Mr. Nick should be a doctor, or at least a male nurse or something, for his ability to load any sample with 100ccs of soul. While adding any amount of flavor to a Stevie Wonder sample should be like emptying a glass of water into the ocean, Nick manages to do each track justice on the second installment of his monthly tribute series.

This tribute to Stevie Wonder takes on the legend’s early years, flipping classics like “I Wanna Make Her Love Me” and “Bang Bang.” The latter is grimy and muddy like the Mississippi waters Nick has emerged from.

As usual, download and donate whatever you feel is right. MCs, if you’re spitting over these beats, come correct.

Download – Mr. Nick Presents: A Tribute To Stevie Wonder Vol. 1 (1961-1969) | Alt. Link

A woman better described as “Mother Earth” or “Aphrodite” sirens from your speakers and stands 20 Feet Tall over you. She sees over your 20-foot wall. She is neither good, nor evil, nor anything you can wrap your mind around, so you allow your ears to do the defining. You’re in this sound, this genre, this vehicle she manifested by a seemingly divine rite, and she rests you comfortably on her back bench in a Window Seat. You can’t sit next to her. You will never be able to sit next to her. Men who have been her passenger have disappeared, or been destroyed by love, or never became well again from a stone-like state of Agitation. Read the rest of this entry »

Playtime’s over boy © Sho’nuff. Movies On Demand is now in syndication for you to play over…and over…and over. In the first episode of the season, Asher & Cons engage in a game of lyrical Red Rover by the swingset and jungle gym. Real, grown man biz. Read the rest of this entry »

Sean Falyon is like Hip-Hop’s version of the Visa card®. Not only is always everywhere you want to be, he never has a problem charging his skills to the game and if you’re not looking, he could be all in your pocket. But as proven with his new fat tape Be Everywhere, he’s more than just a party animal with access to every video shoot, album release, guest list in town. Read the rest of this entry »

Of all the mp3′s that I’ve stumbled across & listened to in the past day or so, don’t ask me why Chi-town’s G.o.D.’s struck me as one that warranted a post. Perhaps it was the clever cover art. Maybe it was the complete change of pace that he assumed over the beat, going from laidback in verse one to pure verbal aggression by verse two. Whatever the case, brother Jewels proves that this could well be a prelude to greatness. Read the rest of this entry »

No, this isn’t some fashionably late April Fool’s joke.

It’s true.

What is questionably the most anticipated album ever has a legitimate update for first time in what seems like and was ten years. During an MLB promotion for Boston Red Sox Beats By Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre have both confirmed “Under Pressure” as the first single to the good Doc’s fabled Detox, along with a feature from Hovito himself. Yes. Jigga Man and the Doc with the lead single for an album heralded/debated as the savior of West Coast rap since long before your favorite blogs even registered their domain names. Read the rest of this entry »

Eden Ilean

Great Moments In Music Nudity [Global Grind]

You Will Want The 2011 Hennessey Venom GT [Epic Carnival]

Inventor Of Box Wine Dies At 92 [Consumerist]

Alicia Keys Readies “Unthinkable” Video, Places Beyonce Vid On Hold [Young Kingz]

How Social Networks Impact Drinking Habits [Time] Read the rest of this entry »

Uugggghhhhh… I hate you for this, Big Boi. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s face it, you probably forgot the NCAA final game was tonight. We certainly did. Sure, Opening Day and the Man taking control of our souls on a Monday had something to do with it. But mostly we just wanted to move on from the horror that has been our selection skills.

However, with one of the most memorable March Madnesses in recent history about to come to a close, we’d be remiss if we didn’t give our picks for the final game. By now, you should be familiar with the main players. Representing Hickory High, Coach Brad Stevens and Gordon Hayward look to lead the Bulldogs to the promised land, with a home crowd rooting them on. Representing South Bend Central are Coach K and his clan of crew cut robotic basketball drones, trained in the fundamental arts of pick setting, bounce passes, three pointers and general on-court doucebaggery.

