pharoahe Monch, Canibus, Sean Price, Blaq Poet, Killah Priest, Ill Bill, Kool Keith & Ced Gee (Ultramagnetic Mc’s), Aesop Rock, Vast Aire, Chino XL, Sadat X, AG, OC, Craig G, CL Smooth, Edo G, Prince Po, Akrobatik, J-Live, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples, Krondon, C Rayz Walz, Vast Aire, Nutrageous, Copywrite, PMD, Rahzel, EMC (Masta Ace, Strick, Wordsworth, Punchline), Termanology, Torae, Pumpkinhead, Jak D, Big Noyd, Q-Unique, Brother Ali, Slaine, Virtuoso, Pack FM, Supastition. Block McCloud, Trez, Rugged Intellect, and DJ Premier. No Sell Out is available in stores everywhere via Fat Beats Records.

Streams: “Murder” feat. Chino XL, Sean Price, & Killah Priest

KRIZZ KALIKO HEADS TO TOP OF RAP CLASS RELEASES GENIUS JULY 14, 2009 LP FEATURES TECH N9NE, E-40, KUTT CALHOUN, BIG SCOOB & MORE

Los Angeles, CA – It’s not every day a musical genius is born. On July 14, 2009, KRIZZ KALIKO will release his second solo CD, GENIUS. Along for KRIZZ KALIKO’s aurally eclectic rollercoaster ride are E-40, Kutt Calhoun, Big Scoob and, Strange’s flagship artist, Tech N9ne. Powered by a fusion of funk, rap, rock, R&B and opera – a self-made style KRIZZ KALIKO calls “Funkra” – GENIUS covers the entire spectrum of genres, from the slow and seductive “Get Off” with Tech N9ne and the rock-flavored “The Chemical” to the street anthem “Back Pack” and the album’s crossover single, “Misunderstood.”

“There are only a few guys to come along in music every so often that I think are geniuses,” KRIZZ KALIKO declares. “You got Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Kanye, T-Pain, Tech N9ne. I think those dudes are geniuses. I want people to think that same thing about me.”

Ambitious? Yes. But after working with Tech N9ne and Strange Music for 10 years, performing over 200 shows a year, KRIZZ KALIKO has earned the right to claim that title. His solo debut, 2008’s Vitiligo, landed at No. 19 on the Billboard charts and he has been instrumental in Tech N9ne’s incredible success: In 2008, Tech N9ne SoundScanned over one million units, making him the most successful independent Hip Hop artist in history.

KRIZZ KALIKO is the sonic “glue” of Strange Music. “I’m Tech’s right hand man in writing,” he says. “It’s a weird, beautiful chemistry. The yin and the yang. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.”

Catch KRIZZ KALIKO with Tech N9ne and Kutt Kalhoun on the Rock the Bells 2009 Tour starting June 2. For more information, visit guerillaunion.com/rockthebells or krizzkaliko.com.

MP3 DL link for Krizz Kaliko’s “Misunderstood”

Trife Diesel Release New Street Single ‘Speed Of Life’ feat. B.O.B. & Inspectah Deck; Mixtape ‘The Project Pope’ (Hosted By Tapemasters Inc.) Coming Next Week

TRIFE DIESEL “THE PROJECT POPE” MIXTAPE The Project Pope (Hosted By Tapemasters Inc.)

Trife Diesel, aka Trife Da God, releases his new street single, Speed Of Life, featuring Atlanta native B.O.B. and hip hop veteran Inspectah Deck. The mixtape, The Project Pope , is a pre-cursor to Trife Diesel’s upcoming album, Better Late Than Never, which will be in stores July 21st. See Below for download link to the street single, Speed Of Life.

Trife Diesel – Speed Of Life feat. B.O.B & Inspectah Deck

Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 – Lock Shit Down featuring Talib Kweli

Willy Northpole – When I Get To Heaven (Tupac Tribute) video and Tha Connect album stream

Previously

Willy Northpole – Tha Connect [Album Stream]

Tracklisting

1. Intro
2. Hood Sh**
3. The Story
4. Skit (How Hard is It)
5. Body Marked Up
6. Hood Dreamer ft BoB
7. Ghetto Tour Guide Intro
8. Feeling Alright
9. Ghetto Tour Guide
10. #1 Side Chick ft Bobby V
11. Vegas Lights
12. The Life ft Ne-Yo
13. Religion
14. Skit (At Salt’s Grave)
15. To Heaven

Yak Ballz Leaks First Track Off Forthcoming EP And First Leak From Def Jux Presents 4 (Sept. 1st Release Date) Gas Galaxy

As he prepares for his nationwide tour with DJX recording artist and close friend Cage this summer, Yak Ballz is putting the finishing touches on his upcoming release, Gas Galaxy, and EP due out on Definitive Jux sometime in fall of 2009.

Queens-born and bred Yak has spent a decade in underground hip-hop making two promising LPs; 2004’s My Claim and 2009’s Scifentology 2.

Although a newcomer to some Def Jux fans, Yak Ballz has long been part of the DJX family and Weathermen crew (along with label mates and friends; Cage, El-P, Aesop Rock, Tame One, Camu Tao, and others). In fact, Yak’s work with Aesop Rock, who did the production for his song Dirt Empire, has seen great success for both artists; proving once again Aesop’s talents as a producer, and helping Yak’s MTVu Freshman winning video to land over 40,000 views.

Yak’s brand new website, yakballz.net is up and running now, cop the song Gas Galaxy today!!

And catch Yak Ballz and Cage in your home town this summer!!!

Thu 2-Jul Brooklyn, NY Southpaw
Fri 3-Jul Brooklyn, NY Southpaw Southpaw
Sat 4-Jul Toronto, ONT El Mocambo
Sun 5-Jul Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
Tue 7-Jul Chicago, IL Reggies
Wed 8-Jul Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
Fri 10-Jul Denver, CO Marquis
Sat 11-Jul Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
Mon 13-Jul Seattle, WA Nectars
Tue 14-Jul Vancouver, BC Richards
Wed 15-Jul Portland, OR Hawthorne
Fri 17-Jul San Francisco, CA Great American M Hall
Sat 18-Jul Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theater
Mon 20-Jul San Diego, CA Belly Up
Tue 21-Jul Phoenix, AZ Chasers
Wed 22-Jul Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
Fri 24-Jul Dallas, TX Haileys
Sat 25-Jul Austin, TX Emo’s
Sun 26-Jul New Orleans, LA Parish at House Of Blues
Mon 27-Jul Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Tue 28-Jul Carboro, NC Local 506
Wed 29-Jul Washington, DC DC 9
Thu 30-Jul Philadelphia. PA First Unitarian Church
Fri 31-Jul Boston, MA Harpers
Sat 1-Aug Providence, RI Living Room