big k.r.i.t.
Premiere: Dominic Serendip – “Live Lucid (Pt. I)”
Both Dominic and ILLA are on point on “Live Lucid (Pt. 1)”, which serves as an introduction to Dominic’s lifestyle and philosophy. Living lucid, as he describes it, is being able to live out your dreams and to create your own destiny. As he tears up ILLA’s masterfully constructed strings with verse after verse, it’s clear that he lives what he preaches: Dominic’s passion for his music and his desire to make his dreams come true shine in his rhymes and because of that, I’m glad to have a chance to premiere the track today and be a part of his lucid dreaming. Give it a listen for yourself below.
Listen: THEBLKHANDS – “I’m Gone (feat. Big K.R.I.T.)”
You can listen to the Cazzie, K.R.I.T., and Dominic spin their tales over some melancholic ILLA production below, courtesy of the group’s Soundcloud page. Hit the download button for the free MP3.
Listen: J. Cole – “Grew Up Fast”
It’s that time. This for yall. DoubleDoubleCrossed. – Cole
Here’s a new track from J. Cole aka Young Simba, who released his debut studio album Cole World: The Sideline Story last year. Produced by Canei Finch, “Grew Up Fast” features Cole spitting straight fire over a killer vocal sample. Soul meets Cole, double double crossed.
Cole’s recently announced tour dates with Big K.R.I.T. are included below.
Campus Consciousness Spring 2012 / The Sideline Story Tour Dates
April 11 – Kingston, RI – University Of Rhode Island @ The Ryan Center
April 13 – Babson Park, MA – Private Location
April 14 – Waterville, ME – Colby College @ Wadsworth Arena
April 15 – Amherst, MA – Private Location
April 17 – Champaign, IL – University Of Illinois @ Assembly Hall Theatre
April 18 – Dekalb, IL – Northern Illinois University @ Convocation Center
April 19 – Lexington, KY – University Of Kentucky @ Memorial Coliseum
April 20 – Johnstown, PA – University Of Pittsburgh Johnstown @ Sports Center
April 21 – Greensboro, NC UNC Greensboro & North Carolina A&T @ White Oak Amphitheatre
April 23 – Springfield, MO – Drury University @ O’Reilly Center
April 24 – Cedar Falls, IA – University Of Northern Iowa @ McLeod Center
April 26 – Bloomsburg, PA – Bloomsburg College @ Nelson
April 27 – Morgantown, WV – West Virginia University @ WVU Coliseum
April 28 – Philadelphia, PA – Temple University @ The Liacouras Center
April 29 – TBA
May 3 – Durham, NH – University Of New Hampshire @ Whitmore Center Arena
May 4 – South Orange, NJ – Private Location
Watch: The Roots – undun
“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.
Stream: The Roots – ‘undun’
With help from Sufjan Stevens (his song “Redford” inspired the character’s name), Just Blaze, Big K.R.I.T., and more, The Roots’ first attempt at a concept album is an inspiring and beautiful piece of work. You can listen to the whole thing at NPR right now, with the album available in stores everywhere on December 6th via Def Jam.
undun Tracklist:
01. The Un
02. Sleep
03. Make My (feat. Big K.R.I.T.)
04. One Time (feat. Phonte & Dice Raw)
05. Kool On (feat. P.O.R.N.)
06. The Other Side
07. Stomp (feat. P.O.R.N.)
08. Lighthouse
09. I Remember
10. Tip The Scale
11. Redford (For Yia Yia & Pappou)
12. Possibility
13. Will To Power
14. Finality
Listen: The Roots – “Make My (feat. Big K.R.I.T.)”
“Make My” enlists the help of fellow Def Jam emcee Big K.R.I.T., who spits the first verse on the track before being followed by Black Thought. Mellow, rock-infused production by frequent collaborator Khari Mateen and The Roots themselves rounds out the song, which will be available for purchase on iTunes starting November 1st. Check out the album’s tracklisting after the break.
(Via Okayplayer)
Interview: Phil The Thrill
Check out my full interview with Phil below.
