[New] Nas – The Season (prod. by J. Dilla)

Nas
The Season (prod. by J.Dilla)

It may not be Thanksgiving just yet, but the holidays brought out the softer side with a new tune from the Queens emcee, Nas. Apparently ‘Tis “The Season” for the rapper to deliver some new music for our listening enjoyment. Backed by a classic “Gobstopper”-sample  from the legendary J.Dilla, the latest single is a smooth, percussion filled track with a nice jazzy vibe. After previewing this gem last night during Run the Jewels 2 event in Brooklyn, Nas unveiled the full-length studio version today for fans to get into.

Balancing snares and horns with some spoken words, Nas remains humble as he pays homage to the late producer and speaks on not being able to enjoy the spoils of his success. It is good to know that even with all the success, Nas still takes the time to give fans some original, reflective work. Nas also credits his brother The Jungle for his source of inspiration and denies ever getting rhymes from Jay-Z or his protege Jay Electronica. Take a listen to the new single and be sure to stay tuned to hear more.

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Sunday Night Soul [Vol. 20]

Hello ninjas, and welcome to Sunday Night Soul Volume 20. We embarked on this journey exactly 5 months ago with the goal of finding only the best tunes the internet had to offer. What started off as a fairly modest effort, has now grown substantially to the monstrosity you see here (and we mean “monstrosity” in the most loving way possible). We’re proud to see how the field has expanded to include various different soundscapes, increasingly pushing the genre to new limits. It’s an exciting time for R&B music, and we’re pleased to be to sitting right here in the front row, watching it evolve right before our eyes.Of course, you can hear that growth for yourself below.

This week’s collection includes multiple doubles. By doubles we mean you’ll be seeing more than a few names repeated multiple times throughout. Whether it’s through remixes or features, what it indicates is that plenty of your favorites were incredibly busy this week. Standouts come by way of Zuper, Dpat & Atu, SZA, White Lights, Bipolar Sunshine, Gallant, Z.Woods, Mila J, Rush Davis, Muzi, Ta-Ku, Fei-Fei, subdaio, elkco, Lido, ForteBowieTOKiMONSTAFiggy and Dolphin Tears. That might seem like a substantially long list already, but that’s just scratching the surface of what tonight’s pallet has to offer.

