CORMEGA Ft. JUICE CREW - "Industry Remix"

Cormega has proven himself in the past to be an amazing assembler of posse cuts and the new remix to his latest single "Industry" is one of the most impressive yet. Letting Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, Craig G and Mega release lyrical fury on this Large Professor produced banger results in what is unquestionably one of the most interesting tracks of 2014. Support "Mega Philosophy"!

[EP] KOOLADE Ft. MASTA ACE & CRAIG G - "The Juice Crew EP"

Croatian producer Koolade is best known for producing Masta Ace's fantastic "Beautiful" from his "A Long Hot Summer" LP. Now the two has teamed up again a long with Stricklin and Craig G for a three track EP that Koolade has given the title "Juice Crew Special". It was released about a month ago but I totally missed out on its original release and I'm sure I'm not the only one. This is definitely some smooth shit, with two versions of the Masta Ace/Stricklin' joint "Love Crazy" that was recorded some time ago. The Craig G joint "From The Soul" was originally recorded in 2011 but none of these records has seen a release previously. All instruments, production and artwork by Koolade, and you can stream the entire thing below.

Also in case you missed it, Koolade also released a powerful single with two other legendary New York emcees in Diamond D and Sadat X called "The Natural" back in February. In case you slept on that when it dropped definitely be sure to check it out below and support it @ iTunes.

[Mixtape] V/A - "Counterstrike 2: A Decade of UNKUT"

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.com 2014. 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!!

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[Album] SILENT SOMEONE - "Change"

US producer Silent Someone has dropped a lot of impressive beats, joints and remixes over the last couple of years and now he's back with his latest album - "Change". The 10 tracks EP consists mostly of ill instrumentals from Silent's stash to kick back to but original Juice crew member Craig G bless the title track (click here to check out the official video) while Soundsci's Oxygen brings some heavy bars to the album closer "Retrogression (Late Nite Remix)". The digital is out now and can be purchased or streamed from Bandcamp while Good Felons will be releasing the vinyl eventually. If you stream below and wanna hear the whole thing (and you should), be sure to rewind back to track #1.

[Mixtape] BIG TWINZ - "TG1" (Ft. Raekwon, Cormega, Killah Priest, FT, Nature, Marco Polo, Alchemist....)

The hoarse voiced QB legend Big Twinz drops his new mixtape "TG1" hosed by DJ Woool (one of Killah Priest's main producers of recent years) and the tracklisting is looking super ill for the most part. I don't have time to listen to the entire thing right now but I'm checking some of the early tracks and most on-paper standouts - "Can't Get Enough" (Ft. FT, Nature; prod. by Marco Polo), "Complex" [prod. by DJ Woool], "New Infamous Mobb" (Ft. Godfather Pt. III; prod. by Sid Roams), "Big Dreams" [prod. by DJ Wool], "Bigger U Are The Harder U Fall" (Ft. Alchemist & Planet Asia), "Poison" [prod. by DJ Skizz], and "QB Allstars" (Ft. Cormega, Craig G & Nature) . Great to see the homie DJ Duke getting some shine too on "Hypnotize", also DJ Woool who has never been one of my favorites when it comes to lacing Priest sounds a lot more organic/fresh on the beats I heard here. My first conclusion is that this might very well be the best mixtape of the year so far, though of course I need to listen to it in full several tmes before making such a statement concrete. "TG1" are presented as a free download and brought to you by DatPiff. Don't sleep on this... QUEENSBRIDGE IN THE HOUSE!

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[Mixtape] ALCHEMIST & AGALLAH - "Past & Present"

Alchemist has by far been the most productive, yet constantly interesting producer of 2013, and I doubt this year will be much different. No other producer can churn out full albums at his speed while maintining complete quality control; the only other one that comes to mind is Madlib but as much as i love 'Lib's craziness I have to admit that some of the stuff he has put out through the years have been terribly self-indulgent. Alchemist on the other hand is both versatile and almost always spot-on as a producer, and 8-Off a/k/a Agallah The Don Bishop is another interesting producer that's been at it for at least 15 years. Both of them are of course also rappers, and together they have came together for a free 24 track mixtape. ALC only rhyme on a couple of tracks though so this is in fact an Agallah show, presented over 12 of his own beats and 12 of Alan's, with the latter throwing in a rhyme or two for good measure. The vibe is definitely good, and when you add guests like Roc Marciano, Thistin Howl The Third, Guilty Simpson, Masta Ace, AG Da Coroner, Buc Fifty, Channel Live, Craig G, Sean Price, and many more, you know you got an underground hit on your hands. I'm five tracks in so far and this is pure unadulteratued hip-hop, strongly recommended although I notice that track #5 (one of ALC's beats) is actually a reuse of the classic beat he gave to Mobb Deep and G Rap for "The Realest". Oh well, there's plenty of original material on here as well and don't underestimate the talents of Agallaha behind the baord (an edit - having listened through it, I believe that is the only reused beat on his side)... So what are you waiting for?

