001. News

The latest project updates, release dates and other news from some of the major names in the independent hip hop and soul music scene.

002. Featured

A collection of segments dedicated to friends of the site, stars on the rise and other (somewhat) exclusive features.

003. Media

Music, music and more music. Check out new singles (Funk 45′s), CD’s (Blend Tapes), podcasts/mixes (Better Blend) and videos (Cinematics) right here.

004. Events

Looking to catch some live music in your area? Check out this area for flyers to the latest musical events from all across the globe.

005. Life & Times

News and features that may or may not be music related, but still relevant to fans of independent hip hop and soul music.

Albums/Mixtapes, Boom-Bap, Hip Hop, Sample Heavy, Street Level Hip Hop »

BlendTape: Infinite P “Moonlight” LP
September 2, 2010 – 11:23 am | No Comment

BlendTape: Infinite P “Moonlight” LP

Check out the latest full-length release from Canadian emcee & producer Infinite P.

A couple of days before I temporarily shut this place down, I was emailed a couple of links that put me up on Infinite P., an emcee and producer from Alberta, Canada.  I probably don’t show our “neighbors to the north” as much love as they deserve, but that’s only due to the fact that I’m chronically absent-minded. Canada, as many of you may already know, has been making dope hip hop music for years now, and Infinite P. definitely does his part to add to that tradition.  His most recent full length release, Moonlight, hits listeners with a heavy dose of unfiltered hip hop that takes me back to the days of buying classic home-pressed CD’s and tapes directly from artists. There’s no mistaking the album’s “do-it-yourself” feel, but the real draw for a rap fan like me is the “do-what-you-like” openness of each track. Whether he’s on the mic or behind the boards, Infinite P. approaches his music with a sort of one-take rawness that balances out the high polish sheen of most of today’s hip hop music. Joining “I.Pezzy” on his lo-fi journey are guests Moka Only, Struck, Rich Kidd, Gudini, Nohow, Inspiration and Main Flow. So check out a couple of highlights from the Moonlight LP and then get yourself a copy .

You can purchase the album Moonlight , right now, live & direct from Infinite P: Bandcamp

Infinite P- Blak Ov Da Night (feat. Moka Only)   Read the full story »

Funk45′s: Reach- Radio Love Remix (feat. M.E.D)
September 1, 2010 – 8:56 pm | No Comment
Funk45′s:  Reach- Radio Love Remix (feat. M.E.D)

Listen to the newly release single “Radio Love Remix” from Kansas City’s own Reach.
This new “Radio Love Remix” single may be the very first time that I’ve posted any music from the Missouri based emcee Reach, but that doesn’t mean that his music is entirely new to me.  Back in 2007/2008 (when this blog was [...]

Funk45′s: Qwel & Maker- El Camino
September 1, 2010 – 1:29 am | No Comment
Funk45′s: Qwel & Maker- El Camino

The 1st single from Qwel & Maker’s new album Owl.
This is a great way to start begin the month. Not too long ago I owned up to some personal music snobbishness while reviewing/posting the Owl album preview mix from Galapagos4 artists Qwel & Maker. After hearing just a few snippets from the group’s upcoming LP [...]

Funk45′s: Floetry- Sometimes U Make Me Smile (Freddie Joachim rmx)
August 30, 2010 – 9:10 pm | One Comment
Funk45′s: Floetry- Sometimes U Make Me Smile (Freddie Joachim rmx)

Producer Freddie Joachim puts together a new(ish) remix track featuring Floetry
This is a track that was taken from Freddie Joachim‘s Misc. Remixes project which is up and running on his Bandcamp page (here). It’s a remix of the song “Sometimes U Make Me Smile” as performed by the group Floetry and originally released as a part [...]

