Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time

Nice deconstruction.

Is this vid missing anyone? Of course it is hip hoppers. Still good info and analysis.

Akua Naru's "The Block"

Akua Naru's "The Block"

Akua Naru is sort of flying under the radar these days. She's been featured on Okayplayer and she has a rich voice and a monster presence on stage.

However, this Philly native has found her livelihood in Europe. Her summer concert tour schedule is almost exclusively in and around central Europe with stops in Belgium, Romania and Germany, where she currently resides.

I peeped her performance while visiting Budapest at the end of May. The show was hot! I mean, the energy was off the scale. She rocked the mic w/some call and response and an amazing band and the audience was all about it.

Hip hoppers, the lady's got skills, check it out for yourself. kfox.

VIDEO: Scrufizzer "The Truth"

Scrufizzer "The Truth"

This guy's from the UK and is a good example of basic potential. The platform - hip hop - has evolved, but this performance is staid. And it's less than 3 minutes. That's unfortunate. So why post it? Well, folks in the comment section were jockin and I'd like to see what you think.

Time to weigh in hip hoppers. What say you? kfox.

Okayplayer's Complete Guide To SXSW 2014

Okayplayer's Complete Guide To SXSW 2014

There's been a lot of talk about this year's SXSW festivities in Austin. So a big thanks to Okayplayer for coming to the rescue to sift through the sounds and bring us this curated guide.

You don't have to travel to the festival to enjoy the fruits of the festival. Here's a chance to discover some new music and expand your listening palette.

Okayplayer's Complete Guide To SXSW 2014

Let's dive right in hip hoppers. kfox.

Questlove on NPR's Fresh Air

Questlove on NPR's Fresh Air

This is a repeat and it's a good one in case you missed it earlier this summer. NPR's Terry Gross is an incredible interviewer and The Roots' Questlove has great stories and is a wonderful storyteller.

Listen as the two come together for a 40 minute interview segment on NPR's Fresh Air from June 2013.

VIDEO: Jarren Benton's "Life in the Jungle"

VIDEO: Jarren Benton's "Life In The Jungle"

When you're trolling through a long list of emails from hip hop artists and promoters, you never know what you'll get when you click the link of an artist who's known to you.

But Audio Treats almost never fails to deliver and that's the case with Jarren Benton's video for "Life in the Jungle." He's new to me, but apparently he's got some experience under his belt at least it sounds like it.

After a few seconds into the vid, I almost dumped out of it. I thought that it was another hood vid about gang bangers - and in a way it's a little bit about that. I won't give it all away.

Oh, and for the hip hoppers who can remember: "...it's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under." kfox.

Jon Waltz "Bang (Left My Home)"

Jon Waltz "Bang (Left My Home)"

This track caught my attention randomly (as does most of the good stuff that I discover). It's a mix between current day music and a little bit of honesty. It's not astounding, but something about it stands out. Still trying to figure that out. It's certainly worth a listen.

I don't know much about Cupcake Jon, except that his Twitter handle is @CupcakeJon.

"Bang (Left My Home)" is his latest. Check it out and enjoy hip hoppers. kfox.

Audio: Julian Malone's 909

Julian Malone's 909

This is nice. It starts out heavy and slow. It's definitely a head nodder. And that's what I'm attracted to - the music. The lyrics are a bit of a cop out; too much unnecessary use of the 'n' word for my tastes.

If you're a lover of the Stones Throw camp, then you'll give this on a chance hip hoppers. kfox.

VIDEO: Med Blu & Madlib's "Burgandy Whip"

VIDEO: Med Blu & Madlib's "Burgandy Whip"

I discovered this track via the Okayplayer crew.

The vocals on the hook seems to steal the thunder on this one; and the vid is nice w/that Instagram feel. Nice beats too.

So take a ride hip hoppers ... and enjoy. kfox.

The Roots To Release Thirteenth Studio Album "&TYSYC" In Late 2013

... and so we wait hip hoppers! kfox.

The Roots To Release Thirteenth Studio Album "&TYSYC" In Late 2013

Brother Ali's "Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color"

Brother Ali "Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color"

Album cover for Brother Ali's "Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color." Borrowed from the Rhymesayers website

This is a cross post. It was originally posted on The Radiogirl Blog.

A few weeks ago I was playing around on the iPad using the Flipboard app. I like that I can connect my SoundCloud account to Flipboard.

And so I was checking out my SoundCloud stuff and noticed something new from Brother Ali. This guy's the real deal; straight, no chaser. And this new thing "Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color," yeah, to say it's nice and I like it means I just don't have the time to write how I really feel. Actually, the music speaks for itself.

Start w/"Mourning in America" ... if you can handle that.

Oh, and there's this segment from NPR:
Brother Ali: A Voice For The Suffering

So hip hoppers, whaddaya think of this one? kfox.

Moka Only's "Airport 6"

Moka Only's "Airport 6"

I can rarely determine how certain music lands in my inbox. You can see where this is going, right? 

Moka Only's latest project, "Airport 6," managed to rise above what seems like thousands of emails that I receive on a weekly basis.  I'd planned on listening to just one or two tracks, but the flow is awesome. And from one track to the next ... it's all good.

