I hit NY every once in a while to check in with my folks out there. Since graduation, probably 75% of my really good childhood friends have relocated there. I also gotta dap up those who held me down when I was a newbie to NY, living in Aris’ cozy apartment in the back room and taking the J train to Complex every day, almost always late. I miss NY just typing about it.

One of the guys who looks out the most for me in NY do or die is my bruv Callender (pictured above). I swear to Allah, this man walked about 75 feet, from one spot to another in the Lower East Side, and dapped up 7 people. THAT RATE IS ASTONISHING! I’m talking everybody from the local panhandler to that chick of Caucasian persuasion who looks fly and you don’t know what she does until you find out she designed the entire Fall season of some designer that you’ve heard of but can never afford. “We do laundry at the same place,” Callender explained.

Bare with me. I’m just tryna get my mojo back out here.

Callender took me out to lunch and I brought up this dude Rocky who  he works with and had put me onto back before there was a “ASAP” in front of his  name. Honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of everything that I heard from him, but I did recognize his charisma and was waiting to hear something that I couldn’t stop listening to. He told me some new jams would be dropping extremely soon. But everybody says that.

Then I was on Twitter a couple days and I saw that my man Noz of Cocaine Blunts fame (as well as every epic hip-hop article, internet or print, of recent) had posted this video that I’m about to make you watch on The Fader.  It’s now 2 AM on a work night. If this whole song and video wasn’t that tight, I woulda been sleep 15 minutes ago. Right? Right.

I rock with Rocky cuz he has a lot of swag. I don’t really care if people think that word is overused, because it’s so appropriate. A Harlem kid with golds in his mouth, permed hair braided up like a left coast legend? That’s crazy.  He pays homage to that Houston movement with a chopped up, not slopped up jammy jam that’ll make you think you just sipped some purple drink once you press play. Lemme know what you think. Just swag rap, don’t expect to learn anything except how he has the boppas goin’ crazy. Just remember, this is a New York rapper. Keep that in mind. New York rarely gives the South respect. There’s something pretty major here.

If the tape is vicious, I’ll throw it up here. Drops end of this month, I believe! Download the MP3 too. You know you want this in your iTunes.

DOWNLOAD: ASAP Rocky – Purple Swag

Welcome to the third edition of Singles Awareness Day. This year’s S.A.D. will be celebrated a couple days early, allowing you to ride into the weekend with 31 songs that say all the things that you’ve been thinking about love, lust, or anything in between. Most of these tracks you’ve never heard, and if you have, you won’t mind, because they just work so well on this compilation. Don’t think this just some sappy ass depressing music, either. Singles Awareness Day isn’t a day of mourning; it’s simply a time where you’re made aware of the single life, whether or not you’re living it. If you’re boo’d up, you can reflect on the lives of your friends who aren’t, or you can wonder what it’d be like if you didn’t have shortypop by your side this V-Day. If you aren’t, then you can play this and reminisce, living vicariously through the music.

If this is your first S.A.D. mix compilation you’re downloading, I should let you know that I do things a little differently: no tracklisting. Just get it, throw it in your iTunes, vehicle, iPod, and jam it. It’ll probably stay in rotation for a long while, so just be prepared to have some new favorite songs. As always, I dedicate this to all the maneaters, heartbreakers, and hopeless romantics out there. Click the artwork or the link below to download.

DOWNLOAD: Singles Awareness Day 3 [S.A.D. #3: The Mix Compilation]

Oh, and if you’re in DC, we’re doing it EXTRA BIG. Rock Creek Social Club has decided to throw a party around the concept, and that’ll be on the 15th. Sure, you may hear some of these tracks, but Jerome and Harry Hotter have their own playlists that’ll make partying on the day after Valentine’s Day super fun.

Thanks for your support. Any feedback, send my way in the comment section. If you’d rather e-mail, hit me: modi[at]DCtoBC.com. Thanks for all the artists who allowed me to throw their music on this. Everybody who submitted music and didn’t make the final mix, I apologize. It was a tough decision, but I think these 31 joints will satisfy everybody. Huge s/o to Odd Future‘s Matt for the album art.

I tweeted the other day that Ab-Soul was my favorite right now of the TDE. He reminds me of an early Eminem; it’s rare that rappers can convey humor in their bars, and Ab does it so easily. He’s super crafty with it!  ScHoolboy Q, Kendrick, and Ab are the guys  guys I jam; Jay Rock I’m not really a fan of…at all…no offense, he just doesn’t have bars like these guys in my opinion. My man Dave just freed this leak from his new tape, Long Term Mentality, which drops soon.

DOWNLOAD: Ab-Soul – Hell Yeah [feat. ScHoolboy Q]

I gotta throw in another joint he leaked recently.

BONUS: Ab-Soul – Tits N’ Ass [Cool Like That Flow] [This joint rocks. A lot. Ooh wee.]

If you like Ab, hit the internet and get his old tapes. They both go really hard.

