Kanye West returns with Power

Kanye West has been hiding out in Hawaii for the last couple of months doing work on his next album called Good Ass Job. This is to be his return to hip hop and with appearances slated from Big Sean, Common, Mos Def, Drake and KiD CuDi this albums got more than potential. The first leak, "Power" has come real early as word is the album isn't scheduled for release until September 2010, and after hearing it I'm already excited for the drop date. Going for a raw hip hop sound this time around Kanye's said to have got production by RZA, Pete Rock, No I.D, DJ Premier, and Q-Tip to help him get the job done. Kanye gave a couple of his new tracks a test run at CV in Manhattan and were discribed as real hip-hop, without auto-tune, singing, or even West's trademark soul samples.
Ye's givin up something to look forward too.

Power - Kanye West (Feat. Dwele)

Spit Syndicate - Exile

Usually when I hear some new Austrailian Hip Hop it comes from the beach, but recently some amazing music from down south has floated itself across my desk from a duo called Spit Syndicate. They just dropped their sophomore album on May 14 and it is a must hear, and I mean the whole thing. Well thought out rhymes and smooth flows keep you listening but it's really the production on the tracks that takes their sound to the next level. Delicate grooves, a ton of live instruments and fresh drums is exactly what you expect from Horrorshow producer Adit, who handled most of the production on the album. He wasn't alone though as he had help from a gang of well known producers including the always solid M-Phazes, JSquared, and Cam Bluff. Vocals are spit by rappers Just Enuf and Nick Lupi, who get some backup from SS’s One Day family; Solo (MC from Horrorshow), Joyride (Spit Syndicate’s DJ) and also from Sarah Corry who lends some haunting vocals to Exile.

It took me so long to decide what songs to post off this album because every song hits me in its own unique way and I want you to hear them all, so listen to these four then...

Stream a few more off their myspace
And then when your fully hooked Buy it here, its worth getting the whole thing 100%


Starry Eyed - Spit Syndicate

Contour Lines (Feat. Solo) - Spit Syndicate

Can't Go Home (Feat. Sarah Corry) - Spit Syndicate

Journey to Markyland, USA: Rest Stop 2

My favorite part of new hip-hop is the extent of where the sample or influence come from; new acts like Marky are perfect examples of this. We first heard Marky on the remix of Aloe Black’s “I Need A Dollar” and I’m not gonna lie I thought this guy was just another rapper who happened to rip up a popular beat. With his second mix tape “Journey To Markyland: Rest Stop 2” this up and comer gives us a little insight into the path his career is on. I like to see the random samples that current rappers have been spittin’ over as of late. The song “Louis Squares” Featurins Nas’ beat from “Take it in Blood” showing a potential influence on Marky’s rapping style. But Marky doesn’t only feature classic Hip-Hop Beats but he also delivers us an electro styled track that have become the common trend among rappers today. Seeing all these different influences apparent in current rap gives me hope for the future of Hip-Hop, us classic Hip-Hop fans just need to adapt to what’s happening to rap now a days. Lastly the track “Run On” features a Johnny Cash Sample that Marky rips, showing the versatility of this DC native.

Marky- Louis Squares

Marky- I'll Get You featuring Classixx

Marky- Run On

Nas- Take it in Blood

Reflection Eternal Back in Action... New CD Revolutions Per Minute

Legendary duo Reflection Eternal are back in action after a ten year hiatus and I am pumped to see Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek back together. I bought the first Reflection Eternal CD in the 10th grade and loved the shit out of it, I can only hope i enjoy the groups second effort "Revolutions Per Minute" just as much. I personally like to listen to a CD like this a lot in order to properly judge the overall quality. So far I have already written about the song “Just Begun” in my J.Cole post, which establishes a sick connection between new and old school as the track features the old school flow of Mos Def and Talib while presenting newer artists Jay Electronica and J.Cole who were most likely influenced by the original Reflection Eternal CD. I get the same classic feel from this CD as I did from the original. Tracks like “Ballad of the Black Gold” give us the same politically motivated lyrics that we’re used to from Kweli but I feel like Hi-Tek’s production has an added element that we haven’t really seen before. The song “Get Loose” featuring Chester French gives us a catchier beat, which gives me an excuse to throw some Reflection Eternal on at Parties. I really wanna give Straight Goods Readers a good idea of what to expect from the CD as I grew up such a large Kweli fan. A lot of tracks on this CD feel like they were released in the 90’s which is refreshing in today’s much different Hip-Hop sound. The Track “Back Again” lets Reflection Eternal fans know that this Classic Hip-Hop sound that we all knew and loved is still alive.

