Kottonmouth Kings Stream Entire New Album 'Long Live The Kings' Online
Kottonmouth Kings are currently streaming their entire new album online at www.MySpace.com/KottonmouthKings. The group's new album, "Long Live The Kings", lands in stores on April 20th, 2010 through Suburban Noize Records.
"When it came time to record our new album, 'Long Live The Kings', we decided to switch things up by adding our labelmate the Dirtball to the group," says Daddy X. "It would have been easy to go through the motions and put it in cruise control, but we opted to switch things up and move in a new direction. So with a new creative energy, we rented a cabin for six months in Sequoia National Forest and started writing and recording. In a lot of ways this felt like the same energy we had when we were making our first record. We weren't afraid to try new things and take a bold step in a new direction with this album. I think the music speaks for itself and this is one of the best records the Kottonmouth Kings have ever done."
The Kottonmouth Kings will be co-headlining the “Happy Daze” tour alongside Insane Clown Posse, with support from Coolio, Necro and Kittie beginning May 10th, 2010 in Dallas, TX. The tour will run for four weeks from May through June, hitting amphitheaters across the country.
KOTTONMOUTH KINGS TOUR DATES: Apr 23 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Apr 24 - Las Vegas, NV - Rock The Block w/ Unwritten Law, (Hed)pe, Big B May 07 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues May 08 - San Bernardino, CA - National Orange Show w/ Method Man, Redman & Fishbone May 10 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom May 11 - Tulsa, OK - Brady Theater Outdoors May 13 - Louisville, KY - Inn Place Hotel & Conference Center May 14 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom May 15 - Rochester Hills, MI - Meadowbrook Amphitheater May 16 - Columbus, OH - The LC Pavilion Outdoor Amphitheatre May 17 - Charlotte, NC - The Uptown Amphitheatre at The Music Factory May 19 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory May 20 - Baltimore, MD - Pier Six Pavilion May 21 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium May 22 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium May 23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Amphitheatre at Station Square May 24 - Cleveland, OH - Nautica Pavilion May 26 - Minneapolis, MN - Cabooze May 27 - Council Bluffs, IA - Westfair Amphitheater May 28 - Sauget, IL - Pops Outdoors May 29 - Bonner Springs, KS - Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone May 31 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater Jun 01 - Magna, UT - The Great Salt Air - Outdoors Jun 03 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory Concert House Jun 04 - Portland, OR - Expo Center - Hall C Jun 05 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield Theatre Jun 06 - Anaheim, CA - The Grove of Anaheim
ALBUM EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY GAME AND PHARRELL WILLIAMS GAME WORKS WITH DR DRE ON THE PROJECT
Los Angeles, CA (April 13th, 2010) -- Multi-platinum Grammy nominated rapper Game (Jayceon Taylor) is set to release his highly anticipated R.E.D. Album on June 15th. The album will be executive produced by Game and Pharrell Williams who jumped at the opportunity to collaborate. "Game is good kid...and I'm excited for the world to hear the many facets of his character...what's even crazier is that as a fan, I cannot believe I am actually producing songs on the same album as Dr.Dre. Humbling, man... I owe Game for that one. His album is gonna be a problem," states Pharrell.
Leading off the R.E.D. Album will be the Pharrell produced street anthem It Must Be Me, a West Coast influenced trunk rattler that features Game spitting venomous lyrics reminiscent of an early, I got something to prove, Ice Cube. Following will be the Justin Timberlake assisted Ain't No Doubt About It where the two J.T.'s sing and rap over a radio hit that will be blasting out of car windows and club speakers this spring. "I never thought I would have the chance to work with Justin, but to come up with a smash like we did, it's only fitting," Game asserts.
In addition to working closely with Pharrell on the project, super producer Dr. Dre is back to lend his hands and voice, producing and rapping on the R.E.D. Album. And Game couldn't be more thrilled to work with his mentor again stating, "Dre is a hip hop legend and one of the reasons I'm making music. To be working so closely with him again...man, I don't even have words to describe it." Game is now ready to let the world hear the R.E.D. Album saying it's shaping up to be the biggest of his career, "my two favorite producers are helping me with the direction of this album, I couldn't be in a better position."
