It’s funny how things come full circle.

I remember the post I wrote comparing Fashawn’s first album to Illmatic and the subsequent reaction I received in the comments. Of course, I expected this, as I was aware that the majority of people most likely wouldn’t be open to my point simply because I was apparently committing Hip-Hop blasphemy by associating a new artist with arguably the greatest album of all-time. 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 »

The Bay Area has been on the map for years and now it just got a little more balanced. As in Balance, the rappin’ Raider who’s ten toes deep in the rap game. For his next act of gratitude and grustle, he’s offering up We All In, a ten track disc for you to bleed the block with free of charge. Mixed by DJ’s Ill Will & Rockstar and appearances by Jay Rock, Mistah Fab, Fashawn and plenty more, watch how Balance and the West do it in Twenty Ten. Read the rest of this entry »

By Friday, things here are a tale of two cities. On the surface, it’s a free-for-all. We’ve unofficially have dubbed the day “fresh music Fridays” and the main demonstration is to filter through the two scoops of mp3s that hit our inboxes during the week. Behind the scenes, things slow down to a crawl and we recuperate, recharging our Fresh. While things are still going on in the present, we’ve already moved on to plotting and planning for the next week. Therefore, we leave the action in your hands in the comments section by default. Read the rest of this entry »

When Balance saying he’s going all in, he’s cashing in all his poker chips and bringing the entire Golden State with him. Still ridin’ high from the last Bay Area mashup, Mr. 510 calls upon a trio of Cali hotshots to increase the anticipation for We All In. Read the rest of this entry »

Along with the recommendations found here, DJ Whoo Kid and XXL have consolidated the year’s top Freshmen onto one mixtape to give the uninitiated a crash course in one sitting. It’s Big Sean, Donnis, Fashawn, Freddie Gibbs, J. Cole, Jay Rock, Nipsey Hussle, OJ Da Juiceman, Pill and Wiz Khalifa all competing for your headphone time. Will one of them make a new believer out of you? Read the rest of this entry »

If this is your first time seeing any of the artists mentioned, on behalf on the rest of the TSS Crew, I’d like to give you all a warm welcome to The Smoking Section. Because every last one of these rooks have been featured heavily on the site. None of these rappers are actually “new” or “freshman” in the traditional sense. Read the rest of this entry »

Based on last week’s five video freestyles courtesy of XXL Magazine’s Freshmen 2010, pick the proper order which best showcases the artists’ talent level from the following six answers. Read the rest of this entry »

This 2009 Slept-On list covers the gamut of artists in the Hip-Hop realm. Old G’s from the mid-90s who still got the goods, even if they don’t resonate with the younger crowd. Underground super groups. Young artists on the cusp of breaking through into bigger circles. Southern legends riding out into immortality for the last time.

What ties these albums together is that for whatever reason, they didn’t quite get the love they deserved in 2009. So start off 2010 by loading up on some of the best music 2009 had to offer (for a very reasonable price).

Tanya Morgan – Brooklynati

With the soul and spirit of De La and Tribe, Tanya Mo quietly dropped Brooklynati. Backed by Sir Von Pea’s soulful production, the cast of Tanya Morgan delivered carefree stories of a rap group on the come up which spawned the infectious single “So Damn Down.” Phonte, Blu, Carlitta Durrand and Kay all co-star. Wake up and join the movement!—Landon A.

Cop: Brooklynati

M.O.P. – Foundation

Although seemingly dropping out of nowhere in the middle of September with zero promotional buzz and nary a video to boot, the brutes from Brownsville didn’t treat their undetected product like a contractual obligation. Setting things off over riot-inducing production from DJ Premier, Nottz and Statik Selektah, Foundation’s exterior sounded as rugged as day uno. Time to ante up if you haven’t heard it.—TC

Cop: Foundation

Fashawn – Boy Meets World

Two years after Blu & Exile’s groundbreaking project Below The Heavens shook the underground in 2007, the MPC-toting soulful beatsmith chose Fresno’s own Fashawn to be the second MC he would push onto the masses with their collaborative project Boy Meets World. Ex’s lush production meshes together beautifully with Fashawn’s lyrical tales reflecting his upbringing in the northern part of California that raised him. While the album didn’t reach far within the commerial realm, the critical acclaim and respect he gained as a lyricist in his region of the country makes his freshman outing a success that he can most definitely build on.—K1NG

Cop: Boy Meets World

K’Naan – Troubadour

’09 was a big year for K’Naan. He began the year by receiving the buzzworthy badge from The Man er…MTV and the summer months had him on the road with the Rock the Bells tour. Troubadour was a cocktail of worldly delights mixed with all the familiar elements of Hip-Hop that helped to make a sleeper hit. The guest roster adds flavor to the mix as Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Mos Def, Chubb Rock, Chali 2na and Kirk Hammett of Metalica all make appearances.—Landon A.

