Now this is dope.
Fresh off of his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, Marvel released a trailer for the reboot of the Black Panther comic series, written by esteemed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. What makes this so great is that the trailer is back by Run The Jewels’ “Oh My Darling.”
Now that’s hip hop!
KRS One and MC Shan are back at it again after 30 years. After Shan appeared on the Murder Master Music Show expressing his desire to battle with The Blastmaster, KRS One responded with “Take Em Out.” You’re never too old to verbally joust.
After premiering at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, the Nas executive produced “The Land” will hit theaters and VOD on July 29th.
Teenage buddies Cisco, Boobie, Junior, and Patty Cake skateboard the streets of Cleveland, Ohio, dreaming of getting discovered by a sponsor and skating their way out of poverty. That is until the boys discover a bag full of pills in the back of a stolen car. Cisco’s entrepreneurial instincts take over, and in a flash their lives get better. But no one counted on having to come face to face with the cold, calculating, and notorious drug queenpin, “Momma,” who runs the toughest gang in town.
Director Steven Caple Jr. makes an auspicious debut with this atmospheric film filled with pitch-perfect performances by an ensemble cast, including newcomer Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Erykah Badu, Machine Gun Kelly, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Linda Emond, who is bone chilling as Momma. More than a crime drama, THE LAND is a beautifully rendered story about friendship, values, and what it means for disaffected youth to come of age on the streets of Cleveland.
Next up to bat for Mass Appeal’s Rhythm Roulette? Hi-Tek. The producer picks Spirit’s Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, The Routers’ Superbird and Elvis Presley’s For Ol’ Times Sake and concocts some brilliance.
French Montana recruits Kanye West and Nas for the “Figure It Out” video. The trio hang out at an airline hangar as motorcycles zip around and do stunts.
Long Island producer BP delivers an equally slick and grimy new lyric video for “This Is Easy,” a gully, NYC-as-f*ck track featuring East Coast stalwarts Nature, Royal Flush, and Prodigy.
Given their respective rap pedigrees, these three are bound to body any track they appear on—but together? “This Is Easy” is a prime example of why heads still look to Queens cats to provide gritty, uncompromising Boom bap. But it’s made that much more potent when driven through the sonic lens of BP, whose beat hits like a well-placed slap upside the head.
The raw production comes as no surprise to those who have heard BP’s previous collaborations with the likes of Killah Priest, Diabolic, Shyheim, and 9th Prince, among others. “This Is Easy” stems from the recently released ‘Target Practice,’ a Nature album produced entirely by BP and fueled by Hip-Hop made for mean mugs and head nods. In addition to Royal Flush and Prodigy, the album also features Tragedy Khadafi and the up and coming LI-based, John Jigg$.
Killer Mike and El-P give you the 360 virtual reality experience with the latest video for “Crown.” Even if you don’t have a pair of VR goggles (which most of us don’t), you can move the camera around yourself to get a taste of what the experience is like.
Back in 2014, Prince invited Kendrick Lamar to jam out with him on stage at a special concert to celebrate the release of Art Official Age (with 3RDEYEGIRL) and PlectrumElectrum at the Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis. The much talked about performance was never really seen as Prince’s team took down any footage of the performance. But in the wake of The Purple One’s passing, his estate has cleared the video footage for everyone to see. Unfortunately, the two would never formally collaborate although they nearly did on Kendrick Lamar’s “Complexion” off of his Grammy award winning album To Pimp A Butterfly. Check out the performance in the video above.
New Orleans emcee Dee-1 drops the video for “Against Us” featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Lupe Fiasco.
Producer E. Blaze releases his 3rd Volume of Original Beats Called “FOR THE LUV OF IT VOL. 3: RELOADED”
16 TRACKS ON LIMITED 300 COPIES OF VINYL.
AVAILABLE AT ACADEMY RECORDS, NYC OF YOU CAN ORDER ONLINE HERE.
ABOVE IS A CLIP OF ME LISTENING TO ONE OF THE TRACKS CALLED “JAMES”