No Hip-Hop crew would be nearly as strong without dependable soldiers to call on to add depth to discographies. If you’ve been following The Legendary Roots Crew for the latter half of this decade, most recently Rising Down, surely the name Truck North rings bells. Instead of going incognito while The Roots earn a steady paycheck with Jimmy Fallon, the Philly representer is set unload his Truck Jewels for the world to bear witness. Read the rest of this entry »

Generally, the bickering and babbling that coincides with ranking the year’s best LPs tend to blur the focus on the overall picture.

While some albums directly catered to personal preferences more immensely than others, all the selections emerged amongst the year’s best in regards to quality, visibility and of course, durability. Behold fifteen albums deserving of all the accolades and praises heaped upon them throughout the course of 2008. And their value will only solidify going in to 2009.

No order. No bias. Just noteworthy Hip-Hop.

Nas – Untitled

“From the brooding opening piano loop of “Queens Get The Money” to the uplifting snares on “Black President,” Nas channels his inner Walt Whitman as he explores the Black Diaspora. Lyrically though, his wordplay and delivery are sharp as ever as if all the attention to the title made Nas put extra effort and focus into his words…“ — From “America” – Review Of Nas’ Untitled Album

BONUS – Get familiar with Nas & DJ Green Lantern – The Nigger Tape Read the rest of this entry »

Ladies & Gentlemen,

Your “Proof Of Purchase” – TSS x Rising Down Giveaway Winners…

OED

Jake

Our two winners have already been contacted & are patiently waiting further instructions.

Props to Okayplayer for helping us out with this & the prizing. Who cares if you didn’t win? Go shop with them anyways.

Sincerest of thanks goes out to all who got up off their royal arses and participated. It’s one thing to sit online & root for your favorite artist or group. It’s another to physically go to the store or to a show and take that extra few beans out your pocket to further show your support.

Stay tuned, we’ll be doing more of these soon.

And tomorrow, we’ll announce the winners of the TSS x The Set Up Contest as well as the TSS x Smirnoff Signature Mix Series Giveaway.

If TC can buy a copy, so can you.

Two well-known OKPers copped copies as well.

But TC can’t win.

You > TC

Those OKPers…well, you’d say it was unfair if they won.

However, you can.

Take a look @ the current entries for TSS x Rising Down Giveaway.

Then, enter.

Words By Jesse H.

“Tonight at noon watch a bad moon rising.
Identities in crisis and conflict diamonds.
Blinding, staring at lights til they crying,
Bone gristle popping from continuous grinding…
Grapes of wrath in a shapely glass,
Ingredients influential on your ways and acts.
Zero tolerance to raise the tax.
It don’t matter how your gates is latched,
You ain’t safe from the danger, jack.
Made away before they made the map,
Or a GPS, this is D-E-F.”

Maybe I’m still buzzing off that new-album high. Maybe I’m still affected because I just saw him in concert less than a month ago. Or maybe I’m just blatantly biased because I think he’s the greatest talent of his generation. But, I really feel Mos Def wrote one of the finest verses of the decade with his guest spot on the title track off Rising Down (with profuse apologies to Black Thought, undoubtedly the disc’s best). Read the rest of this entry »

During a forty minute road trip, I was calling all of my friends and repeating that same sentence. In the day or so since then, I’ve come back to earth…but dammit this song is definitely worth some hyperbole.

The trio of Chrisette Michelle, Black Thought and Wale blend perfectly. Black gives his standard good to great verses with a catchy refrain and a nod to the forefathers of Go-Go (‘I’ll show you where my Rare Essence is at”).

Anyone who has ever been to a Roots show has been familiar with their radio mash-up segment in which they go give a few big singles the acoustic treatment. Read the rest of this entry »

Pic By Boney Starks

In a week that was fueled by over the counter prescription medications to stave off a mean viral infection, the only thing that mattered was this Roots contest we have going.

Why did we choose to do it?

Simply because we believe that there still remains a dedicated number of those of us who will go out of our way to put our dollars behind an artist or group who we knows deserves…in during these days of rising fuel costs. Read the rest of this entry »

…so can you.

Skillz hittin’ up Best Buy to purchase 15 copies of Rising Down. Guess his crew knows what their stocking stuffer will be this year.

Sincere props to Eskay & illRoots for lainkin’ the contest.

Buy a copy & enter por favor.

Enter the TSS x The Set Up Contest too.

Stray Shots

Scarface-Balls_And_My_Word

Koopsta Knicca – Da Devils Playground

Money_B_(of_Digital_Underground)-Talkin_Dirty

Krayzie_Bone-Smoke_On_This

Tha_Dogg_Pound-Lets_Ryde_2Night_EP

VA – J. Armz-How To Be An MC 51

Marvin Gaye – Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye (1983)

Stray Shots

…or would that be a flagrant?

At least you know I ain’t just preachin’ it. Last night, I took my happy ass to Best Buy too & I will be going to see them on May 27 as well.

We’ll be pluggin’ the winner for the Erykah Badu Giveaway very soon. If you entered, watch your inbox.

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You were buying the album anyways, right?

Well how about a chance to buy the album, show your support…and win something in the process?

Yep, we’re back at it, just like we did before with the TSS x Little Brother “Proof Of Purchase” Giveway.

Same process to enter…

1. Grab a sheet of paper & write your name on it.

2. Take a picture of your CD & that piece of paper. Read the rest of this entry »

The legendary Roots crew is an enigma within the realm of Hip-Hop because they are known for their live performance & use of instruments, moreso than for their actual albums. This is partly due to the fact that they don’t cater to the desires of fans or try to keep up with what’s going on in the current landscape of rap music. They do what they do & if you like it cool; if not try again next time. It’s also because since they make their living on the road, that they feel free to do whatever they want (& their label is willing to tolerate) when they put together a studio album. Staying with the darker sound found on their last album Game Theory; The Roots give us Rising Down, the title believed to have been taken from the book “Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means.”

Wasting no time in unleashing the title track, Black Thought is joined by Mos Def & Styles P. on “Rising Down.” The three emcees speak on the ills of society over a sparse backdrop of a keyboard loop & drums. The theme continues on “Get Busy,” as Black Thought, Dice Raw, & Peedi Crakk continue to weigh-in on what’s going in the world. Read the rest of this entry »

You know, I know people who have this album. But they must have taken some sacred vow from a trio of witches (word to Macbeth) while standing over a boiling cauldron, because nobody is leaking that bad boy.

Isn’t that kind of cool for once?

They have been nice enough to make available what was slated to be the last track on the album.

Black Thought & Malik B 1994 Freestyle

Rising Down in stores 4.29.08. You can preorder @ OKP.

Even if it ain’t on the album, it still gets a video in this new, viral world of Hip-Hop.

The Roots Bump ‘Birthday’ From New Album [Billboard]

The Roots Rising Down jam session that took place last week in NYC.

Props to OKP.

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