FREE MP3 DL: “An Adventure To Pepperland Through Rhyme & Space”

If you read the title and know what Pepperland refers to, then you know it most likely has to do with The Beatles, and it does. Now you look at the graphic and are saying “but wait, I see Ol’ Dirty Bastard here. What’s going on?” In this case, it’s a remix project where Beatles samples were used to create new instrumentals for hip-hop songs. Look at all of the people who are on it, it’s insane. Here’s the track listing:
Part 1
Intro
Hello Hello – Edan
Mr Mustard – Big Daddy Kane
Second To None – Rakim
Taxman – The Notorius B.I.G.
Gentle Thief – Nas
Where I’m From – Large Professor
Country Grammar – Talib Kweli & Bun B
Parlay – J-Live
Twist – Salt-N-Pepper
Birthday Dedication – Busta Rhymes
Open Mic Session pt. 1 – Masta Ace, Percee P, Lord Finesse, Frankie Cutlass, Easy Mo Bee & KRS-One
Number Nine – YZ
Self Titled – Heltah Skeltah
Bang Bang – MOP
Pepper – Kool G Rap
Bring Your Friends – Public Enemy
Interlude / Bridge – MC Shan
Last Forever – Artifacts
For The Children – Freddie Foxxx
Ringo’s Big Beat Theme – Spoonie Gee
Hold Poppa’s Large Hand – Ultramagnetic MC’s
Open Mic Session pt. 2 – Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane & Rakim
The End – Run DMC & Afrika Bambaataa
Circles – Wu-Tang Clan
Brooklyn Walrus – Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Buckshot , Masta Ace & Special Ed
Part 2
Intro
Secrets – Slick Rick
Beneath The Diamond Sky – The Genius/GZA
Within Tomorrow – Busta Rhymes
The Beginning – Sunz Of Man
Gentle Drama – The RZA & Rugged Monk
Becausizm – KRS-One & Channel Live
Mary Jane – Tha Alkaholiks
Bong Water – Viktor Vaughn
Hold On
Love In Summertime – Ghostface Killah & Beyonce
And I Lover Her Crazy – Jay-Z & Beyonce
Ruffneck Soldier – MC Lyte
Hey! – Beastie Boys
Get Back To The City – Large Professor
Hard To Leave Home – Nas
The Flyest – AZ
And Who? – Heiroglyphics
Lonely Thoughts – The Notorious B.I.G.
Can You Dig It? – Gravediggaz
How To Smile – 2Pac & Scarface
A Day In New York – AZ, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah

Stream it in full above or if you just want to download it and carry it with you on your travels, head to MonkeyBoxing.com.

VIDEO: Innocent? featuring The Rockness Monstah’s “Say Cheeze”

The video has a 1:30 intro before the song kicks in, and the intro sounds sonically better than the actual song (sounds like it was mixed in monaural or “narrow stereo”), but despite this, I’m going to present to you a new track by Innocent? called “Say Cheeze”, which features The Rockness Monstah, a/k/a Rock of Heltah Skeltah fame, and his part of the song is mindblowing. The song will be on Innocent?’s Love It Or Hate It due out later in the year.

AUDIO: The Rockness Monstah’s “Drop ‘Em”

Hip-hop fans will know him as Rock from Heltah Skeltah, but for this new project, he is The Rockness Monstah. The song will be on the forthcoming Coalmine compilation, Unearthed, and this one defintely digs deep, musically.

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REVIEW: Sean Price’s “Kimbo Price”

Sean Price is really to kick anyone in the jaws without regret, hell you might get hit and not even know what happened to you. Despite the length of the songs (23 in total) on this CD, Kimbo Slice (Duck Down/Fat Beats) may be promoted as a mix tape-type situation but it holds up very well as an album. It’s album length, but these songs come and go without thought and goes right into the next one,a bit like a Monty Python episode. It shows that when you’re able to deliver the goods, you’re also able to change your name throughout your discography. Sean Price states that he would like to be known as “Megasean”, and maybe in a month or two he will switch his name again. The approach here is raw, loose, and as hard as a ruthless street fight. If you listen to this as a traditional album, it may come off as a hip-hop opera. From afar, these songs may not have a cohesive theme, but the overall vibe is one of strength and dominance, that of an MC who someone who is proud to call himself Kimbo Price (Vision/Duck Down). This is that no-nonsense hip-hop shit. I can imagine a few people saying this is nothing but hip-hop for those with short-attention spans, but they’re not listening that closely or deeply.

