RAS BEATS - "Knowledge Of Self" (w. OC & eLzhi) / "Wit No Pressure" (w. Roc Marciano)

A couple of weeks ago I got at least two calls from my people urging me to check out the new Roc Marciano joint produced by a somewhat up and coming producer named Ras Beats. The track in question, "Wit' No Pressure" was classic Marciano, dark, gritty and dirty with a nasty guitar loop and some pounding drums which allowed Roc Marciano to channel his inner pimp and thug to the same extent as on many of my favorite works of his. There's no question Ras Beats and Roc Marciano was a good fit, and though I recognized the name but not from where, I was immediatly hooked for more from this gentleman.

Turns out he's not exactly entirely new to the game, as his sound would already attest to, as he's slowly been making a name for himself as a go-to-producer through works with legends like Sadat X, Masta Ace, Neek The Exotic, and Orlando emcee J-Biz.  Aside from Neek all the aforementioned emcees returns the favor by appearing on Ras' 2016 albumm "Control Your Own".Released on indie label Wordplay the album also sees Ra teaming up wtih Roc Marcy (as mentioned), OC, AG, eLzhi, Rasheed Chappell, Blac-a-stan, Subconscious, Fev and German rapper Kool Sphere. I was hoping for an album with banging beats and insane guests of the caliber of the two first singles, I would be truly flabbergastd at this point. At the same time, I'm not going to judge the book by it's cover (or in this case an LP by its tracklist) so we'll see what happens. Either way it's good news as 2016 has been slow as hell when it comes to Hip Hop ("Timmy Timmy Turner", anyone? "He be wishing for a burner".. "He might even kill everybody walking" - pure Genius, deep stuff).

The B-side to "With No Pressure" features no lesser of a line-up than OC and eLzhi and is called "Knowledge Of Self". To my knowledge this is the first OC and eLzhi collaboration (correct me if I'm wrong) which is kind of strange considering how well their respective smooth voices and intricate rhyme schemes works together. Ras Beats does a great job at creating a smoother, more laid back yet punding which shows that he's very capable of custom making joints. Enough talk, we came here for the music right? Though I never posted the Roc Marciano single before I'm posting this I thought I might as well throw it up as well. The digital maxi single features no less than 9 tracks, including an exclusive remix of "Wit No Pressure". You can buy the single either via Bandcamp or iTunes while you'll get more info and music on Ras via his official website (that includes the tracklist for "Control Your Own". Don't sleep on the heat!

THE UN - "The UNderstanding"

Oh shit, it's not every day a brand "new" (or rather unheard) track from the hardcore hip-hop quartet The U.N. The group consisted of high school friends Roc Marciano, Dino Brave, Mic Raw and Laku and after being "discovered" by Pete Rock who helped to put them on and get them exposure by both featuring them on his "PeteStrumentals" album as well as releaseing their two joints "Cake" and "Nothin' Lesser". The Hip Hop world took notice and they were managed and backed up by legends like Q-Tip, Alchemist, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Oddisee and in 2004 they signed the first Hip Hop deal on Carson Daly's (of MTV fame's) new independent label - imagine that. Either way the record stands as one of the finest hardcore hip-hop albums of its era, and any unreleased music from it is highly appreciated. 

Now Scott Free who used to be an intern at LOUD Records back in its heyday and worked on classics like "The Infamous..." and was also an exec on "U N Or U Out" has unleashed an unmixed and unmastered joint that didnd't make the album called "The Understanding". But we take what we can get right, and this is a dope joint so turn this mother up LOUD!! Produced by Rob "Reef" Twerlow.

