Lorenzo Asher – Dreamy Saratoga [Stream x Download]

The DJBooth’s exclusive freestyle series isn’t just about allowing you, the readers, to enjoy some quality rhymes—though that’s a big part of it. It’s also about spurring artists to take their mic game to the next level. So we couldn’t have been happier to learn that the series inspired Lorenzo Asher to record Dreamy Saratoga, a new freestyle (and Booth-exclusive world premiere!) improvised over the course of one recording session. The Brooklyn-based buzzmaker’s sung and rapped bars are so impressive it’s kinda hard to believe they’re off the cuff. To top it all off, Asher produces the joint’s pensive music-box backdrop. Dreamy Saratoga isn’t part of a larger set, but those digging it can hear more on his Numismatics LP, which is available for free streaming and download in the Booth.

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Dee-1 Speaks On Michael Brown In Ferguson [Video]

“Rest in peace Michael Brown. Prayers up for you and your family. I am an advocate for stopping the killing 24/7/365. That goes for black on black killing, white on white killing, all of it. With so much media attention on this incident, I just don’t want to diminish the importance of EVERY SINGLE INNOCENT LIFE that gets lost due to murders every day and night in our communities. It’s known that there is systemic racism in this country and that is apparent everyday. And it’s especially scary that a police officer who is supposed to protect-and-serve could repeatedly shoot an unarmed citizen until he’s on the ground lifeless…..Well I had a dream that I woke up and racism was dead. But guess what? The murder rate was still high in New Orleans and Chicago, Milwaukee, and other cities across the country. I’m at a point in life where I care more about self-accountability than anything. 94% of blacks who are murdered are killed by… Blacks. 86% of whites who are murdered are killed by… whites…. Self-hatred, a lack of value for life, and a lack of conflict resolution skills are a big part of this problem too. So if you tweet for Mike Brown but can’t tweet for the innocent brother in your own hood that got killed yesterday, check yourself. If you shed tears for Mike Brown but don’t get upset when you hear rap lyrics glorifying this self-on-self killing everyday, check yourself. If you attended a Mike

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Jeezy On The Combat Jack Show [Stream]

On the eve of the release of ‘Seen It All’, his 5th studio album, Jeezy shared his growth as an artist, what the word “leadership” means to him, his experience at Ferguson, St. Louis, moving from being a street cat to a responsible role model, his relationship with Jay Z, his thoughts on Sean “Diddy” Combs and why he’s feeling so happy these days. No more “Young”, it’s now Mr. Jeezy.

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Wiz Khalifa On Leaving Violence Out Of His Music [Video]

Wiz Khalifa is a fun-loving, easygoing guy, and he’s one of the few artists out there who’s comfortable selling his authentic self as opposed to some violence-prone gangster turned emcee. Khalifa reveals in an exclusive interview with VladTV that he’s most comfortable being himself and has no desire to praise violence on his records, though he does get its appeal to certain audiences and enjoys a lot of it himself. When asked about his old mixtape, “Pistolvania,” Wiz says he was still in high school when he made it and had a different mindframe back then. Check out the interview above and cop his new album, “Blacc Hollywood” today.

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