Last summer while on a stop on his Little Ones tour, Bilal and his band of brothers visited the Tom Joyner Morning Show Red Velvet Studio and recorded live acoustic versions of four of his favorite joints off Airtight’s Revenge (below). Now he’s putting out studio recorded versions of the acoustic tracks. These rare one-take masterpieces are the purest kind of goose-bump material. The first rarity in the goodie bag is this sublime rendition of “Think It Over”. Check out both the recorded and live versions of this great song.
London/Ghanaian rapper Donae’o, of “Party Hard” fame, is giving away his Move To Da Gyal DemEP. The collection includes the original percussion-tinged title track, instrumental cuts, plus remixes from Mensah, David Heartbreak, Eddie K and — best of all — Ghana’s Azonto prince Sarkodie‘s reworking.
The countdown to the release of Black Radio has begun with tracks featuring the Robert Glasper Experiment in collaboration with KING, Erykah Badu, Musiq Soulchild, and Chrisette Michelle having been released thus far. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until February for the full release is the constant stream of not only music, but artwork coming out of their creation process. Check out the latest gem, a lyric video to accompany “Ah Yeah” which features RCDC in collaboration with Musiq Soulchild and Chrisette Michelle. The Robert Glasper Experiment’s Black Radio due out February 28th, 2012. Read the rest of this entry »
K’naan is readying the digital More Beautiful Than Silence EP, a follow-up release to his 2010 World Cup anthem “Wavin’ Flag.” K’naan called on some good company for the new batch of tunes, with both Nas and Nelly Furtado making appearances on separate songs on the EP. Watch a clip for the Nasir-featuring cut “Nothing To Lose,” where K’naan raps rocks, chucks and Fugees while Nas spits Somali war lines. And lookout for More Beautiful Than Silence out 1/31.
More Beautiful Than Silence EP
1. “Is Anybody Out There” feat. Nelly Furtado
2. “Nothing to Lose” feat. Nas
3. “More Beautiful Than Silence”
4. “Better”
5. “Coming to America”
Check out this emcee Jay Rox out of Zambia. Things of note in this Lusaka-streets clip: choreographed dancing from a masked trio, one-lens sunglass-rockin’, hoes (not that kind) and an absolute banger of a beat. His album “Vesesani Niza Musekesani” is coming soon.
This cut is a little rough, but I love that beat – a flip of the classic Sweet Charity song. “Big $pender” is slated to be on Theophilus’ upcoming new project, Lovers Holiday II: Rose Island. Below Last Name London and Dat PMF link up in the studio for a cut.
Yasiin Bey (the MC formerly known as Mos Def) is using 2012 for more than just a name change. Just in time for Martin Luther King Day, Bey has announced his Top 40 Underdog series, which will seem him reimagine various Top 40 tracks with all-new, socially conscious freestyles. The first track on the operating table is Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “N!ggas In Paris”, which Bey has transformed into “N!ggas In Poorest”.
One of 2011′s most boastful, bangin’ tracks is now a truly frightening look at modern American culture, from the vanity and depravity of youth to our perpetual sense of economic dread. Bey also demonstrates a new-found level of dementedness, aided in part by some menacing vocal effects, to spin a tale that is the mirror opposite of the original, with loads of dread, a sprinkle of poetic hyperbole, and a heapin’ helping of truth.
This Reflection Eternal track “Ballad Of The Black Gold” is really resonating now with the protests going on in Nigeria resulting from the end of oil subsidies in the naturally rich but economically poor country. I think someone (maybe me?) should put out a mixtape called “The Resource Curse” compiling all of the songs like this.
Tens of thousands of Nigerians took to the streets in cities across the country on Monday to protest a sudden sharp rise in oil prices after the government abruptly ended fuel subsidies. At the same time, a national strike over the oil price increase shut down much of the country.
Protesters held signs with slogans like “Remove Corruption, Not Subsidies” and burned tires in the commercial capital, Lagos, as well as in Abuja, the political capital, and in Kano, a northern metropolis. Several protesters were killed as the police sought to contain the demonstrations, according to multiple news reports.
Analysts said the size and breadth of Monday’s protests were unusual, though previous attempts over two decades to end the annual subsidies, now $7 billion, have also been met with fierce resistance, and the government has always backed down.
