[Mix Set] DIAMOND D - 45 Set in Japan, Okinawa

Diamond D is probably the most dangerous triple threat out there as he possesses crazy skills behind the boards, on the turntables and with the verses. In 2014 he is not only preparing his producer album "The Diam Piece LP" and just produced the entirety of BIGREC's very serious LP "DoomsDay", the D.I.T.C. legend is also taking his incredible 7" only DJ sets to hit the road for a world tour. The film you see above contains an entire 60 minutes set recorded in Japan, Okinawa a couple of months back that was kindly uploaded to YouTube by the host of the event (Okayama Piece Club Snap). Enjoy this musical journey that takes us through rough soul, funk, hip-hop, rock and then some. TURN IT UP!!

SHOW & AG - "South Bronx Shit" [Remix Ft. A-Bless, Majestic Gage & Tashane)

Show & AG went HARD last year with three excellent releases with "MugshotMusic" and the two prequels preceeding it. "South Bronx Shit" was also one of the most rugged and hence my favorite on the "Preloaded" street album, with Show's horn-driven boom blaster complimenting AG's flow representing his 'hood and DJ Premier's scratch extravaganca, so it's fitting we are getting a video for it; albeit a different one from the album version, This new remix features the younger generation of Bronx bombers that the DITC crew has taken under their wings (Majestic Gage, A-Bless & Tashane), and is a nice compliment to the original version. Even DJ Premier pops up in the video for more than a cameo. What can I say - TURN IT UP!

[Soul] DAYNE JORDAN x JAZZY JEFF - "Abour the Art"

It's been quite some time since I've updated, life got in the way (and just got back from an excellent Mobb Deep concert with my man Big Rob; review coming), so I thought I'd start a little easy with some updates of joints I've missed posting and tomorrow I'll start posting regularily again. First out is three Lost Tapes favorites (DJ Jazzy Jeff - production, ?uestlove - drums, James Poyser - keys) who together form like voltron to deliver one of this year's strongest R&B/soul cuts with quriky singer Dane Jordan (p/k/a Dosage) who delivers a stunning performance on some '70s oozing downbeat blues soul, yet with a definite hip-hop angel with the cuts, the rhymes, the beat and pretty much overall the insttrumental track. The cat is from Philly which explains his close relationship with Jeff, and hopefully we see more from this young singer (and especially with more legendary producers and instrumentalists holding it down behind him) so stay tuned. Until then, press play above, and if you're with a girl you got a great soundtrack for your home date, and if you're alone this is one of them joints that you put on and zoom out on.

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.

ILLA GHEE - "Salute the General" (Ft. Lil' Fame)

Brooklyn spitter and long-time Mobb Deep affiliate, and recently more strongly associated with Sean Price, is gearing up for the release of his new album "Social Graffiti". The album is chock full of dope guests and producers (DJ Skizz, Ayatollah, Large Pro, OC, Lil' Fame, JuJu, Guilty Simpson, Royal Flush, Steele, Sean Price, etc.) and is set for a late summer release. The lead single is definitely a promising start as Illa grabs DJ Skizz and Lil' Fame for some truly satisfying boom bap shit! Check the tracklist below:

01. "Social Graffiti (Intro)" [prod. William Giovanni]
02. "Salute The Genreal" (Ft. Lil' Fame) [prod. DJ Skizz]
03. "Speak To 'Em" (Ft. Sean Price) [prod. Crummie Beats]
04. "Murda Boys" [prod. Diallo]
05. "Rum Raisin" [prod. M. Stacks]
06. "Get Money" [prod. Vinyl Frontiers]
07. "Razor Blade Vomit" [prod. Amazing SB]
08. "Blurred Pupil" (Ft. Rell) [prod. Shawneci]
09. "James Worthy" [prod. George Black]
10. "Bruised Ego" (Ft. JuJu) [prod. Crummie Beats]
11. "No Mercy" (Ft. Guilty Simpson & Switch) [prod. Crummie Beats]
12, "B,O.D.Y. (Bars Over Dose Yours)" [prod. Crummie Beats]
13. "Hold Up" (Ft. Royal Flush) [prod. Crummie Beats]
14. "Takin' in a 3rd Person" [prod. Ayatollah]
15. "90" [prod. Large Professor]
16. "On The BKLYN Side" (Ft. OC & Steele) [prod. Shawneci]
17. "Open The Door" [prod. Team Demo]

