back to the lab again..

lets change it up a lil. take a lil break from talib, common, kanye

NEW Alicia Keys - No One


introducing... okayplayer artist k-os!





K-Os Biography:
Raised by Jehovah's Witness parents in locales as disparate as Toronto and Trinidad, it was no surprise that Kheaven Brereton, aka k-os (pronounced: chaos) was a bit different than your average MC. A singer as well as a rhymer, and a producer to boot, k-os proved on his debut album, Exit (Astralwerks, 2002), that being preachy didn't have to mean being boring. The LP stood out dramatically with lush, instrument-driven arrangements to go with the traditional hip-hop elements of drum programming, samples, and the like. Acoustic guitar and piano marked the single "Heaven Only Knows"; dub and reggae influences tinged "Freeze." Many of the tracks found the rapper singing, so much so that an argument could be raised about the genre to which k-os in fact belonged. And that was just the way he liked it. A tour to support Exit stretched from late 2002 through summer 2003; the dates saw k-os performing with such hip-hop luminaries as India.Arie and Floetry. Exit went on to pick up International Album of the Year at the 2003 Source Awards. K-os returned in September 2004 with the equally ambitious Joyful Rebellion, a record whose sales hit almost double-platinum levels. After writing and performing a song, "Burning to Shine," with the CBC Orchestra (a process that was documented on the network) in 2005, k-os released Atlantis: Hymns for Disco the following year.

K-0s - Man I used to be

K-os - Heaven Only Knows

K-os - Dirty Water










and ...
haha nm some kweli too & common vid
Talib Kweli - Bobby James 2007 Remix

Common - Drivin' Me Wild (feat. Lily Allen)
Uploaded by yardie4life

HOT Vid.. Literally

Looks like 50 & Ciara have some competition for "Hotness Displayed in a Music Video by a Duo" in this ridiculously hot music video of Nicole Scherzinger "Whatever U Like" f/ T.I. Enjoy.. I sure did!

some kanye fo ya ears

Kanye West - The Good Life (feat. T-Pain)

Kanye West - Flashlight (feat Dwele) Not Radio Version

NEW Lupe Track

Lupe dropped a new track tonight on his myspace that he states will be on his sophomore album Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. It's called "Dumb It Down" featuring his FNF running buddy Gemini and Lupe brings it with some ridiculous lyrics that centers around the state of selling records and making hits by 'dumbing down' the lyrics, and therefore creating the saturated, repetitive music that floods the airwaves today. As you can imagine, Lupe keeps it real so check it out for yourself and don't forget - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is currently slated for November 20th!


Lupe Fiasco "Dumb It Down" f/ Gemini (Producer: Soundtrakk)

The Graduate Mixtape

Kanye, Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek are the remnants of what Hov used to call a “dynasty.” Beanie Sigel, Peedi Crakk and Tru Life are the dedicated benchwarmers also holding tight to that dream. This song may be the last we hear of the Diamonds posse. In fact, I’d bet more professional athletes are throwing the diamond up than professional musicians.



Kanye West - Put Your Diamonds Up (feat. Jay-Z & Memphis Bleek)




Track List:
1. Stronger (live)
2. exclusive freestyle
3. Can't tell me nothing
4. In the mood (ft. talib kweli)
5. Grammy speech interlude
6. Still dreaming (ft. nas)
7. Put your diamonds up (ft. memphis bleek & jay-z) [prod. by ceasar]
8. pro nails
9. John mayer speaks
10. Bittersweet (ft. john mayer) [complete version]
11. Through the wire [remix] (live)
12. Fucced up
13. message in a bottle freestyle (live)
14. Red carpet freestyle
15. Because of you [remix]
16. Better then i've ever been (ft. nas & krs-one)
17. Can't tell me nothing
18. Can't tell me nothing (live)
19. Mixtapes freestyle
20. Came back for you
21. Exclusive freestyle
22. Weak shit (ft. odb)
23. Sippy sippy interlude
24. The good the bad the ugly (ft. consequence)
25. Crashing mtv interlude
26. Make me better freestyle
27. All falls down (live on def poetry jam)
28. Milkshake freestyle
29. Can't tell me nothing
30. I still love h.e.r.
31. The food (live) (ft. common)
32. Drive slow (live) ft. glc)
33. Robot interlude
34. Stronger [remix] (ft. jay-z)
35. Can't tell me nothing (chop & screwed)

