Cappo - Psychological Warfare

Cappo (seen above with Styly Cee and Disorda of Suspect Packages) is a lyrical monster from Notts. To be honest it's not often I use a phrase like that because it's so often applied incorrectly, but in this case I think it's true.

I originally saw him live for the first time when he came down to Oxford with the P Brothers to play at Hiphopalypse as it was then. There are after party stories but I won't reveal them here (and to be fair there always was!).

I came across this track and can't find any info on it but it appears to be a brand new track from the Grand Imperial Capps. I hope it means there's more on the way but we'll have to wait and see I guess.

Dumbfoundead - Jam Session 2.0

Just had to post this with Dumbfoundead and plenty of others (info in the Youtube link), just watch it.

*edit - this has now been broadcast (at least in part) on CNN which you can check HERE*

The Psychonauts Essential Mix

Not the greatest picture but the best one I could find! This is the Essential Mix by The Psychonauts (of Mo Wax) originally broadcast in 1996. I remember recording this onto tape and only catching about an hour. Even so it really opened me up to new genres and I loved it.

Download it HERE.

Bobby Corridor Hip Hop Mix

Not much info on this but it's a killer tracklisting. Go here to find the mix including a link to a free download, and see below for the tracklisting:

• The Prophet L-Cee- Ace of S.P.A.D.E
• MC Tee & Lord Tasheen- Talkin’ Loud
• Hot Day Dante- Hot Day Is Burnin’
• Doug E Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew- Keep Risin’ To The Top
• Seeborn & Puma- They Call Me Puma
• Latee- This Cut’s Got Flavor
• Just Ice- Freedom Of Speech
• Freddie B & The Mighty Mic Masters- Coolin’ On The Ave
• The Rangers- I’m Hot
• Boogie Boys- KMD Step Off
• MC Sugar Ray & Stranger D- Knock ‘Em Out Sugar Ray
• Kid Flash- Ain’t Nothin’ But A Party
• King Dee & The Bishop- What’s Your Opinion?
• Deuces Wild- Five Times The Rhymer
• TDS Mob- Dope For The Folks
• Stezo- To The Max (Remaxed)
• Big Daddy Kane- Ain’t No Half Steppin’
• Massive Attack- Any Love (Remix)
• The Fed- Freestyle
• Sindecut- Sindecut’s Kickin’ Yeah
• The Scam- Scamgroove
• Too Kool Posse- Give ‘Em A Sample
• Kings Of Swing- Nod Your Head To This (Audio Two Remix)
• Extra Curricular- Go With The Flow
• B Boys- 2,3 Break
• Twista- No Peace Sign (Kutmaster Kurt Remix)
• MC Mello- Wize
• Freestyle Fellowship- Hot Potato
• Jungle Brothers- Good Ole Hype Shit
• Ultramagnetic MCs- Feelin’ It
• MC Lyte- Start It Up Y’all
• Blvd Mosse- Move To Somethin’ Funky
• Lakim Shabazz- Hands Of Fate
• MC Player- Rhyming Rampage
• Father MC & The 1st Fleet Crew- Father MC Going Ill
• A.O.K- Shack It Up
• Divine Styler- Ain’t Sayin’ Nothin’
• E & J- Lyrically Insane
• Rhamel- Power
• 24-7 Posse- We Ain’t Playing
• Tuff Crew- She Rides The Pony (Remix)
• Unique- Axe Maniac

The Skuff And Inja Show

If you're a fan of hip hop from the UK you have probably heard of Skuff and Inja, two of the members of Cambridge based crew Delegates of Culture. What you might not realise is that they've just released an album that I reckon will be up there with my favourites of the year.



You can check out exactly what I mean by clicking on the play button just above these very words. Assuming you like what you hear (and I'm willing to bet you will) you can purchase a CD or download from Suspect Packages, or go to THIS page to download it directly for the price of your choice (there is a minimum, these boys know how cheap people are given the chance!).

On a related note you can also go HERE to stream the crew album from last year, and for a few more of your finest pounds sterling you can download that to keep forever and ever as well. Go for it, you know you want to.

eLZhi - The Leftovers Unmixed Tape

eLZhi should need no introduction, from his participation in some classic Slum Village albums through to his collaborations with more recent stars of the Detroit scene like Guilty Simpson and Black Milk.

The Leftovers UnMixedtape is exactly what it sounds like: A compilation of one of the game's most talented Emcee's unreleased and featured works. Whether it's a promo joint from a few months back (eLZhi and Black Milk - Deep), a feature from another artist's project (Danny Brown - Contra feat. eLZhi), or just a rare gem from years past (eLZhi and DJ Dez - Living), these Leftovers would have passed for a fresh cooked meal if you didn't know better. It's raw, uncut, unmastered, fresh from the studio and ready for your ears. No DJs, just eLZhi and his comrades, your speakers and you. Without the Leftovers UnMixedtape, most of these songs would never have seen the light of day, so consider this a gift, and come get your grub on!

You can stream the whole thing right here (just click next to scroll though the tracks) or you can go to this page to get the option of downloading the whole thing in the format of your choice for free.

Tom Caruana Presents Wu Tang Vs The Beatles

These "theme" projects can vary wildly from pretty shoddy to working well, and I'm pleased to be able to say that this one is definitely near the top end of that scale. Put together by Tom Caruana who runs his own label/site Tea Sea Records, anyone who has more than a passing interest in the UK scene will have heard one or more of the heavy beats he puts out.