’Zuper – Wake Up With You’
’Plue Starfox – Gold Eater (Feat; Muzzy Legault)’
’Melo B. Jones – Perfect Girl (Produced By Oh4Re△L?!)’
’Chiara Noriko – Where Are You Gonna Take Me’
’Rochelle Jordan – How To Feel’
’abhi//dijon – Let You Know (Dpat & Atu Remix)’
’Aquilo – Part Of Your Life’
’SZA – Child’s Play (feat. Chance The Rapper)’
’// White Lights – Sleepyhead’
’Jay Stones – Agartha (Prod. The Most Hiii)’
’YOUNG & SICK – HEARTACHE FETISH’
’Soulpersona – Hot Shower Interlude feat Princess Freesia (From The Lapdancer album)’
’M&O – House ft Donnie Trumpet’
’Dana Williams – One More’
’James Fauntleroy – I Don’t Wanna Be Alone’
’Bipolar Sunshine – Long Live A$AP (A$AP Rocky Cover) – Radio 1 Live Lounge Late’
’Sam Smith – Stay With Me’
’Clara C – Things Untold’
’Asher Roth – Fast Life (Feat. Vic Mensa)’
’Will Wildfire – Days In The East (Call On Me)’
’Gallant – Jupiter Grayscale (prod. Maths Time Joy)’
’Z.Woods – Undo’
’August Alsina – Kissin On My Tattoos’
’MirImage – Mine’
’Jacquees – Future Baby Mama’
’Coline Creuzot – You Tried It’
’Mila J – Smoke, Drink, Break Up (Remix) (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign)’
’Muzi – TRIBES X ANGELS (FT DIVINE CIGHT)’
’Rush Davis – Sin Pays The Bills’
’India Shawn – Floating Away (ft. James Fauntleroy)’
’Eric Bellinger – Rihanna Feat. K2’
’Nsha Feat. J Staffz – Slow Down (Prod. By J Staffz)’
’MPrynt – Don’t Hurt Me’
’Songwriter TC – Done With Love’
’Tiffany Evans – Footprints’
’Elevation Theory – Valentines Day’
’TeeFLii – 24 Hours ft. 2 Chainz (Produced by DJ Mustard)’
’M&O – Hollow’
’Glass Animals – Holiest Feat. Tei–Shi’
’BANKS – BRAIN (TA–KU REMIX)’
’Madeaux – EPINEPHRINE (FEAT. GALLANT)’
’Tev’n – Chasing Storms (Kwes. Rework)’
’XONA
Umbrella’
’Drake – The Motion (AVAY Rework)’
’O L V – Close To Us (GXNXVS Remix) (Feat. Låpsley)’
’FDLUXX – Repent 94’
’The Code – Her’
’subdaio. – Apsara (ft. Muzzy Legault)’
’Pascäal – Drowning In You (Mincha Edit)’
’Duncan Gerow – Alicia Keys + J Dilla = Girlfriend’
’Duncan Gerow – Brandy + 40 = Full Moon’
’NiceGuyxVinny – Savannah’
’Fortune & MadBliss – Inside’
’Låpsley – Painter (Hazy Mountains Remix)’
’M.I.A. – XXXO (T.Hemingway Remix)’
’Jhene Aiko – My Afternoon Dream (BeAle Remix)’
’BANKS – Brain (Fei – Fei’s Feided Remix)’
’Miguel – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (prod. elkco rmx)’
’Chris Brown Feat. Tyga & Lil Wayne – Loyal (C. Justice Bootleg)’
’Pharrell – Happy (ForteBowie 1988 SOUL TRAIN EDIT)’
’Disclosure Ft. Sam Smith – Latch (Lido Remix)’
’Eric Bellinger ft K2 – Rihanna (Jeftuz Remix)’
’Uness – Top Down Caddy (produced by elkco rmx)’
’Tinashe ft Schoolboy Q – 2 On (TOKiMONSTA remix)’
’Seal – Kiss From A Rose (Durkin 3:30 AM Edit)’
’Foner – ctctct’
’✿ Harrison ✿ – How Can It Be (Feat. Maddee)’
’Stevie Wonder – Superstition (Autograf Remix)’
’Destiny’s Child x WKND – Say My Name’
’Tinashe – Vulnerable Feat. Travi$ Scott (Blood Diamonds Remix)’
’Ariel Camusso & Persian Empire – Time (123Mrk remix)’
’Figgy – Do It Like Us’
’LION KNGS – U & No One Else’
’JEREMIH – F*CK U ALL THE TIME (DOLPHIN TEARS REMIX)’
’Jeremih – Birthday Sex (Andrew Luce Remix)’
’Brandy – Paint This House (Ticklish Reboot)’
’DJ Cassidy feat. R. Kelly – Make The World Go Round’
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[Hip-Hop] De La Soul – Dilla Plugged In (Prod. J Dilla)

De La Soul
Dilla Plugged In (Produced By J Dilla)

25 years after the release of their debut project 3 Feet High & Rising (an album everyone should have after the band gave away their entire catalog for free last month), De La Soul are looking to commemorate the occasion by releasing a brand new tune rapped over a previously unheard J Dilla instrumental. There’s simply no better adjective to describe “Dilla Plugged In” than dope. Listening to the track is almost like taking a trip to an alternate timeline, one where De La Soul is still a prominent force in hip-hop, and Dilla is still producing ill beats. Lucky for us, moments like this are sure to occur more frequently, as “Dilla Plugged In” is just the first single from an upcoming mixtape by the group entitled Smell The DA.I.S.Y. which will consist exclusively of Dilla produced beats. Right now there’s no release date for the project, but we’ll be eagerly anticipating its arrival.

