new music form the COOL KIDS

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I wrote an article on J.Cole last week for Limite Magazine, and it dawned on me that I hadn't put his mixtape on the site, so here it is!. This guy is definitely a huge talent and a lot of this sucka MC's better step it up. Enjoy.

Full article here.

Download J.Cole- The Warm up

...Everybody get on up...everybody get on up...get up...get on up. The DJ opens up with a historical piece from James Brown as he scratches the record giving the atmosphere the most appropriate hip hop ambience. Stretching his arms over the crowd he introduces an artist baptized in Hip Hops own flow. With no further interruption Q-Tip strolls out onto the stage with the expected nonchalant demeanor and begins to perform like the vet he is. Performing hits from Midnight Marauders, The Low End Theory, and People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm the hundreds of people gathered to see Q-Tip were pleased to see that one of HIP HOP’s icons has still remained true to the game.

Written by Brian Murray

Born into a country in civil war, MIA has taken revolutionary action in the name of injustice, been nominated for Grammy and Academy awards, and touched millions across the globe. She is now dealing with the real world effects of motherhood and the future path of her career. Click here for the full story.

Full story at Spinner.com

Hip Hop mogul Sean Carter has inked a book deal decoding the double entendres buried in the elaborate wordplay of his vast discography. The book breaks down chapter and verse of what the lyrics mean, what people thought they meant, and what came out of them. This is some pretty interesting stuff. Jay elaborate on parallels between Marilyn McCoo and Mrs. Butterworth.

Get the rest of the article here at Complex Magazine

Not really much to say...Enjoy...Shout out to JJ from 3Sidez

Jay-Z gave a world premiere of his new video "D.O.A." the lead single off of his Blueprint 3 album last night after the BET awards and he did not disappoint. Although I've already covered the message and history behind this record in the "48 laws of hip hop", I still wanted to address the video....and it is tough! This is the Jay we all know and love. Super cool, crazy video, bravado on a Billie. Enjoy.

The Hypocrisy of a Nation: The Power of Media

As the world mourns the King of Pop, and music television stations have Michael Jackson tribute shows on repeat, all I can do is shake my head at the hypocrisy of this country. For the last ten years of Michael’s life he endured extreme character assassination. Michael was slandered by American media for years. He was persecuted and ridiculed for his extensive nose jobs, questionable sexuality, skin color, and being an alleged child molester. I was listening to the 98.7 Kiss FM today while writing this and the DJ said, “he was a giant and we should honor him for all time.” Where was the honor when he was in times of despair? Where was his praise then? The most sentient and controversial moments of Michael’s life became the butt of every comedians joke and the blueprint for innumerable sketch comedy shows, but now that he's dead...we're sorry? Michael has said time and time again that he's a perfectionist, and nothing is every perfect enough. So is it possible that Michael tore his body apart to fit into the perfect mold he thought his fans wanted? Is it worth it to dedicate your life to millions of people whom didn't have your best interest at heart? Michael may have been the King of Pop and sold 100 million records, but he died a lonely man. I guess that's the price of fame. The good Michael did heavily out weigh any questionable "bad" and that is what he should be remembered for. Michael is among a handful of artists whose music was powered by an energy that was bigger than them and served a bigger purpose. Michael Jackson wasn’t, R&B, or Pop, or Rock n Roll, or Hip Hop. He was Music. The media was able to destroy this man, like they do so many other people. Again, lets remember not only what Michael has done as an artist, but as a humanitarian.

Up and coming production duo "So Japan", has made their latest musical mark by producing the song "Outti" track 13 on G.O.O.D Music artist Big Sean's latest mixtape Uknowbigsean. The track also features artist Pat Piff, who was recently signed to Pharrell William's STAR TRAK record label. Courcy Magnus and Kyle "Micky Park" Edwards met in college 4 years ago and began experimenting with music. These Philly and Connecticut natives have very distinct styles individually and when they they come together they create a sonically unorthodox, genre breaking, limitless sound full of dirty drums and memorizing melodies. With Courcy currently acting as the solo artist, the impeccable production is developed by both members of the group. They most recently are focusing on Magnus's solo mixtape tenatively titled ,"TV under the bed". They are also working on some songs with the NYC based club hoppers the Retro Kidz who already have a single out entitled New Era. We really look forward to hearing more from So Japan in the future and the highly anticipated mixtape.

In the mean time we have blessed you with a few Courcy Magnus/So Japan unreleased tracks.

1.) The Streets the Runway
2.) Blazed and Confused
3.) Crunches
4.) Another Planet


Pic: Kyle "Mikey Park" Edwards, Russel Simmons, and Courcy Magnus

First and Foremost, I want to say that the new Jay-Z single “Death of Auto Tune” that has been circling the Internet for the past few days is a banger. The production by NO ID is insane. The coliseum ready drums are painted with the brush of a baseline from the 70s, and a cinematic guitar sample. With that being said, lets look beyond the bass clef under the melody into the truth of this record.

