A new web-series that follows Curren$y as he shows you a day in the life of Lowriding while premiering snippets of new music from his upcoming project.
PHENOM, the veteran Chicago emcee, national spoken word poet releases the visual for his official first single "HEIST", which appears on his critically acclaimed new album "I DIDN'T COME I WAS SENT".
Directed x Edited x Shot by APJ / Aaron Perkins Jr http://www.twitter.com/Apjfilms
Stream: https://soundcloud.com/pbrelitemind/s...
Among graffiti writers and those influenced by graffiti culture, everyone knows of Darryl “CORNBREAD” McCray, the first person credited in modern history to write his name on the walls for hood fame. In his native Philadelphia, CORNBREAD was known for his repetitive nom de guerre all over the City of Brotherly Love in 1965, about six years before TAKI 183 was acknowledged by the New York Times for starting the writing epidemic in NYC. “New York had actually took graffiti culture about five levels higher than where Philadelphia was at,” says CORNBREAD about the pioneers who started painting subway cars.
In an exclusive interview with Mass Appeal, CORNBREAD, a now mild mannered 63-year-old who still lives in North Philly, came all the way to Manhattan to grab a can of Rusto, get up on a wall on the Lower East Side and give up a piece of history. Aging gracefully has only allowed CORNBREAD to continue to eloquently describe his adventures and what it’s like to be considered the planet’s very first writer. Watch the legend speak about his origins as a young writer in a Philadelphia juvenile detention center, giving autographs to judges while in court and intricate details of the infamous painted elephant story at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Macklemore ft. Ariana DeBoo | Drug Dealer | Official Music Video
Written by: B. Haggerty; J. Karp; J. Rawlings, J. Sinclair; D. Takahashi; D. Dalton; T. Andrews
Lyrics by Ben Haggerty
Featured Vocals by Ariana DeBoo
Drum Programming by Ben Haggerty
Bass by Joshua "Budo" Karp
Piano by Joshua Rawlings
Violin by John William Sinclair
Cello by Dave Takahashi
Additional Background Vocals by Tyler "XP" Andrews and Joshua "Budo" Karp
Mixed by Jon Castelli
Mastered by Dale Becker
Engineered by Stephen Hogan
Additional Engineering by Adam Burd (Avast Studios Seattle) and Milo Eubank (Robert Lang Studios Seattle)
Assistant Engineered by Eric Droppo (Robert Lang Studios Seattle)
Detroit production meets Brooklyn storytelling. For many of us "Jordan's & A Gold Chain" were all we wanted growing up. At times, aspiration couldn't be more simple. Listen as Skyzoo takes you through his neighborhood over soul stirring production from Apollo Brown. Directed by Diego Cruz and shot in Calvan Fowler's "Jordan Heads" shop.
"When I wrote this song, the idea was to really zero in on what we were told as youngins' in my neighborhood what was important. To us, the small wins of a pair of Jordans and a gold chain meant the world, and with that in mind some of us lived on a "by any means" aspect and did whatever it took to fulfill those desires. Whether right or wrong, we all aimed for the same things where I'm from, and this record is a testament of those moments." - Skyzoo
"Sonically I wanted to give this record something that was minimal, gritty, and straight to the point; almost underproduced. Skyzoo did his thing, talking about a topic that I think we can all relate to as younger folk. It was always a goal to be one of the "haves", instead of the "have-nots". Jordan's and a Gold chain gave that representation." - Apollo Brown
Album: The Easy Truth
Song: Jordans & A Gold Chain
Vocals: Skyzoo
Producer: Apollo Brown
Director: Diego Cruz
Label: Mello Music Group
9 emcees came together on September 24th, 2016 to continue the long time tradition on Hip Hop cyphers. The ChiCity Cypher is brought to you by GizzoPRODUCTIONS. The emcees can be contacted at... (Gizzo/Gizzo Villanueva@Fb Host)
(Reggie Smokez/Reggie Daniels@Fb), (Fooly Faneto), (Zenobia Spencer), (Loke/Larry Smith@Fb), (Tom Tom on IG), (Book RYB on FB), (IZQ IZQ on FB), (PFK Andrew Clarke on FB).
To be featured in an upcoming cypher you must contact Gizzo Villanueva on Facebook.
