The Foreign Exchange’s “Leave It All Behind”

Posted on September 17, 2008 by plugoneboss

Nicolay and Phonte have finished their follow-up to 2004’s near classic Connected. It’s called Leave It All Behind and it drops October 14 on Hard Boiled Records, the label responsible for Nicolay’s The Dutch Masters Vol. 1 mixtape. (The digital release comes a week before on October 7.)

“We are very excited to partner with Hard Boiled for the release of our second album,” says Nicolay in a press release. “As independent artists, Phonte and I feel strongly about maintaining control over our brand, music and image. The team at Hard Boiled has the experience, flexibility and dedication to meet all of our needs and we know that we can depend on them to get our album in the hands of our fans exactly the way that we’ve envisioned it.”

Guests on Leave It All Behind include Muhsinah, Marc Mac from 4Hero, Zo!, Darien Brockington and Yahzarah. The Foreign Exchange has released a sampler in advance of the album that you can download below. They are also offering the lead single, “Daybreak,” in exchange for your email address at www.theforeignexchangemusic.com.

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Common, N.E.R.D. itinerary

Posted on September 13, 2008 by plugoneboss

Common is touring in advance of his upcoming album, Invincible Summer. It was scheduled to drop this month, but is currently TBA. N.E.R.D. are trying to stir up some hype behind their unjustly-ignored third album, Seeing Sounds.

Hey, did you know that K.D. Lang dropped an album called Invincible Summer, too, back in 2000? Funny to see where Common gets his ideas from. Not sure if it will come out in its current iteration, though — fans tend to clown Common whenever he gets progressive, even when it’s as innocuous as jumping on the hipster-rap bandwagon.

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Raashan Ahmad “pushes” on more shows

Posted on September 10, 2008 by plugoneboss

Raashan Ahmad continues to promote his new album The Push with a short tour alongside Coolzey and Bru Lei. The tour kicked off Saturday in San Francisco, and winds through the Midwest this month.

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Panacea’s “On a Mind on a Ship Through Time”

Posted on September 9, 2008 by plugoneboss

Washington, D.C. duo Panacea will release a new album, On a Mind on a Ship Through Time, on October 14. It’s the follow-up to The Scenic Route (featured on Plug One’s top 50 albums of 2007 along with other year-end lists.) On a Mind on a Ship Through Time also marks the the inaugural release from Tasteful Licks Records.

Some thoughts about On a Mind on a Ship Through Time courtesy of K-Murdock:

Its been just about a year to the week that we released “The Scenic Route”, and after almost 9 months hibernating, formulating and ultimately creating in the studio…

An album is BORN!!!!

Actually, me and Raw P had this album 75% done even before “The Scenic Route” dropped last fall, but Life got in the way for a bit and actually helped make this album more special. Aside from the fact its a pretty personal (and spacey) record, its also gonna be the last time we make an album for album’s sake…

THAT means, beginning with the next Panacea album (which is coming along as we speak), we will be back on our concepts and stories (a la “TSR”) which try and take listeners on sonic and psychedelic adventures!

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, we will be focusing a lot into promoting “A Mind on a Ship…”, as we are happy to be reborn a better, more industry-savvy tandem after 2 dismal years with Rawkus. Our new launchpad for this journey is Tasteful Licks Records… home to DJ/tastemakers like Rasta Root & DJ Jamad as well our band drummer J. Laine and frequent Little Brother collaborator Zo!, who also hails from DC.

Actually, my longtime friend and the FIRST guy to let me produce a record for him- Wes Felton, is also down with TLr and appears on a very personal track for me (K-Murdock) called “Orange Penicillin”.

We got a few other surprises and treats but the formula is STLL the same: Raw P on the mic, myself on the production and Dj Damu the Fudgemunk on ALL cuts and scratches.

The album drops late October, and we will be posting more info as the date looms closer…

Ah, another Rawkus fan…

Anyway, here’s the track listing and a preview cut for Panacea’s fourth album.
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New mix from Ghislain Poirier

Posted on September 9, 2008 by plugoneboss

Guillaume Simoneau

Straight from MySpace’s bulletin section, here’s a link to Ninja Tune artist Ghislain Poirier’s Cosmopolitan Bass mix, which features scores of international hip-hop. If you fancy a listen, click on the link and check out the track listing.

