Scott Herren and Zach Hill are Diamond Watch Wrists

Posted on February 19, 2009 by plugoneboss

ice-capped-at-both-ends

Guillermo Scott Herren, best known for his work as Prefuse 73 and Savath y Savalas, has formed a new project with drummer/producer Zach Hill, drummer for avant-noise group Hella and producer for Marnie Stern, Cex and others. The group is called, oddly, Diamond Watch Wrists. Their album, Ice Capped At Both Ends, drops May 4 on Warp Records.

Guided by two artists with slightly disparate backgrounds, Ice Capped At Both Ends blends the wintry (or summery, depending on how you hear it) folktronica of Savath y Savalas with the propulsive drumming and indie-rock sensibility of Hill’s work. Meanwhile the vocals, contributed by Tyondai Braxton, are very sardonic and surrealist, hence…uh… Diamond Watch Wrists. The project is the second installment in a trilogy of albums Herren plans to release this year.

Here’s a somewhat-unhelpful explanation from Mr. Herren’s blog:

The forthcoming album dropping on WARP are a definitive collection between Zach Hill, Myself and Tyondai Braxton pulling together songs chosen to see the light of day.

I’d like to say that Zach really came into this at a crazy time for me and was beyond encouraging about seeing this through and making it happen. I am so thankful for his amazing contribution and Tyondai’s beautiful vocal additives, duets and straight up boosting my own self doubts about everything I release.(very true)

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Quite Nyce & Raydar Ellis’ “Champs vs. The League”

Posted on February 19, 2009 by plugoneboss

champs-vs-the-league

Boston underground vets Quite Nyce (from RADIx) and Raydar Ellis are teaming up for Champs vs. The League. Set for release on March 24 via Brick Records, it’s produced by Raydar Ellis and includes guest spots from Project Move, Soulstice and Akil (formerly of Jurassic 5).

Here’s a bit from the press release:

Raydar Ellis and Quite Nyce met at a show where Raydar was playing with his band. They stayed in contact over some time eventually planning a bigger group project; Quite Nyce who is a member of the group RADIx and Raydar who is affiliated with Short Bus Alumni & Project Move. After months of trying to coordinate everything Quite Nyce called Raydar and said “Why don’t WE just do a collab project?” Raydar agreed. He came to QN’s studio and they went to work. Their chemistry, passion and desire to speak out and be heard is this album. Champs Vs. The League is a project full of positivity, pride in family and community, self respect, reflection and hard work. It is truly an intelligent breathe of fresh air in the current stagnant, un-innovative genre that is hip hop.

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J Dilla’s “Dillanthology1”

Posted on February 19, 2009 by plugoneboss

dillanthology1

On March 31, !K7 imprint Rapster Records will kick off Dillanthology, a series of compilations dedicated to the late James “J Dilla” Yancey’s work. The first installment will focus on his production for other artists, and include classic singles such as the Pharcyde’s “Runnin'” and De La Soul’s “Stakes Is High.”

“In his brief 32 years J-Dilla, otherwise known as Jay-Dee created and shaped a new sound for Hip-Hop that inspired beat smiths, MCs and music lovers around the globe,” reads the press material for the album. “In this first Volume of the Dillanthology tribute series we focus on some of his classic productions for artists including Busta Rhymes, The Pharcyde, Erykah Badu, Slum Village, The Roots and Common.

“This is the first in a series of planned albums focusing on different aspects of the illustrious producer’s career and should be seen as a tribute to his memory and spirit. In the coming months, look for separate volumes for both his remix work and production on his own projects.”

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Miguel Atwood-Ferguson & Carlos Niño’s “A Suite for Ma Dukes”

Posted on February 19, 2009 by plugoneboss

ma-dukes-session-photo_grace-oh

As many of you have read, this month is not only Black History Month, but J Dilla Month, in honor of death on February 10 as well as what would have been his 35th birthday on February 7. (More on that shortly.) To celebrate, Mochilla (the label founded by acclaimed photographers Brian “B+” Cross and Eric Coleman) have released Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Carlos Niño’s A Suite for Ma Dukes on iTunes. The EP features orchestral translations for a quartet of beloved J Dilla productions: Tribe’s “Find A Way,” Slum Village’s “Fall In Love,” Common’s “Nag Champa” and Dwight Trible and the Life Force Trio’s “Antiquity.” The vinyl version drops in April. All proceeds benefit J Dilla’s mother, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey.

