Boomdizzle - LL's Virtual Recording Studio

LL has jumped onto the technology train too but you'll be happy to hear it's not a new line of headphones...much more interestingly, he's revealed that his new venture, known as Boomdizzle, essentially consists in a Virtual Recording Studio accessible through a web-based application from anywhere in the world. This means that if you're in New York and your producer is in Miami, you can still work together on your track(s) in real-time!


The software launches soon but will be by invitation only to start with. If you want to know more about the service, check out the official site www.boomdizzle.com.

Why Did Gang Starr Split Up?

Why did Gang Starr split up? A lot of Hip Hop heads from the late 80s and 90s are probably still wondering why one of the best Hip Hop groups ever ended up feuding and eventually splitting up to the great disappointment of the Hip Hop community. The real reasons have never been fully disclosed (will they ever?) but Gang Starr affiliate and close friend of Guru has decided to speak his peace on the issue and he blames the split on drugs, theft, ego and porn beats! 


Check the video below courtesy of Forbez DVD which will soon release 'Breakup of the Chain & Starr' - an entire documentary dedicated to the break up of Gang Starr.

Saigon "Warning Shots 3" Mixtape Trailer

Saigon released a short trailer to his upcoming mixtape 'Warning Shots 3' scheduled to drop January 24th and executive produced by his loyal supporter Just Blaze. We're looking forward to this tape, it should be a banger if it sounds anything like 'The Greatest Story Never Told' which as far as we're concerned was one the best releases of 2011!


Check out the trailer below:

DJ Premier's Top 25 Albums of 2011

Premo has revealed his Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of 2011 and even if on a lot we agree there are some interesting/curious picks (and omissions) in the list...The Game number 1 for example?? Peep the complete list below and let us know your thoughts!

25. Large Professor & Neek The Exotic – Still On The Hustle

24. Edo G – A Face In The Crowd

23. Ill Bill & Vinnie Paz – Heavy Metal Kings

22. Greneberg – Greneberg

21. Action Bronson & Statik Selektah – Well Done

20. Apathy – Honkey Kong

19. The Away Team – Scars And Stripes

18. Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch The Throne

17. Torae – For The Record

16. Bumpy Knuckles & Statik Selektah – Lyrical Workout

15. Common – The Dreamer, The Believer

14. Maffew Ragazino Sr. – Rhyme Pays

13. Bad Meets Evil – Hell: The Sequel

12. Drake – Take Care

11. Statik Selektah – Population Control

10. Random Axe – Random Axe

09. Malcolm And Martin – Life Doesn’t Frighten Me

08. Royce da 5’9″ – Success Is Certain

07. Phonte – Charity Starts At Home

06. 50 Cent – The Big 10

05. Reks – R.E.K.S.

04. M.O.P. & Snowgoons – Sparta

03. Evidence – Cats & Dogs

02. 9th Wonder – The Wonder Years

01. Game – The R.E.D. Album

Honorable Mentions: 

Fresh Vetz “Fresh 2 Def” 

Pharoahe Monch “W.A.R.”

Raekwon “Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang” 

Rasheed Chappell “Future Before Nostalgia” 

Sadat X “No Features” 

Showbiz & KRS-One “Godsville” 

Skyzoo “The Great Debater” 

The Regiment “The Panic Button”

The Roots “Undun”

Best Albums and Mixtapes of 2011 - Hip Hop's Finest Speak

Courtesy of XXL, rappers and djs talk about their favourite albums and mixtapes of 2011:

Rick Ross 'Rich Forever' Mixtape

The new Rick Ross mixtape 'Rich Forever' is about to drop in a few hours and no doubt we'll have it right here for you to listen and download! While you wait, check the tracklist below - 19 tracks packed with featurings such as Meek Mill, French Montana, Styles P, 2 Chainz and more:

*Update*

DOWNLOAD 'RICH FOREVER' NOW!

T.I. 'Fuck Da City Up' Mixtape - Free Download

The 'Fuck Da City Up' mixtape has just dropped, 19 tracks featuring the likes of Young Jeezy, Meek Mill, Dr.Dre, Too Short and many more - Listen or download it for free right here! 

Raekwon 'Unexpected Victory' Mixtape Download

 

We're back from the holidays still nursing a hangover from Sunday night but fully ready for another Rap year to begin! And to get the New Year started on the right foot, here's the new Raekwon mixtape full of new material from The Chef while we wait for OBFCL III to drop! Listen to it or download it now!

Kim Jong-Il spitting rhymes

Well, who would've thought that the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il had such potential as a deejay

and emcee.

Within days of his passing away, the truth started coming out. First with Kim Jon-Il dropping the bass, where we can see the man in action all over the world with some of the biggest deejays on the scene. Check out the pics below, the dude sparks fire on the wheels of steel...

Then, on the 18th of Dec, his first track appeared online and man it´s some heavy sh*t. Kim spits deadlier rhymes than when Cannabis challenged LL, or dare we say Eminem when he destroyed Benzino. Bump the banger out below, we want the 'Il' on our beats




And to wrap it up, here is the press release we received...we look forward to more

A rap song has surfaced from recently deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. In "Jim Kong Ill", the late Mr Il tells U.S. President Obama to "stay the [expletive] outta L.A." and recommends Iran's President Ahmedinejad to "get a job", among several barbs throw at a range of world leaders. The song was recorded and released by Los Angeles-based emcee Malkovich, who claims that Mr Il in fact died last July, and has inhabited his body for the last several months. A short biography on http://malkovichmusic.com provides all that is know about the Persian-British emcee, who was born during Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and narrowly escaped death in Libya when an American bomb meant for Colonel Qaddafi almost hit his home.

Talib Kweli - Distractions

Here's the video to the socially-conscious 'Distractions', produced by Oh No and most probably to feature on Talib's new album 'Prisoner of Conscience' scheduled to drop next year. As 2012 looms listen to Kweli and don't get distracted too much by unimportant things in the new year, and here's a little explanation from the man himself on how the song originated:


"A little less a year ago, I got a beat from one of my favorite producers, Oh No, that I felt would be a perfect sound bed for the album I was working on, Prisoner Of Conscious. As I played the beat over and over trying to write lyrics, I kept finding myself distracted. By the TV, by twitter, by trivial things. I realized then that the beat was asking me to write about Distractions. Beats talk to me. They tell me what to rap about, they suggest a guest for the song. One of the things I was distracted by was the news coming from Tahrir Square last year. The Arab Spring was unlike anything I've seen in my lifetime. Beginning with a vegetable cart owner named Mohammed Bouazizi setting himself on fire in Tunisia to protest general unfair treatment, the Arab Spring spread like wildfire to Sudan and then to Egypt, as thousands of protestors occupied Tahrir Square to call for corrupt president Hosni Mubarak to step down. The first line that I wrote for my song Distractions was, "they say it ain't about the spoils of war, but turn around and tell you how much more the oil will cost." This was inspired by the Arab Spring..." 

Read the rest of the explanation on BallerStatus.com