CONTEST: Ghostface Killah Deck + T-Shirt

SDSU CONTEST: The kids over at Zoo York, Cornerstone and Def Jam have teamed up with SDSU to do this great Ghostface Killah contest. I mean, seriously, how cool are these prizes? You know you love The Big Dough Rehab, and you know you want that shirt and deck. Even you non-skateboarders out there. Looking at you Rafi.


The aforementioned parties have created that hype co-branded skateboard deck and T-shirt adorned with custom graphics that pay homage to The Big Dough Rehab, as well as the abundance of AKA’s the hip-hop icon has adopted over the past fifteen years. Limited to less than 500 promo-only pieces and slated to release in early February 2008, these co-op collectibles will be available exclusively through in-store and online promos from Def Jam, Cornerstone, the Zoo, and this SDSU contest of course.

WHAT TO DO TO WIN: Write me at wes[AT]liberatedmatter[DOT]com (subject line: GHOSTFACE CONTEST) and tell me your mailing address and what your favorite Ghostface Killah album is. One winner will be randomly picked and sent the prizes per UPS, who by the way are hiring. NOTE: Only people in the continental US are eligible. Sorry international readers.

LISTEN: Jean Grae - #8 (Prod. by 9th Wonder)

DOWNLOAD Jean Grae - #8 (Prod. by 9th Wonder) (MP3)

New Jean Grae track. Very Talib Kweli.

LISTEN: Papoose - Who Shot Ya (Uncle Murda Diss)

DOWNLOAD Papoose - Who Shot Ya (Uncle Murda Diss) (MP3)

Papoose talks greasy about Uncle Murda. My main gripe with Pap is that he can't seem to make a decent song from a songwriting perspective. This track is WAY too long and has no structure. Pap = the anti-Kanye West.

LISTEN: C.R.A.C. - Love Don't

DOWNLOAD C.R.A.C. - Love Don't (MP3)

C.R.A.C. = Blu + Ta’Raach. Off of The Piece Talks, out in April. Check another song over at Eskay's.

VIDEO: Pusha T Interview

Pusha T speaks on Clipse, Re-Up Gang and more.

VIDEO: Joell Ortiz Interviewed By Miss Info

VIDEO: 50 Cent - Paperchasers

Watched this at home over at Eskay's this morning, thought little of it, but then on my walk to the SDSU offices I started humming it, and it turns out it's damn catchy. Against my will.

LISTEN: Blue Note 'Dropping Science' Sampler

Legendary Jazz label Blue Note is releasing an album of great tracks from the past that were sampled in songs by 2Pac, Black Moon, Organized Konfusion, J Dilla, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Main Source and many more. It's called Dropping Science. Check out some tracks below.

UPDATE: Ok that auto player got annoying. Check it out here instead.

VIDEO: Fat Joe - 300 Brolic

Fat Joe's first video off of Elephant in the Room. More info on the album here. Produced by The Hitmen. Joe had a pretty good flow before he starting jacking Weezy's already. Speaking of Lil' Wayne, you'll hear his voice at the end in the Rik Cordero/Blue Magic jacking part of the video.

LISTEN: Billy Danze (of M.O.P.) - God Bless & Goodnight

DOWNLOAD Billy Danze - God Bless & Goodnight (MP3)

Billy Danze of M.O.P. fame drops a solo track.


Props to Tobes.

VIDEO: M.I.A. Paper Planes

'Paper Planes' is the only M.I.A. song I can stand. I actually dig it even.



Related: Mujah Messiah remixes the song. Download/listen here

LISTEN: Talib Kweli - Momma Can You Hear Me (Prod. by Kanye West)

DOWNLOAD Talib Kweli - Momma Can You Hear Me (Prod. by Kanye West) (MP3)

If someone tightly mixed and mastered this nice unreleased Talib Kweli/Kanye West track it'd make for a great video/net single.

LISTEN: D-12 - We Deep

DOWNLOAD D-12 - We Deep (MP3)

D-12 is back, without Eminem. Hence this track kind of sucks.


Props to Shake.

LISTEN: Pastlife Pretense - Return Of The Emcee

DOWNLOAD Pastlife Pretense - Return Of The Emcee (MP3)

Check out this great track by New Jersey's Pastlife Pretense. High on concept and skill, low on wack. If they didn't have their photos set to private on myspace I'd show you what they look like. Picture public now! haha

NEWS: NYOILL To Release 9 Wonders EP

NYOIL has announced he will be releasing 9 Wonders (the Digital EP) February 20th 2008. It will be a free download available right here on SitDownStandUp.com, featuring NYOIL over 9 previously released 9th Wonder beats. Info below. First track and video debuting right here soon.


On New Media: "I'm constantly trying to develop new strategies to market music and developing significant business partnerships with new media. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize Blogger as the future of Hip Hop press. A good blog is usually written by someone that would do it, has done it because they have a legitimate love for the culture." Said NYOIL.

On the songs: "I felt like if I redid the songs it would be disrespectful to the people that originally rocked to them. Fact is I just treated each beat as if it had never been rhymed to. I wanted to show my mastery of this style of hip hop, my ability to still build solid ideas, a conscious message, and show the timeless quality of 9th Wonders production."

LISTEN: Bumpy Knuckles - Dreamcatcher

DOWNLOAD Bumpy Knuckles - Dreamcatcher (MP3)

Still nobody can mess with Freddie Foxxx. Off of the upcoming album Amerikkkan Black Man.


Via Eskay.

NEWS: Kanye Announces Glow In The Dark Tour

Kanye West announced a pretty killer bill for his Glow In The Dark tour with Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco. Great artwork too.