On Sunday, February 22, Niño and Atwood-Ferguson will lead a 40-strong orchestra in a special performance of A Suite for Ma Dukes. The concert, part of the “Timeless: The Composer/Arranger Series” produced by Plug One faves ArtDontSleep, takes place this Saturday, February 22 at California State University-Los Angeles’ Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex. Special sets from DJ House Shoes and J. Rocc round out the program.

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Company Flow reissues “Funcrusher Plus”

Posted on February 17, 2009 by plugoneboss

funcrusher-plus

Last week, Definitive Jux announced that it is reissuing Company Flow’s 1996 masterpiece Funcrusher Plus on May 5.

Longtime Plug One readers will note that the revised Funcrusher Plus was originally scheduled for 2007, which would have marked the 10th anniversary of its 1997 release on El-P’s Official Recordings and Rawkus Records. (El-P re-acquired the masters from Rawkus in 2005.) It was slated to include a DVD of the group’s final concert on March 29, 2001 as well as new tracks from El-P, Big Juss and Mr. Len. Although the reissue didn’t come out back then, the group still commemorated Funcrusher Plus’ 10th anniversary with a surprise reunion performance at Definitive Jux’s CMJ showcase that fall.

If the new press release is any indicator, however, the DVD won’t be part of the upcoming package. And during a recent Pitchfork interview, the group didn’t note that they worked on tracks for several months. (How do I know? Big Juss mentioned it during a 2007 concert in Atlanta. He also mentioned it in interviews.) Perhaps the sessions didn’t live up to Company Flow’s track record?

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Eliot Lipp stays on tour

Posted on February 17, 2009 by plugoneboss

eliot-lipp

As a working DJ and producer, Tacoma-to-Brooklyn beat maker Eliot Lipp usually stays on tour. But his current travels in support of the recent Peace Love Weed 3D run until May, incorporate the entire country, wind through two major festivals (SXSW and WMC), feature appearances from his two side groups (Dark Party with Leo 123 and Lipp Service with Pnuma Trio) and co-star numerous musicians, including Adrian Michna (and his electro-bass group Raw Paw). To celebrate the adventure, Eliot Lipp has compiled a new mix, “Live from the Beat Bunker,” that you can download below.

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The Wrap Up: Post-Valentine’s Day edition

Posted on February 16, 2009 by plugoneboss

valentines-day-mixtapes

Now that hip-hop artists synchronize on special occasions like menstruation, I guess that every major holiday/historic event will bring an avalanche of mixtapes and themed tracks. Oh well. At least it makes for some interesting music.

And now back to the usual link-o-rama:

  • Vibe magazine cuts circulation, publishing schedule (adage.com)
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Vinyl & Stuff: Hudson Mohawke, Harmonic 313

Posted on February 14, 2009 by plugoneboss

(February 15 update: This post has been expanded from a stand-alone Harmonic 313 review.)

polyfolk-dance

Hudson Mohawke
Polyfolk Dance (Warp, WAP 261)

Hudson Mohawke is like a chipmunk soul on amphetamines. On Polyfolk Dance he not only speeds up the beat, but slams it back and forth, even whipping it up into the cracked-out splattercore of “Yonard.” What turns this 16-minute EP from descending into chaos/nonsense, though, is his clear grasp on R&B, from the slumping bass that rides under the Christmas-y chimes of “Monde” to the deft rhythm at the center of “Overnight’s” computer-melody volley. Still, time seems to fly by as he speeds through six songs, including the lovely 8-bit harmonies of “Velvet Peel.” For fans of abstract beats, Polyfolk Dance is a keeper. But as a teaser for Mohawke’s forthcoming debut album, it’s missing rap and sung vocals — if his work with Heralds of Change is any indicator.

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Marval Team Up’s “Soul’s Reflection”

Posted on February 10, 2009 by plugoneboss

marval-team-up_myspace

Bay Area rapper, onetime member of Foreign Legion and former Plug One contributor Marc Stretch (above, center) has a new group called Marval Team Up (not to be confused with Marvel Team-Up). The trio also includes rapper Mondo and DJ Ray. Marval Team Up specializes in — what else? — that good ol’ boom bap.

Here’s the email he sent out to friends and fans yesterday:

2009 promises to be a big year. The music industry is (like most things) on the border of change. Things will never be the same as they were during those lovely days of the independent music revolution. People don’t have money for the finer comforts anymore. The world is in an uproar over a myriad of things. And Jay Leno is still not funny.

