Scrunchy Face Alert: Nas x Salaam Remi – The Don (Listen/Download)

March 16, 2012 Listen
Scrunchy Face Alert: Nas x Salaam Remi – The Don (Listen/Download)

Nas is home. When the Queens native chooses good beats he’s damn near unstoppable — and this Salaam Remi produced joint is a great example of that. Nas is as good as ever. Most impressive? Nas is about to release his 10th album and none of the rhymes here sound tired or recycled. Listen/Download: Nas [...]

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Quantic & Alice Russell with the Combo Barbaro – Look Around The Corner

March 15, 2012 Listen
Quantic & Alice Russell with the Combo Barbaro – Look Around The Corner

A shout from across the pond: Quantic (who’s been a favorite of mine of late) the UK producer/multi-instrumentalist has teamed up with the wonderfully talented and perhaps under-rated vocalist Alice Russel on a new LP, Look Around The Corner. It’s set to drop stateside on April 3rd on Tru Thoughts, and I could not recommend [...]

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Lioness – Rest Assured

February 8, 2012 Featured
Lioness – Rest Assured

Another band from the streets of Wild Wes Lioness (formerly Linus) is back with a new single (and some dope artwork). Wait till the Pitchfork crowd gets word of these guys. A nice change of pace from the regular TNC offering. Enjoy, brethren. Rest Assured by Lioness Related Posts:Where They’ve Been: Santigold Retrospective from Mass [...]

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Brother Ali – Sweet Potato Pie

January 10, 2012 Listen
Brother Ali – Sweet Potato Pie

Brother Ali just threw himself into some rap beef – but in typical Ali fashion, he just made everybody smile. For those of you who didn’t know (which included yours truly), Common and Drake have been having quite the back and forth, with Common calling out Drake, essentially, as too emotional. Brother Ali saw this [...]

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Robert Glasper Experiment – Afro Blue feat. Erykah Badu

January 8, 2012 Listen
Robert Glasper Experiment – Afro Blue feat. Erykah Badu

The Robert Glasper Experiment is back with a sharp  new cover of “Afro Blue,” with help from none other than neo soul royalty Erykah Badu.  The first single off of the band’s forthcoming release, Black Radio, Glasper and his team (drummer Chris Dave, bassist Derrick Hodge, and sax player Casey Benjamin) slip a shot of [...]

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Song of the Day: Gotan Project – La Vigüela

January 7, 2012 Listen
Song of the Day: Gotan Project – La Vigüela

The Paris-based trio Gotan Project has been combining tango and sample-based hip-hop for more than ten years. There’s no shortage of drama in their music, and this track “La Vigüela”, the third single off their 2006 LP Lunatico, is no exception to the rule. Enjoy. Listen/Download: Gotan Project – La Vigüela Related Posts:Entourage Picks Up [...]

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The Kid Daytona & Aloe Blacc – New Yorker’s Ambition

January 6, 2012 Listen
The Kid Daytona & Aloe Blacc – New Yorker’s Ambition

Unlike a lot of tracks I listen to which become favorites over time, “New Yorker’s Ambition” the team effort from Aloe Blacc and the homie The Kid Daytona struck a (beautiful) chord with me immediately the first time I heard it on Daytona’s Interlude mixtape. Apparently, while I was gone LRG (who sponsored the tape) [...]

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Listen: Blockhead x illogic – Anomoly

December 24, 2011 Listen
Listen: Blockhead x illogic – Anomoly

Blockhead! Yes! We all need more Blockhead. Perhaps best known for his production work for Aesop Rock, Blockhead is a moving and remarkable artist on his own. His solo instrumental album Music by Cavelight is a critically acclaimed masterpiece in the dungeon of underground hip-hop writers (also — and this is really important here people — [...]

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Listen/Look: Alekesam – It’s Not You, It’s Here

December 23, 2011 Listen
Listen/Look: Alekesam – It’s Not You, It’s Here

ALEKESAM – “It’s Not You It’s Here” from Alekesam on Vimeo. Alekesam, the band/person/thing with a very limited biography (“a black cowboy riding a dolphin, shoveling sunshine!”) but who are apparently from Venice Beach and received some shine from Entourage recently released visuals for their track “It’s Not You, It’s Here”. It’s ambient pop for [...]

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Grammy’s & Hyundai Present Re:Generation featuring DJ Premier, Pretty Lights & The Doors

December 3, 2011 Listen

Usually the videos that pop-up at the top of YouTube are spammy and boring, but this morning I was greeted by a list of names that included DJ Premier, Pretty Lights, The Doors and more. In partnership with the Grammy’s, Hyundai has put together a documentary that follows several musicians in their quest to re-interpret [...]

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