[Stream] BENEFICENCE - "Basement Chemistry"

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.

[Stream] SILENT SOMEONE - "I Have A Company"

From time to time you stumble upon an utterly dope underground release whose existence you didn't have a clue about. Such is the case with Bronx producer Silent Someone who I'm slightly acquainted wit through two excellent remixes he did for Soundsci, a powerhouse quintet that readers of this blog knows I have supported almost since day #1 and who is steadily building up one of the most impressive back catalouges any of this type of throwback hip-hop group has been able to produce. Beside four to five excelent group records (LP:s and EPs), Oxygen has released plenty of dope 12"s, EP:s and various guest spots, Audessey released one of the best albums of 2014 with producer A Kat Called Fritz and on the 9th of this month UGeorge is releasing a mindblowingly smooth, soulful yet boom banging LP called "The Many Faces Of U-George" (get ready for a review very soon). When recently talking to Jonny Cuba, one half of 'Sci's production team The Herbalizer, he put me on to a very smooth vintage hip-hop LP by producer Silent Someone (who previously has remixed two Soundsci joints for an official 7" and has provided some choice cuts for the aforementioned UGeorge LP). It turns out that Silent Someone dropped a full length album over a year ago that really flew under my radar, and I'm sure a lot of other heads. 

Titled "I Have A Company" Silent gets busy on the MPC, killing the turntables, and expertly chopping some rare but vintage funk, soul and jazz samples to create that true hip-hop vibe. Cuba even went as far as calling it his favorite album of 2014 so be sure to give it a chance. While Silent stands for all production and cuts, vocal parts are assembled from everyone from Sadat X, John Robinson, Akbar, El Da Sensei, Shaz IllYork, Tame One, Dave Dar, and more. Press play via PeasantPodum's Bandcamp where you can also download the seventeen track project in your digital format of choice for 10 USD.

SADAT X & EL DA SENSEI - "We Must Stand"

The OG Sadat X has teamed up with El Da Sensei to form a new duo called XL. Their first single is called "We Must Stand" and is a heatrock produced by 9th Wonder. This will be followed by a full-length album called AVX Records/Empire Distribution.

LEWIS PARKER & EASTKOAST - "Superior MC's" (Ft. Shabaam Sahdeeq & El Da Sensei)

Ever since I first heard Lewis Parker for the first time on Ghostface's "Fishscale" and "More Fish" albums in 2006 I've been constantly blown away by his work. For 2015 the London born Parker hooks up with NY emcee Eastkoast for a full-length project called "MK Ultra: Operation Hypnosis" available for pre-order via KingUnderground.com. The first single features Shabaam Sahdeeq and El Da Sensei and is fittingly given the title "Superior MC's". Powerful!

[Album] SILENT SOMEONE - "I Have Company"

I'm a big fan of Silent Someone's 2012 album "Change" and its powerful grooves of laid back jazz and hard rhythms. Now the Bronx producer is back with his new project, "I Have Company", featuring a host of talented emcees from the States going in over Silent's raw hip-hop, complete with funk and jazz influences. Artists getting busy over these tracks include Akbar, Shaz Illyork, El Da Sensei, King Magnetic, John Robinson, Tame One, Emskee, Sadat X, and many more. Dave Dar appears on the single "El Greco" which you can see the new music video for up top. Released on Peasant Podium Music back in March of this year, you can stream the entire album for free or purchase the digital copy @ their Bandcamp page (also embeded below). Seems to be a digital release only for now, but well worth checking out.

[Album] KID TSUNAMI- "The Chase"

Back in June 2013 Australian producer Kid Tsunami released his debut album "The Chase" as a digital download distributed by The Orchard and Fat Beats. CD and vinyl were supposed to follow shortly after but that never came to fruition... until now, as Slice-Of-Spice has gained the rights to release a nice 180 gram 2xLP set. Nostalgic fans of true school boom bap will no doubt love Tsu's sample heavy production and the guest cast which includes some of New York's finest emcees to ever do it. We're talking names like OC, Percee P, Jeru The Damaja, AG, Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, Bahamadia, KRS-One, Pharoahe Monch, and many more. The music is the same as on the original 2013 release (there might be some minor tweaks here and there), but the artwork by Fred Whyte is brand new and is looking a whole lot better, as well as the sequencing which has been switched around to make the LP flow better. The gatefold vinyl of "The Chase" is limited to 500 copies and is available @ Slice Of Spice now.