Cop: Troubadour

Twista – Category F5

Who said that hurricanes can only hit along the coasts? On his 7th studio album, Twista came out spinning early and often on this one. With songs like “American Gangster,” “Talk To Me,” & the radio friendly “Wetter,” Mr. Mitchell was operating at full strength during the eye of his storm. Although it loses steam near the end when he lends his attention solely to the fairer sex, Category F5 show that Twista hasn’t lost a step during his time served and when focused, is still as lethal as ever.—MZ

Cop: Category F5

Fresh Daily - The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion

Fresh Daily is the Hip-Hop you love. An old school delivery with new-age punchlines make The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion a joy to listen to. Daily’s bars are laugh out loud funny at times but it’s tracks like “Love Breakdown” and “Crimes of Passion” that allow the New Yorker to show off his more serious side. And try to listen to “Gutterman” or “Untucked Nunchucks” and not get the yuck face. Fresh Daily is a pundit on the mic and more outings like this will guarantee he’ll be a force in the game for a long time.—David D.

Cop: The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion

Warren G. – The G. Files

Overshadowed by releases from his other Old G contemporaries, Sir. Griffin proved that G-Funk stays winning well into middle age. Help from a mix of the new Cali crew and some standbys didn’t hurt. Top tracks like the dark, “100 Miles & Runnin’” (poor title though c’mon Warren,) move the album, and even some of the poppy efforts like the Snoop collabo “Swagger Rich” are still enjoyable. Warren’s not consistent or adept enough to label this a new classic, but fans of old school, West Coast Hip-Hop should definitely partake.—Patrick M.

Cop: The G. Files

Donny Goines – The Breakfast Club

Ever wonder what the lyrical equivalent of Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise and crushed red pepper would amount to? If so, Donny Goines served up such a platter with The Breakfast Club. Mixing engaging food for thought (“Sublime”) with light midday meals (“Party Apple”), the free buffet was essentially a compilation seeing that it featured nearly every hot act in today’s blogosphere. Too many calories present to let this dish go cold.—TC

Download: The Breakfast Club

Curren$y – This Ain’t No Mixtape

After flooding the Internet with a massive amount of mixtapes over the span of a year or so, New Orleans’ own Curren$y decided to take a little time to craft an independent album alongside Amalgam Digital. Utilizing his effortless flow to glide over the sonic landscape provided by Monsta Beatz, Spitta crafted an album with enough weed & sneaker references to put Complex to shame. While it didn’t quite break him through to the mainstream audience, it proved to be a worthy project for any rap fan’s collection this year.—K1NG

Cop: This Ain’t No Mixtape

Lushlife – Cassette City

The guy doesn’t look the part and on first glance his name reads like a Twilight character. But 30 seconds of hearing Lushlife spit rhymes and you’ll believe in the product. Still Cassette City was largely ignored by the general public, who may have been turned off by the visuals or just didn’t know any better. That’s a shame, because the album combines introspective rhymes that keep coming with new-age production that keeps to its underground roots.—Patrick M.

Cop: Cassette City

Trife Diesel – Better Late Than Never

Eight years of purgatory doesn’t exactly breed excitement for the release of an album, but in the case of Trife Diesel, his tardiness proved to worth waiting for. Boldly going where NYC hadn’t been in some time, dirtier-than-fishscale parables like “Powerful Minds” and Ghostface-assisted “Respectfully” gave the East some bragging rights to close out the decade. Hopefully they won’t have to wait too long for the sequel.—TC