But one good thing remains. MUSIC. If you reflect back, I’m sure that you’ll agree that some of the best music was made during the worst of times. Well guess what, ain’t nothing changed.

Marval Team Up are introducing themselves to the international blog circuit by issuing their debut album, Soul’s Reflection, for free. You can download it here.

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Prefuse 73’s “Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian”

Posted on February 10, 2009 by plugoneboss

everything-she-touched-turned-ampexian

Scott Herren will release the next Prefuse 73 epic, Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian, through Warp Records on April 21.

Much like his last Prefuse album, Preparations (and unlike much of his early Prefuse output), Herren won’t have any guests, save for an appearance  from German beatmaker Dimlite and, it seems, L.A. DJ/promoter/troublemaker the Gaslamp Killer. After Ampexian drops, he’ll follow up, as usual, with an EP of loose ends titled The Forest of Oversensitivity sometime in the summer.

The new Prefuse album kicks off a busy year for Herren that includes a new Savath y Savalas album and a project with drummer Zach Hill (Hella, Marnie Stern) called Diamond Watch Wrists. More news on those projects shortly.

But first, here’s a bit from the press release:

Guillermo Scott Herren (aka Prefuse 73) is nothing if not proven. It’s hard to think of a name that carries as much weight in both hip-hop and avant-rock circles as Prefuse 73, who in the past year alone has been asked to remix TV On The Radio, Pelican, BLK JKS and Cornelius, not to mention his early collaborations with School of Seven Bells and Battles. These interactions have clearly helped to shape the evolving Prefuse 73 sonic aesthetic, which has expanded to include Herren’s twisted visions of prog-rock, “machine funk” and global psychedelia.

For Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian, Herren rejected the idea of straight digital recording and instead went the much more intensive route of recording to analog Ampex tape, giving the album the sound of a lost tape of exploratory studio musicians from the not-too-distant past. In addition to the recording process, Ampexian also differs in its composition, existing as a tapestry of tracks of varying lengths and moods, albeit with a remarkable linear flow and, of course, unmatched rhythmic bump.

In a January MySpace post dedicated to a recent citation from BetterPropaganda.com as “Artist of the Decade,” Herren dropped these jewels about his state of mind pre-Ampexian:

Honestly, at this very moment I have been doing nothing more than micro managing all of these upcoming releases for this 2009 year and not one aspect of doing this can I consider easy – I’m dropping possibly more than I’ve ever released at once. This has brought on such a ridiculous amount of administrative work from coordinating the concepts behind where and what makes sense regarding: (errgh) budgets, all the artwork, patience(I try), press related things we must do, organizing tours, one offs, letting friends know that I’m just crazy busy but still love them the same.

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Meet the Hawthorne Headhunters

Posted on February 9, 2009 by plugoneboss

hawthorne-headhunters

Frequent visitors to this site have noted my respect for under-appreciated St. Louis musician Black Spade. Now the rapper/producer is heading a new project under his Stoney Rock alias.

Hawthorne Headhunters features Stoney Rock, keyboardist/producer I, Ced and L.A. rapper/producer Proh Mic. The three have an EP coming out very soon on HVW8, the famous artist collective internationally renowned for its visual installations celebrating soulful music and underground culture. The self-titled EP — which HVW8 promises in April — features “the crossroads of funk, soul, jazz and hip hop from players already years deep into the game.”

You can view several YouTube live sessions and a few demos on the Hawthorne Headhunters website. A preview track, “She Wanna,” is also available here as well as below.

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The Grouch & Eligh “Say G&E!”

Posted on February 9, 2009 by plugoneboss

say-ge

On April 7, Living Legends the Grouch and Eligh add another chapter to their ongoing G&E partnership with Say G&E!

Set for release via Legendary Music, Say G&E features guest appearances from Slug, Gift of Gab, Pigeon John, Mistah F.A.B., the ubiquitous Blu and Sage Francis. Eligh handles most of the production, with a handful of beats coming from Flying Lotus, Amplive and Rick Rock.

And now for the bio:

For anyone who’s heard The Grouch’s recent work, it’s clear that the southland rapper –who now resides part-time in Hawaii–has moved beyond the average emcee. On “All In” where The Grouch and Eligh, along with Gift of Gab and Pigeon John rap about standing by the proverbial river and jumping in with both feet and giving everything to the hustle in life and music, without flinching, not to mention a notably infectious hook. On the title anthem track “SAY G&E!,” the pair recall their early days as struggling artists over a mesmerizing, synthesized beat.