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Tour dates for Daedelus

Posted on September 2, 2008 by plugoneboss

Photo by Laura Darling.

Today, Daedelus is taking his trusty monome on the road for a national run in support of his excellent new album, Love to Make Music To. Joining him for most of the dates will be Phoenix, Ariz.’s Eliot Lipp.
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New track from DJ Babu feat. M.O.P.

Posted on August 29, 2008 by plugoneboss

Here’s DJ Babu featuring M.O.P.’s “Dearly Departed,” courtesy of Clockwork Music. DJ Babu’s Duck Season 3 hits stores via Nature Sounds on October 30.

MP3: Dearly Departed (Dirty)

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R.I.P. Paper Thin Walls

Posted on August 29, 2008 by plugoneboss

Today, Paper Thin Walls announced that it is shutting down operations on Labor Day. According to head honcho (and former hip-hop guru at CMJ) Christopher Weingarten, the site will stay archived online…for a while.

Paper Thin Walls was a curious beast. It seemed out of place amidst the monomaniacal blogs (a camp to which Plug One sort of belongs), hipster crack indie sites and print magazine outposts that populate the online music landscape. Instead, it hearkened to the Web 1.0 formula of the late 90s. Remember Sonicnet, Platform Networks and 360 Hip-Hop? These sites essentially tried to launch major magazines with insightful, original journalism. They paid writers a decent rate. And they operated ethically, posting audio and visuals after clearing them with record labels.

It’s a wonder PTW lasted for three years with such a widely discredited philosophy guiding it. Today, even the aforementioned print magazine outposts — Rolling Stone’s Rock & Roll Daily, for example — occasionally indulge in a little leaking. Most online ventures without magazine/corporate backing, from Prefix to Pop Matters, force new writers into a long apprenticeship (Hey, at least you get your name on the Web!) before even paying them for their work. Sadly, and despite a deep-pocketed backer in Getty Images, PTW may have sealed its doom by operating honorably in a wild wild Internet where leaking is the law.

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New Music: Doomtree

Posted on August 27, 2008 by plugoneboss

Here’s a YouTube video preview and three cuts from P.O.S.’s Minneapolis crew Doomtree. Note that the songs are clean versions, just for the kiddies! If you like Rhymesayers/spoken-word style hip-hop, then check these out.

Doomtree’s self-titled debut is out now.

MP3: Dots and Dashes

MP3: Game Over

MP3: The Wren

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Video: Talib Kweli, “The Perfect Beat”

Posted on August 27, 2008 by plugoneboss

New clip for Talib Kweli’s track with KRS-One from last year’s Eardrum.

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Coming Soon: Count Bass D

Posted on August 27, 2008 by plugoneboss

Count Bass D has a new album coming out called L7. It’s hitting stores via Sound Tribe Sector 9’s digital-only imprint 1320 Records. No word on whether L7 will get a physical release. There’s no scheduled release date yet, but expect it to drop in the next few weeks.

Here’s the tentative track listing. According to his publicist, a song or two may be added to the final version.

  • 1. “Make It Flow” (feat. Ache)
  • 2. “Gio Any (I Cold Just Came In)”
  • 3. “Back Pay (Parts 1 & 2)”
  • 4. “Can We Hang Out Tonight”
  • 5. “Neon Soul”
  • 6. “I Need Your Love”
  • 7. “I Love You”
  • 8. “You Got It”
  • 9. “Personal Things”
  • 10. “What I Do”
  • 11. “Y.B.A. Square”
  • 12. “(Don’t) Run Out On Me”

MP3: Can We Hang Out Tonight

MP3: Neon Soul

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The Mighty Underdogs prepare “Droppin’ Science Fiction”

Posted on August 20, 2008 by plugoneboss

The Mighty Underdogs, a supergroup featuring Lateef the Truthspeaker, Gift of Gab and Headnodic from Crown City Rockers has finished its debut album. Droppin’ Science Fiction is set for an October 14 release on Definitive Jux.