[Comp] BLACK THOUGHT - "Deep in Thought"

From one aspect "The Tipping Point" is The Roots' coolest album because it plays out as a true solo album by Black Thought, produced and played by ?uestlove, Kamal, Knuckles, Kirk Douglas and the gang. Since that grand statement from Tariq Trotter (B.T. that is) it seems that Thought's role in The Roots been less and less prominent with each release. "Game Theory" and "Rising Down" was fine though it was the start of having guest emcees on every other song. "How I Got Over" and "Undun", then, featured lesser songs (both clocking in at barely 40 minutes) while continuing the trend of guests joining Tariq on the microphone. This was quite easy to forget though, considering that these albums were up there among the best albums of their respective release years. The Roots crew's latest "...'a-And Then You Shoot Your Cousin" finally hit stores less than a month ago and was by far one of my most anticipated projects of the year. It is a truly fine album indeed, not quite living up to my high expectations, but the amount of Black Thought apperances on here is not even acceptable if you ask me. In total the album is 33 minutes, made up of 11 tracks, three of which are short interludes or instrumentals, two are guest vocal tracks, and the remaining six rap joints ALL feature guests. And that is definitely way too little Black Thought for anybody's taste - there's no debate that Black Thought is top 5 dead or alive; something for example acknowledged by such a great lyricist like Big Punisher. Let's just hope that "&TYSYC" is a one-off and future Roots project will have Tariq back in a leading lyrical role, especially since every single verse off his on the album was absolute top notch. The ill photo art up top is borrowed from Useman-GFX's site. Great work, thx!

While I liked "&TYSYC" it has truly left something akin to a black hole that needs to be filled up with recent Black Thought verses. Luckily it's here The Lost Tapes comes in, and I tried to use a wide array of tracks featuring Tariq dating back to 2010 and stretching to as recent as the just released "They Want Hardcore". Since The Roots have released side projects not starring Black Thought I've also decided to include a few cuts from the John Legend, Elvis Costello, and J. Period/John Legend/The Roots tapes. I have a feeling some might have missed out on those and hearing them in a context of nothing but B.T. places them in a completely different setting - I especially love Karriem Riggin's remix of Cotello/Root's "Cinco Minutos Con Vos" (which amost play as a BT solo joint), as well as the J. Period's remix of "In The Ghetto"; I mean who can resist Rakim and Thought going at it on the same track? There's been a lot of Thought features around the last years and I have tried to boiled it down to the hottest and best representative of Black Thought's skills and over the finest beats. Hopefully the minimal role Trotter played in the latest Roots album means he's hard at work on a solo album himself which would be very welcome. A while back there were even rumours going around that Danger Mouse was in talks with Lex Records and BT to produce a full-length LP together... Now that would've been something right there! 

So here it is, the Black Thought heavy compliment record to The Roots dope "..and Then You Shoot Your Cousin", centered around 16 tracks handpicked by me and mostly focusing on hardcore bangers with a few joints more focused on the sweeter, soulful side of things. Every track on here was recorded between 2010 and 2013, save for the final joint "Workinonit". I wasn't gonna use it but I decided to go against the grain for a several reasons - any The Roots fan not having heard this gem NEED to do so this life; it was essential to have at least one joint with Black Thought totally spazzing out over a whole track; and last but not least, any compilation could use some rare J Dilla production ("Workinonit" was released together with Saigon for The Roots' 2006 "Game Theory" but was scrapped due to Dilla's untimtely passing). So there you have it - another Lost Tapes presentation of one of the greatest emcees to ever pick up a pad and a pen. GET BUSY TO THIS!!!

