Senor Kaos, the Atlanta-based rapper and self-proclaimed cultural influence who gave us a look inside his fashion style, is back with video of a live performance of his new track "Automatic Classic." Backed by Sol Messiah on the turntables, "Automatic Classic" has that mid-90's laid back vibe I dig so much: think a less jazzy Digable Planets or a one-man version of an old school The Roots performance. Watch "Automatic Classic" and download Kaos' new mixtape.
Longtime fans of Ghostface Killah were more than a little nervous when they heard Ironman was going to be releasing an "R&B" album, but the amazingly titled "Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in the Emerald City" is as good as any of his past work. What's even better, "Ghostdini" features on of the dirtiest songs ever committed to wax, the infinitely entertaining "Stapleton Sex." Check out a breakdown of the video and the song (warning, not even remotely safe for work, unless you work in porn).
Fresh from releasing an entire mixtape featuring Marvin Gaye samples, the always soulful Lee Bannon is back on the hip-hop tip with his "The Checkpoint" mixtape. Mixed by DJ Flow, "Checkpoint" features lyrical work from the likes of Talib Kweli, Saigon, Zion-I, Termanology, and more. Before you download the entire mixtape, we've refined "The Checkpoint" down to its two best tracks, "Break Up" featuring Saigon and "The Return Part 2" featuring U.N.I., Talib Kweli, Zion I and Sha Stimuli.Check out more to download.
The last I heard Katt Williams was on some Dave Chapelle type stuff and had disappeared after a mental breakdown. Well apparently the man still isn't doing that well, because instead of releasing new material his production company CodeBlack is putting out a quasi-documentary called Pimpadelic featuring never before seen concert footage and a rare in-depth interview with Katt. It may not be new, but it's more than enough to remind me just how funny Katt can be (or "was"). Check out the Pimpadlic trailer and watch some Katt highlights.
Life hasn't been easy for Cormega. The Queensbridge raised rapper has witnessed the murder of his mother, made it through a lengthy incarceration and has fought his fair share of battles with major labels and rapper (most notably Nas). Now on the independent grind, Cormega is back and dropping bombs alongside the legendary DJ Premier on his new track "Make It Clear." If you like that old-school east coast street sound, I've got some ish for you. See more to download
Despite having a rich and diverse hip-hop history, the greater D.C. area has gone almost completely unnoticed by the nation's hip-hop fans. But that's all starting to change thanks to the effort of artists like Wale and the trio of rising stars known as the Diamond District. In this mini-documentary the Diamond District crew of Oddisee, X.O., and YU break down the boundaries that define the area where the group was born and raised – the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) and explain the mind state and way of life that comes from living at such an important intersection.
T-Pain's remixed Shakira's latest smash "She Wolf" and the result is one of the most straight-up dance/club mixes in T-Pain history. On the production side Pain gave the track a much harder and more pounding beat, and while I"m a little disappointed not to hear T-Pain go for any she-wolf sex references (come on, you know he wanted to), it's still a pretty damn good song. Plus, I'll take any excuse I can get to watch Shakira do that belly dance thing.
Over the last few years album sales for hip-hop and R&B artists have tanked faster than Heidi Montag's singing career, leading to no shortage of apocalyptic "hip-hop is dead" pronouncements. However, in the past few months hip-hop has slowly been clawing its way back into the Soundscan charts. From now on, RefinedHype will be doing a weekly run-down of the Soundscan numbers. This week features strong showings from Jay-Z and Drake, but a stronger showing from some group called "Five Finger Death Punch." Seriously?
First there was "Pusha," the new single from the always-smiling Lloyd. (Seriously, you ever see him angry? That dude must mainline Prozac every morning.) Then there was the "Pusha Remix" featuring Lil Wayne ("long hair don't care). Now Lloyd's re-remixed the track again, fittingly bringing on the Clipse's Pusha-T for two verses. See more to download...
It would be a shame for Rihanna to completely omit the simple million dollar question “How are you?” On record, there hasn’t been a retort or even an index finger wave directed at Chris. She’s at a crossroads where she can choose to saturate Top 25 lists with lively, up-tempo pop jams, or taking her life and splatter it against a sonic canvas for the world to see. Personally, I hope she chooses the latter.
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