New Hip Hop: Vast Aire, Raekwon, Kid Cudi, Big Boi & Stix Izza
Think: “Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture” revisited
Think a few Def Jux fans might’ve gone bonkers had Raekwon joined Cannibal Ox a decade back to create this supreme dream team of MCs? In “Thor’s Hammer” The Chef leads the way before passing the mic to Vast Aire who fills out the belly of the track before handing lyrical duties off to his Can Ox cohort Vordul Mega. The slow rumbler is available on Vast Aire’s new album OX 2010: A Street Odyssey which hit stores yesterday.
MP3 Vast Aire feat. Raekwon & Vordul Mega “Thor’s Hammer” [Download Mirror]
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Think: Stoner rap for sober-heads
Upon first hearing “Perfect is the Word” it becomes difficult to get an immediate feel for the track. The Da Dot Genius-produced track, which is tentatively set to appear on Kid Cudi’s forthcoming album WiZaRd, is an out of focus slow roaster, relying heavily on the MC’s monotone hum to parlay his sparse lyrics. But after allowing the song to relax on repeat awhile it becomes less unusual and more indicative of Cudi’s continually evolving sound. “Winninnnnnnng!” (Dap to 2Ls for the tip.)
MP3 Kid Cudi “Perfect is the Word” [Download Mirror]
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Think: 311 meets General Patton
It’s probably a little unnecessary to bash Vonnegutt over the group’s new $Free.99 mixtape, if you’re not big on flaky pop-rap (see: their “funky” re-tweak of the ’90s Green Day standard in “When I Come Around”) you probably won’t feel it, but in the case of the “Follow Us” remix the group does little to add to the free-flowing sound of the Son of Chico Dusty original. The Vonnegutt remix goes as far as re-working the MC’s album cut within the confines of a 311-sounding track — adding nothing new from Daddy Fat Sax — but what it does offer is an excuse to revisit Big Boi’s original (which can be heard here). (Dap to Pigeons and Planes for the tip.)
MP3 Vonnegutt feat. Big Boi “Follow Us (remix)” [Download Mirror]
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A rap-strong, chipmunk’d “Rolling in the Deep“
New out of Nashville comes the Fate Eastwood-produced Highway 2 Mars mixtape from Stix Izza. Featuring a variety of collaborations throughout the release, “Could Have Had It All” finds Eastwood stepping up to the mic in joining Stix and Diablo Supa for this hard-hitting Adele jump-off. For those interested in hearing more, the entire album is available as a free download via Break on a Cloud.
MP3 Stix Izza feat. Fate Eastwood & Diablo Supa “Could Have Had It All” [Download Mirror]