BlendTape: Max Tannone- Dub Kweli (remix project)
August 30, 2010 – 9:27 am | No Comment
BlendTape: Max Tannone- Dub Kweli (remix project)

Producer Max Tannone (formerly known as Minty Fresh Beats) releases his latest remix project, which pairs rhymes from BKMC Talib Kweli with hazy dub production.
I was just checking out some of my RSS feeds when I came across this project. It’s a remix/re-edit type of joint where producer Max Tannone (formerly know as Minty [...]

Funk45′s: Cold Men Young- Det Riot!
August 29, 2010 – 2:57 am | No Comment
Funk45′s: Cold Men Young- Det Riot!

Newly leak music from DJ Primeminister & Wanja’s upcoming I Still Love Detroit (vol 2) mixtape.
I’m diggin’ this track. The song is called “Det Riot!” and it’s from the group Cold Men Young, a four man unit made up of members Phenom, Mic Write, Kopelli, and Blaksmith. The feel of this single is somewhat removed from [...]

Funk45′s: Choklate- Overdose (feat. Drake)
August 27, 2010 – 12:17 pm | One Comment
Funk45′s: Choklate- Overdose (feat. Drake)

New music from Seattle songstress Choklate.
Okay. There is a new track entitled “Overdose” floating around the “worldwideinterweb”, and it features vocals from soul singer Choklate and rapper/singer Drake. I only know a few things about the song so keep that in mind if you’re looking for tons of details. First up, the single was [...]

Cinematics: Sy Smith & Mark de Clive-Lowe- Truth
August 27, 2010 – 11:06 am | No Comment
Cinematics: Sy Smith & Mark de Clive-Lowe- Truth

Here’s the official video for the new single “Truth” from Sy Smith & Mark de Clive-Lowe. A few days ago I posted a preview of the single and its remixes, which will hit stores and digital outlets on August 31st.  Although I’m still a little wet behind the ears when it comes to all [...]

BetterBlend: Eavesdrop Radio “Eavesdrop Podcast #47″
August 26, 2010 – 3:38 pm | No Comment
BetterBlend: Eavesdrop Radio “Eavesdrop Podcast #47″

Eavesdrop Radio sits down with musician and producer Zo!
I haven’t even finished with this mix and I felt an overwhelming need to share it with the world. For their most recent entry in their “Eavesdrop Podcast” series, host Junior and Lil’ Dave invited musician Zo! to the studio to talk about his music and (I [...]

Tru Thoughts Recordings & Producer Hint Present “The Hint Vocalist Competition”
August 26, 2010 – 1:40 pm | No Comment
Tru Thoughts Recordings & Producer Hint Present “The Hint Vocalist Competition”

Tru Thoughts Recordings presents a vocalist competition to celebrate a new series of upcoming releases from DJ/producer Hint
(courtesy of Tru Thoughts Recordings)
“[August 30th 2010] marks the beginning of a new series of releases by [producer and DJ] Hint. The first, Beryllium, in conjunction with Soundcloud and iDJ, features three new tracks, including one which will [...]

News: Soapbox Clothing Presents Myke Forte’s Upcoming “Audio Pixel” project entitled “My Forte”
August 26, 2010 – 12:14 pm | 2 Comments
News: Soapbox Clothing Presents Myke Forte’s Upcoming “Audio Pixel” project entitled “My Forte”

Producer Myke Forte had teamed up with Soapbox Clothing for his new “Audio Pixel: My Forte” music & clothing project.
Here’s a bit of news about an upcoming project involving one of my favorite new musical discoveries; producer Myke Forte.
(courtesy of Tuks Magazine)
Soapbox Clothing have teamed up with producer Myke Forte on his very own [...]

OnTheScene: MNDSGN & Suzi Analogue @ The Weekly “Beat Cinema” Music & Film Celebration (08.24.10)
August 26, 2010 – 11:41 am | No Comment
OnTheScene: MNDSGN & Suzi Analogue @ The Weekly “Beat Cinema” Music & Film Celebration (08.24.10)

Klipmode’s MNDSGN & Suzi Analogue bring their unique sound to the “Beat Cinema” event.
Earlier this week L.A. music makers Suzi Analogue (who just dropped the lovely NNXTAPE mixtape …here) and MNDSGN brought their spacey funk & hip hop sound to the Hip Kitty Jazz Lounge as the featured act for the “Beat Cinema” event. Since [...]

