Beneficence is a rapper from New Jersey who has been putting in work for a long time, gaining the respect of many of the hottest rappers and producers throughout the East Coast due to his skilled rhyming and down to earth persona. Though he put out his first 12"s in 1994 and 1998, respectively, it wasn't until he hooked up with Ill Adrenaline Records in 2010 that I and many with me really came across his work. On his debut album "Sidewalk Science" for the label he worked extensively with Diamond D on the production while Roc Marciano, Truth Enola, Rob-O, The Legion, Diamond D, Lord Tariq, Prince Po and Frank-N-Dank shared microphone duties. His follow up, "Concrete Soul" was released a year later in 2012 and was even more packed with big names that had a lot of underground fanatics drooling. I'm talking beats and rhymes from Buckwild, K-DEF, InI, Lord Tariq, DJ Doo Wop, Gensu Dean, Confidence, Roc Marciano, B1, Herb McGruff, Da Beatminerz, AG, El Da Sensei, Nature, Masta Ace and many more. A true '90s hip-hop extravaganza if I ever heard one and funny thing is that it all worked in bringing back that sound we all love and cherish.
Now Beneficence and Ill Adrenaline is back for round three, and as they say if the formula ain't broke, don't fix it. "Basement Chemistry" is a little lighter on the guest features but still manages to pull some impressive rhymes and beats from Inspectah Deck, DJ Spinna, Da Beatminerz, AG, Masta Ace, MC Eiht, El Da Sensei, L'Orange, Chubb Rock, MindsOne, Confidence, Black Sheep + The Legion and more. The latter two appears on the single and accompanying video for "Make It Hot (Jingle Jangle v.2)", the sequel of Dres and Legion's classic 1993 single. You can peep the video above and stream the entire album below. The LP is available on CD, cassette and vinyl and can be purchased from UGHH now.
Robbie Etterson's brilliant hip-hop site UNKUT was definitely one of the reasons I wanted to get into this blog game, and it still remains one of my favorite sites. A few years ago Robbie got together a gang of dope underground rappers and producers and released the Unkut mixtape "Counterstrike". But now, on the 10 year anniversary of the sites incarnation, Robbie definitely steps it up with "Counterstrike 2: A Decade Of UNKUT", featuring 20 tracks with exclusive material from a lot of my favorite artists and producers. Some of the most interesting is the first Real Live material in years (K-Def and Larry-O for those not in the know), an Amed produced Milano banger, Grand Daddy I.U., Omniscience, Beneficence, $amhill, Craig G/Agallah and several others. This is a definite must hear if you love underground hip-hop, in the true school end of things, and is available for free download and CD and possible tape editions will pop up as well.
Executive produced by Robbie Ettelson, mixed by Crate Cartel's Discourse, artwork and design by BURN Crew and (C) by unkut.com2014. Click here to read more, check out the tracklist, etc.. Download or stream below and MEGA props to Robbie for this one; you're da fucking man!!
For "All Real" Beneficence is joined by DITC's AG on the mic while DJ Kaos of Artifacts fame tear up the decks. Produced by 6th Sense, this is one of a vast amount of stand-outs on Beneficence's just released "Concrete Soul" LP which is out now on CD (vinyl coming next month).
As I reported recently, Beneficence is about to release his second album on Ill Adrenaline Records, "Concrete Soul" (his fifth offering in total). Trust me when I say that this will not dissapoint, and to support that statement here is one of the stand-outs from the tracklist as the new single; the K-Def produced collaboration with both Rob-O and Grap Luva, formerly of InI. Certainly sounds like some lost classic shit from 1993, impeccable work from everyone involved! "Concrete Soul" is out this Tuesday on CD, with the vinyl edition following on December 18, you can pre-order your prefered version @ UGHH now.
Underground heads should have a pretty clear memory of Beneficence's smashing 2011 debut, "Sidewalk Science" that showcased a serious and overall skilled emcee with a love for the golden era boom bap; sporting beats by Diamond D, and cameos from Roc Marciano, Truth Enola, Rob-O, Prince Po, and Lord Tariq. On November 13 (December 18 for vinyl) this year, the Ill Adrenaline Records signee strikes again, with "Concrete Soul"; an album that will most likely be one of the must-have's of the year. Some of the stand out tracks on the tracklist is a K-Def produced reuion of InI with Beneficence, a Buckwild laced Roc Marciano collaboration, a guest verse from Finsta on a track produced by Da Beatminerz. There's also a lot of talented cats here that may not be known to everyone but for does who knows can surely attest to their heavy talents - I'm talking about people like 12 Finger Dan, Confidence, Madsol-Desar and Troo Kula, and there's a lot of other great stuff going on here. Just check the tracklist below, peep the single "Reality vs. Fiction" featuring Masta Ace and Total Eclipse above, and get your pre-orders on.
01. "Intro" (Ft. Doo Wop) [prod. 12 Finger Dan]
02. "Y.W.E." (Ft. Lord Tariq) [prod. 12 Finger Dan / Qmega]
03. "Under Construction" [prod. Gensu Dean]
04. "Put it on the Wire" (Ft. Simone Hines) [prod. Presto]
05. "H.E.Y. (Hood Early Years)" [prod. Confidence]
Beneficence dropped one of the most underrated LP:s of 2010 with "Sidewalk Stories" and his new boom bap single "Reality vs. Fiction (Rock On!)" proves that there's no slowing down in sight. Enlisting the always reliable Masta Ace for a guest verse, and letting Total Eclipse loose of the turntables should be a guarantee you'll feel this as much as me. The joint is produced by Crazeology's Weirdo, with additional SP1200 work done by 12 Finger Dan. Look out for Beneficence's sophomore Ill Adrenaline full-length "Concrete Soul" which drops October 30.
