Jean Grae "Cookies or Comas" Mixtape

Jean Grae "Cookie or Comas" Mixtape

Jean Grae can roll w/the best ... crazy to think that the "Cookie or Comas" mixtape is a prelude to the bigger "Cake or Death" which won't kick out until later this year.

For this mixtape, it's Grae and DJ Drama bringing it. Grae takes advantage of her talented circle of friends too like Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch and more. 

It's good ish hip hoppers and you'll agree. kfox.

Jean Grae - Cookies or Comas - Mixtape Listen and Download

Beat The World Soundtrack Sampler

KRS-One, Talib Kweli and K'naan on the Beat the World Soundtrack

The "You Got Served" franchise continues w/a DVD installment and highlights a few of the notably conscious names in hip hop.

Oh, and here's the link to the movie trailer: "You Got Served: Beat the World"

So check it out hip hoppers and let me know what you think. kfox.

Beat The World Soundtrack Sampler by HipHopConnect on SoundCloud

Beat The World Soundtrack Sampler by HipHopConnect

Reflection Eternal f/Estelle "Midnight Hour"

Who doesn't like Reflection Eternal? Even if you've never heard of them, it's my bet that you'll like at least one track from their first track.

So, let me give you a bit of the back story - and I do mean just a bit. Reflection Eternal is Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek. That collabo is one for the history books. And they've done well for themselves individually too.

Now, the duo is back at it and the project will officially drop on Tuesday. The track "Midnight Hour" is already out there.

I must admit, that I was not feeling this to start, but I do like Estelle and I wanted to see how it would work out. I do like the way that Kweli adapts his flow on this song (I likes to see some versatility in an artist's style; especially since Kweli's been around. Because you know, some folks have been around and are doin the same ole, same ole). Of course, I like the tempo. I like uptempo music ... and the retro-soul sound is becoming; it gives the song a non-hip hop vibe.

I'm diggin it. You diggin it hip hoppers? Let me know. kfox.

Midnight Hour feat. Estelle CLEAN (main) by Sneakattackmedia

Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek's "Internet Connection"

You know, I do like Talib Kweli. His flow is smooth. His voice, commanding. Love the colabs w/him and Hi-Tek (I'm sure that you do too), but then they go and toss in my homeboy Bootsy Collins. Yeah, Ohio is reppin up in this one.

I like the beats on "Internet Connection". Not so crazy about the topic/subject - shout outs to Twitter ... I don't know. And that hook, sort of ... just sort of reminds me of Snoop's "Sensual Seduction" ... really.

But the song also has an old school vibe. Just kind of laid back in its tempo.

• download "Internet Connection"

Anyway ... check it out and let me know what you think. Gimme some feedback hip hoppers. kfox.

John Forte + Talib Kweli "Homecoming"

Okay, so I am a bit late on this one. This vid has been out for a few weeks. I spotted it on Okayplayer. Let me tell you, you will always find something fresh and new to you on Okayplayer.

Some of you may know the story on John Forte. That is not the focus of this post, so homework hip hoppers.

At any rate, Forte is right at home on the mic w/Talib Kweli. Nice. This video is kinda cool. I'm liking that Forte is using his Blackberry to spit his lyrics. Talib goes w/the traditional notebook paper.


"Homecoming" John Forte + Talib Kweli from The ICU on Vimeo.

The video quality was super clean. I like that too. Let me know what you think of this one hip hoppers. Give a little feedback every now and then, ah-ight? kfox.

It's All About Nas

I knew that I could count on YouTube to have the vid of Nas performing last night on David Letterman. Love that.

It was a nice performance. I'm sure that Nas will get down even more tonight in Clev-burg. He's got dj Green Lantern and Talib on the bill too. Nice.

So if you can't peep that show, well, this YouTube vid might give you solace, though I doubt it. Check it anyway:



And don't forget, the Ten Friends Annual Labor Day Party is set for Sunday. It's a good time hip hoppers, you already know! kfox.

A Little Vid of Talib, Pete Rock and others

I came across this vid when I was visiting Mick Boogie's webbie Press Play >> Fashion Forward.

As for the vid, it is billed as Talib performs @ the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. I like the vid, but there is not a lot of performance to view. But it's short - 5 min - and sweet.

VIMBY - One Step Beyond: Talib Kweli

Let me know what you think hip hoppers. kfox.

Nas is out there - got get a look!

Nice to know that Nas is getting his hustle on and really promoting his latest release "Untitled". He's out there w/Talib Kweli, Jay Electronica and Green Lantern of a tour called "The Jones Experience". Not only that, but some of his tour dates coincide w/the Rock the Bells Festival dates because both tours are Guerilla Union productions. Tour dates are listed below the vid.

