Schoolboy Q “Habits & Contradictions”

I usually don’t have the time and energy to find new music on the internet. Specifically hip-hop. After a while the blogs all start running together. Every couple of months, a new rapper comes along that everyone buzzes about and over-hypes to be the most amazing dude on the planet since the last most amazing dude on the planet three months ago.

So I had heard about the Black Hippy group for a while. And I thought Kendrick Lamar was dope and everything just like everyone told me I was supposed to. But last week I was intrigued by this new Schoolboy Q record “Habits & Contradictions”. I don’t know why. Then I listened to it and watched the “Hands on the Wheel” video. Now I like it. And him. And his record. And his videos. This dude is really creative and I like that he could give two shits about anything except what he’s on. I miss this energy in hip-hop right now. This vibe is sorely lacking. These dudes have picked it up and put a nice twist on it. I fuck with it. I love discovering artists at this moment in their careers. It’s like a small layover of time where they’re discovering their potential, style and sound in front of the world before the industry folks try to market it. It’s still raw as shit, but not unpolished.

Hit the jump for a couple videos:

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Tags: Black Hippy, habits & contradictions, hands on the wheel, kendrick lamar, schoolboy q

DJ COREY GRAND “NON-FICTION HEART(BREAKS)”

LxE just hipped me to this dude a couple days ago, as sometimes they he backs LxE up on the decks when he performs.

Then I came across a post on this record by my friends at TheHigherPlane.

Which is cool and all. But then I looked at the tracklist.

I feel like outside of my circle, no one in Ohio really messes with half the artists I mess with, so when I see FlyLo, J*Davey, and The Weeknd (amongst many others) on here, I get relieved that I’m not going crazy.

Here’s the trackslist & link

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Tags: DJ Corey Grand, Exile, flying lotus, j*davey, lxe for the uncool, mixtape, Non-Fiction Heart(Breaks), The Weeknd, TheHigherPlane.net

Ill Poetic “Instrumentals” Vol. 2

I make beats.

Then I flesh the beats out into productions. Then I bring in musicians to play my ideas, and vocalists to accentuate the song-writing. Then I begin the process of mixing, post-producing and anal-retentive analysis that leads to months in a basement working on a single song.

I can’t use them all. Some of them have to just stay beats and semi-fleshed out ideas. These ideas need homes. They’re orphans with empty bowls of porridge, looking for a singer, emcee, or musician to nourish them and put a blanket over their sad, cold bodies.

Enjoy!

Oh, and here are some more from before.

Ps – Shouts the homie David Perez for the always amazing pictures of pretty ladies. And shouts to this coffee shop I’ve been in ALL DAY designing the cover.

Tags: bandcamp, david perez, Download, ill poetic, instrumental hip-hop, instrumentals vol. 1, instrumentals vol. 2

FREDDIE GIBBS x MADLIB x GUNS..LOTS OF GUNS “THUGGIN”

A couple nights ago, I had a nightmare that Freddie Gibbs robbed and killed me.

The next day, I saw this video, and realized why.

Funny story:

Illogic and I had a show with Gibbs last Spring, afterI interviewed him for Citybeat a month earlier. Gibbs and I were sitting right next to each other at the Merch Table. Illogic told me I should introduce myself and tell him that I had just interviewed him a few weeks back. Since we just rocked a pretty big show with him, I though “Ok, cool, I can do that.”

So I introduced myself to him. And then he looked at me the same way he looks at the camera in this video. Then I went back to my seat. So that was that.

The End.

Enjoy the video. This song is amazing.

Tags: Citybeat, freddie gibbs, illogic, Interview, madlib, show, thuggin, video

(Strength) Video

For those who don’t know, I’ve been diving into Sound Design and Scoring.

It’s been an amazing ride, as it’s really helped me develop the direction I want to go with my own upcoming releases.

Above is a project I did with David Damen at Arris Productions. It will be entering into the Arnold Sports Film Festival this March, so wish us luck.

For now, enjoy the video.

PS – If you dig the music, you can also find the instrumental HERE.

“The Hip-Hop Unseen” Read-In-Full

…Kinda like “Paid-In-Full”….or not.

Ok.

Since I’ve retired this column, and the last one got such an amazing response, I figured I’d like to present a link to every column written over the past couple years. Start at the bottom and read up, and you can get a gist of my early zest, focus and determination. Then travel past the first few and embrace my pockets of  uninspired repetition until I burn out in a dull flame, only to semi-ressurect my dignity by the end. Yay.

Tags: All, Citybeat, column, hip-hop (un)scene, ill poetic, Unseen

Citybeat Column # 20 “Life After Death”

One Final CityBeat Column:
Enjoy and Farewell to my journalism career:)

Tags: Citybeat, column, hip-hop (un)scene, ill poetic, Life After Death