RAY WEST Presents "LUV NY" (The ReIssue)

Ray West has undoubtedly been one of the most prominent producers in the Hip Hop underground for the last few years, supplying heat for full projects by John Robinson, Kool Keith, AG and OC as well as his LUVNY compilations. Back in 2014 he released a cassette called "The Snake Tape" exclusively on cassette, featuring emcees such as AG, Lord Tariq, L-Fudge, Kool Keith, Kurious and Dave Dar. The cassette featured selections from a compilation that a lot of heads unfortunately slept through on its initial release - "LUVNY" was originally marketed as the release of a super group of the same name, mentioning each featured artist (who appeared on a two song average) as a member of the crew. I personally see it more as a Ray West production album with the help of some dope emcees and close friends (Roc Marciano, AG, OC, Kool Keith, Kurious, Lord Tariq, etc.).

Both the original "Snake Chamer" and the "Snake Charmer Part 3" posted up top  (just posted to Dave Dar's YouTube channel) both appear on a new reissue of "LUV NY" pressed up on a new 2 180 grams vinyl set. Looking at the tracklist it looks as all the fat has been trimmed (as those remixes), and some strong new cuts. If you're a fan of rugged New York hip-hop, DITC, great lyrics and beats, be sure to order the 2xLP @ FatBeats ASAP. You can also stream the full alubm below. A big shout out to the homie Ray West!

[Mixtape] RAY WEST PRESENTS LUV NY Collective

In the summer of 2012 Red Apples 45 creator and super talented producer Ray West gathered a group of friends that also happens to be some of the dopest rappers New York City has to offer. The goal was for to produce a compilation of all new material with these emcees which included OC, AG, Kool Keith, Roc Marciano, Kurious, Dave Dar and Sean G. The result was "Luv NY", a project aimed at bringing back the essential vibe of early hip-hop from its birthplace of NYC. While the record definitely was dope it unfortunately didn't make that much noise, but now Ray West is back at it again, crafting fat instrumentals for AG, OC, Kool Keith, L The Fudge and the rest of the crew. "The LUV NY Collective" is somewhere between a mixtape and an album, there's nothing but original beats and rhymes, no DJ shouts or blends and nothing but full songs. There is however some previously released joints, remixes and skits but all in all it makes for a fascinating listen. Ray West keeps improving on his production and the spitters is just talent personified so don't sleep on this gem right here!

CORMEGA Ft. ROC MARCIANO - "No Filter"

 Two of my favorite emcees gets busy on this boom banger prodived by Marco Polo (production) and DJ Skizz (wheels of steel) to great effect. You know that when 'Mega and Roc collaborate, you're in for a treat and now there's beginning to be so many of them that a Lost Tapes compilation of the two might be ready in the near future. Not sure where this is gonna land but it is labeled as a Cormega single and it's RAW as fuck, so let's hope he's readying a new LP this year!

CORMEGA Ft. ROC MARCIANO - "NO FILTER"

[Album] SAGA x MARCO POLO - "From Out The Shadows"

The homie Matt Diamond put me on to up and coming Brooklyn emcee Saga who first caught my attention with his Roc Marciano assisted single "City Streets", a truely nostalgic boom bap monster produced by Marco Polo. From there Saga has let loose of a couple of more singles that all have packked that incredible sound we all know and love, so when the full project is now available you can bet your last dollar that this is one of the illest debut albums of the year. Ten tracks deep, "From Out The Shadows", is filled with hard hitting beats, melodic basslines, fat turntable work and excellent writing and delivery by Saga. Marco Polo and Saga definitely have an amazing chemistry together and let's hope for a lot more projects from those two in the future. Press play and raise your glass!

AG - "Marcberri" [Vinyl Bonus Tracks]

AG's 2010 album "Everything's Berri" kind of threw me for a loop when I first heard it. The lyrics were all there as usual with one of the all time greats, but I was dissappointed with the sound at first as it was the first time I heard the D.I.T.C. legend go in without any of his D.I. brethren, or other intense outside producers such as Madlib, Dilla, E-Blaze, Jake One, and so on. This was the first time the world heard Ray West, and it definitely took some time to adjust to his somewhat unorthodox way of chopping samples and arranging songs, which is why I was initially dissappointed in "Everything's Berrii". However, as time has moved on, Ray West has become one of the main affiliated producers of the D.I. camp and as I said in my previous post, with each release he has came more into his own and his last two mini albums has been that STRAIGHT FIRE. And now going back and listening to the album that set it all off I realize that its a lot better than what I had first seen it, though it's not a masterpiece like A's albums with Show or West's later work with OC, AG and John Robinson and the LuvNY collective.