Hey Phil, what’s up? How’s it going?
Phil The Thrill: Good, good, good.
I’ve just been reading about Steve Jobs. Man, that’s terrible.
Phil The Thrill: Crazy, crazy. I mean, they knew it was gonna happen eventually, but it was just all of a sudden it seems like.
Yeah… ah, the man’s a genius. So I hear you’re 22 years old and from Newport News, Virginia, is that correct?
Phil The Thrill: Yessir.
Actually, where have I heard of that place from? Is that…Michael Vick’s hometown?
Phil The Thrill: Yeah, yeah. Michael Vick, Allen Iverson.
Oh, okay. How’s the music scene there?
Phil The Thrill: It’s… pretty scattered. This area is known as Hampton Roads, the 757. I’m not sure how familiar you are with this part of Virginia but Missy‘s from here, Timbaland‘s from here, Pharrell‘s from here,The Clipse are from here. So yeah, we have a pretty crazy rich tradition as far as music goes. It just seems like they’ll move away and you know, it’s hard to really get them back to reach out to artists that are coming up now. But as far as tradition goes, we’re definitely on the map when it comes to music, period. And then 45 minutes up the road is where Trey Songz and Chris Brown are from.
Man, that’s nice.
Phil The Thrill: Yeah, man, it’s crazy.
So where did your rapper name, Phil The Thrill, originate?
Phil The Thrill: It’s actually been a name that’s stuck with me. It’s actually been my nickname since I was around twelve years old. I was an athlete playing basketball and football and you know, when little nicknames happen to you when you’re a kid… they’d just be like “Oh, Phil The Thrill!” It sticks and through high school, when everyone would have AIM screennames, I was like lemme use my nickname. It stuck with me then and when I went on to play college basketball, it stuck with me there. So it became my Twitter name and once it sticks, I’m not going to try to change that just because I’m doing music. It’s my nickname and what people know me as. (more…)
Video: 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards Rap Cyphers
The best part of the yearly BET Hip Hop Awards can now be enjoyed in its entirety online. Rapping over beats spun by DJ Premier, some of the hottest MCs in the game right now freestyle to show off their lyrical prowess. This year, we were treated to rhymes from Eminem‘s Shady Records family, Rick Ross‘s Maybach Music Group, and newcomers such as Compton’s talented Kendrick Lamar, Philadelphia up-and-comer Gilbere Forte, Southern king Big K.R.I.T., and many more.
All the cypher videos can be watched below. If you’re low on time, make sure to check out the Shady 2.0 cypher directly below. Primo, drop that beat!
Mixtape: Gilbere Forte – Some Dreams Never Sleep
I completely slept on Gilbere Forte. I admit: it took an appearance on a BET Cyper and The Hundreds presenting his newest mixtape/EP for me to listen to him. But now that I’ve listened to Some Dreams Never Sleep, I can’t stop; this Philadelphia MC is on point. I mean, look at the star-studded cast he managed to pull together for the 11-track project: Big K.R.I.T., Jim Jones, Pusha T, Asher Roth, Casey Veggies, and more.
Gilbere easily goes toe-to-toe with each of these rappers, spitting memorable verse after memorable verse. He’s young, he has a message, and he’s ready to shine. You can download three choice cuts below and if you like what you hear, the full EP is available for free after the break.
MP3: Gilbere Forte – “Black Soul (feat. Big K.R.I.T.)”
MP3: Gilbere Forte – “Hot (In This Bitch) (feat. Jim Jones & Pusha T)”
New Big K.R.I.T Mixtape
Five months after receiving great reviews for his mixtape, Return of 4Eva, rapper Big K.R.I.T. has just dropped another mixtape. The mixtape is called Last King 2: God’s Machine, which is a follow-up to his 2009 release, The Last King. The mixtape is presented by DJ Wally Sparks and DJ Breakem Off you can download the new mixtape for free here. Big K.R.I.T. does the production on a majority of the tracks and guests in the mixtape include Wiz Khalifa, Yelawolf, Pimp C, and more. Read more to see the tracklist.
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