Zion I Producer Releases Dance-Ready Second Single, Announces New Date For Murder At The DiscoTech
The Song:
Low volume settings should be avoided at all costs for a song like Amp Live's latest single, "Turn It Up." With the new song, the producer, best known for his work as one half of the hip-hop duo Zion I, is preparing fans for the release of his album, Murder At The DiscoTech, while simultaneously announcing a new release date for the project, now scheduled for a June 15th release through Om Records.
The single kicks off, appropriately, with an electronic voice commanding the listener to turn up the volume before a deep bass beat emerges joined by the vocal stylings of guest MC, Mickey Factz, well known for his own forays into electro-inspired, club-oriented hip-hop and also a past collaborator with Amp through work with Zion I and their recent Search And Seizure mixtape. A long-time pro of melding various genres into hip-hop, Amp's expertise is on full display with this new single: The tracks deep bass, resonating synthesizer lines, and highly addictive drums make the single perfect for the nearest set of bass-booming speakers a listener can get their hands on. Upon completion, selecting the song to serve as a single from the album was a no-brainer. "It was definitely super solid beat banger that I set out to make," says Amp of the final product. "I was wanting to do a song with Mickey Factz for a while, and everything came together perfectly for this song."
Like Marty McFly with an MPC and a DeLorean on 22s, Amp Live brings the perfect beat back in the name of science, elevating hip-hop out of its creative doldrums and restoring innovation to the genre. Best known for his work as the production half of indie hip hop duo Zion I, Amp Live's official remix credits include Akon, Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussy Cat Dolls, Linkin Park, Radiohead, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Jamie Lidell, MGMT, Jealous Girls, Tokyo Police Club, and Why? Amp Live received worldwide acclaim for his ingenious remix project for Radioheads' In Rainbows album, Rainydayz Remixes, which, despite having received cease & desists from the label, was approved by Radiohead themselves. Amp has also had his music included in a number of video games and movies, TV shows, and commercials, which include Nestle's “Wonka Candy-Feed Your Imagination” series, So You Think You Can Dance, America's Next Top Model, ESPN Sports Center, and the Jamie Kennedy Show to name a few. Always experimenting Amp Live's weaving of of rock, dance, electro, mashups, and drum n' bass influences within a hip-hop soundscape have garnered him fans from all over the world.
"Triumph" is a Wu-Tang signature track, some of the finest work from each crew member, and guaranteed to set the party off. In this clip from a recent performance, Inspectah Deck & GZA join Masta Killa in front of a crowd so hype that they rap Killa's verse for him. The adrenaline that comes with a Wu performance is captured on Masta Killa's album Live, which features a live performance of "Triumph" as well as favorites "Duel of the Iron Mic," "Da Mystery of Chessboxin," "Digiwarfare," "No Said Date," & more. Live is out today on Gold Dust / Nature Sounds.
Gold Dust is proud to present Live, the new live album by original Wu-Tang member Masta Killa and the first recorded concert effort from a member of the group in over five years. Live culls together some of the best verses the versatile rapper has offered in his 17-year career, ranging from his 2004 solo debut No Said Date and classic Wu-Tang albums to memorable spots on GZA's Liquid Swords and Legend of the Liquid Sword. Featuring guest appearances by GZA and Inspectah Deck, among others, Live offers new spins on tracks long embedded in the consciousness of most hip-hop fans, including "Duel of the Iron Mic," "Guillotine" and "Mystery of Chessboxin'."
