Sans the Henny bottle, Kanye makes a surprise appearance — his first since the VMAs — last night for the Common Foundation Benefit at the Hollywood Paladium. The footage is of ‘Ye alongside Common, Most Def and Talib Kweli for “Get Em High,” “Make Her Say,” “Run This Town,” “Good Life” and “Flashing Lights.” Read the rest of this entry »

Art by the homie Eric9

Not much to say that hasn’t already been said about this.

All fans of Mr. Yancey and his music should quite enjoy this. Anyone who isn’t familiar or appreciative of Dilla’s work, should definitely download this and get some knowledge. Rootzilla is a beast at mixing and blending, and he did Dilla’s work justice with this one.

A sequel is on the way and the tracklist is after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Undrcrwn keeps killin’ the caricature shirts. Available now @ Metropark.

Detailed image after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing on with their Spring ’09 Music Series, Undrcrwn brings it with their next round of artist-inspired creations. This time out they tackle the Native Tongues crew. More images after the break including the ATCQ & Prince Paul versions. Read the rest of this entry »

Teenage Fanclub And De La Soul – Fallin-VLS

The soundtrack to our daily grind, all in a nice & neat format. You know what it is © Cliff Harris. It’s Crew Love.

Corey Bloom

C-Rayz Walz & Swave Sev – “The Family Crest”

This has to be one of the iller tribute songs I’ve heard, done by one of favorite MC’s for one my favorite duos. C-Rayz and Swave Sev pay homage to Gangstarr with cleverly worded web of the albums, songs, productions and musical significance that built the legacy. More than anything this song has sparked my annual Daily Operation or Mass Appeal debate which has dominated my playlist…Daily Operation.

Z-Man – “Street Creed Need Me”

Z-Man spits so much relevance on this one the whole song is a quotable. Topics cover the spectrum and the wordplay is seasoned with too many flavors to favor. Off the Machete Vox sampler Sneak Preview the DNAE Beats produced banger is undisputable, plus you can’t front on the title.

S. Cadet

Pac Div – “Shut Up”

This is the song of the week already and we didn’t hit the weekend yet. I might have to sneak into the studio Read the rest of this entry »

Now, there’s no “Shiny Happy People” in the crew, we play the rough © Posdonus

I had full intentions of posting the video, then the thought occurred that a (C)Rank It! might be in order since it’s been months since we did one. Read the rest of this entry »

From the 1979 album of the same name & the sample source for De La’s “Keeping The Faith.”

Slave – Just A Touch Of Love

From the press release —

J.Period’s highly anticipated to The Abstract Poetic is finally here. This styles precedented mixtape arrives on the heels of Q-Tip’s critically–acclaimed album, The Renaissance (released Nov 4), and urges a new generation of fans to take note of Q-Tip’s tremendous contributions to Hip-Hop throughout his career.

With an all-star lineup of contributors—De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, ?uestlove, Black Thought, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Consequence, Zion I, Skillz, Black Sheep, Kid Cudi, and Blu, The [Abstract] Best is a first of its kind in the mixtape game, and a testament to the depth of influence Q-Tip has had on Hip-Hop’s elite.

Nothing left but the tracklist. Read the rest of this entry »

If this was 1991, there would no dispute about A Tribe Called Quest obtaining a 5 Cig rating from TSS for The Low End Theory. The level of innovation spawning from the jazz-infused, Hip-Hop masterpieces — which many have gone on to become standards in the culture, still inspire fans and artists to this day. So much to point where the typical remix or remake is considered adulation whenever the album’s concerned.

Which gradually sets the stage for J. Period’s Tribute 2 Q-Tip. Read the rest of this entry »

The calm before the storm. Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Jesse H.

You know what I miss?

Hip Hop that was fun to listen to. I’m not saying that there hasn’t been some great music put out recently, I’m just asking how much of it was fun? Unintentional comedy withstanding, when’s the last time you found yourself really having a great time just listening to the album? Or laughing along with the artists? No matter how great some of the songs in the past five years have been, they lack the self-deprecation that made some of Hip-Hop’s forgotten goofballs so great. Even a group that doesn’t portray themselves as intimidating, say the Cool Kids, lack the ability to create some self-depreciating humor. It’s something that makes me miss the mischievous humor of a group like the Pharcyde. Or the jovial persona pulled off so well by the Biz Markie (“Pickin’ Boogers” anyone?). Read the rest of this entry »

I can’t front, I’m low-key looking forward to Monday night.

Monday Night Football will get a one week reprieve while I watch VH1 put BET & MTV to shame once again when they air 2008′s installment of the Hip-Hop Honors. I can’t wait to see the performances and see the honorees get their just due. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Chris “Preach” Smith

In celebration of VH1′s Hip-Hop Honors show , The Crew is taking a look at a few of the honorees & their impact on Hip-Hop culture. This entry, De La Soul.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Hip-Hop compilation CDs it’s in the midst of all the verbal coal you’ll find a gem or two worthy of regular rotation. Such is the case with a little known collaboration between De La Soul and Camp Lo, “So Good”, off Tommy Boy:Hip Hop 101, which dropped in 2000. Originally intended to be a sampler album to promote artists on Tommy Boy’s now defunct Black Label, it wound up hiding surprisingly good songs with this track being at the forefront. Read the rest of this entry »

I didn’t even know they had EPK’s this far back. Read the rest of this entry »