New NOTTZ EP!

Virginia-bred emcee/producer Nottz is one of the most silently influential movers in hip-hop.  Chosing not to brand himself through tag lines or gaudy video appearances in any of the records he’s produced for Grammy-winning artists, his name doesn’t resonate with co-eds and scenesters in the same fashion as Kanye West or other icons he works with.  Nottz doesn’t have to.  With a production resume ranging from Biggie to Lyricist Lounge to Snoop, as well as his own rap records that have filtered through the underground for over 10 years, he’s truly ‘your favorite artist’s favorite artist’…

In late 2010 Nottz released You Need This Music, a Soul Survivor-esque, half-solo record, half-producer compilation that masterfully synthesizes flavors from all reaches of hip-hop/pop culture, enlisting ringers such as Mayer Hawthorne, Black Milk and Travis Barker… In the likeness of that project comes his new EP, In My Mind, available tomorrow, June 5th (2012).  A bit muddier than the preceeding LP, Nottz, Royce Da 5″9, Pusha T and others stomp through the tracks with contributions targeted to the core hip-hop audience…  A must-have in my book.

FREE SAMPLER: Nottz – In My Mind EP

Nico the Beast – Performance Videos

This Sunday, May 27th 2012, Nico the Beast (along with producer, Vanderslice) drops his first formal studio project in over a year, True to Form… The release date is chosen as a memorial for his deceased son, Domenic Jr., but the content itself is more of an homage to the straight bars/storytelling brand of hip-hop that begged the Beast to pick up the mic 15 years ago.

Serving as the perfect epilogue to the Vanderslice collab EP coming this weekend, Lost Sessions Volume 1 is comprised of unreleased sessions from 2007-2008 over classic boom-bap instrumentals from the likes of Group Home, Common and Raekwon… Also check the videos from this past Friday @ M Room in Philadelphia.

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“Nachurally Gifted (Live)” featuring Rec Raw:

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“My Piano (Live)” featuring Big OC Diesel:

DistantStarr Listening Session 4/17/12 (New MAGr)

After my winter-long hiatus from Philadelphia and rumors from Al Mighty of new MAGr music being recorded, I dropped by producer/MC DistantStarr’s studio to hear the latest adds to his private repetoire, which can become an electro/crunk/boom-bap abyss from the volume of his regularly-added new music.  Capturing a fraction of the session on video, we find the first polished MAGr track in almost 3 years (see Part 2), plus a handful of dope instrumentals and works in progress.

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Part 1:

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Part 2: