SOME STUFFS: DJ Revolution to release “Unearthed” mix album via Coalmine

DJ Revolution will be releasing a new mix album through Coalmine Records, this one called Unearthed and if the track listing is any indication… well, just look at what’ll be on there.

01: Unearthed (Intro)
02: Pharoahe Monch – Get Down (prod. by M-Phazes)
03: Bang This (Interlude)
04: One Dae – Bang This (prod. by Marco Polo)
05: Revolution’s House (Interlude)
06: Big Noyd, Large Professor, Kool G Rap – Naturally Born (prod. by Ayatollah)
07: Blu (feat. MeLa Machinko) – Kiss The Sky (prod. by M-Phazes)
08: Royce da 5’9″, Skillz & Diamond D – One For The Money (prod. by G-Squared)
09: El Da Sensei – Show Stoppa (prod. by DJ Devastate)
10: Apathy & Celph Titled – School for Scoundrels (prod. by Ayatollah)
11: Guilty Simpson & Small Professor (feat. DJ Revolution) – On The Run
12: Drop ‘Em (Intro)
13: The Rockness Monstah – Drop ‘Em (prod. by BeanOne)
14: Rah Digga (feat. Fashawn & REKS) – Never Back Down (prod. by M-Phazes)
15: Torae – Real Talk (prod. by Young Cee)
16: Guilty Simpson & Small Professor (feat. Boldy James & Statik Selektah) – I’m The City
17: The Artifacts – Easter (prod. by Khrysis)
18: Land of the Crooks (Interlude)
20: Sean Price, Billy Danze, Maffew Ragazino & DJ Babu – Land of the Crooks (prod. by M-Phazes)
21: Blu & Nottz (feat. Nitty Scott, MC) – Boyz II Men
21 Most Confident (Interlude)
22: Wildchild & MED – Most Confident (prod. by Create & Devastate)

There will also be bonus cuts on the “‘Untagged Deluxe Edition”:
• Royce da 5’9″, Skillz & Diamond D – One for the Money (Mananz Remix)
• Guilty Simpson & Small Professor – One the Run (Ran Reed Remix)
• Blu & Nottz – Boyz II Men (Diamond D Remix)

The CD will be released on May 13th and you may pre-order it here. Digital downloads will be available two weeks later.

VIDEO: One Dae’s “Bang This”

Director Stevie Tapia put this one together for the hew Marco Polo-produced cut from One Dag, called “Bang This” and upon hearing this, will you be able to bang this proudly? Maybe not that proudly, you don’t want a copy to harass you due to volume but play it nicely and see where its power takes you.

SOME STUFFS: Pharoahe Monch to release new album in April

Tax day in the U.S. is under two months away and while that can be good or bad, it seems to be turning into a great day for new music. Pharoahe Monch is returning to the forefront with P.T.S.D., which stands for “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”, and it will be packed with a lot of special guests, including Black Thought of The Roots, Talib Kweli,and Vernon Reid, plus production from the likes of Quelle Chris, Jesse West, Marco Polo, and Lee Stone. While the press release says Mohch has been “at the forefront of lyrical innovation for two-decades now”, that’s not quite true. We’re talking three decades: 90’s, 00’s, and now in the 10’s, and he’s not about to stop just yet. A song called “Bad MF” has already surfaced, so have a listen to it below.

A U.S. tour will coincide with the album’s release and when those are announced, I’ll post the dates here.

AUDIO: One Dae’s “Daes & Times” (full album stream)

The new album by One Dae is called Daes & Times, released yesterday via Coalmine and if you haven’t heard anything about it, welcome yourself to it. The album features contributions from Domingo, M-Phazes, Marco Polo, Statik Selektah, Evidence, and Sean Price among many, and now you can treat yourself to it in audio form.

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VIDEO: Supastition’s “Yada Yada”

“It’s the return of your recurring nightmare” is how Supastition starts off the very nice “Yada Yada”, but this track is anything but “yada yada” or “blah blah blah”. The song will be on his forthcoming release, The Blackboard EP, which you will be able to access soon through his official Bandcamp page.

VIDEO: Brown Bag All-Stars’ “The Agenda (Marco Polo Remix)”

Brown Bag All-Stars are one of my favorite groups out there, and for awhile it seemed that everyone was not “one for all and all for one”, it became an ego-fest. Now, that’s not to say that the members of Brown Bag All-Stars are not capable of doing things individually, because if you’re a fan, you know they can. However, there’s something about a group unified to create a family vibe, and at times I feel some forms of music need this in their systems.

