Check Out Lifesavas’ “Shine Language”, Cuz Ya Gots To Shine

Jumbo and Vursatyl show off their lyrical skills in “Shine Language” from the album deemed “Supa dupa fly!” by XXL - Gutterfly: The Original Soundtrack. Sandwiched in between excerpts from Ayinde Jean-Baptiste’s famous speech at the Million Man March, “Shine Language” couples motivational lyrics with an aggressive beat. With a fresh use of alliteration, Vursatyl speaks to boys becoming men, while JUMBO speaks to girls becoming women. For both, the message is the same: “you’re all invited…use your mind, cause we gots to shine.” So listen up and get inspired!

Bask In The Glow Of Self-Confidence With Musab’s New Single “Hat And Shoes”

Self-described as “Mack Music at its best,” Musab’s latest track “Hat and Shoes” gives listeners a special sneak peak into the daily life of Minnesota Slicks, the Southside Mack. All the facets of Musab’s dynamic personality are represented here, including the genius IQ level, the modern-day working pimp, and the fashion expert who loves to shop, to name a few. With its laid-back guitar beat accented by punches of percussive piano and airy flute lines, “Hat and Shoes” has a live, lounge-act feel. His tone is relaxed yet self-assured, and the chorus is sung in almost a whisper. As Musab points out, he’s not even rapping - he’s “pimp slurring.” This is music for the arrogant, the confident, and the high self-esteemed.

Nod Your Head To Phat Kat’s New Single “Nasty Ain’t It?”

“Nasty Ain’t It?” is the opening track of Phat Kat’s new album Carte Blanche. Producer J Dilla (R.I.P.) sets it off with a down ‘n’ dirty, futuristic funk groove, over which Phat Kat spits, “real talk, shed light on you when it’s still dark/ ride the brand-new wheels off while you still walk.” Dilla and Phat have been putting it down together since the early 90s and on “Nasty Ain’t It?” their chemistry is more live than ever. The track has been noted by many publications as one of the highlights of his lauded recent release, Carte Blanche.

MIKE-E Releases Title Track “AfroFlow” As A Single.

MIKE-E wants to take you way back, to a time when soul and rhythm were more than words. The title track and lead single off his new album, AfroFlow, summons African drums and blues infused vocals and lines them up alongside modern hip-hop, remembering and respecting its roots while looking at the present with a clear-minded skepticism. Balancing hope with truth, America with Africa, and positive lyricism with old-fashioned hip-hop flow, MIKE-E is laying the foundation for a movement he calls AfroFlow.

Download the song AfroFlow here

Born in Ethiopia, MIKE-E enjoys countrywide recognition with one of the country’s most popular hits “Ethiopia (Everything Will Be Alright).” Stateside, the Detroit-based lyricist is most recognized for his repeat performances on HBO’s hit show Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, gracing the pages of leading urban lifestyle magazines including XXL, The Source, Slam, Vibe, and Complex, acting in the critically acclaimed motion picture, “Standing in the Shadows of Motown,” and having his song “Get Into This” included in the popular EA sports game Friday Night Fights.

Audible Treats Brings You Hyphy Group Federation’s New Single “College Girl”

“College Girl,” the single off Federation’s new album It’s Whateva, is a hilarious shout-out to all the college girls from across the nation that have given the raucous group love, knowledge, and brain as they’ve gone from town to town spreading the hyphy movement. With an infectious beat produced by Rick Rock and a ridiculously catchy hook: “She’s a college girl - she’s nasty!” This song is sure to be a favorite across college campuses. To make sure of this, Doonie Baby, Goldie, and Stresmatic shout-out girls from as many college campuses as possible. The list includes students from Cal state, Sac State, Washington, Spielman, UCR, Howard, USC, AUM, NYU, Tuskeegee, Washington State, TSU, CSU, UNLV, Solano College, CSM, USF, Cal Berkeley and Alabama.

Download “College Girls” on Windows Media here

Download “College Girls” on Quicktime here

Audible Treats Brings You T-Pain’s Hot New Single Entitled “Bartender”

Coming off the smash hit “Buy U A Drink (Shawty Snappin’)” T-Pain brings you another undeniable hit about scenes from the club with the new banger “Bartender,” featuring Akon. The song tells the tale of a broken-hearted dude and his crush on a cutie-pie mixologist. “Sometimes, the bartenders are the hottest girls in the club,” T-Pain explains. “Guys are always falling in love with those girls, even if it goes no further than that night. ‘Bartender’ is an anthem for those guys.” With T-Pain’s distinct vocals making each phrase sound like a hook and Akon doing his thing, “Bartender” will likely further establish T-Pain as one of the top hit-makers of 2007.

