Freestyle Friday (2/18)

Happy Friday, people! Whoever and wherever you are, I'm sure some ciphers will start your day off right, and we've got a few good ones today. The first one is by the Ohio representer Stalley on Toca Tuesdays. After dropping his 'Intelligent Trunk Music' mixtape last week, he swung by Tony Touch's studio and did a quick 2-minute verse with some nice background vocals. The second one is from none other than the Money Making Jam Boys, also on Tony Toca's show. The cipher is over 8 minutes long, with all 5 of the Philly rap collective spitting some vicious writtens over Big L instrumentals in remembrance of Harlem's Problem Child. If you didn't get their mixtape, you've loafed in the worst way. The third freestyle is by Lupe over 'H.A.M.' on Tim Westwood's radio show. I'm not sold on the beat for H.A.M., but somehow Lupe does wonders with it, crafting the most intricate of rhymes off the dome. It wasn't nearly his best, but the fact that he did a true 'freestyle' makes it impressive. Check out all three ciphers and keep it locked to Dear Whoever...

Stalley - Hercules

Stalley - Hercules

Has anyone else heard 'Midwest music, with a New York mentality'? Unless you're hip to Stalley, then you probably have no idea what in tarnation that means. Fortunately, Dear Whoever's got you covered. The Cleveland MC is set to release a new LP entitled 'Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music)' under Dame Dash's DD172 imprint, who are the creative geniuses behind Curren$y's success as of late. His people dropped this track off in my inbox and I haven't been able to stop playing it. Hercules' replay value is as its namesake, Herculean. It's a very relaxing song with nice snares, and a horn riff and pianos in the background. Stalley does the deed lyrically, as well, specializing in the 'real life' rhymes that resonate with the everyman. Don't take my word for it, though. Check out 'Hercules'...

24 Hour Karate School - Release Date Confirmed

The wait is over. That's right. The wait is over. All of you underground heads that have been waiting for the Ski Beatz-headed collaborative project '24 Hour Karate School' can finally breathe a sigh of relief, as the album is now slated to drop on September 14th. Featuring Curren$y, Mos Def, Jay Electronica, Stalley, Jim Jones, Rugz D. Bewler, Tabi Bonney, Wiz Khalifa, The Cool Kids, Camp Lo, Jean Grae and Terri Walker, this figures to be one of the most hyped-releases of the year. What baffles me is how many of the tracks are already available on the interwebs. Does that take away from the value of the complete work? Not necessarily, though Ski may very well have to pull something crazy out of his dojo to keep all of the students happy. Again, 24 Hour Karate School drops on September 14th, just in time for you to bump it on that 'back to school' playlist. Check out the promo video DD172 and Creative Control released to go with the good news...

Stalley - Pressure (Produced by Michael Sterling Eaton)

Stalley - Pressure (Produced by Michael Sterling Eaton)

Got this in my e-mail yesterday and was bumping it all night. Stalley has been hitting the tour circuit and working with Ski Beatz for 24 Hour Karate School (which has lost damn near ALL buzz). That doesn't mean he doesn't have time to do a few side projects. This latest one is a collab with filmmaker Michael Sterling Eaton, who is working on a short film called "Pressure". Eaton produced the smooth, relaxing title track for the movie, with Stalley tossing out uplifting lyrics about persevering and staying with a struggle no matter how much pressure is on you. Hopefully the album is just as dope as the song. Check the download...

Ski Beatz - S.T.A.L.L.E.Y. (ft. Stalley)

A few weeks back I posted the snippets for Ski Beatz' mixtape 24 Hour Karate School, with more rappers than I have fingers (too lazy to list them) and production from Ski and Mos Def, to name a few. Here's one of the singles in video form, and (GASP) shot by Creative Control. S.T.A.L.L.E.Y. is a trip through NYC with the DD172 crew rapping the lyrics. Check out the video and be on the lookout for 24 Hour Karate School, slated to come out March 30th...

Stalley x MISHKA Spring 2010 Collection x Creative Control

Stalley - Put Some Good In

Creative Control does it again... And coincidentally they did it again with Stalley. In this video, Stalley goes to MISHKA's flagship store in Brooklyn, and previews their Spring 2010 collection (and comes out of the shop with bags upon bags of free swag). There's also a cameo from DJ Ski and the World's Largest New Era fitted cap (check my post HERE). MISHKA's spring line looks a lot better than I thought. It's much cleaner, while maintaining their bright aesthetic. Finally, Stalley's track 'Put Some Good In', is featured in the background. This video has way too much fly ish going on, so check the video and the download link for the track...

Curren$y & Stalley - Address

Creative Control needs to be on your radar these days with all of the dope visuals they've been putting out lately. They teamed up with Curren$y again and brought along Stalley for the song Address. The video is filmed in Kingston, Jamaica (876 LIGHTERS UP!!!) and shows both uptown and downtown Kingston. The video fits the song perfectly, in that, for both of the artists and for Creative Control, nothing has changed but the address. Check the visuals....

Ski Beatz - 24 Hour Karate School

Ski Beatz - 24 Hour Karate School (Snippets)

Remember the Kicks, Chicks & Porno Flicks mixtape I posted about a month ago? Well, in that post I spoke about togetherness in hip-hop and a new wave of collaborations coming our way. This is one of them. Producer Ski Beatz, along with Dame Dash brought together the likes of Mos Def, Jim Jones, Curren$y, The Cool Kids, Stalley, Jean Grae, Jay Electronica, Camp Lo, Wiz Khalifa and Tabi Bonney to create the album '24 Hour Karate School'. Clearly most of these MC's aren't well versed (pun; get it?) in karate, so they did the next best thing, and rapped. The tape doesn't come out until March 30th, so I guess you'll have to practice centering your chi until then. Check out the trailer and some snippets from the tape...

Emilio Sparks x Cloud Kicker - Kicks, Chicks & Porno Flicks

Emilio Sparks x Cloud Kicker - Kicks, Chicks & Porno Flicks

This is the type of togetherness in hip-hop that I dream of. Emilio Sparks, of 'The Emilio Sparks Experience,' a New York radio show, has put together a menagerie of up-and-comers in hip-hop to create the free album, 'Kicks, Chicks & Porno Flicks'. The release features the likes of Curt@!n$, Stalley, ESSO, Outasight, 6th Sense, AC, Donny Goines, and Nola Darling. I've reviewed a few of these cats, so when I saw their names associated with the album, I had to give it a listen. The tape has great production, mixed in with interviews from Emilio's radio show, which are HILARIOUS. It's amazing that Emilio could develop relationships with all of these artists, and bring them together on such an eclectic work. When I say eclectic, I mean that there is every type of sound you could imagine on a hip-hop work. Plus, the lyrics are on point on every song (I guess every artist put their best foot forward). I know half of you won't give this a listen, but if you want to hear the 'new wave' of hip-hop, hit the link above, and check the tracklist, #dopetracks, loosies, and videos...



#dopetracks:
Don't Let Me Down
Loyalty's a Must (the skit at the end of this is hilarious!)
Feels So Right
Around the World
Sky High
Hello

Loosies:
Emilio Sparks – Hello f. ESSO & Rhya
Emilio Sparks – Don’t Let Me Down f. Donny Goines, AC, & A. Pinks