Originally released on CD only in 2010 by Fat Beats, not too long ago the label and the duo decided to press up a limited amount of vinyl runs for the project. This 2xLP set has a few tracks not featured on the original CD, and while I posted the extended "Marcberg" when the team released it as a single I just realized (again while doing the producer post below this one) that Ray West 45 @ Soundcloud had actually posted streams to all three exclusive songs in full. This was three months ago, but like I always say in these types of situation - better late than never, that's for damn sure! First out is the aforementioned "Marcberg" extended version, which is absolutely beautiful and makes me truly wonder why the hell it was cut short in the first place. The original album version used it as a kind of skit with only a fat but short Roc Marciano verse before cutting to the next song. Here Roc's verse are followed by a hook and an equally ill AG verse. Then you got another really crazy joint called "Buster's Train" that follows none other than Sadat X, and we all know that the X-Man and AG has a crazy chemistry together. The slow blues influenced joint that closes the sampler is a remix of "Infected", a song that appeared on the CD in its original format. If you're a vinyl head and haven't grabbed "Got Berries?" yet, be sure to do so from e.g. HHV (I can't find it at Fat Beats or UGHH which probably means it's sold out as it was a limited release). Oh well, at least you can hear the three extra tracks below and they are all fat!

The Purist - "Patina" (Ft. Roc Marciano) / "El Captain" (Ft. Your Old Droog)

In 2012, UK producer The Purist hooked up with Strong Island's grimiest, Roc Marciano, for the incredible 7" single "Change". Now the duo hooks right back up for a cut lifted from The Purist's upcoming debut album "Pyrex Scholar" and the sound of the song called "Patina" features a smooth sound that Roc sounds absolutely marvelous over. Also from the album comes "El Captain", another soul heavy joint featuring Your Old Droog. Stream both joints below and watch out for the LP whcih drops March 15. Check out the tracklist and pre-order a copy in the format of your choice here.

SAGA Ft. ROC MARCIANO - "City Streets"

I forgot to post this the other day, but this is a real fucking banger so please don't sleep on this. Saga is an up-and-coming New York emcee who calls himself Saga. Saga is about to release his free EP, entirely produced by the one and only Marco Polo, and listening to the first single (which also features a stellar Roc Marciano) verse this one will be fucking crazy. Premiered by TheSource.com and shouts to Matt Diamond for putting me on to this one. Stay tuned for when the EP drops, you'll definitely find it on The Lost Tapes, this is the type of hip-hop I love; no question!

THE DIRTY SAMPLE / ROC MARCIANO - "Three Sixty Five"

The Dirty Sample is a rugged and raw producer who's been working on his fittingly titled "Raw Produce". Featuring the likes of Guilty Simpson, Moka Only, D-Sisive and most importantly Roc Marciano. The Roc featured cut "Three Sixty Five" is by far the illest cut on the free LP (the Guilty Simpson joint is fire too), so be sure to check it out up top and if you want to hear more from The Dirty Sample peep the full "Raw Produce" album below. Spotted @ 2DBZ.

AG & ROC MARCIANO - "Marcberrii" [Extended Cut]

Fans of AG and Ray West will remember this short but deadly jam from their first real collaboration together, 2011:s "Everything's Berri". The version we heard back then worked as a litte interlude bridge with a powerful verse from Roc Marciano, although I always wondered why AG didn't jump on it. The answer comes with the release of the full version which is being unveiled by Ray West for the vinyl deluxe version of "Everything's Berri" which is now up for pre-order @ HHV for its December 19 release. Still BANGS!

