Joe Budden "Whatever It Takes" (2005)

"I know you feel for me deep in your heart

Doctors, meetings, pills couldn't keep us apart 

But, now you got a deal and you wanna get rid of me 

We roommates, I'm in your head, Joe, you live with me..."

It's no secret that Joe has battled with depression - he's one of a few artists that has been open and vocal about that, and... well, just about everything over the years. The original version of this track is nothing compared to the soulful backdrop that Clinton Sparks adds on the remake, which was featured on Clinton's 2005 release, Maybe You Been Brainwashed. The Mood Muzik MC brings up a number of issues on the record including: depression, record label woes, problems with his baby mother, addiction, feeling wildly misunderstood, and lots more on the 7-minute cut. When the album was reviewed in 2005, Vibe said "And when Joe Budden emotionally cries out for understanding on "Whatever It Takes," Sparks is right there providing spirit-lifting soul sounds." An ironic fact about music is that when an artist reaches a point where the music becomes therapy, those lyrics/songs ultimately become inspiration/motivation for the listener. You may look at it as "emo" rap, but just ask Joe how many fans have told him that his music helped get them through a difficult time in their lives; it may have even saved their life. Oddly, some of Joe Budden's best work is not featured on his retail albums, it's snuck on mixtapes, loose verses, features, or it's the unlikely B-Side to a 12" that has Puff Daddy on the A-Side. However you chop it up, these are the types of songs that helped build Joe's fanbase, and even if his measure of success called for him to switch careers, fans can still cherish the music he's left behind and the perspectives he offers (along with Rory and Mal) on his podcast. Listen below and "Please leave the kid in peace." Happy Born Day, Joe!

August Greene "August Greene" (Album Stream)

"In early 2016, musicians Common, Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins found themselves in the studio, crafting the soulful backdrop of Common's 11th album, the politically charged Black America Again ... As the trio created, they began to notice something different taking shape-something rooted in the warm R&B sounds of yesteryear but still very much in the present. It was soul music with a modern bounce, a jazz-rap hybrid in the spirit of A Tribe Called Quest. It fully encapsulated the black experience: the serenity and pain through which we channel gorgeous art, the beauty and struggle of simply trying to exist. Equally peaceful and profound, the music they captured laid the foundation for August Greene, the newly formed supergroup of Common, Glasper and Riggins. The artists come to this project having reached great respective milestones over the years ... August Greene speaks to those pushing through the dark for brighter days. It's a masterpiece from which virtue can shine." - via Marcus J. Moore (read the full, exclusive album review at Amazon). Dig in...

Craig Mack "That's My Word" EP

Tape Deck King presents THAT’S MY WORD, an EP dedicated to the memory of Craig Jamieson Mack (10/05/1970 – 12/03/2018). British DJ, Tape Deck King, has compiled an 8-track EP made up of tracks Mack dropped in 2000, alongside snippets from an interview with Tim Westwood and Marley Marl from the same year. During the interview, Craig Mack announced the name of a project he was set to drop that summer, but it never came out. That project was ‘That’s My Word." via UrbanVault.

Avantdale Bowling Club "Avantdale Bowling Club" (Album Stream)

This is one of the most surprising releases of the year to me. Avantdale Bowling Club is a powerful, personal, and deeply musical piece of work. Without the liner notes in front of me to check the track credits, all that is really known to me is that the creator and MC behind Avantdale Bowling Club is New Zealand's Tom Scott, who better than me can sum up the heart of the album ... "This record is about... growing up. I think. It's about dealing with your own stuff for once. Accepting responsibility, maybe. It's a self help book addressed to myself. And just like every other piece of art ever made in history of the hominid, I was going through some shit when I was making it. I'd just left home and everyone I knew, looking to chase a dream. It was an awkward phase, like stage two puberty. I was learning how to be grown. Humility had my pride in a headlock. I was the old man at the art exhibition, the young boy at the art gallery. Everyone was in a K-hole, I was at K-Mart." Hear Avantdale Bowling Club's self-titled album below - right now, it's a highly recommended listen...