As nice as the guys at Slice Of Spice are they are also offering up the newly remastered version of the album not only for full streaming but you can also download all of the individual tracks in HQ Mp3 for free. Also check out the "No Guarantees" single which features banging remixes by Diamond D and DJ Bless. TURN IT UP!!

THE ARSONISTS - "The Session" / "Halloween"

The Arsonists, the rugged New York crew that released albums like "Date of Birth" and "As The World Burns" between 1999 and 2000, and consisting of Freestyle, D-Stroy, Q-Unique, Kinetic, Jise One, and Swel. They dropped a lot of underground heat through the years, especially in the early to mid-'90s before their semi-retirement as a group. Lately, with a signing to Redefinition Records, some equally potent 7" singles and loose tracks have started popping off, which of course is very welcome. Their latest release is a 7" single featuring two rare, early joints that was originally released on Bobbito's excellent Fondle 'Em Records. Being that these joints was released a good while back, they are of course up on YouTube so be sure to take a trip down memory lane and be sure that that volume is turned all the way up! Spotted @ EgoTripLand, so props on the find guys! The record will be released on Get On Down Records and is being released on October 14 so get your pre-order on..

[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".

THE REGIMENT Ft. Sadat X & El Da Sesei - "Raise Up"

Damn, there's just a whole lot of ill shit droping today, but I promise y'all this is the last one for today but this NEED to get the attention of as many people as possible. Detroit grou The Regiment is another powerhouse underground duo signed to HiPNOTT Records that three years ago delivered their last album "The Panic Button". In 2014 they are preparing a follow-u and the first single "Raise Up" sounds very promising, especially considering the contributions from The X-Man and the Sensei. Stay tuned for more information on the new album!

[EP] EL DA SENSEI - "Try Again"

Redefinition Records is getting bigger all the time, churning out quality release after quality release. El Da Sensei has been featured on some of the releases but it's first now that the once Artifacts member is actually signed as a full blown solo artist and the starting blast is an EP entitled "Try Again". Only featuring three cuts, the EP's running times strictly flies away and once you know it's over but oh what powerful joints the three tracks are and is a promise of good things to come. El Da Sensei flows right on spot on whatever beat he's given although the production range from straight up boom bap to atmospheric and reflective joints like the title track - but it's always straight up hip-hop, no question about that. 

The aforementioned joint is produced by one of the most underrated producers in the game, long-time DJ Spinna collaborator Joc Max, who does a wonderful job here with the low-key production, complete with cuts from Damu The Fudgemunk. "Smoke to Me" is another relatively laid back joint with El in fine form, inspired by the lesser known D-Smooth, whose blend of haunting piano samples, progressive drum and bass, and some minor changes throughout the beat. The final vocal track is produced by House Shoes, a Detroit legend yet another underrated producer, and here he really shines on what might very well be the best song on the entire 10" sigle. Shoes give Sensei some real true school shit that formally screams boom bap and is sure to have your nodding your head more than the previous two joints as it's simply irrestible. Redefinition has put up the entire EP for stream below (or at least the vocal tracks) - and you can order the physical from Redefinition's Web Shop. Don't sleep on this and pump that volume up!

EL DA SENSEI - "Try Again"

Redefinition Records keep bringing the heat, and amongst their most interesting upcoming releases are a three track EP from legendary spitter El Da Sensei which officially drops on 12" and digital on June 10 but is already now shipping. The lead track "Try Again" is a laid back with El getting it in HEAVY on the lyrical tip on a beautifully smooth jazz-influenced joint provided by the super underapreciated Joc Max and cuts supplied by Damu The Fudgemunk. Order the wax here @ Redef or if you wanna go digital hit up the official Bandcamp Page. We need a proper Sensei album on Redef with proudction by K-Def, Joc Max, Kev Brown and the gang ASAP!

