LIVE FOR THE FUNK » Hip-Hop

M.I.A.- BAD GIRLS (VIDEO)

Benlander — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:13:03 +0000

I gotta be honest with our readers. After M.I.A. dropped her last record I was ready to write her off. It was a terribly uninspired and mediocre release for the underground rapper turned international pop sensation. Shoot forward to today and we see the release of M.I.A.’s video for her new single “Bad Girls.” After the incredibly disappointing /\/\ /\ Y /\ I didn’t want to like it at all. I had already written the video and song off along with the rest of M.I.A.’s career. Well, after watching this vid I can say that I was completely wrong. I should have never written her off. This video is brilliantly swagged out in the best kind of way and Romain Gavras’ excellent direction helped to contextualize the song for me. Let’s just hope that the rest of Maya’s next album is just as on point as this single/video is.

SHIGETO: LINEAGE MINI-LP

Jonathan — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:21:36 +0000

Yesterday, Ghostly released Shigeto‘s mini-LP Lineage. This record demonstrates his unflinching respect for jazz, hip-hop, funk, and folk constructions. There’s something here for everyone to like. Ghostly says it best when describing Shigeto’s masterpiece, “Each song is a complex constellation of sounds and ideas, but his compositional focus and restraint grounds songs that are otherwise cosmically inclined.”

It’s also a familial occasion for the experienced producer. The front cover displays a picture of Shigeto’s great grandfather’s house from the early 20th century in Hiroshima. The back cover is a picture of his great grandfather during his time at an internment camp in Colorado. Truly personal indeed.

This record is beautiful to the point that it will take your breath away. It’s layered with delicate and intricate textures that combine to create something way more appealing than the sum of its parts. The record is streaming courtesy of The Fader. You can purchase it from Ghostly International.

ASAP ROCKY- WASSUP (VIDEO)

Benlander — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:41:41 +0000

ASAP Rocky gets together with Vice to make the video for “Wassup.”

KIRKO BANGZ: THE PROGRESSION 2 (MIXTAPE)

Mike Wash — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:06:36 +0000

Kirko Bangz is like the southern version of Drake, so the fact that he goes in over a number of Drizzy’s tracks on his newest mixtape The Progression 2 is totally justifiable. The Houston rapper built a strong buzz for himself early last year with “Drank In My Cup” one of our top ten favorite songs of 2011, and this new project sees the dude diving deeper into that same lean induced half rappling/half singing esthetic. Check out a few of our favorites from the tape below and be sure to grab the whole thing.

Download audio file (ujr2ez4vog34mm3ocpx9.mp3)

Kirko Bangz- Play Me

Download audio file (2y10m2o0s24crfjlzzex.mp3)

Kirko Bangz- Knowmtalmbout ft. Paul Wall

Download audio file (yd5jke7nzs49p95ons8q.mp3)

Kirko Bangz- F*ck Action (Freestyle)

DOWNLOAD: Kirko Bangz- The Progression 2 (A Young Texas Playa) (Mixtape)

DRAKE- OVER MY DEAD BODY (D33J REMIX)

Mike Wash — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:04:38 +0000

If you couldn’t tell, WEDIDIT has a major crush on Drizzy. Like, to the point that they’ve remixed the dude around five or so times. Young bwoy D33J provides the latest WEDIDIT/Wheelchair Jimmy collab–with his suffocating take on “Over My Dead Body”.

Download audio file (t0fp6cjf4e4rdgjt78bx.mp3)

Drake- Over My Dead Body (D33J Remix)

AZEALIA BANKS- NEEDSUMLUV

Benlander — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:29:29 +0000

Internet sweetheart Azealia Banks is back with a new song. This one is an R&B tune set over Machinedrum’s “SXLND” about, “being a guy’s other girl. It’s about knowing that ur number #2, but still sticking around in hopes of becoming #1.” Download/stream the tune below and pre-order Machinedrum’s SXLND 12″ (due out tomorrow) here.

Download audio file (3t3prud2dds7cf6ssg0s.mp3)

Azealia Banks- NEEDSUMLUV (Prod. by Machinedrum)

A$AP ROCKY- CELEBRATION

Mike Wash — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:01:56 +0000

A$AP Rocky takes a page out of Kanye’s repertoire for his latest joint “Celebration”, a track that apparently didn’t make its way onto the Harlem-ites debut LP LIVELOVEA$AP . Putting together flows about wealth, fame, and glory, the beat sounds particularly joyful and–dare we say it–almost mainstream, something we have yet to hear come out of the A$AP camp thus far. Have a listen below and let us know what you think.

Download audio file (onghuxxs4xao9klkg8ui.mp3)

A$AP Rocky- Celebration