RAS KASS & APOLLO BROWN - "H20" (Ft. P. Monch & Rakaa)

As you might be aware of by now, the latest legendary emcee in line for a full-on collaboration with Detroit producer Apollo Brown is Sir Ras Kass. The album, which is set for a October 28 release via Mello Music Group, is called "Blasphemy" and consists of 15 songs featuring collabs with people like Sick Jacken, Sean Price, Royce Da 5'9", Xzibit, Bishop Lamont, Pharoahe Monch and Rakaa Iriscience. The two latter is featured on the first single "H20" (didn't Ras already put out a song with that title?) which you can check out above. Finally a Ras Kass album entirely produced by a really talented cat with a sound akin to the Golden Era. Pre-order a copy of the limited 2xLP set @ MMG, press play above and check out the tracklist below.

01. "Next Caller"
02. "How To Kill God"
03. "H20" (Ft. Pharoahe Monch & Rakaa Iriscience)
04. "Please Don't Let Me"
05. "Strawberry"
06. "Giraffe Pussy" (Ft. Royce Da 5'9", Xzibit & Bishop Lamont)
07. "Roses" (Ft. 4 Rax)
08. "Deliver Us From Evil"
09. "Too Much of A Good Thing"
10. "Animal Sacrifice"
11. "Humble Pi"
12. "48 Laws Pt. 1"
13. "Francine"
14. "Drink Irish" (Ft. Slaine, Sick Jacken & Sean Price)
15. "Bon Voyage"

[Album] DILATED PEOPLES - "Directors Of Photography"

Oh shit, here is one that I've been eagerly anticipating! I'm talking about the new Dilated Peoples album, "Directors of Photography", the LA trio's first project as a unit since 2006:s "20/20". Released to stores next Tuesday via Rhymesayers, but already now you can stream the LP in its entirety via Pandora - if you live in the US that is. With both lead singles being crazy ill, a tracklist with guest features from Defari, Gangrene, Sick Jacken, Vince Staples, Aloe Blacc, etc. and Dilated being Dilated this should be a great listen. Be sure to pre-order the 2xLP or CD @ UGHH.

01. "Intro"

02. "Directors"

03. "Cut My Teeth"

04. "Defari Interlude"

05. "The Dark Room" (Ft. Vince Staples)

06. "Good as Gone" [prod. DJ Premier]

07. "Show Me The Way" (Ft. Aloe Blacc) [prod. Jake One]

08. "Figure it Out (Melvin's Theme)"

09. "Let Your Thoughts Fly Away"

10. "Century Of The Self" (Ft. Catero)

11. "Mr. Evidence Interlude"

12. "The Reversal"

13. "Opinions May Vary" (Ft. Gangrene)

14. "Trouble"

15. "LA River Drive" (Ft. Sick Jacken)

16. "The Bigger Picture"

STREAM "DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY" @ PANDORA (US)

[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!!

[Album] ANALOGIC - "The Booth Shall Set You Free"

Considering the love the Elementality crew get up on here it should come as no suprise to anyone that I'm a big fan of one of their main producers Analogic's musical output which includes beats for MadKem, Silent Knight, and many more. Now he's stepping into the limelight as an artist in his own right, releasing "The Booth Shall Set You Free", entirely produced by Analogic and featuring collaborations with Wordsworth, Silent Knight, Sean Boog, Evidence & Rakaa of Dilated, Jered Sanders, Justin Bates, Supastition, Hasaan Mackey, and many more. Definitely worth a listen (or plenty of them) as EMP has put up the entire album for free stream although it's really released on SoulSpazm Records (another label that has proven their capability to find and support great underground hip-hop these last couple of years). It seems it's a strictly digital release though as I can't find any info on a physical release from the usual sites, but you can purchase the project from iTunes. ENJOY!!