P-Money Ft. Fashawn & Freddie Gibbs

Duck Down's latest signee, producer P-Money follows up his previous collabos with Roc Marciano, and the one with Havoc and Skyzoo with "Break it Down", the second single from his forthcoming D.D. release "Gratitude". Two of the finest emcees of the younger generation spits bars over P's hot production here; Freddie Gibbs and Fashawn, so you know you can't go wrong with that.

Fokis & Focus Ft. Maffew Ragazino & Asha - "Girl"

Lower East Side emcee Fokis has been bringing some marvelous shit to the table over the last couple of years with his many collaborations with Sadat X and Brand Nubian, leading up to his superb Old School homage tape "A Vintage State of Mind" (search for it if you haven't heard it, well worth it). Aftermath's Focus.. is another very interesting carachter who sure as hell know how to cook up a dope beat; not to mention Brownsville's rising star Maffew Ragazino. Together with singer Asha, they all come together for the new single "Girl" which is lifted from the upcoming retail version of Fokis & Focus.. acclaimed internet project "20/20". The new version will feature five new songs, including this one, and guest features from Livin' Proof, Young Dre The Truth, Stryfe and Mistah F.A.B. The LP will be on sale via Loyalty Digital Corp Ent. on April 23.

[Mixtape] SUBSTANTIAL - "Jackin' Jill: A Tribute"

Mello Music Group signee and often overlooked emcee Substantial was facing the possibility of cancer. Luckily, he was able to do a preventive surgery which gave him his strength and health back, and also lead to his next project; a tribute to one of his biggest influences, the beautifully voiced soul artist Jill Scott. Hip-hop heads will recognize her unique voice from her work with artists like The Roots, Common, Pharoahe Monch and Lupe Fiasco not to mention her two breakthrough albums which was executively produced by Jazzy Jeff and his A Touch Of Jazz - "Who is Jill Scott?" and "Experience Jill Scott". 

All this influenced Substantial to the point of wanting to make a complete album, called "Jackin' Jill" to celebrate the soul goddess, even hand drawing the cover himself. The tribute LP itself is built from "jackin' " music from various Scott releases, creating a collection of reworks and remixes mixed and blended by DJ Jav. The 17 tracks are totally free and if you're really feeling it, a free promotional CD will be sent out to those who pick up the emcee's recent "Home is Where the Art is" on LP or CD. Let's get it on...

Marco Polo Ft. Lil' Fame - "Fame For President"

If things keep coming at this rate, there's a good case for Marco Polo being the most interesting producer of 2013. As you know he's releasing his sequel to one of the best producers album of all time, "Port Authority", this year and as if that wasn't enough, he's even releasing a full "street LP" worth of material that didn't fit the final product for one reason or another. The name of that street album/mixtape is "Newport Authority" and from the five leaks we've heard so far, including this new monster with Lil' Fame, it is probably shitting over 99% of producer albums out there. So far we've got collaborations with Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, The Artifacts and now this fat tape with Slap called "Fame For President"; displaying a emcee/producer chemistry rarely equalled. And just like on the other singles, the immaculate turntbale work by Shylow takes it even a step higher.

J-LIVE - "The Fun Razor"

New J-Live is always more than welcome, and his first official single in 2013 is called "The Fun Razor". Packed with the usual tight delivery, double entendres and complex metaphors, the former teacher here continues his mission to do what is even possible with the english language. In the meantime, I can also announce that Mr. Live has opened up a new webpage for all his followers, RealJLive.com, and he's also promising a lot of new music soon to come so stay tuned. This new single sees the triple threat going all out, as in Produced by J-Live, cuts by J-Live and vocals by J-Live. Stream below, but if you want to give the $1 it cost to support, do so at Bandcamp . Enjoy!

