The Hinderance "Bring on the Trumpets"

The Hinderance, ended 2011 with a little surprise for their fans, a new free EP, entitled "Bring On the Trumpets." Yes, I realize I am almost a month late on this but that is much earlier than most of these so called tastemakers are when it comes to the Hinderance. If you do not know this by The Hinderance are a dope group of MCs Passive 65ive and Issuez and on the ones and twos ManOne. Last year the released the incredible album, "GoodAll" along with a some high quality EPs. Their latest offering, "Bring on the Trumpets" is more a teaser than an EP in the traditional sense, at 9 minutes, what it does for me is makes me go back and listen to "GoodAll" again and makes me wonder when the next full length is coming out. But it is a great introduction for new fans and a little something for those who have known about the group for years. So check out the EP and develop your taste for this English based group now.

You can stream and download the album here.

LAMEBOT "Crunk Whomp"

Another regular on the blog has just released a new project, this time it is LAMEBOT, who has made some very dope spaced out, funk/hiphop/house/ or whatever you want to call it music that is infectious and able to take you out of your comfort zone and let you freely roam the sonic domain (that might be a bit convoluted.) This time, LAMEBOT has taken on a rather surprising genre...crunk. This is one of the more intriguing albums I have listened to, my first reaction was, what the hell is going on here. The vocals are exactly what you would expect and through first listen that is all I was able to focus on. Luckily, LAMEBOT has included the instrumentals to the project as well which are incredible, as you would expect. After absorbing the instrumentals, I went back and checked them out with the vocals and it all made sense. This is one of the more risky albums in recent memory, because LAMEBOT is using a genre that I assume, most of his fans are not very fond of, but brings us into that world, and makes us understand and even appreciate crunk a bit more, very impressive. Check out the album and give it a few listens and make sure you keep an open mind and ear...it will click and you will see the dopeness of this album.

You can stream and download the album here.

Malkovich & P.U.D.G.E. "Lethal Vice"

Looky, looky, guess who has returned with another project, none other than MC/DJ/producer P.U.D.G.E. This time he joins forces with Malkovich to bring us an EP entitled "Lethal Vice." This might be a rather short project, clocking in at just over 13 minutes, but each one of those minutes hits hard and doesn't quit. So do yourself a favor and check out the video they put together, which features snippets of each tracks (very cool idea as the video flows together almost as if it were one song) and then download the entire project and vibe out.



You can stream and download the album here.

Rusty Redenbacher "Iron Man Monster Factory"

Rusty Redenbacher has returned with his second solo album (if you do not include his various EPs, alter egos, or group projects etc) with "The Tinkerer" which he produced, mixed, mastered, and of course wrote. The album officially dropped today, and figured what better way to inform you of the new work by one of my favorite artists then by sharing a video from the album. The song, entitled "Iron Man Monster Factory" features Rusty in full Tinkerer attire, face bandaged up and sunglasses. Plus his other creations from the factory (in case you do not know, Iron Man has a ton of suits either upgrades or for different situations just like all of the different masks we wear in life.) But now I am beginning to ramble, do yourself a favor, check out the video and go get the album and support the artist.



You can buy the album on iTunes or buy the physicals here.

Nasa Asan "Orange Military"

One of the most discussed underground hip hop albums of 2011 was Death Grips "Ex Military," with its in your face lyrics and production and is sure to evoke some sort of response from just about any listener. But what really caught my attention was what happened later, when Death Grips decided to offer "Black Google: Ex Military instrumental/a cappella / stems" in other words, everything needed to remix the album or to create the album with your vocals.

Well, Nasa Asan, aka Nasa, decided to remix two of the tracks, "Takyon" & "Guillotine." He even got ADAM (former Adam Warlock) to drop a verse on "Guillotine." So check out the project below and while you are at it, check out the original album by Death Grips.

You can stream and download the project here.

Random & Mr. Miranda "Big Beat Jawn" produced by Random and DN3

In December, Random (aka Mega Ran) and Mr. Miranda released their album "The Memorandum" and since then, it gets daily play in my headphones. What else can you ask for but two talented, veteran MCs coming together to create a dope album over some great beats, not to mention some very cool guest appearances. The two decided to get together again to create video for their track "Big Beat Jawn" produced by Random and DN3 (who does a great job on the entire album on the 1s and 2s.) The video has a heavy late 80s feel...partially due to Mr. Miranda's Adidas outfit and bucket hat. One thing to keep your ears open for (besides the entire track) is one of my favorite math inspired lines ever, "keep the verses mean like the middle of a number set." So sit back, watch the video and go cop the album.



You can stream and download the album here.

Maxx Julian "Excellency"

Maxx Julian returns with, "Excellency" the first track off his new album "Throw Mama From the Train" which drops in March later this year. If this track is any indication "Throw Mama From the Train" will be an album filled with bangers that will get you up and moving. So check out "Excellency" and while at his bandcamp page, listen to his previous works, you shall not be disappointed.