REDEFINITION Back @ It

GOD DAMN, I just wrote a long ass article on the new releases of one of the most exciting upcoming releases and for some reason the vast majority of it just dissapeared. Oh well, I'm not giving up, but the article will hardly be as informative as the original, but it has all the vital information. Order these records directly from RedefinitionRecords.com when available. In addition to these isted releases, the imprint has also announced a host of interesting projects, ncluding  

DAMU THE FUDGEMUNK - "Top 10 Sample Flips"

This is a pretty funky DJ mix, originally released only as a free download and now as a cassette tape. The background for this short project gestated when Damu was asked to do a piece for EgoTripLand's recurring article series where a producer breaks dow his favorite samples and chops (you can read the article @ EgoTripLand.com). The article definitely sparked an idea in the young producer to mix those favorite records and put them out on a limited cassette tape on Redefinition. The result is what you hear above! You can buy the cassette for $10.00 USD @ REDEF.

KLAUS LAYER - "Play Me An Old Enemy"

German producer extraordinare Klaus Layer, the latest addition to the label roster, released his immaculate 90%  instrumental full-lengther "The Adventures of Klaus Layer" has just been reissued with an all new artwork and ´pressed on green wax (you can stream the entire LP and order it @ The Redef Shop. As if that wasn't enough, Layer is allso dropping a brand new 45 featuring the two non-album cuts ("Play Me An Old Melodu and the instrumental and electronica-tinged instumental version of "Come Back")                                                                                                                                                                                                         
K-DEF - "Tape One"

K-Def is by far one of my favorite beat maestros of all time, dating as far back as his many apperance son early albums by Lords Of The Underground, Inteligent Hoodlum,  LL Cool J ("Funkadelic Relic"; "Year Of The Hip-Hop") and many more. The next upcoming REDEF release is entitled "Tape One"  and though no release date or tracklist has been revealed yet, we got a few things to go on. Looking a the picture above it is suggested that it's actually not a cassette but a vinyl pressing of what I suppose is one of 'Def's mid-'90a beat tape being presemted on remastered vinyl. Definitely worthy addition´to ány respectabe collection,

In additional Redef news regarding Mr. K-DEF is the fantastic news bit that the New Jersey's finest is hooking up with one of my personal favorites of the past for an entire EP worth of new music - I'm talking about 45 King. Not much more info available but be sure to stay tuned for more info!

EL DA SENSEI - "Try Again¨

One half of the legendary Arsonists crew, El Da Sensei has been featured on a couple of Redef records already but the 12" single "Try Again" is the first actual release under his name.No tracklist or number of included songs have yet to be announced but what we do now is that the project will be released on June 25 so a tracklist should appear any minute now. Producers announced for "Try Again" are House Shoes, the underrated DJ Joc Max and¨D. Smooth, with The Fudgemunk providing the turntable wizardry. Would love to hear another K-Def collabo, followingtheir amazing "Back to Basics" but this sould still be one worth waiting for. In further news, it actually doesn't seem that an El Da Sensei / K-Def album is too far on the horizon according to Refdef's laest news letter, so let's pray for that one! 

One more thing that Redef Records got on te horizon followinng this El Da Sensei single is a planned release of an actual The Artifacts 12"  single on the label. If this goes down this is the first proper Artifacts single since the late '90s and The Artifacts slept-on sophomore LP "The Ultimate".

RAW POETIC & KEV BROWN - "Concentrated"
Raw Poetic, one half of the duo Panancea, has already been in an important figure since the early days of REDEF; starring as sole emcee on K-Def's "Night Owls" ("Night Shift", 2011). The following year Poeric was cast as a guest emcee on two distinct Redef records; Damu The Fudgemunk's "Killawatt 1.5" and K-DEF's "´Easy Way Out " EP. As you can see Redefinition Records has got a whole lot of ill shit lined up for 2014.

