Earlier this week, we introduced you to the new live in-studio concert series out of Minneapolis, Standing Room Only. To go along with Tuesday’s performance of “The Other Side” and the three song EP, we now have another live video from the session. Check below as Murs and Fashawn get into one of the standout tracks off of This Generation, “Slash Gordan.” This jawn is hard right here and definitely has been the highlight anytime I’ve seen these two perform live, check their high energy performance below. This is the last piece of content from this session, look for the next edition of Standing Room Only coming soon.

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The homie Jake has been hard at work on a new video series he’s calling Standing Room Only, which captures the live studio performances from an array of artists when they make tour stops in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. They mix in the artists with their in-studio house band, replay the production of three of their songs and record it all for your enjoyment. For the inaugural episode, we get West Coast underground hip hop mainstays Murs & Fashawn performing a few cuts off their collabo LP, This Generation. Watch them perform “The Other Side,” (while sitting down, ironically) and  get a stream of three of the live tracks, below. This Generation is out now.

props to PIMB on the premiere

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The White Mandingos recently dropped the video for their latest single, “Mandingo Rally” directed by Kellen Dengler. The video is a loud collection of clips reliant upon provocative imagery and black & white contrast shoved into a hard pill of biting social commentary from Mandingos’ frontman MURS. He walks and rhymes through the evolution of a black man into controversial extremes of American iconography that present a visual argument against the quietly held notion that black people are all the same – an investment in the myth of the monolith that does well to paint a people with a brush broad enough to discourage individuality and devalue their varied cultures to the point of demonization, despite the very colorful threads continuing to darn the frayed fabric of our society. Topping the visual off, MURS delivers a performance as hard as his verses. He is honest, unapologetic and uncommonly cold. Check what the band had to say about the track:

“‘Mandingo Rally’ is a sonic rally organized by The White Mandingos (AKA Murs, Darryl Jenifer and Sacha Jenkins SHR). Inside of this rally, Cali rap killer Murs (AKA Tyrone White) drops Jewels for you to find. But once you find them, he snatches them right back. Because you have to earn these jewels. Murs rocks like a flamethrower atop a beat sicker than Leather Face. Breezy, Weezy, Jeezy, Cheezy–all of y’all best protect ya neck.”

Check the “Mandingo Rally” video below. Keep an eye out for the cameo from Mel D. Cole.

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(Photo Credit: Mel D. Cole, Villageslum.com)

The White Mandingos are killing the game as of late. Back with the B-side to their “Mandingo Rally” 7″, they drop “Black Girl Toof” – another Record Store Day exclusive and the latest single from their forthcoming LP The Ghetto Is Tryna Kill Me. Proving themselves adept at existing successfully at the intersection of many styles, The White Mandingos drop a contemplative track about love and pain in large amounts. “Black Girl Toof” is an affirmation of devotion from a man to a woman who has been abused and irreparably bruised. MURS drops a handful of crazy quotables over the chilled track about the pain of unrequited love and the ways in which a sordid past can stand in the way of a brighter future. This is the type of joint you rewind just for the lines. Here’s what The White Mandingos had to say about it:

“Black Girl Toof” is the manifestation of love and confusion. It is soul and rap and soul clap and booty clap. The White Mandingos are forever. Open your mouth and your heart. – The White Mandingos

The Ghetto Is Tryna Kill Me hits stores on June 11th via Fat Beats Records. Check the track below.

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The White Mandingos drop “Mandingo Rally” – a dope track that finds frontman MURS rhyming over a sample of the dub-inspired Bad Brains track “Rally Round Jah Throne”. The song is produced by Darryl Jenifer and Sacha Jenkins SHR. It lands somewhere between classic P.E. and early Nirvana on the angst and awesome scale. The vocal sample straight from the canon of Bad Brains classics ups the badass quotient exponentially when combined with a killer bassline and the hard pill of lyrical fire Murs lays down. Here’s what the Cali MC had to say about it:

“Being a backpack/conscious rapper I am often asked my opinion on ‘the state of hip hop’ or the ‘state of the world’ and rarely do I give my personal opinion. Well, this is it, raw, stream of consciousness. The music really dictated the mood. It’s a Bad Brains sample and it simply doesn’t get any rawer than that. And the video is just as raw. And should anyone take offense. Fuck em all”- Murs

This track is the first physical release from the trio. It comes on limited edition 7” vinyl just in time for Record Store Day. The White Mandingos’ debut LP The Ghetto Is Tryna Kill Me drops on June 11th. Until then, feel free to mash out. This is riot music. Blast it in the streets.

