The Alchemist "This Thing of Ours II" (EP Stream)

The Alchemist continues his proliferation with the follow up to his April Ep, This Thing of Ours. The 12-minute, 5 track experience boasts appearances from Vince Staples, Bruiser Brigade (Danny Brown, JUS, Bruiser Wolf and Fat Ray), MAVI, MIKE and ZelooperZ. While it's a fairly short EP, The Alchemist has crafted a project that makes the most of its features and the brilliant textures and layers of his unique production. Truth be told, I've always preferred ALC's work most with Evidence and Mobb Deep, but he's branched off to work with a lot of creative talent that's benefited his overall sounded tremendously in recent years. It's working! Listen to This Thing of Ours 2 below...

Imported Goodz & Conway "Untitled Drums" (EP Stream)

Here's the deluxe release of Conway the Machine and Imported Goodz's fire EP, Untitled Drums. Released on cassette and deluxe vinyl (in countless designs), the 6-track EP comes with all 6 instrumentals that also features his Griselda brethren, Westside Gunn. Obviously inspired by Kendrick Lamar's Untitled album, Untitled Drumz, stripped down the song titles and just called them Untitled Drums. Imported Goodz is a crew out of South Florida, but I don't know much about 'em, except that this project has been dope and deserves some extra attention. Also check out their collaborative project with Daniel Son entitled Killing Clouds. Listen to the EP via Bandcamp below...

The Launch of Instagram (October 6, 2010)

On October 6, 2010, Instagram was launched! TechCrunch shared: "I know what you’re probably thinking: oh, another photo-sharing app. But the fact is that at least one of these apps is likely going to take off in a major way at some point soon.... A community, focused on helping you collect, organize, and share the images of your life from your mobile phone. The best we have right now are tiny camera icons stuffed as forgotten features of giant complicated apps that *have* to do everything.” Obviously, he wants Insta to provide that missing community. And it’s a good point. The iPhone 4 is now my primary camera.... And the convenience of always having it in my pocket trumps what it lacks in quality. The pictures taken with it are very good. And with effects and filters like Instagram offers, I get many more compliments on my photography than I ever have before. It makes my life on the go interesting. And that’s part of the key to Instagram. Systrom says, “Photo sharing as a concept is relatively uninteresting as a sell. But processors are so fast now that we can do really cool things to your photos with the tap of a button. We can take that beautiful 5MP camera and turn it into a panoramic camera or a lofi 1980’s Polaroid.,” he continues. And Systrom knows that one key in his app being successful is how actual users are using it. So far, he’s thrilled that a couple handfuls of the web’s best designers have taken a liking to Instagram while it has been in private beta. Once it opens up today, he hopes even more like-minded people will." - 2010.

When my mother was dying, IG was an important tool for me to get information out. And when I launched my own small business, it jumped off from IG, and was fairly successful. Throughout the years I've made countless friends and been inspired by the tremendous talent and creative niches that I've seen--first--on Instagram. So... yeah I guess it's safe to say that the app has been an important tool. Here are just some of the accounts that I highly recommend that you follow for various reasons, many of which may be personal, sentimental or just pure comedy - it all depends, lol: Supastition, Eternia, Money Miz, The Company Man, J57, Rappin N Snackin, Kathy Iandoli, Sin-Seer, Tim Burton, Kid Abstrakt, Rhymecology, Soles of Mischief, Evidence, Philaflava, Toon Crew, Dart Adams, Shad, IllVia, Kalzingis, Fat Beats, Theory Hazit, IllStrips, Jenny Loves Hip Hop, Big Ghost, DJ Filthy Rich, Torre Pentel, DJ Premier, DJ Eclipse, Wallo267, Royce, Brother Ali, Alphonze, yikes... that's a lot and I didn't even scratch the surface. So much talent to discover and appreciate, I do recommend diggin' through these accounts and many others. I also recommend following me HERE!

W0javelli "Just Rae" (Raekwon Tribute Mix)

Illadelph's Wojavelli is back with another fine mix! Just Rae celebrates roughly an hour of early Raekwon features, rare cuts, freestyles and lots more. The Wu-general of slang rap has an extensive catalog that sometimes goes under-celebrated, but this mix tape digs back for many of those dope cuts that don't make it on other mix tapes, making it an excellent piece to add to your collection. Click through to his Soundcloud or into the archives for additional mixes with Half-A-Mil, 2Pac, Rawcotiks, Herb McGruff, Diehard Records, Kasino, Cardan, The Beatnuts, Alchemist, Da Fat Cat Clique, Akinyele, C-Murder, Eightball, Big Pun and more. Of course, for promotional use only...

Common "Resurrection" (October 4, 1994)

In Hip Hop geography, Resurrection, definitely belongs to Chicago. No played out West Coast funk or droning keyboards. No candidates for the next Rump Shaker/Tootsie Roll content theme song.... On first listen it might sound like an East Coast record, but in production and lyrical flow, Common sense fits solidly in the Chicago soul tradition of Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions, Leroy Hutson, and the Chi-Lites. Most of the production was done by the Un-American Caravan's No I.D., who also worked on Common's first album. The music has the feel of an early 70's Curtin Mayfield or Donny Hathaway record. The samples are fresh with catchy piano, keyboard or sax loops up top and strong, looping, basslines underneath to keep the music moving forward. Hip Hop production has moved away from the frantic sound of P.E. and a thousand and one James Brown breakbeats to less hyped samples and live music. But unlike too many of the new Hip-Hop producers, No I.D., maintains the level of energy in the grooves and doesn't let the sound lapse into quiet storm territory. Cont'd

