BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY - THE GAME AIN'T READY

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Arguably the most influential hip-hop group of all-time. Before rappers like 50 Cent and Lil Wayne to Kid Cudi and Drake were singing in-between their verses, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony were ripping up that technique since '91.

The distinctive styles in their flows were so on point that the group was able to become a household name just by the way they recited their rhymes. The lyrics were there, but that's not what made BNTH so incredible. You want lyrics? Throw on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Bone Thugs-N-Harmony were on another level.

After over 10 years of separation, the Cleveland collective has finally reunited with all five of its original members: Krayzie Bone, Bizzy Bone, Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, and Wish Bone. They are currently working together in the studio for the first time in years for their comeback album, Uni-5, with a tentative release date set at June 30.

"The Game Ain't Ready" is reportedly the album's first single, with all five members absolutely going all-out, just like old times. I'm more than excited, I'm pumped, I'm hyped. You should be too. Hip-hop legends just entered the building to show these hipsters what's up.

Download: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - The Game Ain't Ready

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NEW 'TRANSFORMERS' TRAILER FEATURES KID CUDI'S 'SKY MIGHT FALL,' PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST

For Kid Cudi's potential new single "Sky Might Fall" to be the title track for one of 2009's most talked about upcoming movies is pretty remarkable. We are witnessing a future hip-hop star being coached and led by rap's current biggest act, the same way Kanye was mentored by Jay-Z not too long ago. A Kid Named Cudi has major playback value to this day and it was only a mixtape. With the budget Kanye's giving Cudi for this debut, it is destined for be something very special.

Kid Cudi > Drake.

Download: Kid Cudi - Sky Might Fall (30 second snippet)

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REFLECTION ETERNAL FT. BOOTSY COLLINS - INTERNET CONNECTION

Wow, has it really only been over eight years since Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek dropped Train of Thought? The anticipation for a new Reflection Eternal album has been lingering for so long that I think we all feel like it's been over a decade since the MC-producer duo announced their plans for a follow-up LP.

Luckily for us, Talib and Hi-Tek have both finally found made time to get together and record another classic in the making! The starting point: "Internet Connection," a funky techonogic tune that clearly shows Reflection Eternal's modernized attempt to not only please long-time fans, but to also gain new ones soaked in today's new hip-hop atmosphere. The Internet is a rapper's best friend, am I right?

Download: Reflection Eternal ft. Bobby Collins - Internet Connection

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MF DOOM - THAT'S THAT + FIVE-TRACK ALBUM SAMPLER

I wouldn't be surprised if MF DOOM's Born Into This is the most anticipated underground release of this year. It is clear that since MF Doom dropped his sophomore record in '04, his fan base has sky rocketed over the years, forever redefining the term "backpack rap" for anyone who's interested. From rockers to R&B lovers, everyone is a fan of the infamous metal face MC.

Why? Because he's different, point blank. While the rest of the world is loosing their minds over "Right Round" by Flo Rida, MF Doom's work is a big gasp of fresh air, even compared to underground standards. Apparently the rapper has dropped the MF from his name and is now simply going by just DOOM, and the word on the street is that he has yet another project in the works for later this year. Madvillainy 2, anybody?

Catch the full track list for Born Into This with features after the jump.

Download: DOOM - That's That

Update: Download five tracks from the Born Into This album sampler here!

Bread Crumbs:
The-Dream ft. Kanye West - Walking on the Moon
Kero One ft. Ben Westbeech - When the Sunshine Comes

Related posts:
J.ROCC SPINS NEW MF DOOM TRACK PRODUCED BY J DILLA
MF DOOM - BALLSKIN

01. Supervillain Intro
02. Gazillion Ear
03. Ballskin
04. Yessir (ft. Raekwon)
05. Absolutely
06. Rap Ambush
07. Lightworks
08. Batty-Boys
09. Angelz (ft. Tony Starks)
09. Cellz
10. Still Dope (ft. Empress Sharhh)
11. Microwave Mayo
12. More Rhymin' (ft. Kurious)
13. That's That
14. Suppervillainz
15. Bump's Message
16. Thank Ya

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PEP LOVE OF HIEROGLYPHICS PERFORMANCE AND INTERVIEW

My good friend Marc Cabrera over at The Beat hosted a Q&A session with Pep Love of the legendary Hieroglyphics crew at Wave Street Studios in Monterey, California last Friday. It's been a good five-plus years since the Bay Area group released a new studio album as a collective, but solo projects have been popping up here and there (Del and Opio both dropped new albums last year).

