Yancey Boy Illa J (aka the younger brother of J Dilla) is back with a video for his Universe single. The laid back, funked out track is a change of pace for the Detroit rapper, but the video is well put together, and sees him get his MJ on as he tries to bag himself a hottie. Watch below.
Author: Staff Writers
STS x RJD2 – ‘Trunk Of My Computer’
Trunk Of My Computer is one of the standout cuts on the brilliant STS x RJD2 album by STS and RJD2, and now there’s a video too. Its nicely done, showing STS on the grind, literally selling out the trunk, old skool style. Watch below, and let us know what you think.
Atmosphere – ‘Sunshine’
Sunshine, from 2007 Atmosphere EP Sad Clown Bad Summer 9, has been given a special new video for the summer. It was created using nothing but solar power, which is pretty impressive. Watch the video and behind-the-scenes clips below. Props to Atmosphere for being environmentally conscious, because lets face it, its not very often we get to describe hip-hop artists as being that.
Homeboy Sandman – ‘Arrows’
After teasing us with new music from Guilty Simpson, Stones Throw Records have now dropped a new joint from Homeboy Sandman. No word if Arrows is from a new project, or just to build hype for HS’s new tour, which starts August 15. Either way, its dope, and you can hear it below.
The Elephunk in the Room: We need to talk About The Black Eyed Peas
A couple of weeks ago, The Black Eyed Peas released a new video. The same The Black Eyes Peas that many moons ago was a genuine hip-hop group, before changing beyond all recognition into a pop act that polarized rap fans.
Nothing strange about that so far. But on closer inspection the new song is without Fergie, references and covers many hip-hop classics, and has a throwback video to match. Oh, and it also happens to be awesome. We let it sit there for a while, but we can’t ignore what just happened any longer.
Here’s the dilemma. As fans of what we all like to call ‘real’ hip-hop (however ridiculous that makes us sound), we can’t possibly like a The Black Eyed Peas song, can we? Of course we can. We’ll just take a bit of time to admit it.
Its easy to blame everything on the evil Fergie, but in reality, the driving force behind the move towards pop has been will.i.am, an artist at times so unbelievably pretentious its a wonder he hasn’t yet disappeared up his own back passage.
But the hark back to their hip-hop roots, and even further back to Golden Era rap, is a curious one. Its difficult to tell if this is a new (or old) direction for the group, sans Fergie, although its hard to imagine they’d turn down further mainstream success just to keep it real for a small section of hip-hop heads. It may also just be part of the celebrations for their 20-years-in-the-game anniversary.
Only time will tell. But one thing can’t be denied: Yesterday is a good record, and its ok to admit it.
If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it here.
The Soloist & Domingo – ‘Backflippin’
Veteran producer Domingo has blessed emcee The Soloist with a supreme selection of rugged beats for this incredible new EP. The New Jersey artist is on point with his verses too, making this a project definitely worth checking out. Stream and buy below, and let us know what you think.
Grand Surgeon – ‘Lit’ feat. Ruste Juxx
This nice banger from Grand Surgeon sees producer Kyo Itachi channel classic DJ Premier beats, providing a dope soundtrack for the verses from GS and Ruste Juxx. It’s taken from the Plastic Surgery album, and you can listen below. Hit us with your thoughts.
Rosewood 2055 – ‘Drive’
We’ve been plugging the shit out of the dope new Hey EP from Rosewood 2055 since it dropped. Here they release another quality video, this time for the single Drive, and it looks as good as it sounds. Watch below, and trust us on that EP if you haven’t heard it yet.
C-Rayz Walz – ‘Blackout’
The Year Of The Beast album from Def Jux era C-Rayz Walz has been repackaged and re-released, and to celebrate there’s a new video for Blackout. Its pretty insane, and you can watch below.
Apollo Brown – ‘Detonate’ feat. M.O.P.
We’ve been looking forward to the new album from beatmaker Apollo Brown for a minute, and if this latest single is a sign of what’s to come, we are now even more hyped. Detonate features M.O.P., and you can listen below. Lookout for Grandeur dropping September 25, with other guests including Your Old Droog, Oddisee, Freddie Gibbs and Evidence.
Listen here (H/T 2DopeBoyz).