Oddisee has blessed Finale with a nice beat for Just Due, taken from his upcoming Odds & Ends album. It also features Homeboy Sandman, making for one formidable team. Listen below, and keep an eye out for that Finale album when it comes this August.
Author: Staff Writers
Why Ice Cube being back in N.W.A. is equal parts dope and awkward
The recent BET Awards saw N.W.A. reunite on stage for the first time in years, as part of the promotional grind for new film Straight Outta Compton.
Dr Dre was absent, and with Eazy-E long since passed, and Yella never having been the most charismatic of performers, it was a cut-price N.W.A, left to just Ice Cube and MC Ren to carry the entire legacy. From the videos that emerged online, it was largely disappointing, but not a bad effort considering what they had to work with.
What stands out most is how weird it is to see Ice Cube performing those old gangsta tracks in 2015.
Like LL Cool J, Cube is now so far removed from who he was in the N.W.A. days, and that’s not a bad thing. He’s now a family man making family films. Shit, he even hangs out with Elmo. Switching from that back to the man who rapped so aggressively and explicitly on classics like Fuck Tha Police, Straight Outta Compton and Gangsta Gangsta, is a giant leap.
That’s not to say that the likes of Cube and LL should hide from who they once were. These are two of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time (LL arguably the greatest, at least in terms of longevity), and for hip-hop fans they will always be emcees first, actors second.
But perhaps spare a thought for little Elmo when he watches the BET awards and sees his buddy kicking rhymes about AK-47s and bitches in biker shorts. No one wants the kids putting on Sesame Street and finding that the word of the day is Gangbang.
As for the no-show from Dre? Too busy counting them billions. Its a shame though, because that really could have been something special. We should probably just be glad they avoided bringing Eazy back with one of those tacky hologram joints.
Straight Outta Compton hits cinemas August.
Stig of The Dump ‘- ‘Kubrick’ feat. Jehst
UK hip-hop stalwarts Stig of The Dump and Jehst join forces for this incredible video that pays homage to the many classic films of Stanley Kubrick. The music is awesome too, and the track is taken from Stig’s new album, Kubrick.
Bedlam Brethren – ‘When The Sun Speaks’
Bedlam Brethren is a duo consisting of NYC rapper Udi The Erratic Assassin and Indiana-based emcee Merc Versus. When The Sun Speaks is from upcoming album Instruments of Cruelty, and you can listen below.
MeRCY – ‘Eagle Eye View’ feat. Sean Price
Sean Price features on this brooding new track from MeRCY, taken from his recent new album The Prestige 3. The Heltah Skeltah man steals the show as always, and you can check it out for yourself on the link below.
Listen here.
Blu – ‘Thriller’
Blu is back with a new EP named The Return, and has dropped this single from it. As always with Blu, its pretty dope, and it’s good to have him back. Listen to Thriller below, then go get the rest of the EP.
Madlib – ‘African Earwax’
The Beat Konducta Madlib has unleashed a new edition of the Mind Fusion series, named African Earwax. A tiny run of 30 physical copies were manufactured and snapped-up at a recent Rappcats pop-up shop in L.A., complete with hand-drawn designs from MF Doom cover artist Jason Jegel, but you can stream the whole thing in its digital form below. Dope as always.
Listen here.
Juju Rogers – ‘Dreams’ feat. Oddisee
Oddisee is a busy man these days, but has somehow squeezed in time to guest on this nice joint from Juju Rogers, charting the stress and strains that go hand-in-hand with trying to make it in the rap game. Its taken from Roger’s From The Life of a Good-For-Nothing album coming soon, and you can listen below.
Akrobatik & LX Beatz – ‘Shotgun’
Akrobatik is back on fine form with this head-nodder from an upcoming album with producer LX Beatz, out of Finland. Watch the video for Shotgun below, and look out for the full project when it drops.
Innocent? – ‘Came Up’ feat. Shabaam Sahdeeq & Tek
Indy legend Shabaam Sahdeeq has hooked up with Innocent? again for new single Came Up, following on from their previous joint a few weeks back, The Zone. Tek from Bucktown’s finest Smif-N-Wessun is on this one too, and its another certified banger. Listen below, and shout us with your comments.