Getting To Know Lupe Fiasco

If you got some time to kill, 18 minutes to be exact, check out this ABC News interview with Lupe Fiasco during the weekend of Lollapalooza. Lupe discusses a broad range of topics like his upbringing in Chicago, interesting tidbits about the fame he has gained, a little bit about his future endeavours, and more! It's a very deep and interesting interview that obviously took place recently and it was awesome to see and really get to know who Lupe Fiasco is. Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is currently slated for release November 20th and it is confirmed that the first single is "Superstar" f/ Matthew Santos.

CLICK!

Here Ya Go...

Kanye- Graduation Full Album Snippets

More KANYE - NEW TRACK f/ Chris Martin

Another track off Graduation leaked today.. this is the much anticipated collaboration of Kanye & Chris Martin from Coldplay entitled "Homecoming". The first thing I noticed is Kanye used some exact lines from "Home" f/ John Legend - a 2003 track off the mixtape Get Well Soon... and after listening to both again, the latter half of 'Ye's first verse on "Home" (~ 1:45) is the exact same in the latter half of the 2nd verse in "Homecoming" (~ 1:55). Would Kanye really recycle lyrics for his upcoming album or is this just the 2007, updated version of "Home"? This leads for some speculation, but I think this has got to be the final version of the song because the album has to be finished at least 3-4 weeks before it hits stores so that it can get manufactured and distributed. Maybe Kanye is just stressing the message he was trying to convey in "Home" by reusing some of the same lyrics on "Homecoming" and since "Homecoming" is on Graduation, more people will be listening. Also, I'm fairly sure that "Home" was recorded before the car accident that almost killed Kanye and post-accident Kanye's voice does have a distinct difference. Both versions have their similarities and differences and I like both of them. You can listen to the differences yourself as both tracks are below and ready to be downloaded. Graduation hits stores September 11th! (but you knew that already, right?)

Kanye West "Homecoming" f/ Chris Martin ***NEW*** (Producer: Kanye West)

Kanye West "Home" f/ John Legend (Producer: Kanye West)

Kanye To Da Entourage?! ("Good Life" Snippet Added)

****UPDATE BELOW****

Whoo, had to watch Entourage twice for a special guest appearance by Kanye West (not to mention it was a great episode)! Also, there's a hot snippet of "Good Life" f/ T-Pain in the closing credits so find a way to watch Entourage - it'll be on all week on HBO!

And in case you forgot...

GRADUATION --- SEPTEMBER 11TH!

****UPDATE**** (12:17 PM 08/27/07)
Couldn't find the mp3 snippet yet, but the fly ending of Entourage featuring a guest appearance by Kanye West & the snippet of "Good Life" f/ T-Pain has been posted on YouTube. SPOILER ALERT, however, as this is how the most recent episode of Entourage ends. It's not the biggest plot twist but I suggest you watch the whole episode first. In the meantime, here is Kanye's appearance on Entourage, including the snippet of "Good Life" f/ T-Pain. Enjoy!

Hip Hop Violin

You may have been one of the 700,000+ who has seen this already, but I just saw this now and had to share it for those who haven't. It's a DJ and a violinist mixin' up a some recognizable hip-hop beats. Watch it to see how many you can catch. Enjoy!


Hip Hop Violin - Watch more free videos

Kanyes Passion

some dilla for ya ears

FEBRUARY 2006 - It is with great sorrow that the Family and Friends of J Dilla announces his spiritual transition on the morning of February 10th, 2006 in the loving arms of his mother, Maureen Yancey.

J Dilla had suffered for over three years with an incurable blood disease, and had also been diagnosed with lupus.

