eXquire

Stay gully. 

Bitches Is Crazy

Pretty darn fresh. NYC. 

Cop their Influence mixtape. 

Meyhem Lauren

So NYC

Midnight Magic

Like Downtown 81 NYC, only smoother:

O.I.S.D.

Some more young NYC hip hop. Definite eye to the past with this EP titled Houston & 1st. This cut "Hands High!" sounds like a Smif n Wessun throwback. 

Cop the whole album here. 

MC Elijah Black

Some real smooth vibes from young NYC wordsmith Elijah Black. It's the summer time, got to marinate.

Cop the whole album (for free) here. 

El-P "Full Retard" video

El-P and a grimy squirrel rip it up in the video for the first single off his next record Cancer for Cure. El-producto is killing it this year. 

Kubrick as photographer

Apparently, acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick spent some time as a photographer during the 1940s, including shooting for Look. His eye for composition shines bright. Likewise, there may be some influences that would reappear later.

This guy shares a striking similarity to Dr. Strangelove

I found this via Jungle Gym Magazine, check out the link to see more photos and get the back story.

Random Goodness #2

A few more things worth sharing:

• via McSweeney's - A great piece about playing chess for money in Zucotti Park and waiting for the cops to come and break up the Occupy scene. Read it here.
• via New Yorker - A 1978 profile of Atlantic records mastermind Ahmet Ertegun. Read it here.
• via RCRD LBL - a nice remix of a new Tom Vek song:

What Good is a Castle?

Joe Bataan is the king of Latin soul. 

Kyle Rapps "Me" (prod. by Kev Brown)

 Here's a fun track from NY/NJ-MC/Poet Kyle Rapps where he talks about himself. He's got a new album called Re-Edutainment that's pretty slick, and includes notable cameos by KRS-One and Joell Ortiz, among others.
The low-key, sorta quirky beat on "Me" is courtesy of Kev Brown, one of those producers that really sets the bar for the over-underground. (You know what I mean? Kev is known by heads, probably packs spots in Europe and Toronto, and places like that, but the hood doesn't have a damn clue who is, and the hood has to know you if you're gonna be Top 40 Grammy rap, which is how I define the mainstream for better or worse...So, dude isn't underground, because he's known and tours and sells beats, but he's not overground because he's not even close to that Wayne/Em $$. Anyway...)
Check out Kyle Rapps "Me" (right click to save as)

Team Facelift x Trouble Andrew

This is what's happening in NYC. Some get-ready-for-winter, 80s-throwback, minimal synth-hop. Don't take your girlfriend near these guys.


Grab a copy of Team Facelift's free album "6 Grams"

Video: Gee Dubs "Lose It All"

If you grew up on the east coast in the 80s or 90s, this joint from Gee Dubs "Lose It All" (produced by Mike Chops) will be like seeing an old friend again. Hip Hop made using a timeless recipe. I like the fact that the video is low budget, but still effective. The editing of shots compiled while walking and driving around NYC actually adds something more than if he was just standing somewhere - like in the club, maybe - waving shit around and smacking asses (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it has it's time and place, and needs to be balanced by substance every now and then)...

Vintage Sesame Street

Why does the Google homepage have Big Bird's legs on it this morning?

I don't know, but it lead me to find this video, which is pretty amazing - a testament to the grittiness of NYC in the late 70s and early 80s (even for kids it's shown a brown, crowded distopia), and to how awesome Sesame Street is (check the backing track and the puppetry).



If anyone knows why Sesame Street got the spotlight from Google today, let me know. I hope no one died or anything.