Maniac

In 2009, underground Def Jux rapper Cage teamed up with his Hollywood buddy Shai LeBeouf (Transformers, Disturbia) for the video 'I Never Knew You.' This was a new musical direction for Cage that clearly payed off. Directing Cage's music video was Shai's first shot at directing a video. Now, Cage has confirmed that there are plans to make 'Maniac' the unlikely collabo with Cage and Kid Cudi into a mini film, directed by Shai LeBeouf. In the same vein as Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and recently Kanye West's 'Runaway.' It'll be interesting to see what these guy come up with.

The song 'Maniac" seems like a pretty unusual collaboration though considering Kid Cudi comes from Kanye West's ever changing and very stylish wing G.O.O.D Music and Cage comes from E-LPs underground broken home known as Def Jux It seems unlikely they would ever even cross paths but Cage's recent genre transformation has landed him in Kid Cudi's sights. Check out Kid Cudi ft Cage & St Vincent perform 'Maniac' on Jimmy Fallon with The Roots.


Check out Cage's new video for ' Captain Bumout' from Depart from me.

Doomtree

If you're a fan of the Rhymesayers crew then you are probably familiar with POS. But what some people don`t know is that POS is a member of a family of like minded emcees/musicians called Doomtree.

   Doomtree is a rap group/record label/family from Minnesota and easily one of my favourite collectives of all time. Although they perform together frequently and have two full length albums as a group, each one of the members is an established and talented solo artist.

P.O.S is signed to Rhymesayers out of Minnesota and is definitely a favourite of mine. On my top ten emcee list, for sure. Original beats and original lyrics, forcing hip hop to evolve to where he needs it to be.  Avoiding the common cliche of infusing cheesy rock riffs and hip hop beats (see "lil waynes" new so called "album") P.O.S is opting for a more genuine equivalent to infuse hip hop with and that's punk. Taking the raw sounds of both genres and making something all his own.

Dessa is definitely an emcee to watch out for. Standing as one of the few hopes for the seemingly absent female rapper population in today's mainstream. Dessa also doubles as a professor at the McNally Smith College of Music and she's had her fellow Doomtree member P.O.S as a guest speaker. Abouthiphop.com named Dessa one of the top ten artist to watch in 2010 and I agree. Her new album Bradly Broken Code is out and is definitely worth picking up. 

These two are amazing rappers but are also talented musicians and singers, teachers and producers. Making real music in a real way. But it's not just these two that are amazing, each member has their own style, so be sure to check them all out. Doomtree, highly recommend.

Bob Dylan covers LL Cool J

Bob Dylan rapes raps.

Distant Relatives

Now this album has been pushed back and delayed since last summer but its now rumored to be released sometime in March/April (March 16th has been reported as well as April 10th) and we finally have some full tracks to hold us over. You can find the album version of the track "As we enter" on the Distant Relatives Myspace, as well as "Only the Strong" in the video at the bottom.

With this much anticipation built up, I now expect this to be a life changing, generation unifying, peace bringing hip hop/reggae album but even if it isn't they are donating all the proceeds to build schools in Africa.



Rumored track listing has Somalian rapper K'naan and the soul diva Joss Stone joining the ranks of legends Stevie Wonder and the late Bob Marley. Looks to be quite the legendary album if it plays as good as it looks. Also, props to the Marley family for keeping this on  lock down as none of the tracks have been leaked. Unlike most of Nas' and pretty much anyone else albums. 

1. Intro (Something New) (Produced by Damian Marley)
2. As We Enter (Produced by Damian Marley)
3. Revolutionary (Produced by Damian Marley)
4. Count Your Blessings (Produced by Damian & Stephen Marley)
5. Belief is Key (Produced by Damian Marley)
6. Africa Must Wake Up (feat. K’naan) (Produced by Nas, Damian & Stephen Marley)
7. Black Horizon (feat. K’naan) (Produced by Damian Marley)
8. Only the Strong (Produced by Damian & Stephen Marley)
9. Our Generation (feat. Joss Stone & Stevie Wonder) (Produced by Damian Marley)
10. Empowerment (Produced by Stephen Marley)
11. AID (Produced by K’naan & Nas)
12. Let’s End It (Poverty) (feat. K’naan) (Produced by 9th Wonder & Damian Marley)
13. The Earth (feat. Bob Marley) (Produced by Salaam Remi, Damian & Stephen Marley)
14. Black Man’s Paper (feat. Erykah Badu) (Produced by Afry) [UK Bonus]
15. Weed On (feat. Snoop Dogg) (Produced by Damian Marley) [iTunes Bonus]

Langdon Drops 'The AUG Ep'

In the spirit of Christmas, Langdon Auger spoiled his fans this past weekend by posting a free download of his new album, 'The AUG Ep' on his website.

In this highly-anticipated follow-up to 'Inaugeration' (2008), Langdon demonstrates his exemplary production skills with catchy beats featuring a wide variety of musical styles and influences. The lyrics are somewhat reminiscent of Langdon's early work (albums such as 'Songs From The Hills' and 'Crisp Livin'), as Langdon combines humour, wit and visual references to Victoria to create highly original lyrics which make you proud to live in Victoria. Some personal favourites from 'The AUG Ep' are "The Aug Freestyle", "The Drive Through" and "Grizzly Bears."

So, if you haven't already done so, I highly recommend that you check out this holiday treat. And if you like what you hear, keep your eyes and ears open because word on the 'book is that Langdon plans to do some shows early in the new year.

Thunderheist Takes Victoria by Storm

Toronto's electro-fueled hip-hop duo, Thunderheist had a solid finish to their U.S-Canadian tour last weekend by playing a sold-out show at Sugar Nightclub in Victoria on Saturday, November 21st. The group combines heavy baselines created by the highly versatile producer, GrahmZilla with the clever rhyming of Nigerian-born, Toronto-raised M.C Isis who has been "freestyling with 30 year old men since [she] was 13." The result is a highly original sound that is both energizing and absorbing.

To see some of my videos from the show at Sugar, (which I did not post because of inferior sound and video quality) hit up my youtube page. To see and hear more of Thunderheist, check out their myspace page or youtube, where you can listen to many of their songs, including the popular single, "Jerk it" which was featured in the Oscar-nominated film, 'The Wrestler.'