He leaves behind a body of work which will be loved and rediscovered for years to come. His most recent album "Donuts" was released on February 7th, the day of his 32nd birthday. "The Shining" was released in August 2006. "Ruff Draft" will be officially re-issued March 2007.

J Dilla - "One Wont Do"

NEW Remix - Consequence/KANYE

The new verses are sick on the "Don't Forget 'Em RMX" that Kanye jumped on. The new remix will appear on Consequence's new mixtape - The Cons Vol. 5: Refuse 2 Die to be released Labor Day Weekend. The original "Don't Forget 'Em" was a standout track and the latest single on Quence's debut Don't Quit Your Day Job that was released in the spring of 2007. So stop sleepin' on 'Quence, DL this and the other tracks that were posted earlier in the month and go out and get Don't Quit Your Day Job in stores now!

Consequence "Don't Forget 'Em RMX" f/ Kanye West (Producer: Kanye West)

"The Way I Are" Mash-Ups

"The Way I Are" (Timbaland f/ my girl Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) has torn up the airwaves and blown out speakers in clubs throughout the country in the process becoming one of the summer anthems of 2007 (currently no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100). I did some searching as I was curious to find a remix or Mash-Up - basically a DJ mashing 2 well-known, sometimes unrelated, songs together into 1 - for "The Way I Are" and I came across 2 tracks that were done nicely. One is a mash-up of Nelly Furtado & Timbaland hits from the past year and the other is a mash-up with the beat for Kat DeLuna's "Whine Up". Enjoy!

Nelly Furtado & Timbaland "Give It Up vs. Promiscuous vs. The Way I Are vs. Say It Right" f/ Keri Hilson

Timbaland & Kat DeLuna "The Way I Are vs. Whine Up"

RAPPERS I KNOW

check this website,,, has some dope stuff that ull prob like if u like what were putting up.
CHECK IT OUT

CLICK!

Common/'Ye News

The next single of off Common's Finding Forever will be "Drivin' Me Wild" f/ Lily Allen and below is a pic of the music video featuring one of Common's pals and Entourage star Jeremy Piven! I'm sure they hugged it out afterward...

















And if your one of the many people becoming swept up in the 50/Kanye rivalry that will culminate the week of September 11, it may shock you that they were on the same stage and performed in New York just last night! As weird as that may sound, 50, Kanye, Jay-Z, Diddy, & Swizz Beatz helped make hip-hop history Wednesday night as they joined Screamfest Tour headliners T.I. & Ciara on stage, pleasantly surprising the 20,000+ Madison Square Garden attendees. Ciara and T.I. switched off sets and performed their collaborations with their respective features (Ciara & 50 for "Can't Leave 'Em Alone" and T.I. & Jay for "Watch What You Say To Me") and more and more of the superstar guests came out to perform their own hits and ending with T.I. closing his show with "What You Know" and "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)". Literally all the above guests were on the stage at the same time w/ 50 and Kanye pounding fists along with the others. Simply an awesome sounding event that I definitely wish I was at. Check out the full mtv.com story here.


Finally, Common has been added to the list of performers for the VMAs on September 9th already joining Kanye West and a host of others. It should also be an entertaining event that I won't want to miss. Go here for all your VMA nominees and news.

NEW Chamillionaire Track & Videos

Here is the full version of the new single "The Evening News" from Chamillionaire, produced by Kane, that will be appearing on Chamillionaire's new album Ultimate Victory due out September 18th.

Chamillionaire "The Evening News" (Producer: Kane)




















Chamillionaire is also releasing the music videos for his singles sequentially to make it flow together like a movie. This makes for a very interesting and well done expression of the message he is trying to convey in the songs. Below are the videos for the first 2 singles, "Hip Hop Police" f/ Slick Rick & "Evening News" respectively.

Introducing Trey Songz

Here's an artist that is a little change of pace compared to the dominating G.O.O.D. Music on the blog.. he's and R&B singer with a little hip hop flavor that you may not have heard about: Trey Songz. His sophomore album Trey Day is currently set for October 2nd and here are 3 of the singles that are most likely going to be on the album.

