Got Music

The title Got Music is a play on the old got milk advertisements which had every celebrity under the sun sporting a milk mustache.

Like the title says... the post below has a lot of music. There's new videos from Ludacris, Xzibit, Ice Cube, Lola Monroe, Loaded Lux, plus a podcast from DJ Modesty.

Loaded Lux is well known MC on the battle rap scene. He has been featured on numerous SMACK dvd's and is considered one of the top contenders for the crown. Aside from battling the kid can make songs, which is something many artists on the battle scene can't do successfully. The song "Santino" shows Lux is more than just a battle rapper.

Lola Monroe is an artist signed to Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang label. She's a talented MC but is often overlooked because she looks like a model. Truth is she was a model and video girl before Wiz took a chance on her and found out she has madd skills. 

If you don't know the rest of the veteran MC's in this post then you're reading the wrong blog!

There's also a podcast from my homie in France, DJ Modesty. He spins the Real Hip-Hop show and always plays dope tracks.  Modesty is a humble dude who has been spinning music for years. He cuts on the turntables better than a chef with a knife. If you want to hear some more of his podcasts click the link.

New Muzik

I've been enjoying the new muzik coming out. There seems to be more underground Hip-Hop rising to the surface. 

Time is short and my work load long. So check out the new tunes by State Property, DB tha General, Redrum, Caddy da Don ft. Fat Trel, and Nas ft. Arlissa. Be on the look out cuz the new video Novicane will be released soon.

Socially Conscious

A friend once told me that, "I was to smart not to notice the world's problems...but to cold to care."

David Banner is a man that cares. His new track "Malcolm X" is a direct stand against all the negative stereotypes being perpetuated in music today. He talks about why rappers are so proud to brag that they're selling drugs in their hoods. When they're selling the drugs to their own people, which helps to destroy their neighborhoods.

The lyrics are hard but not preachy, the chorus is an angry chant with top notch production. David Banner is one of those socially conscious MC's who can still get in a cypher and spit fire. Don't get it twisted, he was making gangsta tunes before becoming aware of the message being related in his music. 

Another MC who gets busy is Murs. He is known as a conscious rapper who prefers to use more vocabulary than curses. His name is an acronym of many meanings. M.U.R.S. stands for (Making the Universe Recognize and Submit or Making Underground Raw Shit) and several others things. He is part of Hip-Hop groups Living Legends, 3 Melancholy Gypsies, Felt and an organizer of the Paid Dues festival. On his new song "Epic Salutations," Murs details the problems in Hip-Hop with witty rhymes, over neck-snapping production. 

Last, is a new track by Tech N9ne featuring group Mayday. Tech has never been known as the most conscious of rappers, but this song is different. Its a tribute to all the people who have been effected by the horrors of war. Whether its the soldiers fighting in the war or the families waiting for a soldiers return, the song is dedicated to everyone. 

New Muzik

I've been listening to new muzik from coast to coast and overseas. I'm looking for the best albums to put in the next album review post. While searching for the right albums I've had the privilege of discovering a few new artists. Below is music by industry veterans Saigon (ft. Quan), Killer Mike (ft. Young Jeezy) and Mysonne. Mysonne has been spittin bars since The Lox and DMX were still on Ruff Ryders. He went away for awhile, but since his return he has been dropping some hard tracks. 

There's also new comers Lightweight and L. Hammond. One from NYC the other from Seattle WA. both MC's got bars and spit with different styles. Lately the trend has been for NY rappers to sound like their from somewhere else. Whether it be from the south, Chicago, West coast or even from the UK. It's got to the point where its hard to tell if these cats are from New York. The MC's in the line-up below all represent their region to the fullest, and each track is dope.

Graff Art

This post is dedicated to the most unappreciated element of Hip-Hop Graffiti. I love Graff Art! I was skilled with the pen and paint can long before I picked-up the mic. Graffiti is a general term and holds some negative connotations (closed minded people only associate graffiti with vandalism) which is why I use the term Graff art. It is art and while vandalism may be associated with graffiti it is NOT a part of the art form. Graff Art comes in various styles. There are murals like the type done by fine arts painters, also lettering, or abstract pieces. 

Mr. Cartoon started as a sick graff artist before taking his talents into the tattoo parlor. DJ Kay Slay used to be known as the artist Dezzy DEZ and was featured in the film Style Wars. Below are a few pieces of Graff art from artists Mears, Axis, Dash, Hex, Jest, Kofie, El Mac, Pimp, Such, Plex, Fresno, Sleep, Styles, Tyke, Risky, LadyPink, Siner, Spurn and Zombie. Check it out!

The New Breed

There's a whole New Breed of MC's hungry for recognition. The industry goes through phases every couple of years like fashion trends. There was the DMX, 50 Cent hardcore Hip-Hop era then it went to the Kanye West, Mickey Facts  pink clothes, tight jean wearing, stuff animal on the backpack phase. Now the winds of change are blowing it back towards the hardcore. 

Below are rappers Vado, Skyzoo, Black Milk, Q-Unique, and Ras Kass. They each have a different sound and style but the one thing the have in common is they're all spittin gangsta sh*t.

Female MC's

Hip-Hop has changed allot over the years and one of the most noticeable changes is the disappearance of female MC's. Back in the 90's there were allot more female MC's with talent in the game. Now there seems to be only one or two with real talent and allot of copycats of those two being promoted by their label. 

Artists like Queen Latifah, Bahamadia, MC Lyte, Rah Digga, Sonya Blade, Heather B, Lil Kim, and Lady of Rage are just a few artists that used to spit fiya. Below I put a few tracks from these emcees as a tribute to the dying genre. Don't get it twisted there's allot of female talent out there, but major labels seem to have lost their interest. This could be for many reasons but I'm assuming it has more to do with album sales than talent. 

Check out the clips below and if u like the tunes, tell a friend to tell a friend.

French Hip-Hop

Being a real Hip-hop connoisseur living in Europe, I'm privileged enough to hear music from all the countries bordering Holland. This includes France, Germany, Spain, U.K, Belgium and a few smaller places. In France they have a huge Hip-Hop culture and like the Germans they rhyme in their native tongue instead of English. One of my favorite groups from France is the Saian Supa Crew. They are a three group collective of MC's, singers and producers who make witty, funny, conscious  Hip-Hop with a strong Caribbean flair. Their name comes from the incredibly popular Dragon Ball Z series (which I will discuss more in another post). 

The individual groups are Explicit Samouraï, OFX, Simple Spirit. While most groups try to emulate the US artists they see on TV this group has been making music consistently for the last ten years doing their own style. Their topics discuss everything from drug problems, ("Que dit-on?") to racism ("La preuve par 3"), relationships ("A demi-nue"), suicide ("La dernière séance") and the justification of violence by religion ("Au nom de quoi"). Since they disabled the embedding code on most of their clips I was only able to post the collabo track with Ghostface and Rza below. If you want to know more about the group or purchase some music go to http://www.myspace.com/saiansupa.