DR. DRE, KURUPT & PETE ROCK - Freestyle Session

Dr. Dre had Kurupt and Pete Rock up on his Beats 1 radio show last night and this trio of legend burst into a freestyle session over some exclusive beats. Both tracks sounds more like Pete Rock joints to me, either way this is a great musical moment right here. Check it out.

[Stream] LINKAN (of SIDE EFFECTZ) - "Almighty Bigalizer"

As noted before Swedish emcee and Side Effectz front-man Linkan unleashes his debut album as a solo artist today, November 26. Consisting of 11 strong tracks, "Almighty Bigalizer" connects Linkan's love for the gritty boom bap sounds of hip-hop's golden age with his well documented knack for writing introspective and socially conscious rhymes. Production comes from a wide range of sources of young up and coming producers representing various parts of Europe which adds an extra dimension to the project.

You can stream the album via Bandcmap (below) or Spotify - a link for purchasing the 180 grams vinyl drop will be up any minute so I'll edit this post as soon as it is available (check out the test press). TURN IT UP!!

[EP] J57 & KONCEPT - "The Fuel"

Brown Bag All-Stars member J57 is one of the few newer producers to really impress me with a steady stream of solid material these last couple of years. Here he connects with fellow New York artist Koncept for "The Fuel" EP, an eight songs strong new project that has been in the works for quite some time if I understand it correctly. The EP is available to purchase via iTunes right now and you can stream it in its entirety below. Enjoy!

NAS - "In Between Us" [OG Verse] (2001)

In 2001 Nas and Jay-Z where at the height of their famous feud - perhaps the last interesting hip-hop beef - and each released an album to receive the rare 5 mics review in The Source. The only emcee to have both artists as featured guests on his album was Scarface for his incredible "The Fix" LP, which incidentally also received 5 mics. "In Between Us" is one of my favorite joints on that album as both Nas and Scarface turns in absolute monster performances.. However, reading 'Face's autobiography (an excellent read) he revealed that Nas originally submitted a different verse for the song - one in which 'Face felt he had some thinly veiled disses aimed towards Jigga which led to him asking Nas to submit a different verse. So yesterday I stumbled across this little gem that you hear above. It's been out for years but since I'm not a big fan of blend mixtapes and the like I never checked it out. This appeared on Mick Boogie and Joey Fingaz "God's Gift" mix but you'll hear a different Nas verse that was obviously written in 2001 as parts of the lyrics would be re-used for "One Never Knows" and "Ether", respectively. My best guess is that this is the original verse that Nas submitted for "The Fix" album and as such it's pretty damn crazy to hear this... You can cut it off after the first verse and hook though as there's no need to hear Jay-Z strangely blended into this in my opinion.

LINKAN (of Side Effectz) - "Youthman"

As promised, another ill single to hold us over for the first solo album from Side Effectz Linkan, "Almighty Bigalizer". The international collaboration holds up as one of my personal favorites from the LP with it's melodic yet hard hitting backdrop (courtesy of producer Philantrophe) works as a perfect canvas for Linkan and Rusty Label's Antone Mecca. Check out the tracklist for the album which will be available this Thursday on 180 gram vinyl delivered within a sick gatefold cover.

1 Introlude (Produced by AsfaltAllan)

2 Småland Stylee (Produced By Juancan)

3 What's Going On? (Produced By Ko Albrecht)

4 Interbeing's Revenge (Produced By Ko Albrecht)

5 MFD (Produced By Blezz)

6 Stand Clear (Featuring Locsta, Produced By King P Pete)

7 Anybody Out There? (Produced By Romero & Juancan)

8 Insane (Featuring Locsta, produced By Daniel El Campeon)

9 Turn It Up (Featuring Locsta, produced By Ko Albrecht)

10 Youthman (Featuring Antone Mecca, Produced By Philanthrope)

11 Another Lullaby (Produced By Philanthrope)

12 Salute (Produced By King P Pete)

LINKAN (of SIDE EFFECTZ) - "Småland Stylee"

You heard the banging audio before, now Linkan lets loose of the visual companion to "Småland Stylee", the first single from his upcoming solo album "Almighty Bigalizer". The album will be available on wax next Friday but before then we should have time for one more single so check back for more heat next week. Track produced by fellow Side Effectz member Juancan; video directed by Markus.

RAPPER BIG POOH & NOTTZ - "300Z"

As a big fan of producer Nottz I've been eagerly anticipating his full-on collaboration with former Little Brother emcee Rapper Big Pooh and having now listneed to "Home Sweet Home" in its entirety I can safely say that the project does not dissapoint. Check out the entire album for yourself via Bandcamp below, peep the visuals for the latest single "300z" up top and head over to UGHH and order yourself a copy of this gem on CD or LP.

TORAE - "Get Down" [prod. by PETE ROCK]

I was a huge fan of Torae and Pete Rock's previous collaboration together, "That Raw", so seeing that they are back at it again definitely peaked my interest. Titled "Get Down" this is further proof that a Torae produced Pete Rock album would be kind of fucking marvelous. This will appear on the Barrel Brother's upcoming new LP which is entitled "Entitled" - stay tuned and check out both the track and the BTS video posted up top.

KRS-ONE - "Sound Man"

You got to love KRS-One, at times he can be relatively quiet music wise for a couple of years then he can just hit stride and drop album after album (of course of varying quality). I was actually just wondering when Kris was about to drop something recently and then a couple of days ago he hit us with "Drugs Won" which I thought was pretty dope. Now he's back with a new single as well as the announcement of a new LP called "Now Hear This" which is dropping on November 24. The second single is titled "Sound Man" and is produced by DJ Static. Check it out, and read more @ the official Bandcamp. 

FREDDIE GIBBS x BLACK THOUGHT - "Extradite"

Brand new single from Freddie Gibbs' upcoming album "Shadow Of A Doubt", available on November 20, which features the always incredible Black Thought. These guys makes for a really strong lyrical back and forth here, and as they are getting in over a Nautilus sample hooked up by Mikhail and co-produced by Sid "Speakerbomb" Miller. You can pre-order the album @ iTunes now. Enjoy!