Time is slim for updating these days, I’m gonna get back into that groove soon as things even out. But this banger here? Well, it could not be left unblogged. When Childish Gambino gets remixed by Treasure Fingers, it’s time to get on the good foot and wear your bad leg out on the dancefloor. Nothing less is revealed here, so get to gettin’ busy already!

This first post of 2012 has me kind of confused: the video for Juicy J‘s song “Lucky Charm” features almost four minutes of stylish musical interlude from The Weeknd over shots of one fine-assed girl taking a shower over and over before dropping into a track about finding “the one” and settling down.

Hold up… SETTLE DOWN? JUICY???? Nah, I am not buying it! I’m not exactly sure what to think on first watch, but it’s definitely a departure from what Juicy’s been doing. Take a look & let me know what you think.

Juicy J – Lucky Charm

Look, if you decide to know nothing else about the history of house music, know that there is only one dance music superproducer/remixer/DJ/founding father of true Chicago House Music that goes by the name of Derrick Carter. If you’ve been paying attention all year, you know there is also only one Harlem native fire spitter named Azealia Banks whose special brand of house music/hip-hop fusion has blown up everywhere in 2011.

Via his Soundcloud, Derrick has given us all access to not one but TWO Christmas gifts surrounding said track — first, for just a few more hours you can grab the “212 vs BHQ” version (the one that Derrick himself spins live). If that wasn’t enough, Derrick just posted up with the DJ Bang instrumental version, titled (appropriately) “312″!

“Just the instrumental of my Azealia Banks Rx. Maybe you can use it?” Uh, YESSSSSS? HOUSE MUSIC ALL NIGHT LONG. *** Merry Xmas ***

West Coast emcee Medaphor aka M.E.D. just came correct one more time again. Produced by Madlib, this remix of “Roll Out” features a guesto verse from supreme Alkaholiks fire spitter J-Ro.

Stones Throw is comin’ hard for the twenty dozen — this track is all-around Good Hoodkeeping approved.

M.E.D. – Roll Out (Remix feat. J-Ro)

M.E.D. is about to take this show on the road — details here

::: M.E.D. & GUILTY SIMPSON, JAN 2012 EUROPE TOUR :::
Fri, Jan 6: München at Muffatcafe
Sat, Jan 7: Köln at Bahnhof Ehrenfeld
Wed, Jan 11: Trondheim at Familien
Thu, Jan 12: Linz at Kapu:
Sat, Jan 14: Münster at Skaters Palace
Tue, Jan 17: Prague at La Lucerna
Wed, Jan 18: Berlin at Cassio:
Fri, Jan 20: Paris at La Bellevoise
Sat, Jan 21: Wien at Roxy:
Tue, Jan 24: Hamburg at Stellwerk:
Wed, Jan 25: Leipzig at Conne Island Cafe
Thu, Jan 26: London (TBA)
Sat, Jan 28: Moscow at Cult Club

If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you? Only if the bridge everyone jumped off was as good as the new album from The Roots, undun, due out on 6 December. Holla. (Preorder undun from iTunes)

:: Respect is Due to :: NPR

:: TRACKLIST ::
01. Dun
02. Sleep
03. Make My (feat. Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw)
04. One Time (feat. Phonte & Dice Raw)
05. Kool On (feat. Greg Porn & Truck North)
06. The Other Side (feat. Bilal Oliver & Greg Porn)
07. Stomp (feat. Greg Porn)
08. Lighthouse (feat. Dice Raw)
09. I Remember
10. Tip The Scale (feat. Dice Raw)
11. Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)
12. Possibility (2nd Movement)
13. Will To Power (3rd Movement)
14. Finality (4th Movement)

Look, I don’t have a lot to say about Kid Cudi‘s previous forays into music because, while I was always impressed, I thought he had something else going on. I thought he was great on How To Make It In America on HBO. I saw him at the Red Bull Moon Tower at SXSW 2009 and that was fresh as I recall. But really, I began going through my own non-committal phase with hip-hop and so I didn’t pay him much attention before he peaked, started fucking with liquid cocaine or some such nonsense and …. well, anyways, I missed out on a lot. I quickly changed my tune when I heard he was going to try to put together a rock project (entitled WZRD) because I feel like there’s been a missing link between rock & roll and hip-hop since the days of Black Jack Johnson and Body Count that nobody has fulfilled.