EL DA SENSEI - "Show Stoppa"

So that Coalmine Records compilation with that incredible tracklist featuring posse cuts over dope boom bap production from just about everyone is finally right around the corner after multiple push backs, and although the album still doesn't drop until next week the final single just did - El Da Sensei's "Show Stoppa", produced by DJ Devastate. This makes for another dope cut, and it now finally makes every single one of the actual songs on the project up for free streaming so you can easily hear what this gonna be (without the bonus cuts which includes a Diamond D remix I'm really looking forward to). Luckily the album will be a double CD, with one of the discs being a continuous DJ mix by the always incredible DJ Revolution. Check it out below and bang your head, and check the tracklist with links to all the tracks HERE.

[EP Sampler] SILENT SOMEONE - "I Have Company"

Underground phenomenon Silent Someone really impressed me with his 2012 7" single release on GoodFellons, "Change" / "Retrogression" where he teamed up with Craig G and Oxygen, respectively. Now he's very soon to be back with his debut album, and judging by the bunch of singles that's been released so far this is one to look out for. Titled "I Have Company", the LP sees the skilled producer team up with underground legends and young talents such as El Da Sensei, Tame One, John Robinson, Akbar, Shaz IllYork, Dave Dar, King Magnetic, and many more. The album will be out in stores at the end of this month on Peasant Podium Music, but till then you can check out four songs from the project via Soundcloud - three of them you find embeded below, and the remix to "Lab 82" you find here!

[Sampler] THE ARTIFACTS / EL DA SENSEI

Redefinition Records keeps winning, and the next project they got on the horizon is a full-length record by El Da Sensei with some help from his original crew The Artifacts. This is definitely sounding interesting on the paper, but the team has supplied a snippet reel of the upcoming album, and it's really sounding superb. Producers on the LP, and in fact all snippets heard here are produced by the criminally underrated Joc Max, Dee Smooth, and Def Dee. As is usual the deal with Redef, the project will be available for wax and more info should be up @ Redefinition Records.

DJ Doom & Nutso Ft. Large Pro, El Da Sensei & Tony Touch - "It's Just Begun"

To celebrate the memory of the late Jimmy Castor who passed away around this time last year, DJ Doom and talented Queen's spitter Nutso join forces in the creation of their own homage to the #1 B-Boy anthem "It's Just Begun". The funk provided by Doom is definitely right on target and the performances by Large Professor, El Da Sensei, Tony Touch and DJ Tha Boss (on the cuts) are certain to grab your attention. Blunted Astronaut Records is releasing this joint as a limited 7" single which you can purchase via the embeded link below so "hurry up and buy".

[Comp] BIG KWAN - "VERBALIZED: Raw Skills"

I've had heard a few Big Kwam joints on mixtapes, cameos, and such back in the days, but about six months I picked up the "Verbalize: DJ Spinna Remix" 12" B/W "Capacity Blown". Needless to say, I was absolutely blown away by this talented wordsmith that embodied the NYC underground scene of the mid-'90s underground I first fell in love with. In fact he reminded me slighttly of an original mixture Inspectah Deck at his peak and a young Nasty Nas with a lot of uniqueness of his own to bring to the table. I am destined to find the rest of his discography eventually, but right now I'm sad to say that the aforementioned single is the only entry of his in my collection so far, but trust me when I say that they one day will find their ways into mt crates. Kwam's got a rather small discography however, but thanks to the digtial age, some "net digging" and frequent Lost Tapes collaborator Fritz giving a helping hand, I have managed to collectt all his recorded/released material which enables me to to introducing my trusted readers with a complete compilation of the rhyme slingers strictly impeccable works. And what an "album"/"compilation" it is; I really hope I will manage ti turn a few heads on to this lyrical beast who has such good taste in beats after a listen to these 17 songs.

