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Iron Solomon’s evolution from battle MC to legit artist continues. Debut album Monster coming soon…

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Was hanging out with a friend of mine this weekend and she put me on to quite a few new gems. The best of which was this song Liquid Love by Chris Turner – an original interpolation inspired by a Roy Ayers’ classic record of the same name. Check out a few more impressive vids of Mr. Turner after the jump. Brotha’s got a special voice.

Change of Heart (Freestyle session w/ Melo-X, Jesse Boykins III and MoRuf)

Find a Way

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© Ernest Withers Photography

For some reason, of all of Dr. King’s speeches and quotes, this one has stuck with me the most.

“There is nothing more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity” – MLK jr.

I think what strikes a chord with me is the fact that this statement has come to fruition. I feel that it embodies one of the fundamental ills of today’s generation. The collective self-discipline, desire to learn, succeed and advance in society experienced in Dr. King’s era – partly borne of their common struggle against racial inequity and persecution – has been replaced by a desire to be “cool.” A “cool” developed in the post civil rights era in the midst and wake of Reaganomics with it’s bolstering of the drug trade and subsequent mass incarceration that tore apart the fabric of the black family. The strong values that would have otherwise been passed on from that proud generation were done away by the need for broken families to fend for themselves by any means necessary. Its no surprise that we’ve developed a singular-minded, crabs in a barrel mentality that epitomizes the “sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity” that Dr. King feared the most. With that said, I think that one of the things we can do to carry on his legacy is to challenge the notion that the poor life choices that have become commonplace in our communities are “cool” and reinforce the idea and practice of collective will that affected so much positive change under his leadership. With a unified voice, financial and political agenda I think that we’d be able to make good on the sacrifices that he and so many others made to afford us the opportunity to realize our greatness. Maybe its too foolish or lofty a goal but what can I say, I’m a dreamer.

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I’ve always felt that Syd the Kid was the oddest member of LA youth movement super-group Odd Future. As the lone female in the group, she’s obviously nowhere near as off the wall as their front man, Tyler the Creator, but more so because I didn’t know what role she played besides her tour DJ/studio engineer duties. I mean, not many groups take the time to acknowledge their engineer so I figured she had some sort of talent the world had yet to see. That sneaky suspicion was proved correct with the release of this gem of an album Purple Naked Ladies. Under the deft moniker The Internet she flexes her vocal talents over stellar production by Matt Martians of The Jet Age of Tomorrow. With an assist from Duepayer fave Coco (of Quadron) on the album’s standout track, Visions, as well as other quality jawns like Web of Me and Cocaine, its clear that she can hold her own with the likes fellow OF crooner Frank Ocean. Purple Naked Ladies is yet another notch on the Odd Future collective’s belt and further proof of their staying power, making the conspicuous absence of their most talented member a little less painful. Free Earl!

Visions
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Web of Me
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Cocaine (Official Video)

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Purple Naked Ladies Download

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The Internet
Purple Naked Ladies
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You’re just caught up in the web of me, don’t realize the reason why we never speak, is you not me…

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New track off of Jean Grae’s forthcoming LP, Cake or Death. Here, she takes a break from her battle rap stylings to strike a more introspective tone. Can’t say I’m mad at the result.

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Its 2008 and I’m hanging with the Homecookin’ Radio crew at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. We’re waiting for the show to start and this beautiful gal walks on stage. Nods of approval are shared but like most opening acts nobody has a clue who she is. Then she sings. Correction, she “sangs” (her azz off) and thus begins my love affair with Canadian songstress Zaki Ibrahim. Her multi-linguistic, African influenced sound is reminiscent of Zap Mama but with a more futuristic twist. Her aptly-titled debut album Eclectica is a mix of funk, soul and alternative grooves with standouts including Love-Like, Computer Girl, Grow Again and the Sade-esque Connected. Basically every song on the album is tight. Problem is, it dropped a long time ago and I’ve been clamoring for some new music ever since. And with her new single Something In The Water, well, let’s just say it was well worth the wait. Word on the tweets is her new album Everything Opposite is dropping in January 2012. In the immortal words of one, Bart Scott … #cantwait

via This is Africa

ZAKI IBRAHIM – SOMETHING IN THE WATER by motifrecords

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Was talking about production software over the weekend with my boy Ak-Boogie – producer/engineer/film-maker extraordinaire – and found this naaaaaasty beat made on the Beatmaker 2 iPhone app that I featured not too long ago. I have the same app and not a prayer to make a beat this sick. But I’s tryin. In the meantime, been knockin’ this on repeat something serious *yuck face*

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Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire
Lost In Translation
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What went on in my room, Demolition vs. Legion of Doom, Image Comics, Ninja Turtles, Super Mario 2…

As the weather cools I usually find myself in a more nostalgic mood. So as I was searching the interwebs for some new music to get me through another NY winter, the homie D. Bills suggested I give that new Mr. MFN eXquire mixtape/album Lost in Translation a listen. So I scooped it up, and although there were a couple of joints that I dug, this one really hit me in the heart. A far cry from the ODB-inspired drunken ramblings on his breakout single Huzzah, I Should Be Sleepin’ finds Mr. eXquire quietly reminiscing on his youthful exploits. Real talk, I don’t know too many dudes my age that can’t relate to this record. Particularly the first 2 verses where eX recalls childhood moments like tryna sneak past his mom’s room to grab some snacks in them noisy ass footies and sneakin’ in some late night Skinemax on the low. Don’t front, you know you did that sh*t too. lol. Just a warning, after listening to this you may have the strong urge to call your moms like Eddie in Boomerang after gettin’ it in with Robin. Not the best look for you B. I’m just sayin…you’ve been warned.

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