Thundercat – Them Changes [Stream]

Virtuoso bassist and singer-songwriter Stephen Bruner aka Thundercat returns to the Brainfeeder fold with his first solo material in two years, having already made outstanding contributions to not one, but two, of the greatest albums of 2015 – To Pimp a Butterfly and The Epic – by fellow Los Angelians Kendrick Lamar and Kamasi Washington. Mini-album “The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam” will be released digitally on Monday 22nd June via Brainfeeder.

Read more

Kurupt: “Suge Knight Changed My Life” [Video]

“Yeah, we’re cool, real cool; I ain’t got no problem with the old man,” Kurupt tells VladTV about his relationship with former Death Row C.E.O., Suge Knight. The D.P.G.C. lyricist then adds perspective to his comment offering, “Suge changed my life.” As the clip segues from Suge Knight to Crooked I, both formerly associated with Death Row, Kurupt contends that ever since the first time he heard the now Slaughterhouse lyricist, he was convinced of his inherent ability to rock the mic. He would later go on to mentor Crooked and other emerging MCs, “I would just talk to them and give them that influence they need.” Kurupt then recalls an epic memory of when he visited New York City’s legendary spot the Tunnel, and single-handedly decimated each MC who attempted to battle him. “I was the Antichrist of the mic; I served MCs for a living.”

Read more

Mobb Deep On Collab Album With Nas: “It’s Still A Possibility” [Video]

Havoc and Prodigy of Mobb Deep recently chopped it up with Leyla Stacked at the Out4Fame Festival, where they shared their thoughts on the East Coast/West Coast beef. The two New York emcees explained that the beef was so long ago and they added that they have nothing but love for West Coast emcees, including Snoop Dogg. During the conversation Prodigy also revealed that he’s planning on releasing a new solo album by the end of the summer, but he stayed tight lipped about any features other than Havoc. The two also addressed rumors about a collaborative album with Nas, and they said the album is still very much a possibility in the future.

Read more

XXL Freshman 2015: Raury Freestyle + Profile [Video]

XXL presents Atlanta’s own Raury. Not your normal southern rapper, the Columbia signee has been inching his way to fame for the past two years. In 2014, he released his critically acclaimed free debut album, ‘Indigo Child.’ Many say that Raury channels OutKast’s André 3000 with his eclectic style. Check out his #XXLFreshmen freestyle in the video above. The 10 MCs in the 2015 XXL Freshman Class are DeJ Loaf, Fetty Wap, GoldLink, K Camp, OG Maco, Raury, Shy Glizzy, Tink, Vince Staples and the winner of the fan-voted 10th Spot, Kidd Kidd. Check out the XXL Freshmen performing live in New York City at the Best Buy Theater on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 and in Los Angeles at Club Nokia on Monday, July 13, 2015. After the break, Raury tells us about his unique sound, opening for OutKast and how he refuses to be boxed in by the music industry. The 10 MCs in the 2015 XXL Freshman Class are DeJ Loaf, Fetty Wap, GoldLink, K Camp, OG Maco, Raury, Shy Glizzy, Tink, Vince Staples and the winner of the fan-voted 10th Spot, Kidd Kidd. Check out the XXL Freshmen performing live in New York City at the Best Buy Theater on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 and in Los Angeles at Club Nokia on Monday, July 13, 2015.

Read more

L’Orange & Kool Keith feat. J – Live – The Traveler [Stream]

Coming July 24th from Mello Music Group, Time? Astonishing! is the latest dimensional warp from hip-hop’s premiere astral traveler. His union with MMG producer L’Orange finds him exploring uncharted terrain: choppy volcanic rock planets, ice glacier moons, new surgical procedures, and fresh rappers to toss into the ether. The scalpel remains eternally sharp. Even a flying DeLorean seems too conventional for the Bronx legend. He’d more logically orbit throughout the galaxy in a gleaming chrome spaceship, teaching the stars and aliens new forms of originality. He is too weird to live, too rare to die, too uniquely ultra-magnetic to be accurately mimicked. L’Orange’s production appropriately coaxes the most appealingly baffling gonzo vision from Keith since his days collaborating with Dan “The Automator” Nakamura. This isn’t the noir-rap of L’Orange’s previous work, but something atmospheric, ethereal, and absurd. Yet there’s a sense of tradition within the playfulness. The beats glow with radioactive grit. Hard enough to knock from your car speakers, cinematic and plutonium-propelled enough to transport you to strange terra firma. Buck Rodgers movie serials meet boom-bap. And along for the odyssey are a cast of the best underground MC’s of the last decade: Blu, Open Mike Eagle, Mr. Lif, J-Live, and more. Welcome to the new world, even more sinister and suspenseful than the last one. We live inastonishing times: abstract, absurd, and indelibly Kool.

Read more