Hip Hop
Listen: Mike G – “Chevron” (Prod. Hodgy Beats)
Mike G is often overlooked in the Odd Future family, especially considering his laid back attitude and calm, chill flow. He’s definitely one of the group’s more talented rappers though, and he proves this on a brand new track entitled “Chevron”. Posted on the Odd Future Twitter account, the new track is produced by fellow member Hodgy Beats (who knew Hodgy produced too?) and features Mike spitting some sweet rhymes. Don’t sleep on this one.
MP3: Mike G – “Chevron” (Prod. Hodgy Beats)
“Chevron” will be released on Mike G’s forthcoming Award Tour EP.
Mayer Hawthorne Covers Chromeo’s “When The Night Falls”
While touring with electro-funk duo Chromeo, Mayer Hawthorne recorded his take on “When The Night Falls”, giving the lighthearted track a smooth, vintage vibe.
MP3: Chromeo – “When The Night Falls (feat. Solange Knowles) [Mayer Hawthorne Cover]”
Chromeo released their new When The Night Falls EP last week. You can purchase it here. Tour dates are available after the break.
J. Cole Releases “Any Given Sunday” Part 1: New EP
J. Cole has yet to put out his debut album, but the young emcee has already established himself as one of the most talented lyricists in the game. To keep the hype rolling around Cole World: The Sideline Story, which comes out on September 27, Cole has decided to release something brand new each Sunday as part of his “Any Given Sunday” series.
Track descriptions from Cole himself can be seen after the break.
Listen: Drake – “Headlines”
With the release of “Dreams Money Can’t Buy”, “Marvin’s Room”, and “Trust Issues”, Drake‘s forthcoming Take Care has quickly become one of our most anticipated releases of the year. October’s Very Own has finally released the first official single, which is called “Headlines”. The Toronto rapper linked up with his long-time friends Boi-1da and Noah “40” Shebib, who team up to produce the track.
The two previously collaborated on the rapper’s debut album Thank Me Later, working on quite a few songs including “Miss Me”.
MP3: Drake – “Headlines”
“Headlines” features more sung vocals than rapped ones from Drake. The song will be most likely be released officially on iTunes next week, but Drizzy released the song for free on his blog earlier today. You can listen or download above.
Mixtape: Hoodie Allen – Leap Year
It’s been quite a year for Long Island-based rapper Hoodie Allen. After releasing Pep Rally to widespread acclaim and accumulating tons of buzz in the blogosphere, Hoodie decided to leave his stable job at Google and pursue his music career full time. To wind up a whirlwind year of touring and recording, the MC released a brand new mixtape, entitled Leap Year, for free download on his website.
Hoodie says that the mixtape is “me growing up on record” and on first listen I’d have to agree with him — for the most part. While the mixtape still features a number of fun and poppy samples intended to draw in first-time listeners on the Hype Machine or just through blogs in general (Fitz and Tantrums on the first track, for instance), Hoodie’s lyricism and delivery has greatly improved since Pep Rally. But the greatest change between this mixtape and the latter is Hoodie’s attempt to open himself up to his audience through slower, more introspective songs. Most of the production is still handled by long-time collaborator RJF and the mixtape still sounds quite similar to his earlier work, but Hoodie attempts to tone himself down, a bold move towards revealing his serious side.
Sure, he hasn’t yet mastered this new style and he’s still finding his comfort zone, but that’s alright — considering his work ethic and dedication to his music career, I’m sure Hoodie will eventually find his place. Until then, here’s to leap year.
Download: Hoodie Allen – Leap Year (Mixtape)
Listen: DOOMSTARKS – “Victory Laps”
MF DOOM (all caps when you spell the man’s name…) and Ghostface Killah, known together as DOOMSTARKS, have finally released “Victory Laps”, the first official single from their forthcoming album. While the two masked rappers have yet to announce the album’s release date, Nature Sounds will first be releasing a picture disc vinyl with “Victory Laps”, the Madvillain remix, and the two instrumentals. You can listen to the two trade lines over a grimy piano loop below.
MP3: DOOMSTARKS – “Victory Laps”
You can preorder the Serato 12″ here.
Kanye West and Jay-Z Announce Tour Dates
In preparation for the release of Watch The Throne, Kanye West and Jay-Z have announced that the two have formed a duo called The Throne and will be embarking on a massive North American tour together this fall.
Kanye and Jay-Z also announced that Watch the Throne will be released on iTunes on August 8th. The album will then be available on other physical and digital retailers on August 12th.
The tracklisting and full tour dates are available below. You can listen to “Otis” here.
Childish Gambino Premieres New Song at Comic Con
Donald Glover / Childish Gambino appeared at San Diego’s Comic Con this weekend to promote his show Community, but the actor/rapper also managed to play a show on Friday night, tearing up the House of Blues and premiering a brand new song. Apologizing for his recent disappearance online and lack of tweets, Gambino announced to the energized audience that he has been busy working on new material before launching into the song, our first taste of the new album. While most of the beat is hard to make out, Gambino’s clever punchlines are clear enough to be made out: “Man, why does every black actor have to rap some? I dunno, all I know is I’m the best one.”
Check out the video after the break. Childish Gamino’s new album will be out in September.
New Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Music Video
The collaboration of Seattle’s Macklemore and Ryan Lewis has brought us The VS. EP (click here to download the EP for free) in 2009 and now they have a video out for their song “Wings”, which was originally written in 2008. Ben Haggerty, better known as Seattle hip-hop artist Macklemore, soulfully raps about his love of basketball shoes and the game itself. Watch the video below.
Listen + Watch: Hoodie Allen – “The Chase Is On”
Hoodie Allen does not disappoint his fans. With a year’s worth of experience under his belt since releasing Pep Rally, Hoodie’s back and better than ever. He just released a brand new track (and the corresponding music video!) entitled “The Chase Is On”, which serves as the first single from Leap Year. “The Chase Is On” has the same sound and vibe we’ve grown to love, but Hoodie’s lyricism and deliver have certainly improved, with the rapper employing a sing-song flow over a synth-driven beat.
“Pulling a Lil B,” Hoodie gave us a free download of the song, but also posted it on iTunes. You can support him by purchasing the song here. Leap Year will be out on July 26.
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