[Stream] PUBLIC ENEMY - "Man Plans, God Laughs"

New month, let's get this Lost Tapes shit popping again! First out we got the new album by Chuck D and the Public Enemy crew called "Man Plans, God Laughs" and continues where 2012's "The Evil Empire Of Everything" left off. Some hard hitting ish on here for sure, entirely produced by long time affiliate and very underrated Gary G-Wiz. Read more about the album at the official P.E. site and support the cause by purchasing a copy of the project @ iTunes.

01. No Sympathy From The Devil
02. Me To We
03. Man Plans God Laughs
04. Give Peace A Damn
05. Those Who Know, Know Who
06. Honky Talk Rules
07. Mine Again
08. Lost In Space Music
09. Corplantationopoly
10. Earthizen
11. Praise The Loud

[Video] PE 2.0. - "People Get Ready"

Following on the success of the smashing soul banger "Give We Pride" by Chuck D and Mavis Staples, Chuck D and new partner Jahdi once again enlists the solid production talents of Divided Souls Entertainment and DJ Pain 1 (who also contributed two banging tracks on the last two Public Enemy albums). The single called "People Get Ready" features close to a vintage Public Enemy sound, of course updated for the times, with both emcees getting busy. The song is released as PE 2.0, which seems to be an offshot of Public Enemy featuring Chuck and Jahdi though I'm not entirely sure at this moment. However be sure to stay tuned for more info and forthcoming music!

Making Of ICE CUBE's "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" @ XXL

These days XXL is never a magazine I would spend money on; sure they have the occassional interesting article or reviews but the majority is spent on BS. Back in the day however, XXL had some extremely powerful articles and photoshots fot the true hip-hop heads. In one of their finest moves they gave several page spreads on the making of classic '90s allbums including "Illmatic", "Only Buit 4 Cuban Linx", "Ready to Die" and "Life After Death", "All Eyez On Me", "Capital Punishment" and of course Ice Cube's timeless solo debut "AmerikKka's Most Wanted". The latter was for me the final article I got my hands on. After I recently started revisiting this unbelivable classic a whole lot recenly, I was determined to find the XXL article - preferably with scans as XXL's own website only have a small excerpt of the article.

Together with "Death Certificate", "Amerikka's Most Wanted" is my favorite Cube album and stands as two of the finest West Coast albums of all time. And especially the 1990 debut this post is about really succeeded by juxtaposing the finest things from both the East and West sounds due to the project being overseen and produced by both The Bomb Squad and Sir Jinx. Luckily enough I was able to find scans of the entire XXL article via a Tumblr Acount a while back which truly made my day. I decided to share it with my trusted Lost Tapes readers, so I strongly suggest you press play on your CD or, cassette or LP, pump up the volume and start reading.

A huge thank you goes out The Martorialist Blog amd it's webadmin  Si Maine Price so be sure to visit his site for more gold. Until then, download all the 8 pages in good quality via Mega.co.nz! Very interesting reading which indeed comes highly recommended!

ICE CUBE / "Amerikka's Most Wanted" @ XXL

[Video] EDO G Ft. CHUCK D - "Fight"

I haven't heard Edo G's new album "After All These Years" in its entirety yet, but from what I heard the Boston legend and one of the most underrated definitely came correct in '14 with a solid album. One of the most important and illest track on the project from what I've heard so far is the first single, the Chuck D assisted "Fight". Getting it on over a powerful soul influenced yet raw hip-hop banger, Edo and the legendary Public Enemy front man goes hard on both their lyrics and their deliveries, creating a certified banger to say the least. It must have been an obvious choice for a music video which you can see above, so TURN IT UP and enjoy this great ass joint. I suggest you pick up the album which features no less than three Pete Rock bangers, plus production from Vanderslicec (who's responsible for this), 9th Wonder, Marco Polo and more. You can grab both the 2xLP set, cassette and the CD @ UGHH now so HURRY UP AND BUY!

V. NOVA / SMIF-N-WESSUN - "Abstract Art" / " "That White" (Ft. Freeway & Miz Maf)

Brooklyn artist V. Nova is a skilled artist originally hailing from New Jersey.  So far he has released two full-length albums under the label, but V. Nova's new opus deifnitely sounds lik his most interesting projec yet. "Abstract Art" with S.N-W and the Freeway/Miz Maf laced B-side "Miz Mal". Both tracks bang quite hard, and at leat the Tek N Steele joint will appear on Nova's upcoming mixtape "Hidden in Plain Slight Vol. 3: The New Comission". Rap duoe BOE & Villa (Nova's crew) has recorded with Erick Sermon, Rakim, MIDI Mafia, Akinyele, Canibus, PMD, Papoose, Funk Flex, Fabolous, Monifah and more, while the turntable work is hadled by The Crack Facotry. Stay tuned for more info, bc both singles is just damn refreshing.

CHUCK D - "Give We The Pride" (Ft. Mavis Staples)

The legendary Chuck D just dropped his new solo album "The Black in Man" on August 1, and the lead single and video can now be heard above. Over a knocking track that literally oozes soul provided by the talented team of Divided Souls and DJ Pain 1, Mr. Chuck D's commanding voice and powerhouse flow reminds listener that he's every bit as relevant in today's hip-hop field as he was in 1988. "Give We The Pride" also features a guest apperance from none other than the truly great, Soul legend Mavis Staples who help take this joint to another level... All in all, I'm blown away! The digital EP single includes an additional remix in addition to the B-side "Get it Right or Be Gone" and is available @ RapCentralStation.com. I haven't listened to the actual album yet but if it's in the vein of this cut right here it will likely well end up on the best of 2014 round off. Support @ iTunes.