Cop: Better Late Than Never

Playaz Circle – Flight 360: The Takeoff

Without a breakaway hit à la “Duffle Bag Boy” Tity Boy & Dolla’s flight was a little less crowded this go around. But for those who chose to take a ride were treated to their signature brand of music for in-flight entertainment.  While the OJ Da Juiceman collabo “Stupid” was put into place to appease those hanger on’s from last go around, this DTP duo brought equal parts of style and substance to the table.  If they can continue on their current trajectory, it’ll only be a matter of time before they’ll be shopping for bigger planes.—MZ

Cop: Flight 360: The Takeoff

UGK – 4 Life

This was the final curtain call for one of Hip-Hop’s greatest groups and they went out in the same draped up and dripped out purple Cadillac they rode in on. If you thought this would be a sappy ode to Pimp C, you were sadly mistaken. “Still on the Grind” and “Swishas & Erb” are familiar odes to what made UGK successful while “Steal Your Mind” shows a dream collaboration with Snoop and Too $hort, forming a pimp dream team of outrageous bars. Then there’s Pimp with his insistence on unshaven pubic areas and lines like “I’m tryin to put my dick inside ya mouth/tryin’ to put my dick and nuts inside ya mouth!” Long live the Pimp.—David D.

Cop: 4 Life

RZA – Afro Samurai Resurrection OST

Noticably absent from the multitude of Wu releases for the year, RZA did manage to stay productive in the industry’s frozen tundra, better known as January. The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai Resurrection OST, the eponymous soundtrack for the violent animated movie, incorporated a massive amount of underground talent for the greater good of murder music. It’s like a Hanzo for your iPod.—TC

Cop: The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai Resurrection OST

I’m always a little tepid when I get little emails like this in the inbox. I do want to see emcees test their mettle against the better beats in Hip-Hop’s catalog, but Illmatic is venerated and most attempts end up leaving me giving said artist the side-eye. Thankfully, Fashawn and I will be able to continue on, he as artist and I as blogger, because he holds it down over Premo’s production.

“Just wanted to thank everybody for their support in 2009. I couldn’t have been asked for a better group of colleagues, fans, and team to help get my music out to the masses. I’m gonna drop this project I actually wrote and recorded in a week while living in LA last summer before I did The Antidote. I chose to hold off on it for a while, but feel 2010 is the perfect time to let my fans hear it. Here’s a little taste of it. Shout outs to Green Lantern for lacing me with instrumentals, to Large Pro for helping me get what is almost impossible to get and to one of the best poets to ever live who inspired me to do what i do. Look for more music, collabs and shows for 2010. God Bless and Thanks again.”

Sounds like big tings gwan’on for the young roughneck.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download — Fashawn – “Memory Lane” (Freestyle)

The dark horse candidate is one of the most enviable positions to be in. While its peers are lauded and placed under scrutiny, they’re free to go about their business without all the extra attention and expectations. If for some reason they exceed the modest expectations placed upon them, they’ll rightfully be lauded along their contemporaries and not bashed if they stumbled out of the gate. Short on buzz and name recognition. but not talent; Fresno, CA emcee Fashawn has placed his hat in contention for one of ‘09’s top rookies with his debut album Boy Meets World. Read the rest of this entry »

New mixtape from Athletic Mic League’s Buff1 as he gathers his friends – both on the boards and the mic – for the release of It’s A 1nderful Life, mixed by fellow Crown Royale member DJ Rhettmatic. Watch for the duo to release an album in early 2010 on the MYX Music Label. Read the rest of this entry »

Work smarter, not harder.

Posting compiled Loosies is always time consuming to an extent. It’s always good to feel like we’re getting tracks out to you & it always gives a “Uhh? Who us?” feeling when an unheard of artist sends an email thanking us for including their mp3 in a Loosies set. But @ the same time, I started to notice that where an estimated hour or two per day would be spent rounding up Loosies, they’d only be downloaded by a handful of the several thousand travelers who cross our e-doorstep daily. Read the rest of this entry »

Newcomer to the scene Dre Biggity snatches up familiar names, Fashawn & Diz Gibran, to reinterpret their version of the Wu-famed acronym “C.R.E.A.M.” Over twangy guitar-infested production by Best Kept Secret Read the rest of this entry »

The Kings, Ro Blvd & Fashawn took you deep into the realm of audio fantasy with this marquee track from A Love Supreme, now here’s the reality to match. Read the rest of this entry »