Ro Spit has come pretty damn far in a relatively short amount of time. Probably four years ago, when the Pontiac, MI native was still going by Octane and partnered with his homeboy iLLiTe, I only knew him as the Burn Rubber guy who was attempting to double as an MC. At the time, his bars were on par, but the music seemed like it was somewhat stuck in the shadow of his one-story Royal Oak sneaker boutique, as if the budding entrepreneur hadn’t quite figured out which facet he wanted to take to the next level. Well, over the next thousand days or so, Ro’s rap name changed Read the rest of this entry »

If you aren’t completely hip to Outasight and his unique brand of swing-rap, this fresh compilation from the Yonkers MC and DJ Benzi should make catching up a breeze. Chock-full of OU’s most notable tracks from past releases and complimented by a few new ones, Get It Together was basically designed to show you why this guy’s currently getting blasted out of prime-time Pepsi commercials and been buzzing in general over the past few years. Read the rest of this entry »

Hoodie Allen isn’t like most rappers. In a lot of ways, he’s more like you than he is 90% of Hip-Hop. For example, while many elite MCs speak on gangerisms and gwop galore, the charmingly goofy Allen opens up his sophomore mixtape/LP Leap Year with lines about eating Mexican food with his would-be wifey. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s nice to see Fabby Davis Jr. keeping up the mantra of consistency he’s carried his whole career with the aptly-titled The Grind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste Pt. 2 mixtape. It was also kind of nice to see the tape’s cover, as the detailed design made me feel little better about still having posters of my idolized artists hanging around my house. Read the rest of this entry »

After steady rocking out the second version of SMKA’s 808 Experiment compilations, I’m pleased to see these trunk-rattling tapes aren’t just a two-shot deal. Especially when these ATLiens are using their production powers to pair up welcome tandems like these. Read the rest of this entry »

You never thought you’d see the phrases ‘Spice 1‘ and ‘mixtape’ in the same phrase, did you? Well, me neither and that’s why I was quick on the draw to help spread this Bay Area staple’s latest shotgun blast, Notorious Bastards Vol. 1 Mixtape. Don’t expect much more than tales from the hood and quick-tongued massacres, but hey, that’s just the thug in him. Read the rest of this entry »

Between SXSW and A3C, I’ve run into my man hasHBrown more this year than I have certain family members. That anomaly that can be explained by one word alone; hustle. Grinding behind one hell of a work ethic – consisting of rapping, producing and hosting his own H-Town underground One Mic Houston concert series – the man that makes us all hungry for more has already unveiled his next course. Read the rest of this entry »

Eminem has D-12. Curtis enlisted G-Unit. Ludacris hyped DTP. Nas brought us The Bravehearts. Jeezy put on the USDA Crew. And, of course, Neighborhood Nipsey shares the corner with his crew The Slauson Boyz. Read the rest of this entry »

Skipping the simple instrumental and leaving every vocal element untouched, I can think of three songs off rip that I’d throw some bars on if I were an MC; “Needy Girl,” “Early In The Morning” and “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life.” But, I’m a funky kind of guy. Read the rest of this entry »

Miss a couple of days online and you miss a multitude of music. Thankfully, most of it is disposable and didn’t matter much anyways. Yet, this Ode To Illmatic should be different than the average fodder that passes through the inbox. And it’s only fitting that Fashawn create a “thank you” for the man and album who we’ve compared him to previously. Read the rest of this entry »

Just the other day I ran back Gone Fishin’ and wondered where the heck The Cool Kids went. It was around this time last year that when that tape got spins well into the summer and I expected their debut album to drop in the fall. But alas, we didn’t hear much from them for a minute outside of a few features and a short Christmas tape. It seemed weird seeing their online presence diminish given their track record. So that gave me reason to believe they were up to something substantial behind the scenes. Read the rest of this entry »

An oldie but goodie by Mister Cee, originally released circa ’97 and remastered for 2010. Looking @ the tracklisting and listening warms the cockles of my heart © LC as I remember the impact several of these tracks had on mixtapes, radio, the streets and clubs. “You Ain’t A Killer,” “Keep Your Hands High” & “G.O.D. III”? Psssh. On the flipside, today’s rappers should take it as a lesson because half of the hits and their featured performers, we could put an APB out on their whereabouts. Read the rest of this entry »

The Pac trio seemed to cruise through and toss this one on to everyone’s doorstep without any fanfare or preliminary hype. In the current state of Hip-Hop presentations, that’s almost good for listeners, giving us back that element of surprise. What isn’t surprising is the quality of product found on Don’t Mention It as it’s the usual mix of solid, smooth production that compliments the group’s hard-hitting approach to lyrics and delivery. Also included are features Colin Munroe, Pill, Dom Kennedy and Chip Tha Ripper. If you want to try before you buy, it’s streaming via their site, ItsPacDiv.com, but off a few repeat streams it sounds worthy of the hard drive space. Read the rest of this entry »

True to his word, Juse Dayne released the second installment of his Transcend Trilogy earlier this week. Unlike last time, Spaceship Music features the Jersey native over original production from Ryan Griffin, D. Rhodes, Smoke and Dannie Phantom. Best Kept Secret – of Wale’s Attention Deficit fame – also stop by and leave their seal of approval.

To be perfectly honest, upon first hearing the project was titled “Spaceship Music,” images of Yung LA and glitter drenched mohawks instantly polluted the outcome before play was pressed. Thankfully, Juse was nothing of the sort and the entire tape proved to be an enjoyable listen. From the intro, Dayne, excuse me, Jetson, clearly shows poise for catchy one-liners. He’s also no stranger to the opposite sex as he irons his gift of gab over the Michael Jackson sampled “Lady For Tonight.” Read the rest of this entry »

Mixed by DJ RTC, today brings us Rhymefest’s Dangerous: 5-18 mixtape, which serves as a prelude to El Che. A mix of scrapped album tracks and a few other notables, this should be a good addition to the archives. Read the rest of this entry »