Hip-hop fans know that live performances are dicey at best, with late starts, no-shows, and 30 people on stage (for no apparent reason) commonplace. Members of the Wu-Tang, however, have always prided themselves on an unending amount of talent, energy and charisma, ensuring that every show they do leaves the crowd salivating for their next appearance. “A lot of fans have never heard Masta Killa live and never had the chance to see a Wu-tang show, so I thought it would be a good idea to release live audio for them. It would also really entice people to come out to witness the next wave of live shows we do,” Masta Killa explains. It's this heightened level of excitement that permeates all of Live, kicking off with a blistering a capella version of "Mystery of Chessboxin'" right down to the last dominant verses of "Triumph" (which sees the crowd in unison keeping pace with every word, rhyming Killa's verse for him.)
No Said Date, providing the material for close to half of Live, is one of the most critically acclaimed Wu projects in the group's history. Allmusic stressed that "[Killa's] aggressive but nimble flow is all over each of these songs." Stylus called it "a return to the Wu sound," impressed with the emcee's "energy, switches in cadence, speed and stress" and that "lyrically, [Killa] mixes up the styles of the premier Wu membership…into lines packed with thoughts and images that never sound crammed in, jam-packed or rushed." And Pitchfork called it "the most fully formed Wu solo effort," noting that "Masta is a rapper's rapper, forsaking high-flown gimmicks for Spartan flows and carefully considered rhymes."
All of these accolades are only enhanced by listening to Live. This is an essential addition to the canon and mandatory listening for any true Masta Killa fan or Wu head.
Tracklist
1. Da Mystery Of Chessboxin (Accapella) 2. Armored Truck 3. Silverbacks (feat. Inspectah Deck & GZA) 4. Duel Of The Iron Mic (feat. GZA) 5. School 6. Grab The Mic 7. No Said Date 8. In The Hood 9. Love Spell (feat. Startel) 10. D.T.D. 11. Street Education (feat. Streetlife) 12. Whatever (feat. Streetlife & Prodigal Sunn) 13. Fam Members Only (feat. GZA) 14. Digiwarefare 15. Guillotine (Swordz) (feat. GZA) 16. Triumph (feat. Inspectah Deck & GZA)
Its been awhile. No pissed off editorials, no DJ gigs, no mix shows and I haven't done anything to land myself on a reality show...yet. Its called being preoccupied with real life kickin your ass. Anyhow, here's a brief cameo before I retreat back to my office under a rock. Its nice and cool down there.
I'm not sure how many of you shop at Foot Locker (or bother to look at the TV screens in there), but if you do and wondered...yeah, that was me. I've been doing a series of video shorts for SLAM Magazine's sneakers of the month at Foot Locker, and apparently, they're running now! I haven't seen the videos yet, but when my aunt, cousins and a few friends called and asked me why my "big ass head and that big ass afro" was on the TV screen in Foot Locker...I figured I'd save you the email/phone call asking me what the hell I was doing. If you happen to see one, don't laugh. You can giggle though.
Also, I haven't made any music in ages, but a song I produced for The Cunninlinguists awhile ago was released recently. They did a video for the song that was released on Friday, its hilarious and getting a great response.
Even if you don't like my beats, its the only music I've made in the last year and a half (and probably the last for awhile). The video is extremely well done. I even make an appearance in the video at 2:14, so if you don't like Foot Locker, you can see me there and ridicule me from the comfort of your own home.
Oh, and all of you on this mailing list with news/media sites. Feel free to link the music video, but there's no need to re-post the Foot Locker thing. It was just useless info that may help you out on Jeopardy one day, along with "foods that start with the letter Q". Besides, can't have people piling into Foot Locker stores like the Superbowl is being played. .
Hope everyone is ballin' big time on 30 inch rims. Save me some.
Shouts out to the homie Patrick aka Paddylane for the fresh interview he did with me for his new blog, "Hip-Hop 4 The People". I first met Paddylane via Youtube 3 years back when i saw the dope fan-made video he did for the Panacea song "Place on Earth", so naturally when he asked me to be featured on his blog- it was a done deal. You can read the interview HERE, and make sure you subscribe to his blog too, as Patrick knows his hip-hop!
