The BET Hip-Hop Awards finally aired earlier tonight, and while I personally am not a huge fan of the show, there’s one segment that I eagerly anticipate every year: The Cyphers. The Cyphers are really where the event truly shines, bringing together some of the most talented emcees in the game, underground and mainstream. This year’s lineup is certainly a formidable one, featuring the likes of TDE, A$AP Mob, Slaughterhouse, Action Bronson, Travi$ Scott, Rittz, Jon Connor, and even some jokes courtesy of J.B. Smoove, Kevin Hart, and Nick Cannon. Check out the cyphers below, and let us know who you think went in the hardest (we’re guessing the popular answer will be Kendrick Lamar).
Top Dawg Entertainment (ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, Kendrick Lamar)
We’ve already professed our love for Chicago’s hip-hop scene countless times over, but we’ll do it once again here. You’d be hard pressed to find a place in the world right now that’s doing it better than the Windy City. Today, we proudly present to you INNANETAPE, the debut solo project from SAVEMONEY affiliate, Vic Mensa. The highly anticipated mixtape represents the perfect opportunity for the former Kids These Days frontman to flaunt his skills on the mic, and prove why he’s primed for a breakout just like his homie, Chance The Rapper. The 14-track tape features Mensa showcasing his headlong flow and eccentric punchlines alongside such names as Chance (obviously), JoeyPurp, BJTheChicagoKid, Ab-Soul, RockieFresh, Hit-Boy,Thundercat and many many more. Check out a few standout tracks below, and make sure to download the full tape when you’re done.
This week hasn’t been very kind to me folks. From nagging injuries to a nasty lingering cold, I’ve spent most of my week resigned indoors as I try to recover. Despite all of those hurdles though, I’ve managed to push through to bring you all the tenth edition of the Hip-Hop Dojo. Last week was all about introducing you guys to new artists, and while we do have a few fresh names around here again, you should be familiar with a majority of the lot. I won’t be able to elaborate on every track today, but I would like to point out some of the standout material from this week’s collection. We just hope this playlist can serve as a nice break from the Arrested Development marathon we all know you’re currently having.
We start things of with New Jersey native MoRuf, a recent college graduate who decided to celebrate by crafting a song about it. Looking forward to the road ahead, Mo hopes to dodge some stormy weather as he seeks the clear path towards success. Next up to the plate is DevineCarama who hopes to enlighten his listeners through his lyrics and his flow. Da YoungFellaz hope to take us on a trip to “New Rich City” with their latest effort. This marks the second straight week that the duo has been featured in the Dojo, and we hope that streak continues going forward. Our fourth selection reminds us of a lesson Bay Area emcee A-1 taught us a few weeks back. On “Funeral Season” Statik and crew provide us with a few more details about the spike in violence that occurs during the hot summer months. BunB and Hit-Boy in particular come through with some surprisingly stellar verses.
A good chunk of this week’s compilation comes to us from Chicago. In fact, two of the best works lyrically are featured back to back: the first one being F.Stokes‘ “1954” and the second being Psalm One‘s “Queen Until.” We also can’t ignore our newest piece from the SAVEMONEY clique. The ensemble provides us with bars for days as they absolutely tear through the seven minute remix of Giftz’s “Nino.” Another phenomenal number comes to us from Waldo who “Finally” makes his Hip-Hop Dojo premiere. The Michigan emcee certainly impresses on the mic as he spits over a lush, atmospheric instrumental from Sango. Our final offering from Chitown comes courtesy of Julian Malone, who preps us for the release of his upcoming Diff.Rnt mixtape with the first single, “Tokyo.”
Tate Tucker‘s “Fire” wins the title of smoothest track of the week, but Bas‘ “Lit” might be a close second. Featuring a sample of Miguel‘s “Do You” and an excellent guest verse from J. Cole, “Lit” definitely stands out as one of the top tracks to drop this week (seriously, I can’t emphasize enough how clutch that Cole feature is). Interpolating the chorus of the Fresh Princeclassic, Blu wants to remind us exactly what time it is (even if it might not feel that way in certain parts of the country) on “Summer Time.”