Official 247HH exclusive interview with Maplewood, NJ based R&B artist Rotimi, where you’ll hear about [the current state of America, and why we need to keep the Arts in schools. Check out the knowledge he drops in this #247HHEXCL
Rotimi | Whats Wrong With Current America? & We Need To Keep Music & Arts Programs | 247HH Exclusive
Last week, Mobb Deep’s Prodigy released a cookbook based on the meals he cooked up during his three-year incarceration called Commissary Kitchen. “In a world where prisoners are treated like animals, we made our experiences there feel more human by how we prepared our food,” he writes. After taking a look at it, Mass Appeal contacted P and asked him if he’d make one of the dishes. He agreed.
Prodigy met us at a bodega on the Lower East Side where he whipped up “Mom’s (and the Dread’s) Mac Salad,” a recipe he says was partly inspired by a “Rastafarian dude” he met in lockup. P also chopped it up with us about the recent prison strike, his sickle cell anemia, and the difficulty of eating right while incarcerated. “Another major reason why I did this book,” says Prodigy, “was to shed some light on how bad the food is in prison.”
The tour was incredible, the video was awesome, now here's a bunch of stuff you didn't see. Jonathan Lomar put together this long-form edit of the footage from our Sour x Sk8mafia European vacation. Sit back, grab a sandwich and enjoy.
From the new album Kool Keith - "Feature Magnetic" out on Mello Music Group. Super Hero feat. MF DOOM premiered at FADER and finds two of Hiphop's biggest Super Villains uniting over crashing, hypnotic cymbals and driving bass. Enter the twisted comic book world conjutred by Keith & DOOM over spliffs in a dank London basement. This is director Kris Merc & animation studio Aardman Nathan Love sonic-vision.
Kool Keith ft. MF DOOM | Super Hero | Official Music Video
Director by Kris Merc
Animation Studio: Aardman Nathan Love
Executive Producer: Joe Burrascano
CG Director: Eric Cunha
CG Artists: Triston Huang, Jin Fang Jiang
Animator: Thomas Shek
Designer: Kevin Li
Editor: Michael Reuter
Cel Animation: Tyler Dibiasio
Mass Appeal headed up to Seattle to link with Tendai "Baba" Maraire for the latest episode of Rhythm Roulette.
We like to think that Shabazz Palaces are iconoclasts. They started from scratch and built up their own sound to represent their diverse influences and messages that they felt were important to convey. And when you break down their lyrics and music, it's not a surprise that each member needs more than one creative outlet to get out all their thoughts. Tendai "Baba" Maraire, is a part of the Black Constellation, Chimurenga Renaissance, as well as putting out solo material. Oh, and he's also contributed some garment work to the Seattle Art Museum's African Renaissances exhibit.
Tendai enters a record shop in a "gentrified" part of Seattle and walks out with a Misa Panamericana record, a Missa Luba record, and a Pacha Siku record. Watch the magic unfold above as he and some additional musicians take some samples and build a crazy record around them.
Mass Appeal caught up with Damian Marley to talk his latest weed business venture, religion and more.
In this new video interview, Bob Marley’s youngest son shares his thoughts on a variety of topics from finding the common ground amongst world religions to the power of speaking words as a way of manifesting visions into reality.
"This page is mine, I read the lines, and would refine nothing at all."
Written and produced by Toronto based emcee, Xolisa (pronounced koh-lee-sah), "A Beautiful Mind" stands as the lead single off of the emcee's debut EP that bares the same title, released in 2013.
The single represents the emcee's journey of acceptance of herself and the workings of her mind, while unapologetically asking listeners through a snippet of the 1962 speech by the late Malcolm X, "Who Taught You To Hate Yourself?" - challenging listeners to learn to see themselves as enough.
A new web-series that follows Curren$y as he shows you a day in the life of Lowriding while premiering snippets of new music from his upcoming project.
For this episode of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal heads up to Toronto to link with Wondagurl.
If you crossed paths with WondaGurl, consider yourself blessed. Although she’s a shy and kind girl on the surface, she’s one of the meanest producers in the game. Since learning some tricks of the trade from Boi-1da, she’s been getting placements with Travis Scott (“Antidote” & “Uptown”), Jay Z (“Crown”), Drake (“Used To” & “Company”), SZA (“Teen Spirit”), and Rihanna (“Bitch Better Have My Money”). That’s not all of her credits either.