[Out Now] PMD x SNOWGOONS - "The Goondox"

Since his split with Erick Sermon, living legend PMD has been behind several interestinng projects in his own name during the years; from superb solo albums like "Shade Business" and "The Awakening" to full collaborations with DJ Honda. After the half-succesful reuion of EMPD., Parrish is now again back on his own, this time backed up by German production crew The Snowgoons, who not too long ago gave M.O.P. their "Sparta", and rapper Sean Strange on a full-length titled "Welcome to the Goondox". As far as I know, only two tracks has been leaked in promotion for the album which is out today. You can check out the snippets below the tracklist while you order your copy @ UGHH (CD) or iTunes (deluxe).

01. "Intro (Hit Squad Arilines)"

02. "Welcome to the Goondox)"

03. "All Around the World"

04. "New Box (Signature Sound)" (Ft. Sicknature)

05. "No Time to Look Back)

06. "Bang Out Remix)" (Ft. Smoothe Da Hustler & NO The God)

07. "Weather the Storm" (Ft. Scott G)

08. "Forever til' Death" (Ft. Swift of D12, Stress, NO The God, Chief Kamachi...)

09. "Stand Up (For The Love of Hip-Hop)

10. "All Or Nothing"

11. "Goondox Saints" (Ft. Reef The Lost Cauze, Esoteric, Scott G...)

12. "The Chase"

13. "Raps Of The Titans" (Ft. Swollen Members, Jus Allah, Jaysaun...)

14. "Living The Life"

[Video] ILL BILL - "Paul Balloff"

"Paul Baloff" is one of the huge amount of brilliant joints found on "The Grimey Awards", Ill Bill's recent album which to me is also his best; possibly only rivaled by the DJ Muggs collaboration. There's been a lot of videos from the project so far, and here's another one; a cartoon video directed by MoreFrames. More than videos, there's also a plethora of some of the best producers in the game on there, and the knocking "Paul Bekoff" is produced by Premier protogé MoSS. In case you have already not supported Bill and his cause, you can order the album with a few bonus tracks @ iTunes but if you are like me, and want physical copies of the album, its available on both CD and 2xLP at UGHH or  Ill Bill's Official Website.

EL-P / KILLER MIKE - ""Banana Clipper"

Letting the world famous Def Jux maestro produce the entirety of the southern emcee's recent album "R.A.P. Music" couldd really have gone either way considering their equally distinctive sound.. Luckily it was pretty damnn awesome, and have been spun plenntly since it was released.. I'd even go as far as saying that, tied with the jazz fusion project "High Water Music" with the jazz-sextet Blue Series Continuum, that "R.A.P." is El-Producto's finest work since 2001's "The Cold Vein" for Can O.

With that being said, I'm pleased that announced that yet another collaboration between the pair has surfaced, entitled "Banana Clipper". It's just a snippet for now (though a 1:30 at that), which points it to be a forthcoming single from a second collaboration between P and The Killer. Can't wait, because this is sounding FAT. If that's the case, then one important ddifference is that El-P will also share mic uties with Mike... Can't front on that ("Cancer 4 Cure" was to me, El's finest lyrical output yet so he's still improving, despite being a very compotent rhymer from the onset).

[Album Stream] GHOSTFACE x ADRIAN YOUNGE - "12 Reasons to Die"

It's finally here! The super anticipated new LP from Ghostface Killah, completely produced by Adrian Younge and overseen by The RZA himself. The album is out on wax and CD the 16:th of this month, but already now Soul Temple Records has unleased a digital stream of the entire LP for our enjoyment, something that has definitely made my night a lot more exciting. I haven't started listening yet, but if it's consistent with the four singles available, this got a good shot at being the best Ghostface album in many years, and that's saying a lot for someone as incredible as Ghost. Enjoy and click here if you encounter any problem with the music player below!

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SHORTKUT & RHETTMATIC - Live Set @ SXSW

The Beat Junkie DJ's Rhettmatic and Shortkut releases the audio from their blazing set at lost month's SXSW party featuring classic soul, funk and hip-hop. Only the first ten tracks are listed but there's of course a lot more included in this 70 minutes heat race. Spotted @ Okayplayer.

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