Oh, and check out this recent interview Nas did w/Complex.

Check out Nas' latest vid for "Hero". It seems as if a few of the vids on You Tube have disabled the embedding function. So I went for a Nas classic - "If I Ruled The World":



I know that your discretionary funds are tight, but I think you'll get some bang for your buck on this one.

+denotes Rock the Bells tour dates

+Sat 7/19 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
+Sun 7/20 Toronto Arrow Hall
Tue 7/22 Montreal, QB Metropolis
Thu 7/24 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Fri 7/25 New Haven, CT Toad's Place
+Sat 7/26 Boston, MA Comcast Center
+Sun 7/27 Washington, DC Merriweather Post Pavilion
Tue 7/29 Charlotte, NC Amos' Southend
Wed 7/30 Charleston, SC Music Farm
Thu 7/31 Atlanta, GA Center Stage
Fri 8/1 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
+Sat 8/2 Miami, FL Bicentennial Park
+Sun 8/3 New York, NY Jones Beach Amphitheatre
Fri 8/8 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
+Sat 8/9 San Bernardino, CA Glen Helen Pavilion
Sun 8/10 San Diego, CA House of Blues
Thu 8/14 Reno, NV New Oasis
Fri 8/15 Chico, CA Senator Theatre
+Sat 8/16 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Fri 8/22 Park City, UT Harry O's
+Sat 8/23 Denver, CO Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
Sun 8/24 Austin, TX Emo's
Mon 8/25 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
Tue 8/26 Dallas, TX House of Blues
Thu 8/28 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Fri 8/29 Detroit, MI Chene Park
Sat 8/30 Champaign, IL Canopy Club
Wed 9/3 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Thu 9/4 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
Fri 9/5 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
+Sat 9/6 Quincy, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre

It is about getting your hustle on, but it's also about hustling to do the things you want to do ... take some time to enjoy the fruits of summer hip hoppers! kfox.

REVIEW: "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme"

So it's 2008 and "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme" was released in 2000 and I am just now getting around to watching it - my loss, eh? And it would have taken longer for me to see it, but here's what happened:

I had just finished watching "Michael Clayton" and I went to my Netflix queue to rearrange some things - like to move "The Savages" up, rearrange, "There Will Be Blood" as well as add "First Sunday" and "Norbit" (I have to see for myself if they are, indeed, as bad as some say they are) and I need a little comedy in my life.

So ... I've been seeing a button labeled 'play' next to a few of my selections. But one of my selections is "In Cold Blood" which is #60 on my queue and I am/was not in such a hurry to see that. But I did want to sample this "watch movies instantly" feature.

Well, my first glitch was that that feature is not supported in Mozilla's Firefox browser - shameful. However, over on the Internet Explorer browser, after a download of something and an upgrade of something else, the movie worked like a charm.

I thought that the quality of the movie might be mediocre, but no, no ... it's good looking.

So I was intending to just take a peek at "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme" and then dip out, but since my selection was hip hop related, it grabbed my attention. I was lovin it especially since right in the beginning there is a vintage freestyle segment with my boys Black Thought and ?uestlove! Love that.

It's a nice doc; makes me wish I had seen it sooner, but it's still in my queue, so I can watch it anytime and that is cool. The uncool part is that I could not rewind - and when brothas were spitting rhymes at warp speed, I needed to trackback for a double take.

Some of the legends that make an appearance include:

• Mos Def
• Talib Kweli
• The Last Poets
• Divine Styler
• Boots (from The Coup)
• Supernatural
• Craig G
  

I could go on ... and maybe I will on another post. Meanwhile, you can check out the doc on YouTube. They even break it up into several parts for your viewing pleasure - though the quality is not as good as the Netflix version.

You gotta get your freebies the best way you can hip hoppers. kfox.

A Double Dose of Talib

You know, I check out the Okayplayer webbie about once a week or something like that. They consistently have a wealth of information that keeps me excitable!

So I got this info from reading their site ... posting it here in the event that you have not been there.

Talib has been puttin it down for a good while now. Check out this vid:



So, once you check that, you can get a look at this behind the scenes short vid:

REVIEW: "Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome"

I checked out "Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome". The documentary was screened at the Cleveland International Film Festival that concluded today. I was pretty hyped about the screening because I have been following P.E. for a while now. I'm not their biggest fan, but yeah, I definitely know their history. The film was okay. I liked a lot of the vintage footage; lots of concert footage too. But I did not like the 120 minutes of my life that I can't get back.

Just a quick overview: There was much insight from the ALL of the group members sans Terminator X. There were also some interviews: Henry Rollins, Tom Morello, Talib Kweli, and DMC. I would be interested to see a DVD version so I could see what did not make the cut.

