The Hip-Hop Dojo [Vol. 9]

Now, I’m no meteorologist, but based on this week’s Hip-Hop Dojo, it seems fair to say that we have a scorching hot summer ahead of us. The ninth edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo is jam packed with promising young talent primed to take over the game. The beginning of summer also indicates the start of mixtape season, which is what really makes this week’s selection truly special. Just about every track collected here was specifically chosen from a stellar project that recently dropped. While we can only share one gem from each artist, definitely make an effort to check out the rest of their material.

We start things off with the trunk rattling “Tangerine” by former Cool KidChuck Inglish. Reviving many of the same production values we came to appreciate from his singles with Sir Michael Rocks years ago, “Tangerine” is a guaranteed banger that’ll be a mainstay in your playlist as you cruise around in your whip this summer. Next up, we’d like to give a warm welcome to 16 year-old hip-hop phenom, Jalen Jenkins. While we don’t know much about the New York native, we do know he’s incredibly talented. Take one listen to “Shroomies” and you’ll be immediately enthralled with the fledgling artist. If you’re still not convinced however, check out Jalen’s full Bipolar project to get a further grasp of his abilities. We bridge the age gap as we cross over to our third selection, Prodigy‘s “Dough Pildin.” Produced by The Alchemist, “Pildin,” is presumably all about the Mobb Deep member’s desire to stack his cash up ala The Joker in The Dark Knight (though he might not end up burning up his funds quite so literally).

Chicago is the location of our next two tracks. While Alex Wiley and Freddie Gibbs “creep” around the city hatching schemes for taking over the world (actually I might be confusing them with Pinky & The Brain), Tokyo Shawn leaves us all wondering when the SAVEMONEY crew will finally get the recognition they deserve. We then shift our attention over to the West Coast where Casey Veggies focuses on counting his days, and his paper, all while weaving slick rhymes over a sample of Usher‘s “What Happened To U.” Up next, we’ve got New Yorkers, Da YoungFellaz with their single, “Fuck Rap.” For two guys who apparently have beef with the art, they’re awfully good at it.

Next on the queue we’ve got another youngster, 17 year-old Jon Waltz. The Memphis native is already drawing comparisons to Drake, and it’s easy to see why. Waltz is able to strike a careful balance between witty lyricism and an effortlessly catchy chorus on “Bang.” If you’re interested in hearing more from Jon, make sure to check out his Airways Blvd. EP. Following that up is the emotionally heavy “Clarissa (I Used To Love Her)” by Houston’s Anti-Lilly. Although the name might lead you to this to be an ode to the Common classic, Lilly’s “Clarissa” is actually a heart-wrenching tale of a love-struck drug dealer. While Anti-Lilly is left patching up a broken heart, Emilio Rojas is out breaking some more as he struggles with women who can get too attached after just one encounter.

KasFlow leads off our next section, providing us with one of the more impressive lyrical ditties of the week with his track, “Frozen Food Section.” For a guy born in 1994, KasFlow really understands how to capture the essence of the era through his music. Check out some more dope material from him on his Schema mixtape. Somebody contact Rhymesayers Entertainment and alert them about this dude named Dust. On “TEL AVIV III” the Portland rapper pieces together a laidback number with voice inflection that sounds like a cross somewhere between Slug and Brother Ali. Dust’s new project, Dust vs. The Operator is available for free on his Bandcamp page right now. Cam Meekins and Brandun DeShay bring us the cure for the common headache with their mellow collaboration, “Advil.”  We haven’t heard from either of them in quite awhile, so this one was a nice “2 for 1” special. Mike Stud tries to overcome a few “Bad Habits” alongside Kinetics and One Love with this euphoric new piece from his album, Relief.  Toronto emcee Coleman Hell invites you to chill with him while he counts his “Beer Cans.” I have no idea how he plans to amass a fortune from them, so I’ll leave the explanations up to him. Check out Coleman’s excellent Stark Raving as well. A frequent visitor to The Hip-Hop Dojo, M.i recently dropped his new mixtape Pushing Keyes. The project features stand out tracks we’ve highlighted before like “Church West Texas” and “Nothing You Can Do” as well as this new tune, the chilled-out “Hi.” It’s a nice change of pace from what we’ve heard from the Houston native, and should be one that’ll be a fixture in our rotation for months to come.