Reflection Eternal-Back Again Featuring Res

Reflection Eternal-Ballad of the Black Gold

Reflection Eternal- Get Loose Featuring Chester French

If you are a true Reflection Eternal fan go purchase the album on Itunes

Surebuds' Summer Mix

Over the last little while I've been putting together a playlist that is purely for summer times. Loungin around the pool, having a couple of drinks in the summer sun and enjoying the weather is exactly what this 20 song mix was built for. So go grab a blank CD, click the divshare button on the playlist below to download the tracks, and go ahead and burn yourself something to listen to for the next couple of months. None of these songs have been posted on Straight Goods before, so get it while it's still hot... outside.

Summer Relaxation from Surebuds on 8tracks Radio.

Tracklist:
The White Panda - Praise Outkast
Wale - Freaks (Bird Peterson remix)
Neon Indian - Sleep Paralysist
Intuition - 100 Yard Dash (feat. Raphael Saadiq)
Macklemore - Love Song
Chiddy Bang - Breakfast
Popular Computer - Otaku
The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
Rush - For What It's Worth
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Soft Shock (Them Jeans Acoustic Remix)
Priors - What You Need (Hey Champ Remix)
Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)
Nora - Quiet
B.O.B - Magic (feat Rivers Cuomo)
Dr. Dog - Where'd All The Time Go
Miike Snow - Song For No One
Len - Steal My Sunshine
Health - In Heat (Javelin Remix)
The Radio Dept - Heaven's On Fire
Gorillaz - Dare

James Yuill - Folktronica??

London, Britain musician James Yuill has been one of my favourite non-hip hop artists over the past year, unfortunately his last album release was in 2008 so there was nothing to blog about. He has a new album that I'm pretty pumped for named Movement In A Storm that's scheduled to be released in a little over a month, on June 21st. Like a lot of the electronic music that I listen to these days, I have no idea what genre James Yuill's music falls into. After some internet research I saw that Yuill's music was referred to as 'Folktronica' by many people which makes sense I guess. His music is a fusion of acoustic guitar-based folk and touches of 80's style synth pop. That description may cause people to write of James Yuill as it sounds pretty ridiculous but trust me on this one, its insane what one guy can do with a laptop, mixers and an acoustic guitar. On some songs the acoustic, folk style music is much more prominent compared to other songs where the electronic side dominates. This diversity makes his music very interesting to listen to.
So far there are two leaks/singles for the upcoming album. Based on those two as a sample it seems that Yuill is focusing more on the electronic side of his music this time around compared to 2008's Turning Down Water for Air. I'm a fan of both songs but I hope he continues to incorporate the acoustic guitar into the rest of album because it makes his music much more unique.

James Yuill - On Your Own

James Yuill - Give You Away

Reinvention (of hiphop?)

Another addicting experimental hip-hop sound has appeared out of Drexel University, the same school that spawned indie hip-hop group, Chiddy Bang. Sampling tracks like Florence and the Machine's Swimming and Grizzly Bear's Two Weeks, it's good to see another group successfully blending the boundries of Hip Hop. This two piece producer/rapper combination has been obviously influenced by Chiddy, but they do have their own distinct style. DJ Entendu, one half of Reinvention, addressed the issue saying,

"Wait til the full mixtape drops, we got some shit on there that sounds nothing like [chiddy]. Think a B.I.G. beat but with samples from the Appleseed Cast. Or a chopped sample from Thrice’s Water EP with a electro beat. Yeah, were about to get eclectic on yo asses."

These are the first tracks off Reinvention's virgin mixtape thats soon to be released, A Rapper in Denial.