The producer of this record is NO ID, Kanye’s mentor. It’s also rumored that Kanye helped produce the track. Now, being that Kanye just recorded his genre breaking album 808s and Heartbreak in COMPLETE auto tune. One can only assume that this is emphatically a diss record and Ye is one of those on the receiving end along with T-pain, Lil Wayne, Ron Brownz, and other artists who use auto tune.

Now let’s back track. Kanye’s 2007 album release “The Graduation” was brought to a close with the track “Big Brother”, a song dedicated to the mentorship and guidance by Jay-Z. My initial reaction was that this reminded me of the first law in the 48 Laws of Power written by Robert Green, “Never outshine the master”. At this point in music, Kanye was bigger than he’d ever been and there was a buzz about him being the biggest artist on Def Jam. But to quiet down the rumors, and prevent any out lash from the Rap guru, he stokes Jay’s ego by dedicating a song a song to him. The same thing happened with Lil Wayne and his Carter III album. There was again talk about Lil Wayne saying he was better than Jay, which caused controversy in the media. What does Wayne do? He drops “Mr. Carter”, a song in honor of both of them demonstrating another “don’t outshine the master” move.

So while Robert Greene’s philosophy was being demonstrated by Wayne and Ye, Hov is applying the exact same philosophies. After Jay’s 2003 “Black Album” release Jay “retired” from Hip Hop. This was Greene’s 16th law, “Use absence to increase respect and honor”. Jay left the game when he was at the top of his career. This retirement then put Jay into a powerful business role with Def Jam. In this new found white collar position Jay exemplified, by the nature of his job, law number 11, “Learn to keep people dependent on you”. During Jay’s retirement we heard him on a few random features with some pop artists but that was it. Jay also applied law number 34, “Be royal in your own fashion, act like a king to be treated like one”. We all know that Jay is the epitome of all things fresh and behaves like he’s the air to the throne in the kingdom of “Cool”. Unfortunately it seems as of late, Jay has been undoing all of this. Simultaneously Wayne and Ye were following law number 41,”avoid stepping on a great man’s shoes.”

After the public homage paid by Ye and Wayne, by dedicating songs to Jay, and appearing in countless videos together over the years why would Jay put out a song called “Death of Auto Tune”? Ye and Wayne are of the few artists who use auto tune the most in the industry. It seems as though Jay was applying law number 3, “Conceal your intentions”. Why the public blow? Can he really put out a song like this and say it’s not a diss toward these two artists? Jay has almost UNapplied all of these successful laws. Why would Jay come out and attack the artists of today who have found some success? It’s almost childish. Isn’t Jay above something like this? I would think so. Others may feel the same way Jay does, but isn’t Jay above being the “messenger”? Or is Jay just trying to generate hype around the Blueprint III.

This may be a stretch, but this does demonstrate the calculated methodical moves done with extreme precision that artists have to follow in order to be successful.

"some n****s wanna sit down and complain about, I wanna sit down analyze see how it came about"

To a lot of you this video may be old, but this may be one of the most revolutionary assessments of hip hop culture that I've heard and I felt I needed to bring it to light again. This 15 minute cultural autopsy looks deep nucleus of hip hop music, challenging the very fabric that we use to sow our consciousness. As of late, Joey has had much digital success taking over the internet with endless music and giving the public a direct look into his life with Joe Budden TV. Joe Budden is giving fans a REALISTIC view of the life of a rapper. He uploads footage of him and his close group of friends having realistic conversations about real life. He's constantly filming: in the studio, on the street, and in his house (not the house he rented for the MTV cribs half hour special that was financed by his label) Surprisingly he has many uploads with his girlfriend Tihiri, and talks about proposing and getting married constantly. I find this amazing because this is not the stereotypical action of a rapper. To have "one" woman and profess your love for her publicly is the exact opposite of what a lot of rappers portray, not because that’s who they really are, but because they have to fit into an image molded by the public. I commend Joey for not being plagued by social cowardice and giving fans an organic blueprint of him. Shout out to Jump off Joey. Enjoy!

Black Thought, Talib Kweli, & John Forte Jr. from Okayplayer on Vimeo.

Video Courtesy of Nahright.com

As you know we support L.A. Based artist Blu. Here's a video from 2006...Blue Collar Worker. The soung touches on being a broke artist with a regular blue collar job, which is the case for most artists. It's just uncool to talk about such truths.

Krs One spits a freestyle about true democracy founded in 508 B.C. Athens by Klisthenis and the end of this "true" democracy in 322 B.C. with the conquering of Athens by Alexander of Macedon. Apparently we havent seen democracy since.

New single from the L.A. compilation album Curly Tops and Nautica Jackets

L.A.U.S.D ft. Blu & Miss Jack Davey- I Feel.