Download “Bartender” for Windows Media here

Download “Bartender” for Real Audio here

Musab and A Plus Tour Dates Are Now Available

Minnesota-based hip-hop artist Musab has just released the dates for his upcoming tour, to take place this June. The tour will support his upcoming Hiero Imperium Records album Slicks Box, which will be available Tuesday, August 4th, 2007.

Thurs., May 31 - Monk’s House of Jazz - Salt Lake City, Utah
Fri., June 1 - Steamworks Brewing Company - Durango, CO
Sat., June 2 - Cervantes - Denver, CO
Sun., June 3 - Nutty’s North - Sioux Falls, SD
Mon., June 4 - Dinky Towne - Boise, ID
Thurs., June 7 - The Reef - Boise, ID
Fri., June 8 - Zebra Cocktail Lounge - Bozeman, MT
Sat., June 9 - The Loft - Misssoula, MT.

Win Tickets To See Lifesavas Live!

Want to see Lifesavas live on their Gutterfly: The Urban Legends Tour? All you have to do is ask! That’s right, ask two questions to the hip hop visionaries from Portland and you can win two tickets to one of their performances near you!

Candy Hill’s New Single “Juicy,” Has All The Makings Of A Summer Smash-Hit.

“Juicy” is the first single from Candy Hill’s upcoming debut album, which will be released on Latium/Universal Republic Records label later this year. Slick, playful, and infectious, this melodic girl anthem has all the makings of a summer smash-hit. All production, vocals, and engineering are handled by the trio, who prove that they can craft catchy R&B and pop as well as any professional artists while retaining an a high level of undeniable sexiness and originality.

Download this summer-hit here
or stream it here.

Candy Hill is a Los Angeles based Hip Hop/R&B trio consisting of lead vocalist Casha D, rapper Loui-V, and OC the Latin Rap Sensation. Casha, Loui, and OC have been dreaming of making it big in the music industry since their younger days. Their upcoming album features songs that celebrate all the ups and downs young women face today, whether that be in the realm of relationships, becoming an adult, everyday life obstacles, balancing working and partying, and following your dreams. No matter what the subject matter is, Candy Hill holds their ground as confident and empowering females.

Candy Hill is not only a capable of making memorable songs but they have mastered the behind-the-scenes aspects of making a hit record that are usually left in the hands of professionals. They learned the art of engineering and recording to the point where they produced many of their sessions on their own. Their dedication and passion has brought them notable recognition in the male dominated industry in an extremely short period of time, which makes them a definite force to reckoned with.

Musab Releases New Single “Baaang,” A Club Banger About Pimpin’ On The Real.

“Baaang” is an up-tempo club-banger off of Musab’s upcoming Slick’s Box to be released by Oakland based Hiero Imperium Records. On “Baaang,” tired themes of slangin’, bangin’, mackin’ and flossin’ re-acquire their original edge when Musab, a real life pimp, relays these modes of conduct as business necessities rather than co-opted stereotypes.

Download this banger here.
or stream it here.

Musab (formerly known as Beyond) has had a remarkable rap career integral to the surprising rise of Minneapolis Hip-Hop. His album entitled Comparison was the first release of indie hip-hop label giant, Rhymesayers Entertainment. He contributed to Atmosphere’s classic first release, Overcast (1998), then teamed up with Atmosphere, I Self Divine of Micronauts, Gene Poole of Full Circle, and producer Ant to form the super-group The Dynospectrum. Musab recently changed label homes from Rhymesayers to rap pioneers Hiero Imperium, who will release the autobiographic album Slick’s Box this summer.

Enter Our Contest And Win Two Tickets To See Phat Kat, Slum Village And Others On The Carte Blanche Tour!

Want to see Phat Kat and other Detroit Heavyweights do their thing live? Of course you do! Enter our contest and win two tickets to a Carte Blanche Tour show near you.
Brought to you courtesy of LOOK Records and Audible Treats.

Complete Tour Dates For Phat Kat Now Available!

