May 2013
1 post
April 2013
2 posts
March 2013
1 post
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February 2013
9 posts
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Visual Aid | "Retrograde" - James Blake
New shit from Blake, this video is hauntingly cool.
New Album “Overgrown” out this April
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Jam of the Day | "Heaven for a Sinner" - Bonobo...
Oooof oooff, shits heating up and its only FEBRUARY people. Bonobo and Badu connect, like some interstellar highfive that breaks the sound barrier and then is slowed down for humans to witness.
bout it bout it.
Bonobo’s The North Borders due out April 1
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Pen Jots & Brain Drops Pt 10: Hip Hop Dance
For my last PJ & BD, I want to discuss a bit of the origins of one of the cornerstones of Hip Hop culture. Breakdancing. In order to that, I will first hip you to a clip from one of the first forays into documenting the artform,
In our hip hop studies class, we discussed how this artform takes from the original dance styles of Africa, which in contrast to the Anglo-Saxon European dance...
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Pen Jots & Brain Drops Pt. 9: The New Rise of...
Hip hop in the last 2 years has in my honest opinion resurged into a great era of young talent and new styles. And one of the greatest changes in this age, besides mixtapes sounding like albums, and producers experimenting into new territories, is how many seriously talented female rappers there are today.
It used to be that you’d have once in a blue moon, that female rapper who came in...
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Pen Jots & Brain Drops Pt. 8: White Asphyxiation...
One thing that I can’t help but notice sometimes within my peers, people I meet, and even sometimes within myself, is a certain affection for larger than life hip music, and hardcore gangsta raps. Now this is a subject that has been bandied about for more than 2 decades and at this point one could argue we are in a sort of post-racial understanding of what these cultural trophs are about,...
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Pen Jots & Brain Drops Pt. 7: Hip Hop as an...
What’s liberating to me about Hip Hop culture is its ability to manifest itself in different shapes and forms and permeate through cultures that seem completely unconnected to its New York City origins. In a reading from Yvonne Banoe in 2002 entitled “Getting Real About Hip Hop” she argues that “what is often omitted from the chronicles of Hip Hop culture is that it also...
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January 2013
18 posts
how long until they move in together and start a reality show? +/- 2 years?
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Sounds Dope Ep. 10 | J Dilla Mix
Sup erryboddy, hope yall doin good and what nots. New Episode is UP! Stream below
February is coming, and so is DILLA MONTH, so I decided to make a lil mix of some of my favorite joints from Jay Dee, mixed in with some new shit I’ve been bumping, and other stuff thats J Dilla sounding for yall’s aural pleasure. Check the sounds, lemme know what you think!
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Sounds Dope Ep. 9 (ft. an Interview w/ Shyne)
Starting off the year with a bang
In this episode you can check out part of my Interview with Shyne, brand new music from A$AP Rocky off of his “LongLiveA$AP” Album that just dropped, some new jams from the new Fool’s Gold compilation “Loosies”, and a bunch more shit.
For a longer part (but not even close to full, this dude talked for literally 2 hours non stop),...
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Sounds Dope Ep. 8 | Top 12 Albums of the Year
Forgot to post this bad boy up
Check out my top 10 Albums of the Year.
10. “Life is Good” - Nas
9. “The Pursuit” - O.C. & Apollo Brown
8. “The Heist” - Macklemore X Ryan Lewis
7. “Cancer For Cure” - El-P
6. “Until the Quiet Comes” - Flying Lotus
5. “O.F Tape Vol. 2” - OFWGKTA
4. “The Money Store” -...
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Jam of the Day | "HIGHER" - Just Blaze x Baauer
Pause what your doing for a MASSIF track.
A rising star and an industry vet, a Jay-Z introduction, a beat that smangs my head even as type this at the beginning of my morning at work. Baauer’s about to have a huge year
SideBar: In other Trap News, go check out the new Flosstradamus Mixtape BANNED 2
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Jam of the Day | "Suit and Tie" - Justin...
I’ve truly been waiting for this moment for a real long time. After so long of JT being fully entrenched in his career as an actor, I’d pretty much lost hope that he’d ever return to releasing new music, money is just a lot better in Hollywood these days (and easier.
But I’m glad that he took his time, glad that he came back with the motivation not to just make some...
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Pen Jots & Brain Drops Pt. 6: Digging through...
Time for a Sample Lesson. What does this man
Have to do this with these dudes?
Clearly the jam that I was just hipped to below is the answer.
SideBar: was first sampled on this BDP joint, i love the tranformations of songs that happen in the sphere of hip hop. Everything gets reappropriated refunkified for future generations to learn and now we can go back appreciate a blonde albino...
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Visual Aid | "Treat Me Like Fire" - Lion Babe
What happens when you take one dash Erykah, and one scoop Rihanna?
You get a half lioness, half funkalicious momma who just so happens to be Vanessa Williams’ daughter.
I’m sprung from the first listen, how bout you guys? Comment below.
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Visual Aid | "Say That" - Toro Y Moi
Chaz Bundwick keeps on keepin on with being the absolutest coolest dude outta Carolina this side o’ James Brown. I love how dude always looks like hes about to bust out laughing when hes singing to the camera, but he also looks really sincere because of his words.
