Lately I’ve been on the mission to find new and interesting music outside of the urban realm. I came across this song from the Broken Bells (a duo comprised of ever-evolving super producer Danger Mouse and the lead singer of the Shins, James Mercer) while reading through Last.fm’s 2010 Top 40 most scrobbled artists. I can’t lie, initially I was strictly in it to hear new music from Danger Mouse but ended up really digging James Mercer’s voice. This song just has a nice feel to it and I always enjoy videos with esoteric themes. This one certainly didn’t disappoint.
Butta Verses ft. D. Schwartz :: Join Me
Jose James :: Code
José James :: CODE – Music Video from friendswelove.com on Vimeo.
Sharing music with KitKat and this joint came to mind. Beautiful record. Like I told her, “there’s gonna be a lot of lil Jose’s running around cuz of this joint.” lol … Enjoy
Lloyd Banks :: Father Time
D-Black :: Long Story Short EP
The homie D-Black just recently released his new EP, Long Story Short. Normally I’d offer up some sort of review but since its my boy and I’ve watched him come up and “pay his dues,” I’m not sure how objective I can be. So I’ll just play distributor on this one. I will say this, the dude is a prolific writer and works hard at his craft. Co-signs and collaborations from respected artists/producers like Illmind, Nottz and Little Brother don’t hurt either. I’m just sayin…
Peep the press release below and download if you feel so inclined:
Long Story Short… is the long awaited EP from Bronx rap artist D-Black, who has collaborated with the likes of Rapper Pooh (Little Brother), Skyzoo (Duck Down Records), Chaundon (Hall Of Justus), and producers such as Illmind, Nottz, DJ Babu, and countless others. After dropping his first mixtape, New Black City, D-Black went on to complete two blog series, Mr. October Series, and made features on mixtapes hosted by DJ Green Lantern and DJ Dutchmaster. Long Story Short… is a compilation of D-Black’s material recorded during the period of late 2008 and early 2010 that has not been released or is considered “rare” records. Producers who contributed to this project are Illmind, Epik, Matik, and Lab Ox of Roc Nation. For all updates regarding upcoming projects such as the Success Story album, show dates and times, and all other information, please follow D-Black (www.twitter.com/dblack408). Thanks for your anticipated support!
Interested to hear what you guys think so feel free to leave a comment when you’re done giving it a good listen.
Featured Track
D-Black :: Ghetto (produced by Matik!)
[audio:dblack-ghetto.mp3]
Whenever Black and Matik get together they make magic. This record is no different. I’ve already threatened them with bodily harm if they don’t put out more joints together. I’m expecting more heat when the next album drops. For now I’ll keep Tonya Harding on speed dial and thump this ’til my tape pop.
Download
Colin Munroe :: I Would Die For You (Prince Cover)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX78JCiU0fw
I kinda dig interesting cover records when artists put their own spin on a popular record. My last.fm buddy KitKat909 put me on to this one. I think Colin Munroe did a good job of smoothing this one out and adding his own vibe to it. I know a lot of people are sensitive about covering Prince records as he is surely a one of a kind artist, but this is pretty dope. I ain’t madd.
Continue reading Colin Munroe :: I Would Die For You (Prince Cover)
Fashawn :: Intro
Caged
New Day, Same Cage. One of my best friends Yve the Stylist and I took a stroll across the Manhattan Bridge to get practice our photog skills. She’s new to the Nikon fam having just picked up a new D3100 that I’m completely jealous of. But that’s another story. She most def has the eye though. When we shoot together she definitely keeps me on my P’s and Q’s. This is one of the shots I took while we were crossing the bridge. Nothing too spectacular but I just like it because it depicts how I feel about being back in the city: Caged. Sucks but I’m making the most out of being home. If you take in the best of the city (especially through a lens) its actually not a bad place…
More Info
Be sure to check out Yve’s blog, The Vegan Traveler. Therein you’ll find information about the best places for a Vegan to eat around the city. I’ve been to half of these spots myself, good stuff!
Creatives :: Yours Truly
I think we all have our morning interwebs routine. I know I have mine. You know, hop on Facebook to get my Mafia Wars on, check my GMail account, read a few of my friend’s blogs, curse at myself for not updating my own, etc. But this morning I was looking for something new. By chance I came across this site Yours Truly (via SOHH.com) because they had a feature on one of my favorite new emcees, Yelawolf. So admittedly I visited their site out of pure standom but found it to be pretty dope in its own right. The idea of their site is not the most novel one but they have somewhat of a Duepayer mantra themselves with their sole focus being to excavate and celebrate great music/musicians. It reads as follows:
YOURS TRULY exists at the intersection of creator and consumer. One the one hand we’re fans: melody thirsty, hit happy, riff rabid fans in constant search for music that matters. On the flip side, we’re filmmakers, photographers, designers and storytellers with shared passions and a simple mission: to discover and document, celebrate and interrogate, capture and catapult the singers, screamers, writers and rhymers whose craft without question demands our affection.
Now that’s something I think that most of us can relate to. “Us” being most of the people in my circle given the fact that we’ve been working in the entertainment business for a while now. Its a dirty game that tends to jade you and make you forget about your first true love: the music. We all share the struggle of trying to find that balance between creator and consumer and not allowing our love to be soured by the fcukery that takes place behind the scenes. At the end of the day we are still music lovers but find it hard to go out and search for it given the oversaturation of wackness flouding our ears and inboxes. So its nice to find a site where they curate that experience for you. The idea isn’t the most novel one – Creative Control *cough, cough* – and the site itself is a definite nod to MTV, almost to the point where I thought they were affiliated somehow, but the quality of their work helped me get over any perceived shark-biting. The videos are short and sweet and cover a fairly wide range of artists from different genres. They all give you just enough of a peek into each artists lives to entice you to search for more. Here are some of my faves…
Yelawolf :: The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Yelawolf “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.
Grillade – Remain The Same
Grillade “Remain the Same” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.
Chromeo – Don’t Walk Away
Yourstru.ly Presents: Chromeo “Don’t Walk Away” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.
More Info
Yours Truly
Site URL: http://yourstru.ly
Yelawolf
Grillade
Official Site | Last FM page | Bandcamp Site
Chromeo