These two aren’t afraid to tackle serious topics either. On tracks like “Denial” and “River Runs Dry” the two contemplate transcendent signature issues with a maturity and depth that is often untapped in the world of hip-hop. “There’s a lot of manning up that’s been done by Eligh and myself recently,” says The Grouch. “We’ve got some heavy stuff on the album.” …

As a founding member of the original D.I.Y. collective, The Living Legends, The Grouch has been at the forefront of the west coast’s independent rap movement for over a decade. Outside the Legends, The Grouch has released 7 solo efforts including Fuck the Dumb (2000), Crusader for Justice (2003) and No More Greener Grasses (2004), and Heroes in the City of Dope (2006) with Bay Area stalwarts Zion I, among others.

For those who heard The Grouch’s 2008 Show You the World or have seen the “Bay to LA” featured in a National TV commercial for PSP/Playstation, it’s clear that this emcee will continue to be a permanent fixture on the independent music landscape. Undoubtedly, 2008 was The Grouch’s breakout year: Show You The World garnered accolades by critics at The Source, XLR8R, and URB, to name a few. In addition, the video for “Artsy” was played on MTV, MTV2, and got over 600,000 plays on Youtube.

(April 2 update: The release date has been changed to April 21.)

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The Wrap Up: No More LupEND

Posted on February 9, 2009 by plugoneboss

lupe-fiasco_ray-tamarra

Surfing the mainstream chum so you don’t have to:

  • Shepard Fairey tussles with AP over famous Obama “Hope” poster (breitbart.com), arrested in Boston on vandalism charges (boston.com)
  • Cheo Hodari Coker follows up B-movie Notorious with Run-DMC biopic (allhiphop.com)
  • Kanye West plans deluxe book/DVD Glow in the Dark (hiphopdx.com)
  • Lil Wayne capitulates in battle with the Rolling Stones over The Carter III track (hiphopdx.com)
  • Surprise! Lupe Fiasco “postpones” retirement, announces new projects (sohh.com)
  • Ticketmaster, Live Nation move towards merger (reuters.com)
  • Stupid rap beefs plague hip-hop (sorry, no links provided)

Internet downloads: Illmind’s Blaps, Rhymes and Life (mediafire.com), J-Rocc’s Dilla set, recorded shortly after Dilla passed (stonesthrow.com), Co$$’ Tomorrow’s Yesterday (2dopeboyz.com), Mick Boogie & U-N-I’s Before There Was Love (okayplayer.com), 2tall’s The Space Race (myspace.com), Capital Peoples’ Amazonica (myspace.com), live Jaylib performance from 2004 (stonesthrow.com), Dujeous’ No Clearance: The Mixtape (myspace.com)

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Lineup set for Paid Dues 2009

Posted on February 6, 2009 by plugoneboss

paid-dues-logo

Last week, Murs 3:16 and Guerilla Union announced the lineup for this year’s Paid Dues Festival. The 4th annual showcase will feature Atmosphere, Tech N9ne, Living Legends, Brother Ali, B-Real, Grouch & Eligh, Cage, Eyedea & Abilities, Blu & Exile, LMNO, the Bayliens, VerBS, DJ Val the Vandal and, in its first performance outside NYC, Slaughterhouse (Joe Budden, Royce Da 5’9″, Crooked I and Joell Ortiz). 2Mex hosts. The concert takes place March 28 at NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California.

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Thunderheist’s electro-crunk boom bap

Posted on February 5, 2009 by plugoneboss

thunderheist

Toronto, Canada duo Thunderheist is preparing to release its self-titled debut on March 24 via Big Dada.

Thunderheist hit the same sweet spot as former Big Dada (and now Warner Bros.) group Spank Rock. However, producer Grahmzilla and rapper/vocalist Isis manage to  stand out amidst a very crowded field. Grahmzilla assembles a nice slate of hard bass and disco beats while Isis, though narrowly focused on club shenanigans, at least enlivens her tropes with witty lines and a memorable voice. The duo’s demos have been floating around for the past two years, so the full-length marks the end of a long buzz-building campaign.

