Posted in Hip Hop

Watch: The Roots – undun

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”

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”

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

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)”

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.