SF bay area’s Mike-Dash-E dropped a new mixtape called Clap City Vol. 2: Clap or Die featuring a ton of artists from his crew, including frequent collaborator Young Chariz. The album features the song “Ripped” along with 24 other tracks and a lot of artists. If you’re a fan of music from the bay and have been looking for something new to listen to, you should prob check this one out. It’s a free DL after all.
If you haven’t been keeping up, there have been a lot of Hip-Hop heads doing their thin in Korea lately. Mani & JL have been out there for a few months now, linking up with the likes of MYK and others. Well Dumbfoundead and his connected-at-the-hip DJ Zo made it out to the mothaland and they all connected for a sick show hosted by Mic Swagga. Here are some highlights from the gig. It makes me wish I traveled around the world to catch it in person.
I gotta give credit where credit is due. D-League just may be some of the hardest working artists doing it right now. Never staying quiet for too long, the duo have just dropped another new single called “One Day [You'll See]“. Pretty much everything about this track was on point; this is one of my favorite drops from them. It’s prob not a great song for the radio but I can always appreciate that real hip-hop. It’s a free DL, so don’t miss out!
As a bonus, check after the break for a pretty nice free verse they spit for BET.
I’m not sure any two kollaboration competitors have continuously collab’ed after competing against each other but Seattle 2010 winner Erin Kim & GOWE continue to churn out some great tracks together. In this latest drop they remix Kanye’s “We Are the Lights” with Erin on the hook and GOWE spitting double time on the verses. The video is just a compilation of footage from their various activities but I was fairly impressed with the track. They seem to make a great team and have good musical chemistry, perhaps they should go ahead and make an official group?
Singer/composer Tony T Nguyen has often done a lot of things behind the scenes, hosting events and composing music for other artists, but every once in a while he steps out on his own in a big way. For this song “Two of Us” he enlists the writing help of Kristine Sa while Connie Lim lends her vocals to the track. The video is pretty impressive, filled with plenty of Minority Report-esque effects and stylish flourishes abound. It’s a great visual for an intriguing track. I’m always a fan when artists aren’t afraid to get creative with their work. If you like the track, pick it up on iTunes or Amazon!
Chuckie has a new official MV for a track titled “Reality”. The production values aren’t anything remarkable but this is one of those cases where it doesn’t bother me as much. He continues his new found introspective, mellowed out style, where he weaves moving narratives about facing struggles and just trying to survive. I respect where he was going with the song & video, and I hope someone can hook him up in the future with the proper visual quality to match.
ChannelAPA recently did another east-coast tour, giving them the opportunity to sit down with a lot of different folks they don’t typically get to connect with. One of the first interviews they have released is of super-producer in the making Chops, formerly of the Mountain Brothers. Listen to what he has to say about why he likes to stay behind the scenes, his past work, his opinions on the business, and more. Dope interview. Another cool aspect was his shoutouts to dumb, Roscoe, & Decipher.
Everyone that knows music knows what the Billboard charts are. Anyone who is anyone in the music biz has made an appearance on these charts – calculated largely on album sales, radio airplay and more. But Billboard is also acknowledging that media as we know it is changing, and there is a whole new element that has gone uncaptured and unquantified… the online world. That’s why they are launching a new ranking called ‘Uncharted‘. Unlike the Top 200 and other such charts – this will be “a weekly ranking of emerging artists who have yet to appear on a major Billboard chart but are mapping new territory in online fan engagement.” And guess who’s made the cut for the first ranking?
Traphik is sitting pretty at #1, a HUGE accomplishment for the rapper. David Choi isn’t far behind, sitting pretty at #13. Lastly, Sam Tsui and AJ Rafael sit in the middle of the pack at #35 & #37 respectively. It’s fantastic to see these pioneers of the online music world recognized. It’s too early to say how effective these charts will be, but it’s great to see the exploration of the new media and it’s stars.
Check out the article in full about the new launch either after the jump or directly at the billboard site.
Singer song writer Connie Lim has shared a new original called “LA City” inspired by a recent trip from LA to Centralia Washington. The accompanying video is filled with clips and footage from the trip and fits the song perfectly. Production values aren’t high but it’s almost like we were able to be a part of the trip with her. Connie sounds great as always, and if you don’t mind a simple, slow, but passionate song, I think you’ll enjoy this number.
It seems like we can’t go more than week without a drop from D Prizzy. Here he remixes Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song”, but as a change of pace he sings much of it over a completely vocal acapella. And of course he’s included his quasi-style music video. It’s cool to see he doesn’t take himself too seriously and isn’t afraid to try different styles out. I can’t say this was a classic remix, but it’s fun for a couple viewings/listenings. But if you want a copy of it for yourself, it’s also a free DL.