VIDEO: Memphis Bleek - Let It Off ft. Uncle Murda

Is Memphis Bleek really channeling Ja Rule for a few seconds in that first verse? Uncle Murda guests. The two remaining Jay-Z loyalists on the Roc? Choice line from Murda: "We got the same guns T.I. had"

LISTEN: Grayskul - The Office (Featuring Slug & Aesop Rock)

DOWNLOAD Grayskul - The Office (Featuring Slug & Aesop Rock) (MP3)

Aesop Rock and Slug (of Atmosphere) assist Seattle's newbies Grayskul on this great new track. Nothing funny about this Office.

VIDEO: LA The Darkman - Dumping The Ruger ft. Willie The Kid

SDSU's featured New Hip Hop Video Of The Week: LA The Darkman's 'Dumping The Ruger' featuring Willie The Kid flow so tightly in what may be the most violent Hip Hop video ever. By proxy that is as they cut and paste a bunch of movie scenes in there so it's also the most sue-able Hip Hop video ever as we know they don't have those licenses in place. Great track. Don't let your kids see this one though.

LISTEN: Blu - Spanish Winters

DOWNLOAD Blu - Spanish Winters (MP3)

Indie success story of 2007 Blu blesses the fans with a brand new, and great, track in 'Spanish Winters'. Spanish mandolins give this one an almost spaghetti western feel to it to support the off kilter rhymes.

New Functionality & Design For SDSU

Those readers/visitors that are not subscribers through the RSS feed probably noticed some drastic design and functionality changes that went into effect a week and a half ago or so. Little late on this but to summarize:

+ New SDSU Music Player added in sidebar to your right. Every song posted on SDSU will automatically appear in the player for easy quick listening and deciding if you want to download it or now. The player is embeddable on your MySpace, Facebook, and any other side. It is also 'pop-able' meaning it can be a stand alone player as well.

+ New About page with press mentions. (Read here)

+ Menu on top where the buttons "MP3", "News", "Video" and "Interviews" correspond with the obvious.

+ The sidebar has a few new sections
1. SDSU's Mixtapes In Heavy Rotation which will be updated frequently. Anyone who wants to suggest or submit mixtapes get in touch through wesATliberatedmatter.com
2. SDSU's Latest Videos are ones either shot by myself or ones that debut on the SDSU YouTube Channel.
3. SDSU's Hip Hop Photograhy is a flickr tool that shows a bunch of thumbnails of photos taken by myself at shows in a slideshow format. They also appear on my flickr page.
4. NYC Hip Hop Show Calendar. This one is self explanatory. Including links to tickets.
5. SDSU's featured New Hip Hop Video Of The Week
6. SDSU's featured Classic Hip Hop Video Of The Week
7. Language options: Since a good section of our are readers from abroad, I added a translation tool in the side column for a few major languages.

+ There is also a new Elements Of Hip Hop Feeds section with four categories.
1. Music Downloads: mostly classic 12" releases, rarities and mixtapes.
2. Hip Hop Fashion & Kicks: Your latest Hip Hop inspired/inspiring clothing.
3. Graffiti: Cool tags and pieces from all over the world.
4. Breakdancing & B-Boying: Videos and other stuff.
Hope you enjoy!

LISTEN: Gnarls Barkley - Run

DOWNLOAD Gnarls Barkley - Run (MP3)

New Gnarls Barkley track off of the upcoming album. More please.


Via MissionFreak.

VIDEO: Skillz - Crazy World

Skillz will be dropping his new album Million Dollar Backpack this spring and this is the first video for 'Crazy World'. Below that a live rendition together with The Roots.

Skillz - Crazy World


Skillz - Crazy World (Live) w/ The Roots

LISTEN: Killah Priest - Stained Glass Theory

DOWNLOAD Killah Priest - Stained Glass Theory (MP3)

Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Killah Priest nicely references a few bits of lyric, including a Nas line, on new track 'Stained Glass Theory'.

VIDEO: Jay-Z - Pray

Ok, I'm not able to rip this off the page, so to view the new Jay-Z video for 'Pray' off the American Gangster tour click on the screencap below. Screw that, watch below.


UPDATE Now watch it above and I wholeheartedly agree with Eskay when he says that Def Jam/Universal needs to get with the times and make stuff embeddable. Really silly to have that cheap banner ad up on Rocafella and hope to make $14 off of that traffic.

NEWS: Joe Budden To Release 'Padded Room' In Spring

This could be good. Crossing fingers.

If all goes as planned, rapper Joe Budden will release his first album in five years, "Padded Room," in the spring. "It's complete," Budden says of "Padded Room," which will be released by Amalgam Digital. "It basically will be in the same vein as 'Mood Muzik,' just a little more structure and the mood will probably be a little lighter. I'm definitely pleased with the direction that it's going." He adds that the album "sounds like Joe Budden. I can't really say it sounds like the times, because the times right now I'm not too fond of. I'm not too big on how that sound is going. But Joe Budden fans will get what they're accustomed to, and there's music on there for the casual listener as opposed to 'Mood Muzik,' which is not for the casual fan." (Billboard).

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Video via Eskay's via MTV.

VIDEO: Peaches Remixes Tone Loc's 'Wild Thing'

This one's out there but electropop artists Peaches remixed Tone Loc's 'Wild Thing' and performs it with him in this video. Tone Loc looks just the same as during the original days. Next up Hammer remixed by M.I.A..