"Execution is right. From the Italian horror movie-inspired cover to the murderous beats and battle rhymes, this collaboration is a homicidal attack on all things wack. The album, a team-up between Brooklyn MC Ruste Juxx and Marco Polo, is on Duck Down, so before you even hit play you know you are in for some quality, hard-hitting East Coast hip hop. The label has an impressive track record, as do Polo and Juxx. Marco Polo's "Port Authority" and collab with Torae got high marks from this website, as did Ruste Juxx's 2009 debut, "Indestructible." Marco Polo is a sample-based producer, using his MPC to make the gut-punching hip hop in the tradition of Primo and Pete Rock. Ruste Juxx is a foul-mouthed battle rhymer, the shark you send in to take out haters with a verbal beatdown. It's a perfect partnership, since both artists are inspired by classic hip hop. "
""A Million in the Morning" is a mockumentary centered around a Netflix sponsored contest where contestants attempted to break the world record of movie watching. For those not familiar with the concept, a mockumentary is a mock documentary where comedy, usually dark humor and satire, is used to poke fun at the subject of the documentary. The genre became popular ten years ago with the film "Best in Show." That mockumentary poked fun at the obsessive and extreme nature of dog owners obsessed with their pets. It was a success, due mostly to the top notch cast and fresh concept. Since then, there have been plenty of attempts to capture the same magic, but very little success."
"Bryan Williams has been going by the name Birdman long enough that we can probably drop referring to him as Baby at this point. Honestly it was a bad nom de plume and even worse as a nickname - it implied that what Williams had to say on wax was childish and immature. That's fair though - a lot of what Williams had to say WAS. With marginal talent at best as a lyricist, Williams relied on catchphrases and funny noises to carry himself as a soloist when his real best fit in the rap game was (and always has been) as the entrepreneur and architect of Cash Money Records. Despite a lack of accolades for his rapping ability, Birdman has been a sales success for three reasons: well produced singles, a VERY tight relationship with Lil Wayne, and no shortage of TV and radio exposure for his singles. Since he's still releasing solo albums over 7 years after the first one dropped, you have to give him a modicum of respect and props as a soloist. "
various artists :: Bohemian Rap CD :: Free Ice Cream as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon
"The idea has lingered in the collective consciousness of hip-hop since the unfortunate rise and fall of Vanilla Ice - sample Queen's greatest hits to make even greater rap songs. It's really not a bad idea given the long-lasting musical legacy of Freddie Mercury, but Robert Van Winkle poisoned the well and nobody's wanted to openly advocate drinking from those waters for almost 20 years. Even on the rare occasions Queen samples have snuck into the mix, they've been carefully hidden in the background, and were probably prohibitively expensive to license from the corporate owners of that still highly marketable music catalogue to boot. Kats & Domer have their own solution to the latter. FreeIceCream.net is literally what the domain name implies - great flavors you don't have to pay for."
