On the Hip Hop Front:
Here’s some stuff I’ve been following on the hip hop front for the past few months that I haven’t had a chance to shout out on the blog.
First off, RIP Jay Dee / J Dilla / James Yancey, who passed away three years ago on February 7. I’ve hear a lot of Dilla tribute mixes, but the best I’ve heard to date was done by the J Rocc and it’s called Thank You Jay Dee.
Second off, in a terrible twist of fate, news broke last week that Dilla’s mother, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, is now also battling the same illness that took her son; lupus.
Stones Throw and Parra are now releasing a t-shirt to raise money for Mrs. Yancey.
All proceeds will go towards her battle with the disease.
On a more positive note, the Paper Route Gangstaz released an album last November that I wanted to write about but never got a chance to. For those who don’t know, The PRGz are a rap outfit out of Huntsville Alabama. I first hear about them right beofre the A3C last year but, sadly, we didn’t get a chance to book them for the event.
The album tracklist is dope and features the likes of Blaqstarr, Diplo, and Wale. The album was relased Radiohead-style and you can “buy” it from the PRGz myspace page for whatever amount your willing to spend. I’m not going to lie, I downloaded it for free.
It’s still available at their myspace page.
Finally, a few weeks ago, Mick Boogie and U-N-I released a mixtape called Before there was Love. Between this tape, Fear and Loathing and Holly Weerd’s, Electricity Showroom, I think I can say that hip hop is doing pretty damn well right now.
The album features guests spots from Shawn Jackson, Evidence, Pig Pooh, Aloe Blacc, Black Milk, Buff 1, Talib Kweli and a ton of others.
I think you can still download the tap from zSHARE, but if you can’t I think you can get it from U-N-I’s mypsace page.
J Rocc - Thank You Jay Dee: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download PRGz - Soul Glo: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download PRGz Woodgrain : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download U-N-I - Beautiful Day Remix: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download U-N-I - Stakes is High : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download