TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Yelawolf from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

“My aim is to create a movie for your ears. I just want you to become a part of the music so you can feel like I felt when I love emcees for the first time. And people have lost that, in my opinion. There’s just not many artists out there that give you that feeling.”

Known to some for years as a musician with yeoman’s work ethic and a tremendous stage performance, YelaWolf has toiled under the radar for many years before now. From once being underground and unheard, his music and career have both picked up at a fast clip, thanks to the release of Trunk Muzik mixtape. With a mix of brash honesty and artistry paired with an eclectic set of influences – both music and cultural – Yela is poised to position himself as one of the new faces and voices from below the Mason-Dixon.

While at SMKA’s The 808 Experience: Vol. 2 release party, our cameras catch up with Wolf. Listen as he speaks on his career before now, the concept for the “Pop The Trunk” video and his goals for 2010.

Filmed by the incredible The SP Agency.

For more info, visit www.MySpace.com/YelaWolf.

Photo Credit: Honey Mag

Fayetteville’s own Jermaine Cole exploded on to the scene in 2009 and began climbing your favorite MC’s favorite new MC list. Everybody was surprised by the new kid making waves, his lyrical depth and cadence, and that refreshing sound he brought to the Interwebs and radio this year. In reality, J.Cole has been manhandling the microphone since his mid-teens in North Carolina. Read the rest of this entry »

When my alarm clock went off at 2:00 AM to make the drive down for the 10:00 allotted time slot, and granted I had other business in the LA area, there was no hesitation. It’s Ice Cube. I don’t need to justify it by any means.

I can’t remember how many times I asked myself, “where the f*ck am I going?” on route to Ice Cube’s video shoot for “Why Me?” When I say it was in the cut, whatever you might envision, that’s an understatement. Aside from sand, Joshua tress and abandoned diners that offered eggs, bacon, toast and coffee for seventy five cents, there wasn’t much life aside from scrambling video crews and the roar of air conditioned vans where we were at.

The pleasant encouragement to keep the interview under 10 minutes was another task of it’s own. I could have gone on and on, but it was clear nobody in the building other than me wanted that. Like the homie Conceit said, “I’m not bitter at all” and the result…I at least got him to crack a smile at the end. And there you have it.

Previously Posted — “Raw Footage” – Ice Cube’s Performance At The Fillmore | “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It” – Review Of Ice Cube’s Raw Footage

LL once said “It’s hard to stay hungry when your pockets are so fat.” True, the need to give your craft 110% can be an exercise in futility when you have revenue coming in from multiple ends. However, all things considered, LL Cool J has never steered too far off course. While he hasn’t always made the best decisions musically (a factoid that he’ll readily admit to), how many rappers can measure up to Cool James in terms of consistency and longevity? 23 years and still counting. If you were born after 1985, what could you possibly tell him about Hip-Hop? Probably why he still calls himself the G.O.A.T.

But even the greats have uphill battles to climb and while LL insists he’s up for the challenge, he knows he has to show and prove on his thirteenth (yes 1-3) album Exit 13. Read along as the living legend who has entire Hip-Hop tour named after one of his songs, shares his formula for creative inspiration and why you can never compare him to Will Smith.

TSS is now rockin’ with the G.O.A.T…

TSS: LL!!!

LL Cool J: What’s happening baby?

TSS: How you doing?

LL Cool J: Every thing’s good, what’s going on?

TSS: Nothing much. Alright, off jump, you have to clarify something for me. How does a rapper, whose FIRST album came out in 1985, escape the “old-school” stigma?

LL Cool J: (Laughs) Yo…(Laughs) Like, I’ve been telling everybody and I think it explains it the best is, I’m not trying to be old-school or new school. I just focus on trying to be classic and making music that I love…and I’m true to. That’s it. I’m not pretending to be 15, not pretending to be a teenager or younger than I am. But I’m not gonna let people force me to be older than what I am either. I’m just being who I am.

TSS: Yeah, because most of the rapper’s who technically would be considered you’re peers, ain’t even your peers know what I’m saying?