The promise of WZRD just became clear in this track, “Brake”, from the WZRD album due out on 30 January, 2012. Thanks for dropping this on us Cudi. I see you now. Si, claro. Twitter just exploded with WZRDRY.

WZRD – Brake

Few albums are as widely anticipated as the forthcoming Common album The Dreamer/The Believer, and after hearing this new track he dropped today called “Celebrate” it’s easy to see why. Featuring a lush re-working of the classic 70′s song “Celebrate Me Home” by Kenny Loggins as the beat, this is how it’s done properly. New party anthem? Believe it.

[ Pre-Order Common's The Dreamer / The Believer from Amazon (released 20 December 2011) ]

Controversial? New video? Common? Am I seeing this right? Well, this was filmed in Haiti, and the track … well, it’s definitely not what I’m used to from Common. He went H-A-R-D.

Huntsville’s trillest twosome G-Side kicks off their tour with Cities Aviv and guests (including the legendary Memphix crew’s very own Redeye Jedi) at the Hi-Tone in Memphis tonight [info] and, also, it’s their record release party for the album Island which is available thru via Slow Motion Soundz. I know for a fact there will be some serious special guest action in the house at this sure-to-be-packed show, but I don’t think I’m allowed to say who it is. So, just show up and see for yourself.

G-Side – Look Up

And check it — my dude Cities Aviv (that kid I been telling you about all year while you were busy watching the throne) has a new track, too, called “WET DREAM”. This is that completely faded next level oblivion hip-hop for your earhole, with a sick beat courtesy of QJL (who recently confided in me that he prefers to remain anonymous so, I’m not gonna link you to him unless he says its okay).

Cities Aviv – Wet Dream

G-Side and Cities Aviv? This show gets the certified Good Hoodkeeping Seal of Approval.

[ Hi-Tone Cafe 1913 Poplar Avenue Memphis / $10 / 9PM ]

Oh yeah — and G-Side is on tour:

11-11 Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone Cafe !
11-18 Tuscaloosa, AL – Green Bar
11-30 Montevallo, AL – Eclipse
12-01 Greensboro, NC – Studio B
12-02 Baltimore, MD – Club Hippo
12-04 Washington, DC – DC9
12-05 Philadelphia, PA – Fluid
12-06 Brooklyn, NY – BrooklynVegan Presents @ Glasslands Gallery #!
12-08 Buffalo, NY – Broadway Joe’s
12-10 Ann Arbor, MI – TBA
12-11 Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
12-13 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle ^
12-14 Nashville, IL – The End
12-16 Los Angeles, CA – TBA (FYF Presents)
12-20 San Francisco, CA – The Independent $*

! with Cities Aviv
# with Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire
^ with YP
$ with DaVinci
* with Main Attrakionz

Let me be up front: mainstream hip-hop isn’t really my thing, but I recognize talent and hook when I hear it.

I went to a listening session in Ardent Studios recently-renovated (and incredible sounding) Studio C last week and had the chance to hear this track and see this video from Memphis newcomer Russ P. Like a lot of young rappers, he’s promoting himself as everything all at the same time — CEO, artist, producer, songwriter — and this kind of swagger is normally something I flee from instantly. It’s a known fact: there are just too many rappers who talk all this big shit and most of them ain’t got anything on it except the idea and the dream. Maybe the bullshit most rappers come at you with comes out of the bravado of youth, that feeling like you’ll never die and the “I don’t give a fuck” attitude that it takes to make it out there in a flurry of entertainers trying to get all the recognition, pussy, money and whatever else comes with success.

But see, luckily for Russ P and everyone else, he’s not full of shit: in it’s own way, ‘Dirty Taylors’ comes across as a hype track with solid production and a dope-assed video to go with it. It does not try to be anything other than what it’s meant to be, and it works. Russ P, unlike a lot of those phony rappers, actually has the bumping tracks and the verses to go with all the titles. To top it all off, my man’s rapping about wearing the most basic of basics, everyone’s favorite sneaker, the classic Chuck Taylors.

So in this rare instance, I gotta give it up for a mainstream track that caught my ear. Russ P and his producer, RayNel, took a heavily overworked area of hip-hop and gave it a unique twist. This track feels like a hit, but what do I know? I’m not a blogger, I just tweet a lot.