Droppin’ Science Fiction doesn’t have the heavy concepts that typify Gift of Gab’s work with his better-known group, underground heroes Blackalicious. It’s something of a romp, as well as an extended showcase for Headnodic, a respected producer that hasn’t drawn much attention outside of the West Coast. Plenty of Yay Area guests chip in, including Lyrics Born and DJ Shadow (from Gab and Lateef’s Quannum crew), Raashan Ahmad from Crown City Rockers, Zion from Zion-I and Casual. The notorious MF Doom makes an appearance, too.

The three big dogs will promote their forthcoming album with an opening slot on Aesop Rock’s solo tour. Here’s the track listing, followed by them dates.

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Atmosphere paint the nation

Posted on August 6, 2008 by plugoneboss

Next month, Atmosphere will launch its first extensive national tour for its hit album, If Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold. Slug & Ant (that is, if Ant goes out on the road this time) has been touring with a backing band lately, adding a little spice to their familiar formula of freestyles, shout-outs to women, and a rousing slam dance to Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name.” Newbies who discovered the duo through MTV should get to the venue early for opening sets from Blueprint and Abstract Rude.

As usual, Atmosphere’s Paint the Nation tour will roll through mid-size cities such as Omaha and Boise, and make pit stops at a few major festivals like San Diego’s Street Scene. Incredibly, New York isn’t on the itinerary; give the dudes kudos for that. (August 20 update: The Atmosphere tour has ballooned to a 50-city endurance test. And yes, New York is part of the festivities.)

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Blu and Mainframe form “Johnson&Jonson”

Posted on August 5, 2008 by plugoneboss

Blu may be one of the hottest MCs in indie hip-hop. The Los Angeles rapper’s debut with DJ Exile, Below the Clouds, was one of the best albums of 2007. Another project with Ta’Raach, C.R.A.C.’s The Piece Talks, generated serious buzz upon its release in April. And now dude is set to release a new project with producer Mainframe called Johnson&Jonson.

Much like The Piece Talks, Johnson&Jonson’s self-titled effort, set for release September 23 on Tres Records, finds Blu at his shit-talking best. The album initially leaked last year under the title Powders and Oils. “Blu recorded all three projects (Below the Heavens, C.R.A.C. and Johnson&Jonson), during a similar time period,” reads a press release for the album. “Intended as a mixtape for Below the Heavens, Johnson&Jonson is a project filled with fun, wit, and experience told by an emerging hip hop star, while living and recording the project in Long Beach, CA.”

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Heltah Skeltah reunite for “D.I.R.T.”

Posted on August 4, 2008 by plugoneboss

On September 30, Brooklyn duo Heltah Skeltah will reunite for D.I.R.T. (Da Incredible Rap Team). Set for release on Duck Down Records, it’s Rock and Ruck’s first album together since 1998’s Magnum Force.

Although the two haven’t issued a Heltah Skeltah project in a minute, the two have been busy. While fighting an attempted murder charge, Rock recently issued a mixtape, Shell Shock. Meanwhile, Sean Price (a.k.a. Ruck) continues to work on his third solo album, Mic Tyson.

“We didn’t try and get cute with this album and pick some ‘out da box’ beats and get on some philosophy sh*t. We did what we knew best and that was rhyme about the street, while of course infusing the humor that you know you’re going to get when you listen to our rhymes,” says the ever-forthright Sean Price in a press release. Guest appearances on D.I.R.T. come courtesy of Duck Down fam such as Buckshot and Smif N Wessun; beats arrive via Marco Polo, Evidence from Dilated Peoples, Khrysis from the Justus League and others.

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People Under the Stairs celebrate ten years with greatest hits, tour and “Fun DMC”

Posted on July 17, 2008 by plugoneboss

This fall, true school hip-hop vets People Under the Stairs will celebrate ten years in the rap game with a series of new projects.

First comes a greatest hits collection from Om Records, the San Francisco label which signed the group in 1999 (after the group dropped its self titled debut in 1998 on PUTS Records). Scheduled for release on July 22, The Om Years is a two-CD set with choice cuts from the group’s four albums as well as 12-inch B-sides and rarities.

Then, come September, Thes One and Double K will drop their sixth album, Fun DMC, on newly-formed label Gold Dust Media. To drum up interest, the crew is going on tour next month.