LL Cool J: (Laughs) I know man. Look: I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m truly blessed. I think one of the Rolling Stones, one of Mick Jagger’s boys said it best: “My luck ain’t run out yet.” Ya know? (Laughs) It’s like one of them things. Somebody had to do it! I’m just glad it was me!

TSS: No doubt! O.K. This Exit 13 title. What does the name entail? Is an exit from Def Jam or the game all together???

LL Cool J: I’d say it’s an exit from Def Jam but not so much Def Jam in its entirety. It’s an exit from this contract; my current contractual obligation to Def Jam. And it also represents a transition, where I’m going to be helping more artists get on and really focus on that aspect of my career. I did launch a lot of careers, from Foxy Brown and DMX, although the Rap community in general doesn’t really acknowledge it as such because they don’t know the politics behind it. But I definitely launched these artists — and I wanna help more people in that way. So it’s a transition of my “exiting” the solo artist mode and really helping this younger generation go forward with their music. And it’s my deal with Def Jam so we’ll see what happens in the future with that.

TSS: So is this the original contract from when you made Radio? You signed a 13 album deal from start? Read the rest of this entry »

“Skill Recognize skill, with lyrics that define ill./ Keep your naked eyes peeled, and open. Get your spines chilled.”

It would be a grave injustice to weigh Invincible’s talent on a scale of gender, so set no double standards for her. She isn’t just a great female emcee… she’s a lyricist whose skill set far exceeds most everyone in the game, including some of your favorites.

Her talent garnered attention from Talib Kweli, De La Soul and Jean Grae among others, years ago when she left her Michigan home for opportunity in New York. This was while she was part of the all-female ANOMOLIES, before she cut off her braids. Before she met with major labels and turned down deal after deal. Before she left BK and dedicated her time to the betterment of Detroit. Long before she recorded her first solo project, ShapeShifters, which finally hit shelves in May.

What pushes Invincible into the hierarchy of ability is she chooses beats to back her that are matched raw for raw with the bars she spits. From The Lab Techs turning flutes dirtier than you ever knew a wind instrument could get on “Sledgehammer,” to Black Milk pulling an orchestra of strings through a hard-snare mud puddle on “Recognize,” to Waajeed splattering the up-tempo title track with a filthy organ and acoustic guitar, Invincible is laced high and tight with the grimiest soul the D has to offer.

Beyond the beats, Invincible’s lyrical agility and construction are without definition. The emcee, who spent part of her childhood in Israel-Palestine, warrants play-back, play-back, play-back status and covers subject matter past the classic spectrum of Hip-Hop, delving handily into issues on intimate and international levels.

Far warmer than a 40 degree day, ShapeShifters burns 4.5 cigs – easy – on strength of pure, unadulterated Hip-Hop.

TSS Crew member LC Weber spoke with Invincible about the wait to put out the right project – an album that might be one of the best, most well-rounded ones you’ll hear in 2008.

TSS: What made you move to New York? Did you move for the ANOMOLIES, or did you meet them out there…?

Invincible: Basically I went out there to join the ANOMOLIES. I had met the ANOMOLIES on a visit and it just instantly clicked and they were like, really supportive of me. In Michigan I really only knew maybe three or four other female emcees that were really consistently on the scene. We were really few and far apart, you know? And so, to me, ANOMOLIES was just an ideal situation to be around a lot of dope female emcees – and not just emcees, because it is all elements we went into the visual aspect of it with art – but it was just a really nurturing environment for me to be in, and I just decided to move out there to work with them. And we did shows consistently. At that time, ANOMOLIES was doing shows every week in New York.

Basically I wanted to be around more female artists. Like I said, in Michigan we were few and far apart. By me moving to New York, I could be around a whole community of female artists – the ANOMOLIES as well as others that we were working with. And because of that, we became more acceptable and it gave me time to focus on my craft. It allowed me to be who I am and just focus on the art form.

TSS: How did you fall in line with Kweli and them? Just from being in the scene together? Read the rest of this entry »

Killer Mike continues to kick to the truth to young, Black youth…and white youth, Asian youth, grown folks, hood folks, elitists & anybody else I forgot to mention. He answers some tough questions with sound opinions, replying to each one with a level of candor more rappers should be trained with.

