J DILLA ft. NAS - "The Sickness" / "Gangsta Boogie"

As a huge J Dilla fan tomorrow is the date (April 15) that I hope will close the J Dilla posthumous saga once and for all, and doing so at a high note. This was the last album Dilla worked his ass off to really get the way he wanted to during his lifetime, and though MCA shelved it he and his then current Stones Throw family and especially Egon had discussions about releasing "Ruff Draft", "The Diary" (more often known as "Pay Jay" or just the MCA album) and of course "The Shining". The reason it has taken this long time to gather an album that a lot of people already have heard most material from (due to an unathorized, unmastered and real shitty sounding leak) and the 12 EP:s that was neccesary to finance the project the way it needed to be financed to put it out there as it should have been. It's fourteen tracks of Dilla rhyming over his own beats as well as tracks by some of his personal favorites and musical comrades - Madlib, Pete Rock, Nottz, Hi-Tek, Karriem Riggins, Pete Rock, BinK! and Wajeed. I can't wait to hear this fully mixed and mastered, definite buy for me and i will also be the last Dilla project I ever purchase.

The album, "The Diary", is a joint venture between Egon's Rappcats label and Nas' Mass Appeal imprint so naturally Nas wanted to get the chance to rhyme on an unfinished joint. But don't worry it doens't hurt the original concept in the least as "The Sickness", as this Madlib produced banger is called, is simply a bonus treat for the heads. It was premiered live a while back but here's the real studio version. Enjoy the realness and pre-order the full length album @ iTunes for digital or head over to RappCats for your physical fix -"The Diary" @ Rappcats . Also check out the final piece of the puzzle that made things possible to release as Dilla intended it - the Hi-Tek produced "Gangsta Boogie" featuring Snoop Dogg and throw your cash up tomorrow. I know I will!

RAEKWON Ft. SNOOP DOGG - "1,2,1,2"

The fourth single from Raekwon's sixth solo offering, "F.I.L.A. (Fly International Luxurious Arts)" just dropped and is a pretty hard hitting cut produced by Scoop Deville. "1,2,1,2", which also features Snoop Dogg, follows the same formula as previous leaks from the upcoming album in that it sees Chef embracing his status as one of the middle-big names in todays commercial rap without coming off as a sell-out. I think the material so far has been quite decent but I can't say I'm very hyped about the project either... We'll see...

SNOOP DOGG / MADLIB - "Cadillacs"

Wait, what's this - Snoop Dogg on The Lost Tapes in 2014? You're goddamn right, he's super commercial and has a back catalouge that consists of at least 50% BS in my humble opinion, but when the West Coast legend finally gets a beat from The Loop Digga himself you know it's getting posted. "Cadillacs" is a funky ass joint made to bump in the car, whose funky beats evokes some of 'Lib's earlier productions for the likes of Tha Liks and other. This is lifted from Tha Dogg's freshly released DJ Drama hosted "Thats My Work Pt. 3" which is available now @ DatPiff.

R0BERT GLASPER x 2 (Norah Jones, Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco, Luke James)

Yeah I know this is more or less strictly a hip-hop blog, but it's also my blog and as I'm a big fan of jazz, soul, some rock, and even some classical beside true school hip-hop you can count on any new material from Rober Glasper and his Experiment band getting pushed on The Lost Tapes. "Black Radio" from early 2012 was a very dope album that had its roots in jazz, soul and hip-hop, and the remix album "Black Radio: Recovered" were even iller. If you've paid attention you know that The Robert Glasper Experiment is soon to release the sequel to the aforementioned album, and with four singles released so far this is shaping up to be just as good, if not better, than the original installment.

 

Signed to Blue Note Records, the "Black Radio" series is moving away from Glasper's three debuting albums as he had ditched the majority of the accoustic instruments and replaced the piano trio with a bigger band that all embraces electronic instruments. Following "Calls" (w. Jill Scott), "Somebody Else" (w. Emelie Sande) and "I Stand Alone" (w. Common), the fourth and fifth singles sees Glasper and The Experiment team up with beautiful singer Norah Jones ("Let it Ride"), and Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco & Luke James ("Perserve"), respectively. My favorite soul-jazz album of last year was without a doubt the "Black Radio: Recovered" mini album, and "Black Radio 2" might very well hold down that same position in 2013. The album drops October 29!