Now I don’t normally feature freestyles on here, but there’s something about Drake‘s “5 AM In Toronto” that brings the best out of every emcee that touches it. A few weeks ago we shared JoellOrtiz‘s rendition of “5 AM In Brooklyn,” and today we bring you Voli‘s “5 AM.” The Jersey representative definitely brings his A-game as he steps up to the mic on this one. When you first press play on Lecrae‘s “Round of Applause” it might sound like your average trap banger, but if you pay close attention to the lyrics, you’ll realize the true message behind the song. The track is all about emerging from the stereotypes that many of these rappers fall victim to, and proving that it’s possible to be successful through hard work and education. That provides a perfect segue to our next selection, as Goodie Mob attempts to provide us with “Special Education” of their own. Featuring the vocal stylings of Janelle Monáe, the newest single from the legendary quartet is sure to make your headphones explode with its whirring, hard-hitting instrumental. The track also proves that Cee Lo can still rap his ass off, as he completely demolishes the beat with his tremendous wordplay.
Snow Tha Product is the only artist to be featured twice this week, and for good reason. If you don’t know about Snow yet, it’s still not too late to jump on her bandwagon. The Mexican-American emcee absolutely bodies tracks with her rapid-fire flow, proving she can hold her own on both “On. Now” featuring Trae Tha Truth and “Cali Luv,” a record produced by The Cataracs that includes a sample of Tupac‘s classic “California Love.” The next selection I’d like to highlight is from Travi$ Scott. Kanye’s latest protégé recently released his Owl Pharoahmixtape, and this particular track was too good to pass up. “Dance on the Moon” has a very KidCudi-esque vibe to it, mostly thanks to TheophilusLondon‘s vocals on the chorus. The final track on our playlist might be the most upbeat (and the most random) of them all. Featuring the unlikely pairing of 2 Chainz and Macklemore, Clinton Sparks brings us an energetic number all about chasing paper and having a generally good time.All in all, it’s a perfect way to wrap things up.
We hope you guys enjoyed our tenth edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo as much as we did! As always, you can send all of your submissions/suggestions to baseer@themusicninja.com.
(As a bonus, I wanted to direction your attention to a fun little video I’ve included below. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will always have a special place in the hearts of all hip-hop fans, so I feel it’s my duty to alert you of any mini-reunions of the show’s cast.)
Rocko‘s “U.O.E.N.O.” has been one of the hottest singles of 2013, garnering remixes from Rick Ross, A$AP Rocky, 2 Chainz, WizKhalifa, and even Usher. Given that information, you know it was only time before the hottest collective in the game, Black Hippy, lent their talents to the Childish Major produced instrumental. In promotion of KendrickLamar‘s good kid m.A.A.d city world tour, the group put together a nice little video to let us know the importance of ordering tickets as early as possible. After about a minute of fooling around with MacMiller though, the group blesses us with this little ditty right here. All four emcees sound right at home over the spacey backdrop, making it tough to figure out who killed it best. How would you rank their verses? Check out the stream above and let us know your thoughts about this trippy remix.
As we’ve touched on before, Chicago has been a mecca for extraordinary young talent in hip-hop recently. While Chitown has always has always had representation from some of the hottest lyricists in the game, the city’s been yearning for its next big star. We may have found the answer in Chance The Rapper. After months of anticipation, we finally have our hands on Acid Rap, the follow-up to last year’s debut mixtape, 10 Day. It’s remarkable to see how far Chance has come in just one year. His flow is still whimsical and melodic, and his rhymes are as witty as ever, yet it’s evident through his music that Chance has definitely matured. He’s also accrued a couple of nice cosigns since we last heard from him, including the likes of ActionBronson, ChildishGambino, Ab-Soul and Twista. Take this “chance” to check out a few of the standout tracks below, and make sure to give your blessing by downloading the tape here.