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The White Mandingos have teamed with Converse Rubber Tracks to drop the collaborative track “Rubbertracks Meltdown” for free download – their time in the Rubber Tracks studio is the group’s first experience recording together as a unit. The videos from their day in the studio include bonus behind-the-scenes footage of the production including an interview. The interview features group members MURS, Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains and Sacha Jenkins SHR discussing how the band came to be. Check out the videos below. Scroll down to grab the free track.

>>>Download “Rubbertracks Meltdown” Here

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Murs and 9th Wonder drop the official video for “What Up Tho” from The Final Adventure – the last chapter of their five volume collaborative album series that began with Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition. The video for the third of their last twelve official tracks features Murs as either the best or worst cafeteria worker ever, depending upon who you ask. He serves plates with a blunt hanging from his mouth – even putting it out in a pile of mashed potatoes – and has the time of his life starting a massive food fight in the video from Hobo Stew that leaves the rapper looking eerily similar to a Jackson Pollock painting covered in ketchup, mustard and baked beans. From the catchy hook and infectious beat to the crazy video it seems evident that if they have done nothing else with their last release, Murs and 9th Wonder have had a lot of fun. Murs keeps himself busy with his latest punk-rap project The White Mandingos and the upcoming Paid Dues Festival on March 30th in San Bernardino, California. Meanwhile 9th Wonder continues to crank out the music.

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An unlikely but effective trio, MURS, Sacha Jenkins SHR and Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains have united to form The White Mandingos. An afro-punk outfit channeling everything from hardcore punk to P.E. – the group drops their first single “The Ghetto Is Tryna Kill Me” from their forthcoming debut of the same name. The record drops June 11th on Fat Beats Records. The track takes the floss-ready aesthetic of popular rap and drops an anvil on it with a gutter driven reggae inspired thump turned punk mash out – guitars bleeding as the group chants swag. They sound like warriors dancing around the corpse of an enemy. MURS, who has made no secret of his affinity for punk, transitions quite easily from the rap life to that of a rock star. Check it out.

Spotted at RS

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Murs and Fashawn bring them low lows out for their latest video, “’64 Impala,” off their collabo LP, This Generation. “fuck a 600 Benz, give me a 6-4 Impala” – couldn’t agree more. Some Cali ride out music with Beatnick & K-Salaam supplying the beat. Video directed by Punit Dhesi. This Generation is out now via iTunes.

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Surprisingly enough, Murs kicks off the intro by handing the mic to protege Rapsody. Homegirl is really the only guest featured on the album and the seemingly odd pairing works out as Rap has a lot of experience flowing over 9th’s beats. Her obscure patterns compliment 9th’s soulful production. “Complain, we fly now 3:16s been, and they just want more of it like Rose and Joakim / Sweet lord I told em kill the Bull just like a pimp.” The energetic track has 9th reviving his signature production style which he has shied away from a bit recently. It may not have been produced on FL Studio but any knowledgable hip-hop fan will recognize the slap of that snare. Murs is in on the nostalgia as well. In an ode to the original albums intros he states “The dynamic duo, the hood’s favorite pastime, Murs & 9th Wonder for the very last time.”

The rest of the album is all over the place emotionally, from jubilant tracks like the follow up “Whatup Tho” (a favorite Murs tagline) to love ballads to stories of gang life like “Tale of Two Cities.” The latter laments about the lingering red and blue side of L.A. hoods over a somber string loop. On that same tip is the lead track “Funeral for a Killer.” The hard-hitting track features one of the rawest drum kits I’ve heard all year. 9th provides a kick so deep it’s sure to fuck up someone’s system. The grave (see what I did there?) nature of the track matches the beat perfectly. Murs takes off the nice guy persona he’s had for much of his career and goes in.

“Went to the casket, and I looked in/ Same type of box that our enemies got put in And he the motherfucker put em there/ Came to say goodbye to my brother, but he wasnít there/ Staring at his mother in the front row/ Black dress, hair the same color as the gun smoke”

The other tracks of the album are largely dedicated to women, which is pretty standard for Murs. My personal favorite is “Baby Girl (Holdin’ Hands)” 9th provides the backdrop by flipping a slowed down snippet of Sun’s “I had a Choice.” Double time kicks and an open hat highlight this banger. Murs compliments the track with a tale of first love: “I was in grade three, she was a grade above/ An older woman, it was crazy love/ Didn’t know about the birds and the bees/ I had just learned my ABCs/ Up behind her at the bus stop/ Rubbing on her booty with my Batman lunch box.”

Murs and 9th Wonder couldn’t have conjured up a better farewell to their fans than “That’s all folks, that’s all that she wrote / It’s over and it’s finished, we gonna end it on a good note.” But still, let’s just hope this is one of those MJ/Jay-Z type retirements.

-Nick McClure

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