Trey Songz "Wonder Woman" (Extended Version) (Producer: Danja)

Trey Songz "Can't Help But Wait" (Producer: StarGate)

Trey Songz "Missing You" (Producer: StarGate)

Songz has also released 2 mixtapes within the last 6 months that showcase his rapping skills and singing voice over well-known beats of songs like "We Takin' Over", "Like A Boy", "The Second Coming", "Buy You A Drank", and about half of Pharrell's latest CD In My Mind. You can download these mixtapes and more mixtapes here at DatPiff. The link is to the Trey Songz mixtapes but if you explore the site, you will see a ton of mixtapes for all your favorite artists!

new from kanye and lupe

Kanye West - Big Brother Snippet

Kanye West - Champion Snippet

KANYE WEST - CAN'T TELL ME NOTHING (REMIX)


Lupe Fiasco- Coulda Been
The Cool, is being pushed back from October 30 to November 20. Lupe is also hoping to create a full album with Kanye West and Pharrell Williams as the group CRS (Child Rebel Soldiers).

talib "hot thing" vid..great vid

message from common

t pain remix

T-Pain & Kanye West "Buy You A Drank" Remix

mos on graduation

As we know Mos Def has been outta the spotlight for quite a while (not talking Movies here yo). Yeah I know he dropped "Tru Magic" this past year, but we all know how that went down. So anyway as a huge fan of his I've been lookin' for Mos to make some big moves as an MC (shit he's the reason why I began to listen to hip-hop.). I guess apparently there's just some shit we just dont really know too much about, like the problems with Geffen, the divorce, and other bullshit.

So anyway I've noticed that the track listing for Ye's "Graduation", has Mos appearing on two tracks "Drunk & Hot Girls" (thats dope) & "Good Night". To me its not necessarily a huge surprise, but its great to see him appearing on one of this years most highly anticipated albums. As matter of fact that shit means a lot me. I just hope this continues to be a pattern for Mos, but not just with Kanye but on his own too, you know maybe getting around letting us know more about himself and his travels as the MC, not just the actor.

And I say all this because we got Kweli doing his thing with Blacksmith, Com and the recent mainstream success he's been having, 1st 15th for Lupe, The Roots moving to Def Jam, plus they got ?uestlove allover the place, and finally Ye... well shit he's Ye.

I dont know it just feels as though he's missing, and sometimes I just cant help but wonder about it.

NEW Kweli Track & Remix

With Ear Drum upon us on August 21st, some of the tracks are leaking this week in addition to the ones that already have. "The Nature" features Justin Timberlake and conveys a positive message about the nature of the world today. It is one of the 3 bonus tracks according to the tracklisting for Ear Drum. The lyrics are posted on Talib's official website and you can find them here (I especially like the Dwyane Wade mention in the 2nd Verse!). I also found an interesting remix/freestyle of Kweli spitting over The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby". The flow and lyrics are sick over the classic Beatles instrumental. Enjoy and go out and support Kweli on August 21st!

Talib Kweli "The Nature" f/ Justin Timberlake
The Beatles "Eleanor Rigby RMX" f/ Talib Kweli

NEW Kanye Track

Rumored new track that will be on Graduation... thereby makin' the Graduation tracklist posted earlier NOT final. 'Ye has said publicly that he likes Lil' Wayne's work and has been in the studio with him. So without further ado, here is what they came up with...

Kanye West "Barry Bonds" f/ Lil' Wayne

Back w/ a Common Feature, Keyshia Cole RMX, & Common PICS

Tibs is back.. been out of town for the weekend, but back with a couple tracks. First, I saw the music video in a Champs about a week ago and definitely had to get it. Great vibe to this song and Common's verse brings out chills. The song was released in July as Joss Stone's 2nd single off her album.


Joss Stone "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now" f/ Common





















The new remix of Keyshia Cole's hit "Let It Go" recently leaked and it features T.I., Missy Elliot, & Young Dro. It will be released on Keyshia's new album Just Like You. From the sound of the remix, Just Like You looks like an album to keep an eye on, to be released on September 25th from G.O.O.D. Music.


