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Premiered onstage this past weekend at the Bay Area's Treasure Island Music Festival with a West African drumming sextet, Wallpaper's latest season-saluting send up, "Indian Summer" celebrates those last throws of warmth that remind San Franciscans why its worth enduring all those months of freezing fog. Catch Wallpaper on tour with The Heavy this November.
Buzzing New-York native, Samuel's adorable ode to the Big Apple, "I Heart NY" isn't trying to replace Jay's "Empire Sate of Mind" as the ultimate iconic New York tribute track. That's impossible. Instead, Samuel takes a different angle, that of an average hustler trying to make a dollar and a name for himself. And with a smooth croon, a Kanye co-sign, some cutesy production from The Knocks and a quirky verse from Joell Ortiz, he may just have the underdog smash of the season on his hands.
Samuel - I Heart NY (feat. Joell Ortiz)
This Tuesday, ten years after his sophomore album, The Big Picture, went gold, and twelve years since his unsolved murder in a Harlem studio, the family of one of hip-hop's all-time greatest lyricists, Big L, will release Return of the Devil's Son. The album includes 21 so-far unreleased songs from "that nigga you'd expect to catch wreck on any cassette deck, I'm so ahead of my time my parents haven't met yet." L never had a hit, or the kind of lasting legacy that comes from rap martyrdom. What he had was skills: battle proven punchlines your opponent doesn’t come up from, seen-it-all swagger and the kind of comic relief reserved for good slasher flicks—you only laugh to keep from shitting yourself. Check out this re-up of "Danger Zone" from L's classic, Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous.
Talent isn't everything, but if it were, then Danny Swain would be fuck-you famous, retired, and swimming in a sea of money like Scrooge McDuck. With five self-produced studio albums, three instrumental albums and a greatest hits compilation to his credit, Danny! has to be the most accomplished emcee you've never heard of. His latest, Where is Danny Swain? was picked up by Def Jux and then shelved. It's all too depressing to talk about when you hear how good it is. So after listening to these two songs, go write a letter to your congressman demanding that they Free Danny!.
Danny! - Theme Music To A Killing Spree (feat. Danny Brown)
Two of Michigan's most underrated emcees—T. Calmese and Vaughan T—from two of its most celebrated crews—the Athletic Mic League and the Subterraneous Crew—have joined forces with vocalists Mayer Hawthorne, Buff 1, Aloe Blacc and producers 14 KT, Zo! and Nick Speed to craft a coming of age story inspired by the infamous era of high top fades, eye brow parts and house parties affectionately remembered as New Jack Swing. Everybody on this free album is having way too much fun reminiscing over beats inspired by Teddy Riley, Bobby Brown, Michael Jackson, New Edition and Kid n Play. "What You Like" is the perfect pick-me-up for your creeping case of the Mondays. Indulge.
New Jack Kings - What U Like (feat. Soul Deacon)
The best part about posse cuts—Yo Gotti featuring J. Cole, Wale and Wiz Khalifa—is that everybody's on their A-game, trying to be the only one at the party you remember. Competition is tough on "Look in Da Mirror" but Gotti steals his own show with lines like, "Microphone check, one, two, yola/two chains, two guns, he bipolar/two baby mama’s, three kids, two Rovers/thats too many problems, too late to think over." 'Nuff said.
Yo Gotti - Look In Da Mirror (feat. Wale, J. Cole & Wiz Khalifa)
Devin The Dude dares you not to let your eyelids slink low and your rosy cheeks scrunch up into a stoned smirk with his latest weed-worshiping, feel good flow, "Jus Coolin.'" The Dude has been celebrating Mary's glory for years and is showing no signs of slowing—he's kinda slow to start—with the release of his seventh solo album, Gotta Be Me, out November 2 on Real Talk Entertainment.
9th Wonder's favorite producer—and one of the chosen few cooks in Dr. Dre's Detox kitchen—Nottz, has been stepping up his productivity to dizzying depths lately. With the entire Rah Digga album to his credit, an EP in the works with Asher Roth, and a solo album set to drop later this month, the Virginia-bred beat-kid is letting loose of a Rick-Rubin-esque, distortion and drum heavy rawker "Blast That" featuring Detroit double-threat, Black Milk. Nottz' You Need This Music drops on Raw Koncept, October 26.
Nottz - Blast That (feat. Black Milk)