Rock and Law join up with Sean Price in the bitch ass “Hot”, while St. Maffew‘s appearance in the blues-based “Weed & Hoes” is a celebration of hot bitches and choice pakalolo. “Suicide Door” may begin with a tentative-rock edge, but then the beat kicks in and as Price talks about how he just came out fresh out of his mom’s pussy, he’s figuratively and literally going in deeper. It’s random at times, the way subjects come and go, but as much as it’s not meant to sound like a proper album, it is. It’s what made those old mix tapes of yesteryear so powerful. Now, what makes this different from a younger artist who may do random songs for the sake of being a superstar? Execution and knowledge of what makes a good rap song great. A lot of artists are nothing but mindless blah blah, and Sean Price isn’t mindless, nor delivering any level of blah. In these short-but-sweet songs, he’s on a mission towards releasing yet another album, and yet I wish more artists would treat their mix tape missions thet same way Prince does, because this is a certified winner.

REVIEW: Bekay’s “Hunger Pains”

Brooklyn to Brooklyn, when you can have an artist based from a borough work together with a record label within the same borough, it can be helpful for both parties. Such is the case with Bekay, who is now down with Coalmine Records. Bekay’s own name comes from one of the many nicknames Brooklyn is known as, and if you’re an avid hip-hop fan, you’ve heard of BK from spending time on 106th & Park and maybe the Rawkus 50. But now Bekay is ready to take things to much higher levels with the release of Hunger Pains (Coalmine), and the title explains it all: the man is hungry.

First off, the anger. Some may known him as a battle rhymer, so by doing battle raps one has to ask what is he battling? In one of the tracks he condemns those who feel a need to constantly compare him to Eminem, from the way he flows to the shock value of some of the lyrics. But what does Bekay do? To make a point, he rhymes exactly like Em and does it with a fervor in his voice that you’re wondering if you’re hearing something from Brooklyn or from 8 Mile. That’s the purpose, to strip away the similarities in skintone and make blanket statements based on that.

The rest of the album is a nice attack of the senses, people who love nice rhymes and flows will be comfortable with the way Bekay sounds. In “Bloodsport” he confronts anyone who thinks they can step up to him and cut up Bekay’s shtyles. What is interesting is that he isn’t afraid to be in-your-face, so he’ll be saying words that normally one wouldn’t expect for an MC to say these days. He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t give a fuck what anyone says, but then again, that’s Brooklyn. You’ll hear a sound that is very much not only a Brooklyn thing, but an NY thing, so he goes out of his way to use hip-hop traditions for his own benefit, without taking away anything from who and what came before. The battle rhymes are a nice kick to the teeth, but he’s capable of proper song construction, something some battle rhymers tend to have problems with. Bekay doesn’t. When you also have artists like Heltah Skeltah (in the great “Crazy”), Inspectah Deck, Masta Ace, and R.A. The Rugged Man helping you out, it doesn’t hurt. These guys could easily say “I’m getting money to be on this track, let me rip you open” but it’s not like that, each of the contributors are here to show support and say “now check out Bekay”. It’s a good thing, and Bekay is in full swing.

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REVIEW: DJ Honda’s “IV”

If you’ve been listening to DJ Honda for the last few years, you’d think he was born and raised in the United States with the kind of productions he creates. But he is from Japan and has gained a reputation for making some of the best music that will move any and all crowds. Honda is back with IV, a self-released album that brings a number of MC’s to his world, including Ras Kass, EPMD, Heltah Skeltah, Kool G. Rap, Iriscience, Lord Tariq, and the return of Mos Def, who unites with Honda once again with “Magnetic Arts”.

The album has a classic feel to it, or the way hip-hop is and will always be, it slams in all the right ways and Honda knows how to control his tracks in a confident way. Why this album isn’t on a proper lavel, I do not know, but this should let people know that real hip-hop can be found anywhere, and this time it’s in the land of the rising son.

FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD: Coalmine heads to SXSW and offers “The Southwest Invasion”

Coalmine Records headed down to Austin, Texas for this year’s South By Southwest convention and went there with an intent to invade. Musically, that is. The Southwest Invasion is a compilation/mix CD hosted by Donny Goines and mixed by DJ Dutchmaster, and featuring a wide range of music by artists you should be listening to, including CL Smooth, Heltah Skeltah, Termanology, Bekay ,Khrysis, and many more. Track listing is below, and once you take a look over, you can download the mix CD for free courtesy of Coalmine.

The Southwest Invasion (free MP3 download; 95.6mb)