Who will hoist the trophy tonight in Indianapolis? Well, just read below to find out.

Duke – they were the one #1 seed many expected to sent packing by the end of the first weekend. Call it a favorable draw, luck or guidance from Dr. James Naismith himself, but the Blue Devils find themselves 40 minutes away from their fourth national title. They’re heavy favorites and for good reason. Coach K’s bunch is shooting the ball well and playing even better defense. If the experts are right, Duke’s size in the post will be the deciding factor with Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas proving to be too much. But, as a great man once said (Chris Berman), this is why we play the game.

Butler is the most improbable title contender since ‘Nova in 1985 when they shocked the world by beating then-powerhouse Georgetown. No one really expects the “mid-major” from Indiana to actually win, but lest we forget, B.U. touts the nation’s longest winning streak at 25 straight. And the last three have come against Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State. This means the last thing this team is lacking is confidence. To win, the Bulldogs must crash the boards and knock down open shots. Sounds simple, but this is the biggest stage in college basketball. Nothing is guaranteed. Read the rest of this entry »

Somehow, some way © Organized, Okayplayer snagged both Nas & Damien Marley for a video interview while @ SXSW. In part one of two, the two speak on how Distant Relatives can to be, activism, President Obama’s first year in office and health care. Yes, let no stone be unturned when the cheeba is flowing and Nas is in the area. Read the rest of this entry »

Slime! No disrespect but scrap the other two and replace them with additional Vado verses and I’m good. That withstanding, Nore adds a little comic relief with his appearance. After his verse, just stop it and thank me later. Read the rest of this entry »

Mixed by DJ RTC, today brings us Rhymefest’s Dangerous: 5-18 mixtape, which serves as a prelude to El Che. A mix of scrapped album tracks and a few other notables, this should be a good addition to the archives. Read the rest of this entry »

As we keep building & blogging, there’s always a drive to develop a different approach in the way we engage artists. In some situations a Session works well, whereas Fifteen Minutes with an emcee can cover quite a bit of ground as well. Still, we want to keep the experience unique & Fresh, leaving the standard Q&A to other outlets while we continue to push the envelope.

With that in mind, we’ve joined forces with the brilliant minds at Yours Truly (http://yourstru.ly/) to create the “3:16″ Video Series. Since it’s primarily their brainchild, I asked Will of Yours Truly to give a few words for his take on the series. He says any emcee worth your time should be able to make his verses your favorite, just as any emcee worth his salt should have his favorite verses committed to memory.

“Playwrights have scenes, poets have stanzas, Holy men have verses, and emcees have 16’s,” he says.

And so our first subject in this project is the rhyme trio collectively known as Pac Div. With a quality “mixtape” (Church League Champions was better than quite a few releases with bar codes) under their belt and an energetic, well-choreographed stage performance, the Californians continue to climb the their way to success. For this occasion, Mibbs, BeYoung & Like each take a moment to recite a rhyme that’s etched in their memory banks and then share the reason why the lines or the artist who spoke them had such an impact on each member of the group. Read the rest of this entry »

Hearing a new MC’s album being compared to Illmatic is not a daily occurrence; especially in the digital era where most fans treat albums as disposable as a club flyer . Fashawn’s 2009 album Boy Meets World, however, is one of the few that have been bestowed with this honor from a couple different outlets. My first reaction to this idea was that it was just hype to draw in listeners that might have overlooked his Exile-produced gem so I kept it moving.

That was until yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »

These unofficial updates from Boondocks Bootleg keep getting better each time around. The trailer for season three of “The Boondocks” hit YouTube, using “Exhibit C” as the backing track and the phrase “The truth is back” as part of it’s slogan. And it looks like all of the favored animated rapscallions and rebels will be back bringing the ruckus come May 2nd on Adult Swim. Read the rest of this entry »