Cinematics: Def Sound- Up.Is.The.New.Down (feat Novena Carmel)
August 25, 2010 – 10:31 am | 2 Comments
Cinematics: Def Sound- Up.Is.The.New.Down (feat Novena Carmel)

This is a crazy-funny video. Takes me back to the first time that I saw the video “Sabotage” from the Beastie Boys. Thanks goes out to Haz Solo for putting me up on this wild video (via Twitter) last night. Enjoy..
(courtesy of Def Sound)
“This is what happens when everything happens at once !! Welcome 2 the [...]

SoundAdvisor: Recent Buys From Fel Sweetenberg, Kooley High, Suzi Analogue, and more
August 24, 2010 – 1:49 pm | No Comment
SoundAdvisor: Recent Buys From Fel Sweetenberg, Kooley High, Suzi Analogue, and more

Here are a few new releases that are definitely worth some of your hard-earned cash (08/24/10).
The purpose of this post is to showcase a few albums that I’m diggin’ enough to make me part ways with some hard-earned money. Please know and understand that NONE of these albums were sent to me on a [...]

BetterBlend: Jay Electronica- On The Floor! Jay Electronica (Live @ The Nouveau Casino) (08/08/10) [podcast]
August 23, 2010 – 5:46 pm | 2 Comments
BetterBlend: Jay Electronica- On The Floor! Jay Electronica (Live @ The Nouveau Casino) (08/08/10) [podcast]

RBMA Radio shares a recent live performance from Jay Electronica
Just cruising the net and I came across this recording of Jay Electronica‘s from an August 8th performance at the Nouveau Casino venue in Paris, France. You can catch Jay running through some fan faves such as “Exhibit A (Transformations)”, “My World (Nas Salute)”, and [...]

Funk45′s: AZ- Nothing Move (feat. June Summers)
August 23, 2010 – 4:50 pm | 2 Comments
Funk45′s: AZ- Nothing Move (feat. June Summers)

Brand new heater from rapper AZ featuring singer June Summers
I just received an email blast with some new heat from rapper AZ attached to it. It’s a track called “Nothing Move” and it features AZ‘s characteristic deep and highly visual rhymes and a really catchy chorus sung by R&B singer June Summers who some [...]

BetterBlend: Qwel & Maker- Owl Album Preview Mix (by DJ Bizkid)
August 21, 2010 – 12:20 pm | One Comment
BetterBlend: Qwel & Maker- Owl Album Preview Mix (by DJ Bizkid)

Chicago’s own Qwel & Maker team up with DJ Bizkid to give listeners a quick sample of their upcoming full-length LP “Owl”
The Chicago based duo Qwel & Maker recently teamed up with DJ Bizkid to put together a preview mix of their upcoming album Owl. This mix is probably the first time I’ve ever [...]

Funk45′s: Muja Messiah- Gary Coleman
August 20, 2010 – 9:24 pm | No Comment
Funk45′s: Muja Messiah- Gary Coleman

Minnesota resident Muja Messiah connects with producer Benzilla for the track “Gary Coleman”.
Initially, this new “Gary Coleman” track from rapper Muja Messiah caught my attention because beat-maker Benzilla was credited with the production. BK-One‘s Radio do Canibal album was one of the best releases to drop last year  and I remembered that a lot [...]

Cinematics: Aloe Blacc- Politicians (Live)
August 20, 2010 – 12:20 pm | No Comment
Cinematics: Aloe Blacc- Politicians (Live)

It doesn’t get much better than this. Here we have soulman (and emcee) Aloe Blacc performing a song entitled “Politician” live and on-air. It makes me feel good to see that the rest of the world is beginning to recognize just how amazing Aloe Blacc is as an artist and performer. Just take a look as the [...]