If time has proven anything at all, it’s that Mick Jenkins and Kaytranada make for one of hip-hop’s best current pairings. Perhaps you caught wind of this on either one of Mick’s stud EPs or more recently on the lustful heater “Your Love” or shot-firing loosie “HeadAss.” Well, today they step out once more with undeniable chemistry, samplingBADBADNOTGOOD on the slick new banger “The Artful Dodger.”

The track — featuring additional production from THEMPeoples —  finds Jenkins on a tear, breezing through stuttering, glitched-out wonder, laced with teetering synth lines and a hard-as-hell knock. It comes as the very first taste of the south-sider’s soon-to-arrive debut album, The Healing Component, which is being readied for a 2016 release. You can hear Mick Jenkins and Kaytranada connect once more on “The Artful Dodger” below, just be sure to sit tight. There’s plenty more on the way from Jenkins andKay’s 99.9% LP is just weeks away from landing.

You can’t mention Black Milk‘s without harking back to the many moods, phases and faces of the Detroit maestro. His latest finds him further exploring the deceptive depths of his live band, Nat Turner, excavating new ground and paths of rhythm, culminating in the upcoming release of The Rebellion Sessions. And while we were treated to just what a live and direct BM suite might sound like with the release of the non-album cut, “The Rebel,” today we’re gifted “The Knock,” which caries with it a jazz-inflected backbone with flares of afrobeat and funk pulsing through. You can hear the latest from Black Milk & Nat Turner down below, just be sure you scroll down to see his full slate of tour dates. The Rebellion Sessions is due April 4th and can be pre-ordered via iTunes today.

Snakehips, a UK-based production outfit comprised Oliver Lee and James Carter, first landed on the scene with their massive hit “All My Friends,” featuring Chance The Rapper and Tinashe. But it seems their eye for collaborations knows no bound, as the follow-up single “Money On Me” arrives, strung together by the melodic rasp of, you guessed it, Anderson .Paak; the one-man tidal wave of 2016. It’s a ride-out-with-top-down type of joint, fit with dizzying trap drums and jabs of synthesizers, akin to what you might have heard on Paak’s debut, Venice, swaggering and effortlessly cool. It’s but our latest taste of what’s to come, as Snakehips readies their All My Friends EP, slated to arrive on April 15th via RCA. Tune in down below and hold tight for the next episode.

We tell many stories about James Yancey.

There’s the one about how in the mid 1990s, as Jay Dee, he perfected sampling and helped reinvent the sound of A Tribe Called Quest. Or the tale of Questlove taking inspiration from his drumming style for the grooves of D’Angelo’s Voodoo. Or the one about making the 2003 low-key underground classic Champion Sound with fellow maverick Madlib. But best known of all is the story of how he crafted the definitive beat tape statement,Donuts, while on his deathbed. It’s through these stories, and countless others, that we elevated Yancey after his death to the top of hip-hop’s production pantheon. Ignored in life, his oeuvre was lauded in death; a lifetime of innovations reduced to a catchy tag line on a T-shirt. In our rush to set him stone, we forgot that Yancey had spent his life advocating forward movement, not stagnation. The intent was lost and man became myth.

There is another story we tell about Yancey, about a lost solo album for major label MCA, part of a deal signed in the early 2000s at the peak of his brush with the mainstream. Yancey’s MCA album would vindicate his until-then shadowy presence and confirm him as the producer’s producer par excellence. But it wouldn’t do so in an obvious way, because for this album Yancey had opted to put pen to paper instead of finger to MPC pad. He’d rap, just like he had done with Detroit trio Slum Village in the 1990s. And the beats would be from producers he admired and respected. Beats, rhymes, and hype.

source:FACTMAG

Those familiar with the palette of Kaytranada know damn-well the type of affinity he holds for 90s r&b. He’s shown this time and time again over the years with a prolific output of the dance-floor-certified remixes, which pop up on his miles-long Soundcloud page every few weeks or so. Last night proved to be another one of those moments when the north-of-the-border frequency freaker dropped off a pair of new re-freaqs, throwing Janet Jackson‘s “Alright” and Mary J. Blige‘s “I Can Love You” into his crosshairs, casting his footwork-friendly spell on cuts by two of his favorite subjects.

Janet gets infused with some airy, super-swung bossa nova touches, while Mary J’s track is garnished with some of his hallmark house-soaked textures and rhythms. Together, they make for a pair of formidable new additions to and already lengthy portfolio of infectious reconstructions and best of all, they’re available for you to hear in the player below. Stream the latest joints from Kaytranada below and hold tight for his next transmissions.

source:okayplayer.com

Watch as Homeboy Sandman becomes one with his surroundings in his new video for “Life Support.” The Hugo LX produced track isn’t off a specific project, just a one-off here of your viewing/listening pleasure – support this man’s art. Sandman’s has a new album entitled Kindness for Weakness, set to drop in the Spring. You can catch Boy Sand in Austin for Stones Throw’s SXSW event on March 19th.

Sounds like so Nujabes to me 🙂

With his ninth studio album en route, Queens bomber, J-Zone, is looking to make a declarative statement on the status of the rap game (which should come as no surprise to heads, as his entire career has been devoted to the preservation of hip-hop’s integrity.) Today, he relinquishes a sharp assault on struggle rappers du jour with the funky (and snarky) new single “Go Back To Sellin’ Weed,” begging some guns to stay out of the battle and make room for the talents of tried-and-true emcees. J brings to mind some of the most glaring stereotypes in the underground; unprovoked mixtape solicitation in Times Square, butt-hurt wordsmiths that can’t get love from the blogosphere and in turn, pour their hearts out on records that never get heard.

So for all you looking to breakthrough into the weird and wild world of hip-hop, take heed of the OG and at least consider sticking to your day job. Stream J-Zone’s new single “Go Back To Sellin’ Weed” down below and get ready for Fish-N-Grits, arriving April 1st via Old Maid Entertainment. You won’t want to miss it.

Source: OKAYPLAYER.com

Last night JMSN dropped a single off his upcoming album “It Is”

Pre-Order The New Album ‘It is.’ and get ‘Cruel Intentions’ Instantly.
shop.iamjmsn.com
itunes.apple.com/us/album/it-is./id1083256843

JMSN – Vocals, Guitar, Rhodes, Bass, Percussion
Aaron Provisor – Piano, Rhodes, Organ
Misha Bigos – Rhodes
Brandon Combs – Drums
Yuki “Lin” Hayashi – Bass
Alekos Syropoulos – Sax
Eliza James – Violin