Planet Asia offers a west coast ode in the form of “Golden State.” Serving as primer for the veteran’s upcoming album Black Belt Theatre, Asia drops lines over a beat ready-made with funky horns and a smooth jazz flute. The video fits perfectly, an homage to kung-fu, bright colors and pretty much anything from the ’70s. Read the rest of this entry »

Jason Green stays with a healthy zip of his last name but he’s far from a weed rapper. His biggest uplifting moments come courtesy of the content of his music as heard on “Air Balloon,” where he attempts to raise the awareness on one’s peace of mind. That’s exactly how Planet Asia and The Gold Chain Military carries out their missions. Attack urban warfare with aerial assaults. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite having a lineup of emcees that sounds like it was drawn randomly from names in a hat, the Statik Selektah and Alchemist co-produced “On The Corner” works surprisingly well. Read the rest of this entry »

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The above picture was taken at a gas station in my hometown of Washington, DC. As I contemplated how long it would take to commute to downtown DC on a skateboard, I shuddered at the thought of prices rising even higher during the approaching summer. Read the rest of this entry »

Planet Asia could have been an architect or city planner in another life. His knack for investigative journalism combined with his vast knowledge of the urban scene makes him a real life GPS, before the device was even conceived. Just more examples why he’s able to bring you through the ghetto without riding ’round. Read the rest of this entry »

Camp Loington is right up there with Rae and Ghost as a nominee for Best Creative Use of Language by a duo. Adding on to their legacy of slang, On Ice adds “-ington” (think -izzle) to the lexicon of Lowah. Over Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s 2001 reunion track “Back on the Block,” Suede and Cheeba speak on Slimmingtons, Kittingtons, and boilermakers being On Deckington. Read the rest of this entry »

Home to Rip Ridaz and Damus, palm trees, sandy beaches and a million and one sports teams, California needs a wide scope to capture the ambiance of its daily happenings. And since two heads are better than one, Strong Arm Steady has extra insurance on their investment with three members in Krondon, Mitchy Slick and Phil Da Agony. Bleeding the West Coast in every step of their walk, Read the rest of this entry »

The artistic work of the social dynamics of crack cocaine, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, The Wire, often get labeled “cinematic,” by high-art critics who live far away from where the shit actually goes down at. Perhaps it was with this in mind that Planet Asia named his Corner Boy opus Crackbelt Theatre. Read the rest of this entry »

Madlib doesn’t have regular fans; most are true diehards. I’m not one…yet, because I’m slowly becoming a convert. The guy’s beats are nothing to f*ck with. Read the rest of this entry »

Never heard of Kyle Rapps but his deep voice and Belief’s production initially made me play this a few times this morning. Not that there’s much here aside from raps about making money, presented in a string of rhymes that don’t seem to bear much connection at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Our favorite superhero emcee Ras Kass is joined by a gang of friends for “Scenario 2010.” Planet Asia, Krondon & Phil the Agony of Strong Arm Steady, Mistah FAB, Montage One & Chino XL make featured appearances while Rhettmatic, Money B, Killer Ben, Tristate, J. Bizness and more make cameos. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember how gats were blurred out in videos for years? Strong Arm Steady says fuck that as they’re stalkin’ gat fools and walkin’ jack moves in broad daylight. Drippin’ with West Coast flavor, S.A.S. are a hard workin’ crew; already prepping for their 2011 album Arms & Hammers with this joint right here. Read the rest of this entry »

Journey with Gary, Indiana’s finest 360° on the authentic gangsta tip. The OG mixtape was a rawer-than-sushi shootout designed for your weed smokin’ joyrides through the mind of the methodical genius. Where as Str8 Killa, presented a more concise and direct scope through Freddie Gibbs’ songmaking merits. And now, we have the full-length project stripped of its street décor to give your EP the missing pieces to the studio quality puzzle. Read the rest of this entry »

With the current anticipation and excitement surrounding this here release, nothing more needs to be said. But we’re going to say it anyway. Freddie has ascended to this milestone because you, the fan have given him enough support with his artistic craft and not forced him to compromise his core values when it comes to displaying his talents on the microphone. Read the rest of this entry »

How bout takin’ to the Left Side for a second? What we have here is 33% of the gang that Strong Arm’s its opponents with mic skills alongside a couple of Cali’s highly respect master of ceremonies in Planet Asia and Bad Lucc over a mixture of beautiful noise concocted by the one and only Alan The Chemist. When all the pieces fit, the puzzle is that much more appealing. Read the rest of this entry »