West coast emcee Ab-Soul has been on his grind lately with some dope new material. Taking to the inter webs today, he drops off a new musical gem titled “The End is Near”. Over this Larry Fisherman production, Soul delivers some intricate and thought provoking rhymes that will definitely have you hitting the replay button to process what he is exactly talking about. Bringing in Mac Miller for a quick but subtle verse, this TDE chill track has a hint of nostalgic old school rap.
What up y’all? The Hip-Hop Dojo is back for round 3 and ready to bring you an onslaught of new hip-hop music. This week was dominated by Harry Fraud and Peter Rosenberg. With Rosenberg dropping his New York Renaissance mixtape today, we were provided with a slew of great releases from some of The Big Apple’s best and brightest young emcees. The intro to the tape, is also the first collaboration between Joey Bada$$ and Harry Fraud. “Day In The Life” showcases that throwback flow that Joey and his Pro Era crew have been perfecting since they first entered the game. On the next track from the compilation, Queens collective, World’s Fair, revive the gritty spirit of the ’96 Knicks, harkening back to the heated rivalry between two of the NBA’s toughest squads of the late 90’s. The last single from the tape is Action Bronson‘s “Compliments 2 The Chef” where he spits a few bars about his favorite subject: exquisite food. Anyone else think a remix with Raekwon is in order for this one?
Speaking of New York, we’ve included a nice little project from Jay Shell that all you hip-hop heads will definitely enjoy. Taking quotes from various rap songs about specific spots in NYC, Jay Shell then posted those quotes as signs around the city in the exact locations mentioned. It’s a pretty neat idea that really connects you with the artists and the meaning behind their lyrics. Check out the video after the playlist.
Before we even get to New York though, we have to travel through Chicago. While Martin $ky tries to capture his memories in the form of a “Polaroid,” SaveMoney‘s Sterling Hayes recruits D2G and Kembe X to reflect on some of their own. We then take a brief detour to the Southwest, to visit a “Church” in “West Texas” as Austin native M.I and Blu reveal their struggles with faith. Next up, we have a great new track from California’s AudioPush, who sample the most badass quote of all time, from the greatest show on television, Breaking Bad.
Our next two tracks may have the illest beats to be featured on here this week. The first of these comes in the form of Smith‘s “Don Sh*t”. Smith, who may want to consider using with a more distinctive moniker, absolutely murders the Woodro Skillson (now that’s an awesome name) produced cut alongside Maffew Ragazino. Following that up, we have a dope, chilled-out track from Al-Fatir , where he describes to us the life of a “Man From The Sky.” We also have “Bubble Gum Blues,” a Mac Miller produced cut that features Top Dawg’s Ab-Soul trading bars with Young Money’s Short Dawg. Making his third appearance in the Dojo, is King Chip, with the grimy new track, “Heinous.” At this point, we might as well just give him a key to the building. We’ll have to see if he keeps his streak going next week.
As we approach the home stretch, we decided to take a turn a more “fun” approach towards the remainder of our selections. Wale‘s freestyle over the group’s “Sight of the Sun” definitely fits the bill, and is a refreshing break from the MMG dynamic we’ve been hearing from the DMV native lately. Sol‘s “Dope” is a light and airy track that definitely lives up to its name. Next up, we have Outasight‘s “Remember Me” which is a smooth leftover from his debut album, Nights Like These. Finally, we wrap things up with a two-for-one with Honors English‘s “Insanity Plea Pt. 1 & 2.” Honors English describes life as an artist with integrity and consequently, an outsider looking in. What originally sold me on the track is the incredible lyrics video, which is definitely a must watch.
I hope you guys enjoyed the third edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo. As always, send all submissions and suggestions over to baseer@themusicninja.com.