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Sunday Night Soul [Vol. 7]

It’s the final Sunday of 2013, meaning it’s the perfect time to reflect fondly on the year that was and look forward to the year that will be. This week’s collection has exactly what you need to get in a contemplative mood, from sultry slow jams to upbeat numbers that’ll fit right in on your New Year’s Eve playlists. We couldn’t think of a better way to wrap the series up for the year than with supreme vocal talents like Frank Ocean, Elle Varner, August Alsina, and Chiara Noriko, as well as top notch producers like TOKiMONSTA, ESTA, Juan Cristobal, Ticklish, Sweater Beats, and many more. 2013 was a tremendous year for us, and the right time to strike up this series. We know 2014 will only supply us with even more breathtaking discoveries. In the meantime, make sure to press play on this latest edition of Sunday Night Soul, a fitting nightcap to conclude your year.

’Jordan Rakei – Imagine (Moods Remix)’
’Lonny Breaux (Frank Ocean) – Light Show’
’Kenny Lattimore – Heart Stops’
’Elle Varner – Rover Ft. Wale’
’K. Michelle – V.S.O.P. (Remix) feat. August Alsina’
’starRo – Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind (ft. Alcordo)’
’Beyonce & D’Angelo – Untitled Rocket (A JAYBeatz Mashup)’
’Aaliyah
One In A Million (Jansport J Remix)’
’Esta. – ForYou&HerToo & Janet (Juan Cristobal Remix)’
’Chiara Noriko – J Dilla Beat (Chiara Remix)’
’Chiara Noriko – Do It Big (Tyler, The Creator Beat)’
’Soulblime – PARTYNEXTDOOR (Soulblime Remix)’
’Drake – Too Much (El. Train Remix)’
’Ciara + Esta – Promise’
’suicideyear x outthepound – yo lovee’
’SANDERMÖLDER – LOVEHANGOVEREDIT (w/ Peedu Kass)’
’Sweater Beats – Do It For Me (ft. Erin Marshall)’
’Kelela – Do It Again (Druid Cloak Club Cosmos Bootleg)’
’Cyril Hahn – Perfect Form (Rey Ruccio Remix)’
’702 – Steelo (TOKiMONSTA Supa Remix)’
’Jarreau Vandal – Until The Dawn’
’SvanSikh – Lose Control’
’Mary J. Blige – I Am (Noïthingness Remix)’
’SWV vs Shackles
Rain On U & I (Reid Speed Mashup)’
’Jagged Edge – He Can’t Love You (Ticklish Reboot)’
’Baby Bash – Suga Suga (Ticklish Reboot)’
’Cosmo’s Midnight – Goodnight (feat. Polographia)’
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The Hip-Hop Dojo [Vol. 15]

Guess who’s baaaaaaccckk? Did you miss me? The Hip-Hop Dojo’s finally ready to reopen its doors for business, and I’ve got plenty to share with you today. I’ve traveled far and wide, sailed across the seven seas, climbed the highest peaks, and braved the hottest deserts to hone my craft, learning from the very best, meditating, and planning my return (basically picture the whole training sequence from Batman Begins). In all honesty though, I appreciate your patience over the last few months, and hope I can finally get back on my grind to deliver you the freshest hip-hop product on a consistent basis.

So without further ado, let’s get this party started. This very special fifteenth edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo features plenty of familiar names, from hip-hop heavyweights like Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Raekwon and Kendrick Lamar, to Dojo frequenters like Kings Dead, MeLo-X, Audio PushTito Lopez, and Devine Carama. We’ve even got a few fresh faces for y’all like Michael Christmas, Dom McLennon, A La $ole, GoldLink, and Fresco Nerd. Given the sheer size of our comeback playlist (over 45 tracks!), I’ll keep it light on the words this week to conserve your precious time and keep you focused on the music. However, if you like what you hear from any of these artists and want to check out any relevant projects from them, I’ll include a link roll below.