Not much are known about Big Kwam, he pretty much dissapeared frm the scene as soon as he made his entrance with the powerful VLS. With only a few exceptions Kwan clearly put qualtity over quanlity. Kwam certainly were a part of The Creators' extended family, as they single handedly produced all of the five 12":s he released between 1996 and 1998; save for some outstanding remixes by DJ Spinna, Vinyl Reanimators, Peanut Butter Wolf, and Mr. Mayhem. He also made two apperances on the duo's '96 debut "The Creators Have A Master Plane". After solid guest apperances between '96 and 2000 holding his own LP where he bumped his lyrical head with veterans such as Pacewon, Diamond D, El Da Sensei, Twan, Aquasky, over beat by Buckwild, Da Beatminerz and Nick Wiz. This collected disography begs two question - what the hell happened to a lyricist like Big Kwam that could go far on the underground scene, as the seventeen joints and 67 minutes will have any true hip-hop will rejuoice over. So TURN IT THE F' UP and mad props to Fritz and my local record shop and my digital crates.

01. "Verbalize" [DJ Spinna Remix]
02. "I Don't Give A Fuck"
03. "Regardless"
04. "Raw Skills" [Da Beatminerz Mix] (w. Aquasky)
05. "Capacity Blown"
06. "Mic to Mic"
07. "The Reunion" (Ft. Big Twan)
08. "I Don't Give A Whut: I Don't Give A Fuck Pt. 2"
09. "Execution Expert"
10. "The Hellgate"Rebel" (Ft, Big Twan)
11. "Verbalize" [Creators Mix]
12. "Timeless Piece"
14. "Live Shit" (Ft. El Da Sensei, PaceWon & Diamond)
15. "The Reunion" [Peanut Butter Wolf Mix]
16. "It's Like That" (Ft. Q-Major, M.G.M. & Tru)
17. "Kwamaniz"

BIG KWAM - "VERBALIZE: Raw Skillz"

K-DEF & EL DA SENSEI are The ENFORCERS

Two of Jersey's most celebrated underground vets is teaming up as The Enforcers for two upcoming Slife-Of-Spice release. K-Def and El Da Sensei was most recently heard together on the recent "Back to Basics" 7" EP, but the fact is that they previously have worked on the classic Sensei joint "Rock It Out", and the lesser known "Enforcers". Given the chemistry, it might not come as a suprise that they has teamed up as the duo The Enforcers (with 'Def taken on The Ghetto Man moniker, while El is referred to as Mean Johnny Barrows). The snippets below sounds absolutely fantastic, despite the clichéd term I can't help but to insert a "real hip-hop" here.

Aiming for a November/December release, Slice-Of-Spice is dropping the first Enforcers release in the form of a 10" single featuring "Give You What You Need" and "The Jersey Connection", instrumentals of both and some fresh bonus beats for the listeners. As if that wasn't enough, this will followed by a full EP from the duo, featuring seven tracks on regular 12" vinyl; and will also be released as an instrumental version.

K-DEF / El Da Sensei - "Back to Basics"

The latest of K-DEF's work since signing with Redefinition Records comes in the form of "Back to Basics"; a 7" single featuring El Da Sensei of The Artifacts. Check out how 'Def manages to work in all those multiple layers of sound, while still keeping it clean enough for the emcee to get his shine on! The mini-EP also features a brand new instrumental tune called "Mean Johnny Barrow's Groove", besides two exclusive instrumental versions of tracks from the excellent "Nightshift EP". Order the 7" @ Fat Beats or grab the MP3 version @ iTunes.

El Da Sensei / Nutso / Soul Khan

El Da Sensei, the New Jersey emcee who was one half of the acclaimed duo Artifacts returns with a new banger featuring Nutso and Brown Bag All-Star's Soul Khan. The joint is taken from a remix EP called "The Nu World Remix EP" which is the follow up to last years critically acclaimed solo album "Global Takeover 2: Nu World". The EP will hit the net in less than two weeks and will feature five remixes of songs from the abovementioned album. The EP will feature production and cameos from !llmind, M-Phazes, Sean Price, Bekay, Tame One, Rah Digga and Mela Machincko.

El Da Sensei feat. Nutso & Soul Khan - Nu World (Part II) by Diamond Media 360