If you know me, if you’ve been in my vehicle or been in my dorm room while I was in college, you’d know that my affinity for A.B. The Pro‘s music is probably unrivaled. I have a lot of confidence in this SE representer’s sound, and he’s my favorite artist on DC’s Studio 43 imprint. I felt like his mixtape he dropped back in ’09 was criminally slept on as far as production and the artists featured. You can tell that he cares a lot about putting DC on the map, and he without a doubt brought out the best in artists that otherwise may not have been able to convince you of their talent. In my eyes, “Stussy on My Back” with Young Marley could have been a local smash if the proper push was behind it (Stussy could have easily jumped on that joint and licensed it out and more money could have been made!), but 43 made the poor decision to push “W On The Fitted” instead, which was by far the worst joint on the entire tape. No offense to any of the artists on that track, but…that joint was so weak.  But hey. I’m not hear to chastise too much. That’s the past. We’re on to the future.

A.B. let me hold an early version of the mixtape to give him some feedback and criticism, and it’s so awesome to see that not only did he take it well, but he actually listened to the majority of what I said! Swapped some songs out, changed the tracklisting, and dropped a lot of freestyles over industry beats. In order to give you A.B. as an artist as opposed to just a producer, I feel like he needs to rap over his own $#!t. The one thing that I wished he did was to start the album with “Young Jimi Hendrix” (which is the first preview I’m gonna give you), or at least make that joint #2! It goes way too hard and kinda introduces you to what the entire album is gonna be like. Besides that, I don’t have too many gripes. The beats are mixed and mastered to thump in the vehicle or through your headphones, he has some club bangers that’ll make you raise an eyebrow and wonder why he doesn’t have stuff on the radio (or with bigger artists outside of DC, to be completely honest), and while he’s not exactly a rapper, you can’t be mad at his lyrics, cuz it’s all stuff people can relate to.

DC is proud of this, but I’m tryna make sure everybody beyond DC hears this product. Featuring a lot of untapped and under appreciated talent that you can read about on the back cover, this is a really good project that I’m proud to have been a fake-me-out A&R on, lol. Nah but really. Jam the previews, and then grab it below.

DOWNLOAD: A.B. The Pro – Crown Vic Music [Mixtape]

Oooh, buddy! This is like an easter egg for die-hard N*E*R*D fanatics.

The album leaked yesterday. No, I will not share it. I will, however, toss you this extended version of one of the album’s highlights, “Inside The Clouds”, that made its way to the surface of the earth today. The album version was a huge tease to see what else they could have gone with the track, and lucky for us, they tossed us a full version, which is available on the Japanese edition of Nothing. This joint is reminiscent of those minor chord-heavy jams that were all over the first album.

So my marvelous Twitter follower @TGIME just hipped me to TheNeptunes.org article on this joint, which basically says that this dude just took a program to that regular version of “Inside of Clouds” and flipped it! This isn’t any official remix! There is, however, a snippet for a different song that is apparently a Amazon.com bonus track! Grab that here, and HUGE shout out to TheNeptunes.org for always being the most up-to-date on what’s going on with these guys. Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD: N*E*R*D – Inside of Clouds [Extended Version]

Oh, and the guys over at Madbury Club reviewed the album. I’m not pleased about their words, but I respect them, so I’ll let you guys see for yourself.

Madbury Club Reviews N*E*R*D’s Nothing

This is incredible.

So if you remember last year’s Single Awareness Day mix [S.A.D. 2] that I dropped, you’ll remember quite possibly your favorite track from the joint, Rob Roy’s “Carmencita”, and how hard it went.

Well, my girl Nicole from Dub Frequency informed me that they dropped a video today, and she hooked me up like the cable guy did my TV earlier today. Watch, enjoy, embrace, and spread the word.

Rob’s project is available on iTunes…I rarely buy music, but I bought this joint a while ago. His flow is outrageous, and he’s not your typical artist (at all). I hope this stamp will force you to do some Google research and find him. Or, you can just check out the last stuff I posted by him. Links below.

PREVIOUS: Dude Royal – Please Don’t Go [Remix] [feat. Rob Roy]

MORE PREVIOUS: Rob Roy – Fur In My Hat [Video]

Another N*E*R*D leak, guys. Another feel-good track, but I hope this isn’t a highlight on their album. You know me, though. My N*E*R*D bar is sky high. I only want the best from them, as you can imagine! Their fourth project, Nothing, is slated for November 2nd.

DOWNLOAD: N*E*R*D – Nothing On You

I feel like I need to get a listening session / album release party in order…let’s see what I can do.

BONUS VIDEO (This song goes harder in my opinion!!!!):

There are few DC artists in my eyes that can maintain clout in their city while at the same time transferring that success nationwide, as far as fitting in this (unnecessarily corny) mainstream music world goes. One of these in my line of vision is Fat Trel. The 20-year-old is a member of Wale‘s recently formed camp/team, The Board Administration, and is a certified goon (what’d I tell you about those face tattoos back in the day!?). He’s about that street $#!t, straight up. But hey, whoever stopped listening to music because they didn’t understand that lifestyle? Nobody! People in the wealthiest neighborhoods across the country can quote lines of some of the most notoriously hood-affiliated artists. That never mattered. My man Thiz said that Caucasians have always dominated hip-hop sales, anyway. All that aside, he just has that winning combination of flow and voice that wins me over, much like how Khalifa Man did for people by the start of this year.