“We got our 6th album comin’ out in September of this year, and it’s chock full of all the musical dope you have come to love and expect from the P,” writes Thes One in a post on PUTS MySpace page. “We have listed a series of East coast dates to help get the word out about the album, and when it drops we will run up and down the west coast handling our business and rockin’ for you.”

Here’s the track listing for The Om Years and Fun DMC as well as the tour itinerary.

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Shadow and Cut Chemist play final shows for the Hard Sell

Posted on July 17, 2008 by plugoneboss

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist are currently in the midst of a third — and final — leg for The Hard Sell. Yes, after over a year and dozens of cities in several countries, the Hard Sell tour seems to be coming to a close.

“Incorporating eight turntables, two guitar loop pedals, & only using original 45rpm seven-inch singles, ‘The Hard Sell’ features tricks and complexity rarely attempted by a DJ duo,” reads a press release. “As with the two previous sets, the pair eschew their own material in favor of an amalgam of music from all eras and styles, providing for amusing and provocative mash-ups; rap mixes with fiddle music, doo-wop with new wave, and every thing in between…all while avoiding the obvious, ‘been there, heard that’ stuff you get from most DJs.”

The Hard Sell series aren’t as ground-breaking as Shadow and Cut’s Product Placement and Brainfreeze performances, but it’s still pretty creative, especially in light of the pathetic hip-hop DJ scene (which seems to have reached new nadir.) Unfortunately, after these seven shows, the only way you’ll get to experience it is by purchasing DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist present The Hard Sell (Encore) two-CD set or The Hard Sell at the Hollywood Bowl DVD.

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Murs releases “Murs for President”

Posted on July 15, 2008 by plugoneboss

Murs has scheduled a release date for his long-awaited sixth album and major label debut. Reprise/Warner will issue his sixth album, Murs for President, on September 30.

Interestingly, if the initial track listing is correct, Murs for President doesn’t include last year’s single, ‘Better Than the Best” b/w “Dreadlocks.” However, the 15-track disc features collaborations with Snoop Dogg, will.i.am and DJ Premier.

“This one is for all the marbles,” Murs says in a press release. “If this don’t go, it don’t go. This is it for me. I’m almost 30. I’ve been doing this and if I don’t know how to do it by now and I can’t make a platinum record, I’ve failed.”

That’s a tall order for a rapper who, while hugely popular on the West Coast, has never dominated the indie rap medium like MF Doom, Atmosphere or Little Brother. Plus, very few artists of any genre go platinum anymore. But hey, when you’re running for president, you’ve got to dream big, right?

August 12 update: The track listing for Murs for President has changed. One song has been removed in favor of “Everything,” and “Away Too Long” was retitled as the single “Can It Be?”

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Review: Cyne, “Starship Utopia”

Posted on July 15, 2008 by plugoneboss

Cyne
Starship Utopia
Project Mooncircle

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

“Black bastard hypocrite it hurt when I’m honest/I zap back to the past to chat with Bigger Thomas/Ask him why he did it, then zap back to now/Now I’m hip-hoppin’ aboard in love with the sound,” rhymes Cise Star, referencing the tragic protagonist of Richard Wright’s Native Son. As an image of evolution from early 30s juvenile delinquent to post-millennial starship utopian, the title track for this Japan-only release spotlights Cyne at its best. Overall, though, Starship Utopia reflects the Gainesville’s strengths and weaknesses, from sharp lyrical renderings of overly familiar indie-rap themes (including “Kill the Music,” yet another hip-hop-ain’t-dead number) to cool, melancholy tones reminiscent of Black Star’s “Thief in the Night.”

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Aesop Rock meets the fans

Posted on July 12, 2008 by plugoneboss

What do you do when you’re one of the biggest independent hip-hop stars of the past decade and want to capitalize on your big-man status with a green-minting run, but don’t have a new CD to promote?

Well, you go on tour anyway.

So Aesop Rock will hit the road, confident that he’ll sell out nightclubs and small theaters even though his last album, the critically-acclaimed None Shall Pass, dropped last August. Joining him will be his trusty DJ, Big Wiz (who thankfully recovered from that auto accident he suffered in 2006) and rapper Rob Sonic.

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