My insider's tip: Cardo & Gerald Walker - On Your Side: Part Deux

Rapper / singer Gerald Walker has once again teamed up with Taylor Gang beatsmith Cardo, for the second installment of last year's "On Your Side" mixtape, simply subtitled "Part Deux". Their 2011 release was already slept on, I only got aware of when 2dopeboyz referred to it as they posted the first single "Get High To Get By" of their contemporary project. This track had such a warm and smooth vibe that I was temped to check out their last year's project.

Anyway, last week they dropped "Part Deux" for free download, along the video for their second single "Live It Up" which is not less chilled-out. Check it out below to get an impression of the whole thing:


Compared to their first, this new project is a lot more relaxed, with mellow (synthie) sounds, catchy melodies and a good portion of sequencing. Also Gerald Walker shows some good skills on the microphone as he is able to fill some of his double-timers with decent and witty content. So, in case you missed it, download "On Your Side: Part Deux" for free:

DOWNLOAD: Cardo & Gerald Walker - On Your Side: Part Deux

E-40 & Too $hort drop "History" double album on November 6

E-40 and Too $hort will be releasing their long awaited collabo album "History" (formerly titled The History Channel) on November 6. The album will be divided into two seperate discs, as we know it from recent E-40 releases. One album got the subtitle "Mob Music" and is gonna contain songs with a more 90's and old-school oriented sound, while the other is called "Function Music", which is said to be more modern such as E-40's "Function" single.

Here's the cover artwork:

TDE shows full potential on appreciation week - Kendrick goes GaGa

This year has already been blessed with lots of dope music from the TopDawg Entertainment camp, with ScHoolBoy Q and Ab-Soul releasing their solo projects and Kendrick unleashing the summer smasher "The Recipe" alongside Dr. Dre plus the hit single "Swimming Pools (Drank)". Only Jay Rock has kept it on the down low so far, only releasing the street anthem "Checkmate".

This week, the camp reached back to give all their fans some super heat and introduced the world to the "TDE appreciation week".
The first move was made by Jay Rock who gave us the Dave Free produced banger "YOLA", a bass heavy song about the dope game.


Second was ScHoolBoy Q with his drug-crazy, enthusiastic track called "Party". And if you remember how Quincy partied on fan's favorite "Hands On The Weel" (feat. A$AP Rocky), this one is the legitimate follow-up.


The strongest track comes from the Black Hippy dictionary Ab-Soul. "Nibiru" perfectly continues where Soulo hast left us with his "Control System" album, blessed with a great atmospheric beat by JMSN. It's incredible how Ab-Soul has improved his lyrical game and his delivery and how he's now able to fascinate listeners all around the world with his groundbreaking wordplay - or can you recall any rapper talking bout Anunnaki Flow? No? Then check the lyrics.


Last but not least it was the turn of the hottest musician on the west coast, Mr. Kendrick Lamar who provided us with a west coast anthem just yesterday. "Westside, Right On Time" does not only see Young Jeezy on one of his best guest appearences ever, but more importantly sets the right mood for a day on the beach, Tequila Sunrise in your hand, shades on lock. Kendrick confirmed on twitter that this track is not gonna be on his long awaited upcoming solo record "good kid, mAAd city" and that may be the best thing about the song. It's just basic and irrelevant enough to leave it from a conceptual album like Kendrick's, but smooth and catchy enough to bump it like a warm-up for the real deal all summer long.



On another note, Kendrick and Lady GaGa (!) have confirmed that there is gonna be a duet song for Kendrick's album and they plan to release it on September 6. While it wasn't a secret anymore that GaGa was a fan of Kendrick's music, we can all be excited how the track called "Partynauseous" is gonna sound like.


If you're new to Black Hippy and their members and you want more, stop by at freeonsmash.com to get a videography (click) of this year and some interesting side information.

Complex Mag states the top 100 L.A. rap songs

Just found this on the homepage of Complex Mag and felt like I need to share this.

http://www.complex.com/music/2012/06/the-100-best-la-rap-songs/

Now what are your thoughts on that list?

