By KendraD on Wed, Dec 30, 2009 12:41 pm
You can always count on hip-hop for some free (mostly legal) music and this Christmas was no exception. If you were too busysay, enjoying the holiday, its not too late to add a few mixtapes under your tree. The Christmas drop is about as original as the gimmicky “30 songs in 30 days” bit and few didn’t indulge in the ceremonial marketing this year. Here are some of the better releases from some under the radar artists to add toyour ipod:
The Cool Kids x Don Cannon – Merry Christmas | Download
The Cool Kids talk about absolutely nothing,and they’re damn good at it. The Chicago boom bap rap duo met each other onMyspace in 2005 and has been steadily gaining popularity on and off the internet. The Merry Christmas EP is their second project with Don Cannon and a follow up to their successful mixtape Gone Fishing (C.A.K.E Recordings/Cannon Music) thispast Spring. The four-track project features production from Cool Kid, Chuck English, Don Cannon and First Team All State and two Boldy James features.
Must Listen: Tires Ft.Boldy James (produced by Chuck English)
J*Davey – Boudoir Synema: The Great Mistapes | Download
J*Davey are unabashed genre benders.Depending on the track, they can be described as anything from neo-soul and electro to fusion, new wave and hip-hop. Add them to your list of urban leftists (think M.I.A., Janelle Monae, Santogold) to make an appearance over the decade. The duo consists of male producer Brook D’Leau and female singer/songwriter Briana “JackDavey “ Cartwright. Boudoir Synema is the Los Angeles twosome’s first project since their 2007 release of Land of the Lost and is the first installment of a three-part EP series, The Great Mistapes. We’re excited to hear the next two mixtapes because Boudoir Synema could have easily been the start to a great album.
Must Listen: Get Together – J*Davey
Mick Boogie, DJ Benzi, D-Star - Motivation 3 | Download
Motivation 3 is a mixtape that will definitively tour the New Year’s Eve party circuit. Famed DJ/Producer/Mixtape Composers (it’s the new singer/songwriter!) Benzi, Mick Boogie and D Star teamed up with host Mike Posner (Duke University R&B electro pop sweetheart) to produce a 53-track club mix of R&B, hip-hop and pop radio and blog hits.
Must Listen: Money To Blow (Classy Hand Favours Remix) – Drake
Thurzday of U-N-I x Dibia$e – Not Quite A Christmas Story | Download
Thurzday of Los Angeles rap duo U-N-I (#verydope) chronicles the tale of Brian at an office holiday party who chases after his boss’s daughter a la classic Slick Rick and Eminem’s “Guilty Conscience.” While it won’t make heavy rotation, “Not Quite A Christmas Story” is definitely one of the better holiday cautionary tales.
Worth Checking Out:
The Five One – Free Remix Project | Download
30 remixes released throughout 2009, a prequel to the D.C. by way of Boston band’s upcoming EP, Deuce Day World. (Sounds like: N.E.R.D., The Roots, and The Wailers’s illegitimate love child.)
By KendraD on Wed, Dec 30, 2009 11:30 am
Virginia rapper and self-proclaimed ghostwriter (think Diddy, Foxy Brown, Will Smith), Skillz has released his annual “Rap Up” for 2009, chronicling the highs andlows of hip-hop and pop culture. The track is available for free download and names everything from the H1N1 outbreak and Health Care bill to Michael Jackson’s death and Kanye West’s MTV MusicAwards outburst. Check out some of the track’s standout fails and disappointments of the year:
John & Kate Plus 8:
And I don’t care about the fate of John and Kate / If you feel sorry for anybody it should be the plus eight / Having seven siblings can’t be calm, butI’ll take 20 of them before I take one Octomom.
Chris Brown and Rihanna:
Chris Brown, now that’s my guy, but how he do an interview and all y'all notice is the bow tie? / The media went hard/ Chris you want us to forget? Just saywhat really happened in the car / Rihanna she kept quiet, until she had an album to sell but we still ain’t buy it.
Tiger Woods' scandal:
Health care got passed and that’s what’s good, but the idiot of the year is Tiger Woods / Can you say fail? / Who else is named Tiger, why would you leaveyour name on the voicemail? / He changed the game, I suppose, who’d a though the was putting 18 holes.
Rap Deaths:
And we mourned this year, I got to say—every other day somebody passed away / Mr.Magic, Roc Raida, my man Baatin, Darian, and my friend AM / It was a very sad year to say the least, so to everybody we lost/rest in peace.
Missing from the nearly 50 references in “Rap Up 2009” was any mention of this past year’s BET Awards fail, which occurred only days after Michael Jackson’s death.Tweeters and bloggers alike described this year’s program as a coonfest of sorts filled with ridiculous outfits, shout-outs and a subpar MJ tribute (if you could call it that). The evening’s peak was the Young Money performance of “Every Girl”where Lil Wayne’s prepubescent daughter and her friends joined the rap clique on stage, dancing around a crippled Drake as YM rapped the famed chorus “I wishI could f*ck every girl in the world.” Parenting at its best.
While we’ve heard better from Skillz (he’s been producing rap ups since 2002), the 2009 edition was pretty much on target. What do you think?