Here’s more:

Grahm and Isis began Thunderheist as a project to throw a wrench into static hip hop conventions and explore their love for the dancefloor. They are far more than an electrorap act grounded in rap, bass, and electro, but are also entrenched in disco, funk and R&B, crafting their own, brand new definition of future pop music. More than anything, there’s something infectiously unpretentious and genuine about Thunderheist. They like going out and having a good time and have made the records to reflect this – party music for people who really like partying. Already being played by the likes of Pete Tong, Annie Mac and Annie Nightingale on Radio 1, huge on Myspace, loved by Pitchfork and Vice as well as Elton John (actually we made that shit up), 2009 is set to be a thunderous-ass year for them. Thunderheist is gaining speed and bandwidth, one byte per second, and heading straight for tera status. Get ready for it.

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Illogic’s “Diabolical Fun”

Posted on February 5, 2009 by plugoneboss

diabolical-fun

Columbus, Ohio rapper Illogic has scheduled a release date of March 24 for his first album in five years, Diabolical Fun. It is completely produced by the relatively unknown Ill Poetic, who made a name for himself last year with a series of quirky mashups (including mixing Portishead and beef master Joe Budden). The album drops via Rhymesayers cohort Blueprint’s label Weightless Recordings.

Here’s a big chunk from the bio:

Columbus, Ohio-based Illogic has always strived to take complex rhyme schemes and metaphoric storytelling to new levels of the art form. In 1999, the release of Unforeseen Shadows caught a ground swell of positive press and stellar reviews for Illogic and the then-indie upstart label Weightless Recordings. By the time 2003 rolled around, Illogic had released two other projects on Weightless Recordings – the Got Lyrics? EP (2001) and the long awaited full length follow up to Unforeseen, Celestial Clockwork (2003). Expectations for the new album were high, as fans had waited almost two additional years to see the release due to competing priorities at the label.

In Spring 2003, Illogic was named one of URB Magazine’s “Next 100” artists to check for, along with the likes of Little Brother, a then-widely unknown Kanye West, and others who have since “blown up.” When the album finally did release, early reviews were positive. However, Illogic’s career abruptly halted with seemingly no explanation.

“Once Celestial Clockwork dropped, the ball was rolling,” Illogic explains. “The album was well received along with my stage show. I was touring heavily with many prominent underground acts, yet on top of all of this I was married with two children and a third on the way. The toll that this took on my family life was immeasurable by any stretch of the imagination, because music and being on tour was my job. Leaving them seemed a necessity for the path that I felt was chosen for me. My only problem was that my entire life was out of balance and I had no idea… I was sleep walking in place. I was constantly dreaming, thinking I was progressing, and not realizing that I was stagnant. Until November 10, 2004; missing the birth of my third son was my wake-up call. I then knew it was time to slow down and get my priorities in order. I had to find myself for the first time.”

After over four years without a major album release, a renewed sense of self, and a clear vision for the future, Illogic now more than ever seeks to shatter the glass ceiling of the underground and give the industry and masses what they so clearly need… a truly gifted emcee.

“The last few years have been some of my greatest,” says Illogic. “I feel like I am ready to receive the blessings waiting for me as I share this gift that I have been given. I am truly focused and ready to give the people something to talk about…something to believe in. I think music…the way we hear music, and the way we hear artists, are completely changing now. Fans are looking for something real, something tangible, and something they can relate too. I believe that as a society we are getting tired of the fantasy world that music has been centered on as of late. All we want is the truth, and I believe I have a truth yet to be heard – because I am truly yet to be heard. I believe I have unfinished business to attend to. I know God is not done using me and I will fulfill my purpose.”

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Odd Nosdam composes “T.I.M.E. Soundtrack”

Posted on February 4, 2009 by plugoneboss

time-soundtrack

Prolific producer Odd Nosdam has another one coming out, and it’s a soundtrack for a skate film. Set for release on March 10 via Anticon, T.I.M.E. Soundtrack originally accompanied the 2007 Element Skateboards DVD This is My Element. It’s now being issued as a separate CD.

Here’s the usual bio stuff. After that check out the tracklisting, a trailer for the video which features Odd Nosdam’s “T.I.M.E. In” and — finally! — an actual MP3.

Created for the Element Skateboards film, This Is My Element, the T.I.M.E. Soundtrack is the first of its kind: an original, artist-composed score crafted to the beat of polyurethane pounding pavement. Here, Anticon’s veteran producer and beatsmith Odd Nosdam conceives an album where each song is tailored to fit the style and cadence of the Element rider it accompanies. And on its own, quite simply, this album is a banger.

