[via some Mutts blog so amazin]

Yes, it’s more hyperbole, but no it’s not bullshit. Look at what respected hip-hop blog It’s All the Way Live had to say about Black Thought, the eternally underrated frontman and MC for The Roots, and the freestyle he recently spit on Shade 45 in a tribute to the late producer-extraordinaire J Dilla:

Black Thought has been considered by many to be among the best emcees of all time, but after his incredible ‘freestyles’ on the Shade 45 Dilla tribute recently, many hip-hop heads bowed down and gave him the crown as THE greatest. Even Q-Tip was at a loss for words when it came his time to grab the mic. While this has been floating around the net for a bit, here’s our exclusive mix of the session, with some of the levels raised (including bass) and mastered properly. I edited out Tony Toca (sorry pal) and everything flows perfectly. Enjoy raw emceeing at its finest over Dilla beats.

Honestly, that introduction might not even do it justice. Admittedly, it’s virtually impossible for Thought to have spit all of this off the dome, forcing us to put quotation marks around the word “freestyle,” but even if every word of it was written down it is STILL nothing short of remarkable. It’s a rare combination of extraordinary lyrics, a smooth, natural flow and a sick Dilla beat, and what you get is a showcase of the enormous talent that is Black Thought, who so often gets overlooked while surrounded by the universally-recognized brilliance of The Roots (and the charisma of his fellow bandmate, drummer ?uestlove). Here, though, you are treated to Black Thought at the top of his game, spitting in a raw, almost unrecognizably raspy voice and at a pace that literally leaves Q-Tip laughing (as you’ll hear) at its sickness. Originally this was three separate freestyles on the same radio show, but, as mentioned above, this file has been mastered into one perfectly fluid track. You can either download it below or listen to it below that; either way it’s eleven-plus minutes of rapping that will blow your mind:

Black Thought (feat. Q-Tip) - Shade 45 Dilla Tribute

Download audio file (blackthoughtdillatribute.mp3)

[MP3 courtesy of (the excellent) All The Way Live]

“Where in the World is Freddie Gibbs?”

The song is actually called “Flamboyant (Freestyle #2)” and is off of “The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs;” download a much better quality version here or listen to it below:

Download audio file (gibbsfreestyle.mp3)

[via 2dopeboyz]

Justin Bieber - Baby (feat. Ludacris)

[via 2dopeboyz]

That is the tagline for comedian Aziz Ansari’s (Parks and Recreation, the fruit stand guy in Flight of the Conchords) upcoming hip-hop mixtape, co-produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek and featuring his alter-ego “Raaaaaaaandy,” (FYI: yes, that does link to laughyourdickoff.com, but, no, it is not a porn site; it is Raaaaaaaaandy’s site) the stand-up comedian character played by Ansari in Judd Apatow’s Funny People. Here was his announcement of the mixtape on his blog in December:

Dave Sitek and I are working on a mixtape together. That’s all we’re saying for now, but if everything we have in mind comes together, I can promise three things: 1. Y’all ain’t ready. 2. Motherfuckers need to know. 3. Get yo’ shit.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think he’s funny as shit. And yes, I realize that this is the same humor that Lonely Island tackled with “I’m on a Boat,” but, guess what, I loved “I’m on a Boat” too.

Today, he released an update on the mixtape, announcing that they need to “push that shit back,” and this is where you can really see the potential of this collaboration (and, yes, that’s really him spinning):

[via Aziz is Bored & Pitchfork]

Since you were so obsessed with the song upon first viewing of the video, feel free to download it here or listen to it (sans visuals) below:

Download audio file (humdrum.mp3)

Theophilus London - Humdrum Town

[via 2dopeboyz]

[via FlowingData]

If you haven’t heard the ridiculous new single from The Legendary yet, now would be the time; here’s the brand new video, as well as some facts I stole from another blog that fill up some space:

Hip-Hop group The Roots support their new single entitled “How I Got Over” with a music video directed by BBGUN. The video sees a man on a wheelchair wandering through the street of Brooklyn and witnessing the seedy side of the town’s urban life.

“How I Got Over” is the title track from the band’s upcoming studio album called “How I Got Over”. The song was debuted live on TV for the first time during an episode of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” back in June.

The Roots’ ninth studio album, “How I Got Over” itself is slated to be released across United States on October 20. It reportedly contains materials which have some political influences, like the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

[via Potholes in My Blog]

The biggest hip-hop song of the year, “Forever,” by Drake, Kanye, Lil’ Wayne & Eminem, gets the biggest hip-hop video of the year (directed by Hype Williams, of course) on what, I think, is going to be the biggest surprise film of the year, “More Than a Game,” the documentary that chronicles LeBron Douche and his four douche friends from middle school to superstardom, assembled from the thousands of hours of home video that someone just happened to record over those years.

While the film’s success will remain uncertain until it is released on October 9th, even if it turns out to be a hit, it will battle for second place at best on the “basketball movie” genre list, as there is just no way it could ever possibly top a movie co-starring Bugs Bunny…and that’s a fact. So we’ll just leave that discussion at that.

Either way…peep the video; it’s hot. And as sick as this song is and as much as I love all the artists in it, it leaves me thinking one thing every single time the song ends: when Em is on his game, he really is on another level than everyone else. It’s good to see that he’s still got it and that he won’t be rhyming in that “For Me to Poop On” voice for the rest of his life.

And if you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and download “Forever” right here

[via OnSmash]