Ever since Meka moved to New York, game got real. Our homies over at the (2)Dopehouse show their love and appreciation for the Big Apple rap circuit with their mixtape A (2)Dope Mixtape: Empire State Edition. Read the rest of this entry »

Turnabout is fair play, ain’t that right Joey? Read the rest of this entry »

First Fashawn tackled an Illmatic tribute, and now CurT@!n$ is paying homage to the greatest thing to ever come out of Staten Island: the Wu-Tang Clan. An easy choice as far celebrating legends goes because as you know, the Wu-Tang is FOREVER. Son. Read the rest of this entry »

While everybody has eagerly RSVP’d for the upscale Fasionably Late gala, Donnis would like to cordially invite you to his 18+ street event first. It’s The Invitation. No dress code, BYOB — wild the f#ck out. Once DJ Infamous & DJ Holiday checks you at the door, you’ll find Big D surrounded by talent such as Curt@in$, Yelawolf, Pill and Needlz on the 1′s & 2′s. Did we mention it was free admission? Read the rest of this entry »

In regards to style and substance, Curt@!n$ has a southpaw stance associated with his music. On first impression, you’re unsure how’s he going to come at you. Dressed like a vaudeville scoundrel, you assume he’ll color you to death with all the hipster junk that’s in his toybox. Then that unsuspecting baritone hits your cilia like an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Read the rest of this entry »

My name is my name © Frank Lucas

Mick’s upbringing and lifestyle may be slightly different the Frank’s but they still share one important trait. Read the rest of this entry »

The genius behind some of your favorite instrumentation from artists like U-N-I, Termanology and Talib Kweli is all about making big splashes behind-the-scenes these days. Lee Bannon’s the name. Check Point’s the game. Read the rest of this entry »

With fifty artists to cover, we figure we’ll give you a musical dosage in advance of what you’ll be hearing down @ A3C’s Perfect Attendance showcase, co-hosted by The TSS Crew. So each day, we’ll do a little division and feature seven to eight of the artists & their music.

Now, let the countdown begin with today’s offering. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to an aspiring MC’s career, a solid rap name is just important their actual talent. Coming up with that proper moniker, however, isn’t always so easy. In a world were reinforcement rules, the descriptive variability can be taken so many ways. Dumbed down or desperately deep. Dickies or leotard Levis. Big or Lil.’ Kid or Man. Hot or cold. Government or given. There are so many choices, but technically, it doesn’t really even matter. It’s not about what it says or means, as much it’s about how well it can be pushed to the people. See: Mike Jones. Read the rest of this entry »

Xzibit & U-N-I already set the precedence. Now it’s time for the main course — West Coast style. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember the sense of euphoria you had when you first heard Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity?” It was like aural air conditioning complete with flying robots that served you lattes complete with a floating saucer. Now imagine all that futuristic fury harnessed into a more urban intonation without losing its chic. And there you have Jet Audio’s Stand Alone Complex.

Featuring a vast array of NYC artists (Mickey Factz, Outasight, Amanda Diva, Che Grand, etc.,) producer Jet Audio conducts his latest project like a maestro prepared to take the artform into the next millennium. Innovation awaits you. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was waiting to go on Emilio’s show last night, I heard him debut this track from Jet Audio’s upcoming album Stand Alone Complex.

Jet brings it with the production as Mickey Factz, Curt@!ns and Danny! put their feet in these verses. Then, to top it off Outasight lends a hand on the hook. Mickey already got an XXL Freshman cover and I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of these MCs get on it for 2010. If the rest of Jet’s album is anything like this track, then I’ll be first in line to rock with it.

My only gripe? MC’s please leave those symbols and shit out of your names. Your names are becoming a bitch to type. Soon I’m gonna just start writing about Mims out of spite because it’s easier to spell. And if you’re going to keep making music like this, then I’m going to have to write all these question marks, ampersands and hieroglyphs every time I want to give you all a co-sign. I blame you, ?uestlove.

Back to the lecture at hand. I’ve listened to this track 10 times today and it still sounds ill.

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Download — Jet Audio Feat. Outasight, Mickey Factz, Curt@!ns & Danny! – “Stand Alone”

For more information on Jet Audio’s Stand Alone Complex, visit www.slideshare.net/the49thlaw/bet-on-jet.

He’s been formally introduced around these parts, so here’s CurT@!ns latest mixtape The Great Adventures of Dope Boy C: Dope For President. If it’s anything like the few cuts we’ve heard so far, this should be high in content value. Hit more for the tracklist & link to vote for Dope Boy C. Read the rest of this entry »

No spoonful of sugar here as CurT@!n$ continues delivering messages on the socially conscious tip.  No complaints from me as we need substance to trump style every now and then.  We can’t expect Read the rest of this entry »

H.E.R. cameo @ the 2:32 mark is the only point of interest to me honestly. Song still knocks & I’m sure the video will have all the usual accoutrements, fashion nods from which you can take your upcoming season style tips, etc.

But a H.E.R. sighting…and she’s wearing Read the rest of this entry »