From its opening moments, the T.I.M.E. Soundtrack menaces thump-driven destruction. “T.I.M.E. In” sports an ominous SP1200-crunched beat that stomps into the fore like Godzilla into Nagasaki, while Nosdam’s trademark pops and quirks flit overhead. The Chad Muska-inspired “Trunk Bomb” aggressively boom-baps its way to rhythmic bliss via chopped breaks and arpeggiated synth, while “Fly Mode” (co-produced by Jel and fashioned after the fluid stylings of Brent Atchley) is a loping, folksy instrumental that blows through like a summer breeze. Throughout the T.I.M.E. Soundtrack, Nosdam’s approach is decidedly upbeat, mobile and spontaneous; it’s the glue that cements the guitar-driven rollick of “We Bad Apples” to the funky minimalism of “Zone Coaster” to the sweet toughness of “Ethereal Slap,” seamless despite their fundamental differences in style.

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Count Bass D on tour

Posted on February 4, 2009 by plugoneboss

count-bass-d

As I embark on a bit of hard drive cleaning following an unintentional five-day break (!), I note the presence of a certain Dwight Farrell on the tour circuit. Yes, Mr. Dwight Spitz is on another brief run in support of last year’s L7 (Mid-Life Crisis).

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Big Tone pens “The Art Of Ink”

Posted on February 4, 2009 by plugoneboss

big-tone_myspace

Rapper/producer Big Tone will release his second album The Art Of Ink on Tres Records. The album will drop digitally March 17, and then via CD and vinyl (alas, no cassettes) on April 14. A lead 12-inch single, “Business” comes out on February 24. Guests include the ever-present Blu, Ta’Raach, Guilty Simpson and Breezly Brewin from the Juggaknots.

Here’s part of the bio:

2005 marked a breakout year for Big Tone as a producer. Behind the boards, Tone produced his first full length international release on ABB Records entitled, “The Drought”. Trademarked by the gritty chopped drum breaks and mangled soul samples, The Drought displays Tone’s gift to create instrumental backdrops as visual as the rhymes over them. The opportunity to travel, perform, produce, and collaborate with artists on a worldwide level helped to broaden Tone’s perspective as well as his vision. A decision to relocate to New York played a role in this development. Bonds made in the Big Apple, as well as strong ties in California with labels such as ABB and Tres Records have given Tone coast-to-coast recognition. Given his early success and promising future, Tone launched his production imprint, Mojoe Music System, LLC. “Mojoe is a celebration of the artistic lifestyle,” Tone explains. From the music, the preservation of culture, the appreciation of art, Mojoe Music System is about pushing the creative envelope. “The music is what makes everything else we do cool, and everything else we do is what we inspires our music,” Tone explains. That statement is the very definition of hip-hop. That statement is the very definition of Big Tone.

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Kurious Jorge’s “II”

Posted on January 29, 2009 by plugoneboss

kurious

In 2007, Amalgam Media reissued Kurious Jorge’s A Constipated Monkey. Over ten years after its original 1994 release, the album still holds up. It’s unfortunate that Kurious’ onetime power move was overlooked in light of NYC’s shift from scientifical street raps to ghetto superstardom.

On March 24, Kurious will finally offer a follow-up simply titled II. (The album was initially scheduled for Spring ’08 and was originally titled Monkey Madness.) Kurious has always straddled the boundaries between witty rhymes and street braggadacio, and this release continues that ethos with appearances from Max B, Del the Funky Homosapien and, in a return to the KMD days, MC Serch and MF Doom. Production comes from V.I.C., the Beatnuts, Hi-Tek, 88-Keys and Dame Grease. (June 8 update: The release date has been changed to June 30.)

Here’s a bit from the press release:

Hailing from Harlem, Kurious is best known for his early-to-mid 1990’s hits such as “Walk Like A Duck”, “Uptown Sh*t”, “I’m Kurious” and “A Mansion & A Yacht”. His debut album, “A Constipated Monkey”, was released in 1994 to critical acclaim. His association with Bobbito, Pete Nice (3rd Bass) and MF Doom (KMD) further cemented his folklore in underground circles worldwide

After a lengthy hiatus, Kurious signed to the Amalgam Digital label in 2007. Amalgam re-released the classic “A Constipated Monkey” album later that year which included never-heard-before bonus demo tracks from the early 90s. Kurious’ new offering “II” features guest appearances from the likes of another Amalgam Digital signed artist, Max B, and reunites both MC Serch with Mf Doom for “Benneton” as well as regrouping with original posse members The Beatnuts who return a favor to the man who laced their chorus with the vocals “When I pop the trunk…hit the deck”.

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