01. "Thought Process: Intro"
02. "Rage is Back"
03. "Cinco Minutos Con Vos" [Karriem Riggins Mix] (w. Elvis Costello)
04. "In The Ghetto" (w. The John Legend, Rakim & CL Smooth)
05. "Little Ghetto Boy" (w. The Roots & John Legend)
06. "Codes & Cab Fare" (w. Black Milk)
07. "Bird's Eye View" (Ft. Xzibit, Raekwon & Joey Bada$$)
08. "Riot" (Ft. Thurz)
09. "Art Imitates Life" (Ft. Talib Kweli & Rah Digga)
10. "Dillanor Rigby" (Ft. John Legend, Blu, Gerg Porn & Dice Raw)
11. "God Knows Wy" (Ft. Nneka)
12. "B.D.K." (Ft. The Game & Talib Kweli)
13. "In Tha Park" (Ft. Ghostface Killah)
14. "Masers Of Our Fate" (Ft. Raekwon)
15. "Too Long" (Ft. Saigon)
16. "Workinonit" [Demo] [BONUS}

BLACK THOUGHT - "Deep In Thought" 

TIMELESS TRUTH - "Trife"

Hardcore Queens spiter Timeless Truth been dropping a whole bundch of well-oiled hip-hop bangers over the last couple of years, releasing their fat but overlooked debut album "Rock-It-Science" last year (featuring production and cameos from from PF Cuttin, Large Pro, Sean Price, Roc Marciano, Acion Bronson, etc.) (cop it @ FatBeats). We are definitely fiending for more from this real-life brothers duo and with their upcoming "Dominican Diner", EP, entirely produced by Fafu, and the first single "Trife" is definitely promising!

[Album] P.So The Earth Tone King - "Gateway to Greatness / "Constellations"

HiPNOTT Records returns with another souulful project called "Gateway to Greatness" / "Constellations" which is a reissue of P.So's 2013 album; taking 12 of the artists favorites from "Gateway to Greatness", four completely new cuts and three exclusive remixes which forms the "Constellation" part of the project. P.So's moniker The Earth Tone King is really making his sound justice as he's aiming for a real earthy, atmospheric vibe that's heavy on the bottom. The album takes a stamp in dark jazz, soul, indie rock and gritty hip-hop, with P.So aiming to create something fresh lyrical and different - his mission with the project is to encompass music, creating a cinematic journey that plays out like a graphic novel and will endure the test of time. Pretty big words, and on my first listen I wasn't that impressed but more and more the set is starting to grow on me. Strong writing, ill guests (8thW1, Homeboy Sandman, Outasight), impressive live instrumentation over funky beats (P.So himself, 2 Hungry Bros., The Other Guys, etc.). You can stream the album below via Bandcamp or cop the CD from UGHH or Fat Beats. Give this one a chance, an early favorite of mine is the 8hW1 collaboration.

"Gateway to Greatness" also comes with a graphic novel tie-in of the same title, the first volume bearing the subtitle "I've Had Better Days". You can read a pretty large preview of the novell and order it right away @ EarthToneKing.com.

[Album] PAWZ ONE - "Face The Facts"

Pawz One is a quick-minded writer and spitter with a good ear for beats that's been on the rise for a few years with independent mixtape releeases like the "Verbal Virus" series, "B.A.D. Company" and "Numbers Don't Lie". Coming from the streets of Los Angeles you can count on Pawz having a whole bunch of interesting stories to tell, and as the press release states "the album plays out like a Golden Era hustler's anthem, [but it's the] delivery and presentation that makes this one so memorable". "Face The Facts" is eighteen tracks of fine storytelling rap, everyday life documents and striving from nothing to the top over a mix of gritty boom bap and slightly smoother jazz-esque joints provided by long-time collaborators Default and Breeze (both fellow LA-reps), respecitvely. While Pawz would perfectly hold down this LP by hismelf it's hard to complain when the guests invited to the table includes Ras Kass, Rakaa Iriscience, Masta Ace, Termanology and 2Mex. Another positive is the heavy use of cutting and scratching, something that pretty much any real hip-hop LP benefits tremendously from in my opinion. Though Pawz have been making his name known through the mixtape series throughout these recent years, I'd say that practice is over and "Face The Facts" is Pawz true introduction to the world - an introduction that indiciates that this young L.A.-born and bred emcee is definitely hear to stay. Easily one of the best debuts of the year - excellent!