Pep is next to follow (hopefully) as his long-delayed record Reconstruction is slated to be released sometime this year. At the Wave Street Studios event, the lyricist performed about 10 songs which consisted of his contributions to Hiero's two albums and works from his couple of solo LPs. He didn't give too much information about Reconstruction in his interview with Marc, but at least we know it's coming!

Bonus download: Pep Love - Change Is

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VIDEO: KID CUDI - DAY N NITE

Kid Cudi is going to take over 2009 and there's nothing you can do about it. It's been over a full year since I heard "Day N Nite" for the first time and the song still bumps just as hard. I find myself turning up my amp and just zoning out every time this records get played on the radio. It's futuristic hip-hop and you can't get more catchy than that.

Back in December the original music video for "Day N Nite" leaked online and was immediately taken off within a matter of hours. Kid Cudi explained that he wasn't happy with the way the video turned out and decided to shoot a new version which is the one you see above. The video was directed by So Me, who also co-directed Kanye's music video for "Good Life," and with So Me comes animation.

Kanye and Kid Cudi are going to be premiering the video on 106 & Park today which should be interesting. I can't picture Kanye restraining from talking about himself for once and instead using all of his energy to praise Kid Cudi. I can assure you that I'm going to be voting for this video on the countdown, though. It's mad dope.

Speaking of Kanye, hit the jump to watch more footage of his recent interivew with Sway on the Wake Up Show.

Update: 106 & Park already aired for my peeps on the East Coast and you already know how footage hits the net so quickly. Hit the jump for Kid Cudi's freestyle on the show and Kanye performing his verse on Officer Ross' forthcoming album Deeper than Rap.

Related posts:
VIDEO: KANYE WEST FT. KID CUDI - WELCOME TO THE HEARTBREAK
KID CUDI TASERED AND ARRESTED AT NBA ALL-STAR PARTY

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VIDEO: KANYE WEST FT. KID CUDI - WELCOME TO THE HEARTBREAK

According to Kanye's infamous blog, "Welcome to the Heartbreak" is not his new single ("Amazing" featuring Jeezy is), but he decided to unexpectedly drop the music video for the song now because "there is another video out there using the same technique." What technique is Kanye talking about? Oh, you'll see right away. And trust me, it has nothing do to with your computer's video playback capabilities. Why inhale drugs when you can just watch this?

There's lots of other Kanye activity going on in the blogosphere today. Hit the jump for 1) Kanye's interview with Sway on the Wake Up Show where he goes in on a wide variety of topics and spits a dope freestyle (for once), 2) Yeezy on the cover of the new Details magazine, and 3) clips of Details' conversation with Kanye for their cover story.

Related posts:
KID CUDI TASERED AND ARRESTED AT NBA ALL-STAR PARTY
KANYE WEST SPEAKS ON GAY COMMUNITY AND CHRIS BROWN, RIHANNA

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VIDEO: T.I. FT. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - DEAD AND GONE

Thirty-five days and counting until T.I. is locked up for a good year and a day. I wonder how that feels like - knowing that all of your fame and fortune you worked all your life for suddenly comes to a uncontrollable halt. Out of the seven singles T.I. has released so far off Paper Trail, "Dead and Gone" is by far my favorite one. T.I. is one of the very few commercially successful rappers who can drop a club banger, a street anthem, and a conscious record as singles and make them all number one hits.

Watch the second installment to T.I.'s new MTV reality show "Road to Redemption" tonight at 9:30. If you need to catch up on the action, you can check out the series' entire first episode here.

Related post: T.I. PERFORMS 'DEAD AND GONE' LIVE AT THE GRAMMYS WITH JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

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MIXTAPE(?): BLU - HERFAVORITECOLO(U)R.

Happy Valentine's Day, errbody. Although I'm personally against the whole commercial aspect of the holiday, I do believe it's an appreciative opportunity to show the people around you how much you really care about them. We all live hectic, non-stop lives and sometimes we forget to take the time out of our busy schedules to really display acts of tenderness to our friends, family, and significant others.

