[Mixtape] Gzus Piece: "Gzus Luvs You"
Arriving on this odd warm weekend, Gzus Piece brings us his newest mixtape Gzus Luvs You. Featuring a mix of previous jams, loosies, unreleased joints and the single "Summer Slammer", this project serves as an appetizer for what's to come out of Gzus' camp. Spread the luv and stream below.
[Mixtape] Netherfriends X Fess Grandiose: "Goosebumps"
As The Summer of Netherfriends slowly comes to a close, the musician still has a few secrets up his paisley sleeves. After the ambitious 50 Songs, 50 States, multiple installments of Kind of Buzzed, his first full hip hop album, New CHI-t, and many collaborations, a slightly-secret mixtape has surfaced. Netherfriends teamed up with DJ/rapper extraordinaire and Kimball House Productions head Fess Grandiose to bring the 90s-inspired mixtape, Goosebumps, to your ears. Netherfriends remixes some 90s classics (including Ace of Base's "I Saw the Sign" and Blur's "Song 2") for Fess to flex some rhymes, my personal favorite being the last track over the aforementioned "Song 2" remix about him meeting a girl at a dive bar.
Check it out and make sure you let Netherfriends and Fess Grandiose know what you think!
[Mixtape] Curren$y & Young Roddy: "Bales"
Not too long ago, a 'tape between Curren$y and his label-signee, Young Roddy, was announced to be in the works, and it was supposed to hit the streets shortly after. Well yesterday, the two rappers dropped Bales, an 11-track project, dedicated specifically to all the #JetLife fans out there who had been expecting a new release from the camp. A standout joint from the tape is "Walkie Talkie," which was produced by Chicago's own and prominent Spitta collaborator, Thelonious Martin. Check out the song below and the whole project after the jump.
[Mixtape] Taylor Bennett: "The Taylor Bennett Show"
After receiving positive feedback on his latest video release and a successful listening party Saturday at Jugrnaut, Taylor Bennett decided to release a deluxe version of his breakthrough 'tape The Taylor Bennett Show. With three new songs, new cover-art and a few updated joints, this will be a totally unique experience and a departure from the first release. Stream below.
[Mixtape] Lil Wayne: "Dedication 5"
For the better part of a decade, Weezy's Dedication mixtape series has served as a platform from which to premier the latest Lil Wayne to the masses and is often credited with shaping the mixtape culture of today. On his latest offering, Wayne does it again in true Weezy fashion. The release date of the tape was pushed back as Wayne waited on a last minute track from Chance The Rapper produced by Peter CottonTale, Cam Osteen of J.U.S.T.I.C.E League and Nate Fox, "You Song". A late night call last Wednesday sent the production trio, along with Chance, to Classick Studios in Chicago where they shaped the song in an all-night session before sending it off later that week. Chance is truly blowing up, along with some superbly talented producers out of the Midwest. Check out the mixtape below and keep it locked on RubyHornet for exclusive content on "You".
[Mixtape] Arjaye Jeter: "All In One Day"
Arjaye Jeter certainly does on this latest release which he wrote and recorded "All in One Day" exclusively to Dilla beats. He rides the classic chords well and mixes well with the legendary producer who was responsible for some of the most memorable records in hip-hop. The album stream is here below, check it out.
"Acid Rap" Nominated for BET Best Mixtape
Photo by Virgil Solis
"Better than I was the last time/Did a ton of drugs and did better than all my alma mater"
Words have quickly become reality for Chancellor Bennett, better known to the rest of the world as Chance The Rapper, whose latest release, Acid Rap, was nominated this week for a BET Hip Hop Award for Mixtape of the Year.
The year-long rise of the 20-year-old Chatham native has been startling to say the least. This time last year, 10 Day was a blip on the national radar and Chano was preparing to play his first Metro headlining show. Since then Chance has played at SXSW with Kendrick Lamar, toured the country with Mac Miller, had his album bootlegged so much it hit the charts and soon will head to Europe with Macklemore, where he also opens for Eminem.
"Gravity had me up in a submission hold, like I'm dancing with the devil with two left feet and I'm pigeon toed."
That he is heading on tour with the Seattle-based purveyor for all things independent is at once both ironic and appropriate. Macklemore was a star in the Pacific Northwest for years before hitting the mainstream with a national following, selling out venues in Washington and playing half-filled rooms in Iowa the next day. By comparison, Chance rocketed to national consciousness, perhaps buoyed by his favorable location in the center of the country. While Macklemore may have played a longer waiting game, the two artists are experiencing the limelight at the same time, and from an increasingly more common, independent angle.
