Illa J + J Dilla = Yancey Boys

I listened to a couple of tracks from Illa J before I went and read his bio. Interesting. But first I'll talk about the music.

Got a heads up on this one from the folks at Audible Treats. I'm on that list and it is all good. I don't know what made me listen to this particular artist, but it was a good choice. The first track from Illa J's "Yancey Boys" disk that I listened to was "Strugglin". Seems we could all make a track w/this title, right? But I like the slow beats on this one. Reminded me of The Roots.

I also checked out "R U Listenin" f/Guilty Simpson. A little singin on this one. Just a nice jam. More uptempo. And the other track that I listened to was "We Here"; I'm diggin this one too. No corny rhymes and the beat reminds me of Kraftwerk's "TransEurope Express". There's some singing on this one too and it fits in nicely.

Now, let me address this Yancey Boys connection. For those of you who recall J Dilla, you already know ... and if you don't know, then you suspected that w/a name like Illa J and Yancey, that this guy might be a blood relative of J Dilla. Well, he's Dilla's little brother to be exact. A little brother who looked up to his older and extremely talented brother, a legendary producer whose life ended way too soon. Nice that the younger Yancey has a chance to continue the family legacy.

This is a nice project; the music and beats flow nicely. The one downfall is that it is somewhat annoying to keep hearing the "Yancey Boys" shout out on each track and in some case several times on a track - it's not necessary. But if you are so inclined to make a purchase, check out Illa J's "Yancey Boys" @ iTunes..

Oh and hip hoppers, this is a Delicious Vinyl project and you know how they roll. You can be down now ... or jump on the bandwagon in the weeks, months, years to come. kfox.

I Do It For Hip Hop :: Luda Jay-Z Nas

I can not take credit for finding this one. It came to my inbox via Mick Boogie's Press Play Fashion Forward website/blog. But I am diggin it - Ludacris, Jay-Z and Nas "I Do It For Hip Hop". Not bad at all.

What caught my attention was the image that accompanied the post. As I was scrolling through, it was one of those "hey, what was that?" The bruthas are lookin fabulous and fly. But nice to know that the track is not all commercial sounding and what not. I expect the lyrics to be strong, but the beats are quite complimentary; a little jazzy and laid back. Very nice.

So check out the track: "I Do It For Hip Hop"

What are you doing for hip hop hip hoppers ... ? kfox.

Allow me to introduce you to Reggie Watts

How about some Reggie Watts for yo ass...? To simply say that he is a beat-boxer is doing him a disservice.

But here's a sample of his capabilities:


Reggie Watts: Out Of Control from Jakob Lodwick on Vimeo.

I love the boundaries of hip hop - limitless. Find your talent hip hoppers. kfox.

K'naan's Goin on the Road!

This is hot. For real. This info almost slipped by me. I knew that Matisyahu was touring, but I did not know that K'naan was on the bill.

If you are not down, here's your chance to be down. Either act is awesome alone, but together ... ? And for $23.50. Whuuuuudd? Oh, that's the ticket price for the December 14th show in Cleveland @ the House of Blues. Folks in southern Ohio can get in on the hipness too - that would be on December 11th @ Bogart's. You can see the tour sked on K'naan's MySpace page and sample some of his music while you are there.

There's a track called "ABCs" w/Chubb Rock and you can tell it's Chubb Rock because of that hype-ass tempo. K'naan has a new disk that will drop in the new year, "Troubadour" and "ABCs" is the first single.

So check out the mp3 of "If Rap Gets Jealous". And don't forget to view the vid for "Soobax"; it's another uptempo jam w/lots of rhythm.



That's all for now hip hoppers; it's a lot to digest ... kfox

It's a New Day

Once again, I am taking the liberty of showcasing mainstream music on my indy blog. My apology, but it's really all about good music, right?

In this case, it's Will.i.am. I've actually been following him for a bit - pre-Fergie when The Black Eyed Peas were more authentic and less known i.e. indy.

But progress i.e. change is good. In this case the success of Will.i. am. All good too. He was on Oprah the other day debuting his latest song and video. Love it.



So check it out hip hoppers. I'm all about it. kfox.

A Review of The Roots on Tour

So I've been a bit quite on The Roots lately. No good reason. I still troll around on Okayplayer (and you should too). But my fav band is on the road and not coming to a city near me. I am in no way surly about that, but I will want to see them perform live in the very near future.

Meanwhile, someone let them loose in NYC and they did what they do. Check out the article in the New York Times:
A Hip-Hop Performance Only a Band Can Deliver

Love that.

Anyway, the guys are out there w/Gym Class Heroes and Estelle. You know if they are in your hood, you better peep them. For real hip hoppers, for real. kfox.