For those unaware, Little Brother began with 9th Wonder on the beats with Big Pooh and Phonte on the rhymes. Little Brother is a part of a bigger collective called the Justus League which includes 8 emcees, 5 producers, 1 DJ, and 1 consultant. They’re based in North Carolina and have been putting out dope music since the early 2000’s. To get you started on this playlist, we have to start with Little Brother’s album, The Listening which dropped in 2003. 9th was making his beats on a computer program called Fruity Loops and the hip hop purists back then shunned him for not using the normal equipment that producers use.
Read moreTHE STATIK SELEKTAH PLAYLIST
Statik Selektah is one of the best producers in the game and his beats have been playing in my headphones for the last 10 years. Statik signed a management deal with Roc Nation a few years ago so I’m happy getting what he deserves in the music industry. Statik just dropped an album with indie rap star KOTA the Friend called To Kill a Sunrise and the album is dope.
Read moreLIL WAYNE - I MISS MY DAWGS
Through this year of lockdown I’ve learned to better appreciate my family and friends because they are with me through the thick and the thin. I’ve seen family and friendship bonds grow stronger during this quarantine and I’m confident we’re going to come out of this as better people. During the past year, I’ve been putting together a playlist that pulls together all of my favorite rap songs that have a family and/or friendship theme.
Read moreEARLY MORNING COFFEE BEATS AND INSTRUMENTALS
Recently I’ve been waking up between 3am and 4am every morning while the rest of my family is asleep. This gives me time to catch up on my 9-5 when my coworkers are sleeping as well. I find that I’m most productive during these hours while the world isn’t awake yet. Because once the daily grind starts with that 9-5 it’s straight to Zoom calls back-to-back-to-back. It can suck the energy out of you. That’s why when I do have time to actually get work done, I need some beats to help me focus and be productive. This playlist is for others like me who need some background music while making your way through the day. Before I get to the playlist, I’d like to give a few producers some shine.
Read moreTHUNDERCAT - IT IS WHAT IT IS
Props go out to Thundercat on bringing home the Grammy last night for “Best Progressive R&B Album.” Thundercat has had a long career in the music business from his time with Suicidal Tendencies, his many collaborations with the game’s greats (Herbie Hancock, Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell, etc.), and his steady work on the Bass right alongside his partner in music, Flying Lotus.
Read moreBENNY THE BUTCHER AND HARRY FRAUD - THE PLUGS I MET 2 EP
Just read the news that Benny the Butcher and Harry Fraud have an EP coming out on March 19th. It will be the sequel of The Plugs I Met so you know it’s about to be major. Harry Fraud has been on a great run lately with Curren$y and Larry June and Benny’s album with Hit Boy, Burden of Proof , was fire and “3:30 in Houston” is an absolute banger. Dude was rapping from a wheelchair after he and his crew got shot up in a robbery attempt in a Walmart parking lot.
Read moreFRIDAY AFTERNOON HIP HOP VIBES
Recently the hip hop world has had MF Doom and Double K from the People Under the Stairs taken from us. To OG hip hop heads this is a very big deal. Both emcees were staples in Underground Hip Hop’s emergence from the late 90’s into the 2000’s. I know I speak for a lot of us when I say we’re numb from these 2 losses. But if it has done anything for me it has cemented the fact that I love hip hop now just as much as I did back then.
Read moreBIG SEAN - FINALLY FAMOUS
Big Sean dropped his new album Detroit 2 this week and I’m really digging it. To celebrate the release of his new album, I went back through his entire discography so I could build a Spotify playlist of his best tracks. I also wrote a blog that details Sean’s come up in the rap game out of Detroit with his Finally Famous mixtape series. Detroit has long been a hotbed for hip hop talent and Sean forever pays homage to the city he grew up in. He’s had legendary verses on some of rap’s biggest hits over the last 15 years and he stays in rotation with each strong release.