Jarren Benton - Skitzo (Video)

Ok, I admit I'm really late on this one, but I gotta share this. If you wanna see something really weird but yet artistically interesting, check Jarren Benton's video to "Skitzo".



If this is making you curious about more music, check out the A3C v.1 compilation.

Cousin Fik peeps the old bay and the new bay on new single

Sic Wit It rapper Cousin Fik, who a lot of you may know from his feature appearences on the latest E-40 albums, is gearing up for the release of his upcoming album "Sickest Nigga Healthy". As for that he called out Decadez to provide him with the minimalist and bassy beat to his new single "Old Bay New Bay". The track is a nice little piece of music for people who like the electronic sound of the new bay. Cousin Fik's rhymes are always worthwhile listening to, he sure has some wit and style, although on this one, he sounds kinda monotonous. Enough babbling though, check the video:

Krizz Kaliko releases "Kickin & Screamin"

Strange Music's own Krizz Kaliko just celebrated the release of his new album "Kickin & Screamin". The Kansas City singer slash rapper hence dropped his 4th solo effort and it sure is an ambitious one. Besides guest appearences by (of course) Tech N9ne, T-Pain, Twista, Chamillionaire among others, fans can expect a wiser and more thoughtful Kaliko, compared to his last release "Shock Treatment" from 2010. But he is not forgetting the party and sometimes almost dub-step kind of heaters either.

One of such is the shrugging, electronic and bass-driven "Spaz" for which he just dropped a video. He gets assistes by label boss Tech N9ne.



Another Tech N9ne featured track is the introspective "Hello Wells", which also got chosen to shoot a video for.



These two tracks should give you a proper impression of what to expect from "Kickin & Screamin", so judge for yourself and if you like it, support Krizz Kaliko and Strange Music.

E-40 strikes with a great line-up for his new videos

Vallejo native and bay area legend E-40 has been known for a work-a-holic not only since he dropped a three-disc album called "The Block Brochure: Welcome To The Soil" earlier this year. Combined with the four-disc set of "Revenue Retrievin" from 2010 and 2011 he has released 140 songs within the last three years and shot numerous videos also. While you can surely argue about the necessity of dropping so much music in that short time, I can assure you that his two new videos will be pleasing the quality rap fan. Therefore he has been reaching out to some of the sickest artists in the scene.

Today, E-40 presented his new single "Catch A Fade" on facebook, featuring his son Droop-E and the westcoast's new ambassador Kendrick Lamar. Watch it below.



Just last week he sent another banger through youtube, the gritty horror-visual of "Zombie" featuring Sacramento's finest Brother Lynch Hung and the fastest tongue in hip-hop Tech N9ne. You can find it below.



E-40 also announced that he's gonna "shoot videos for 93% of the songs on all 3 BLOCK BROCHURE albums". Again, you can discuss whether that is really needed, but as long as he keeps dropping heat like this, most of you should be fine.

And don't forget, the duo album "The History Channel" with long time partner Too $hort is said to be dropping later this year.

Update on Ab-Soul's "Control System"

Coming Friday on May 11th is the release of Ab-Soul's long-awaited solo album "Control System" dropping on TopDawg Ent / Aftermath / Interscope. Close to its release he pushes further ahead to get his name around by putting out the Skhye Hutch produced single "ILLuminated" featuring long time collaborator and label mate Kendrick Lamar for free download.



He also unveiled the cover artwork which you can check below:

In case you haven't checked the other leaked tracks / videos of this album, check my related post (click).

Please support Ab-Soul for the sake of fresh and elaborate rap music and buy "Control System" on May 11th.

Ab-Soul shows "Empathy" and readies his "Control System" album

TDE rapper Ab-Soul from Carson, CA is ready to finally blow up in 2012 with his new record "Control System", dropping May 11th. To gear it up he just released his new video to the track "Empathy" featuring the too early gone singer Alori Joh and JaVonte. This track is the perfect fit for the beginning of the hot season with its smooth and laid-back vibe and the video includes a dedication to Alori Joh. The beat has been provided by Skhye Hutch.
Check the video to "Empathy":


In case you missed the other recent leaks of Ab-Soul's "Control System", check the following two vids as well.

