As with any music festival, after Lollapalooza is over, it always takes us a few days to digest everything and snap back to reality. For locals, the festival serves as a three day escape within our own city. For outsiders, it provides them with a completely unique way to experience Chicago. The magic of Lollapalooza is simply unmatched, and despite a weather scare on the final day, Lollapalooza 2015 turned out to be just as memorable as years past. On the next few pages we’ve broken down some of our lasting impressions from Lolla.
[Hip-Hop] Logic – Alright (Feat. Big Sean)
Alright (Prod. By Tae Beast)
While Logic has amassed a pretty large following over the last few years, he still hasn’t had that breakthrough hit to propel himself into the mainstream conversation just yet. However, this new single with Big Sean could finally be just the push that he needs. “Alright” is way more than just that, as the Def Jam signee spits a few mind numbing verses alongside the poised G.O.O.D. Music representative. The two emcees have somewhat contrasting styles, yet both sound comfortable over the mellow Tae Beast produced instrumental. With his EP While You Wait on the horizon, it seems only a matter of time before the Maryland native becomes a household name. Stream the single above, and stay tuned for more from the talented lyricist as we head towards summer.
The Hip-Hop Dojo [Vol. 6]
Sorry for the delay this week folks. I had some unforeseen issues with my computer, which had me out of service for a few days. No need to worry though, because the Hip-Hop Dojo still lives on stronger than ever. To compensate for my tardiness, I’ve assembled the largest collection of music we’ve ever had for volume six. While I won’t be able to go into too much detail for this round, please note that there’s something here for everybody. Considering that last Saturday was 4/20, you know we definitely have a steady lineup of stoner anthems for you out there. From Odd Future’s Domo Genesis to longtime cardholder Redman, everybody was caught discussing the notorious green bud last weekend. We’ve also got a couple of bangers in here as well, with “94” by Kings Dead (formerly known as The Dean’s List) possibly being the standout track of the week. Additionally, quite a few artists make multiple appearances in this edition. Among them are notable names like Mac Miller, Kami de Chukwu, Los, and The White Mandingos, an alternative hip-hop band featuring the talents of Murs, Darryl Jennifer and Sacha Jenkins. Hope you guys really enjoy this edition of the Hip-Hop Dojo. As always, send all submissions and suggestions to baseer@themusicninja.com. Peace.
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Bishop’
Details & Track!’
The Hip-Hop Dojo [Vol. 5]
You know what time it is, folks. The Hip-Hop Dojo is back for its fifth installment. Typically, we try to separate the playlist based on certain themes or sounds, but this week’s crop is our largest and most unique ever, making it tough to group everything together, but we tried our best. There is one pervasive idea that seems to shine throughout a majority of this playlist though, which is “keeping it real.”
This week’s edition is a revival of sorts, featuring plenty of industry veterans, and a few names you probably haven’t heard in quite awhile. We start things off with De La Soul, fresh off a 10 year hiatus to provide the game with some toughness once again. Channeling the “Spirit of the Wu,” the trio show us they haven’t lost a step as they go in over a sample of the “Intro” from Wu-Tang Forever. While De La Soul represents the Wu in spirit, Raekwon represents them for real on Statik Selektah‘s new single, “Bird’s Eye View.” Along with fast-rising youngster Joey Bada$$, and the criminally underrated Black Thought, the Chef and crew absolutely merk the soulful instrumental as they give us an idea of the view from above. Next up, we listen as another holdover from the 90’s, DJ Premier, pays homage to his Gang Starr running mate, Guru, alongside the great Talib Kweli and producer Marco Polo. Our next few songs carry on with the 90’s vibes. Honestly, the only way you can tell these piano-backed tracks are from 2013 is by their pop culture references.