Read moreLIL WAYNE - NO CEILINGS
When I heard that Lil Wayne’s classic mixtape No Ceilings had dropped on Spotify it was time to celebrate. While Mixtape Weezy has MANY great mixtapes with bangers all over the place, No Ceilings holds a special place in my heart. When I think of Lil Wayne, I think of different homies of mine and the songs and albums we’ve spent so much time dissecting. This is an article highlighting Weezy but it’s also a flashback or different moments of time when Lil Wayne’s music served as my soundtrack.
Read moreTHE DMX VS. SNOOP PLAYLIST
With the DMX Vs. Snoop battle going down tonight on Apple Music and Instagram, it was only right that I went back in time to the 90’s and 00’s. Both DMX and Snoop played critical roles in my upbringing through their music and I have vivid memories for when they both first came on the scene. Rap was everything to my crew and it didn’t matter where you were from as long as you made dope music. And that’s exactly what DMX and Snoop did. They made timeless classics. Here is my story…
Read moreLOWRIDER MAGAZINE CALI SUMMER VIBES
Summer is here…. Grab your keys to that lowrider and let’s cruise through town together with the new playlist. Nothing but sunny Cali vibes here. Summer BBQ good weather type waves.
Read moreCLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYLIST
My buddy Tony recently asked me if I had a Spotify playlist full of Classical Music. I didn’t and I felt like I was letting him down being his main music plug. So this morning I put my Classical Music playlist together. All mellow calming piano type of vibes. But before we get to the playlist I need to chat with you about something…
Read moreTOO $HORT - GREATEST HITS
San Diego snapback looking dope on Short Dog
These are my favorite songs from the Bay Area legend, Too Short. Too $hort was at the forefront of the 80’s rap and hip hop movement and deserves his respect.
Read moreFREDDIE GIBBS & THE ALCHEMIST
Any day you get a surprise album with Alchemist beats and Freddie Gibbs rhymes is a good day. Sprinkle in some Griselda features from Benny the Butcher and Conway the Machine and I’m a happy man. But oh wait… We got Rick Ross and Tyler, The Creator on here too? Okay…. I see what’s going on here. Trying to take the game over with this and I’m here for all of it. I love Gangsta Gibbs’ work with Madlib on that jazzy hip hop tip but sometimes I need my music to be a bit more gully and ALC will bring you that fire on the production.
Read moreGRISELDA RECORDS - THE WRESTLING MIXTAPE
This is for fans of NY grimy razor-under-the-tongue rap and also for fans of wrestling whether it be WWF, WWE, WCW, ECW, or AEW. Griselda Records whole crew includes Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher, El Camino, and of course, their in-house producer Daringer. They work closely with Alchemist out on the West Coast and kick a lot of wrestling bars over some gritty 90’s type beats.
Read moreCLASSIC FUNK SOUL JAZZ PLAYLIST
Do you ever have racing thoughts taking over your mind? I sure do! If you’ve read any of my stories you probably know by now that I love beats and instrumentals to calm my mind.
Read moreERYKAH BADU - GREATEST HITS
The Erykah Badu and Jill Scott IG live battle has me going back through both of their catalogs. I made a Badu playlist years ago so I thought this was a good time to revisit that one. If you want more background on Erykah please head over to the SONGS tab on my site to read a bit more. This post here is simply providing you easy access to my Erykah Badu Spotify playlist.
Read moreMOTHER'S DAY - A RAP & HIP HOP PLAYLIST FOR MOM
To celebrate Mother’s Day this year, I wanted put a full Spotify playlist together of all of my favorite rap and hip songs about mom. This playlist will forever live in my music library and I can pull it out each May for Mother’s Day. I think I captured all of the top mom hits but if I missed some please drop them in the comments!
Read moreBEATS TO CREATE TO
Do you write raps? Are you an emcee? Do you freestyle? Are you just a fan of beats and instrumentals for working, relaxing, gaming, and studying? Well this is for all of you. Covers all types of beats... Now go get your study on…. Go get your work on…. Play some video games…. Draw a little bit….
Relax! I got your eardrums covered with beats and instrumentals for the next hour or so….
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