VIDEO: Oschino Speaks On Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel

After Peedi Peedi's track earlier today (download/listen here), now the 10th dude off the bench now talks shit too. Oschino breaks his silence about Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel.

VIDEO: Big Noyd Interview + Freestyle

Reload Magazine TV interviews Big Noyd who also spits a quick freestyle.

LISTEN: Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell (93 Til Infinity RMX)

DOWNLOAD Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell (93 Til Infinity RMX) (MP3)

Now, I am, like most of you, over the whole mash-up thing, but I had to post this one. Dave Wrangler brings together Nas's word from 'It Ain't Hard To Tell' with the music from the similarly genius Souls of Mischief song '93 til Infinity' and it just makes me happy. Original classic '93 til Infinity' video below.

VIDEO: Will Ferrell - Love Me Sexy

This is the music video from Andre 3000 and Will Ferrell's upcoming movie Semi Pro.

LISTEN: Flo-rida - Elevator ft. Timbaland

DOWNLOAD Flo-rida - Elevator ft. Timbaland (MP3)

Timbaland cleverly channels Rihanna's 'Umbrella' on Flo-Rida's 'Elevator'. The hook is great, pure Timbo electro pop a la Nelly Furtado, the verses are really just there to get to the hook.


Uncle Flo Wants You. To Drop Your Panties.

LISTEN: Peedi Peedi - I'm Sorry (Jay-Z Diss)

DOWNLOAD Peedi Peedi - I'm Sorry (MP3)

Ah what a waste of a great beat and concept. More petty diss tracks. Peedi Peedi is upset with Jay-Z too. Follow up to his previous Jigga diss (download/listen here).

VIDEO: The Internet Celebrities Pee

Rafi and Dallas, aka the iC's give us another classic video. This time about going #1. Classic use of several Hip Hop songs in between segments.

VIDEO: Erykah Badu - Honey

Check out the creative new video for Erykah Badu's 'Honey'. Such the lovely groove. Watch Erykah take on different personalities including De La Soul (with Dangermouse), Eric B. & Rakim, Grace Jones, Nas, Yoko Ono & John Lennon, and many more, all through classic album covers. Off of NuAmerykah. Download single 'The Healer' produced by Madlib that I posted here earlier. Tracklist and more about the album here. Nice little shout out at the end to support your local record stores. I may have to pick up this album in vinyl format.

LISTEN: G-Unit - Im Leaving (Dissing Fat Joe)

DOWNLOAD G-Unit - Im Leaving (MP3)

50 Cent and crew talking sideways about Fat Joe while interpolating the very gangsta 'Leaving On A Jet Plane' made famous by such trill artists as John Denver and Peter, Paul & Mary.

VIDEO: Pete Rock And C.L Smooth - Mecca And The Soul Brother

SDSU's Featured Classic Video Of The Week: Pete Rock & C.L Smooth's 'Mecca And The Soul Brother'.

LISTEN: Uncle Murda - Hard to Kill

DOWNLOAD Uncle Murda - Hard to Kill (MP3)

This is some excellent Uncle Murda brand management. Check out the 2Pac interview section to set it off at the start. Great street track.

VIDEO: Shyheim - Hold That Thought Fatboy

Shyheim lets a few shots off in Raekwon's direction. He rhymes 'liposuction' with 'better production', which I'm pretty sure is a Hip Hop first. This all in response to the recent beef (read about it here). I'm so over beef as a concept. Lets grow up as a genre.

LISTEN: CL Smooth - Multi Barz of Fury (Prod. by Pete Rock)

DOWNLOAD CL Smooth - Multi Barz of Fury (Prod. by Pete Rock) (MP3)

CL Smooth and Pete Rock back together again again? We shall see. This track is off of an EP I haven't heard yet but it's for sale now on iTunes. Nice Al Green sample, but I'm underwhelmed about the track itself. I might be influenced by some residual anger over blessing Jim Jones with a beat though.

VIDEO: Raekwon/Shyheim Beef

Raekwon, the Wu-Tang Clan's bitter one, steps in to ruin Shyheim's drop moment with Diddy. All the hating and whining are not making Rae look good. I'm concerned about OB4CL2. The second video is Shyheim's reply to the situation.



Via GG.

NEWS: Allentown's Hardest Criminal of Arrested.

I guess that's what a hard gangsta looks like in Allentown, PA. Personally, I blame Hip Hop. And the Cartoon Channel.


"Allentown police had suspected William Torres of dealing drugs in the city. But an undercover narcotics investigation yielded much more, and resulted in Torres, 21, being charged early Saturday with two counts of homicide. Torres was driving on Turner Street Friday afternoon when he was pulled over by police and arrested. He was wearing a hooded sweartshirt with a skull-head pattern on it, pajama bottoms and fuzzy lion-faced slippers at the time. He was still wearing the get-up when he was arraigned after midnight at Lehigh County prison. (Source: The Morning Call)

VIDEO: Murs - Better Than The Best

Off of Murs's first major label album, Murs For President
. Watch 'Better Than The Best' below.

LISTEN: Blaq Poet - S.O.S. (Prod. by DJ Premier)

DOWNLOAD Blaq Poet - S.O.S. (Prod. by DJ Premier) (MP3)

Another beautiful DJ Premier beat. Off of Blaq Poet's Blaqprint EP, out soon.

VIDEO: Ol' Dirty Bastard Documentary (Full)

Watch this great, and sad, Ol' Dirty Bastard VH1 documentary below. I had to follow up a Hannah Montana post with ODB. Had to do it.


Props to ML.

NEWS: Teen Tries To Hijack Plane To Crash Into Hannah Montana Concert

Personally, I blame Hip Hop.