We hope you guys enjoyed our fifteenth edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo as much as we did! As always, you can send all submissions/suggestions to baseer@themusicninja.com and ash@themusicninja.com.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL THE FREE TRACKS (ALT. LINK)

Roc Marciano – The Pimpire Strikes Back

Jabee – Deliver Us From Evil

MED & Blu – The Buzz EP

Waldo – NSDE/OUTSDE

MoRuf – Shades.Of.Moo

Alexander Spit – Dillinger

Eddie B & Harry Fraud – Paper, Piff & Polo

Lecrae – Church Clothes Vol. 2

Fresco Nerd – Unexpected Expectations

Village of Pharaohs – Pharaodysseus (1996 A.D.)

Fly.Union – Loose Releases

OverDoz – Boom

MeLo-X – GOD: Pièce de Résistance

Tyrone Briggs – Scattered Thoughts

’Eminem – Don’t Front (feat. Buckshot)’
’Busta Rhymes – Thank You ft. Q Tip’
’Raekwon – It’s My Thing’
’A La $ole – Been Swank (Prod. Hames)’
’Devine Carama – 16 Bars In A Clip (produced by J
Ideas)’
’Devin Miles – Show You The Cool {Prod. Air Kalo} Ft. Scolla’
’Audio Push – So Far To Go (Freestyle)’
’Hollywood FLOSS ft. Like of Pac Div – Underdog Remix’
’Roc Marciano – Sincerely Antique Ft. Action Bronson & Willie The Kid (prod. Alchemist)’
’Styles P. – All I Got (feat. Action Bronson & Easy Money) (Produced By Statik Selektah)’
’ELMNT – Tesla’s Son (Prod. Cam)’
’Jabee – PLVYVHVT3 ft. Kool AD’
’Stik Figa – Untitled +1 ft. Add 2′
’MED & Blu – The Buzz feat. Mayer Hawthorne (prod. Madlib)’
’ShowYouSuck – 80’s Boobs (prod by J. Arthur)’
’Waldo – Kobe’s Room (Truth Be Told) (Prod. by Sango)’
’MoRuf – Homie.Lover.Friend ft Jesse Boykins III’
’Isaiah Rashad – Ronnie Drake feat. SZA (Prod. by The Antydote)’
’Casey Veggies – Faces Remix (Ft. Dom Kennedy)(prod. Rob Holladay)’
’Casey Veggies – Life$tyle Remix (Ft. Curren$y)’
’Smoke DZA
Legends In The Making (Ashtray Pt.2) (Ft. Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y) Prod. By Harry Fraud’
’PrezSport – Same King (prod by Jansport J)’
’GoldLink – Creep’
’Blended Babies – See The World Ft. Asher Roth & Chuck Inglish’
’Alexander Spit – 94 Logo Blur feat. Chuck Inglish’
’Eddie B – The Warning ft. Sean Price & Termanology (Prod. By Harry Fraud)’
’Sean Price, Billy Danze & Maffew Ragazino (feat. DJ Babu) – Land of the Crooks (prod. by M Phazes)’
’Kuniva (of D12) – Michiganish ft. Jon Connor, Boldy James, Guilty Simpson’
’Lecrae – Was It Worth It (feat. Derek Minor & Crystal Nicole)’
’Shelton Harris & Tyler Dopps – No Gods’
’MoRuf – Fallen (prod. MeLo X)’
’Fresco Nerd – Real (Feat. A.J. Crew) (Prod. By ToneBeatz)’
’Brian Fresco – CIRCUMSTANCES ft. CRich’
’Dom McLennon – UNTLTD FLX’
’Jon Waltz – LNIA (Last Night In Atlanta)’
’Jon Waltz – Magic City (FNIA)
’Ryan Hemsworth & Starlito – “Can’t Get Over You”‘
’Fredo Santana – Jealous (Ft. Kendrick Lamar)’
’Kid Ink – My Own Lane (Prod by Ned Cameron)’
’Village of Pharaohs – Back to Cairolina (MMA & IV League) (Prod. by Ski Beatz)’
’Fly.Union – I’m There’
’OverDoz – These Niggas Ft Nipsey Hussle (Prod by. THC)’
’Kings Dead – Don’t Need Much’
’Tito Lopez – #BUSSIN (Prod. By Lone Lez)’
’Michael Christmas – Kunishi (Prod. Jasper Sheff)’
’MeLo X – Remember Remember (Feat. Cheri Coke)’
’Rockie Fresh (Feat. Lunice) – HEADQUARTERS Freestyle’
’Phive – Blowing Up! (feat The Graduates)’
’Tyrone Briggs – LOSER (Prod. by Mike Cash)’
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The Hip-Hop Dojo [Vol. 5]

