Sade - The Moon and The Sky (Remix) [feat. Jay-Z]

My first memories of Sade take me back to grade school, driving in my mom's car, me staring out the window listening to her sing along to "Smooth Operator". While I think my mom would be much less down with the Jigga Man than her favorite smooth-soul fox, this Sade remix takes me to that same wistful place, routines connected to an observation of how we're all connected to each other, what was once possible, and where our journeys have taken us today. I ain't gon let you go.

The Moon And The Sky (Remix Featuring JAY Z) by SadeOfficial

Jeremiah Jae - Rappayamatantra EP

Chicago-native Jeremiah Jae is pure hotness. Blending a unique soft-spoken aesthetic with beautifully constructed beats (which he crafts himself), Jae is a completely new, interesting, and challenging voice in hip hop. Comparisons to Mos Def aside (especially on "$easons") Jae is a talented beatmaker, poet, and wordsmith, as well as a practiced musician in several disciplines. His latest, the Rappayamatantra EP, is a bridge between his previous work and his upcoming LP. Highlights include "$easons" and "Vertical Pupils". Click the name of the album link for more information and a full track listing. Video for "$easons" above, "Vertical Pupils" below.

Department of Sound - My Life

Although just a cursory demo track, Department of Sound have truly tapped into something beautiful with "My Life", a single recently released on the duo's blog. Comprised of MC Mellow Marsh and beat-smith Tristan Reveur, Department of Sound pairs a Northwest fresh flow with an organically created beat (Reveur is an accomplished guitar player and musician) to express a yearning creative streak. It's pos-vibe for sure, a song capable of brightening a day. As the vocal sample used as a hook in the chorus speaks, "If you're not making someone else's life better, than you're wasting your time." This is definitely not a waste of time. This is clearly a demo track, and has it's shortcomings, but I believe its a sign of good things to come. Stay tuned.

My Life by Department of Sound

Deltron 3030 - Deltron Event II

 

New Deltron album coming soon? Hallelujah.

BBU - No Pictures (Feat. Das Racist)

 

First of all, who knew The Hood Internet did more than mashups. This beat is hot though, and I'd love to see them doing more original productions if this is what they sound like.

As far as the entire song goes, I have to agree with Pitchfok, this one's a "love-it-or-hate-it" kinda deal. With that said, I didn't like it the first time I heard it, but after a couple listens I got into it, and now I really like it. For those of you that haven't heard of BBU before (like me), their official name is Bin Laden Blowin Up, and they're a hip hop group out of Chicago (just like The Hood Internet). On this track, they trade verses with Das Racist, dropping pop culture references out the ass while the same time keeping the level of social critique Das Racist is so well known for.

BBU - No Pictures (Feat. Das Racist)

BRAND NEW!: A-Trak - Ray Ban Vision (Remix) [Feat. Donnis, Pill, Danny Brown & CyHi Da Prynce]

A-Trak's remix of his banger "Ray Ban Vision" just dropped (litererally... he released it at noon) and it's a bangerrrr. He's enlisted some of the biggest upcoming names in hip hop to give us all new verses, retaining CyHi only on the chorus. Fortunately, A-Trak also avoided one of my biggest pet peeves in music, which is rappers releasing remixes of tracks which just add verses and don't change the production at all. Yeah, sometimes if I don't like the original verses and the new ones are raw then I don't mind, but usually it's just boring. Here, A-Trak has kept the original beat that made the song so great, but added in some scratches and a couple breaks between the chorus and each verse. Take notes aspiring remixers, this is the right way to do it.

You can download the track for free over at A-Trak's Facebook page. Just click the like button, and you've got yourself a link to one of the freshest remixes of the year so far.

DOWNLOAD

Burial - Street Halo EP

So Pitchfork, in all of there blogging wisdom has been blowing this track up recently. However, unlike the usual Pitchfork hype mechanizations, which can be shitty and WAY too hip, this EP actually deserves every ounce of accolade it has received so far. The three track Hyperdub release is a masterpiece, and is some of the first solo Burial material released in years. Burial essentially invented the dirty-dark-dub sound, and its lovely to hear him reinvent some of his own sounds while still staying just so, well... Burial. The A-Side of the record is available for listen below on a high quality vinyl rip.
Burial - Street Halo by casketcrashvigil

The Profits - Hello

 

Let me introduce you to three wise men known as The Profits. MCs Chip Locke and Nick Kahl hold down the mic, and their beats are provided courtesy of Kill The Hunter (Lane Mueller to his friends). You guys have seen Chip on here before (for his record "All That" which also features Kahl), and it certainly won't be the last time.

This track is the first leak off their upcoming debut mixtape, A Fictional Autobiography, and happens to be the only track not produced by Kill (This ones got a guy named MG on the boards). The tape drops at the end of this month, and Chip's second solo mixtape is set to drop this summer (He says we should cross our fingers for July).

Don't forget to show these guys love on Facebook, which has links to Chip's solo page where you can find a whole bunch more music, including a bunch of features by Nick and Kill.

The Profits - Hello by Chip Locke

TiRon & Ayomari - What You Waiting On

Sorry it's been a couple days guys, spring break and the beginning of the term have been super busy. We're back and better than ever though!

I hadn't heard of either TiRon or Ayomari until yesterday, when this video popped up on one of the music forums I read. After doing some research, it looks to me like these are two guys you're gonna wanna keep your eyes on. They're two young rappers out of LA, and have been working with artists like Blu, and Pac Div. If this video is a good indication of what their music sounds like, I'm gonna be all over the rest of their work. I would probably have downloaded their discographies already if it weren't for some space issues I'm having with my computer (aka I have too much music and my hard drive is full).

Back to the video though... Pretty original storyline for the video; I love the idea and it was filmed really well. Although the running makes for not the best lip syncing I've ever seen, they hold it together well enough (which is better than I could probably have done). These two are talented lyricists, and this track is definitely a motivational anthem. Go snag it now... What you waiting on?

TiRon & Ayomari - What You Waiting On

Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks (Star Slinger Remix)

Not to be a one note blog or anything, but this new Star Slinger banger is several forms of off the fuckin chain. To top it off, it's officially my spring break as of fourteen minutes ago. So kick back, crack a beer or two, blow a smoke, and vibe to this track. "Love is a trip, but fuckin is a sport. Is there Asian girls here? Minority report!"