The Militia - "Never Ending Saga"

The Militia is a dope producer on the up rise, representing South Africa. In September he's preparing his debut EP to be titled "Timeless Classic", and if this first single works as an indication of what to expect then that could be a fitting title. On "Never Ending Saga" The Miltia is joined by heavy rhyme hitters Rome Clientel, Mo The General and Sparkington who all bless the cut. The EP will also features additional guests in the form of DJ Rated X, Skyzoo, Peter Gunz, Statik Selektah, and Weatherproof. You can follow #TheMiltiaMusic @ Twitter and stay tuned for more info!

THE MILTIA x ROME CLIENTEL x MO THE GENERAL x SPARKINGTON - "NEVER ENDING SAGA"

[Tracklist] Skyzoo - "A Dream Deferred"

Skyzoo clearly isn't planning to slow down anytime soon; the latest project from the Brooklyn emcee is a full-length album titled "A Dream Deferred". We already heard the first single, "Jansport Strings", which sounds promising enough and with the usual suspects like 9th Wonder, Illmind, Best Kept Secret and Black Milk helping out, this will not go unnoticed. October 2 on Duck Down!

01. "Dreams In A Basement" (Ft. Jill Scott) [prod. by !llmind]

02. "Jansport Strings (One Time for Chi-Ali)" [prod. by 9th Wonder]
03. "Pockets Full" (Ft. Freeway) [prod. by !llmind]
04. "Give It Up" (Ft. DJ Prince) [prod. by !llmind]

05. "Glass Ceilings" [prod. by !llmind]

06. "Range Rover Rhythm" [prod. by Jahlil Beats]
07. "The Knowing" (Ft. Jessy Wilson) [prod. by Eric G]
08. "Drew & Derwin" (Ft. Raheem Devaughn) [prod. by Focus]
09. "Realization" (Ft. Jared Evan) [prod. by DJ Khalil]
10. "The Rage of Roemello" [prod. by DJ Khalil]
11. "How To Make It Through Hysteria" [prod. by Best Kept Secret]

12. "Steel’s Apartment" [prod. by Black Milk]
13. "Spike Lee Was My Hero" (Ft. Talib Kweli) [prod. by Tall Black Guy]

14. "The Cost Of Sleep" [prod. by Tall Black Guy]

[Mixtape] MC EIHT - "Allstarz & Strapz Vol. 3"

While the looong wait for MC Eiht's higly anticipated "Which Way iz West" continues, still without no end in sight, the West Coast OG delivers a potent mixtape featuring a lot of sick, previously unreleased material. Mixed and hosted by DJ Nik Bean, the tape features production by Brenk Sinatra and DJ Premier, and guest apperances from Xzibit and Young Maylay amongst others. Check it out below.. GEAH!!

01. "I Need That"
02. "Picture Me"
03. "You Don't Know Me (Warzone)"
04. "We On"
05. "Need Air" (Ft. Xzibit)
06. "Give That Up" [ECMP Ft. Bigg Rocc]
07. "Head Tight" [ECMP Ft. Daddy Rich]
08. "Hold 1 (1st Generation)"
09. "Let Me Get 2 It"
10. "One Ref"
11. "Real Niggaz" [ECMP Ft. Big2DaBoy & Ace]
12. "Start Sum Chit"
13. "Stand Up"
14. "Succ Me" [ECMP]
15. "Where We Go" [DJ Premier Remix]
16. "Who Run the Block" (Ft. Young Maylay)

MC EIHT - "ALLSTARZ & STRAPZ VOL. 3"

[CDQ] ChrisCo x eLzhi x Jon Connor - "Straight Up"

Wow, superb joint that boosts a crazy line-up and smooth but banging production and cuts by DJ Premier. ChrisCo has dropped a lot of interesting stuff the last year, so I'm stoked to see what he'll cook up the time comes for him to drop the debut LP. "Straight Up" will officially be released as a digital single tomorrow, but thanks to Gim and the DJPremierBlog we already now got a rip of the premier from Saturday's LiveFromHQ show.

EDIT - The single has now been released without tags and in full CD quality version. The ID3 tag says it's from a project titled "MI State Of Mind" so stay tuned for more info on that release. Link to the new file added below.

CHRISCO x ELZHI x JON CONNOR - "STRAIGHT UP"

Raw Poetic & K-DEF - "Stealin' Bread"

K-DEF, who long has been one of my favorite producers, has been on a roll since he joined the Redefinition Records roster. I got all the releases so far and will definitely pick up his two latest 45:s as well. The first is a three track EP with Raw Poetic, who previously collaborated on 'Def's "Night Shift" EP/LP. The second 7" single also has three tracks, with the joint "Ghetto Man's Hideout" as the A-side. You can now order and listen to snippets for both @ Redef's site: "Ghetto Man's Hideout" and "Easy Way Out" w. Raw Poetic. The B-side for the latter, "Stealin' Bread" can be streamed and downloaded for free below.

