Hip Hop

Listen: ASAP Rocky – “Pretty Flacko”

By Frank Wu ⋅ January 1, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

ASAP Rocky and the rest of the A$AP Mob aren’t taking any days off this holiday season preparing for the forthcoming release of the yet-to-be-titled A$AP Mob album in February. To kick off the new year, Rocky and producer SpaceGhostPurrp team up to bring us the trillwaves on “Pretty Flacko”.

And talk about New Years resolutions… Rocky also posted on his Tumblr that in ten years time, ASAP will be on a yacht and will still be on top. Long live A$AP.

MP3: ASAP Rocky – “Pretty Flacko (prod. SpaceGhostPurrp)”

LITS’s Top 25 Albums Of 2011

By Frank Wu ⋅ December 29, 2011 ⋅ 10 comments

2011 was a great year for music and if one thing’s for certain, it’s the fact that there is always a constant stream of new artists and new music to listen to. In fact, if I had to give 2011 a tagline, it’d be “The Year of the Newcomer,” a title that’s also quite fitting for our list of the top albums of the year. Our list, as voted by our editorial staff, is full of new artists that surprised us with their craft, some of which was actually self-released for free through outlets like Bandcamp. It’s crazy to think that in an age that is so densely packed with new releases and new information, so many of our favorites come from such humble origins. It almost makes you feel like you’re lost… lost in the sound. And that’s something I’m completely okay with.

Here are our favorite albums from 2011. We hope you find something you enjoy just as much as we have over the past twelve months.

25. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

24. Moon Duo – Mazes

23. Owen – Ghost Town

22. Beau Navire – Hours

21. Caroline – Verdugo Hills

20. Wilco – The Whole Love

19. Death in Vegas – Trans-Love Energies

18. Belong – Common Era

17. SBTRKT – SBTRKT

16. Leann Grimes – Leann Grimes

15. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

14. The Roots – Undun

13. Radiohead – The King of Limbs

12. ASAP Rocky – LiveLoveA$AP

11. The Horrible Crowes – Elsie

10. Arrange – Plantation

09. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

08. The Wonder Years – Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing

07. Beach Boys – The Smile Sessions

06. The Rosebuds – Loud Planes Fly Low

05. James Blake – James Blake

04. Kendrick Lamar – Section.80

03. Drake – Take Care

02. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

01. The Weeknd – House of Balloons

Mixtape: Clams Casino – Instrumentals (Mastered)

By Frank Wu ⋅ December 29, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

I’m a few days late on this one, but here’s a Christmas gift from standout producer Clams Casino. In 2011, Clams went from being Lil B‘s best producer to becoming one of the most talented producers in the game today, period. To thank all of his fans for getting to him to where he is today, Clams released a completely remastered, high-quality (320kbps) version of his mixtape, Instrumentals, one of my personal favorite releases this year. If you haven’t heard it already, or even if you own the old version, make sure to download the mixtape below.

DOWNLOAD: Clams Casino – Instrumentals (Mastered)

Download: The Weeknd – Echoes of Silence

By Tait Gu ⋅ December 24, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Head over to The Weeknd‘s website or this direct link to download his new highly anticipated mixtape Echoes of Silence. This is the third mixtape R&B singer Abel Tesfaye has released this year, following the critically acclaimed House of Balloons and Thursday. Tesfaye has also recently appeared on his fellow Canadian comrade Drake’s new album Take Care. Two choice cuts (the latter of which is produced by Clams Casino) are included below.

MP3: The Weeknd – “Montreal”

MP3: The Weeknd – “The Fall”

Stream: Blu & Exile – Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them

By Frank Wu ⋅ December 17, 2011 ⋅ One comment

It’s been a long few years for fans of the mysterious California MC Blu since he dropped his critically-acclaimed album Below the Heavens with Exile manning the tables. In the meantime, Blu’s been working on his own production, left Warner Bros. before dropping his major label debut, and has only been releasing a few unmastered tracks every now and then.

But today, seemingly out of nowhere, Blu posted his unfinished second album with Exile, Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them. Recorded back in 2009, the new 15-track LP is unmixed and unmastered, but the rhymes and the beats are both solid. No word on whether or not the two are collaborating again.

Give it a listen below and if you like what you hear, you can purchase the whole thing for $15 on Blu’s Bandcamp.

Watch: The Roots – undun

By Frank Wu ⋅ December 15, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Director Clifton Bell teamed up with the Legendary Roots Crew on a short film for the hip-hop group’s new concept album, undun. The 9-minute-long clip features four cuts from the album, including “Sleep”, “Stomp (feat. Greg Porn)”, “Tip The Scale (feat. Dice Raw)”, and “Make My (feat. Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw)”. undun is now in stores everywhere and is one of my personal favorite releases of the year, describing the fall of a fictional character named Redford Stephens.

