Posted by Frank Wu

Listen: Kendrick Lamar – “War Is My Love”

Not quite sure how this came about, but the new Ghost Recon game will come with a brand new song by TDE’s Kendrick Lamar. Titled “War Is My Love”, the song features a synth-heavy beat that reminds me of Kid Cudi‘s “Mr. Rager”. As always, Kendrick kills his verses with his lyricism and haunting rhymes. The hook isn’t necessarily the greatest, but considering this was made for a game soundtrack, I guess it’s not too shabby. Give it a listen below.

MP3: Kendrick Lamar – “War Is My Love”

Listen: Blu – “Kiss The Sky (feat. Mela Machinko)”

When it comes to Blu, you know that whether or not his new music is mastered, mixed, or even finished, he’ll come hard with the rhymes. With his newest release though, there’s absolutely no need to be worried as it’s about as finished as can be. Released through Coalmine Records, new single “Kiss The Sky” features top-notch and not lo-fi verses from Blu, a fitting chorus from Mela Machinko, and some vocal samples from Lupe Fiasco‘s “Kick, Push”.

I’m still a fan of his glitchy, lo-fi style but I know a lot of you have been waiting for the Below The Heavens-style music to come back. If you’ve been a long-time fan of Blu, this is definitely a huge surprise and a great one at that. Blu hasn’t sounded this focused in quite a long time and it’s refreshing to see that he’s hopefully returning to the style of music that originally got him signed to Warner Bros. Give it a listen below and grab it on iTunes here.

PURCHASE “KISS THE SKY” ON ITUNES

Listen: Asher Roth – “Outside”

Just in time for the summer season, Asher Roth released a brand new song titled “Outside”, an ode to the warmth and greatness of the world that isn’t online and in front of a computer. The song features a highly-appropriate sample of Cults‘s “Go Outside” on the chorus and fresh lines from the former “I Love College” rapper. Instant addition to your summer playlist right here. Asher’s Def Jam debut Is This Too Orange? is currently on the way and there’s currently no word whether or not “Outside” will appear on it.

MP3: Asher Roth – “Outside”

LITS Mix #2: Dynamis

LITS Mix is a weekly mix of five free songs curated by our ears with your ears in mind. With so much free music to listen to out there, we intend to showcase our favorite tunes in an easily digestible  manner, guiding you through the riff-raff to find the music. This week, we present the second edition of our mix, a 20 minute set of songs that’ll have you nodding along whether it’s the chilled-out vibe of Tycho’s “A Walk” or the thumping bass on Y Luv’s “Earthquakes”. Kick back and get lost in the sound.

MP3: LITS Mix #2: Dynamis

(0:00 to 5:14) The Weeknd – “The Morning”
(5:14 to 10:28) Tycho – “A Walk”
(10:28 to 14:03) Skizzy Mars – “Shangri-La”
(14:03 to 18:24) Y Luv – “Earthquakes”
(18:24 to 21:20) Ra Ra Riot – “Too Dramatic (The Morning Benders Remix)”

Stream: Ab-Soul – Control System

Ab-Soul‘s Control System is now available for purchase on iTunes via Top Dawg Entertainment, but you can stream the entire album below for free. For his new release, Ab-Soul teamed up with a slew of top-notch rappers including Danny Brown, BJ the Chicago Kid, and his fellow Black Hippy members Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and ScHoolboy Q. Heavily recommended tracks include “Terrorist Threat”, “ILLuminate”, and “Double Standard”.

Control System was described by Kendrick as one of the most important releases in the entire Black Hippy momvement. “May 11th, Control System, Ab-Soul. Once you get that piece, you’ll really understand this TDE thing. Then, you might be fortunate to get the Black Hippy that everything’s talking about. That’s our prized possession, that’s our baby. We have fun with that, and I don’t know. Once you throw the music out, people start putting the numbers behind it. We want that to be organic… We got music, though. A lot of music.”

PURCHASE CONTROL SYSTEM ON ITUNES