This is the Marco Polo remix of “The Agenda”, and if you have not made yourself a fan yet, or have seem them mentioned but have no idea who they were/are, press play. May they become one of the more influential hip-hop groups of the 10’s.

REVIEW: Marco Polo & Ruste Juxx’s “The Exxecution”

To say that this album is easily one of the most ruthless hip-hop albums in some time is definitely an understatement. The Exxecution (Duck Down) is definitely killing anything and everything that dares to call itself rap music in 201 when it isn’t, so what Marco Polo and Ruste Juxx are going are just putting them in line, and one by one putting them in a dark room so that they can be cut up by surprise. No means of escape,this music is meant to be pleasurable torture, music you wanted your grandma to fear, not something you’d find her dancing to at the club. This isn’t so much the “real” hip-hop that for naysayers might be a cliche, but it is very much quality hip-hop, just like mom used to make, bake, and seal in tight baggies.

The songs on here are incredible, with “Death Penalty” sounding like you’re going to war on the streets of war pre-Disney takeover, while Rock‘s verse on “Take Money” shows that unity in sound can be had and handled if you know how to do it well. Marco Polo’s beats range from the modern styles with a grimey feel, to the old heavy funk of the mid-90’s when obscure samples were a badge of pride. When Sean Price drops his genius in “Fuckin’ Wit A Gangsta”, he’s speaking for all hip-hop heads, the overly protective ones who simply want the good shit because they know what they speak of. When Rakim once said “no mistakes allowed”, he spoke about all aspects of life. The Exxecution is an album that takes value in its mistakes and flaws, this is that album that fans will take pride in because it’s music with power, style, and character.

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SOME STUFFS: D-Sisive dares you take a sip… of his new album

As people are getting ready to celebrate the holiday season, D-Sisive is offering something else for consumption in the form of a drink. He has the sugar packets and the sugar, and perhaps the right type of water to make his drink effective. But how effective is it, and will you be brave enough to take a drink, knowing what has happened before?

He makes a bold move with the release of his brand new album called Jonestown (URBNet), which he’s making available as a free download on his website at D-Sisive.com right now. The album is said to be a throwback to what D-Sisive was known for in the 90’s, with productions from Moss, Anonymous Twist, Muneshine, Murr, Marco Polo, 9th Uno, and Shinogo.

I guess the real question is, what does Jonestown have to do with things? What exactly is the juice his fans will be consuming, or is it a metaphor for hip-hop, and what people have been drinking foolishly for the last ten years? Get your cups ready.

(Mahalo nui to D-Sisive himself for the correction on the release date. If you are in Toronto, there will be an album release party (a “massacre” if you will) on Thursday, November 26th at The Drake Underground (1150 Queen Street W.) in Toronto. $5 at the door, 19 and older. Doors open at 9pm, show scheduled to start at 10pm.)

REVIEW: Marco Polo & Torae’s Double Barrel

When I saw the title for this album, the first words I thought of were “I… am the magnificent”. But are Marco Polo & Torae subliminally saying they too are magnificent? No need to hide behind a guise, for this hip-hop duo are definitely going to make a name for themselves in a positive way.

Double Barrel (Duck Down) is an album that delivers both lyrically and musically, and I say that especially in 2009 since a lot of times a hip-hop album shows a lot of promise and things are a bit lopsided. This is a nicely balanced, album, not a “perfect balance” but I don’t want to boost the ego of the songs and have people think “wow, is this the renaissance?” Yet in a small way, it is a throwback to a golden era even though it doesn’t specifically sound like one specific era. It has that boom bap, it has that rah rah, but Torae is an MC who thinks about what he has to say, or at least he puts some serious thought into his lyrics, it’s not a sloppy bit of “yes yes y’all, and you don’t stop”. Not once are listeners going to say “stop that already, I heard it countless times before”, although the familiarity of his flows only mean that one is comfortable with his execution.

As for Marco Polo, this guy is going to take off in the same way The Alchemist and Jake One have in recent years. It’s not an album where the MC goes into his lyrics toybag, because Marco Polo wants to play too. It’s chops, it’s slices, it’s a puzzle and he does it in a way that at least made me go “yes, this is how you pull it off” because he’s cutting up various records, pieces them together as if various MC’s are right there in the studio. It’s a tribute to the punch they offered before, and it honors a music that still can give you a couple back slaps at any given time when it feels it’s the right time to do so. The back slaps are long overdue, and this is a group that knows the power of a good fwack.