Any true leaf blower will tell you “4:20″ is simply another day. That’s for the “commercial” smokers, if you will. For that exact reason, Blake Kelly dropped off his latest tape, Forest Fires, the next day, April 21. It comprised of a collection of songs he had been recording since his last project, Higher Education. One of the standout tracks was his collaboration with fellow start up Dave Coresh for “So High Pt. 2.”

Backed by a melodic production from Ya Money (and the influence of Mary Jane), Kelly takes a lyrical ride as he progresses on his career thus far – filled with co-eds, music and kush. Flying in from the Midwest, Coresh explains what life is like around his neck of the woods. And if recent events have explained, it’s nothing nice.

So if drug tests are the furthest thing from your mind, and an everyday love affair with Mary is your thing, take a hit (or three). Then hit play.

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Download — Blake Kelly Feat. Dave Coresh – “So High Pt. 2″

Download — Blake Kelly – “Forest Fires”

Also, Coresh recently unleashed the latest visual from Formal Introduction, “Breathe,” directed by Fly Kite.

“Old school, new school, need to learn though…”

Rustic Brown/Black/Metallic Gold and looking very close cross between one of the OG colorways and the Curry SC’s. Available for pre-order now @ Eastbay. Read the rest of this entry »

Life moves fast.  Twitter moves even faster.  Despite those two universal truths, Spitta managed to pass the doobie off long enough to hit tweet and unleash a new track. Read the rest of this entry »

Not exactly the visuals this track brings to mind, but you can’t be too mad at these two.  I’m assuming it took all the equity they’ve built in their collective names over the years to get Distant Relatives from the idea stage to the shelves.  So it’s understandable why a label didn’t feel obligated to blow the bank on this video. In these trying financial times, the music industry is trying to be a bastion of fiscal responsibility (i.e. Shyne).

Pardon me, I had laugh at that.

Which is why we get Nasir & Jr. Gong pulling double duty on this one, trading energetic bars & solving Scooby Doo mysteries all in the same breath.

For the record, it was L.A. Reid in the island shirt accompanied by the man in the black hat © Velma

He can’t sing. All of his songs sound alike. He’s overrated. Miss me with all of that. The Dream is one of the most talented people in music and 2010 could prove to be a monster year for Papa Nash. For the past few weeks or so, his collaboration with Clifford was so infectious I had to delete the song off my hard drive in fear of overplaying the record before it had a chance to breathe. At the same time, the remix to his suspected first single “Love King” featuring Young Jeezy has been on repeat.

Then, this happened.

Making sure to not use his long distance minutes, Terius calls up fellow ATLien, Ludacris, for the official remix. Even better than the original, the new version is basically an entirely different song with a new hook, beat and verses. And just when it seems as if Mr. Bridges hit the proverbial glass ceiling when it came to features, he deads those qualms in a matter of five minutes and 32 seconds.

The Dream’s third studio album, Love King, is slated to hit shelves in June – along with everyone else in the industry.

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Download — The Dream Feat. Ludacris – “Love King (Remix)”

[Fader]

A few other Band Of Ballers participants have had their say (Watch: Southern Hospitality “practice” and Jim Jones’ trash talk) and now the Black Lips are running off @ the mouth too. Not sure how a self-described “flower punk” band will fair on the court but they really couldn’t be any worse than Jewman. Their strategy is – “mostly half court shots, some full court ones” – may be a little unorthodox though. Read the rest of this entry »

A’Ja Starr

‘Diary Of A Hip Hop Girlfriend’ Coming To VH1 [Karen Civil]

7 Examples of Japanese Awesomeness [Uproxx]

U2′s ‘Achtung Baby’ Named Best Album of Last 25 Years [Spinner]

The Insane Clown Posse Are Sane Proponents of Thomas Kuhn’s Paradigm Theory [Urlesque]

The 25 Best Sports Nicknames of All-Time [Sports Pickle]

CD Baby Adds $9 Digital Singles Distribution [Hypebot]