[12" Throwback] WIZDOM LIFE & MATT FINGAZ - "Fruits of Labor in the Sunshine"

It's been a while since I did a 12" Throwback post, so here goes one for a single I stumbled across in a used vinyl store about a year ago. I picked up on the strength of the DJ Spinna production who is easily one of my favorites to ever do it. For this single New York emcee Wizdom Life teamed up with Matt Fingaz (a.k.a. FingaTip), better known as a manager and the founder of '90s indie powerhouse Guesswhyld than a rapper, to drop this pretty fat 12" single on Wreck Records back in early 1998. This was their only release together, and Wizdom Life faded into obscurity after dropping a album produced by Shawn J Period, released only a year after this single while Fingaz decided to focus his talents in other aspects of the music biz. 

Both tracks found here features the production talents of DJ Spinna, who makes an exceptional job as always. The A-side, "Fruits of Labor in the Sunshine" marks an early collaboration with Talib Kweli who delivers a thought provoking verse much in the same vein to what was heard on classic Black Starr LP with Mos; the apperances that once and for all put him on the map. There's no question that Kweli outshines the other two emcees here, but the two main artists does a pretty good job as well. The production is a perfect compliment to the lyrics of the song, with a kind of laid back beat that still got a lot of drive, and beautifully chopped up soulful vocal and instrumental loops that even got a slight reagge vibe.

The B-Side "Mad About You" is one of those booming posse cuts that we're so popular in the '90s, and it's great to hear some of those real underground emcees that totally faded into obscurity only a  couple of years later all ripping it on a track like this (although they all had a lot of material out in the '90s; mainly banging 12" singles). Over a somewhat harder Spinna beat than the previous, with pounding drums, hard kick and snares coupled with a shaking bassline guiding the talents of Craig G, Lace Da Booms, Mike Zoot and  the two main artists of the record. Five emcees showing their passion for rhyming over carefully chopped horns, and some vintage Spinna cuts is definitely one fan of '90s golden era hip-hop NEED to hear... This is just another one of those hundreds of cool underground singles that dropped in the mid-'90s but it's also a definite keeper that you should not sleep on, so grab the complete single below in a nice 320 kbps rip, and whatever you do.... TURN IT UP!

 
A1. "Fruits Of Labor in the Sunshine" (Ft. Talib Kweli)
A2. "Fruits Of Labor in the Sunshine" [Instrumental]
B1. "Mad About You" (Ft. Craig G, Lace Da Booms & Mike Zoot)
B2. "Mad About You" [Instrumental]

WIZDOM LIFE & MATT FINGAZ - "FRUITS OF LABOR IN THE SUNSHINE" VLS

[Album] Beat Bop Scholar - "Authentic Minded"

Beat Bop Scholar is a young producer from the LA area who recently released his booming debut album "Authentic Minded" on iTunes, and Bandcamp, as well as in physical format (CD). The Scholars' beats are filled with golden age nostalgia; straight up sample based music with soulful loops juxtaposed over tightknit drums that creates a definite head nod factor. Much of the project is instrumental but the few cameos that are spread out over the 13 tracks are all true underground legends. Craig G turns in a stunning performance accompanied by an melancholic accoustic piano which together makes for a really sick cut. The only dissapointment is that Percee P is listed as a feature, though he only does a minor vocal drop introducing the album (see the video above). Still, the cuts with Sadat X (the haunting "The Truth") and OGC's Louiville Sluggah will easily have you forget about such minor issues. A very pleasantly suprising album that I recommend any Lost Tapes reader to check out ASAP. 

Craig G Ft. Chaundon & Big Pooh - "Effortless"

Craig G is one angry old man of the hip-hop game that still got it, which is proven on his latest single "Effortless" featuring Chaundon and Big Pooh and a soul dripping beat provided by the reliable Jake One. The single is lifted from the legendary Juice Crew alum's brand new album, "Ramblings of an Old Man" which is out now on iTunes. Without a question an album I need to check out.