The title of “Most Charming Song of The Week” easily goes to Rally for his feel-good single, “Maybe That’s Why.” Featuring a keen sample of Norah Jones‘ “Don’t Know Why,” the pleasant melody is one that promises to instantly melt all your troubles away and keep a smile plastered on your face for the rest of the day. Coming in with a short little number is Tallahassee collective After The Smoke. While the song is light on the rap, it’s just as addicting as their previous hits. Our next summer “Groov” comes courtesy of Brothers From Another and Asher Roth. Grooving out is exactly what you’ll be doing as you jam out to this awesome tune. Our next track comes from fun-loving California trio Drop City Yacht Club. Formerly known as The Freshmen, the group decided it was time to grow up and graduate from their previous moniker as they pursue a life of lavish luxury on the open sea (at least that’s what we assume a newly formed yacht club would do). For fans worried about the change though, don’t be, as they’re still up to their previous antics as they ride the “Pipeline” with THURZ (of U-N-I fame). We keeps thing in California (Coachella to be precise) with Connor Evans and Shawn Chrystopher as they try to score with some “Hipsters and PrimaDonnas.” What is it with rappers using James Blake samples? Despite the recent trend becoming a little too rampant for our tastes, it’s impossible for us to resist the inherent charm behind each song. Adrian Lau’s “All A Game” might exhibit the unique use of Blake’s “Retrograde” to date, and we’re certainly thankful for it.

We hand the keys over to two of the game’s most talented wordsmiths, Jon Connor and Talib Kweli, who implore you to “Rise Up” to your feet as they spit vicious bars on their recent collaboration. Following that performance up is the hardworking Syler who proves it’s worth sacrificing a little sleep if it helps accomplish your goals (we hope making The Hip-Hop Dojo was one of them.) Up next, we have our pump-up anthem of the week in “Bet They See Me Now” by Kwame Darko (I wonder if he’s aware he’s named after two of the biggest busts in NBA history). We hope Kwame experiences more success in the rap game than either of those aforementioned individuals ever did playing basketball. We begin to wrap things  up with “Make It Home” a new collaboration between Hoodie Allen and Kina Grannis. Conceived and recorded in a 24 hour span, “Make It Home” is possibly the strongest material we’ve heard from the former Google employee in a long time. Maybe he should start using that method for all of his recordings? Last but not least, we have “Chasing Rainbows” from Marc Goone. Goone recently dropped his I Am Not A Lobster OK mixtape, which compiles all the music Marc’s released since last year’s Halfway to Nowhere, which had an exceedingly better name.

We hope you guys enjoyed our ninth edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo as much as we did. We’d like to take the time out to thank all the talented artists who sent in their submissions for this week’s playlist. As always, you can send all of your submissions/suggestions to baseer@themusicninja.com.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL THE FREE TRACKS

’Chuck Inglish – Tangerine (Feat. Aston Matthews & Kashflow)’
’Jalen Jenkins – Shroomies (Prod. By Mr. Carmack)’
’Prodigy – Dough Pildin (Produced by Alchemist)’
’Alex Wiley – Creepin featuring Freddie Gibbs’
’Tokyo Shawn – Wonder (prod. M&C)’
’Casey Veggies – Money Don’t Buy Time’
’Da YoungFellaz – F*ck Rap (feat. Rich iCoast)’
’Jon Waltz – Bang (Left My Home) (Prod. Zayd)’
’Anti Lilly – Clarissa (I Used To Love Her)’
’Emilio Rojas – Did It Again’
’KasFlow – Frozen Food Section (Feat. M. Wise) (Prod. By DJ DailyBread)’
’dust – TEL AVIV III’
’Cam Meekins – Advil (feat. Brandun Deshay)’
’Mike Stud – Bad Habits (Ft. Kinetics & One Love)”
’Coleman Hell – Beer Cans’
’M.i – Hi (ft Porche Harris)’
’Rally & Don Cruso – Maybe That’s Why (ft. ADOMS)’
’After The Smoke – Come and Leave’
’Brothers From Another – Groov Feat. Asher Roth’
’Drop City Yacht Club – Pipeline ft. THURZ’
’Connor Evans – Hipsters & PrimaDonnas (ft. Shawn Chrystopher)’
’Adrian Lau – All A Game’
’Jon Connor – Rise Up Feat. Talib Kweli’
’Syler – Dusk Till Dawn (feat. DJ JS1 & Nitty Scott, MC)’
’Kwame Darko – Bet They See Me Now’
’Hoodie Allen – Make It Home (feat. Kina Grannis)’
’Marc Goone – Chasing Rainbows ft. Gloria Kim’
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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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The Hip-Hop Dojo [Vol. 3]

What up y’all? The Hip-Hop Dojo is back for round 3 and ready to bring you an onslaught of new hip-hop music. This week was dominated by Harry Fraud and Peter Rosenberg. With Rosenberg dropping his New York Renaissance mixtape today, we were provided with a slew of great releases from some of The Big Apple’s best and brightest young emcees. The intro to the tape, is also the first collaboration between Joey Bada$$ and Harry Fraud. “Day In The Life” showcases that throwback flow that Joey and his Pro Era crew have been perfecting since they first entered the game. On the next track from the compilation, Queens collective, World’s Fair, revive the gritty spirit of the ’96 Knicks, harkening back to the heated rivalry between two of the NBA’s toughest squads of the late 90’s. The last single from the tape is Action Bronson‘s “Compliments 2 The Chef” where he spits a few bars about his favorite subject: exquisite food. Anyone else think a remix with Raekwon is in order for this one?

