eLZhi - Detroit State of Mind

Elzhi - Detroit State of Mind

It seems like everyone's favorite album is Illmatic now. The past few years, I've seen so many _______ State of Mind tracks, it's sickening... And here's another. But it's eLZhi, though. The Slum Village member has always been one of the more underrated MCs out, despite his knack for falling off the radar for months on end. I suppose prodigious talent needs time to breathe, much like Nas. For his ELmatic LP, eLZhi decided to take on the gritty instrumental that makes you want to blow cess in front of a bodega wearing fronts, tan Timbs, and an army suit. He doesn't disappoint either, delivering a performance worthy of an even more underrated Detroit rap seal. He paints a picture few could claim not to visualize. Just listen. ELmatic drops May 10th...

J. Cole - Villematic

J. Cole - Villematic

Cole has never been one to mince words on a track. Rather than going for inane wordplay and punchlines on his tracks, the Fayetteville MC has a penchant for telling stories, making points and having a reason and idea for every song he makes. J. Cole's 'Cole World' still is slated to drop on October 26th, with this track, "Villematic" as one of the next up. He responds to the comparisons between himself and Nas, while chucking verbal salt at those who question his 'realness', for lack of a better term. Claiming that he knows his "debut gon ship, but is it gon' sell?", it's refreshing to see an artist be vulnerable on wax while still keeping his confidence at an all-time high. It just seems like everything that J. Cole puts his voice on is gold. Like I said, he doesn't mince words, and his work comes off as both genuine and exceptional because of that. Enjoy the track, people...

EDIT: Forgot about this. Apparently Cole is also prepping a new mixtape, as he tweeted here. Should be a great fall for hip-hop...

Fashawn - Life's a Bitch (ft. Talib Kweli)

Fashawn - Life's a Bitch (ft. Talib Kweli)

Illmatic is among my favorite albums for a host of reasons, the first being that after listening to it, I can never be upset at whatever was grieving me before I hit play. That being so high on my list, I've been waiting for a new rapper to embrace Nas' masterpiece and interpolate it into his own repertoire. It took 16 years, and the commercialization and digitizing of hip-hop for it to happen, but someone finally jumped on the bandwagon. That said, I slept on Fashawn up until this very moment. Was always aware that he could rap, but for whatever reason, didn't give the man the time of day. Now that he's working on a new mixtape entitled 'Ode to Illmatic,' I am literally all ears. Check out the 2010 XXL Freshman (though he's been out for years) talking about his new project and the re-interpolation of one of my favorite songs...