Avid as we are about Hip-Hop, most of us know Murda Mook strictly from butchering the battle circuit. Period. The vicious MC has gone neck and neck with viral veterans via his Smack battles with Jae Millz and Sirius Jones, but has not put out a single noteworthy song to capitalize on the buzz he created in turn. Since signing with Ruff Ryders last year, however, it seems as though the New Yorker may have realized error was in his ways. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone, meet the kid that’s going to annoy you for the next calendar year. His name is Lin Yu Chun and he’s the world’s newest favorite kind-of-retarded-looking phenomenon. He’s loved for covering your favorite drunken karaoke jam, “I Will Always Love You,” and doing a pitch-perfect rendition. He’ll be on Good Morning American and The View and a prop in Jesse James’ latest sex tape in no time. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by K. Barrett

To say “Rock n’ Roll is dead” is to say you’ve never heard of some of the great bands coming out today.

Enter: Shout Out Louds.

This Swedish group’s latest offering, Work, is a great example of the maximum R&R lingering just beyond the limelight. The album’s lead single ‘Walls’ embraces the smart-but-straight-forward traditions blazed by groups like the Smiths and New Order. Vocalist Adam Olenius channels Morrissey, and the band provides a structure as stimulating and sturdy as anything built by the Arcade Fire or Belle & Sebastian in the past decade. Read the rest of this entry »

Who else foresees Soulja Boy becoming a legitimate MC over the course of the next few years?

Even though this specific promotional prelude to the snot-nose’s self-titled third album, Dre, leaves me feeling dumber, I surely can’t be the only one who sees a young entrepreneur with enough drive and vision to realize his room for advancement and the benefits of bridging the gap. Read the rest of this entry »

Simply calling this a “video” may do it a disservice. A “hallucenogic cinematic short centered around the sounds of music” might be the better description. The clip captures the layered feel that composes the majority of Shafiq En A Free Ka‘s songs. And as disjointed as the video (equal parts rollerskating scenes split with shots of Shafiq & Bilal imitating a jazz club setting) and the album may seem, both are seductively appealing, enough to draw you back in for repeat listens to a aural trip you want to experience over & over. Read the rest of this entry »

Typically, when a track title entails how said rapper “gets money,” not only does the download get skipped, but I immediately head toward the bathroom for a towel to clean up the throw-up on my keyboard that submerges every time I hear another unoriginal spitter start yapping about their inflated income. Read the rest of this entry »

Extreme hunger may impair your judgment. But this is too good to be true.

Might as well cut to the chase on this one. A New Jersey man grew quite impatient with time it took to prepare the immaculate Filet-O-Fish sandwich he pined for at 4:30 in the morning. So he hopped out the window of his girl’s car in the drive through and smacked the employee fixing up his meal. He reportedly asked him to “gimme that fish” à la a certain wall mounted bass according to this news story. But that sounds way too comedic to be fact. Read the rest of this entry »

Jaleesa

Report: Smart Women Are Bigger Drinkers [Asylum]

Star Wars Google Ad [College Humor]

Stainless Steel Condom Dispenser [Uncrate]

Find The Right Pocket-Size Camcorder [Details]

Eight Sporting Events That Should Be Holidays [Yardbarker] Read the rest of this entry »

I saw this floating around over the weekend but didn’t feel compelled to watch it. Then Suave emailed me a link today and demanded that I give it attention. First of all, nobody tells John Gotty™ to do a gosh darn thing. But I thought that after I hit play because, one thing about Suave is he has pretty keen (although sometimes quirky) tastes. I didn’t make it through all of this but the first thirty minutes where riveting enough for me to say “hey, this should close up shop today for those hangin’ out and killing time. For the ‘younger gods’ trying to get a grasp on what it all meant. And even the OGs will enjoy hearing Chuck spin tales about how one of the most commanding voices in Hip-Hop came to be and how the view is from his standpoint.”

Hey, I said I only made it through the first thirty. But consider this my public bookmark to come back and watch the rest of it later this week as my schedule permits. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s face it: there will never be another Wu-Tang Clan. The legacy, impact and influence the populous collective from Staten Island have engraved in the culture’s skin has hardened and scabbed over, leaving an eternal brand. If you trace along the lines of the “W” tattoo, the rich history of the Clan tells many tales. Like any movement, there were triumphs and tragedies and the in-between that saw several of the members become less than relevant. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by K. Barrett

For the first time in a really long while, I’ve been absolutely blown away by how much excellent new music is floating around. 2010 has been great as far as Rock and Electronica go, and we’re only three d@mn months into it.

Surfer Blood’s Astrocoast has hit me hardest out of the gate. From rattling maracas to drippy surf guitar runs, everything about this album screams summer. Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps what’s more remarkable than the fact The War Report 2 will be televised thirteen years after the original is the amount of postage that comes along with this track. Producers Dow & Henny of Tha Bizness hail from Seattle but they’re currently ATLiens and they incorporate both regions into their soundbeds. And of course, CNN and Shallah Raekwon hold down the grittiest sectors of NYC. The end result is an East/North/South/West heatrock that’s a first class felony. Read the rest of this entry »

Dedicated to the upcoming days where tig ‘ol bitties and volumptrous rumps will be bouncing in our faces as they scurry across the beach, the Konvict tandem of Kardi & Akon are gearing up for summer ’10. But you have to think bigger than just American T&A. T-Dot’s finest is going global with his new project as Mr. International. Read the rest of this entry »

Two minor things I just had an epiphany about.

1. Rappers, no longer will your behind the scenes video clips be welcome, especially when the video will be debuting @ OnSmash in two days anyways. Nobody cares © Calogero.

2. I majored in the wrong field in college. If I was as smart as I thought I was, I would have skipped college, went to cosmetology school & studied “lotion application” to get a Bachelor’s in Model Makeup Application. Read the rest of this entry »

If you stay up on your Hip-Hop and keep your ear to the ‘Net, then this post is surely for you and those who have been keeping Dom Kennedy’s lastest jawn in heavy rotation. In a couple of short clips from Decatur Dan’s spot, he gives a breakdown on some of From The Westside, With Love’s best tracks like “1997″ and his relationship with Don Cannon. Read the rest of this entry »