Fri., May 11 – Poleng Lounge, San Francisco - CA
Sun, May 13 – Key Club, Los Angeles – CA
Mon. May 14 – The Glass House, Pomona – CA
Tue. May 15 – Launchpad, Albuquerque – NM
Wed. May 16 – Cervantes, Denver - CO
Thu. May 17 – Suede, Park City - UT
Fri. May 18th – Berbati’s Pan, Portland - OR
Sat. May 19th – The Columbia, Vancouver - BC
Sun. May 20th – Chop Suey, Seattle - WA
Wed. May 23 – Alvins, Detroit - MI
Sat. May 26 – Little Brothers, Columbus - OH
Mon. May 28– Sonar, Baltimore – MA
Tue. May 29 – Southpaw, Brooklyn - NY
Thu. May 31 – The Middle East, Cambridge - MA
Sat. June 2 – The Saints Show Bar, Montreal - Quebec
Sun. June 3 – Grog Shop, Cleveland – OH

Beats and Rhymes Expands Services Beyond Music Licensing, To Include A&R, Record Releases, & Fashion Collaborations

Beats & Rhymes, a hip-hop music licensing company associated with DeWolfe Music, has recently broken into the record business. The release of their split 12″ single, “Jones in Ya Bones/Blackman” marks an expansion into a new sector of the music industry by the talented New York-based company. They also recently teamed up with BeanDip clothing company to carry out music and fashion collaborations.

The tracks from the split single are part of an upcoming EP release, Stereobytes Vol. 1. Artists featured include Black Attack, Butta Verses, and C Rayz Walz, as well as production by V.I.C. and Marco Polo. Marco, recently signed to Sony/Rawkus Records, joins the ranks of artists whose careers exploded after working with Beats & Rhymes, including Joell Ortiz (signed to Aftermath Recordings), and Frequency (featured on a collaboration with Snoop Dogg for Blue Carpet Treatment).

Beats & Rhymes also has a small line of streetwear, made by BeanDip clothing, which is set to expand. The pairing came about after both had been collaborating with Butta Verses. After a brief meeting the clothing company decided to manufacture and sell Beats & Rhymes shirts. Eventually KarmaLoop, a large-scale clothing distributor, picked up BeanDip and business boomed. Now, Beats & Rhymes is looking to use the partnership to build their brand. Says creative director Brian Hamilton, “With the way the industry and its environment is going right now we need to cover a lot more ground and think of unconventional outlets to build our brand and create artist awareness.”

Phat Kat About To Embark On Tour!

Phat Kat will be embarking on a US tour with fellow Detroit mainstays Slum Vilage, Illa J (younger brother to the late great J Dilla) and DJ’s Dez and Design. The Carte Blanche Tour, which was named after Kat’s second solo album, starts on Friday 5/11 in San Francisco and work its way to the East Coast and back. The release of Carte Blanche was recently pushed back from 4/24 to 5/8.

These are the confirmed dates thus far:

Fri. 5/11: Poleng Lounge, San Francisco – CA
Sun. 5/13: Key Club, Los Angeles – CA
Mon. 5/14: The Glass House, Pomona – CA
Tue. 5/15: Launchpad, Albuquerque - NM
Wed. 5/16: Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Denver – CO
Thu. 5/17: Suede, Park City – UT
Sun. 5/20: Chop Suey, Seattle - WA
Wed. 5/23: Alvin’s, Detroit – MI
Mon. 5/28: Sonar, Baltimore - MD
Tue. 5/29: Southpaw, Brooklyn- NY
Thu. 5/31: The Middle East Restaurant & Nightclub, Boston – MA

Okayplayer Pillars of Indie Hip-Hop contest featuring A-Plus & El-P

Enter The Okayplayer Pillars of Indie Hip-Hop Contest featuring A Plus and El-P!
Hiero Imperium Records and Definitive Jux Records are the pillars upon which independent hip-hop as we know it was built. With Hiero holding it down in the Bay Area and DefJux repping the East Coast, these two labels have consistently put out hip-hop that is groundbreaking and ahead of its time.

A Plus (Souls Of Mischief, Hieroglyphics) is about to drop one of the most anticipated hip-hop albums of the year, My Last Good Deed, his debut solo album.

El-P is currently on tour in support of I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, already being hailed as one of the best hip-hop albums of the year.

In celebration of these two amazing albums, Okayplayer and Audible Treats have put together the tightest prize package you’ve seen in a long time. SO ENTER TO WIN.