I can’t say that his projects in their entirety impress me all the way yet, because they don’t show that depth that the guy I am today me would appreciate, but sometimes you just need some trunk rattlers to rock with. He does that with the most utmost ease. I don’t know what he’s going for as far as his sound or his career, but I definitely see a lot of potential. That being said, I’ve pulled my favorite joints for you to sample and download. Let me know what you think, and hit Trel on that Twitter Nation (@FatTrel) and do the same.

DOWNLOAD: Fat Trel – Freak A Melody [Editor's Note: Wale dropped a version with him on it, but this joint right here is the original, with just Trel on all verses. I personally prefer this joint because the verses connect better. You'll see what I mean. Oh, and did his producers, Da Bassheads, really just sample "Hannah" by Freelance Whales!? That's like Martha Stewart throwing sets up at a go-go. No joke. It's the equivalent.]

DOWNLOAD: Fat Trel – Trappin’ Like A Fool [Editor's Note: I know you trap music fans remember that awesome Gucci Mane freestyle that dropped on YouTube maybe a year or so ago, where he said he was "trappin' like a fool" and "trappin' like a bitch". Sure, you were confused, but that joint was hot enough to bring back like eight or nine times! He samples that hook, but raps some real sh!t on it.]

DOWNLOAD: Wale – Oh Leh Do It [Flow] [feat. Fat Trel] [Editor's Note: I Think Trel steals the show here. First time I heard him, and I knew it was over from then.]

DOWNLOAD: Fat Trel – This Plane [Flow]

DOWNLOAD: Fat Trel – Foolio

I hope you listened to all of them in that order, because they’re all ridiculously solid. If Trel does it for you, then go grab that No Secrets mixtape that dropped a while ago. I think whoever put that joint on the internet did a poor job of zipping / labeling the joint, and a lot of computers weren’t able to grab it (plus the tracklisting was in shambles and unorganized. A sight for sore eyes, really.), so I took the liberty of re-organizing and cleaning that joint up, so it’s beautiful when it plays in your iTunes. Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD: Fat Trel – No Secrets [MIXTAPE]

Man, I don’t even know. This N*E*R*D album is confusing me a little.  I will say that the live version I blogged a few days ago goes like 40 times harder. Hopefully this joint will grow on me. Daft Punk crafted this instrumental, though. So I give these guys an “A” for incorporating arguably the most gifted electronic artists into their album’s patchwork. It’s hard for me to say anything bad about them, but you can already tell how I feel about this. I’ve listened 5 times and it’s growing on me, but man oh man, what happened to the feeling you felt after playing jams like “Am I High?” or “The Way She Dances” for the first time?

UPDATE at 2:59am on Thursday, October 7th: I can’t get this hook out of my head. And the bridge / light breakdown when he just starts talking about bills (“20′s. 50′s. 5′s. 10′s.”) is sickly. They won, per usual. I apologize for doubting your greatness, almighty Based Gods! I hope you have at least one Spymob-assisted joint on the LP, though!

DOWNLOAD: N*E*R*D – Hypnotize U [prod. by Daft Punk]

BONUS: Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger [Neptunes Remix]

]]> http://DCtoBC.com/2010/10/nerd-hypnotize-u-prod-by-daft-punk/feed/ 7 http://DCtoBC.com/2010/10/schoolboy-q-put-in-work/ http://DCtoBC.com/2010/10/schoolboy-q-put-in-work/#comments Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:19:51 +0000 modi http://DCtoBC.com/?p=7794

Woooooweeeeeeeeee! TALK ABOUT A JAM! This is one of those samples I have always been waiting for somebody to flip (in a headbanging type of way, that is. People have done it, but it’s never lived up to what I thought it could!), and finally, my dream has come true.

Remember that article I wrote a week or so ago about the Talented Mr. Lamar? Well, within that post I talked a little about Schoolboy Q, one of the four members of the Black Hippy team (if this all sounds strange to you, you better click that Kendrick Lamar post that I just linked in the last sentence. Trust me, it’ll change your life.). I raved about him on their posse cut, “Zip That, Chop That”, as well as Kendrick’s “Michael Jordan”, but here’s the first time I’ve heard him solo for real.

The track is a lot of swag talk, but it’s always refreshing to hear new flows on top of beats that make your head bob without you even realizing. Don’t be scared of the guy just cuz he’s got some facial tattoos, either. He be RAPPIN’! I feel like he teased us with those two bars at the end of the song, too. Oh, the agony! Produced by TaeBeast. Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD: Schoolboy Q – Put In Work

BONUS!