A Tribe Called Quest "The Love Movement" (Press Kit, 1998)

"8/27/98: New York, NY - A Tribe Called Quest will release their last album, The Love Movement on September 29. The group has decided to disband after being together for ten years. The group will be featured on the October cover of The Source Magazine with an exclusive interview discussing their disbanding. The magazine hits newsstands on September 1. The first single off the album is "Find A Way/Steppin' It Up." According to The Source Magazine, "Find A Way... is a good ole fashioned ghetto love story. Short and simple, this playfully innocent tale possesses that level of youth expression Tribe has always been known for." The video is currently on MTV, BET, and the Box."

"There will be limited number of collectors' editions of the album which will include 6 bonus tracks; "Moneymaker," "Hot Sex," "Scenario (Remix)," "Jazz (We've Got," "One Two S**t"(featuring Busta Rhymes) and "Oh My God (Remix)." The Love Movement is a sonic and spiritual revolution on wax that manages to break new ground without ever losing its sense of playfulness. The album is produced by the Ummah. A Tribe Called Quest build their socially conscious rhymes upon a foundation of positive hip-hop vibes. The combination of their strong jazz influences, with a trademark ability to combine rap styles and blend rhythm and rhyme, has resulted in critical acclaim and platinum status for their last album, Beats, Rhymes & Life." - Press Release, 1998. Is it a classic, too... or nah?

Jamall Bufford "Time In Between Thoughts" (Album Stream)

We’re always looking forward to the next thing. We look towards the next show, the next shoe, the next time with that woman or man, the next paycheck. What about the time in between those things? How do we feel during that time? About life? About ourselves? Believe it or not, there’s more time in between those events than actually experiencing those events. Time In Between Thoughts is Jamall Bufford’s attempt to capture those moments and hold on to them. On his 6th studio album as a solo emcee, Bufford tapped into what brought him piece of mind. It turns out it’s the moments when he isn’t bombarding his brain with a trail of thoughts on top of thoughts. If that movie or that new car doesn’t bring you the joy you thought it would, or maybe the joy doesn’t last as long as you thought it would, it might be more beneficial for us to value those small moments of thoughtlessness and symbolic silence whenever they happen to come around. We’re always thinking about bills we have to pay, the health of our family members, the gov't, and all things heavy in the world. Time In Between Thoughts is that split second of weightlessness. It may not last long, but we can try our best to recreate it throughout our day, on a daily basis. Great concept, dig in...

DJ G-Brown "Primo's Favorites" (Mixtape, 2001)

DJ G-Brown released Primo's Finest: Best of DJ Premier in 2001. It features a wide list of DJ Premier's most flavorful production credits. The mix includes artists like Rakim, The LOX, Freddie Foxxx, Royce Da 5'9, Nas, Jeru The Damaja, Gang Starr, Mos Def, Jay-Z, Group Home, KRS-One, Bahamadia, Rah Digga, Capone-N-Noreaga, Craig Mack, Janet Jackson, Big L, and lots more. DJ Premier is the greatest Hip-Hop producer of all-time... fight me in the comments! Listen below...

Demuja "Can't Defeat" feat. Anti-Lilly

When you dig an artist's music, you dig for an artist's music. Makes sense, right? Well, that's how I stumbled upon this record from Demuja, featuring the good homie, Anti-Lilly, out of Houston, Texas. The track is called "Can't Defeat," and it is featured on Demuja's album "Hidden Paradise." Demuja is an Austrian producer & DJ with an emotive style of production bordering on soulful, jazzy hip-hop in the case of "Can't Defeat," and a more house-infused style on much of the remaining tracks on the project. Anti-Lilly delivers, making the pen bleed on the page with more introspection, like:

"And when you come up, better watch your directions 

Look a man in his eyes and listen to that voice inflection 

Perspectives change and intentions ain't never known 

It be the same people you trust that be plotting shit on the low 

I done seen it, done felt it / Never felt so helpless..."