Evidence‘s Cats & Dogs was perhaps one of the most criminally underlooked records of 2011, alongside personal favorite Phonte‘s Charity Starts At Home. I guess I’m not incredibly surprised as the steadfast Rhymesayer’s rapper is usually fairly reserved in terms of getting his music out there to his loyal and extremely tightly-knit fanbase. The hip-hop purist/producer/MC recently unleashed a new set of respectfully dark, brooding visuals for “Falling Down” directed by Todd Angkasuwan. You can check it out below.
2011 was a fantastic year for Los Angeles based hip-hop/skateboard collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All with releases from Tyler the Creator, Mellowhype, Frank Ocean, The Internetand Mike G, and yet after all that it looks like the group still won’t be slowing down in 2012. Following last year’s Goblin, Tyler the Creator is set to release Wolf sometime in the spring, which was described by him as a deviation from his previous releases. Duo Hodgy beats and Leftbrain are also releasing a followup Mellowhype album titled Numbers sometime in the summer.
The collective has also announced OF Tape Vol. 2, which features new music from Tyler, the Creator, Hodgy Beats, Frank Ocean, Leftbrain, Domo Genesis, Mike G, Syd the Kyd and The Internet. The tape is a followup to the crew’s 2008 debut outing The Odd Future Mixtape, which you can download for free over here. On top of it all, Tyler and gang will also be premiering their own “Jackass”-like sketch show, Loiter Squad, March 25h on Adult Swim.
Head over here to check out a limited edition t-shirt designed by Tyler the Creator that will be released through Qubic Store. The shirt was made in response to the collective being kicked out of the lineup for Big Day Out 2012 Auckland, and they are set to have their own show at the Auckland Powerstation January 19th instead.
All future releases will be released through the crew’s own Odd Future Records.
Everything seems to be going perfectly for A$AP Rocky, who in recent months has signed a huge record deal and released his first debut record, LiveLoveA$AP. He has just released “Celebration”, which is a solo version of his collaboration with Chicago MC Jon James. This song is a lot different from Rocky’s chill, dreamy Clams Casino–produced tracks and features the A$AP rhymer rapping over upbeat synths celebrating his recent success. Apparently this track might be a single for one of his upcoming projects. Listen to the song below. You can also download it here. Also, look out for the A$AP Mob album that’s planned to be released in February.
20-year old Harlem native Azealia Banks, who released the fantastic “212” last year, has returned again with a new song titled “NEEDSUMLUV” via her Twitter. The song features Banks singing over a beat by producer Machinedrum titled “SXLND”, and, in her own words, is about “being a guy’s other girl. It’s about knowing that ur number #2, but still sticking around in hopes of becoming #1.” The two previously collaborated on another song titled “Grand Scam (Lyrical Exercise)” back in November.
Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar just announced to The Source that his new album is near completion. The album will be titled Good Kid in a Mad City. Kendrick stated that “it’s just going to have its own entity and its own space”, meaning that it will not be a sequel to Section.80, which was released last year to extremely good reviews by critics and was also our number 4 album of 2011. You should definitely check it out if you haven’t heard it yet. Section.80 was in between a mixtape and an album because it was released online, but Kendrick Lamar stated the new release would be his first proper debut album. Watch Kendrick’s interview with The Source below. Below that is also an interview with Drake‘s frequent producer/best friend, 40, where he talks about Kendrick Lamar’s involvement on Take Care.
In commemoration of his and Beyoncé‘s new-born baby daughter, Jay-Z headed to the studio and recorded a touching new song titled “Glory” featuring production from The Neptunes and some soundclips of B.I.C. aka Blue Ivy Carter, the baby’s name.
If you can’t tell, Hov is an extremely proud father, calling Blue his “greatest creation” and “a younger, smarter, faster me.” It’s a beautiful tribute and to make things just a bit sweeter, Baby Blue already has her first feature credit! Our best wishes go out to Jay-Z and Beyonce.
It wasn’t a secret that Harlem’s ASAP Rocky was working with the extremely talented AraabMuzik, but thank to Twitter, we now know that the MC-producer pair are pairing up for an entire project titled A$VPMUZIK. After spending the weekend together in the studio, AraabMuzik took to his Twitter account and announced, “Session wit my nigga @asvpxrocky waz crazy! A$VPMUZIK Comin soon! #TrillShit.” AraabMuzik’s beats, as you may know, are highly favored by Dipset and should fit Rocky’s unique, hazy-sounding flow.
Below, you can check out the Alan Ferguson directed visuals for Chiddy Bang‘s first single off of Breakfast, the fun, energetic “Ray Charles”. In the video, Chiddy and Xaphoon let loose and get their groove on, experiencing a sort-of out-of-body experience while lounging away on the couch. Breakfast will be out everywhere on February 28th.
Queens big man Action Bronson had a huge 2011 with his no-nonsense flow and Ghostface-like talents on the mic. To ring in the new year, Action B teamed up with Party Supplies on a brand new track entitled “Contemporary Man”, a track that includes an endless list of samples ranging from Phil Collins to Charlie Sheen. You can’t really go wrong with ’80’s samples and some good, old-fashioned spitting.
Bronson and Party Supplies are currently wrapping up their full-length project Blue Chips, on which “Contemporary Man” will make its official debut. You can expect Blue Chips to drop in February.
Last year, New York rap trio Das Racist promised solo mixtapes from each of its members in early 2012. Today, we get the first of three, The Palm Wine Drinkard from Victor Vazquez, better known as Kool A.D., with DR emcee Heems‘ Nehru Jackets following soon after. Surprisingly, there isn’t a whole lot of rapping on the tape and most of it just Vazquez singing non-sequiturs over some really great production. Below, you can check out a few songs and also grab the entire mixtape.
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