"Cool Breeze's resume speaks for itself. A longtime pal of Atlanta's seminal rap visionaries OutKast and Goodie Mob, his legendary verses on "Dirty South" and "Decatur Psalm" were enough to make any Dungeon Family fan put down the soul food and slow down his Eldorado long enough to wonder "Who IS this guy?" However, it wasn't until after OutKast's third multiplatinum effort that major labels began to pick up the duo's relatives, and in 1999 Cool Breeze's debut "East Points Greatest Hit" saw the light of day on Interscope. Blessed with the Midas touch of Organized Noize Productions and guest appearances from his D.F. brethren as well as Kurupt, 8Ball, and Nivea, Cool Breeze's debut LP set to prove that he would be the "Greatest Hit" to emerge from his East Point neighborhood. "
"Earl Stevens is back a little over a year after dropping "The Ball Street Journal" late in 2008, and like always he's doing it major, but this time he's doing it EXTRA major. For the first time since Nelly did it back in 2004, a major hip-hop artist has dropped two separate but related albums on the same day at the same time. E-40 is "Revenue Retrievin'" around the clock, which is why he's grinding on the "Day Shift" with one hustle and on the "Night Shift" with more muscle. Unofficially "Revenue Retrievin'" is a double album, but when they chart on Billboard they'll go up separately. Make no mistake about it - they WILL chart. E-40's cult following has grown over the years like Earl's wasteline, and the portly pimp of Vallejo knows how to appeal to that fanbase - keep it Yay Area and hella gangsta. So long as Stevens' stays consistent, so will his album sales. "
"The companion album to E-40's "Revenue Retrievin' - Day Shift," the late night hustle picks up on "Night Shift" right where the former left off. The closer of E-40's new double wide project found Earl Stevens in search of better days and a better life, but once night fell Rick Rock and 40-Water worked together and found the key to getting ahead - keeping it cooking metaphorically and literally by going in "Over the Stove". Muscle and hustle have been the keys to E-40's success since the early 1990's and they're still working for Earl Stevens here in spades. Not surprisingly since this album is "Night" and not "Day" there's a much harder feel to the presentation. Rick Rock returns on the second track with another banger to remind us that "Nice Guys" finish last and stay broke while "bad guys finish first, and push coke." Things soften up for the third joint though, potentially a new single candidate not yet released off the CD - the Jazze Pha produced "Can't Stop the Boss" featuring Snoop Dogg and Too $hort. It's a West coast powerhouse lineup over a very mellow piano backdrop, with Pha singing the hook to boot."
Geto Boys :: Till Death Do Us Part :: Rap-A-Lot Records ** RapReviews "Back to the Lab" series ** as reviewed by Matt Jost
"Under the watchful eye of James Smith, the trio revisited some GB staples and introduced a few new nuances to the repertoire. With the Ghetto/Geto Boys being the label owner's vision from day one, it didn't come as a surprise to hear him open and close the new album. The "Intro" finds him talking in his careful, Corleone-like manner, mentioning "a lot of people mad about our success." If you think you've heard this one before and expect a tirade against haters, you must be a newcomer to the Rap-A-Lot saga. Referring to "the DEA, IRS, and other wicked people in high places," Smith for the first time alludes to a conspiracy to bring the label down on trumped up charges, which he counters as follows: "I didn't allow myself to be systemized by the welfare system and poverty that they try to handicap us with in the ghetto. I work my ass off, I pull brothers off the street. And together we built a multi-million dollar record company in a few years. I did it the way it was supposed to be done, by hiring lawyers and accountants, to make sure everything was done legally."
"What is rhythm? It's a word that's ingrained in our vernacular, but what does it really mean? In musical terms, rhythm is defined as the pattern of regular or irregular pulses caused by music by the occurrence of strong and weak melodic and harmonic beats. By this definition, just about everything has a rhythm to it, even when some would argue otherwise. Here we have Baltimore, MD native, King Rhythm, who seeks to continue creating his own unique form of hip-hop. His music is built on a foundation of dirty beats that are hard, funky and aggressive. Previous releases were focused on electric and dance sounds, but with the release of "Hardships & Head Trips", the synths have been replaced with guitars and drones to create some progressive hip-hop that is almost psychedelic in nature. "
Serengeti and Polyphonic :: Terradactyl :: anticon. as reviewed by Eric Sirota