After hitting up Rotate This, WondaGurl ends up with Solid Sound’s “A Wooden Box,” Images In Vogue’s “In The House,” and The Magnolias’ Concrete Pillbox. Laying The Magnolias to the side, Wonda uses samples from the other two records for a bass heavy beat. Watch her craft the banger above.
Official 247HH exclusive interview with Harlem, NY based R&B artist Teyana Taylor, where you’ll hear about what some fans may not know about her, and what she has coming up next in this #247HHEXCL
About The Album
Recorded and produced in Detroit, “The Easy Truth,” is the perfect distillation of hiphop influences. Every moment on the album is a loaded question, a perspective positing a notion of truth, the convergence of grit and symphony.
Joining the artists on the record are Joell Ortiz, Westside Gunn, Stalley, Conway and Patty Crash, a reciprocal band of guests that only add depth and richness to the duo’s chemistry. Coming September 30th, “The Easy Truth,” is true to its titular description: honest, fluid, and organic.
Recorded by Tate McBroom @ LabCabinRoyalOak
Mixed by Magnetic @ The Disc
Mastered by Eric Morgeson @ Studio A Detroit
“Spiders” is the first single by Illa J following his second & solo album ILLA J LP released in 2015 via Bastard Jazz Records. Produced by Calvin Valentine, the single is the very first track out of 10 songs they created in four days working out of Calvin’s home studio in North Hollywood. The pair continued the collaborations and now have about 30 songs together.
Spiders is an upbeat trippy psycadelic hip hop tune. From Illa J’s visual lyrics to Calvin’s psychedelic synths and banging drums you will be hypnotized and really feeling you have “spiders crawling on your skin”. Showcasing his singing as well as his songwriting, Illa J keeps moving towards showing that he is not just a rapper. This versatility was well received with his last album.
The song will be exclusively for sale on Bandcamp on October 12th and On Oct. 13th (Illa J's birthday) on every other platform iTunes, Google Play, Apple Music etc.
A new web-series that follows Curren$y as he shows you a day in the life of Lowriding while premiering snippets of new music from his upcoming project.
We’re convinced that there’s no type of music Nick Hook isn’t capable of masterminding. The St. Louis producer went from Cubic Zirconia founder to live MPC sets to now creating music for other artists as well as himself. He also co-produced the first single from our compilation tape. He’s not afraid to try new things from scratch and that’s what made him such a prime candidate for our next episode of Rhythm Roulette.
Official 247HH exclusive interview with Seattle, Washington based Hip Hop artist Grieves, where you’ll hear about what it was like linking up with Rhymesyaers and dealing with Macklemore Comparisons in this #247HHEXCL
Harry Giles ("HG") is a 6'10" man-child from Winston-Salem, NC where he spent most of his high school career at Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point, NC. At Wesleyan, HG won a state championship alongside teammate and current UNC wing, Theo Pinson, even though HG missed most of the season with a torn left knee. Currently a 225 pound, 18-year-old freshman at Duke University, Giles will likely be the next in line of one-and-done candidates for Mike Krzyzewski. Before committing to Duke, Giles attended Oak Hill Academy but hurt his right knee during the first scrimmage of the season and returned home to finish his high school near family. HG is a super skilled big-man with the frame and athleticism that should separate him in his match-ups, especially towards the end of the ACC season.
More than just a basketball players, HG is a great person too; always taking opportunities to help and connect with the youth in our communities. If Giles stays injury free this season, don't be surprised to see him come across Freshman of the Year honors or even mess around with ACC Player of the Year. A lot of time and a lot left to play out, check out what all the hype is about!
Meek Mill has built a career out of proudly representing Philadelphia. It’s not a new story that the rapper came from nothing; battle rapping on the streets while his friends held camcorders. Now, as he looks forward, the Dreamchaser explains what he hopes to achieve in his career next. This is Noisey Raps.
Keep the smile, leave the tension, feel the joy, forget the worry, hold the peace, leave the pain and always give thanks. Don't worry be happy and on the flow of abundance. - Masie Blu
Masie Blu | KUNDALINI (Prod. by Cloud Atrium)