Reks is known as a fearsome emcee, with a taste for chewing up and spitting out lesser rappers. So, it may come as a surprise that “Kill ‘Em” is firmly tongue-in-cheek. While Reks threatens a long hit list of the underground’s best, he also verbally takes out his own crew, and in the end, offs himself. Read the rest of this entry »

“In these streets fightin’ every day like I’m Bison/ The flow is like a firearm…”

If you’re still unfamiliar with either of the featured spitters on “U Ain’t Gettin Nothin,” here is your opportunity to test the bars of both Jon Connor and Just Blaze’s new homie, XV. Since producers Sean C & LV concocted their best attempt at a beat for Str8 Outta Compton, this Flint-Wichita connection relentlessly assault the track, providing enough lyrical murder to have them locked up by song’s end. Read the rest of this entry »

Atlandelphian STS closes out the Demand More mixtape series with one last installment, the G.O.L.D. Edition, for free via STSIsGold.com. The special set includes a revamped version of the “The People,” now featuring additional wordplay by Joell Ortiz and brass by Dave Guy of The Dap Kings. Read the rest of this entry »

God’s Son and Shallah finally together again in the return of real arrogant rap. Read the rest of this entry »

After a night of being cross-faded, if you’re out of Advil®, the best cure for that migraine the day after is more liquor. So just in case you’ve started get comfortable with Game’s Purp & Patron mixtape, he’s unleashed a sequel, The Hangover, to help you rid those morning after blues. Last week’s offering wasn’t bad, especially in comparison to his 2010 releases, but there was still definitely room for improvement. Read the rest of this entry »

Vibe:

“Slated to be included on Raekwon’s fifth LP, Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang, due for release on March 8th, the highly anticipated collabo finds the emcees trading bars over sparse symphony-esque drums and balanced strings.

“It’s pure hard drums and a couple strings in there. I can only say that it’s just a head nod beat (pause). It’s just one of them shits that makes you look like you just got punched in the face,” describes producer LV, who along with partner Sean C crafted the forthcoming Raekwon and Nas record “Rich And Black.” Read the rest of this entry »

Def Jam’s Gorilla took some leisure time in his natural habitat in between shooting this video to pound his chest in front of Derek Pike’s camera lens. Even a few lionesses came out to congregate in the concrete watering hole. You can never know what to expect in the heart of the D-Block jungle. Read the rest of this entry »

Sheek Luciano is a full bird colonel as far as industry vets go and his behind-the-scenes command has earned him the opportunity to call Def Jam his base of operations for the time being. To celebrate his newfound enlistment, he’s recruited DJ Green Lantern as his executive officer and along with Termanlogy, Sean C. & LV, Termanology and the rest of the Lox, Donnie Def Jam: Guerilla Warfare Vol. 1 is the next East Coast weapon of mass destruction. Read the rest of this entry »

My tour of the Big Apple continues with a stop in Yonkers. Sheek Louch has been relatively quiet since inking his deal with the place who lived up to the first half of their name by betting the house (and a portion of their integrity) on Shyne – otherwise known as Def Jam. Read the rest of this entry »

Back with another installment of his quarterly series, Skillz took his confessional show on the road to NYC for part five.  And who can blame him?  As the epicenter of our beloved culture, the city that never sleeps has to be full of people wanting to clear their conscience.  In an effort to provide the greatest catharsis possible Skillz targeted those who’ve had a considerable amount of contact with good ‘ol Lucifer over the years.  Featuring hitmen past & present; Deric “D. Dot” Angelettie, Sean C, LV & Young Chris (thrown in for good measure) all seek the restorative powers from the VA journeyman.

Every time one of these come out, there’s always one story that stands a cut above the rest.  This time that honor goes to D. Dot.  Anytime you can combine Diddy, Ma$e, a hit record & a wager for publishing all in one tale, then your destined to win.  Sean C’s also is pretty interesting… mainly due to the fact that it involves one the other participants, which makes for nice ‘lil double whammy.

Credit has to be given to Skillz for keeping this series going.  Although he’s not flooding the block with new ones in frequent fashion, whenever one does appear, it’s always well worth the time to go through the whole video.

See y’all sometime in July.

Skillz presents: Hip-Hop Confessions ep. 5 from Visually Inklined

Sugar Tongue Slim is going to do big things in the rap game. His flow navigates around the drums as a mouse does in a maze searching for cheese. Sporadically, yet confined; focused, yet adventitious. His high toned vocal inflection is unique enough to separate himself from the pack, but conventional enough to draw interest from a wide audience. The kid from the A has a bright future ahead of him, and judging by the pioneer KRS-One’s reaction in the video below, he won’t be regionally bound. Read the rest of this entry »

If you couldn’t tell by the leaks or the swagger, Sugar Tongue Slim a.k.a. STS has a silky smooth flow but he still believes in pushing the creative boundaries in Hip-Hop to the limit. That’s why Demand More 2 isn’t your average tape just by your average fly-by-night rapper. Featuring appearances by the Money Making Jam Boys (Black Thought, Truck North & Dice Raw), production by Don Cannon, Sean C & LV, see what STS has been brewing from his journeys from Philly to Atlanta and back again. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh those wily Thornton brothers.

Paying no attention to my referendum when Corinne surfaced. They probably released the only video that could pry me momentarily away from The Sea.  This song is guaranteed to get at least five back-to-back spins whenever the disc goes in the car.  Gotty™ already shed light on Pusha’s verse, but that doesn’t mean Malice didn’t come correct. Read the rest of this entry »

Record sales and industry accolades be damned. The blood-brotherly tandem of Gene “Malice” Thornton and Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton have maintained an admirable career on the basis of their consistency to bring lyrical prowess to the forefront in a genre which is slowly devaluing the occult. Unwilling to put even a raindrop to their creative flame, the Clipse exist in Hip-Hop as a dying breed–affirmed by their third studio album Til The Casket Drops. An album unique in its identity with all the wow factor (and drab moments) that best describe a Clipse excursion. Read the rest of this entry »

“With every line written, and all I have given
Music’s been nothing more than a self-made prison
I’ve taken inmate loses at the hands of this one
My pen’s the poison to family and friendships
Now it’s time to mend shit
Time to bring closure to
The clear conscience of Pusha is long overdue Read the rest of this entry »