Ab-Soul ft. ScHoolboy Q - SOPA


Ab-Soul - Pinneal Gland

Snoop, Dre, 2Pac, Kendrick Lamar live on stage at Coachella

The Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre performance on Coachella was some awesome experience. Especially the 2Pac hologram performance was givin me goosebumps. And my man Kendrick Lamar was on stage too. In case u wanna check the whole performance:

http://www.mrworldpremiere.net/2012/04/dr-dre-snoop-dogg-coachella-2012-set.html#more

Kendrick Lamar - Section.80 Review

When talking about the highlights of 2011 in hip-hop, consensus is reached when Kendrick Lamar's Section.80 gets mentioned. The young and charismatic personality from Compton, California is the new “talk of the town“ on the west coast rap scene and even beyond the state's borders. Compton has always been well-stocked whereas famous rappers like Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, The Game or MC Eiht all claim this place their origin, but while all of them are associated with filigreed and explicit gangsterisms, Kendrick is one of the first rappers raising from this Los Angeles district who is boasting with sharp sense, bright creativity and a relentless analysis of today's young generation. Moreover his delivery provides a great variety of style and is on point, whether it comes to speed and technique as on the rattling, brass-sampled “Rigamortus” or to cool and witty raps (“Blow My High”).
Opening up the album by presenting the emblematic personas of today's 80's-born woman who he calls Keisha and Tammy and who will be mentioned throughout the album, he sets the plot at a bonfire surrounded by wisdom and revolution hungry people. Indeed, “F*ck Your Ethnicity” sets the right tone for what's coming after. He once said he wrote this song after recognizing so many different ethnicities at his shows, what told him he was not speaking just for one race but for a whole generation – section 80. Young women of today are showcased on “Tammy's Song (Her Evil)” and “Keisha's Song (Her Pain)” with a shockingly meaningful story of a rape murder and sexual abuse ('And you can blame it on her mother for letting her boyfriend slide candy under her cover / Ten months before she was ten he moved in and that's when he touched her') and a Springsteen-esque chorus line. But especially the third song dedicated to this topic, “No Make-Up (Her Vice)”, emphasizes today's imagery and reality of a lot of females. The very catchy chorus greatly paves the way for Kendrick's morally chanting 'You ain't gotta get drunk to have fun' footnote. The male perspective is revealed on a confessing “Poe Man's Dreams (His Vice)”, the thoughtful and gritty “Kush & Corinthians (His Pain)” and on “Ronald Reagan Era (His Evil)” on which he subliminally accuses the former president's drug and minority policy, explaining that this was a big factor in the creation of the “80's babies”. The same topic gets discussed on “A.D.H.D.”, an ode to the young generation and their problems, where Kendrick shows all his lyrical talent as well as a superb flow. In those parts he seems like a modern-day Tupac, full of visions and with a clear view on his environment and its causers.
He proves that, above all, on the album's lead single, the J. Cole produced “HiiiPoWeR”. That's what he calls the movement he's envisioning to be shared by the 80's~ born generation and he once again reflects it's characteristics and its reason to stand up against the system 'Every day we fight the system, never liked the system'. He sees himself as the speaker of those people 'visions of Martin Luther starin' at me / Malcolm X put a hex on my future'.
Even the interludes find justification to be on this record as they lissomly (“Chapter Six”) and off-beat yet funky (“Chapter 10”) contribute to the album's plot, both lyrically and musically: 'Riding with them boys and girls and we're high / Only work to do is have a good time / Young, wild and reckless is how we live life / Praying we make it to twenty-one'.
If you still think Kendrick Lamar is just another one of those ordinary braggadocio rappers, then he will simply shut your mouth on the sophisticated and jazzy Terrace Martin production “Ab-Soul's Outro” on which you can hear one of Ab-Soul's best verses to date. Kendrick outlines what distinguishes him from the regular rapper: 'I'm not the next pop star / I'm not the next socially aware rapper / I am a human motherfucking being, over dope ass instrumentation - Kendrick Lamar'. And that is the main reason why Section.80 is outstanding.


 - 9.0/10