The visuals are pretty darn cool, and unique, taking you through a forest scape and other random spots in what looks...
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Pen Jots & Brain Drops Pt. 6: The Shyne Interview
Pen Jots and Brain Drops is a weekly installment of textual guidance into the storied past of Hip Hop culture, follow each week as a I drop some knowledge on you my friends, and share what I have learned. Also its a homework assignment, so yeah…
This installment is going to be void of any hip hop historianism and going to be more of a personal entry.
This is my interview with Shyne, which...
December 2012
20 posts
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Sounds Dope Ep. 7 | Top Freebie Songs of 2012
This week on Sounds Dope we run down the best in freely available jams, as is a staple of the Hip Hop stratosphere, free music is basically as good as the actually released shit. Expect some stuff you haven’t heard of, that will make you wanna run out and go download the projects these appeared on. Infinite funk to the 3rd degree.
Sounds Dope Ep. 7 - Top Freebie Songs of 2012 by...
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Jam of the Day | "Wiseman" - Frank Ocean
Some new Frank to tide us over until his next shit, and oh is it soulful. Apparently this one was supposed to be on Tarantino’s new joint “Django Unchained’ but Q didn’t want to force the shit onto any ol’ scene outta respect to how great this song is. And now we have it to judge for ourselves.
Just some great fucking lyrics dude.
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Visual Aid | "Get Free" - Major Lazer
How would the world end in your imagination? Would the sun crash into the earth? Would it be by man’s hand, the planet going up in one big nuclear mushroom cloud of ecstatic oblivion? Or maybe a gigantic asteroid will suddenly drift into our orbit and cut right through the to the core, flooding the oceans drowning us all…..
But since none of that shit is going to happen, enjoy the...
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"Sounds Dope" | Episode 6
What it do, back at it. Episode 6 coming at ya’ll, if you are in need of some seeds of inspiration, some jams for the kickbacking, for the backpacking, and anything in between, let this guide you through for an hour, learn a thing or two, guaranteed at least some head nodding. SOUNDS DOPE.
Links
1. Meyhem Lauren - Mandatory Brunch Meetings (Mixtape, Free Download)
2. Da Vinci - The...
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ODB The Philanthropist
oh dirty you old dog you.
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Visual Aid | "Sail to the Sun" - Wavves
A Really fun song from the new project from these guys. Directed by Black // Doctor , shows the double life of a pastor, i fux wif it.
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Pen Jots and Brain Drops Pt. 5: The Rhymeform
Pen Jots and Brain Drops is a weekly installment of textual guidance into the storied past of Hip Hop culture, follow each week as a I drop some knowledge on you my friends, and share what I have learned. Also its a homework assignment, so yeah…
So what does it mean to be a rapper these days, when you have everyone from your parents, to morning tv show hosts, to your coworkers, and even that...
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MTV Hive x Rap Coloring Book x "A Christmas Story"...
Click “Read More” Below for more drawings!
And check out Rap Coloring Book for more awesome artist renditions
[[MORE]]
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TasteMakers: Brand New Podcast
Cohosted with my homies Eleanor, and Jason, featuring an interview/freestyle wtih Chris Young the Rapper and a bunch of new music. Check it out.
TasteMakers Episode 1 (Featuring Chris Young the Rapper) by Daniel Benny on Mixcloud
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Jam of the Day | "Led Zeppelin" - Tame Impala
It’s not often you see a band use the track title to shout out their inspirations.
I’m a fan. One of the better records to come out this year, check out Lonerism.
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Surprised by how nice this LongLiveA$AP Tracklist...
Props to the man if this is the real deal and not some message board geek’s pipe dream (aka me).
1. Long Live A$AP 2. Goldie 3. PMW (All I Really Need) feat. Schoolboy Q 4. LVL 5. Hell feat Santigold 6. Pain OverDoz 7. F ** Kin ‘Problems feat. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick...
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Visual Aid | "Chum" - Earl Sweatshirt
The best video released today was NOT that new A$AP Rocky Joint, as hard as you might be feeling it.
It’s interesting to see Earl Sweatshirt and the team stray from the chaotic yet loving aesthetic of the Odd Future brand, but I think it serves the point of what OF is, a group of individuals not followers. This is a lyrical dense piece, a minimalist beat, but there is a lot of soul, a...
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Sounds Dope Episode 5 | New Shit, Different Week
Back again, with another conveniently recorded and podcasted episode of the show for ya’ll to dig into, and this one’s a real sweet one! Got new music from the likes of Big Boi, Andre 3000, T.I, Danny! Swain, Captain Murphy, and much much more. Join me as I get ya’ll informed as I can and occupied on what the fuck is going on in the world of Hip Hop and Hip Hop Centric Music....
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Danny Brown and Andrew WK Guide to Vice Parties
Who in the world is fucking with Vice right now? Truly tell me? When you get these two gentleman hosting your most frivolous of videos, then I think we can call you “best in internet”. Mr. WK, you are still the ambassador of party in MY heart, fuck a govament
Sidebar: Note to self, get myself a party belt STAT.