Now, our next track might seem a bit controversial to some of you out there. I don’t normally endorse rappers spitting over classic instrumentals, but XXL Freshman, Logic, shows us he’s more than worthy of his new title over Outkast‘s “Ms. Jackson.” I’m still having a hard time trying to resist belting out the chorus whenever I listen to it though. Moving on, we have a previously unreleased joint from the late, great J Dilla, set to be featured on his posthumous album, The Diary. Dilla takes a sample of 80’s record cars “Cars” by Gary Numan, and completely flips on its head, glorifying “big ass trucks and big ass rims.”
Our next three tracks feature pairs of emcees trading bars back and forth. While The MyNORS kick it old school, MMG’s Rockie Fresh and Rick Ross give us a little taste for “Panera Bread” over some stellar production from Lunice of TNGHT. Following those acts up are MAHD and JD Era, two emcees who absolutely shred the beats given to them. Linking up on our next number are two former G-Unit labelmates, Havoc and Lloyd Banks, who give us some insight on the life they chose for themselves.
Coming to you for his second appearance in the Dojo is Texan spitter, M.I who brings along a new friend you may already be familiar with, Chamillionaire. Although the Houston native hasn’t been entirely relevant in recent years, he reminds us all why we fell in love with his music years ago, delivering a killer verse on what may be the standout track on this playlist. We then shift things over to Dade County to visit talented young emcee, Denzel Curry. While the title “N64” makes it sound like it should be a fun track, Curry is doing anything but playing around here. Over some dusky, ominous production, Denzel “Aquarius’Killa” Curry tackles the issue of gun violence, and sheds the spotlight back on the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. On a related note, Doley Bernays also dedicates his newest single to the subject of violence, but chooses to enlighten us from a different perspective. Sampling the Deadmau5 single of the same name, Bernays and running mate Denzil Porter discuss the difficulties of choosing between a life on the streets and pursuing their dreams as emcees. Check out the recently released visuals for the track to garner the full effect.
As we approach the finish line, we decided to cool things down a bit. While none of these are quite 4/20 worthy material, they’ll definitely help you mellow out after some of those more serious numbers. The first joint comes to us from across the “Ocean,” as UK spitter Paper Plates shows that he certainly can hold his own against the American boys. The next track I’d like to highlight is Sound FX‘s “Apathy,” a song which is guaranteed to lift all your worries away as the California natives spit over a light, airy backdrop. Now, before you Charles Hamilton fans get too excited about a comeback (I know there’s still some of you lingering out there), I’d like to warn you that this final track is actually an unreleased collaboration from a few years back. XV recently decided to remaster and re-release his previous four mixtapes, including four new unheard tracks from each recording session. If you’re a fan of Vizzy and want to polish up your library, it’s definitely worth at least a look.
We hope you guys enjoyed our fifth edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo as much as we did. As always, send all submissions/suggestions to baseer@themusicninja.com.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL THE FREE TRACKS
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Marz Barz (Freestyle)’
[Hip/Hop] Logic – We get High
Logic deserves more credit than he gets. The talented emcee from Maryland draws inspiration from past experiences and the struggles of life, with a hopeful and positive outlook. And sure, many rappers today are doing the same, what is so different? The attitude. With every verse and every rhyme is more of a coming of age effort and less about trying to be famous. Consequently, the story telling is raw and unfiltered.
In an interview with Sunset In The Rear View, he contributes his success to his team:
And it is that kind of inclusive attitude that separates him from the rest. It is not an egotistical trip of him telling the world he is better than everyone else, a theme mostly found in mainstream rap today.
Last month Logic released his latest mixtape, Young Sinitra: Undeniable. Here is a couple of tracks we handpicked and we want his music to speak for himself, and you can download the entire mixtape here.
[Hip-Hop] Logic – Tic Tac Toe
One of the latest talents in rap, Logic, is set to drop his next mixtape ‘Young Sinatra: Undeniable’ soon, and new track ‘Tic Tac Toe’ is a step towards to the mainstream. With powerful beats and and intense flow, this has massive potential and should be on every club playlist within a couple of weeks. Expect a release date for ‘Young Sinatra: Undeniable’ shortly.
Tic Tac Toe’