Hip Hop

The Roots, JAy-Z, Beastie Boys

Juanitos: Soul Africa

Juanitos first showed up on our blog all the way back in June 2009. And now with more of great albums under its belt (including over 400 concerts and hundreds of thousands of downloads – if not more) I thought it might be a right time for a little re-introduction; especially that after our crazy winter I’m sure we are all in need of some ‘summer night party’ sounds.

IntraHeath International remix of Youssou N’Dour’s “Wake Up”

Some time ago Intrahealth International released a special remix in honor of World Malaria Day. The project was put together by rapper Mopreme Shakur, brother of the late Tupac, and soon included ten tracks all being a remix of Youssou N'Dour's song "Wake up - It's Africa Calling". The purpose of the project was to address the most critical health issues in Africa by bringing greater awareness of and support for open source training/development for health workers across the continent.

The Nu Revolution Camp: Super Hero Theme Music Vol 1

What do you get when four of the best indie/underground artists form a crew and release a mix? Well, you get an indie hiphop supergroup. The Nu Revolution Camp, headed by FrostClick resident, Wordsmith, along with Kontact, Black Knight and White Folkz take underground hip hop to an entirely new level. Super Hero Theme Music Vol 1 is the first of several mixes from this talented crew. Just like superhero's, they breeze through rhymes like Superman sees through lead and drop beats like Batman knows Gotham City. It's definitely a fun album worth checking out. It's all about cool beats, amazingly tight words and definitely plenty of fun.

Music That Matters: KEXP

I fell in love with the series nearly two years ago during one of my lovely commutes to work for one simple reason - it brings you the most amazing variety of music just in time when you can no longer listen to the same songs you had on your iPod since 2000. Each podcast comes with a theme and a selection of sounds (from nearly every genre imaginable, with a slightly greater love for alternative and indie rock) put together by some of the greatest DJs from Northwest.

San Miguel: Primavera Sound Music 2011

Tents, amazing food, crazy outfits, dancing, drinking, and great music that turns thousands of people into your soon-to-be closest new friends; sounds like a ready-made vacation. And if you want to feel like a part of this summer music festival 'movement' be sure to check out the new mix from Primavera Sound. Since crossing into the new year the Primavera Festival already released its preliminary lineup for 2011, and as many of the artists also have some of their mp3s available on the Free Music Archive, Primavera Sound put together a little free album of what is coming up this year.

netBloc Volume 31: Goodbye, Hello

BlocSonic once again releases their infamous collection of lovely, free tracks that music lovers everywhere can enjoy. The label unleashes several compilations throughout the year. This includes, maxBlocs, which consist of promotional maxi singles; Originals; Extended Editions, Extras and netBlocs, like this one. This is the 31st netBloc from them so far. For compilations like these, they gather up about 10 or more indie artists from all over the world; offering a peek at the music they play in the album. It's definitely an awesome way of discovering potential new playlist staples. The record is available for free download under three formats, simply choose which one you most prefer and enjoy!
Netlabelism cover

Netlabelism.com: 12/10 compilation

Want to hear the best of Hip Hop, House, Inditronic, and Dub without spending hours sampling music on the web? Well turn your speakers up because you are in the right place, at the right time. Netlabelism.com, an online magazine for quality netaudio, just released their next 12/10 compilation of the best tracks under the Creative Commons license. And it means that you can download it for free and share it with others as long as you give credit to the creators.

DK (Wayne Watts): 20 Something

Hip hop recording artist, DK aka Wayne Watts debuts his latest release, 20 Something. The album combines positive rap lyrics with great beats and a catchy hip hop vibe. The artist has collaborated with several prominent artists, both in the hip hop scene and outside. He has also recently opened for The All American Rejects. The artist has released several albums and mixes under his belt ever since he started out. Among his initial efforts, he released a full length album, That's My Boy (between 2003 to 2007.) He has also released other compilations like Tha Firelane Project (EP), his mixtape, While You Were Sleeping and this free digital download, 20 Something. This compilation is the most recent one Watts has to offer and it's definitely a solid collection of beats worth checking out.

M-Dot: Making Doubters Over Think

After only four months since his last release ('Money Doesn't Own Thought'), Hip Hop artist, M-Dot is back with a brand new album, ‘Making Doubters Over think’. Initially, I have to admit that I rarely listen to this genre of music; however, in saying this, I also have to confess that I have thoroughly enjoyed this album. Furthermore, the fact that M-Dot is the winner of the 2010 Boston Music Awards "Hip-Hop Artist of the Year" and winner of the 2010 Boston Phoenix "Best Hip Hop Act," comes as no surprise. To put it bluntly, this dude is bad-ass. These titles are well deserved and the talent in which he exhibits is highly prevalent within ‘Making Doubter’s Over Think’.