A teenage passenger was detained after a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles landed in Nashville, an airline spokeswoman said Thursday. Nashville television stations, citing unnamed sources, said the teen unsuccessfully tried to hijack the plane to Lafayette, La., and crash it into a building where a “Hannah Montana” concert was to be performed. (AP)

A tip led guards to arrest a teenage runaway from a Los Angeles flight. Investigators said he somehow smuggled handcuffs, rope and tape onto the plane. He also had a copy of the flight plan and schedules. Investigators said he planned to hijack the plane and order the pilots to divert the course from Nashville to Lafayette, La. The teenager wanted to crash the airliner into a Hannah Montana concert. (Channel5). Via DailySwarm.

LISTEN: Termanology - The Music Industry (RMX) ft. Royce, Crooked I, Consequence & Akrobatik

DOWNLOAD Termanology - The Music Industry RMX ft. Royce 5'9", Crooked I, Consequence & Akrobatik (MP3)

Termanology brings in the most random selection for his 'The Music Industry RMX', though each one has had to deal with their own bits of industry bs. Consequence cleverly references his recent game of Connect Four with Jay-Z that hit youtube last week. Produced by Fizzy Womack, uts by Statik Selektah. Props to Shake.

VIDEO: DJ Felli Fel - Get Buck In Here ft. Ludacris, Diddy, Akon & Lil Jon

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Ludacris has the strongest MC voice out there right now.

VIDEO: Ghostface, Rakim, Brother Ali = Hip Hop Live Tour

Ghostface Killah, Rakim, Brother Ali, and the Rhythm Roots All-Stars went on tour together.

VIDEO: Shabazz the Disciple - Brooklyn N*ggas

Ice Cube asked us the question "Who's got the camera" 15 years ago. Today everybody has a camera it seems. Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Shabazz the Disciple found someone for 'Brooklyn N*ggas'.

VIDEO: Colin Munroe - I Want Those Flashing Lights

Canada's Colin Munroe created his own creative remix to Kanye West. Definitely changed it up quite a lot. I dig. Kanye digs it too.

VIDEO: Silas Blak - Breathe Easy ft. Yirim Seck

Silas Blak of the Silent Lambs Project gives us another look into what new style Seattle Hip Hop is all about with 'Breathe Easy' featuring Yirim Seck.

NEWS: Lil' Wayne Carring Around 6 Ounches Of Illegal Drugs

Now the border patrol has become the Hip Hop police too?


"Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Carter, Jr., along with 23-year-old Harold Johnson, Jr and 24-year-old Curtis Stewart, were arrested at approximately 11:20 pm MT, at a Border Patrol Checkpoint along Interstate 8 near Dateland, AZ, about one hour east of Yuma. [...] The K-9 Unit found multiple types of drugs, as well as currency, and firearms," DEA spokeswoman Ramona Sanchez told AllHipHop.com. "One of the firearms, a .44 caliber pistol was registered to Mr. Carter. He did have a concealed weapon permit from Florida, but we are investigating whether it violates any Arizona laws." Sanchez added that the K-9 Unit recovered 105 grams of marijuana (3.7 ounces), almost 29 grams of cocaine (1.02 ounces), 41 grams of Ecstasy (1.05 ounces) and $22,000 dollars in cash." (Via AHH)

LISTEN: Foxy Brown - Star Cry

DOWNLOAD Foxy Brown - Star Cry (MP3)

Foxy Brown has a new album coming, Brooklyn’s Don Diva, and this is a track off of it. He channels The Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Everyday Struggle' in the beginning and some Jay-Z vibes later on. Produced by Stereotypes. Alright song but it sounds a little bit entitled and spoiled to me.


Props to Eskay.

LISTEN: Craig G - Just What I Need

DOWNLOAD Craig G - Just What I Need (MP3)

What a great track. A message, great story-telling, great flow, beautiful melancholic 90's beat. Craig G is still killing it after all these years. Below a freestyle with Ghostface Killah nodding his head to Craig's rhymes.

LISTEN: Nu-Rageous - What's Poppin N*ggas ft. KL From Screwball

DOWNLOAD Nu-Rageous - What's Poppin N*ggas ft. KL From Screwball (MP3)

Nut-Rageous is in dire need of a name change, but this track featuring KL from Screwball is hot.

NEWS: Termanology Enlists Ideal Nas Producer Line Up For New Album

Termanology manages to snatch up an entire dream line up of producers for his upcoming new album. The kind the homie the little Homey [per Eskay] Nas needs.


Pyroradio.com: Last time I met with you, you were in the studio with Statik Selektah and you were doing tracks with him and it sounds like the albums really shaping up, can you tell me about the album and which producers your working with and what they can expect from it?
Termanology: Big up Statik Selektah I got 7 joints on his album, I pretty much executive produced it, I was there everyday when he done it, I’ll be there and tell him what was wack or what was hot, he always asked my opinion on who he should piece together on the tracks and it came out crazy so big up Statik Selektah. My album so far I got Dj Premier, Pete Rock, Alchemist, Showbiz, Bucwild, Large Professor and Nottz so it’s looking classic with the producer line up, I wanted it to be like if as far as the beats are hot then all the pressure falls on me, so as long as I rip it then there it is, I like the pressure so it has to live up to the music that the producers done prior. Full interview here.

LISTEN: Erykah Badu - The Healer

DOWNLOAD Erykah Badu - The Healer (MP3)

"Hip Hop is bigger than religion/Hip Hop is bigger than the government/this one is for Dilla"

.
'The Healer' is off of Erykah Badu's new album NuAmerykah, it's produced by Madlib, and it's really great. For more info on the new album go here. Props to Enigmatik.

