April 23rd

I see you folks from North Carolina coming to County Bounce. You should be here on Friday.

Loose Joints 2

I'm breaking that one big post into 3 smaller posts.



Big K.R.I.T- Children of the World

K.R.I.T and Creative Control continue their winning partnership with this video, which is a bit more ~metaphorical~ than the last couple, but which still fills the screen with all the deep soulfulness that the K.R.I.T. track is imbued with. K.R.I.T. Wuz Here was supposed to be released April 5th, but apparently it's been pushed back to May 3rd, which kinda sucks.

DJ Ayres feat. GLC- Got Me Gone

This is kind of a weird partnership, with hipster DJ extraordinaire Ayres teaming up with Kanye-associated rapper GLC (remember him from "Spaceship") for a single on Ayres' T&A label. The beat is sampled from Omni Trio's mid-90s hit "Renegade Snares", which is far and away the best drum and bass track ever made, and GLC's raps are basically really nice pimp talk, which sorta positions this track pretty close to Jackie Chain's deathless anthem "Rollin". I'm diggin' it.

DJ Eleven- Eleven and the Dude (right click to download)

Speaking of DJs, one of Ayres' partners in the mobile party unit The Rub, Eleven, has just released this AMAZING mix of some of Devin the Dude's career highlights, framed in a concept parelleling Devin with another famous Dude, Jeffrey Lebowski from The Big Lebowski. Don't sleep. This mix has me real excited for Devin's upcoming concert in Boston.

Nate B feat. 6 Tre G, M.A., Kristmas, Play Cousans, Bentley, Swagg Buddies, DJ Cunta, Slash, Jackie Chain, ST 2 Lettaz, J. Griff- Huntsville StarZ Anthem

So, yeah, this is Huntsville's Massive Mixtape Posse Cut, and it's pretty good. Interestingly, the script gets sort of flip in that a run-of-the-mill mixtape beat is used here instead of a gleaming Blockbeattaz style production in order to show off the skills of the MCs. S.L.A.S.H. is really starting to get notice from me, she's got the best verse on this track. That whole "no answer/same answer" couplet is kinda retardedly great.

Untamed- Country

Another new one from the Huntsville camp. It's cool to hear Blockbeattaz take on country rap tunes so effortlessly when they want to. Everyone obsesses a bit too much over their trance-rap sound, I think.

Das Racist- Shut Up, Dude

This really should be terrible on paper, and maybe it is, but shit, this mixtape sounds so loose and fun that I can't help to vibe to it. I feel like I will be bumpin this shit a lot during the summer. The dudes are witty and funny and sometimes overly clever in the way that you might expect Brooklyn-based hipsters from Wesleyan would be, but at the core of it all this horribly-named mixtape is driven by an authentic love for rap music. The final product is something pretty unique and engaging. Also, I'm glad someone finally realized the onomatopoeic glory that the word "telenovela" is, and that they made a song saluting the greatness of Arizona Iced Tea ("One Dollar Can").

Here's "Nutmeg" from it.

Trae feat. Rick Ross and Lil Wayne- Inkredible



I'm not really sure how I missed this the first time around when it was released in January, but the video was released a couple days ago and just, holy shit. This probably wins for the hardest beat to come out in the last 6 months. Shit is just so schizophrenic, with an utterly massive bass drop. Trae, Wayne, and even Ross all come strong here too, each playing to their strengths (nimble double-time monotone rap, super-blunted free association raps, and corporate thuggin', respectively). Check this shit.

It's Been a Long Time...Live Shows

So yeah, sorry I've been so absent on this shit for the last few weeks. Real life been gettin in the way. Anyway, live shit that happened/will be happening:

A) checked the Yelawolf/Wiz Khalifa show up here a couple weeks back. Met up with the homie DJ Burn One and Will Power with Yela before the show and talked a bit with them, cool dudes. Yela killed it as you might expect, but I was really surprised with Wiz as well. I was not a big fan of his coming in, and didn't know much of his material, but he has a legit rock star presence onstage. It also helps he has a DIEHARD core of young fans, some of whom were obnoxious in their fandom (shouts to the Becky that hit me in the face before Yela came on when I refused to let her in front of me because I literally had nowhere else to move). However, dude is nice live. Noz had a pretty accurate write-up of the show in DC. Also check Will Power's pics he took to see just how insane this tour was. They sold out nearly every venue they played, from what I understand.

B) I'll be headed down to Greensboro, NC with my homie Nate next weekend to check this Huntsville show at Guilford, featuring G-Side, G-Mane, Kristmas, Bentley, and Jackie Chain. I am beyond psyched for it. Nate's a super dope photographer and hopefully I'll be returning from it with a bunch of great pictures and ridiculous stories to share.

Edit: I made this long ass post 3 smaller posts for easier digestion.

G-Side feat. Chris Lee - Money In The Sky (prod. Basmo Family)

"Walkmasterflex told me watch who I hang with."

They got me workin 50+ hours this week and I really haven't had a chance to sit down, but I'm egotistical so I had to post this. Great track from G-Side working with Norwegian production team Basmo Family this time. Plus they shouted me out, so I'm geekin a little.

EDIT: the single is now available for download.



G-Side feat. Chris Lee- Money In the Sky (prod. by the Basmo Family)

G-Side at SXSW

Sorry I've been absent for the last week, I just started a new job and I've been training all weekend for it. Posts may end up becoming more irregular. Or not. We'll see. Anyway here's video and audio from G-Side's amazing performance at NPR's showcase at SXSW last week. The video's of the track they opened with, "Huntsville International", and the audio's GREAT quality of the full show. Really inspiring stuff to listen to. Take a half-hour and listen to it today. It'll make you feel good. I can't wait to see these dudes live someday.

Audio:
NPR Showcase- G-Side

EDIT: Video of them performing "Youth of the Ghetto" got posted up while I was at work:



And here's "Speed of Sound":



EDIT 2: OKAY, one more thing from G-Side and the whole Huntsville crew at SXSW. The homies, 2 Lettaz, Bentley, and Kristmas (aka DB49) went innnnnnnn on a street freestyle with a homeless drummer supplying the beat. This is fun as shit:

BRAND NEW: DB49- Club Pictures

(artwork by John Turner Jr.)

Brand New shit from Huntsville, Alabama supergroup DB49 (Drunk Before Nine), featuring 2 Lettaz (from G-Side), Kristmas, Slash, Bentley, and G-Mane. This track's called "Club Pictures" and it's produced by ATX. Shit is major, I can't wait for Happy Hour. Also below is the other recent track from DB49, "Ready to Go", which is one of my favorite tracks released this year.

DB49- Club Pictures
DB49- Ready to Go