NY State of Mind

After moving to NYC back in January, The Paxtons have been hard at work on the follow to their debut album, Work. In adopting a New York state-of-mind, Chris and Dave put together a mixtape that showcases a collection of songs that they can truly say is their best work to date.

Rather than take on the role of producing the project in its entirety, The Paxtons reached out to a few of outside producers to help deliver a diverse sound. Lyrically, Chris and Dave challenged themselves to, "step up their bars." And what you'll find is that they delivered. It's been a privilege to work* closely with Chris and Dave on this project, and we are excited to know that The Manhattan Project will be in music lover's ears in five days.

The Manhattan Project drops on Tuesday, September 7. In the mean time, check out the two trailers.


Beamin'

What We Doin'

*In full disclosure, I am the publicist for The Paxtons.

Light Up

With the release of his latest mixtape, George Kush Da Button, Smoke Dza is out to prove that he deserves to be considered among the elite group of up-and-coming rhymers. While cohorts like Mickey Factz and Curren$y have been able to garner acknowledgement on a higher level, Dza has been running right along with them.

As you listen to George Kush the thing that hits you the most is the vibe. Dza isn't an all up in your face type of rapper. Instead, he draws listeners in with a laid back flow and delivery that support his stoner-like lifestyle and demeanor. And when paired with production from the red hot Ski Beatz and fellow up-and-comer Big K.R.I.T., Dza creates the perfect soundtrack to relax to. Whether it's the muted horns on Sour Hour, the 80's sounding synths on Good Talk and I'm Sayin or the introspective themes of Sounds of the Indo or Lost it's safe to say that George Kush will put you in a relaxed state of mind even without smoking.

Smoke Dza- George Kush Da Button


Bonus:

Smoke Dza ft Den 10- Continental Kush Breakfast

Living the Good Life

Tomorrow night the Rock Creek Social Club presents the second edition of Good Life Tuesdays. From the looks of the video below, I think it's safe to say that you're losing if you're out and about tomorrow night, but not at Recess Lounge.

http://vimeo.com/14528606 from Rock Creek Social Club. on Vimeo.

The festivities commence at nine, but the party doesn't stop til two.

Man or The Music

As someone that loves music and grew up a big fan of Michael Jackson (around the time of Thriller, I had an all MJ party including the cake, the record and the poster of him in the yellow sweater), the posts on this blog were completely void of any tribute or commentary on his death, music and legacy.

What's interesting to me is that I thought long and hard about actually posting something numerous times. However, there was always something that felt hypocritical about waxing poetically about him now just because is was no longer among us. The fact of the matter is, I was a big critic of MJ over the last 15 years. The molestation trials took me to a place where I could no longer support the guy. The first trial was crazy, but the second trial was a step too many down the path of the dark side for me because it established a pattern. Of course, he was acquitted both times, but something about putting yourself in such a vulnerable and controversial position time and time again showed a lack of common sense and, perhaps, an air of being above the law just didn't sit well with me. Add to that the outright bizarreness that MJ embodied over the years, and I think it's safe to that I wasn't the only one that felt this way.

2 Dope Boyz

The may not be Outkast, but didn't stop CurT@!n$ and Dom Kennedy from riding in a Cadillac for the visuals for 2 Sports Cars, the first single/leak from the recently released The Dissertation.

http://vimeo.com/14341694 from http://vimeo.com/user3053955 on Vimeo.

As you will notice from the track, The Dissertation is CurT@!n$ ode to one of the fiercest groups to ever grab a mic- the Wu-Tang Clan. If you haven't downloaded, stop pussyfooting and click the link.

More Power

Kanye West's return to pure, uncut HipHop has energized the game in a way that only Mr. West can. When West's first single, Power, from his upcoming album, Good Ass Job, was released the internet immediately went nuts Paul Wall style. And with the recent release of remix, which features Jay-Z, new verses from Kanye, background vocals from John Legend and production and adlibs from Swizz Beatz, the internet is once again in a frenzy.

Now, in an interview with MTV, Swizz let music lovers into the process of making the record. In addition to the artists mentioned above, "Q-Tip, Mos Def and the Neptunes' Pharrell Williams," also provided input into the song. Check out this audio of Swizzy talking about how the record came to be, including announcing the remix before it was anywhere close to being done.

MTV Shows

If you haven't heard the Power remix, check it out here:

Kanye West - "Power" (Remix) Feat. Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz by Some Kind of Awesome



Shouts to Some Kind of Awesome for the audio!

Deadly Medley

Even though he lent his production talents to Big Pooh's Purple Tape, it's been a while since Detroit's Black Milk was active on the scene. With Tronic making numerous "Album of the Year" lists in '08, it's only right that his new album be so aptly titled.

Rappers making bold statements is nothing new. By naming his new album Album of the Year, it's clear that Milk is on a mission. To get the ball rolling, fellow Detroit representers Royce da 5'9" and Elzhi (of Slum Village, maybe?) link up to form a Deadly Medley.

I can catch a bullet in my teeth -Royce da 5'9"

Album of the Year drops on September 14.