Your significant other's favorite colo(u)r, Blu, is showing his fans how much he appreciates them on this special day by unexpectedly posting a free project on his MySpace page. It don't know if it's meant to be a mixtape, EP, album, or whatever, but 14-track record comes in at exactly 30-minutes long with new and not-so-new material.

I recognize some of the songs on the project, such as "Amnesia" and "Vanity," after they were previously ripped from his MySpace page but it looks like the majority of the tracks are certified fresh. There's no cover to accompany the project so I'm assuming it was put together last minute. Be sure to download HerFavoriteColo(u)r from the link below because the one Blu posted on his MySpace has already expired.

Track list after the jump.

Download: Blu - HerFavoriteColo(u)r.

Related posts:
BLU AND K-SALAAM DISCUSS THE RESURGENCE OF WEST COAST HIP-HOP
VIDEO: EVIDENCE FT. PHONTE, BLU, & WILL.I.AM - FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL

01_Love
02_Amnesia
03_Since
04_Morning
05_Melo
06_Wind(terludeOne)
07_When(terludeTwo)
08_Silent
09_Pardon
10_Vanity
11_Beggars'/BlackGold
12_Celln'Ls
13_Untiled(LovedU)2
14_Peace

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KID CUDI TASERED AND ARRESTED AT NBA ALL-STAR PARTY

Can All-Star Weekend ever go smoothly without something negative popping up in the headlines? I think we all realize that Kid Cudi has come a very long way in just the short six months since his mixtape dropped. The transition from virtually going unnoticed to being signed by hip-hop's biggest pop star comes with its fair share of difficulties and it looks like Kid Cudi is finding that out the hard way.

Here's the run-down according to AllHiphop.com. Kid Cudi was booked to perform at Reebok 's NBA All-Star party which was being held at a venue in Phoenix, the city where the All-Star game is taking place this year. Before Cudi was about to take the stage, Reebok's people saw that he was rocking a pair of Jordan's. Apparently they weren't too hot about the idea of an artist they hired "promoting" one of Reebok's competitors so I can only guess that they told Cudi to switch his kicks.

Obviously Cudi didn't like it and an altercation went down where Cudi "physically and verbally confronted a pair of Reebok employees." Authories got in the middle of the fight and tasered Cudi. The rapper was eventually arrested but it is not clear if charges have been handed out. Let's hope this gets solved soon, Kanye might even have to bail his man out.

Reebok should have just let Cudi perform with whatever he was wearing. They paid him to perform for one night, not to endorse the company. Regardless, Cudi still didn't have the right to go all ballistic. As they say, mo money, mo problems.

Related post: J.PERIOD FT. CONSEQUENCE & KID CUDI - BUGGIN OUT 2009 (TRIBUTE MIX)

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BLU AND K-SALAAM DISCUSS THE RESURGENCE OF WEST COAST HIP-HOP

Let's keep the hipster movement moving along, shall we? A large part of underground hip-hop's refreshing posse of new, promising artists has a lot to do with the West Coast. I was born in the early 1990s and by the time I developed a love for hip-hop the West Coast was already dead and the East Coast was destined to be the same. It's been over 12 years since 2Pac passed away and even though his death didn't completely mark the fall of West Coast hip-hop, it sure triggered it and the dominoes quickly fell from there on after.

Legitimate MCs like Blu definitely know what it takes to revive the influence of West Coast hip-hop. Now that they have the whole world watching closely, I feel like it's California's time right now to really take back what they already lost. Producer K-Salaam chats with Blu about this very subject, looking back at Cali's pioneers in the game and how the styles they established have translated to what's popping today.

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MYSPACE MUSIC: WHO NEW? WITH MICKEY FACTZ AND ASHER ROTH

I find it funny how all the major Internet media networks are finally taking notice of hip-hop's historic hipster movement right after XXL dropped it's noise-making top-10 freshmen cover. Pretty soon all of my middle-class neighbors in the suburbs are going to put down Lil Wayne and Soulja Boy for artists like Mickey Factz and Asher Roth.

It's a scary thought if you really think about it. The hipster movement is kind of like a combination between the resurgence of lyricism in hip-hop with a splash of the do-it-yourself mentality and, most importantly, ring tone worthiness. Who knew?

Related post: VIDEO: ASHER ROTH - I LOVE COLLEGE

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