Nigeria, one of the world’s leading crude-oil exporters, is forced to import nearly all of its gasoline because the country’s refineries are dysfunctional. The government pays the subsidy to middlemen, who have become extremely wealthy, so that the fuel can then be sold to the public at low rates.
Check out a IIIrd World favorite, and NatGeo’s Song of the Week from Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew. Hailed as “the voice of the voiceless,” Sierra Leone’s Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew count everyone from the Roots, Talib Kweli and K’naan to U2’s Bono among their fans – and they’ll be bringing their socially conscious signature blend of reggae, hip-hop and African soul with their self-titled new album, due out in early 2012.
Though about a week late, here is some new-new from Jean Greasy. This first single from Jean Grae‘s highly anticipated LP, Cake or Death (due out this spring) has a real smooth two step vibe laced with her signature lyricism.
Here is the first track off Theophilus’ LOVERS HOLIDAY II: ROSE ISLAND. For those of ya’ll in the DMV, Theophilus will be playing the 9:30 club on Feb 6th.
For those who are unacquainted, check out KG Omulo hard-hitting Afrofunk. He is heavily influenced by a rural Kenyan childhood spent listening to Motown grooves and East & Western African classics. A subsequent move to the States found him tackling new arrangements alongside some of Central Florida’s chief brass and string players. This guitar-laden, horn infused Ayah Ye! Moving Train debut LP, out today, is streaming below in its entirety, and I’ve also thrown in a clip for album cut “Quality Women.” Enjoy.
Toronto rap group, Notes To Self, brings some frontiersmen ish with these latest set of visuals “All of The Above [BBRC].” Video directed & edited by Benjamin Young Hart. Notes To Self’s new project, Used To Be Dark [Recoil], drops at the end of the month. Here is the backstory to the vid:
Feeling like Frontiersman, we grew our beards and arrived in Mactier at 7:30pm. Cold as f*ck. 4 hour drive North. Pitch black outside. Cabin smelled like pine and rosé. Dropped our bags, chose our beds, Bronze took the air mattress. Half hour till the NBA Dunk-Off. Donk was geeked. Flat screen, satellite, middle-of-nowhere. Heats on. Lee is lit. Drunk off Timbits. Blake Griffin jumps over a car. Here to shoot a music video.
Eric suggested we charge the equipment. Didn’t knock on wood. Inexcusable in a cabin. Power went out. Cold as f*ck. Pitch black inside. Cabin smelled like weed and sulfur. Dropped our plans, went to bed, Bronze froze on the air mattress. 5 hours till daylight. Rosh is lit. Left-over Timbits for breakfast. Last night Blake Griffin jumped over a car. Here to shoot a music video, with Ben to direct. A take on rap’s pioneers, we planned to wear fur. The events that followed were captured on camera; All of the Above took place. This is a true story. *No animals were harmed in the making of this video.
British/Ugandan soul musician Michael Kiwanuka constructs seamless acoustic compositions influenced by old-school greats like Bill Withers and Otis Redding. He recently won accolades as BBC’s Sound of 2012. Michael’s Home Again EP is available now.
Check out this new track from Mr. OK. The Montréal-based Haitian MC’s 2010 EP Ma Mwen (below) proved he could be the guy to bring kreyòl rap to the non-kreyòl speaking world’s attention. He comes strong again with “Wa Wont,” a prelude to OK’s upcoming sophomore EP with producer Freeworm (his primary collaborator on Ma Mwen). Turns out “Wa Wont,” a big anthem over the beat from Childish Gambino’s “Bonfire,” is actually the latest of several leaks posted on the Masalacism blog leading up to the new EP’s release, with each available as a free download for a limited time. And while you’re at it, check out this editorial in the NYtimes about rebuilding Haiti.
Ghanaian pidgin rapper Kay-Ara honed his skills with influences from hiplife pioneer Reggie Rockstone as well as across the ocean icons Tupac and Biggie. In The Reality Show mixtape, Kay spits about “the jigsaw puzzle of his life” tackling both light and heavy subjects of love, karma, and the mental weight surrounding a lover’s abortion. He also rhymes over past and current joints from the likes of Drake, Jeezy and Yeezy. Check out a sample and grab the entire mixtape for below.
Check out Cali emcee Bambu speaking on some of the ills currently plaguing our country, both in domestic and international policy. Video directed by Joshua Weitz.