This is a laid back project. Though it has just enough punch in the lyrics and Moka Only's style of delivery. You may recall his flow from his time w/the hip hop group Swollen Members, but that was some time ago.

Moka Only (courtesy of URBNET)

The beats on "Airport 6" are consistent too ... starting off w/"Sleeping Dogs." "Back Back" is nice, and fun too. There's this refrain of 'ooh, ooh, ooooh' or something like that. It's catchy. I like it.

This project is the kind of music that you'll hear in the background and it will peek your interest and you'll want to bring it to the foreground.

It's the real deal hip hoppers. Don't sleep. kfox.

Listen to the entire project via SoundCloud.

Moka Only - Airport 6 by URBNET

The Nice Nice Boys vs Marvellous Macc Mello "Round Town"

The Nice Nice Boys vs Marvellous Macc Mello "Round Town"

This is the kind of hip hop that I love; that hip hop that goes to that other level without all the glossy attention.

But hip hoppers, tell me more about the Nice Nice boys ... kfox.

Sene "Young Leaders"

Sene "Young Leaders"

For the discovery of new music, I used to hover over thesixtyone. I'm still a fan of their set up, but I've drifted off of the music tip for a bit now (see the number of blog posts for the past few months). But I'm trying to do better.

So imagine my surprise when I stepped to my latest music discovery tool, Shuffler.fm, and I punched up Sene's "Young Leaders." Oh, so cool. A bit of a slow beat, but I was in the mood for that. You'll enjoy the company of Blu and Anthm on the track too. Oh, and the hook is nice.

It's all good hip hoppers, it's all good. kfox.

VIDEO: Joey Bada$$ "Waves"

VIDEO: Joey Bada$$ "Waves"

The music on this track is quite attractive; reminds me of some original A Tribe Called Quest-ish ish.

It has just the right blend of a little message and a little braggadocious. The vid's not spectacular, but it's nice and fun. Overall, I like the energy of the track and the vid's complementary.

But hip hoppers, are you wonderin what I'm wonderin? What happens when Joey meets Betty? kfox.

Q-Tip "Work It Out" (Disclosure Booty Call Edit)

Q-Tip "Work It Out" (Disclosure Booty Call Edit)

Are you hip to Q-Tip's "Work It Out?" Seems it quite the popular track, but I've been unable to trace its birth. I could dig a bit deeper, but the point is the track's been around the block and there are a gazillion remixes of it. Here are a few:

DJ Booth Version
DJ Topcat Version
Dennis Blaze Version

Enter the 'Disclosure Booty Call Edit.' Obviously the name did not grab my attention. However, my inability to stop the iPad from rolling over to this track gave it some exposure to my ears.

The track is much more uptempo than the others and more akin to actually 'working out.' That is if working out is your thing; it's certainly my thing.

So go ahead hip hoppers and work.it.out. Get it in. kfox.

Hieroglyphics On Tour :: Summer 2012

Hieroglyphics Hiero Imperium Summer Tour 2012

The Hieroplyphics Hiero Imperium Summer Tour 2012 is now in affect. It's a left coast dealy and the rest of us will have to live vicariously through their social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.


This crew has some experience under their belt so they're bound to please the crowds. Oh, and Souls of Mischief's on the bill too.


This short vid's a bit of a tease, but that's what promo vids do - tease.


So get your tease on hip hoppers, it's gonna be a long, hot summer. kfox.

APP: "Pulse" for Hip Hop on the iPad

Hip Hop on the iPad

I've been an iPad owner for about a year. I thought having it would give me an opp to do more blog posts. Wrong.

Most people will say that the iPad's primarily a device to consume information. I'm in agreement w/that theory, but I'm trying to do more with the iPad in terms of producing content. Apple doesn't make it easy though by updating devices and then not offering support for older devices. I mean, already the first generation iPad has some update limitations. Sad. So sad ... and wasteful.

My Pulse screen on Sunday, July 15, 2012.

But I've digressed. I, like many/most, am consuming lots of information on the iPad. One app that I like to use to 'discover' on the iPad is Pulse.

I'm attracted to the look of Pulse and the wealth of information that you can curate via the app. I mean, at a glance, I can ogle at all kinds of hip hop that I find interesting and creative.

A hip hop oasis awaits you hip hoppers (via Pulse). kfox.

PERFORMANCE: Sugar Tongue Slim

PERFORMANCE: Sugar Tongue Slim

Take hip hop and SXSW and NPR and wahlah ... funky feel good situation. And that's what we have here with Sugar Tongue Slim at the helm.

With all the hype about SXSW, I still haven't made it to the big dance - and it's not in my foreseeable future. So imagine my surprise to see this posted on the NPR site (originally posted in March 2012). Doesn't make a difference how old it is if it's new to me. Good music has that effect.

You're gonna like this set hip hoppers; and there's a free download of the audio. kfox.

VIDEO: Aasim "Save my Soul" f/Cee Lo Green

VIDEO: Aasim "Save my Soul" f/Cee Lo Green

Aasim is at it again ... this time bringing in the strength of Cee Lo to set his game apart from others. Cee Lo has  anice hook on this track. But Aasim goes in deep w/his lyrics.

This one you need to check out hip hoppers ... and save your own soul. kfox.