"Face The Facts" are being released by Below System Records (the same imprint that gave us another of 2014:s strongest outing with Shabaam Sahdeeq's "Keepers of the Lost Art") and are right now selling the album in digital format and as a three panel digipack CD. However Below System will be doing a run of the LP on wax, limited to 250 copies, and unlike all those fancy labels that choose to make new vinyl releases rare by pushing the prices to ridiciolous amounts, these 250 copies are not priced much higher than the CD which is a big thumbs up from me. The vinyl drops on September 26, and can be pre-ordered as a part of three different packages. Package #1 (the LP only), Package #2 (the LP + CD + three track cassette single of "The Luv" featuring Masta Ace) and Package #3 (same as #2 but also includes a Pawz One/Face The Facts T-Shirt). Via Bandcamp you can order the CD (which are shipping now) and cop the digital as well as stream the entire album which I have embeded below (notice that the player starts with track #8 just back up til' you come to track #1 before you hit play). PLAY IT LOUD.... A LITTLE LOUDER!!

[Throwback] SONJA BLADE - Then & Now (Ft. Busta Rhymes, Buckwild, EZ El-P & Smif-N-Wessun)

The other day I was listening to Sonja Blade's DJ Premier produced classic 12" "Look For The Name" on Bodybag Entertainment which really peeked my interest in whatever happened to this hardspitting Brooklyn femcee. She also dropped another single on the same label, the Black Rob-assisted "One Thug", a solo on the "Romeo Must Die" soundtrack, a collaboration with P, Busta, L Boogie, and NORE on the first "Violators" LP. Add a few guest apperances on records for Rah Digga, DJ Kay Slay, Ice Cube, Monifah, Shaq, Fabolous, and Tracie Spencer; all music that was released between 1998 and 2001. These many guest apperances was a marketing strategy as Blade was preparing to release her debut album "Who Am I" in '01 through Virgin/Bodybags with manager Chris Lighty for Violators. At least the majority of the album seems to have been completed, as far as recording goes, and according to this MTV.com article from April 2000, it reveals that production was to be handled by DJ Premier, DJ Scratch, Rockwilder, Clark Kent, Mario Winans of The Hitmen, DJ Clue and more. Artists set to appear included Busta Rhymes, Carl Thomas and Nate Dogg. Being the huge D.I.T.C. fanatic that I am, I came across info about a 2001 white label featuring a Blade/Busta collaboration called "So Gutta", produced by Buckwild, a few years back. This seemed pretty much impossible to find,  in fact I was starting to wonder if it wasn't some shady blend or whatever, but then a radio- or mixtape rip of the song appeared on YT late last year. It's a fucking hardcore ass MONSTER of a track with Blade and Busta going back-and-forth over Buck's sinister boom bap anthem; flipping the same sample used by Dilated Peoples for "Triple Optics". With cuts like "So Gutta", "Look For The Name" and "One Thug" it could've been quite a sick LP though we'll never now, as it's definitely lost to the public forever. Check out "So Gutta" with Busta and Buckwild up top, it probably cuts off one minute too early but damn was I excited to find this at last (mad shouts to YT uploader zerominus for dropping this gem on us). Now if anyone have the full track, or at least a decent mixtape Mp3 please send me an e-mail or drop a commentl.

A lot of emcees, and for some reason especially female spitters, have a good season only to then never be heard from again - i.e. Charlie Baltimore, Vita, Jane Doe (expect a real dope post on here very soon btw), Amil, and so on. This is not the case with Blade as she, over the years, slowly has been starting to make moves and rebuilding her brand again. Every now and then she's dropping a fresh single and/or video via her YouTube account, There's no question that she still's got the flow and the voice and though not every song is a masterpiece I really fell in love with the BK anthem "Brooklyn Keeps On Taking It" from 2012, produced by Ez-ELPEE and featuring both Tek-N-Steele all over the video and dropping a short but tuff verse near the end. Promising shit right here!