"Man, hip-hop sure has gotten interesting. I wish I could put a moratorium on people either hating rappers because they all sound the same or liking rappers just because they don't sound like the shit on the radio. Those with such opinions aren't looking hard enough. Hip-hop has long since moved past a place where it need be judged simply by how much it does or doesn't sound like the mainstream. Take "Terradactyl," the 2009 anticon debut from chicago MC Serengeti and producer Polyphonic. With 'geti's cerebral montone and Poly's dissonant glitchings, it is tempting to call the record brilliant because it sounds nothing like what is on the radio, but that would be too simple. "Terradactyl" operates on its own terms. Realize, this is neither a strength nor a weakness, but simply a reason to judge "Terradactyl" based on how good it is, in and of itself, not based on how much it does or doesn't sounds like something else. "
Erick Sermon :: Double or Nothing :: Def Jam Records ** RapReviews "Back to the Lab" series ** as reviewed by Pete T
"He's gone by many aliases—E-Double-E, the Green Eyed Bandit, and Erick Onassis to name a few—but be it for his celebrated work behind the boards or his identifiably drawly rhymes on the mic, Erick Sermon has more or less been a mainstay in the rap game for over twenty years. Whether for his invaluable contributions as one half of seminal Long Island rap duo EPMD, his role as founder of the influential Def Squad collective, beats tailored for everyone from Too Short to Jay-Z to Ludacris to Shaquille O'Neal, and substantial latter-day solo catalog with multiple hit singles, he only rarely makes headlines but never fades from relevance. In 1993 while EPMD fans were still mourning the breakup of one of hip hop's greatest twosomes, E-Double hit the studio right away and rushed to produce his solo debut "No Pressure." Featuring his by-then signature bass-heavy East Coast production, "No Pressure" was well-received by fans and critics alike but displayed somewhat of a lyrical deficiency on Sermon's part as he struggled to handle double the mic duty in Parrish's absence. "
"Evan "Truthlive" Phillips is the co-founder and CEO of Interdependent Media, the indie hip hop label whose roster includes Tanya Morgan, Finale, J*Davey, and K'Naan. Interdependent not only puts out excellent indie hip hop, they do a great job marketing it, embracing new technology to create buzz for their artists and get them heard. For Tanya Morgan's sophomore effort, "Brooklynati," Interdependent created a website for the imaginary city. More importantly, they got people to actually buy the record. Like so many other hip hop label heads, what Phillips really wants to do is rap. He came up with his name when he was in the hospital awaiting one of three open heart surgeries for Supraventricular Tachycardia- "Live Truth, Truth Live." As you'd expect from someone who coined their rap name while awaiting surgery, Truthlive isn't a ringtone rapper, and he doesn't rap about getting drunk in the club or putting rims on his car. Like Chuck D, he's got so much trouble on his mind, and uses his rhymes as an outlet, addressing the injustices of the world and the sorry state of hip hop. "
This week's Hip-Hop Shop may be Episode 69 but there's Nuttin' Dirty But Tha Music. We're featuring new songs from Armageddon, Black Bobby, the tag team of Unjust & Opio plus much more! If you like what you hear be sure to e-mail dj.flash@rapreviews.com with feedback or to get more information about sponsoring the show. Hip-Hop Shop features podsafe music, so give a copy to your friends and tell them to check us out every week at RapReviews.com! PS: Be sure to check out our good friends mrob & The Cancer at K4D too!
* Atari Blitzkrieg - Can U Stand the Reign * Armageddon f/ Fat Joe, Noreaga - It's Over (Remix) * Lawrence Arnell f/ Reef the Lost Cauze - Nothin Less * Little Brother - Star * Unjust & Opio - Aggression * Black Bobby - Major Blazer (Pon de Flow) * Louis Logic f/ Black Mask - Broken Record
RAPPER HOPSIN DIRECTS, SHOOTS AND EDITS HIS OWN VIDEO FOR $400!!! HE’S A “MOTHERFU*KER”
The days of artists being signed and turning all of the budget worries and marketing work over to the record label have been over for some time. Ruthless Records’ Hopsin understands the current industry climate and is proactive about jumping in and doing his part to market his album, “Gazing At The Moonlight,” virally.
Hopsin recently acted as director, camera man, editor and artist on his most recent video for the edgy street single, “Motherfu*cker.” Shot entirely guerrilla style on his privately owned mini cam and edited on his home computer, Hopsin’s creativity shines in the finished piece which cost as much as most flossy lunch meetings at the major labels.
![[Capture the Sun]](coverart/illogic-Capture.jpg)
Superheroes of hip-hop!
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:: Heavy on the Grind/
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:: Rap-A-Lot Records 
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:: Def Jam Records 
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