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Hip-Hop

Video: People Under the Stairs - The Wiz

The LA Duo, People Under the Stairs, go to Australia to shoot their first video for their album Fun DMC which drops today.

www.myspace.com/peopleunderthestairs

Tags: People Under the Stairs

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Q-Tip ft. D’Angelo - I Believe

Q-Tip ft. D’Angelo - I Believe

Even though we must cherish the time when D’Angelo shows up on any form of recorded audio, I can’t really get into this Q-Tip track. As a grown and sexy dance floor filler, it serves its purpose, but when compared to the “Gettin’ Up,” Q-Tip’s first single from The Renaissance, it just sounds rather generic.

Tags: Q-Tip, The Renaissance

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R&B

Robin Thicke feat Wale and Mary J. Blige - Magic (Remix)

Robin Thicke feat Wale and Mary J. Blige - Magic (Remix)

Wow….I’m WAAAAAAAY Late on this one. For those who aren’t already rocking this track on your iPod…enjoy.

Tags: Mary J Blige, Robin Thicke, Wale

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Hip-Hop

New Music: Dom Kennedy

Dom Kennedy - Tell Her

Dom Kennedy is the a combination of the laid back West Coast records of the early 90s with A Tribe Called Quest. I’m not saying that Kennedy is on the same level as Tribe, but the similarities are undoubtedly there, whether it was intentional or not. The Southern California MC is yet another rapper from the Left Coast who should be making waves this year. The vibe that this dude brings makes me wish that summer wasn’t already over.

Kennedy was recently featured on the iMeem Creme de la Creme “mixtape,” along with Kid Cudi, Hollywood Holt, Mickey Factz, Pacific Division, and Kidz In The Hall. (via Discobelle)

Look for more on Dom Kennedy in the near future…

myspace.com/domkennedy

Dom Kennedy - Watermelon Sundae

DOM KENNEDY Watermelon Sundae from Jason Madison on Vimeo.

Tags: Dom Kennedy

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Negroclash!

Video: Janelle Monae - Many Moons

To be honest, I was very skeptical about Janelle Monae’s move to Bad Boy, but after watching this video, I am further convinced that it was the real deal. “Many Moons” is one of the more accessible songs on her EP (other than “Mr. President,” of course) and is my favorite track from the EP. I see that they put some money into the video, which might end up being the best of 2008. Even though the futuristic robot concept is a tad far out, whoever directed the video actually sold the idea. The track itself could actually get some good radio play if they work it right. She’s getting a lot of love from the Internets at the moment, with some calling her the “new Grace Jones.” I wouldn’t go that far yet, but I do think that she is one of the most talented artists I’ve seen in a while. Let’s help Ms. Monae make it big in 2008.

And remember, we were onto Janelle Monae in 2005!

Tags: Janelle Monae

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Tina Fey for Vice President

Tina Fey nails it again as Sarah Palin for the second week in a row, and to be quite honest, she could’ve just said Palin’s responses from the real interview word for word and it would’ve been just as funny.

Word on the street is that the McCain camp might force Palin’s knocked up daughter to marry her “fiancee” a week or so before the election to somehow get some sympathy votes for McCain. Seriously? We don’t need Saturday Night Live to make fun of this anymore.

In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one — the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.

Inside John McCain’s campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. “It would be fantastic,” said a McCain insider. “You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week.”

The scary part is….it’s true. Americans loves them some weddings, and the People Magazine/TMZ/Entertainment Tonight specials would dominate the airwaves while people lose their houses and soldiers die in Iraq. The sad part is, that this is the decision making process of the people who claim that they are ready to lead our country. Whatever.

If Obama doesn’t win, I’m moving to Costa Rica.

In better news…..Obama had a great interview with Sway on MTV (via Different Kitchen:

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Hip-Hop

New Music: Madlib feat. Talib Kweli - What It Do

Madlib  feat. Talib Kweli - What It Do

Madlib is one of my favorite producers of all time, and this is a sold track from his upcoming release
WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip which drops on September 29th. Now, I still need to get that Madvillainy 2!