Blackberry x Monocle 9700 [The Malcolm]

Weezer Readies New Music, Rarities [Billboard]

Unsurprisingly, Chinese iPad Knockoffs Are Here [Gizmodo]

Did Kimora Steal Another Model’s Body? [Clutch]

The Best Rihanna Crotch Shots Of All Time [Global Grind]

Enter To Win Tickets To Converse’s Band Of Ballers [TSS]

Unfazed by Jim Jones and his jibber jabber, the home team of Southern Hospitality refuse to lose on their own turf. If there was ever a formidable-looking rap basketball team, this may be it. Read the rest of this entry »

When Hollywood is slated to be burned at the stake, who you gonna call? Brad Pitt? Woody Allen? How about the Governator? Or how about the most illogical choice in Hugh Hefner? Planet Los Angeles needed $12.5 million to save their beloved Hollywood sign and Double H broke his Playboy piggy bank and donated the last $900,000 without hesitation. Read the rest of this entry »

The chains and shackles are unlocked and what we have hear is an untamed beast, ladies and gentlemen. Just like he never left, Tip gets in his bag of goods and puts in work. And King Uncaged will be in stores 8.17.10. Mark the date on your forehead because that’s where he’s aiming. Read the rest of this entry »

R.E.D. Forces. R.E.D. Porsches. R.E.D. verses and R.E.D. abortions. Game is adamantly painting the rap world his color of choice to prepare for the release of his 4th album, The R.E.D. Album. Keeping it all the way West, Chuck Taylor links up with DJ Skee along with another two-thirds of the industry to enter The R.E.D. Room free of charge to you. Read the rest of this entry »

How could anyone forget what side Ice Cube claims? As he goes into his fourth decade of making noise in the rap game? Oh yeah…this. O.K. so he has a few side ventures that are a sharp contrast from Death Certificate, but the legacy still lives on as long as he continues to book studio time. Read the rest of this entry »

There are just some moments in time that are legendary and, thus, an honor to cover. Being around B.o.B, his band and his managers B. Rich and TJ right before the release of B.o.B’s debut album was an experience that I will undoubtedly tell my kids about. The atmosphere was as electric as it was frantic. There was an anxious fervor in the air with every passing minute.

But despite all of the anticipation and predictions, there was still a show to do as Bobby had to wow a New Orleans crowd that had spent all weekend listening to music at the Jazz Festival. It was a piece of cake. As I’ve said since the first GOP, there isn’t a show out there like a B.o.B show and he proved it again.

There was no time to revel in the great performance as another city was already calling. But that’s a testament to the relentless pace & amount of work that this team has put into B.o.B over the past several years. Back on the tour bus after the show, B.o.B paced around humming melodies to himself and laughing at the fact that he didn’t realize until he was on stage that his #1 single, “Nothing On You” sent a shout out to the Big Easy. B. Rich and TJ feverishly checked e-mails and asked for feedback, always looking for ways to improve. Only a few words were spoken about the performance that just took place before the topic again switched to expectations and hopes for April 27th–the release date for B.o.B’s debut and culmination of all of those years of hard work.

As late Sunday night turned into the wee Monday morning hours, I got Bobby to take a minute for the camera and put into words his excitement for the release of The Adventures Of Bobby Ray. There’s a genuine mix of vivacity along with hints of an exhale. And for good measure and your viewing pleasure, there’s stage footage for the performance of the album’s opening track, “Don’t Let Me Fall.”

Rap stuff, street stuff. It’s all the same thing. Which is probably why Jeezy is delivering that music straight from the bottom of the map. With Mr. Bust It Baby riding shotgun with a shotgun, the two drug profiled rappers keep it gutter to promote Jay’s new album and mixtape. You may lose your mind, or get your head blown off. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re wondering what the difference is between simply listening to Theophilus’ “Life Of A Lover” or watching this short video clip? Girls. Girls & Vespas. Read the rest of this entry »