Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Philly Freezer

Since Jay-Z was clearly the face of the Roc-A-Fella dynasty, a lot of people tend to forget that Freeway produced one of the best albums to come out during that era. Philadelphia Freeway was a heater from start to finish, thanks to his gruff flow along with production from Kanye, Just Blaze, and Bink!. Recently, he released the video for his new single "Let You Know," off his upcoming EP, Freedom of Speech, which is sure to be hot. Check it out...





Bonus: One of the all-time best Roc-A-Fella tracks, "What We Do"

Thursday, May 03, 2012

A New Direction

We've decided to switch things up a bit, here at "From A Young G's Perspective." When you're sitting on a wealth of musical knowledge, it's no fun to keep it to yourself-- you've gotta share it with the people. So, from now on we will be posting everything from Hip Hop to House... just overall great music. 

First up is the new mixtape from British Dubstep DJ, Jakwob. You may have heard his remix of Ellie Goulding's "Starry Eyed," which is a banger. I've been bumping this 24/7 since I downloaded it, especially the spaced out jam, "Slaves." The entire 'tape is pure class, enjoy.





Wednesday, May 02, 2012

In the Studio Pt. 1: Just Blaze Smack DVD Edition

One of the ways I prefer to waste time on Youtube is to search for production videos from my favorite producers. Just Blaze has long been one of such producers, and to me, his sound is Hip Hop in its perfect form. He always keeps the essence of it in place, but makes his music so that is accessible to the casual music fan, as well as the die-hards like myself (case in point: Lord Knows). Back around '05, Just did a demonstation for SMACK DVD-Magazine of his process in the studio, which basically consists of finding a hot sample, adding drums, etc. Obviously there is much more that goes into the process ("by the time I'm finished it'll be a whole different monster"), but you can get the jist of what it's like from the video below...



Monday, April 30, 2012

That's Kinda Awkword



Whenever I see a new joint from Sean Price, I know that I've gotta check it out- the dude always brings it on the mic. As if I needed any more reason to listen to this, it's also worth noting that Harry Fraud, the NY-based producer best known for "Shot Caller," is behind the boards yet again. Even though I've never heard of Awkword, if he continues to release songs like this, I'd be more than happy to keep listening.

"Shot Caller (Remix)"

Below is the video for Awkword's "Bars & Hooks," which is NY music at its finest.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Return of 50 Cent?

50's been awfully quiet of late, probably due to the reported tension between himself and Interscope records. I haven't kept up with this story as much as I should have, but last I heard, 50 was disappointed with the lack of support that he received on his last album Before I Self Destruct. All that aside, he's coming out with a brand new DJ Drama-hosted 'tape called The Lost Tape, which hopefully will be pretty dope. 50 rarely disappoints with mixtapes, especially since he's basically the godfather of them. Below is the first leak, "Remain Calm," which definitely reminds me of the 50 of old.

50 Cent (feat. Snoop Dogg)- "Remain Calm"

Bonus: one of my all-time favorite 50 tracks, "Hustler's Ambition"

Mr. Evans' Most Anticipated Albums of 2012: Live from the Underground

I won't lie, when I first heard about Big K.R.I.T., I completely judged him and figured he was just another Southern Hip Hop "rapper." However, all that changed when I was in the car bumpin' shade45, and "Country Shit (Remix)" came on. I immediately scrunched up my face and mean-mugged uncontrollably for the 4 minutes that ensued. As soon as the DJ said, "that was that brand new Big K.R.I.T., 'Country Shit (Remix)'", I knew I had to investigate. I immediately downloaded his first mixtape "K.R.I.T. Wuz Here," and the mixtape that he had just released at that time, "Return of 4Eva." To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement; K.R.I.T. brought me back to the days of Pimp C, with his funky, yet soulful southern-flavored Hip Hop. K.R.I.T., who is now signed to Def Jam, is due to release his upcoming album Live from the Underground in July. Details have been few and far between, but it's certain that he'll bring the heat.



Album Release Date: Summer 2012

If you haven't heard K.R.I.T.'s newest mixtape, 4Eva N A Day, check it out below.
Big K.R.I.T.- 4Eva N A Day

Friday, April 27, 2012

The People's Champ

If you don't know about D.I.T.C. (otherwise known as Diggin' In The Crates), you need to brush up on your Hip Hop history. Comprised of some of the greatest talent in Hip Hop, including, Showbiz & AG, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Fat Joe, O.C., Buckwild, and Big L, they were probably second only to Wu-Tang, in terms of collective talent. Below, I posted the song "Way of Life," by D.I.T.C., which many of you may recognize. Recently, O.C. released a song "People's Champ," which knocks with a dirty, old-school organ leading the way. The track is off of his new album Trophies, which is entirely produced by Apollo Brown. Check that out below the D.I.T.C. video.