Get song here: Download

Pic Courtesy of Nahright.com

Remember the first time you heard Jay-Z's "Do it Again (Put ya hands up)" off the volume three album? I know...you went nuts......"Rocafella....you know what this is...we giving ya’ll 5 seconds to put your drink down and report to the dance floor immediately...all the bustas we givin ya’ll 5 seconds to get close to an exit..its bout to get real ugly in here....5 seconds is up....lets GO!!! BEAT DROPS!! Bananas!!...Then you went home and asked you moms for 10 bucks to go cop it at Sam Goodie. You brought it home, put it in your portable CD player and you were spazzing because the album was so hot. But none of your friends had the album. Just you. So they couldn't hear the real heat like "Snoopy Track" feat Juvenile or "It's Hot"(Some Like it Hot). All your boys were still bumping the "radio single" when you had all the gems. You felt like Hov made that track just for you and no one else. You were 1 up on everyone. You were exclusive. Then maybe 6 months later one of your boys comes to you and says.."Yo man, you heard that 'Snoopy Track" on the Vol.3 album.?..it's crazy."" For some reason...all this does is piss you off!!...thoroughly!!!..and you reply.."You idiot, i heard that song months ago!!!"...your so mad because the little musical leverage you had was now gone. You personal euphoria stripped away and stomped on because your lame friend decided to buy the album on sale 6 months later and tell you about somthing you already knew waaaaay before they did.Don't you hate when that happens??

In the last couple of years, the eyes and ears of American music fans have turned in awe toward New Orleans, Louisiana, to witness the transformation of the previously unspectacular rapper Dwayne Carter. We watched as he released thousands of songs and hundreds of mixtapes, appeared on everyone’s songs and videos, and sold millions of records.

They say every person has their opposite, the yin to one’s yang…Je’Ri Allah, known more commonly as Jay Electronica, also hails from New Orleans, and has built a buzz by NOT releasing material, by NOT appearing in public, and by being an enigma in general, in contrast to Wayne.

For a solid year, there was one real profile on him on the whole internet, and about 15 songs. The most prominent of the songs was unquestionably the 15 minute epic “song” Eternal Sunshine, recorded over Jon Brion’s soundtrack to the movie of the same name, separated into 3 verses with 2 interludes in the form of monologues by Erykah Badu (who he now shares a newborn baby girl with) and Just Blaze. He raps with a strange pacing, slow but controlled, pausing for effect often. His rhymes are filled with references to various literature, religions, art, history, and sciences. He covers philosophical ground and existential dilemma without the forced nature of a Canibus or the deliberate reasoning of a Lupe Fiasco…when he does it, it’s almost casual. Conspiracy theories, stories of betrayal, religious miracles, and moral quandaries are all fair game on any given track.

While in 2007 he was known mostly by other underground heads in Detroit, he is now a player to watch in the rap game, known by everyone from the Detroit battle rappers to Nas, who commissioned him to produce the intro on his last CD, to P. Diddy. He is signed to Erykah Badu’s record label, as a flagship artist. He has toured with Nas and Talib Kweli, but has yet to hint at any official releases. His hype has reached a fever pitch recently, with the release of the random single Exhibit A, produced by Just Blaze, which was in my opinion the best rap song in 2008. Will he ever be mainstream? I don’t care. I just want more songs, and an album. The ridiculous skills he possesses on the mic need to be displayed more, and it will be tragic if no projects ever come to fruition. Either way, just keep a (third) eye out for him in 2009. P.S. He’s the nicest rapper out of New Orleans.

Check out http://3sidez.blogspot.com/
VERY DOPE

"I am thankful for what I have been through because it has given me the courage to fight the war on traditional thinking." Kanye West said this during his performance on VH1 Storytellers after singing "Flashing Lights". Traditional thinking is what causes the masses to be social pacifists and follow as opposed to lead. Traditional thinking is based on rationality in which most of our thought processes lie, but Kanye like many other icons tend to think light years outside the box and embody the courage to walk down a different path and march to the beat of a different drummer. People who dazzle us with their personal genius make it look as natural as breathing but face the internal battle of trying to fit in by standing out, a path asymmetrical to normality. Most people want to fit in. why are we afraid to stand out and think differently?Are we afraid of the ridicule of others? Are we afraid of failure?.....or are we afraid of success and the responsibility that comes along with it?

Kanye West delivered a powerful performance on VH1's Storytellers, performing a combination of songs from his last two albums The Graduation and 808's and Heartbreak. The show consisted of "unplugged" versions of the studio productions coupled with poignant monologues by Kanye in-between each record. There's a dope article about Kanye on 3 Sidez to a Story, a blog geared toward the uniquely insightful understanding of Hip Hop music. Click here for more.

Download: Kayne West Live From VH1

Talib Kweli has been one of the few underground artist that have been able to bridge the gap from mainstream to underground for quite some time now. He has dropped multiple highly regarded albums such as, Quality, the Black Star album with Mos Def, Reflection Eternal with Cincinnati producer Hi-Tek, and most recently Ear Drum. He has confirmed that he will be dropping a second Reflection Eternal album this year, along with a collabo album with a group called Idle Worship consisting of him and two other artist, Res and Graph Nobel a Canadian artist. I have anticipated with much angst for some time now another collaboration between Kweli and Hi-Tek. Glad to see it is finally going to pan out.