The album is a view of life in urban America today in the same way Curtis Mayfield or Donny Hathaway's songs were a view of the same place in the 60's and 70's. Like many of their songs, Common Sense's rhymes are about daily life, growing up, and even family. Not as just another victim, but as someone with a strong sense of himself. The rhymes are always political, and possibly more powerful for being less direct.... But not everything is serious. There's plenty of more freestyle rhymes, heavy on metaphors.... A lot of MC's start out dope and then lose direction or run out of ideas. But since the first time I saw Common perform at the New Music Seminar in 1989 with a group called "1212" every move has been in the right direction. He's learned a lot since the first album.... The ads for Resurrection say "No gimmicks, no guns, no b*tches, no bullsh*t, just Common Sense." It says a lot about Hip Hop today that [that] description would set the album apart from most other music out there. Just about everyone who cares about Hip Hop and has paid attention for more than a few years knows that something's been lost. On the first single, "I Used to Love H.E.R.," "H.E.R." is Hip Hop and Common Sense expresses better than anybody how much the music meant, and the sense of loss as rap has moved from an art to a commodity.... Common Sense's reality is more than enough entertainment for people into lyrics and beats everywhere and anyone else willing to put down their video gats for long enough to listen. - Caught In The Middle (ZINE, 1994). 

Another Trip Around The Sun... Thank You.

Pandemic and all, I survived yet another trip around the sun! I think I can honestly say that things are going pretty well right now. Specifics are unimportant, but my overall level of peace of mind is HIGH. So, why am I stressed? I think it's because the last few years have been so tumultuous that the idea of happiness sounds like such a distant memory. Is this the calm before the storm or did I finally come out the other side of this whole thing? Forcing myself to put that to side, I woke up today, thankful for another day... I smiled my way through a shift at work, and came home to work on some other passion projects and spend time with family. It's not perfect but there's a balance to it, right? My brother Supastition said something to me during the rollout of one of the projects (and I'll paraphrase), "No matter how this album goes, I'm still gonna get up and go to work on Monday." Those words resonate and caused a shift in perspective for me. We can be happy; we can celebrate small victories and all that, but be prepared to get up tomorrow and get back to it. I also think about my brother Praverb, who passed on - what he wouldn't give and what his family wouldn't give for one more day... I can't waste it focussing on the wrong things. Anyhow, that's today's daily post, hope everyone is doing well and I'll let you know what I'm listening to tomorrow. Happy Born Day to Talib Kweli, Black Thought, Asap Rocky and more. Below is a song I've been listening to from Coney Island's NEMS, "Go Fish," where he says, "I wanna tell you that you worth it, right there where you are / Everything that's in your past don't define who you are / It's a new day, and you can choose to do whatever you want / 'Cause the Devil is a liar with the cleverest fronts / You gotta make it happen, so people know what your lifе meant / You don't wanna be 60 wondering whеre your life went / Homie, you gotta make a plan and then bubble / 'Cause there's nobody that's gonna hold your hand when you struggle." Amen to that! Peace and Love. - Sav One.

Blu "The Color Blu(e)" (Album Stream)

Acclaimed L.A. rapper Blu has left an indelible mark on the hip-hop landscape. Now, the gifted lyricist is back with The Color Blu(e), the latest addition to his impressive catalog. Among Blu’s most conceptual albums to date, The Color Blu(e) is an artistic thesis statement, celebrating and reflecting on a remarkable creative journey. The word “Blu(e)” is featured in every song title, and “Blue” is also weaved into each of the album’s soundscapes. While he typically works with a single producer on each project, this time Blu embraced a diverse sonic texture, with Sirplus, my brother J57, and longtime collaborator Exile all contributing beats. An unapologetically personal collection with no features, The Color Blu(e) is packed with intricate wordplay and dynamic production, reaffirming the unique talent of the artist known as Blu. Another excellent album from Blu. Listen to the LP below...

maticulous "no caps" (Album Stream)

After producing for others over the past several years, Brooklyn-based producer maticulous puts the spotlight on his gifts as an artist with his new compilation, no caps. His production, pacing, and sequencing all truly shine on here, as well as his ability to pick just the right guest emcees to appear on his instrumentals. Whether it’s Guilty Simpson expertly crafting a narrative on “Home Goin’” or yU and Uptown XO talking their sh*t on “Bein’ This Nice,” no caps is brimming with standout features. It makes sense, then, that maticulous calls this his “favorite project to create” to date. “It was born out of being completely locked down for months,” he says. “I would wake up everyday, listen to records, and become inspired with the only expectation of wanting to create music.” That time resulted in the creation of six of the eight instrumentals you hear on no caps, with the upbeat and soulful “Everything” being one of the two exceptions. He actually made that beat in 2012, and it stayed one of his favorites for years. But as he was putting together this project, he just felt it was time for the world to hear it—and he’s not wrong. Skyzoo and Justo The MC do their thing on the track, making it one of the best on here. More than anything else, however, maticulous just wants this release to be a breath of fresh air for listeners. “It’s very easy, for hip-hop especially, to get stuck in a formula,” he says. “One person has success and a hundred people try to make the same sounding stuff. No one needs to reinvent the wheel to make dope, timeless music.” Much respect to my fellow Fat Beats alumni, check out his new LP no caps below...