[Album] J-FORCE Presents "Cadillac Respect"

When people think about The Future Flavas show they obviously  gonna think about the nr. #1 DJ:s Marley Marl and Pete Rock, and probably all of the incredible exclusive remixes and on-the-air songs that was played on air almost weekly. The Future Flavas remixes always stood for high quality, but the fact is that it wasn't Marley and Pete that was responsible for all these goodies though they often get that credit in the internet generation. Of course both of them put in a lot of work and created some still unreleased classics, but they also had lesser known but incredibly skilled beat wizards up there with them that was also responsible for some terrific remixes and exclusives. One of these guys were J-Force, who was down with Marley Marl for a long time, and released two now very rare self-released 12":s between 1995 and 1996 with "Bullseye" and "For All Thoze". Since then he has scored music for a lot of hip-hop films such as the "Beef" series, "Rock The Bells" and Bling" among others.

With his long brown hair, he looked almost more like a punk rock kid than a highly talented boom bap musician but looks can definitely deceive as both his work on Future Flavaz and his own records was more than proof off. Following him leaving Future Flavaz he kind of faded into the shadows, but as of last year the producing spitter has dug deep into his archives, releasing some previously unreleased solo tracks on a self-released 12" and even more exciting a 22 track remix compilation called "Cadillac Respect". It's the latter that I'm going to focus this post on, as it is an incredible listen that features several of his rare Future Flavas remixes that has never been released anywhere else, a long with some other exclusive mixes that is sure as hell going to make you respect this kid and his SP1200. There's also a few cuts featuring J. Force showing off his rhyme skills, and once again he's no joke on the microphone either, The remixes include revisits of classics by Kool G Rap, Inspectah Deck / Pete Rock / Kurupt, AZ, Nas, Ghostface, Nas/Prodigy, Black Moon, The UN, Mic Geronimo and more.

You can order a copy of "Cadillac Respect" a long with a T-Shirt @ Cadillac Respect.com where you can also read a whole lot more about J-Force, his past and his future endeavour. Below you can also stream the entire project for free, either via DatPiff or J-Force's official site mentioned above. You can also download the entire project for free via Hulkshare. Don't miss out on this sickness!

CORMEGA Ft. INSPECTAH DECK / ROCK MARCIANO / SADAT X / LORD JAMAR - "Industry - Deluxe Remix"

Cormega and Large Professor once again rounds up some of the greatest emcees of all time for a remix of "Industry". They actually revealed the line-up for this remix around the time for the release of "Mega Philosophy" in an interview with XXL (very good read), so I've been eagerly awaiting this banger and it does not dissapoint. If you still haven't grabbed 'Mega's latest it's not too late to support the movement - grab @ iTunes, UGHH or HHV. Also the vinyl edition is being repressed and will be available for purchase again on October 17.

[Album] DEF DEE - "Deja Vu"

Seattle producer Def Dee was added to the impressive roster of Redefinition Recordson on the strength of his remix album "33 1/3" last year. Now he's back with a more proper album entitled "Deja Vu" which is a big improvement on 2013:s remix project since it features all original songs. The dusty samples, turntable work, obscure samples and heavy rhythm section is back in full effect and even improved at that. There's a lot of intstrumentals, both in the form of interludes and full-length songs. while the vocal cuts features stellar performances by heavyweights Roc Marciano, Blu, Damu The Fudgemunk, One Be Lo, El Da Sensei & Raw Poetic and of course Dee Dee spits some ish in the microphone as well. I got a feeling this kid will go a long way as far as producing goes - and his signing to Redefinition doesn't exactly hurt matters.