Forgot - Reinvention (Ft. Florence and the Machine)

Make It Easy - Reinvention (Ft. Grizzly Bear)

hook mastermind Bruno Mars... Otherside

Bruno Mars has been featured on a ton of hits in the last little while and due to this popularity he has released a single entitled "Otherside" featuring friend B.o.B and legendary hook mastermind Cee-Lo. The song features Bruno's distinct style with the assistance of Mr.Bobby Ray delivering a sick verse that makes the song is an instant hit. I feel like who sings the hook can make or break a song for me and new up and comers like Bruno Mars and Mike Posner make me happy to see them featuring on songs while also establishing themselves as legit solo artists. Bruno Mars has a DOPE voice so i hope to see him around a while longer

Bruno Mars- Otherside Feat Cee Lo and B.o.B

Who Dat... J.Cole Future of ROC Nation

Up and coming ROC Nation artist J.Cole is back in action with his new single "Who Dat". The Beat features a dope instrumental set up that supplies an upbeat tempo for the track. I saw Jay-z in 2009 in Toronto and he brought Cole on stage to rip his and Jay's calaboration "A Star is Born". The fact that he gets the share the stage with jigga man himself just shows the potential of this kid. Not only has he already been featured on a Jay-z CD but is also on the new Reflection Eternal CD. the song "Just Begun" features J.Cole, Jay Electronica and the seasoned vet Mos Def. for those of you who don't know Reflection Eternal is composed of Talib Kweli and DJ Hi Tek who have been rippin that partnership for years. I Like that Cole is on this song because it shows how legit he is as he murders the old school Hi Tek beat. I hope for big things from J.Cole in the future

J.Cole- Who Dat

Reflection Eternal- Just Begun Feat J.Cole, Jay Electronica, and Mos Def

Shad Album Preview on Spinner

*Spoiler Alert* Spinner.ca published a full album preview of Shad's upcoming album TSOL today on their website. The preview features the full audio of every track on the album along with a brief paragraph by Shad where he talks about the inspiration for the songs, who they were created with and what it was like making them. If you'd rather wait until the album drops later this month to hear the material, don't look at this preview. If you're like me and you have a problem with patience, click here.

If you choose to listen to the preview, all I can ask is that you avoid ripping the songs of the website using programs that do that kind of thing. As you'll hear, this album is ridiculously good and clearly Shad put a lot of work in so wait until the album drops, buy it and love life.

If this album doesn't get Shad some mainstream attention in Canada, I'm going to lose my mind.

For those of you that are completely new to shad, here's a couple songs off his previous two albums to get you started.

Shad - Rock To It

Shad - Get Up


Shad - I Get Down

Shad - Brother Watching

Theophilus London Wants You

After a number of leaks, Brooklyn MC Theophilus London has released his newest mixtape entitled I Want You. I Want You is inspired by Marvin Gaye’s self-imposed European exile and controversial performance of the national anthem at the 1983 NBA All Star game and counts LA electrofunk, UK indie, tropical escapade and obscure afropop as its influences. In my opinion, I Want You is a much more consistent effort compared to his more experimental releases such as 2009s This Charming mixtape. Overall the mixtape is pretty chill to listen to and the production is interesting and fits well. 

Theophilus London - Give It Up Dad (Vampire Weekend Sample)


Theophilus London - A Strangers Heart


Theophilus London - Flying Overseas

Shad K - Now they spell it S.H.A.D.D. the way I spazz out

This post is long overdue but I just finished up school and wanted nothing to do with my computer since then. We posted a song by Shad a few weeks ago and its gotten some mixed reviews from people that we've talked to, mostly due to the fact that the beat was pretty different from what we're used to from Shad. We're lucky to get the chance to set the record straight. Shad's new album TSOL drops May 25th and I don't think I've ever been so pumped for an album release. He recently released the first single of the album called Yaa I Get It, and its accompanying video. On Yaa I Get It our boy Shad K comes in hard on a pretty aggressive beat and spits some of the jaw-dropping wordplay that makes you rewind the song and listen to verses over and over again. Shad is one of the best lyricists on the planet and he starts his north american tour in late may. Check shadk.com/bloggy-blog for tour dates because passing up a chance to see Shad live is a mistake I wouldn't want to make

Shad - Yaa I Get It