Karriem Riggins prepares "Alone Together" LP

As a huge fan of both hip-hop and jazz, Karriem Riggins' has always been a musician and producer I held in the higest regards. ?uestlove is most often given the title of "best hip-hop drummer", but if that's the case then Riggins sure ain't far away. Besides providing impeccable drumming on hip-hop classics by Common, Jay Dee, Erykah Badu and Percee P, he has also performed and recorded with people like Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, Herbie Hancock, and even Paul McCartney. 

For Riggins' forthcoming official solo debut, "All Alone", the focus will be on his work as a hip-hop producer, and combines 34 exclusive instrumentals in a "The Beat Konducta"/"Donuts" fashion. The qualiy of his past work points towards good results coming out of this, after all Riggins' was he one Jay Dee trusted to complete his final release, "The Shining", which was about 75% completed when he departed from this world. If you want to hear a good mix of his production work, peep the "Karriem Riggins Produced This" podcast from Stones Throw.

PRE-ORDER KARRIEM RIGGINS' "ALL ALONE"

Freestyle Professors drops "Devastating" EP

It's always a blessing when any of those acts that had a classic 12", LP or EP back in the early to mid '90s resurfaces and reedems the career tha early release should have warranted them. One of the best examples of this is Freestyle Professors, who has come back strong both as a music group and as a stellar underground label in the later 2000s. Their 2009 LP "Gryme Tyme" brought back the gritty D.I.T.C. sound better than any of the actual Diggin' members themeselves has managed to do in the last few years (it should be noted that all their producers put in work on said album though). Since then several quality EP:s, 12"s and limited vinyl been coming from Freestyle Records. 

The latest gang of releases includes the very solid looking "Devastating" completely produced by Branesparker. Guesting on the 6 tracks are Blaq Poet, Stanley Grimes, AG, Sadat X, Giff, B.A.M.,  Lord Tariq and Akbar, so this should definitely be worth the $15 it costs you. If you got some extra cash you can also choose to pick up the EP in a limited double package with an exclusive 7" and an additional 12" EP of unearthed late '80s tracks by the Bronx artists Magnificent Shakeem, also produced by Branesparker. 

01. "Devastating" (Ft. Sadat X & Stanley Grimes)
02. "Subway Series" (Ft. Blaq Poet & Giff)
03. "Rebuild Them" (Ft. B.A.M.)
04. "Devastating" [Instrumental]
05. "Come On" (Ft. AG, Lord Tariq, Akbar, Giff, Stanley Grimes & Hot Ice)
06. "Proverbs" [Sun God Remix]
07. "Come On" [Instrumental]

ORDER FREESTYLE PROFESSORS' "DEVASTATING" EP
ORDER "DEVASTATING" / "MAGNIFICENT SHAKEEM"

[LP STREAM] JJ DOOM - "KEY TO THE KUFFS"

LEX Records is returning back to their hip-hop roots with the release of MF DOOM and Jnerio Janel's "Key to the Kuffs" album on August 20. A few days ago, I took a look at all the singles so far and observed how everything sounded great so far. Now we are able to hear the full project in advance, via Lex's Soundcloud page. I haven't listened yet but will definitely do so before the night is over, and I hope to be blown away. You can pre-order the album @ UGHH now. Shouts to Quasimoto.

1. "Waterlogged"
2. "Gov'nor"
3. "Banished"
4. "Bite the Thong" (Ft. Damon Albarn)
5. "Rhymin' Slang"
6. "Dawg Friendly"
7. "Borin Convo"
8. "Snatch That Dough"
9. "GMO" (Ft. Beth Gibbons)
10. "Bout the Shoes"
11. "Winter Blues"
12. "Still Kaps" (Ft. Khujo Goodie)
13. "Retarded Fren"
14. "Viberian Sun Part II"
15. "Wash Your Hands"

JJ DOOM - "KEY TO THE KUFFS" @ DANKTUNES

Purpose & Confidence + Cormega / Estee Nack - "Vision Of Excellence"

Purpose (of Tragic Allies), who produced a lot of crazy shit on "On The Verge" mixtape, hooks up with fellow boom bap specialist Confidence (of Rashad & Confidence) for a joint producer LP titled "The Purpose of Confidence". This very promising project will be released via the stellar Ill Adrenaline Records and will hopefuly be out soon (no word on the date yet). For the first single the duo brings in Cormega and Estee Nack of Tragic Allies for a real sure shot banger. Check out the clean version below and head over to iTunes to show your support.

Oxygen - "Idealism" [1990 Demo Version]

Lost Tapes favorite Oxygen just dropped this gem over @ his Soundcloud page. Dating back to 1990 and his early alias Jonzhaft The Psychopath, "Idealism" is a song that later would later be reworked and released as a B-side to a 12" single two years later. Funky ish and sick to hear Ox was killing it way back then!