The Hip-Hop Dojo [Vol. 10]

This week hasn’t been very kind to me folks. From nagging injuries to a nasty lingering cold, I’ve spent most of my week resigned indoors as I try to recover. Despite all of those hurdles though, I’ve managed to push through to bring you all the tenth edition of the Hip-Hop Dojo. Last week was all about introducing you guys to new artists, and while we do have a few fresh names around here again, you should be familiar with a majority of the lot. I won’t be able to elaborate on every track today, but I would like to point out some of the standout material from this week’s collection. We just hope this playlist can serve as a nice break from the Arrested Development marathon we all know you’re currently having.

We start things of with New Jersey native MoRuf, a recent college graduate who decided to celebrate by crafting a song about it. Looking forward to the road ahead, Mo hopes to dodge some stormy weather as he seeks the clear path towards success. Next up to the plate is Devine Carama who hopes to enlighten his listeners through his lyrics and his flow. Da YoungFellaz hope to take us on a trip to “New Rich City” with their latest effort. This marks the second straight week that the duo has been featured in the Dojo, and we hope that streak continues going forward. Our fourth selection reminds us of a lesson Bay Area emcee A-1  taught us a few weeks back. On “Funeral Season” Statik and crew provide us with a few more details about the spike in violence that occurs during the hot summer months. Bun B and Hit-Boy in particular come through with some surprisingly stellar verses.

A good chunk of this week’s compilation comes to us from Chicago. In fact, two of the best works lyrically are featured back to back: the first one being F.Stokes‘ “1954” and the second being Psalm One‘s “Queen Until.” We also can’t ignore our newest piece from the SAVEMONEY clique. The ensemble provides us with bars for days as they absolutely tear through the seven minute remix of Giftz’s “Nino.” Another phenomenal number comes to us from Waldo who “Finally” makes his Hip-Hop Dojo premiere. The Michigan emcee certainly impresses on the mic as he spits over a lush, atmospheric instrumental from Sango. Our final offering from Chitown comes courtesy of Julian Malone, who preps us for the release of his upcoming Diff.Rnt mixtape with the first single, “Tokyo.” 

Tate Tucker‘s “Fire” wins the title of smoothest track of the week, but Bas‘ “Lit” might be a close second. Featuring a sample of Miguel‘s “Do You” and an excellent guest verse from J. Cole, “Lit” definitely stands out as one of the top tracks to drop this week (seriously, I can’t emphasize enough how clutch that Cole feature is). Interpolating the chorus of the Fresh Prince classic, Blu wants to remind us exactly what time it is (even if it might not feel that way in certain parts of the country) on “Summer Time.”

Now I don’t normally feature freestyles on here, but there’s something about Drake‘s “5 AM In Toronto” that brings the best out of every emcee that touches it. A few weeks ago we shared Joell Ortiz‘s rendition of “5 AM In Brooklyn,” and today we bring you Voli‘s “5 AM.” The Jersey representative definitely brings his A-game as he steps up to the mic on this one. When you first press play on Lecrae‘s “Round of Applause” it might sound like your average trap banger, but if you pay close attention to the lyrics, you’ll realize the true message behind the song. The track is all about emerging from the stereotypes that many of these rappers fall victim to, and proving that it’s possible to be successful through hard work and education. That provides a perfect segue to our next selection, as Goodie Mob attempts to provide us with “Special Education” of their own. Featuring the vocal stylings of Janelle Monáe, the newest single from the legendary quartet is sure to make your headphones explode with its whirring, hard-hitting instrumental. The track also proves that Cee Lo can still rap his ass off, as he completely demolishes the beat with his tremendous wordplay.

Snow Tha Product is the only artist to be featured twice this week, and for good reason. If you don’t know about Snow yet, it’s still not too late to jump on her bandwagon. The Mexican-American emcee absolutely bodies tracks with her rapid-fire flow, proving she can hold her own on both “On. Now” featuring Trae Tha Truth and “Cali Luv,” a record produced by The Cataracs that includes a sample of Tupac‘s classic “California Love.” The next selection I’d like to highlight is from Travi$ Scott. Kanye’s latest protégé recently released his Owl Pharoah mixtape, and this particular track was too good to pass up. “Dance on the Moon” has a very Kid Cudi-esque vibe to it, mostly thanks to Theophilus London‘s vocals on the chorus. The final track on our playlist might be the most upbeat (and the most random) of them all. Featuring the unlikely pairing of 2 Chainz and Macklemore, Clinton Sparks brings us an energetic number all about chasing paper and having a generally good time.All in all, it’s a perfect way to wrap things up.