You Best Be On Your A-Game


While I was perusing through 2dopeboyz, which has long been one of my favorite Hip Hop blogs, I stumbled across a video called "Cool Boyz," by a Toronto-based group called A-Game. What really caught my eye was that it was produced by T-Minus, who is one of Drake's go-to producers. T-Minus has crafted some fire beats recently, including, "We'll Be Fine," "Underground Kings," and "Make Me Proud," off of Take Care. This track has his signature sound, and manages to showcase the talented newcomers from Toronto.

An Intro to Flosstradamus


Just recently, a friend of mine introduced me to Flosstradamus- the Chicago DJs signed to A-Trak's Fool's Gold record label. I was impressed with what I heard, but kind of forgot about them not long after that. Now, they've teamed up with Charlotte, NC rapper Deniro Farrar to create a spaced-out track similar to what you'd hear from Drake and Noah "40" Shebib (think along the lines of "Club Paradise," and "Successful," with their spaced out sounds and Lo-Fi drums). This is definitely a pleasant surprise, and I'll be sure to pay more attention to upcoming releases from these guys.

Deniro Farrar x Flosstradamus- "Look At the Sky"

And Of Course N-A-S Are The Letters That Spell NaS

NaS is one of the greatest MCs of all time, but he has long been plagued by poor beat selection. In my opinion, he should have had 3 Illmatics by now, but mediocre beats have held him back. Hopefully this time around with his upcoming album, Life Is Good, things will be different. The Salaam Remi-produced first single, "Nasty," was a nice taste of the sound NaS is going for on the new album; he seems to be back in that raw Hip Hop zone that fans have been waiting for. With production from Swizz Beatz, DJ Premier, Alchemist, RZA, Kanye, and Bangladesh, hopefully NaS can finally put out an album that actually lives up to the expectations.



NaS- "Daughters" (prod. by No I.D.) *props to Rap Radar*

Here's the video for "Nasty" for those who haven't seen it...

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Mr. Evans' Most Anticipated Albums of 2012: Good Kid in a Mad City

I honestly cannot remember the last time I've been this excited about an up-and-coming artist. Kendrick Lamar has everything you look for in an artist- charisma, lyrics, a great vocal tone, excellent songwriting... he is the complete package. If you haven't heard Section.80, which was one of the best albums of 2011, you are definitely behind. What is perhaps most fascinating about Kendrick is his ambiguous sound, despite the fact that he's a Compton native. Section.80 had a diverse array of tracks, with a few jazz-type records that really showcased Kendrick's lyrical dexterity. Most everyone has heard "Rigamortis," but if you haven't, you can check it out below. 

Recently, Kendrick has been in the studio with the legendary Dr. Dre, and it's been reported that they've worked on about 30 songs together, which sounds like a dream come true for Hip Hop fans. Kendrick has also been ghostwriting for Dr. Dre's now mythological album, "Detox," but perhaps he can spark that fire under Dre, to get him to finally release the album to the general public. The Scoop DeVille-produced first single, "The Recipe," will appear on Good Kid in a Mad City, and it is as smooth as you'd expect it to be. Dr. Dre drops in for a couple verses, but it is more notable that he mixed the final track, giving it those heavy drums that we've come to expect from anything mixed/produced by Dr. Dre. I have no doubt that Kendrick's debut album will live up to the hype.

Album Release Date: Summer 2012

Black Milk On Tour

Black Milk, who's been one of the best producer/MC's in the underground for years now, was recently out west for his "Claps and Slaps" tour, and made a pit-stop at a record store to get his fingers dusty. Crate digging has long been a staple within the Hip Hop community, especially among sample-based producers like Black Milk. He's known for picking out obscure samples and flippin' them into raw, uncut tracks, so it's cool to see him in his natural environment. Check out the video below...



Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Straight West Coastin'


It's been a while since we've heard anything new from Nate Dogg's estate, as the legendary hook-man passed away over a year ago. However, we're now blessed to have some wonderful G-Funk from the great Warren G, The Game, and Nate Dogg on the hook. It's a very West Coast affair, with a sparse, well-mixed beat akin to Dr. Dre, or DJ Quik. Hopefully we'll hear more from Nate Dogg soon, with future releases from Warren G and Kendrick Lamar dropping in the coming months.

Warren G (feat. Nate Dogg & The Game)- "Party We Will Throw Now"