C-Rayz Walz collabos with Kosha Dillz, the Almighty

I often write about unjustly ignored artists who never get their due from either the mainstream music media or the “indie” press that sometimes covers underground hip-hop. But if there’s one dude who’s a veritable litmus test for hip-hop aesthetics, it’s C-Rayz Walz.

Since emerging as the focal point of the Stronghold crew in the late 90s, C-Rayz has been ambitiously pushed by many companies as the next backpack superhero — from Sub Verse to Definitive Jux, and from Babygrande to Urchin Studios. But none of his projects have blown up, even his heavily promoted 2003 Def Jux debut Ravipops (The Substance). However, he’s admirably carved out a consistently interesting along the way that’s full of surprising turns. You can never predict what the talented MC will do next.

Case in point is a new album with Israeli-American rapper Kosha Dillz. Set for an August 26 digital release (with a physical CD to hit stores in October) by Jewish cross-genre imprint Modular Moods, Freestyle vs. Written is a hip-hop album meant to foster cultural solidarity between black and Jewish communities, much like Michael Lerner and Cornel West’s 1995 bestseller Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin. All of the proceeds generated by album sales will benefit two New York non-profit groups: the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which fosters relationships between ethnic communities; and the Netivot Israel Louna Terror Victim Fund, which assists families affected by terrorist attacks in Israel. Newcomer Kentron da Mastodon produced the 12-track album.

While Freestyle vs. Written is already generating blogger heat (thanks to its dope title track), C-Rayz Walz has another, more traditional hip-hop album in the cards, too. The Almighty, which features C-Rayz, Killah Priest, Bronze Nazareth, S.O.N.-One, M-80 and 5-Star, is one of those supergroups with Wu-Tang connections that Babygrande loves. Their album, Original S.I.N. (Strength in Numbers), drops July 22. Guest appearances include Planet Asia, Canibus, Keith Murray and others.

The crew posted a free mixtape on Babygrande’s social network ihiphop.com (formerly known as the unseemly Crackspace). You can download the mixtape here. And, as usual, you can check out the track list for Freestyle vs. Written below.

  • 1. “Unheib”
  • 2. “Freestyle vs. Written”
  • 3. “Calouses of a Hustler”
  • 4. “Holiday”
  • 5. “Bong Bong”
  • 6. “I Love Jews”
  • 7. “The Foolish Path”
  • 8. “Babywipes”
  • 9. “Ariel Sharon”
  • 10. “The Evolution of Fan”
  • 11. “March to the Death”
  • 12. “Sof”

www.myspace.com/freestylevswritten
www.myspace.com/crayzwalz

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