You know what time it is, folks. The Hip-Hop Dojo is back for its fifth installment. Typically, we try to separate the playlist based on certain themes or sounds, but this week’s crop is our largest and most unique ever, making it tough to group everything together, but we tried our best. There is one pervasive idea that seems to shine throughout a majority of this playlist though, which is “keeping it real.”

This week’s edition is a revival of sorts, featuring plenty of industry veterans, and a few names you probably haven’t heard in quite awhile. We start things off with De La Soul, fresh off a 10 year hiatus to provide the game with some toughness once again. Channeling the “Spirit of the Wu,” the trio show us they haven’t lost a step as they go in over a sample of the “Intro” from Wu-Tang Forever. While De La Soul represents the Wu in spirit, Raekwon represents them for real on Statik Selektah‘s new single, “Bird’s Eye View.” Along with fast-rising youngster Joey Bada$$, and the criminally underrated Black Thought, the Chef and crew absolutely merk the soulful instrumental as they give us an idea of the view from above. Next up, we listen as another holdover from the 90’s, DJ Premier, pays homage to his Gang Starr running mate, Guru, alongside the great Talib Kweli and producer Marco Polo. Our next few songs carry on with the 90’s vibes. Honestly, the only way you can tell these piano-backed tracks are from 2013 is by their pop culture references.

Now, our next track might seem a bit controversial to some of you out there. I don’t normally endorse rappers spitting over classic instrumentals, but XXL Freshman, Logic, shows us he’s more than worthy of his new title over Outkast‘s “Ms. Jackson.” I’m still having a hard time trying to resist belting out the chorus whenever I listen to it though. Moving on, we have a previously unreleased joint from the late, great J Dilla, set to be featured on his posthumous album, The Diary. Dilla takes a sample of 80’s record cars “Cars” by Gary Numan, and completely flips on its head, glorifying “big ass trucks and big ass rims.”

Our next three tracks feature pairs of emcees trading bars back and forth. While The MyNORS kick it old school, MMG’s Rockie Fresh and Rick Ross give us a little taste for “Panera Bread” over some stellar production from Lunice of TNGHT. Following those acts up are MAHD and JD Era, two emcees who absolutely shred the beats given to them. Linking up on our next number are two former G-Unit labelmates, Havoc and Lloyd Banks, who give us some insight on the life they chose for themselves.

Coming to you for his second appearance in the Dojo is Texan spitter, M.I who brings along a new friend you may already be familiar with, Chamillionaire. Although the Houston native hasn’t been entirely relevant in recent years, he reminds us all why we fell in love with his music years ago, delivering a killer verse on what may be the standout track on this playlist. We then shift things over to Dade County to visit talented young emcee, Denzel Curry. While the title “N64” makes it sound like it should be a fun track, Curry is doing anything but playing around here. Over some dusky, ominous production, Denzel “Aquarius’Killa” Curry tackles the issue of gun violence, and sheds the spotlight back on the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. On a related note, Doley Bernays also dedicates his newest single to the subject of violence, but chooses to enlighten us from a different perspective. Sampling the Deadmau5 single of the same name, Bernays and running mate Denzil Porter discuss the difficulties of choosing between a life on the streets and pursuing their dreams as emcees. Check out the recently released visuals for the track to garner the full effect.