Keyshia Cole "Let It Go RMX" f/ T.I., Missy Elliot, & Young Dro





















Finally, here are a couple of the pics I got when I met Common at Best Buy in Chicago for an autograph signing. In the brief exchange I had with Common, he immediately came off as a real chill dude and of course very friendly to the people. What came as a surprise to me was how large he is.. at least 6'-4" and built like a football player. Anyway, it was an awesome day for me and all his fans in Chicago who were able to make it. Aite, here are the pics...

NEW 50 & Chris Brown Singles

Here are some new singles that will definitely be out on the radio in a month or 2. 50's much anticipated collaboration with R&B singer Robin Thicke "Follow My Lead" that will of course be appearing on 50's Curtis and the confirmed 2nd single from Chris Brown "Kiss Kiss" f/ T-Pain off the new album Exclusive.

50 Cent "Follow My Lead" f/ Robin Thicke

Chris Brown "Kiss Kiss" f/ T-Pain

Stronger REMIX, 'Ye LIVE Performance on TRL, & VMA Nominations Released

Stumbled upon an UNOFFICIAL remix of "Stronger" f/ Lupe Fiasco on the kanyetalk.com message boards. It is real well done and features Lupe's verse from "Touch The Sky". Below is also another unofficial cover art for "Stronger".

Kanye West "Stronger (Unofficial RMX)" f/ Lupe Fiasco





















Kanye West was a surprise guest on MTV's TRL yesterday and performed a medley of "Stronger" & "Can't Tell Me Nothing" that was pretty electrifying with some sweet strings in the background. Check out the video below.





And finally, more Kanye news as "Stronger" is nominated for VMA Video of the Year along with Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around...Comes Around", Rihanna's "Umbrella" f/ Jay-Z, Justice's "D.A.N.C.E.", & Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable". Check out all the nominees here. The VMAs are LIVE in Las Vegas on September 9th!

OFFICIAL Graduation Cover/Tracklist & More 'Ye News...

1. Good Morning
2. Homecoming (f/ Chris Martin)
3. Stronger
4. Champion
5. Good Life (f/ T-Pain)
6. I Wonder
7. Even More Broke Phi Broke (Skit)
8. Can’t Tell Me Nothing
9. Drunk And Hot Girls (f/ Mos Def)
10. Everything I Am (Scratches by DJ Premier)
11. Good Night (f/ Mos Def & Al Be)
12. Big Brother
13. Graduation (Skit)
14. The Glory
15. CRS (f/ Lupe Fiasco & Pharrell) ***iTunes PRE-Order Bonus Track


Love the cover and might actually buy the album on iTunes now just for that bonus track, instead of at Best Buy. For some more Kanye/50 controversy, CHECK THIS OUT and we might be seeing a live debate between the 2 hip hop superstars sometime very soon! (Thanks again to Brian Moschel, haha)

****UPDATE 2:47 PM: From mtv.com,

50 Cent knows Kanye West better than you think. After accepting a challenge on BET's "106 & Park" to debate with West the merits of their respective new albums — which will go head to head in stores when they street on September 11 — Fiddy replied, "Kanye, he's not going to want to show up." During the VMA announcement Tuesday, West made 50's prediction come true, declining the proposed debate and calling it "the stupidest thing." "What am I going to debate about?" he said. "I'm going to go in the studio and make music." But 'Ye, who said he doesn't have beef with anyone, had something positive to say as well: "With 50's album dropping and my album dropping on the same day, everybody wins because you get a lot of good music at the same time."

So no live debate, but that'll help bring closure to what is reported in the above link.

Remember, Graduation hits stores on 9/11/07!!!

Superstar (Live)

I've heard/encountered some downloading difficulties for the live version of "Superstar" in the post below... if for some reason it is not working, try this link.

Lupe Fiasco "Superstar (Live)" f/ Matthew Santos

Sorry for the inconvenience,

Tibs.

New (Not Old) FIASCO!

