SUPA DAVE WEST - "Let's Rock"

I always felt that Supa Dave West always been a bit too overlooked a producer amongst hip-hop heads despite lacing countless classics for De La Soul as well as ocassional bangers for J Dilla, Ghostface, Planet Asia, Phife Dawg, E-40, Talib Kweli, Masta Killa, Slum Village and more. Therefore I'm real glad to announce that the live drummer and producer is finally coming into his own, working on several solo projects and hooking up with quality label Redefinition Records. First out is the instrumental concept LP "Beat Boxing" which is set for an August 19 release. This will be followed by the companion piece "Spit Boxing" which will be an emcee record and the third installment in this trilogy will be a breakbeat record entitled "Chop Sticks". As if that wasn't enough he's also hard at work on the next De La album, got LP:s with yU and Blu in the work and has recently been in the studio with Faith Evans. In other words, there's a lot to get hyped about here - and the first single from "Beat Boxing", "Let's Rock", is promising great things. Check it out above and pre-order @ iTunes (where you can also see the tracklist). Vinyl and cassette editions will drop via Redef in September so stay tuned for more info on that!

[Album] AKROBATIK - "Built to Last"

Right from its first and up to its final days; I can't remember the last tme I almost exclusively listened to new hip-hop music in my IPod. On May 28 skilled Boston spitter Akrobatik released his third album as a solo artist, "Built to Last", and like its predecessor it's straight-up hardcore hip-hop filled to the limits with tight flows, knocking punchlines, sample-driven boom ba and a whole lot of turntable works. It's music from one hip-hop connoisseur to others, and the result is for the most part well worth several spins. Guests include Masa Ace, EDO G, Mr. Lif, Reks, Chilla and Dutch ReBelle. There's no question that its Akrobatik and his producers and DJ that are the real stars of the show though - providing production DJ Supa Dave, Reason, Paten Locke, Slopfunkdust, and a few others. Stream and/or purchase the dgital through Akrobatik's Bandcamp.

J DILLA - "The Doe"

I've really been up on my DiLLA shit again lately, catching some inspiration from Jordan Ferguson's page-turning meditation on "Donuts" for the 33 1/3 series, and I can't wait to hear his still unreleased MCA album from 2002 in all of it's original glory. Rappcats and Pay Jay Records have so far released three vinyl EP:s with tracks from the original sessions - including the Supa Dave West produced "The Doe" which is available on the "Give 'Em What They Want" 12".