Speaking of New York, we’ve included a nice little project from Jay Shell that all you hip-hop heads will definitely enjoy. Taking quotes from various rap songs about specific spots in NYC, Jay Shell then posted those quotes as signs around the city in the exact locations mentioned. It’s a pretty neat idea that really connects you with the artists and the meaning behind their lyrics. Check out the video after the playlist.

Before we even get to New York though, we have to travel through Chicago. While Martin $ky tries to capture his memories in the form of a “Polaroid,” SaveMoney‘s Sterling Hayes recruits D2G and Kembe X to reflect on some of their own. We then take a brief detour to the Southwest, to visit a “Church” in “West Texas” as Austin native M.I and Blu reveal their struggles with faith. Next up, we have a great new track from California’s Audio Push, who sample the most badass quote of all time, from the greatest show on television, Breaking Bad.

Our next two tracks may have the illest beats to be featured on here this week. The first of these comes in the form of Smith‘s “Don Sh*t”. Smith, who may want to consider using with a more distinctive moniker, absolutely murders the Woodro Skillson (now that’s an awesome name) produced cut alongside Maffew Ragazino. Following that up, we have a dope, chilled-out track from Al-Fatir , where he describes to us the life of a “Man From The Sky.” We also have “Bubble Gum Blues,” a Mac Miller produced cut that features Top Dawg’s Ab-Soul trading bars with Young Money’s Short Dawg. Making his third appearance in the Dojo, is King Chip, with the grimy new track, “Heinous.” At this point, we might as well just give him a key to the building. We’ll have to see if he keeps his streak going next week.

As we approach the home stretch, we decided to take a turn a more “fun” approach towards the remainder of our selections. Wale‘s freestyle over the group’s “Sight of the Sun” definitely fits the bill, and is a refreshing break from the MMG dynamic we’ve been hearing from the DMV native lately. Sol‘s “Dope” is a light and airy track that definitely lives up to its name. Next up, we have Outasight‘s “Remember Me” which is a smooth leftover from his debut album, Nights Like These. Finally, we wrap things up with a two-for-one with Honors English‘s “Insanity Plea Pt. 1 & 2.” Honors English describes life as an artist with integrity and consequently, an outsider looking in. What originally sold me on the track is the incredible lyrics video, which is definitely a must watch.

I hope you guys enjoyed the third edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo. As always, send all submissions and suggestions over to baseer@themusicninja.com.

 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL THE FREE TRACKS

’Martin $ky – Polaroid’

’Sterling Hayes – Retrospect ft. D2G x Kembe X (prod. Antydote)’
’Joey Bada$$ – “Day In The Life” (Prod. By Harry Fraud)’
’World’s Fair – ’96 Knicks !!’
’M.I – Church West Texas (ft. Blu)’
’Audio Push – Red Wine Remedies (Feat. Kent M$ney)’
’Eddie B feat. AG Da Coroner & Meyhem Lauren – “Michael Landon” (Prod. By Harry Fraud)’
’Action Bronson – Compliments 2 The Chef feat. Lauriana Mae (Prod. by Harry Fraud)’
’ScienZe – The Answer (prod. Lord Quest)’
’Young Roddy – Life Ft Curren$y’
’Rome Cee x Greenspan – The Harvest (prod. August Flight Gordon)’
’OnCue – Live Forever (feat. Skizzy Mars) (prod. by Mike Kuz)’
’Smith – Don Sh*t (feat. Maffew Ragazino) (Prod. Woodro Skillson)’
’Al Fatir – Man From The Sky’
’Ab Soul & Short Dawg – Bubble Gum Blues (prod. Larry Fisherman)’
’King Chip – Heinous ft. Tezo’
’Sol – Dope (Prod. by The Zillas)’
’fun. – Sight of the Sun Freestyle Ft. Wale’
’Outasight – Remember Me’
’Honors English
Insanity Plea ft. Joe Budden Part 1 and 2 (The Complete Saga)’

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