VIDEO: Beyond Beats & Rhymes (Full Documentary)

Watch the full 55 minute documentary Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes below. By Byron Hurt.

VIDEO: Duo Live - Caught Up ft. Talib Kweli

Duo Live's 'Caught Up' featuring Talib Kweli is one of my favorite tracks of 2007 (download here). Now there's a video for it.

LISTEN: Re-Up Gang - 20K Money Making Brothers on the Corner

DOWNLOAD Re-Up Gang - 20K Money Making Brothers on the Corner (MP3)

Clipse, Ab-Liva and Sandman are back with the first official single off of Re-Up Gang's upcoming We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 3. Photo from their Columbia University show from last summer. More here.

NEWS: Fat Joe 'The Elephant In The Room' Tracklist + Cover

Well, at least we have a DJ Premier track to look forward to on Fat Joe's upcoming new album The Elephant In The Room



Fat Joe - The Elephant In The Room
1. The Fugitive - Produced by Street Runner
2. Ain’t Nothing feat. Dre - Produced by Cool & Dre
3. The Crackhouse feat. Lil Wayne - Produced by Cool & Dre
4. Coca Baby feat. Jackie Rubio - Produced by Danja
5. Get It For Life feat. Pooh Bear - Produced by DJ Khaled
6. Drop feat. Swizz Beatz & Jackie Rubio - Produced by Swizz Beatz
7. I Won’t Tell feat. J. Holiday - Produced by The Hitmen
8. KAR (Kill All Rats) - Produced by Street Runner
9. 300 Brolic feat. Opera Steve - Produced by The Hitmen
10. Preacher On A Sunday Morning feat. Pooh Bear - Produced by Scott Storch
11. Thank God For That White - Produced by DJ Premier
12. Party All The Time feat. Diddy - Produced by Danja

LISTEN: Cam’ron - Pass Tha Dutchie

DOWNLOAD Cam’ron - Pass Tha Dutchie (MP3)

Cam’ron returns with 'Pass Tha Dutchie' which samples jacks the well-known reggae song of the same name.

VIDEO: Evidence - Chase The Clouds Away

Evidence is back with 'Chase The Clouds Away'.

VIDEO: N.E.R.D. - Everyone Nose

DOWNLOAD N.E.R.D. - Everyone Nose (MP3)

With the right video this new N.E.R.D. song 'Everyone Nose' is going to be a big annoying hit.

VIDEO: St. Lunacy

The real is back.

VIDEO: Pugs Atomz - The Outlaw

This is a great track. Chicago's own Pugs Atomz did a video for 'The Outlaw'.

VIDEO: Beanie Sigel - Go Low ft. Rock City

Rik Cordero shot a video for Beanie Sigel's 'Go Low' featurin Rock City.

VIDEO: Astonish - Can U Hear Me (New Video Of The Week)

NEW VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Molemen Records' latest signing Astonish introduces himself to the world over an impossibly mellow beat, produced by PNS. What a grove. Real nice flow as he speaks on the state of Hip Hop and his entry into the game.

VIDEO: Das EFX - They Want EFX

CLASSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK: This Das EFX video made me want to go out and buy the biggest wintercoat and pair Timberland boots I could find as a youngen. I tried to find some sewers and alley ways to creep in to little effect.

LISTEN: Torae - The Nigguz Is Comin' ft. Tash (of Tha Liks)

DOWNLOAD Torae - The Nigguz Is Comin' ft. Tash (of Tha Liks) (MP3)

A SDSU exclusive. Coney Island's own Torae already brought us that hype Primo track 'Click' (download here). Check out 'The Nigguz Is Comin' featuring Tash of Tha Liks. Both tracks off of Daily Conversation' out next week (01/29/08).

VIDEO: Rhymefest & Just Blaze In The Studio

Just Blaze and Rhymefest collaborating on 'B-Boy Anthem' at Baseline Studios. Great video. 'Fest is such a mensch.


Props to Fake Shore Drive. Go over to Eskay's to check out a live performance video of the song.

LISTEN: Donny Goines - Off The Books (Full Mixtape)

DOWNLOAD Donny Goines - Off The Books (Full Mixtape) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Donny Goines - Storytelling (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Donny Goines - Do It For Hip Hop RMX (MP3)

SDSU favorite Donny Goines is back with a brand new and excellent mixtape. Download 'Off The Books' above. Tracklist below.



Donny Goines - Off The Books
1. DJ Bedtyme 357 Intro
2. Storytelling
3. Cast ya votes
4. Don't be Blinded
5. Take a walk wit me
6. RE-Verse
7. Hip Hop's Lazarus
8. Before you Jump
9. Where I come from
10. Alarm Clock
11. Your Son does
12. My Occupation
13. If you don't know
14. Anit no Love
15. Foverever my Bitch
16. Encore
17. Spazz out

LISTEN: Benja Styles & JDS - Streets Of Philadelphia (Full Mixtape)

DOWNLOAD
Benja Styles & JDS - Streets Of Philadelphia (Full Mixtape) (MP3)

Download this Philly oriented Benja Styles mixtape above. Tracklist below.


