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Switzerland-based rapper/producer-duo Nefew apparently have a compilation in the works that they’re putting together with the help of VA-beatsmith Nottz. On this track (which you can download via their Soundcloud) they also receive assistance from Shakes and Rapper Big Pooh to deliver some uplifting words of wisdom over a solemn acoustic guitar-riff and a Kanye-circa-College Dropout-like breakdown on the hook.
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As you may have noticed, we’re really into Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna and what she’s doing right now. Cause essentially that’s just some beautiful singing. Here we get a bit of a more intimate insight into the mind of Yuna, as she shares some anecdotes about how she first started writing songs, her transition from Malaysian-based artist to international starlet, and working with Pharrell. Of course there’s also some beautiful singing involved. Her self-titled album is out now on iTunes.
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Japanese-German hip-hop producer Samon Kawamura (if you checked the OKP premiere of German songstress Joy Denalane, you’ve already heard his work) drops the first gem from his Spur of The Moment project, spontaneous beat-sketches collaged together from vintage Thai vinyl–”classic sounds from Bangkok’s street kitchens.” For fans of RZA, Onra and Samon’s sometime collaborator Oh No–or anybody looking for an ill beat, really. Once you’ve digested this sneakily dope composition of pentatonic chops and sandpaper drums (set to atmospheric found footage of kickboxers and muddy jungle rivers, above) wade into Kawamura’s deep back catalog, including work with Aloe Blacc, Om’Mas, Kev Brown and of course, lots more wicked instrumentals.
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On his new LP (that you NEED to listen to NOW) Killer Mike declares: “We the readers of the books and the leaders of the crooks.” The ATL-native proves his scholar cred as he sits down to chat it up with Das Racist‘s earnest goofball Heems aka Himanshu, broaching subjects as diverse as literature (book recommendations), the South, the internet and doing voice-overs for Adult Swim on this sicker-than-your-average Noisey interview. R.A.P. Music drops May 15th. Pre-order the El-P-produced album via iTunes.
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Here’s one for the tru-schoolers. It doesn’t get much truer than a K-Def X El Da Sensei joint called “Back To Basics.” Nomen est omen on this one as it’s really just a funky loop, a tiny little G-Funk-twang, raw lyricism and a Mark Jackson reference. This is the title track to a K-Def EP on Redefinition Records which you can pick up here.
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SpaceGhostPurrp is best known for 3 things up til now: 1) bass so trill its almost psychedelic, 2) ignorance so willful its almost avant garde and, of course, 3) purrp so powerful its almost spaceghost. But on “Black God”–the video he dropped this morning–the maker of trillwave beats for A$ap Rocky shows the world his god-body side, rapping “the black be the power of the soul / protected by the cold / X times X, the G code…I got to have the world in my hands / I’m a god / I’m no longer a black man.” The title fits sort of uneasy with the images in the video; pimpmobile caddies, gold chains, piles of cash, light-skinnded video hoes and lots of gambling (Einstein: “God does not play dice with the world.” Black Einstein: “He plays strip poker.”). But on the other hand it’s funny how the smallest shift in theme changes your perception of an artist–put some black power chants in between his gold fronts and Purrp stars to sound uncannily like Kendrick Lamar on the hook. On the other hand, his pose with meanface and dooky gold chain is really not too far from the original god MC Rakim Allah back in his Dapper Dan suit/Paid in Full glory days. Rap has always been the place where 5% percent philosophy meets the trife life (I’m looking at you, entire Wu-Tang Clan) but is the will to power the same as black power? More interestingly, is generation trill growing into its very own next level the way Criminal Minded “gangster rap” did in the late 80s/early 90s? Call it A$ap Rakim. Anyway, I expect some of y’all will offer up answers to all these questions and more. See you in the comments section…
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One of the hardest joints of the year so far (and by far the most New York) has been the lyrical wildfire of “M.A.R.S,” with Cormega, Roc Marciano, Action Bronson and Saigon going in like it was 1995. Maybe most importantly, it gave us an update of where Large Professor is at right now, beat-wise. Extra P will be releasing his first record with all new material since 2008′s convincing Main Source effort on June 26, and we’re excited to hear what else the professor has in store for us. Peep the too-cool-for-school album cover above and check out the tracklist after the jump.
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Lupe Fiasco was featured on MTV yesterday–not for his wildly popular music (currently at no. 2 on the MTV “music meter”)–but for his activism. Act.mtv.com posted a nice little rundown of Lupe’s various non-profit and/or consciousness-raising activities, including but not limited to: building awareness of clean water issues by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for their “Summit on the Summit,” fighting malaria with social media and partnering his Lupe Fiasco Foundation with the Skill Up Chicago program for inner city youth, conspiring to send a Chi-town teen group on a “cultural and philanthropic tour of Ghana.” Looks like he’s using another mainstream media outlet to spread love as well–MTV!
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Urban Noize unleash an MCA tribute in the form of this far funkier interpretation of the Beasties‘ noisy NaS collabo from 2009, as I recall an unmastered leak from the unreleased LP Hot Sauce Committee Part 1. Nasir + Beastie is already a powerful cocktail but U-Noize throw some James Brown in the mix, a dash of Pras from the Fugees and a grip of slinkier groove. Serve with white wine, tabasco and weed.
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Erykah Badu also known as “Analog Girl in a Digital World (okay, player?)” is honored as part of serato’s icon artist series. In spite of the temptation to label her as the artist who introduced musicality and soul back into mechanical music, Badu speaks here on her deep affinity for hip-hop in all it’s forms and her career as a DJ, or as she prefers selector–something she describes as a central role in today’s music world “Right now we’re in 2012 AD, where the DJ is now the star…the DJ is the weatherman; the DJ dictates what the weather is.”
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Big K.R.I.T. speaks to 106 & Park about his new LP Live From The Underground and breaks down the science on all those little numbers in the video for “I Got This” and reveals a little anecdote about getting blues legend B.B. King to sit in on a song. The other features he reveals–Bun B, Anthony Hamilton and Melanie Fiona are equally hype-generating, and for all the right reasons; besides being great artists in their own right, they all sound like perfect fits with K.R.I.T.’s style. K.R.I.T. has also unveiled live dates (after the jump) for the tour behind Live From The Underground (dropping June 5th) so get in where you fit.
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As first heard in the 4/20 post, Curren$y drops some visuals for his collabo with Daz, “Fast Cars, Faster Women.” The video is pretty much what you’d expect, though it’s more parts fast women than fast cars with plenty of weed smoke mixed in. Spitta’s The Stoned Immaculate drops June 5th (pre-order here).
![single art "Made You Die" [Trayvon Martin tribute] Yasiin Bey, Mikeflo + dead prez](http://static.okayplayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/made-you-die-500x500-140x140.jpg "made-you-die-500x500")
