Kanye and Mos Def showed up at Lupe Fiasco’s Blue Note show on Saturday and spit a dope 7 minute freestyle over some Dilla instrumentals, backed by the Robert Glasper Experiment. Head here for the full 30 minute track. Give these two credit, a lot of rappers won’t freestyle without a blackberry these days (via LupE.N.D Blog & All The Way Live).

and i shine and glow / even in the dark, stay smart, stay sharp

as a hard play by a musician, in this position

feel blessed to make the whole world listen

and just glisten without even trying / even when I die, I won’t stay dead

and its straight off the head / and its straight out the lungs

lookin fly fresh / old man, so young

MP3: Kanye West & Mos Def: Blue Note Freestyle

(UPDATE: 3.1.11 – Hit the jump for a video of Kanye’s freestyle at the show)

Read the rest of this entry »

Alexander Ebert, lead singer of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, is releasing his solo debut this week (March 1st) via Community Music. Going simply as Alexander, the new set of songs are slightly more mellow and introspective than the Magnetic Zeros’ debut, yet still feature all of organic sounds and 60′s jingling and jangling you’d expect to hear from the band’s frontman. No raucous, foot-stomping anthems (i.e. “Home”) here, but a really enjoyable album nonetheless. Stream Alexander and download the album’s first single “Truth” below.

In other Edward Sharpe news, the band has just released a new video for “40 Day Dream,” the opening track from the group’s debut album Up From Below. Check it out after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Meric Long and Logan Kroeber of The Dodos have just released a second song from their upcoming album No Colors. Both tracks feature that hard driving acoustic sound the band has become known for, yet I’m a little more partial to the frenetic finger picking and percussion on their latest release “Don’t Stop.” Neko Case, who sings background vocals on the record, apparently agrees. Give the new tunes a listen below and keep your eyes peeled for No Colors March 15th on Frenchkiss.

Consider Sloane officially on board with the choir of praise being heaped on London based Yuck. We really don’t have anything new to share with you that you have not already read. That the band name is a misnomer for the actual smooth and dreamy pop that oozes from this album. That seemingly off the radar only a year ago, the band has risen the ranks to full on internet sensation. That Yuck possess a mesmerizing love affair with the nineties music scene. At times the level of distortions found on this album reminds me of Sunny Day Real Estate (see: “Rubber”) and yet the band can effortlessly switch gears back to hazy pop ballads (see: “Suck”). Yuck don’t subscribe to one version of rock, but rather creatively explore the boundaries of several genres, deeming labels pointless. The result is a very diverse and completely enjoyable album, which is available for streaming below and can be purchased at the usual places.

Bodega Girls are a Boston-based electro-soul quintet who are a funky mix of afro-beat and indie pop rock. Check out their soulful, lo-fi cover of Dom‘s track “Living In America” with a couple of catchy original tracks below, and head to their myspace page to check out some solid remixes.

MP3: Bodega Girls: Living In America (Dom Cover)

MP3: Bodega Girls: Primetime Sexcrime

MP3: Bodega Girls: She’s Into Black Guys

Parasitically running through my mind on one giant loop, Yeasayer’s “I Remember” was a step back in time to the days of 80′s hair rock anthems. Just as romantic as catchy, the song was one of the more charming displays in 2010. ”You’re stuck in my mind / all the time.” Does not get much more heart warming than that and it appears Yeasayer wanted to give a lift to all their hopeless romantics fans with a Valentine’s Day Gift. The band released a mini treat sized I Remember EP, with the original version and two free remixes. Download the album at the band’s website and check below for my favorite of the two remixes.

MP3: Yeasayer: I Remember (Painted Palms Remix)

MP3: Yeasayer: I Remember

Finally a new tune from TV On The Radio. “Will Do” is the first taste of the Brooklyn band’s highly anticipated next album Nine Types of Light. With a mellow beat courtesy of David Sitek and some soulful crooning from lead singers Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe, it doesn’t sound like TVOTR is messing with their formula too much…not necessarily a bad thing. Stream the song below and look for the new album April 12th on Interscope Records (via Seattle’s 107.7 The End).

Here’s the first single off The Cool Kids’ long-awaited album, When Fish Ride Bicycles, which will be released on Mountain Dew’s Green Label Sound.  This innovative record label model:

is preparing to launch an iTunes storefront that will allow listeners to purchase music from certain Green Label Sound artists — and Mountain Dew is waiving the usual label share of the revenue, leaving all income, minus iTunes processing fees, to the artists.

(via Billboard).  Inglish and Rocks FTW.

MP3: The Cool Kids: Bundle Up