Benja Styles & JDS - Streets Of Philadelphia
1. Gillie Da Kid Ft. Peedi, Freeway, & Bump - Get Down On The Ground (Remix)
2. Peedi Crakk Ft. Black Thought - Here Comes The Boss
3. Beanie Sigel - Bout That
4. E Ness - We Hustlin
5. Young Chris - Them Niggaz Hate That
6. Jakk Frost - Greene
7. Freeway - Spit That Shit
8. E Ness - Gangbusters
9. Cassidy Ft. Bone Thugs & Eve - Cash Rulez
10. Peedi Crakk - Back To The Loft
11. Beanie Sigel Ft. Styles P - You Aint Ready For Me
12. E Ness - Around The Way
13. Freeway Ft. Lil Wayne - Step Back
14. Cassidy - Will Never Tell
15. Young Chris Ft. Junior Reid - Run To The Roc
16. Jakk Frost - V.I.P.
17. Peedi Crakk - Angel Of Mine
18. Beanie Sigel Ft. Ozzy Osbourne - Judgement Day
19. E Ness - Zone Out
20. Young Chris Ft. Lil Wayne - How We Roll
21. Beanie Sigel Ft. Jay-Z - Gutted
22. E Ness - A U Right Ok
23. Peedi Crakk - Brand New Start
24. Peedi Crakk - Nobody Knows
5. Keyshia Cole Ft. E Ness & Amina - Shoulda Let You Go (Benja Styles Remix)2
26. Aarun Aegis - Like Her
27. Cyssero - Dolla Bill
28. Ybeez - Talk That
29. Fev Eligante - In Your Eyes

LISTEN: Martin Luther King Jr. - I Have A Dream + I've Been To The Mountain Top

DOWNLOAD Martin Luther King Jr. - I Have A Dream Speech (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Martin Luther King Jr. - I've Been To The Mountain Top (MP3)


If you haven't already heard these amazing speeches, today would be a good day. Right click-and-save. For more speeches check out AmericanRhetoric.
Related: Jay Smooth recites 10 other things MLK said.

LISTEN: Dynas - Figure It Out

DOWNLOAD Dynas - Figure It Out (MP3)

Foreign Exchange's Nicolay produced this Rawkus 50 entry by Miami's own Dynas. 'Figure It Out' features a nice church-like vocal sample backing up the boom bap drum programming and conscious rhymes.

NEWS: Nate Dogg Suffers Mild Stroke

Nate Dogg suffered from a stroke and sadly was left partially paralyzed. Our thoughts will be with him and his family throughout his recovery process.


"Former Death Row recording artist and noted collaborator Nate Dogg is paralyzed on the left side of his body after suffering a mild stroke over the holidays, according to his manager. As MTV News previously reported, Dogg (real name: Nathaniel Hale) is currently in an occupational rehab facility. The prognosis for a full recovery, however, is good [...] the singer did not suffer any brain damage nor has his voice been affected, he said." (MTV News)

NEWS: Brother Ali Announces New Tour

Brother Ali released one of my favorite albums of 2007. He is also going back on tour after a run of shows with Ghostface Killah a few months ago.

Brother Ali - The Truth Is Here Tour Dates:
2/29/08 High Noon, Madison, WI
3/01/08 Picador, Iowa City, IA
3/02/08 WMTU Hougton, Houghton, MI
3/03/08 Pizza Luce, Duluth, MN
3/04/08 UW Stout, Menomonie, WI
3/05/08 Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
3/06/08 Blue Bird, Boulder, CO
3/07/08 Blue Bird, Denver, CO
3/08/08 Kilby Court/Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
3/09/08 The Venue, Boise, ID
3/10/08 Neumos, Seattle, WA
3/11/08 Hawthorne, Portland, OR
3/12/08 Slim's, San Francisco, CA
3/13/08 Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
3/14/08 Canes, San Diego, CA
3/15/08 Congress, Tucson, AZ
3/16/08 Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque, NM*
3/19/08 The Prophet Bar, Dallas, TX
3/21/08 Orpheum, Tampa, FL
3/22/08 The Social, Orlando, FL
3/24/08 Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
3/25/08 Ottobar, Baltimore, MD
3/26/08 World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA
3/27/08 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
3/28/08 Middle East, Boston, MA
3/29/08 Neitzches, Buffalo, NY
3/30/08 Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, MI
3/31/08 Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL

* w/ Living Legends

VIDEO: Diddy Throwing Up W At Wu Show

Who would've thought Diddy would show up to a Wu-Tang Clan concert and throw up the W onstage? RZA didn't show up last night but Ming-Tzu was there.

VIDEO: B.G. - For A Minute ft. T.I.

Not a huge B.G. fan myself but here's his new video for 'For A Minute' featuring T.I.. Off of Too Hood 2 B Hollywood LP.


Via Khal.

VIDEO: Consequence - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly ft. Kanye West

'The Good, The Bad, The Ugly' featuring Kanye West is the 4th video off of Consequence's Don't Quit Your Day Job. Via Illroots.


BONUS: Watch Cons play a good old fashioned family game with Jay-Z here. Via Eskay.

LISTEN: Big Noyd - Ghetto ft. Joell Ortiz + Snitches

DOWNLOAD Big Noyd - Ghetto ft. Joell Ortiz (MP3)


Big Noyd isn't going to have many tracks left to sell off of his new album Illustrious is he keeps going at this pace. After dropping a video for 'Things Done Changed' (watch here | download mp3), and leaking 'Money' (download here) there's two new tracks courtesy of Spine Mag. Download 'Ghetto' featuring Joell Ortiz above, or stream it in the SDSU player. Then go over to Spine Mag to download 'Snitches'. Joell kills it per usual.