I realize that this was made available a few days ago (released September 9 on wax), but as I often say - better late than never when we're dealing with music of this caliber. So if you're still sleeping, press play on the Bandcamp player below (where you can also purchase the digital version) or order the 2xLP set @ UGHH. Up top you'll find the first single and accompanying music video for the El Da Sensei accompanied "Yeah".

ROC MARCIANO Ft. Knowledge The Pirate - "Time Stopped"

Roc keeps pumping out interesting music for the true heads, this time hooking up once again with his PNC Knowledge The Pirate for the new single "Time Stopped". Unlike the recent "Didn't Know" single/video, this is not lifted from the upcoming "Marci Beaucoup" album will appear on a compilation EP by producer Ricky Dubs entitled "The Senor Dubs EP", hitting stores September 3.

[Video] DJ SKIZZ / ROC MARCI / AG / OC / G.O.D-Father III

"Light Years", by far the illest posse cut on DJ Skizz' amazing 2013 producer album "The B.Q.E: Brooklyns-to-Queens Experience". There's tons of döpe music on that disc, while no room for weak moments, but this OC, Roc Marciano, AG, OC and Godfather Part 3 really sets the bar high. Check out the visuals above,  If you don't have "B.Q.E." yet it's definitely time to stop sleeping and order a copy from (where?). Hope this turn out to be a digital only project.

APOLLO BROWN Ft. Roc Marciano - "Shotguns in Hell"

Back in May Apollo Brown released his cinematic long-player "Thirty-Eight". While the project consists of  20 vintage Brown instrumentals, both the CD and 2xLP editions came with a 5" vinyl single. This 45 contains two songs with Long Island giant Roc Marciano going in over two of the cuts from the album; "Lonely & Cold" and "Shotguns in Hell". Previously MMG let digital heads hear "Lonely & Cold" and now peeps are also able to check out "Shotguns in Hell"; one of my favorite beats from the album. Rugged and raw!

[Video] S-TYPE Ft. ROC MARCIANO - "Inside (Outro)"

Producer S-Type just released his new EP "Rosario" featuring three instrumentals, an intro by YC The Cynic and the "Inside Outro" featuring Roc Marciano, which just got the video treatment, seen above. You can grab the EP from iTunes right now while you bang your head to this.

On a related note, I was pretty impressed by NY emcee AWAR's 2012 debut album "The Laws Of Nature" which featured production and features by Alchemist, Nottz, Roc Marciano, Has-Lo, Evidence, and more. A few days ago AWAR released his new single, also featuring Rocky Mars and produced by Vanderlsice. It's from AWAR's upcoming album "The Winning Team" which drops next month and also features Freddie Gibbs, LaToyia Williams, King Los, BJ The Chicago Kid, and more. I didn't post it then, but better late than never so I'm taking this time to post it here for anyone who might've missed it when it first dropped.

SLIM-E / ROC MARCIANO - "Sole Progression"

Now this is straight up ill on some real hip-hop shit; I don't know much about Slim-E but he goes in HARD on his single "Sole Progression". The track is produced by Slim-E himself and features a welcome feature by hardworking Strong Island legend Roc Marciano. With lines like "the oldest profession is the soul's progression, your sole posession - opposite to soul's posession, so save all that hail mary's to an old confession" a long with the minimalistic but earth shattering production makes this a definite winner. Watch out for "Sim City , the LP that this is the lead single from.

BUCKSHOT & P-MONEY - "Just Money"

Duck Down and Bucktown legend Buckshot joins forces with New Zealand producer P-Money for a full-length project entitled "Backpack Travels". Judging by the new single "Just Money" (above, also featuring Raz Fresco) and the earlier "Flute". this is taking it back to the golden era with knocking beats, heavy bottom, tight cuts, well written rhymes and soul samples. The album is available on June 24, but just a few weeks ago P-Money dropped his own producer project "Gratitude" which beside Buckshot also features legends like M.O.P., Havoc, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, Talib Kweli, Skyzoo, and more. Check that out below or download via Bandcamp.