As we approach the finish line, we decided to cool things down a bit. While none of these are quite 4/20 worthy material, they’ll definitely help you mellow out after some of those more serious numbers. The first joint comes to us from across the “Ocean,” as UK spitter Paper Plates shows that he certainly can hold his own against the American boys. The next track I’d like to highlight is Sound FX‘s “Apathy,” a song which is guaranteed to lift all your worries away as the California natives spit over a light, airy backdrop. Now, before you Charles Hamilton fans get too excited about a comeback (I know there’s still some of you lingering out there), I’d like to warn you that this final track is actually an unreleased collaboration from a few years back. XV recently decided to remaster and re-release his previous four mixtapes, including four new unheard tracks from each recording session. If you’re a fan of Vizzy and want to polish up your library, it’s definitely worth at least a look.

We hope you guys enjoyed our fifth edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo as much as we did. As always, send all submissions/suggestions to baseer@themusicninja.com.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL THE FREE TRACKS

’De La Soul – Get Away (feat. The Spirit Of The Wu)’
’Statik Selektah – Bird’s Eye View (feat. Raekwon, Joey Bada$$ & Black Thought)’
’Marco Polo – G.U.R.U. f/ Talib Kweli & DJ Premier’
’Raiza Biza – 7th Floor (Prod By SoulChef)’
’JusThoughtZ – I’m Okay’
’Reks – Caged Bird ft. Ezdread’
’Co$$ – Blasphemy in Babylon (prod. by DJ Mentos)’
’Joey Purp & Tokyo Shawn – World Turning (prod. Caleb James)’
’Jon Connor – All 4 U’
’Logic – Roll Call’
’J Dilla – Trucks’
’The MyNORS – Mr Mista feat Nottz Raw ( prod by DP)’
’Kourvioisier – Write Brothers (Feat. Thee Tom Hardy) (Produced By K
Hill)’
’Rockie Fresh – Panera Bread (Feat. Rick Ross & Lunice)’
’MAHD – “Doors Up”‘
’JD Era
Marz Barz (Freestyle)’
’Havoc – Life We Chose Feat. Lloyd Banks’
’Ti’Jean – Fast/Slow feat. Pusha T’
’M.I – Nothing You Can Do (ft. Chamillionaire & Corbett) (prod by Tyler Keyes)’
’Denzel Aquarius’Killa Curry – N64 (Prod. By N/P)’
’Doley Bernays – Raise Your Weapon Feat. Denzil Porter’
’Paper Plates – Ocean (Prod. Juna Cosmos)’
’Bas – Stronger (Prod. by Jii Amadehuss)’
’Kevin Abstract – Ian Mad’
’Sound FX – Apathy’
’XV – Nevermind (Remix) ft. Charles Hamilton’
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[Hip-Hop] Smoke DZA – K.O.N.Y. (Mixtape)

Harlem’s Smoke DZA first caught hip-hop fan’s attention back in 2010 with his impressive mixtape, George Kush Da Button. Since then, he consistently released strong projects, joined up with New Orleans veteran Curren$y’s Jet Life Recordings and put out one of the strongest hip-hop albums of the summer with Rugby Thompson, entirely produced by Harry Fraud. DZA is a talented lyricist with a gritty east coast flow and certainly has created his own brand of lifestyle raps.

The self-proclaimed “Kushed God” released his most recent project yesterday boasting a star-studded tracklist. With features and production from Big K.R.I.T.Ab-SoulJoey Bada$$, King ChipSki Beatz and Harry Fraud, just to name a few, the expectations for K.O.N.Y. could not be higher and Smoke DZA most certainly does not disappoint. This is not a project you want to miss. Check out a few of the standout tracks below and grab the whole thing for free over here: Smoke DZA – K.O.N.Y..

’Smoke DZA – G.otham F._ckin C.ity (Feat. Joey Bada$$) (Prod. By J Dilla)’
’Smoke DZA Diamond (Feat. Ab
Soul) (Prod. By Kenny Beats)’
’Smoke DZA – K!NG (Feat. Big K.R.I.T.) (Prod. By Ski Beatz)’
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