Brother Ali - Us

This is beautiful right here. The album drops September 22nd. Preorder it direct from Rhymesayers here.

New York

I'm off to make my annual pilgrimage to the mecca of hip-hop, culture and art: New York, New York. The city so nice they named it twice. I won't have my laptop handy, so I bid you adieu until August. I'll leave you with a taste of the Big Apple...

Jay-Z, "The City Is Mine"

Evidence, "Down In New York City"

Jay-Z/Sinatra, "I Did It My Way"

Jessica

...per chance...

This 45 has been on repeat at my humble abode and my iPod since last week. You may recognize the lead singer as Nomi Ruiz from Hercules and Love Affair.

Jessica 6, "Not Anymore"

Mr. J Medeiros, "Holding On"

Mr; J Medeiros : Holding On from Arthur King on Vimeo.

Directed by the ever-talented, jack-of-all-trades, Mr. Arthur King. Peep his blog here.

Men of Leisure

It's been a minute. Last week was crazy-busy and this past weekend was just plain CRAZY. I'm just getting my bearings back from a crazy bachelor-party weekend at my boy's cabin. How fitting then to find out that Mike "the 2600 King" Davis, Espada, and Adam Garcia have recently formed a band called "Men of Leisure." They're triple-handedly bringing back old-skool party-rockin'! Special props to Mike for cutting up classic and rare breaks with a machete tip! Download for instant party-starting. Enjoy at your own pace...

Men of Leisure EP

Atmosphere free EP, "Leak At Will"

"Nothing too serious, just smiles and cries... consider it another 'thank you' for all the support you have offered us over the years." ~ Slug

Atmosphere, Leak At Will EP

Jay-Z wins before it even starts

Here's a freestyle from Jay's performance at the Palms. Rumor has it that it's the intro to Blueprint 3. Names are dropped, speculations are crushed, and he's not "bringing it back" because he's "better than before, why'd [he] do that?" Game, set, match.

Jay-Z freestyle at the Palms, Las Vegas (warning: recorded at high volume)

Viva La Vinyl!

MJ RIP

Time to pull out the Herman Miller chair and black-framed glasses

I have no idea what that title means. That's what my boy DJ Twellis (name could change, though I personally like this moniker) wrote in the subject line of his message to me concerning his recent lounge mix. I say grab your favorite lowball glass, dim the lights and get lost in this smooth mix (or hop in your red wagon and go for a late-night stroll).

DJ Twellis, "Lounge Mix"