Tags: Madlib, Talib Kweli

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New Music: The Constallations

The Constellations feat Asher Roth - Were Here to Save the Day

The Constellations - Felicia (Klever Remix)

I haven’t really been into indie rock like I used to. All of these buzz bands sound the same to me. It’s almost like the white people’s version of ringtone rap. However, the Atlanta’s Constellations seemed to have defined their sound, bluing their indie rock sound with elements of hip-hop and electronica and flipping the whole genre on its backside in the process. Tarik has been hyping these dudes up for the longest, and I’m convinced that, these dude are going to be a household name this time next year.

The group has ties to Gnarls Barkley’s production, and the connection pays off as well–Cee Lo makes an appearance on their album. The trio also snagged future Eminem Asher Roth for “Were Here To Save the Day,” way before he got famous on the Internet.

Their album Southern Gothic, which just dropped this summer, is supposedly a trip through late night Atlanta (which ain’t the same since they shut down Buckhead), complete with a visit to the infamous Clermont Lounge. What do y’all think?

myspace.com/constellationsatl

Tags: Asher Roth, Cee Lo, The Constallations

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Family Reunion

Kid Sister Feat. David Banner - Family Reunion….Upon first listen the song is good, Diplos production is solid and the autotune? hook is ok.

However, family reunions occur in the summer so the vibe is a little off and I’m a little bewildered after all her uptempo bangers, they came out with the laid back cut like this.

What do u think?

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UK Sounds

UK Tings: Wiley Walks Away From Label, Disses It, Then Apologizes

Wiley feat. Beenie Man - Rolex Up The Heatwave

Wiley might not be a household name here in the States, but in the UK, his song “Wearing My Rolex,” was a number 1 hit, and his track was slowly making it into DJ sets on this side of the Atlantic.

However, all is not well in the Eskiboy camp, as Wiley at first walked away from his label, Asylum/Atlantic this week:

Another Wiley vs. Label saga, Eskiboy is now speaking up about his deal with Asylum Records, the Atlantic Records-linked label that recently put out his massive single, Wearing My Rolex.

After dealings with XL Recordings (Treading on Thin Ice), Relentless (Roll Deep’s In At The Deep End) and Big Dada (Playtime Is Over), it seems Wiley has walked out on another record deal. In a series of threads posted on RWD’s very own forum grime’s 29 year-old Godfather has dropped a few words about signing to big labels. “The problem is when someone thinks they can mould you into something not understanding one day you will wake up and notice. Asylum didn’t deserve me,” he shockingly said in a thread titled ‘Do Not Sign A Record Deal If U Have Got Money’.

After staggeringly releasing in depth financial information about his impending album and follow-up to Summertime, Wiley revealed all about his healthy bank balance. “I have to remind everyone I had my bikes, car, chain and watch and all that before this album deal so I didn’t need to sign this deal really but I got pressured into it by my manager obviously he just wanted money and I signed knowing I was gonna end up flipping cos it wasn’t me it was what asylum wanted me to be which was never gonna work.”

He also went on to mention, “I’m jus doin’ my ting now f*** everyone, I swear.”

The dude actually goes into rather specific details on his deal on the RWD Magazine message board (which I’ve never seen an artist do before), saying that the issue arose because the production cost overruns were being taken out of his £100,000 ($185,000) advance. It sounds like typical label bs that could have been resolved through lawyers, and the general consensus from his fans and industry heads is that the dude overreacted. Wiley’s track record of switching record companies like I switch underpants wasn’t doing him any favors, especially when he was poised to hit it big with this upcoming album.

However, cooler heads prevailed. Wiley wrote a letter to his label apologizing for the whole thing, and the album is still supposed to come on Asylum/Atlantic. However, is the damage already done? I’m sure his label and his lawyers aren’t happy with him putting his finances on the Internets like that.

Tags: Wiley

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