Check the label site to preview some of the other product coming/already out, and check the link below to stream this project or download in a variety of formats.

HERE

DJ Dylemma & DJ Sav One - Coming up in '09

As soon as I post one mix showcasing the best of '09 hip hop another one comes along, proving that there is still plenty of quality material out there. There is some common ground in terms of artists featured but J-Live definitely ventured into the mainstream while these guys keep it underground.

DJ Sav One and DJ Dylemma put this together, and it seems fairly representative of the other subject matter over at The Underground Come-Up which has plenty of other stuff worth checking out.

See below for an idea of the sort of artists featured here, and download the mix HERE to hear just how healthy the underground scene still is.

DJ J-Live - Do The Knowledge Vol. 1 (The Late Pass)

It's easy to forget that the multi talented J-Live is a skilled DJ as well as rapping and producing on all of his own releases. The picture above is actually from The Source when he was identified in the famous Unsigned Hype column as one to watch way back in 1995.

He has put together a mix of recent hip hop to show all the naysayers that there is quality material coming out on a regular basis. In his own words:

Basically, I got tired of hearing a lot of people say stuff like, "there's nothing new out" or "hip hop is wack now". Upon hearing this I usually run down a list of names of new artists and even old artists with new albums and ask if they've heard of'em. Nope! These people have no idea. There's a lot of good new hip hop. You just have to do the knowledge and keep your ears open. These are some of my favorites from 2009 alone. Enjoy!

I agree with his sentiments absolutely and often have similar conversations with people, the main difference is he actually did something about it! The mix can be downloaded from the link below in the format of your choosing, and I highly recommend doing so as soon as possible so that you too can "do the knowledge".

DOWNLOAD HERE

Tracklist:

• J-Live ~ DTK Intro 01:39
• Jay Electronica ~ Exhibit A (Transformations) 02:28
• Skyzoo ~ Return Of The Real 02:05
• Royce da 5’9” f / Bun B & Joel Ortiz ~ Hood Love 03:14
• Wale ~ Mama Told Me 01:35
• Marco Polo & Torae ~ Word Play 02:24
• Senor Kaos ~ Automatic Classic Remix 02:30
• Mos Def ~ Priority 01:13
• Mr Lif & Bahamadia ~ Breathe 02:58
• OC & AG ~ Give It Back 03:05
• Nipsey Hussle f/ Snoop Dogg ~ The Life 02:14
• Edo. G & Masta Ace f/ Pos ~ Good Music 02:52
• DJ Spinna f/ Fresh Daily, P.Casso & Homeboy Sandman ~ Get On Down 04:09
• Tanya Morgan f/ Blu ~ Morgan Blu 02:40
• Zion I f/ Brother Ali ~ Caged Bird Pt. 1 02:03
• Jay Are ~ The Lee Morgan Story 02:03
• Chali 2na f/ Elzhi of Slum Village ~ When Will I See You Again 02:46
• Jay Z f/ Luke Steele ~ What We Talkin’ About 02:31
• Raekwon F/ Ghostface Killah & Cappadonna ~ 10 Bricks 02:52
• Daimond District ~ I Mean Business 02:45
• Tiye Phoenix ~ Stop Right There 02:17
• Method Man & Redman f/ Ready Roc & Streetlife ~ How Bout Dat 03:37
• Living Proofe ~ Rise 02:25
• J. Cole ~ Lights Please 02:23
• KRS-One & Buckshot f/ Talib Kweli ~ Oh Really 02:38
• Busta Rhymes f/ Jamie Foxx, Mary J Blige, John Legend & Common ~ Decision 06:19

Some classic posse cuts

This list isn't supposed to be exhaustive, but here are some of my favourite posse cuts of all time. Probably stretched the definition slightly but it's my list so I'll do what I want.

Wax on Traffic Jam

I almost didn't put this up because it feels so old but then maybe you guys don't all spend your time searching Youtube for vids of men rapping in cars.



You can find more info (and further videos etc) on Wax on his website HERE or his Myspace HERE, and buy some music either HERE or HERE.

I was going to leave you to find this most recent video for yourselves but what can I say, I know you need help so here you go.

Camp Lo - Luchini

This is so good I don't need an extra reason to put it up, just enjoy.

Ladies night on Westwood

Bit of an old video but I had to put it up after being reminded of it. Lady Chann and Nolay kill it for me but most of it's worth checking. I believe the phrase is "BARS bruv!".

South Rakkas Crew - free album for download!

South Rakkas Crew are a couple of danehall/electro producers from Florida. They recently remixed a whole Tricky album to great effect, and right now they are giving away their latest offering for free on Mad Decent.

The actual page in question is HERE so go along, follow the instructions and you'll end up with a nice set of 320k mp3s.

The crew are also on Facebook HERE, Twitter HERE, and you can buy music and merchandise from HERE.

Shouts to Loudat for the info as well.

Nocando - free track

Nocando came up through Project Blowed and is a member of a crew called Customer Service. A respected battle/freestyle rapper as well as a solo artist in his own right. His next solo project will be entitled "Jimmy the Lock" and will be released on Alpha Pup Records on January 26th (digitally) and a few weeks later (physical format).

He's leaked a track from the project for free as a little taster and I like it so check it out by right click/saving right HERE.

Mystro on Kiss (MK & Shortee Blitz)

Don't want to go too extra spam-like on the Mystro content but here are a couple of vids I missed just before Christmas. While I'm here I should mention DJGoneTV on Youtube, check it and subscribe for all sorts of UK music updates etc.