Novel – Letter To The Badge [Stream x Download]

The failure to indict both Officer Darren Wilson and the anonymous killer of Eric Garner has illuminated a number of unpleasant truths about American society: that equality before the law is a myth; that racism is still deeply entrenched in our institutions; that the people tasked to protect us are often more dangerous than the alleged bad guys. Knowing that this is no way for him and his loved ones to live, recording artist extraordinaire Novel makes a powerful appeal to police officers’ humanity on Letter to the Badge, a new single dedicated to the families of the aforementioned victims. The artist’s own Coldplay-sampled boadwork, peppered with samples from Watts riot police scanners, accompany his emotionally-charged verses and chorus. Letter is slated to appear, along with Wednesday’s acclaimed Die a Little, on Novel’s next project, which has yet to receive a title or drop date.

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PRhyme Talk Battle Rap, Joe Budden, Jay Electronica & More [Video]

Exclusive in-depth interview with PRhyme (DJ Premier, Royce da 5’9″). Part 3 starts with Nick Huff Barili talking to Royce about how he changed his perspective on life. “I felt like there was a dark cloud over my head for a long time. So when I was rapping about death, I was just rhyming about things that were imminent. Stuff that was happening around that time, it was just a dark time for me.” Nickel who has been two years sober states “The kind of dark place that I was in, I think lengthy periods of time in that kinda place, you know, I’d end up in one of two places. For me to make it out of that and not have done serious jail time and to still be living is a blessing.” As the conversation moves along, DJ Premier and Royce talk about Hip Hop growing up and expectations for great artists. Royce also talks about a line from PRhyme’s song Courtesy, where he says that he wants to step into the Battle Rap ring. Royce and Premo share their thoughts on Joe Budden Vs Hollow Da Don, Fight Klub, what it takes to be a battle rapper, and why most battle rappers don’t have successful albums. The interview ends with Premo and Nickel sharing their thoughts on favorite tracks on the upcoming PRhyme album including tracks with Jay Electronica and Common.

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TrackBlasters Radio: 05.12.14

Da Fat Friday Afternoon – The Official Soundtrack To Your Weekend Host: DJ P.R. Today, DJ Eskei83 takes over TB Radio with his dope SeratoCast mix. Enjoy. Happy Friday ya’ll! Record Of The Day: Back on Monday! Playlist Intro – w/ Shortkut, D-Styles, Q-Bert, FlipOut, Jazzy Jeff & Z-Trip Freedo – Champion Sound Tafari – Champion Sound Elliphant – Revolusion (Eskei83 Bootleg) Zeke Beats – Doge Jeru The Damaja x Statik Selektah – Ya Playin Yaself (Eskei83 Bootleg) DJ Jazzy Jeff & Dayne Jordan – Play Dat Talib Kweli feat. Styles P – The Level (Eskei83 Bootleg) K+Lab & D.Wolf – Le Shakes Ghostface – Mighty Healthy (Eskei83 Bootleg) Rage Against The Machine – Guerilla Radio Eric B & Rakim – Know You Got Soul Tropkillaz – Pump Up The Volume Missy Elliott – Cop That Shit Yellow Claw – Kaolo Pt. 2 (Angger Dimas Remix) LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out Run DMC – Walk This Way Daft Punk – Robot Rock A-Trak & Milo & Otis feat. Rich Kidz – Out the Speakers Onra – Love Q-Tip – Breath & Stop Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne Kanye West – Champion Eskei’s – Personal Kanye West moment Assagai – Telephone Girl Jay Z – Show Me What You Got Birdman & Lil Wayne – Go DJ Eskei83 – Get Down Marvin Gaye x Diplo & DJ Fresh – Let’s Get It On (Eskei83 Earthquake Bootleg) The Notorious B.I.G. – Dead Wrong Diddy – Come With Me

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Rapsody – The Man [Stream x Download]

I wrote this song as a dedication to all the boys growing up without fathers who now have to try and fill those big shoes. I wanted to tell the story of how they have to grow up fast, lose their innocence so young, and the damage it does (no matter your race). The interlude that follows deals with racism, and how people of color have to have these tough conversations with their children that others parents don’t. It’s hard to explain to a five year old that because of the color of their skin, they will be treated differently. But, that’s a reality for us. – Rapsody

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Nipsey Hussle – 50 Niggaz [Stream]

Nipsey Hussle turned a lot of heads with his Proud 2 Pay campaign last December, where he released his mixtape, Crenshaw, both as a free download online, and as hard copies for $100 a pop. And it worked, as the rapper sold out of the 1000 units (including 100 purchased by Jay Z). On Thursday (Dec. 4), Nip announced on Instagram that he’ll be at it again this month, with the release of Mailbox Money. Only this time, he’s flipped the model a bit. “There will only be 100 hard copies and they are $1000 each,” he told MTV News, adding that it will also be released for free via iTunes and the Proud 2 Pay platform built for the Crenshaw release. “The 100 people that buy the P2P version will be granted access to a private advance listening session of [upcoming 2015 album] Victory Lap at the secret Marathon Store we are going to open the day of the listening!” “I wanted to do something with no promo,” he said of what he’s calling the “album before the album” which is due out later this month. “It’s all original music. Being honest, these ain’t mixtapes, they’re albums. These original songs, concepts, the biggest producers, the biggest rappers in the game are a part of [it] and bringing creativity to [it]. I don’t want to devalue it by calling it a mixtape. It’s really just music — more conversations for my people,” Nip continued. Among the big names on the

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