[EP] NUTSO - "I Plead The 5th" (2013)

With all the extreme amount of super dope material being released on a regular basis you know it's inevitable that you're gonna miss out on some really sick releases every now and then. Even this year there's some heavy releases that I've been looking forward to that I haven't even banged out yet (Cannibal Ox, Mr. Green / Malik B.). But today I noticed on my FB that the always trustworthy EgoTripLand had posted a 2013 single by severely ill Queens spitter Nutso (p/k/a Nut-Rageous) featuring Kool G Rap and Mic Geronimo (DAMN!). It turns out this is actually a track from a Bandcamp EP that Nutso released in the spring of 2013 called "I Plead The 5th". As I'm listening to the six tracks that make up the EP I am blown away by how dope this is, 

"I Plead The 5th" is a collaboration with producer 5th Seal (hence the double entendre of the EP:s name) who supplies Nutso's rugged lyrics and delivery with a soulful boom bap type of sound that really does the emcee justice. I'm a sucker for the one MC/one DJ formula and the three full projects that I know from Nutso's catalouge are all done in that matter - this one, 2013's excellent collaboration with French boom bap maestro DJ Low Cut called "In The Cut" and most recently that brand new 2015 EP with the homies Divided Souls Entertainment and DJ Pain 1 ("Divided Souls") that is one of the five best albums of the year so far if you ask me. Stream the entirety of "I Plead The 5th" below via Bandcamp where you can also download a HQ Mp3 download in the digital format of your choice. Features comes from Kool G Rap, Mic Geronimo, Punchline, Wais P, Meyhem Lauren, AG Da Coroner, J-Love, and a couple of others. Satisfaction guaranteed!

[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!

[Album] GRAND PAPA TRA - "Lost In New York"

Granted this baby was released almost two years ago now, but I'm sure it flew straight over a lot of hardcore hip-hop head's heads, just like it did mine. I became aware of Swizz producer Grand Papa Tra through the news that he has been enlisted by Queens veteran Royal Flush in lacing all of his forthcoming "Grand Capo LP", a beautiful teaser which can be heard here. It's clear that his affinity for that real NYC golden era boom bap sound reflects in Tra's music, and his ten track project "Lost in New York" is nothing but pure hardcore hip-hop medicine for the soul. And not only does it features quality beats but listeners are treated to on-point verses from the likes of Sadat X, Royal Flush, Mic Geronimo, Nutso, Punchline, and a few others. This is a perfect project to get aquainted with Grand Papa Tra's music before the Royal Flush album drops, and it's also available on both CD and vinyl via Tra's Bandcamp. Don't sleep!!

Raekwon Ft. Mic Geronimo - "T.U.R.K.E.Y."

Chef Raekwon is of course one of the hardest working lyricists in the game at the moment and has been in that position since the "Cuban Linx II" hype really started taking off. There's been some duds, some incredible guest verses and tracks throughout these last few years, and this collaboration with Mic Geronimo and Kid Daytona definitely falls in the latter category. Could this be a single from a forthcoming Raekwon album? I could definitely see this appearing on the forthcoming "F.I.L.A." LP, this deserves several rewinds; Road Arts provides the beat.