Some brand new tracks that are both appearing on Lupe Fiasco's sophomore album The Cool due out on Halloween - October 31! These are both LIVE performances by Lupe Fiasco at LAST NIGHT'S Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL. He introduced both songs as new and specifically said that "Superstar" is the one song that is completed for the album as of now. I'm really feelin' "Superstar" as both Lupe and Matthew Santos (also featured on "American Terrorist" on Food & Liquor) deliver thunderous and electrifying performances. Can't wait 'til Halloween! Enjoy!


Lupe Fiasco "Superstar (Live)" f/ Matthew Santos
Lupe Fiasco "Paris, Tokyo (Live)"

***Listening to the intros before the songs might get annoying, but in iTunes simply right-click the track, click Get Info and then the Options tab. You can change the Start/Stop Times for any track so here's what I inputed for both songs...
"Superstar" - Start: 1:27 Stop: 4:54.5
"Wake Up In Tokyo" - Start: 0:35.25 Stop: 2:12.9

Cons To The Quence!

I stumbled upon this interview with one of G.O.O.D. Music's underlooked artists - Consequence. It's a very interesting read as 'Quence discusses everything from music to fashion. Here are some excerpts...


When asked about his relationship with Kanye came about...

"Two things...The reason I’m in the game period is because of A Tribe Called Quest. When I met Kanye, he knew me as being Consequence from A Tribe Called Quest. You know, me and Kanye have been working together before he had a deal as a solo artist, when he was producer for Roc-a-Fella..." - 'Quence goes in much further detail with this interesting story..


When asked whether or not hip-hop is dead...

"How can it be dead when Don’t Quit Your Day Job is out? I’m not even saying that to be funny. But for real, for real, I mean I respect the question that he [Nas] raised and I’m not mad at it. It does get to a point where you have to call people out like -- the original form of Hip-Hop…is anybody else still doing it? But I don’t think that snap music kills Hip-Hop because that’s like saying stage music killed Hip-Hop."


And a brief mention about the next album...

"I’m working on the next album already. It’s called You Win Some, You Lose Some. It’s gonna be crazy -- a continuation to Don’t Quit Your Day Job. So now that people know I got another album on the way. They can actually buy it when it comes out instead of three months later."


You can read the full interview here. And check out a few tracks below from Consequence's debut album Don't Quit Your Day Job in stores now!






















I know "Grammy Family" is an old track, but 'Ye and 'Quence are straight up ridiculous and the track is featured on the album. "Feel This Way" and "Disperse" are 2 of the standout tracks on an album full of quality tracks, with "Disperse" also featuring 2 Chicago and G.O.O.D. Artists - GLC and Really Doe. Enjoy and go out and support another G.O.O.D. artist - Consequence!

Consequence f/ DJ Khaled, Kanye West, & John Legend "Grammy Family"
Consequence f/ John Legend "Feel This Way"
Consequence f/ GLC & Really Doe "Disperse"

New Old Fiasco

Here's an old track featuring Lupe Fiasco that to my knowledge not many people have heard about. It's the "Didn't You Know RMX" f/ Joe Budden & Lupe Fiasco by the female R&B group Tha' Rayne. This remix came out in 2003 and features Lupe Fiasco on the 3rd verse. Lupe's flow and wordplay was as top-notch back then as it is today. So without further ado...

Tha' Rayne f/ Joe Budden & Lupe Fiasco "Didn't You Know RMX"

Meet Common!

According to Common's website, http://www.common-music.com/, for all the Chicagoland area blog readers, Common will be appearing at the Best Buy on 1000 W. North Ave. in Chicago for a FREE Autograph Signing starting at 6PM on Friday, August 10th. I know I'm strongly considering going and hopefully my schedule will cooperate. He will also be having a mini-show and autograph signing the day before on the 9th, but I looked into it and tickets are unfortunately already sold out. Anyone else want to go, lemme know and go buy Finding Forever in stores now!

“Finding Forever really means to find a place in music where you can exist forever. Music can be forever if you make it from the heart, if you make it from the soul and it's good. And I look at music like Bob Marley's or Marvin Gaye's or Stevie Wonder's or A Tribe Called Quest's, that's forever music. And I'm continuing on the quest to make forever music.” - Common