Rekstizzy x Decipher x Lyricks x Dumbfoundead

I saw this recently over at Gumship and thought the image was too cool not to share. The illustration is by Jaeil Cho, and depicts four prominent Asian-American artists at a table – namely Rekstizzy, Decipher, Lyricks, and Dumbfoundead. Most have shared track time with each other in various guest collaborative combinations, but this image captures them in a way that no photo could. Props to Jaeil and his creative talent.

Say Cheese!

Who knew that when we first heard the song “Reaching Out” over a year ago that it would be the beginning of a solo album by Saving Thomas frontman, Dave Bak? Well, that’s the path that he’s taken, dropping Voices today with the help of a number of guest artists including Decipher, Jason Min, Manifest, Lyricks, Andrew Ha, Sam Ock & Sarah So. There are a dozen songs on here by the singer/rapper, and is available via Bandcamp. For a little additional context behind the lead single “Reaching Out” and the album as a whole, check out the video clip after the break.

1.Reaching out feat. Decipher and Jason Min
2.Winter Storm feat. Sarah So
3.Paralyzed
4.Compromise feat. Manifest and Lyricks
5.Voices (Interlude)
6.Voices
7.This Time I’ll Stay
8.Gratitude
9.David’s Cry feat. Sarah So
10.Is Anyone Out There? feat. Andrew Ha
11.Go feat. Sam Ock
12.The Facebook Song

Jennifer Chung x Decipher Remix “Only Wanna Give It to You” by Elle Varner x J. Cole

The Fung Brothers x Jason Chen Remix “Young, Wild & Free” by Wiz Khalifa & Snoop Dogg; “Niggas in Paris” by Jay-Z x Kanye
(JustKiddingFilms, Olivia T, Quest Crew, Wong Fu Productions & More cameo)

Arden Cho Covers “We Found Love” by Rihanna x Calvin Harris

Paul Kim Covers “Voodoo” by Frank Ocean

Erika David Covers “Strip” by Chris Brown x Kevin McCall

Michelle Martinez x Lil Crazed Remix “Shot for Me” by Drake

J. Moy (of Drunken Fists) x Set 2 x Drega C Remix “Stay Schemin’” by Rick Ross x Drake x French Montana

This piece by Gumship isn’t a conventional interview, which is probably a good thing considering that the board they went to for opinions in their February Recap isn’t your conventional collection of MCs. Decipher, Dumb, Lyricks, and Rekstizzy all contribute their two pennies on a wide range of topics including #LINSANITY, past Valentine’s Day experiences, what they would do with Facebook money and more. Check it out in full over at Gumship, it’s one of the more entertaining reads we’ve come across in a while!

2011 was a banner year in the world of Asian-American music. We saw more releases than ever, more artists achieving more mainstream success, and more fans across more ethnic backgrounds recognizing the great music by our artists. But along with more of the good comes more of the bad – with there also being an influx in mediocre music, an increase in hate and bigotry (check Youtube comments) and even more pressure to try and stand out. That’s why I wanted to look back on the past year and choose what I consider to be my top 10 favorite music videos from 2011. Now this doesn’t mean that these are the MVs with the top production values (although this is often the case), but rather it’s a reflection of what I found to be the most well executed, balanced, and entertaining visuals. On the very last page we also have a list of 10 honorable mentions that I thought deserved to be recognized as well.

So without futher ado let’s jump straight into number 10…

10. IAMMEDIC – “Spaceship” (article)

Electronica-Pop group IAMMEDIC took the concept of their song “Spaceship” to the max by injecting a silly Star Trek inspired motif and alien abduction. The video is fun, looks great, and represents the high energy of the audio perfectly. Deep? Not so much, but fun and well executed? Very much so.

Directors/Cinematographers/ Dan Fisher and Ed Park
Produced by Joe Park and IAMMEDIC
Edited by Steve Arcenio
Visual Effects – Ed Park and Derrick Lee
3D Model by Daniel Harris
“Spaceship” Written and Produced by IAMMEDIC
Mixed by Enik Lin

Next Page >>

With Drake being undoubtedly one of the hottest acts in the business right now, it’s no wonder why his music has been covered and remixed by artists thousands of times over. For this installment of our Showdown series we’ve decided to highlight a few recent remixes of Drake’s song “The Motto” featuring Lil Wayne. This one is a three way battle with On Fire & Rocky in one corner, Hopie repping the fairer sex on her own in another, and a huge mega roster of artists in the last corner – comprised of Lyricks, De, The Yellow Boyz, Excel Cruz, Koreone, Manifest & Smokes. So by all means, go ahead and take a listen to the three renditions and vote for your favorite below!

On Fire Ent x Rocky Sandoval

Hopie Spitshard

Lyricks, Decipher, Al P, JL, Excel Cruz, Koreone, PassDa, Joel, Manifest, Smokes

So who do you think did the track the must justice? The one two punch of On Fire & Rocky? Hopie rocking the mic via webcam? Or the gigantic 10-man lineup from this years’ Asian Hip-Hop Summit tour? Cast your vote now! Why? … Bragging rights? We really don’t have an answer except to say it’s fun!

Rekstizzy has debuted his music video for his song “No Apologies” featuring heavy hitters Decipher & Dumbfoundead. This is more of your classic style of Hip-Hop, no electronica, auto-tune or sung hooks, just three MCs trading verses. Impressively, the song was debuted courtesy of Complex (as we shared that it would). So did it live up to the hype? I’ll let you be the judge but in my opinion the track got stronger as it progressed – and I’ll leave it at that. You can get it as a free single via the Bandcamp widget below.