Do the Hustle

That's what Talib Kweli is up to. He dropped a lil clip recently called "Independent Hustle". It will sound familiar - musically - to some. But Kweli gets his freestyle on.

You'll find it on his MySpace page.

Rock the Bells Fest

The Rock the Bells Festival line-up looks stellar! I mean, if you are a true hip hopper, you are 'bout it and are beyond hypie about this showdown. Old schoolers are stoked about Public Enemy and Cypress Hill; but maybe it's the inclusion of the Wu that will get you goin ... then there's Nas, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch and many others.

They've got 17 dates (and it seems they keep adding them; and the line-up changes a bit from city to city). I have yet to purchase a ticket because my future is so undecided, but maybe I should just live a little and do the damn thing ... who knows if it will go down like this next time, huh?

Their webbie is pretty active ... check that out.

Need more time to listen

Checkin out some new music in my favorite genre ... though I must admit that I have not given some of these a full listen:

Brother Ali "The Undisputed Truth" - I began listening to this one at work, but then I left it at work when I really wanted to listen to it at home ... so the jury is still out on this one.

J Dilla "Ruff Draft" - I've listened to several tracks and it's good (I know that's a cop out, but it'll have to suffice for now).

Stephen Marley "Mind Control" - I love, love, love the title cut; also contains tracks w/Mos Def as well as Damien "Junior Gong" Marley; this one is awesome from front to back; oh, "The Traffic Jam" is crazy cool-great beat!

Other notables:
Gabriel Tedros
El-P
Cadence Weapon
Omni

New disks that I don't have (but if I had them, would I make the time to listen to them ... ? Heck yeah!):
Talib Kweli
KRS-One

Movin forward and ah ain't lookin back, kfox!

It's NOT an eclipse, is it?

Well, well, well ... I have waited patiently for packages to arrive that might include some new and highly anticipated releases and ... I remain waiting; why is that?

I am eager to get my hands on the new joints from:

• Talib Kweli
• Mos Def
• Nas (December 19th release date)

But while I salivated through a nice pile of music mail today, I was pleasantly surprised to get a copy of the new joint from the Clipse - and a clean copy to boot ... Apparently, this duo has been experiencing some record label woes - the situation has been chronicled in Vibe, CMJ and many others (so someone's working the publicity angle ...).

Most folks remember the Clipse from "Grindin" a while back; four years ago, I believe. Well, the Virginia Beach crew is back in the spotlight and I do mean the Virginia Beach crew - the Clipse has hooked up w/their high profile homies, the Neptunes.

I am all about the Clipse's "Hell Hath No Fury"; and I'd like to fill in the blank on that cliche ... I've only checked out the first four tracks, but track one has a really nasty beat, real funky (I can just see the folks doin some A-T-L style dance to it up in the club); it is sort of Neptune like, but somewhat of a departure from the Neptune's more commercial clientele.

Brothers Malice and Pusha have a real grimey delivery; they definitely have an edge and probably good reason too ... They don't pack the disk w/too many guests (except for the Diddy-like Pharrell) because they get the job done. Their mixtape cred is all over this project - at least what I've heard so far.

I'd love to go on and on, but I'm on a mission to get my hands on the aforementioned goodies .... and to seek out some mistletoe, schmooches hip hoppers ... kfox

Your wish list ... it oughta be!

I've been riflin around some message boards of late ... like I have nothing else to do with my time (trust me, these posts are about to get shorter and shorter. I still listen to a great deal of music, but I don't think I will have the disposable time that I've had of late).

That said, I still have some down time and the message boards keep me in the know. I've been diggin the Okayplayer message board for some time now, but I finally signed up. I saw a post from Tony Washington and his signature had the following cd releases - good stuff so I thought I'd share.

• The Roots // Game Theory // Aug 29
• Lupe Fiasco // Food and Liquor // Sept 19
• Mos Def // Tru3 Magic // Sept 19
• Talib Kweli // EarDrum // Oct 10

I was hip to the first two. But I can't say for sure that I knew about Mos and Talib. I mean, didn't Talib just drop "Right About Now"? Makes me no difference though - keep it coming. There is always room for more good music. But if is crap ... well, you know where crap should go ...

One more to add to the list though is:

• Nas // Hip Hop Is Dead //Sept

Oh, and the review on J Dilla's "The Shining" is on the way. I've listened to it multiple times and my only complaint is that it is too short - length wise. But who's not gluttonous when it comes to Dilla?

And in the spirit of stylin and profilin, it's not too early to cop some fly ass boots - get the deals while they're still happenin - ya know, back to school time.

Stay true, kfox