LISTEN: Labratz - Roses

DOWNLOAD Labratz - Roses (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Labratz - Creation (MP3)

Atlanta's Labratz are much more Outkast than snap music. 'Roses' features clever rhyming and a soulful vocal sample that makes me want to put this great track on replay. 'Creation' features some MLK and Malcolm X vocal samples that come right in time for Monday's holiday.
Lapratz - Creation (video)

LISTEN: Torae - Click ft. Skyzoo (Prod by DJ Premier)

DOWNLOAD Torae - Click ft. Skyzoo (Prod by DJ Premier) (MP3)


Torae is releasing his debut LP Daily Conversation 1/29/08 on Soulspazm/Fat Beats and 'Click' is the excellent lead off single featuring Skyzoo and the always amazing DJ Premier. And he is one of the few rappers not worried about having to look 'hard' in his press photos. I dig that.

VIDEO: Kidz In The Hall Recording Let Your Hair Down

Canadian's Kidz In The Hall in the studio recording 'Let Your Hair Down'.

LISTEN: Termanology - Welcome To The Machine ft. Easy Money

DOWNLOAD Termanology - Welcome To The Machine ft. Easy Money (MP3)

I hadn't yet heard of Easy Money but I'm digging his Andre 3000 styled flow on Termanology's 'Welcome To The Machine'. Addressing a few of the music industry rules. Excellent topical track.


DJ Premier & Termanology

VIDEO: GLC - Honor Me

Kanye West associate GLC shows love for the Windy City in 'Honor Me'.

VIDEO: Ludacris & Chingy Talk About Coming Back Together

Ludacris and Chingy and Luda addresses leaked the Usher track, and talks about upcoming movies.

VIDEO: Jeru the Damaja Performs 'Top Billin' @ Hip Hop Karaoke

Jeru the Damaja performs "Top Billin'" at Hip Hop Karaoke NYC. HHK has been growing steadily and on January 25th the 1st Annual Hip Hop Karaoke Championship will be taking place at Highline Ballroom. Prince Paul, Ralph McDaniels and Dres (Black Sheep) will be the judges and there will be a $1,000 Grand Prize. Below you can watch a video of Jeru the Damaja performing Audio Two's 'Top Billin' at a recent Hip Hop Karaoke NYC event. More info to the event and a link to purchase tickets in the new 'NYC Hip Hop Concerts Calendar' in the sidebar to your right.

LISTEN: Nino Bless - Urban Legends

DOWNLOAD Nino Bless - Urban Legends (MP3)


Nino Bless brings us some excellent and engaging storytelling over a great piano banger, produced by Veterano, where he lays out some stories about some of your favorite and least favorite rappers out there including Jam Master Jay, 50 Cent, Prodigy, Saigon, Cuban Link, Maino, Lil' Cease and many more. 'How To Rob' style, but better. You may know Nino from 'Times Are Hard' with Joe Budden.

LISTEN: Talib Kweli - Hot Thing Remix Main ft. Ne-Yo and Jean Grae

DOWNLOAD Talib Kweli - Hot Thing Remix Main ft. Neyo and Jean Grae (MP3)

Talib Kweli brings in a brand new beat, Ne-Yo and Jean Grae to remix the already excellent 'Hot Thing'.

VIDEO: Nas - The Unauthorized Biography of Rakim + These Are Our Heroes

Waxx & Kinggs over at IllRoots unearthed these two unreleased Nas videos for 'These Are Our Heroes' and 'The Unauthorized Biography of Rakim' (partial video) off of the Street's Disciple album.

Nas - The Unauthorized Biography of Rakim

Nas - These Are Our Heroes

VIDEO: RBX Freestyle

RBX was always a favorite of mine in the days that Dr. Dre/Snoop/Dogg Pound/Nate Dogg/etc. rules the world of Hip Hop. I had no idea he was Bootsie Collins' son. He drops a freestyle below. Spotted via GrandGood.

VIDEO: Mike Jones - Drop & Gimme 50 ft. Hurricane Chris

I saw this over Eskay's earlier today, but since I'm not really into Mike Jones I chose to not watch his new animated video for 'Drop & Gimme 50' featuring Hurricane Chris. Then it was sent to me in 5 different IM's and I decided to watch it. Baffled. Truly baffled.

NEWS: Joe Budden Denies Shady Rumors

MTV's Suckerfree blog dispells those rumors of Joe Budden signing to Shady/Aftermath.


SF: Let me get right to what everyone’s talking about. Is there any truth to the rumors of you signing with Shady Records?
JB: No. There’s no truth to those rumors whatsoever.
SF: Do you know where you will be signing next?
JB: I sat down and talked with a lot of different people, a lot of different labels. Right now it’s about recording, letting my lawyers go back and forth, and figuring out which situation is best for Joe Budden. And the decision hasn’t been made yet. Full Interview here.

NEWS: Idolator Pop '07 Lists Released Today

When Gawker media's music industry website Idolator requested a list of my favorite artists, records, tracks, etc. of 2007 I chose to submit seperate lists. One for Hip Hop and one for basically everything else (but essentially indie rock/folk). Idolator just threw up the lists of 451 music writers/critics. Below is the top 10 list of albums compiled of all the writer's lists. Only one Hip Hop album. To check out the full list and all the other categories go here. My personal lists are underneath that and can also be checked out here with further commentary and reasoning.