If there is one reason to point to for Acid Rap's inclusion on BET's Best Mixtape of the Year nominations, it would have to be the fact that the free release was so thoroughly bootlegged by shady third-party retailers both at home and abroad that it actually hit the charts, coming in at No. 68, as was reported by Billboard last week.
"Chano, Chatham's own, foolies glad I'm home, even my haters kinda glad I'm on"
Carefully crafted, and a wholly Chicago collaboration, Acid Rap has a feel about it around the city that possibly hasn't been seen since College Dropout. Bring up the project to anyone even marginally involved with Chicago hip-hop and smiles and favorite verses likely soon follow the statement "Damn, Chance is famous,". The fever was instantaneously evident to anyone who was within three blocks of Jugrnaut April 30 for the listening party that had lines stretching down Dearborn and around the corner.
Produced, engineered and mastered almost completely in Chicago at the likes of Soundscape Studios, Force One Seven, Classick and Fox and The Mule, the success of Acid Rap has been able to intrinsically elevate the ambitious young local music scene which has helped give way to a slew of young artists, Save Money and not. Chance would have been hard-pressed to find room for anyone else on the project, putting on for Chicago artists such as Lili K, Vic Mensa, Saba, NoNameGypsy, Twista, Kiara Lanier and host of moving parts such as Nico Segal and Greg Landfair, formerly of Kids These Days. Most notable are the talented producers (Peter CottonTale, Cam Osteen, Nate Fox, Stefan Ponce) that he has aligned himself with both on the album and future projects.
"Where the F#$K is Matt Lauer at? Somebody get Katie Couric in here."
Acid Rap transcends boundaries. Talking to Chance in the wake of 10 Day last November he mentioned making music that is both easily relatable and lyrically progressive. While songs like "Cocoa Butter Kisses", "Pusha Man" and "Nana" keep a playful tone, Chance is also able to take things down for moments. "Paranoia" reports on the state of Chicago better than most local media outlets, "Acid Rap" is a psychedelic introspection into life as an eccentric young adult, "Everybody's Something" touches on the intricacies of God, the world and personal interactions.
It has certainly been a year of moments for Chance The Rapper. Watching him open for Rockie Fresh at the Bottom Lounge in February to playing the Red Bull Sound Select stage in Austin in March, to the BMI stage at Lollapalooza with Twista, Vic Mensa and likely every festival-goes under 21 in attendance has been a whirlwind those who witnessed thus far won't soon forget. The nomination was deserved and will soon become a normal occurrence, but wins have been earned.
http://youtu.be/TTCveCPclSk
[Album] Rapsody: "She Got Game"
Rapsody is easily one of the top female artists in the hip-hop game. Her flow and delivery have been honed through two-a-days with in-house producer and mentor 9th Wonder over the past few years. Her growth is easily evident in her work. Since her debut with Return of The B-Girl in 2011, Rapsody has steadily shown the ability to improve with each project. She Got Game is the follow up to her 2012 release, The Idea of Beautiful and has features from Khrysis, DJ Premier and Chance The Rapper-who's verse on "Lonely Thoughts" may be his best yet ("I'm a paraplegic parrot with a pair of crutches in a no-fly zone on the phone talking about how Bush tryin' to disparage us".) Check out the track-listing and album stream below.
1.A Song About Nothing (Prod. by Eric G)
2.Coconut Oil ft. Raekwon & Mela Machinko (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
3.Thank You Very Much (Prod. by Khrysis)
4.Lonely Thoughts ft. Chance The Rapper (Prod. by Denaun Porter)
5.Caught Up ft. Raheem Devaughn (Prod. by Khrysis)
6.Generation ft. Mac Miller & Jared Evan (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
7.Special Way (Prod. by Khrysis)
8.Dark Knights ft. Wale (Prod. by E.Jones)
9.My Song ft. Mela Machinko (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
10.Complacent ft. Problem (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
11.Lover After All ft. Gwen Bunn (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
12.Kingship (Prod. by DJ Premier)
13.Feel Like (Love Love) ft. Common (Prod. by Ka$h)
14.Never Fail (Prod. by Eric G)
15.Never Know ft. Nispey Hussle, Ab-Soul, and Terrace Martin (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
16.Jedi Code ft. Phonte & Jay Electronica (Prod. By 9th Wonder)