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

(As a bonus, I wanted to direction your attention to a fun little video I’ve included below. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will always have a special place in the hearts of all hip-hop fans, so I feel it’s my duty to alert you of any mini-reunions of the show’s cast.)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL THE FREE TRACKS

’MoRuf – Dodging.Dark.Clouds.’
’Devine Carama – Light Switch Flow’
’Da YoungFellaz – New Rich City (feat. Sal Capone)’
’Statik Selektah – Funeral Season (feat. Styles P, Bun B, & Hit Boy)’
’Giftz – Nino (Remix) Feat. Tree, Joey Purp, Kami de Chukwu, Dally Auston, Brian Fresco & Caleb James’
’Julian Malone – Tokyo’
’Waldo – Finally (Prod. by Sango)’
’F. Stokes – 1954’
’Psalm One – Queen Until (Prod. By Panik)’
’Tate Tucker – Fire’
’Bas – Lit feat. J. Cole and KQuick (Prod. by Ced)’
’MeLo X – Mojitos and Little Dragon’
’Blu & Bombay – “Summer Time” feat. Arima Ederra’
’Spose – I’m Starving’
’Chuck Inglish – For The Love (Feat. Asher Roth)’
’Sir Michael Rocks – In a Minute feat. Ab Soul & Dash (Prod. Larry Fisherman)’
’Earl Sweatshirt – Guild (feat. Mac Miller)’
’Kid Ink – Bossin’ Up  ft A$AP Ferg & French Montana’
’Voli – 5AM’
’Lecrae – Round Of Applause ft. B.o.B’
’Goodie Mob – Special Education f. Janelle Monae’
’Machine Gun Kelly – Peso ft. Pusha T & Meek Mill’
’Snow Tha Product – On. Now ft. Trae Tha Truth (Prod. by Cardo)’
’Snow Tha Product – Cali Luv (Prod. by The Cataracs)’
’Travi$ Scott – Dance On The Moon Feat. Theophilus London & Paul Wall’
’YONAS – Pocket Full of Dreams’
’Clinton Sparks – Gold Rush feat 2 Chainz, Macklemore & D.A.’
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[Hip-Hop] LA Leakers – The 2013 Draft Picks (Mixtape)

Today, the Los Angeles Leakers dropped their 2013 Draft Picks mixtape, a compilation of tracks by some of the brightest stars and up ‘n comers in hip-hop today. The projects features original songs and freestyles from ninja favorites Pac Div, A$AP Rocky, Freddie Gibbs, Trinidad Jame$, Kid Ink, Ryan Leslie and Sir Michael Rocks among others. Stream some of the cuts below and grab the whole tape for free here: LA Leakers – The 2013 Draft Picks

’Wale – Draft Pick’
’Kid Ink & Sir Michael Rocks – No Turning Back’
’Ryan Leslie – History’
’A$AP Rocky LA Leakers Freestyle’
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[Hip-Hop] Kid Ink – Bad Ass ft Meek Mill & Wale

Although the name Kid Ink is relatively unknown to the mainstream music, he is a rising star in the indie rap scene. Mixing together all the elements highly popularized in the genre of sex, drugs, and money, this Cali rapper has been steady on his grind. After releasing his mixtape RocketShipShawty and independent album Up&Away, there has been a heavy bidding war for Ink’s signature on a major label deal. Finally signing with RCA records this new year, he celebrates by dropping his major-label debut track titled “Bad Ass”. This Devin Cruise-produced single brings in some heavy lyricists in Meek Mill and Wale for a street-influenced banger.

’Kid Ink – Badass feat Wale & Meek Mill (Prod by Devin Cruise)’
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[Hip-Hop/Remix] 1982 – Up Every Night ft Cory Gunz & Kid Ink (Remix)

Massachusetts-bred emcees Statik Selektah and Termanology, also known rap group 1982, drop some new heat off their latest collaborative album titled 2012. Their new single, “Up Every Night,” is given a new sound and new bars with the addition of rising stars Kid Ink and Cory Gunz. The feel good, Statik Selektah-produced throwback mix of old school and Motown sounds is already dope, but the addition of the Bronx rapper Gunz and indie lyricist Kid Ink is a nice touch. This tune should definitely be on steady replay on your playlist and be sure to cop the group’s latest LP, available on iTunes now.

1982 - Up Every Night Remix ft. Cory Gunz & Kid Ink
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