Idolator Pop '07
1 LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
2 M.I.A. - Kala
3 Radiohead - In Rainbows
4 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
5 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
6 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
7 The National - Boxer
8 Kanye West - Graduation
9 Panda Bear - Person Pitch
10 Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

SDSU's Favorite Albums Of '07
1. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
2. Radiohead - In Rainbows
3. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
4. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
5. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
6. Feist - The Reminder
7. Band of Horses - Cease To Begin
8. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
9. Wilco - Blue Sky Blue
10. Sigur Ros - Hvarf-Heim

SDSU's Favorite Albums Of '07 [Hip Hop Edition] (repost)
01. Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
02. Jay-Z - American Gangster
03. Kanye West - Graduation
04. Sean Price - Jesus Price Supastar
05. Talib Kweli - Eardrum
06. Little Brother - Get Back
07. Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
08. Freeway - Free At Last
09. Pharoahe Monch - Desire
10. El P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead

VIDEO: Ghostface Killah - We Celebrate Behind-The-Scenes

FlowTV takes us behind the scenes of Ghostface Killah's 'We Celebrate' music video.

NEWS: Legends Of Rap Trading Card Series

Oh, I definitely need to have this Legends of Rap series of 32 trading cards. 30 Euros. That's like $400 right now I think.


Picture jacked from SlamXHype

NEWS: Rahzel Set To Drop New Album

Rahzel has announced he will release the follow up to 2004's Rahzel's Greatest Knockout this summer. It will be called Greatest Knockouts The Album, Vol. 2. Rhazel: "It's still hip-hop. It's like the music I grew up on, the music that made all of these things that are present now in existence. So I'm continuing that with raw beats, raw rhymes, beat-boxing, rhyming. The whole nine." (Billboard) If you need to remind yourself of why exactly Rahzel is the greatest beat boxer of his time watch the video below.

VIDEO: Rick Ross Responds To Cuban Link

Rick Ross responds to Cuban Link's diss track towards him that I posted the other day (download it here). I don't know how all of a sudden Rick has become such a fixture on this blog. Trilla better has some quality tracks on it to back it up. Here's (unconvinced) hoping.

VIDEO: Madvillain - Accordion

This Madvillain 'Accordion' will be featured on Stones Throw 102: In Living The True Gods DVD. Out February 12th. Filmed in 2004 but previously unreleased.

LISTEN: Buckshot & 9th Wonder - Go All Out

DOWNLOAD Buckshot & 9th Wonder - Go All Out (MP3)


Buckshot & 9th Wonder are following up their collaborative LP Chemistry with a second volume, Formula of which 'Go All Out' is the first single. Came by this over at Eskay's.

Update: Removed download link per label's request. Instead stream it in the SitDownStandUp music player to your right.

VIDEO: Timbaland - Scream ft. Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger

After posting the making of video last week (watch here), here's the actual music video for Timbaland's 'Scream' featuring Keri Hilson and Nicole Scherzinger.

LISTEN: Malice (of Clipse) - Cry Now Freestyle

DOWNLOAD Malice of Clipse - Cry Now Freestyle (MP3)

Clipse's Malice freestyles over Obie Trice's 'Cry Now' instrumental. Off of We Got It For Cheap Vol. 3.


Malice showing off the bling @ Columbia University. More pics here.

LISTEN: Muja Messiah - Paper Planes ft. M.anifest + Patriot Act ft. I-Self Devine

DOWNLOAD Muja Messiah - Paper Planes feat. M.anifest (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Muja Messiah - Patriot Act ft. I-Self Devine (MP3)

Minneapolis' own Muja Messiah thinks outside of the box on both the stringing conspiratorial political track 'Patriot Act', which features I-Self Devine of Rhymesayers fame, as well as on the great remake of M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' featuring Ghana's M.Anifest. Recommended. 'Patriot Act' is off of Thee Adventures Of A B-Boy D-Boy which is out on Black Corners April 1st.

LISTEN: Guru - Knowledge ft. Lord Tariq + Jazzmatazz The Timebomb (Full Mixtape)

DOWNLOAD Guru - Knowledge ft. Lord Tariq (MP3
DOWNLOAD Guru - State of Clarity ft. Common (MP3
DOWNLOAD Guru - The Timebomb (Back To The Future) (Full Mixtape) (MP3)

Guru is about to come back with the fourth volume of his Jazzmatazz series soon (watch the first video for 'I'm Jazzy' featuring Slum Village). In the meantime there's the fantastic The Timebomb (Back To The Future) mixtape to carry you over. Download the whole thing above including stand out tracks 'Knowledge' featuring Lord Tariq and 'State of Clarity' featuring Common. You can listen also to the latter in the new SDSU music player in the column next to this one. You will get a big smile on your face when that bass line rolls in. Tracklist below. Props to Shake for the audio.

Guru's Jazzmatazz - The Timebomb (Back to the Future)
01 Intro (Don Gurizzy)
02 Knowledge ft. Lord Tariq
03 7 Grand Ya'll ft. Solar
04 For Ya Mind ft. Zion I
05 Peace! ft. K-Born, Highpower & Solar
06 State of Clarity ft. Common (Solar Remix)
07 Who Got It On Lock ft. Doo Wop
08 B-Boy Kamikaze ft. Tony Touch & Doo Wop (Diaz Brothers)
09 Too Slice ft. Yungun
10 So What It Do Now ft. Aceyalone
11 We Got That ft. Nature & Solar
12 Jazzy Wayz (7 Grand Exclusive)
13 Stand Up (Some Things'll Never Change) (Reggae Mix) ft. Damian Marley
14 Hot Like That ft. Medinah
15 No Need for Stress
16 Back to the Future ft. Caron Wheeler & C.Knowledge (Digable)
17 Assasino ft. Young Pablo
18 The Game Needs Me ft. Blue Scholars & Common Market
19 Feed the Hungry (Solar Remix)
20 Can't Stop the Movement (7 Grand) ft. Ms. Camille