Previously Posted — TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Killer Mike

Stray Shots

Miles_Davis-Bags_Groove-Remastered-2008

Benny_Benassi-Rock_N_Rave-2CD

Ashanti – The_Declaration (With Bonus Tracks)

DJ Khaled – Out Here Grinding (Promo CDS)

DJ Felli Fel Feat. Kanye West, Jermaine Dupri, Fabolous and Ne-Yo – Finer Things-VLS

Stray Shots

Pic By Kyla, Graphics by P

Ta’Raach and Blu might be the hardest people in Hip-Hop to get a hold of. Last time I ran into Blu was at the Pete Rock vs. Primo show a few weeks back and when I saw him I was so happy I did a shuffle.

“Whoa! I get a little dance?!?” he asked.

“Of course!” I said. “You have no idea how hard it is to get at you. You and ‘Raach.”

“Whaaaat?” he said, and he side-smiled like “Who, me?”

Here’s the thing with Ta’Raach and Blu — neither of them has a car or phone. Technically Ta’Raach has a phone, but not one that I’ve been able to get him on. It’s a wonder these two dudes get a hold of each other.

Despite the frustration of trying to contact them, I developed a hypothesis as to why they stay just beyond arm’s reach. First of all, when you do actually see one or both of them it makes you do a little dance. Second, it adds to the enigmatic aura that is C.R.A.C. Knuckles. Third, and most confidently, it makes them the two least uptight people I know.

In this age when we’re all glued to our Blackberry or Sidekick, constantly receiving emails, text messages, phone calls & bulletins, it’s hard to imagine taking a breath and saying, “Fuck it. I’ll be there when I be there.” That said, I’ve never seen Blu without an ear-to-ear grin on his face, or watched him turn a blind eye to dap. I’ve never seen Ta’Raach stress over stage time or wristbands. But I have seen both dudes give love where love is given, take time for those who ask for it and laugh full-bodied at each other’s jokes as well as their own.

“Yooooo!” Ta’Raach gave me with a hug when I ran into him and Blu on another night. “Blu told me you were here, but I didn’t believe him.”

“Why wouldn’t you believe him?” I asked.

“Because Blu lies all the time.”

“Whaaaat?” said Blu, giving the “Who, me?” side smile.

“You do!” said Ta’Raach. “Blu lies, like, for fun. Just to see if he can.”

“Nah, I do not!” said Blu.

“Quit lying. You lying right now!”

“Man!” I said. “I told Blu I’m ready to do this interview when you are. I want to talk about ‘Cotton’.”

“Oh shit! You want to talk about ‘Cotton’?? We can talk about ‘Cotton’!” Read the rest of this entry »

Engaging & passionate. Informed & opinionated. Without a doubt, Killer Mike is one of the most remarkable artists in the music business. He verbally kicked in doors and made listeners pay attention when he made an appearance on Outkast’s “The Whole World.” Since then, he has maintained the listening attention to many of those same fans ever since, first with his debut album Monster & then a series of mixtapes released on his Grind Time Records. His growling voice, lyrics that are a mixture of street literature and social consciousness might pale only in comparison to his social & political awareness.

Rising gas prices. “Moving as a village.” His new music independent deal with San Francisco-based SMC Recordings. The influence of Southern entrepreneurial pioneers Tony Draper & Uncle Luke Draper. The Killer mixtape. When Atlanta was a “two hotel town.” The “two sides” of Atlanta & the beefs. Gays. Obama, Reverend Wright & the long-standing relationship Democrats & black folks.

And that’s just a part of it.

The rest, you’ll just have to listen for yourself as Killer Killer The Crack Dealer & TSS Crew’s Gotty™ cover what’s now and what’s next for Mike.

Graphic By R. Lanier

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Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II is slated to release June 17th. For more info, visit GrindTime Online @ MySpace and SMC Recordings’ MySpace.

Previously Posted — Killer Mike Performing “Two Sides” Live In Atlanta (Video)