“undun is the story of this kid who becomes a criminal, but he wasn’t born criminal. He’s not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner… he’s actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment… At the end of the day… isn’t that what we all do?”

The Roots – UNDUN from The Ghettonerd Company, LLC on Vimeo.

Listen: Asher Roth – “Pabst & Jazz”

By Frank Wu ⋅ December 14, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

It’s really quite unfortunate that Asher Roth blew up with “I Love College”, a song that really doesn’t fit in with the rest of his repertoire. Asher is incredibly lyrical, he’s proven that he can be inspirational with songs like “G.R.I.N.D.”, and now he’s even signed to one of the legendary hip-hop labels: Def Jam. Still, people associate his name with “I Love College”. Ouch.

Anyway, Asher released the title track from his upcoming Pabst & Jazz mixtape, a smooth, jazzy cut with production from Chicago’s Blended Babies, a killer verse by Hassani Kwess, and keyboard work from Kenny Keys.

MP3: Asher Roth – “Pabst & Jazz (feat. Hassani Kwess & Kenny Keys)”

MP3: Asher Roth – “Common Knowledge”

There’s plenty more of Asher on the way: Pabst & Jazz coming soon, as well as Is This Too Orange?, his first commercial release with Def Jam, in early 2012.

Listen: Skizzy Mars – “Shangri-La”

By Frank Wu ⋅ December 14, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

To celebrate reaching 10,000 fans on Facebook, Skizzy Mars dropped off a brand new song entitled “Shangri-La”, which he managed to write and record in just one day. “Shangri-La” features the young artist reflecting on his girl, New York, drugs, and more. Here’s what Skizzy has to say:

“I was in the studio last night when I realized I had just hit 10,000 fans. I’ve been writing a bunch of music recently as I continue to work on my debut project, Phases. While Phases is a story in itself, I still find myself with a bunch of other stories I want to tell due to other experiences and changes in my life etc. I got inspired to write Shangri-La and recorded it yesterday. Just another story to tell. In celebration of 10,000 fans, Shangri-La.”

Shangri-La (Moss of Aura – Titan) by SkizTheRapper

Clams Casino and the “Just For Now” Sample

By Frank Wu ⋅ December 9, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

It’s rarely the case that a hip-hop producer can single-handedly carry an emcee through a track. But such is the case with New Jersey’s Mike Volpe, better known by his stage name Clams Casino, who first turned heads after his collaborations with Soulja Boy and Lil B began making rounds on the Internet. With a keen sense for smooth vocal samples, Clams Casino creates dreamy, ethereal soundscapes that swallow you up and carry you away before the first crash or hi-hat even drops. And the best part of it all? His music works with or without an emcee over top.

That’s something you can’t find with new-age (pardon the pretentiousness) producers. Sure, T-Minus creates synth-laden beats with a similar loftiness, but the soundscape doesn’t even come close. Face it – a track like “She Will” needs Drake and Lil Wayne to fully function.

What may be more impressive is how all of his fantastic beats come together. “I’m God”, perhaps the defining song so far in both Clams Casino’s and Lil B’s careers, takes it roots in Imogen Heap‘s breathtaking “Just For Now”, a song that sounds nothing like “I’m God”.

MP3: Imogen Heap – “Just For Now”

MP3: Lil B – “I’m God” (Prod. by Clams Casino)

That same song, “Just For Now”, was even been sampled by Clams Casino more than once. ASAP Rocky‘s “Bass”, believe it or not, comes from the very same sample. Originally intended for Lil B, Clams Casino actually reworked the beat after the Based God decided that one part of the song was a bit too fast for him, ultimately resulting in yet another song from the same sample entitled “I’m The Devil”. That part was thus taken out, slowed down, and given to Rocky.

MP3: ASAP Rocky – “Bass” (Prod. by Clams Casino)

MP3: Lil B – “I’m The Devil” (Prod. by Clams Casino)

Simply put on your headphones and slip away into the music…

Listen: Common – “The Believer (feat. John Legend)”

By Frank Wu ⋅ December 5, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

It’s disappointing that Common‘s forthcoming LP won’t arrive until December 20. Why? That release date has two meanings to me: 1) we still have over two weeks to wait and 2) The Dreamer, The Believer won’t make it onto this year’s year-end lists. Considering My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy‘s snubbing at the Grammy’s this year, here’s to hoping that Common won’t be left behind in a years time (but really, who cares about the Grammy’s, right?).

Com just dropped off yet another new song on his Soundcloud page and this time, it’s one-half of the title track. “The Believer” features a soulful hook from John Legend and follows in the footsteps of the previously released tracks with an incredibly inspirational and uplifting sound. It’s practically audio therapy.

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