On a sidenote I also want to remind y'all about Chuck D's 1996 solo debut "The Autobiography of Mistachuck" which is a very overlooked LP so why not take an hour and rewind that. Also available @ iTunes.

EDO G preps "After All These Years" through Kickstarter

Pretty much any true hip-hop head absolutely love the ruff voice, sharp lyrics and social and personal commentary of Edo G, but unfortunately that love has never really transformed into record sales. With ten retail albums behind, the Boston emcee now turns to Kickstarter to let help fans bring his upcoming "After All These Years" to life. "I've been working on this new album for the last year, and it's brought me back to that original Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs conscious boom bap rap ... It's time to go back to the very beginning, to the essence of what hip-hop is", Edo says in the video embeded above before going into how he found four of '90s Pete Rock beat that he never got around to using that'll be included here (!). Sounds like a crazy project no doubt, especially as The LP will feature production from 9th Wonder, Xplicit One, and Pete Rock as already mentioned while Guilty Simpson, Chuck D and Camp Lo all are slated for vocal apperances. If the album (which will be pressed up on a very limited 2xLP set) isn't enough you'll also receive a cassette of "My Own Worst Enemey" and an iLL book documenting the writing process of 10 of Edo's personal favorite tracks. How iLL is that?  

The label is 5th & UNION, an imprint formed by Edo together with Jamieson Grillo. It's a Kickstarter project though, which means that the release of it is based on fan demand. The goal for the label is to gather $12,500 which of $9,276 is already in the can. Please show your support for this, even if it's just $10 dollars because we need to see this happen. I know I will donate and I really don't have the money for it but by doing this you cut out the middle hand - no money to shady A&R:s and non-musical bitches, just simply  cash to create, complete and distribute an album - 'nuff said... Also check out the snippet of the Chuck D track below, sounding serious!


SUPPORT THE CAUSE @ KICKSTARTER

[EP] HYENAS in the DESERT - "Die Laughing"

Funky producer Gary G-Wiz was first introduced to the hip-hop buying public as part of Public Enemey's production team. For P.E.'s three first album, the wall of noise was primarily handled by The Shocklee brothers, Eric "Vietnam" Sadler" and Chuck D, as The Bomb Squad. For the group's fourth LP, "Apocalypse '91... The Enemy Strikes Black", G-Wiz distinct hardcore sound was introduced as part of the Grand Imperial Ministers of Funk team. From there he was part of classic records by Eric B. & Rakim ("Know the Ledge)", Big Daddy Kane ("Nuff' Respect") and even Janet Jackson. It didn't take long before he was knighted an official member of The Bomb Squad, and played a huge role on Chuck D's very underappreciated solo debut, '96s "Autobiography of Mistachuck". The album also featured Long Island rhymer Kendo on the standout track, "Pain".

The aforementioned producer and emcee impressed the Public Enemey frontman so much, that he signed them as a duo to his then newly started Slam Jamz imprint (a sub-label under Columbia). The first act to get signed by the label was Hyenas in the Desert, the duo consisting of Gary "G-Wiz" and Kendo. After releasing two 12" singles on the label, "Concubinez", and "Can You Feel It?""Wild Dogs", Hyenas in the Desert released their debut EP on both wax and CD; "Die Laughing". The nine tracks presented on the disc was hardcore, dark and moody music with Kendo's ruff reality raps; matter of fact, Kendo was at one point thought to be Large Pro's replacement in Main Source before MC Mikey D took that place.

Due to lack of hype, Hyenas in the Desert never released anything after their impeccable debut EP, and it's a rather unknown release despite how dope it is. Neither G-Wiz or Kendo has done much worth mentioning after the split of the duo, although G-Wiz has reunited with Public Enemey and produced their latest album "How to Sell Soul to a Soulless People". Aight, 'nuff talk, check out this heatrock and let the hardcore beats and rhymes take over your mind for the coming 30 minutes.

01. "Elephant Graveyard"
02. "Can You Feel It?"
03. "Wild Dogs"
04. "The Longest Night (Journal #1)
05. "Concubinez"
06. "Why Me"
07. "Fresh Meat"
08. "Hyenas in the Desert"
09. "Other Side Of Midnight"

HYENAS IN THE DESERT - "DIE LAUGHING EP"

Immortal Technique / Chuck D / Brother Ali / Killer Mike

This right here is a severely nasty line-up and as expecte there's no bullshit lyrics allowed in this cypher. It's especially great to hear the legendary Chuck D on this, you don't hear enough from him these days. The song is called "Civil War" and production is handled by Southpaw. Between this and "Toast to the Dead", Tech's new mixtape "The Martyr" is shaping up lovely. The free mix will be made available already tomorrow and you can bet on it being posted here ASAP! Link via 2DopeBoyz.

IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE - "CIVIL WAR" (Ft. Brother Ali, Chuck D & Killer Mike)

Chuck D - "Notice, Know This"

As a response to the release of Jay-Z/Kanye West's video to the "Otis" Redding sampling lead single off their collaborative LP, living legend Chuck D dropped some choice words in a new video called "Notice, Know This". Fed up with the lack of substance in the hip-hop game, Chuck takes the microphone to reflect on the state of the music as well as touching on some of the injustices we see today. The Public Enemy front man still speaks with authority as his flow and voice commands you to listen to his words. The only problem I have with this track is that I wish he would've made it into a full song. Rocking the same sample of Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness" as "The Throne" duo, the track is also honoring the late, great musician:

"This is a polite respect call to the troops, to continue to inspire but reflect the people better. Otis Redding was a humble country man from Macon, Georgia who bought a jet to work in, not to flash! He perished in that plane. 
 Here's to hoping that the J & K super-group can elevate the masses and try a little bit more to reflect Otis heart rather than swag, because they're to good to be less."