3/30/15

De La Soul's New Album Kickstarter

De La Soul recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation and release of their next studio album, and the Anonymous Nobody, which is set to feature collaborations with Damon Albarn, 2 Chainz, Little Dragon and David Byrne. They've already surpassed their funding goal of $110,000, but pledges are still piling up, as fans are eager to round up rewards like the vinyl LP ($45, shipping in September 2015); an autographed 7" single with autographed vinyl LP, exclusive De La Soul t-shirt, CD + exclusive bonus track, and advanced digital download ($250); a fully functional autographed MPC from Posdnuos' personal collection ($1,750); or best of all, Trugoy's 3 Feet High and Rising platinum plaque ($10,000). Seriously, even if you aren't willing to shell out at least $15 for an advanced digital download, it's worth it to visit this Kickstarter page if only to check out the amazing De La documents like the rhyme book page containing Pos' "Oodles of O's" verse (at left).

3/28/15

Ra the Beat Archaeologist - no.5



Freeport's on3trackmind Executive Producer Ra the Beat Archaeologist has RZA's ear for movie samples but a production style all his own. With just three tracks, his latest beat tape runs the gamut from haunting to combative to jazzy. Dig it.

3/27/15

Megalon - One In a Million 12"

What we have here is easily one of the best singles of the Fondle 'Em era. The A side features Megalon a.k.a. Tommy Gun rapping over a beat by Metal Fingers a.k.a. MF DOOM. The B side was produced by G.M. Web D a.k.a. X-Ray Da Mindbenda, with singing by the elusive Pebbs a.k.a. Pebbles the Invisible Girl, who's best known for lending vocals to MF's "Doomsday." In fact, that seems to be her only other attributable credit, at least as far as the Internet's concerned. There's actually a singer on the A side as well, with a voice that sounds like it could belong to Pebbs but remains uncredited. Regardless, both sides of this single are Long Beach legend-status, instrumentals included. Which do you prefer? Download and let us know below.

3/18/15

The Winners - The New Leaders of the New School

If you're new to The Winners movement, this is a decent introduction, but what's new on the new Winners mixtape, The New Leaders of the New School? In terms of the tracklist, nothing. All of these tracks were already available in some form or another, which seems to be in keeping with the Digi Crates business model, but to be fair, this is just a mixtape. And no news is good news, I guess.

Actually scratch that, there are some class roster changes since 2013's #TheWinnersMixtape, as Sean Rosati, El Ay and Giallo Point have all been officially added to the team.

Misophonic - "Slow It Down" ft. Oh No

Misophonic, who you might remember from last week's Kenny Orlando post, just hit us with some real professional DIY material, as in not only did he produce and mix this infectious track, but he also shot and edited the gorgeous video on location in Oxnard, California, which is of course Oh No's base of operations. After streaming below, remember that this joint is available on iTunes as well.

3/17/15

Prince Paul - It's Not the Size of Your Mix It's How You Use It Vol 2

The 2nd installment of Prince Paul's obscure series "Its Not the size of your Mix Its how you use it" dropped a week ago, so if this is the first you're hearing of it shame on you...

Unless of course you rely on longislandrap.com for all your Prince Paul updates and Long Island hip-hop enjoyment, in which case, thank you and please accept our sincerest apologies for the delay. The Long Island Rap Blog remains committed to delivering you the best of the best in terms of homegrown hip-hop. As evidence of our humble but appreciable growth (after all, it's not the size that counts, right?), we refer you to this Facebook comment, in which Prince Paul seems to acknowledge our existence, if only briefly.

And without further ado, we give to you "Its Not the size of your Mix Its how you use it" Vol 2.

3/15/15

Triple Optix - Triple Optix EP

Triple Optix, for those who don't know, was a Suffolk County group comprised of three Cop Shop vets: Huntington Station's Diabolic, and Smithtown's Coal (aka Coal Cash) and Taboo (aka Tabs), who together go by the name Double Negative. When originally released in 2000, the Triple Optix EP consisted of five songs. This, however, is not the version with which most are familiar, because in 2004 an unofficial fan-created version emerged with a different tracklist including two songs that weren't on the first edition: "Epiphany" (by iCON the Mic King ft. Diabolic & Taboo) and "God's Gift" (by DJ Black Panther ft. Diabolic and Lou Cipher). Diabolic and Coal have made clear that this later version, although possibly more widespread, is not the official release, as "Godz Gifts" (as it's officially titled) was actually taken from Black Panther's 2003 album, Darkest Night Ever, and "Epiphany" comes from a 2001 compilation called Freshchest Prose Presents Jabs and Cuts Volume 1; furthermore, neither of these songs feature the full group line-up of Diabolic, Coal and Taboo. Nevertheless, you can stream both versions below, along with "Norman Bates," a recent cut featuring a Triple Optix reunion of sorts.

3/13/15

Theravada - "^^^^^^"

Been falling into the modern-era trap of giving much more shine to rappers than DJs and producers, so here's the latest from Theravada. A bearded Buddhist beat dude from the Bellmore-Wantagh border zone, Theravada comprises one half of the duo Trilogy (the other half being DC-based Rob Chambers), which supposedly has a new beat tape coming soon.

3/12/15

Kenny Orlando - "Sometimes"

Originally from Great Neck, now residing in West Hempstead, Kenny Orlando has us seeing double with "Sometimes," the fourth video off his fourth release, The Bassment Tape, which was produced entirely by Jay 2K a.k.a. Misophonic who hails from Port Washington by way of Manhasset.

3/11/15

Black Gold Entertainment Presents Method Man & Redman at The Emporium

Thursday March 19: doors at 7, showtime 8:30; tickets are $25 in advance via ticketfly or $40 at the door.

Also on the bill are Long Island Rap Blog postees Reek Da Villian and Peter Leo, as well as Stumik, Major League Bop, Joolz Balla, Dufflebag Gal, Mr. Dopeflow, Jazzy Yowa, Tony Slippaz and Skriptkeeper.

This show will be something of a homecoming for Meth, who spent parts of his youth in Hempstead and Freeport.

Dress codes will be strictly enforced. The question is will tical codes be? And if so ... how high?

See what I did there?

Weed.

Prodigy - "Don't Be A Follower"

File under all-time favorite Prodigy song: "Don't Be A Follower," released in 2000 on the Black and White OST put out by Loud Records. No idea how the instrumental got out there, but thankfully it did.

The picture to the left was actually taken from the website of Freeport recording studio On3trackmind, so props to them.


3/9/15

Stoneface - "No Amateurs" (prod. by BP & DJ Stitches) / Diabolic - "Victim's Story RMX" (prod. by BP)

"No Amateurs" on this one, for sure. Though the rapping on this B.I.G. tribute is handled by Philly native Stoneface, Long Island manages the backbone, with North Amityville's DJ Stitches providing cuts and 11701 Productions head honcho BP laying the beat.

It just so happens this is the 7th installment of BP's 7 series, which sees the producer dropping an exclusive or unreleased track on the 7th of the month. Aside from Stitches (and BP, obviously) the last Long Islander to contribute to the series was Huntington Station's own Diabolic, whose Fightin' Words track "Victim's Story" was remixed for the January 7 drop. Stream both below.