Dirty Taylors (Explicit)

[ Purchase 'Dirty Taylors' from Bandcamp for $0.99 ]

The long-awaited full-length Idle Warship album, Habits of the Heart, is out today, 1 November. The power team of Talib Kweli and Res have turned in a fresh and inventive genre-bending album hearkening echoes of classic 80′s synth pop & new wave combined with high-energy R&B and hip-hop. This song, ‘Rat Race’ is one of my favorites. If you have Spotify, stream a full-length preview of the album, then purchase it from iTunes here.

October’s Very Own has moved into November, and Drizzy’s Halloween night takeover of Power 106 in Los Angeles brought forth a bonus track which will appear on Take Care out on 15 November. With a lot of hyphy flare and swagger, Drake and Lil’ Wayne spit effortless flows in this quick 3-minute burner of a track. (via October’s Very Own)

The Motto (Explicit)

::: We Recommend ::: [Memphis Hip-Hop] Russ P – Dirty Taylors

Here it is. We have already biked and skateboarded ourselves past the waves of chillness that submersed our mental vessels for so short a time. You know, the puffin’ tough, get high or die, ride the train from the Bowery to the Cloisters listening to Brian Wilson verses over Dilla beats type shit? Yeah, manne, that’s what it is, see. You suddenly look up and recognize that you are clearly rocking with the best crews with the best news sipping the best brews nursing a big bruise, taking you blindly from your chosen occupation to the Occupation, walking along the sun-drenched urban footpaths where travelers from all around the globe slip their 5′s, 10′s and 20′s into the machine for Metrocards, wilding out at cafes that don’t sport logos of mermaids, or seeing the shape-shifting sunset crashing indelicately against the broken skyline of New York City. In the shadows of New Jack Swing and Cherelle, you can see the outline of a new swagger moving ever forward.

Rimar‘s there, living in Brooklyn, and he’s been checking things inside out, traversing and rehearsing to bring you a collection entitled Higher Ground. You might have his mixtapes, maybe you saw him at CMJ this past weekend along with Cities Aviv; you might have already blissed out the pre-dawn raid of architecture and fashion from the gutter or the roof while his grooves lull you into submission. If not, here’s your chance at the post-American dream of love in the city after the bitcoin rush and the brass monkey ice cream melts unwillingly to vapes in the blue-and-white scroll-emblazoned cups that read only, “It is our pleasure to serve you”. #SVRF

RIM4R plays tonight at Cake Shop NYC with Bosco Delrey and Cities Aviv. Higher Ground (LP) will be released on vinyl on 4 November by Bella Union Records. Pre-order here.

Rimar – Higher Ground

[ RIM4R Official Site | RIM4R on Twitter | RIMAR on Bandcamp ]

Abel, ILLANGELO and whoever else lurks in the hazy late night studio shadows with the hottest unsigned hype maybe of all time, aka The Weeknd (pronounced WEAK-und, not WEEK-end), are coming for you. Your ass gettin’ hazed. Once again, you must prepare like a ninja. Get ready, because every level has an endboss that you can’t possibly beat — and here is further proof.

In an ongoing series of mixtapes, the third of which is due any day now, they go further and further down the rabbit hole looking for the bottom that inevitably follows the high. If you’ve never ridden the dragon, it’s hard to explain what it’s like through art. Rest assured, whether you’re high right now or you used to be, The Weeknd does an exceptional job of laying out every scenario from a very personal place. There is nobody in any genre making music like this, so I’m glad that I’ve heard them and know who they are.

It may be #Draketober but with the XO crew on board to keep the families aligned, I’m calling it #OVOXOCTOBER. Ride with me.

[The Weeknd - Initiation (Mediafire)]

I think my friend Zac said, and I agree, “I know there are a lot of people who dislike Drake. But I like him, and I like this song.” I had the opportunity to meet Drake & his crew when I worked on the documentary ‘Better Than Good Enough’ for MTV last spring & personally, I found him to be an amazing person. His interview was honest & he carries himself like someone who really does look around with gratitude for his life and career. Whether you like him or you don’t, it’s hard to deny him the respect he has earned through a lot of hard work, a success which he keeps constantly working at proving to the world he deserves and I’m looking forward to hearing the full-length on 22 October. Welcome to Draketober and OvOxOctober.

[Pre-Order 'Take Care' from Amazon]