Future Classic: Nickolas Thee Ruin “Distant Implosions”
I discovered this dude on reddit.com/r/hiphopheads, under an unfortunate title: “A year ago yesterday, my 20 year old best friend died a natural death.” He had been working on a project titled “Distant Implosions” and I thought I would check it out, having no expectations from it. I was pleasantly …
Future Classic: Kool Keith & L’Orange “Time? Astonishing!”
Taken from Martin Boev’s great MGNT site I wrote an article earlier this month about Kool Keith’s legacy- the way he was able to break common perceptions of rap as an art form. I described his style as eccentric, at times seeming like he’s talking through the beat, with no …
Mick Jenkins releases “Get Up Get Down” from upcoming Wave(s) EP
It’s no secret to our faithful MIMS readers and listeners that the young Chicago MC known as Mick Jenkins is one of our favorites. We’ve been pushing all his tracks since last year’s “Water(s)” EP dropped. Well today came some great news as we now know that the new EP …
Future Classic: Adrian Younge & Ghostface Killah “12 Reasons to Die II”
Ghost is a busy dude. Having released 3 projects prior to this one in the last 2 years, his storytelling abilities are dark, lyrical and always entertaining. On “12 Reasons to Die II”, Ghostface and Adrian Younge craft an album darker and more ambitious than their first, providing some incredible …
Future Classic: Your Old Droog “We Don’t Know You”
Some records just have a very specific vibe attached to them. They need to played in just the right context to truly make sense. The new joint from Coney Island’s (NY) Your Old Droog would have to be filed under: lazy summer morning. A track reminiscent of the good old …
Today in Dope Music History: Eric B & Rakim release “Paid in Full”
July 7th, 1987 Eric B And Rakim release their classic platinum-selling debut album “Paid In Full” on 4th & B’way Records on this day in 1987. “The album featured the classic hit singles “Eric B Is President”, “Move The Crowd”. “I Ain’t No Joke”, “I Know You Got Soul” and …
Forgotten Treasure: UMC’s “One to Grow On” (1991)
Here is one I hesitate to call a Forgotten Treasure since it’s really more of an all-time classic, at least for me. The UMC’s, not to be confused with the legendary Ultra Magnetic MC’s were a duo comprised of Haas G and Kool Kim which only put out two LP’s: …
1992 PBS documentary “Wreckin’ Shop from Brooklyn” (Hip-Hop Dance)
“Just like the movie “Flash Dance” is so important for the history of bboying culure, this clip is extremely important when we talk about hip hop dance culutre. This clip you see here is actually edited sequence of several excerpts from a documentary “Wreckin Shop from Brooklyn”. This documentary was …
Forgotten Treasure: Half A Mill “Any Day Can Be Your Last” (1994)
I found this myserious 12′ single in a dollar bin a few days ago while going through heaps of forgettable records, but then the Afro and $$ visuals caught my attention. Well it turned out to be a very good score because “Any Day Can Be Your Last” is a …
Documentary on TIMBALAND’s 25 year Production Career
Via Rap Radar: In the brand new, very special episode of E! True Hollywood Story, Timbaland sits down and maps out his fascinating journey, touching on everything from being shot at age 15 to losing Aaliyah—whom he reveals in this interview he was once in love with—to his 2008 wedding in …
Video: Toast Dawg feat. Illa J “Finale”
Montreal-based producer (and good friend) Toast Dawg has followed on the success of his “Brazivilain” project with the 2nd volume of the conceptual project. We premiered one of the tracks of the 2nd EP which actually didn’t have a title yet and it turns out that when Toast Dawg met …
Future Classic: Pete Rock “Petestrumentals 2”
via MelloMusicGroup: “Pete Rock was raised in Mount Vernon, but his face belongs on Mount Rushmore. The Chocolate Boy Wonder perfected an art form, inspired millions, and soundtracked a generation. By contrast, Teddy Roosevelt seems like a chump. This is the man who Dilla told, “I wanted to be like …