Check Out "The Official SXSW Mixtape" Courtesy Of Unique Squared & Quality Control

During this years South By Southwest music festival the Unique Squared and Quality Control Marketing studio on wheels quite literally rolled into town to create quite the unique mixtape. With their tour bus turned recording studio they gathered Hip Hop's finest to create The Official SXSW Mixtape. Although they've leaked tracks from the project over the past few weeks the full mixape was finally released today. It features appearances from Che Grand, Jon Hope, Von Pea, J-Live, and lots more.

And on a South By Southwest tip maybe this mixtape will help you reminisce on all the fun you had in Austin back in March. But if you're like me and didn't check out SXSW this year hopefully it'll encourage you to get on your shizzznit for next years festival.

Click here to download The Official SXSW Mixtape via DJBooth.net.

The Bearded Rapper Strikes Again - Sean Falyon's "SFBE 2"

After a bit of a delay Atlanta by way of Philly rapper Sean Falyon released his highly-anticipated mixtape Sean Falyon Be Everywhere 2: West Philly 2 The World. Now in music journalism the word "highly-anticipated" is used A LOT and quite frankly most of the time it isn't even true. But I can honestly say that there's a quite sizable amount of people (myself included) who were looking forward to the release of Falyon's latest project.

Listening to SFBE 2 it was definitely worth the wait. It's Philly. It's ATL. It's rappity rap at it's finest. It's bob-your-head-worthy. IT'S EVERYWHERE! Ha!

I was kinda hoping for a "Wonderful Life Pt. 2" though, but unfortunately not everything gets a sequel.

Click here to download SFBE 2.

Aleon Craft Listening Session...Tonight

Looking for something to do tonight? Like good music? Like free food and drinks? Do you enjoy being in a tattoo shop without coping with the pain of actually getting a tattoo?

Well...BAM! Aleon Craft listening session. Tonight. City Of Ink. Details below...Shout out to Tom for the heads up!

J Dilla News + L-Marr The Star Dilla Dedication

Hip Hop heads received what may arguably be the best news of the year when it was revealed by Ma Dukes herself that an album featuring new material from J Dilla would be released later this year. Titled The Rebirth Of Detroit the album won't be released until the fall of this year so you've still got a bit of a wait, but it's sure to be quite the epic project. Click here for more info on The Rebirth Of Detroit (via HipHopDX).

Also, check out this J Dilla dedication by Atlanta by way of Ohio rapper L-Marr The Star and LIFTO. In the video L-Marr speaks on both J Dilla and gentrification and drops a few bars towards the end.

"Base For Your Face" Second by Second Play By Play

Note To Readers: I'm actually typing all of this as I'm listening to this song for the first time. Amazing, right? *clicks play*

0:03 - Definitely, definitely can't be mad at a Public Enemy sample.

0:15 - Off the bat I really feel like I'm gonna like this song even though I really want to hate it. Not necessarily hate it, but with Lil B's lyrical mediocrity I find it hard to like anything this dude's apart of. But anywho...

0:32 - Jean Grae: "Thank you based God." Wow, lol.

1:18 - Lil B's verse wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. I know that's super vague but hey that's life. It was cool. It made sense. I just feel like with the stuff he's released so far it kinda takes you by surprise when you hear Lil B rapping about some legit stuff. So I guess I'm still digesting it all. Hopefully there's a second verse to weigh in on.

1:42 - I always get crazy excited when I hear a female rapper actually RAPPING. I know Jean Grae isn't the only genuine female rapper out but it's like digging for gold when it comes to real female rappers.

2:30 - Verse #Winning.

3:03 - Sometimes when I hear Lil B rapping I actually see Mike Tyson rapping. Not really sure where that comes from.

3:13 - Still wasn't terribly impressed by Lil B but it is pretty much better than everything else I've heard from him.

3:26 - "We gonna make 'em mad on this one nigga." In Charlie Sheen voice: Duhhhhh.

3:43 - Okay, we all know Phonte can rap so I'm gonna go ahead and wrap this play by play up so I can enjoy the rest of the song and this amazing 9th Wonder beat without typing furiously.

Click here to listen to "Base For Your Face."

Senor Kaos + Homeboy Sandman Perform "The Maschines"

Soo umm I wasn't quite able to catch the Homeboy Sandman show at Apache Cafe over the weekend (I know, major SMH), but thankfully some video from the show has surfaced. The following video was posted on TheKaosEffect.com and features Senor Kaos and Homeboy Sandman performing "The Maschines," a song they recorded during A3C last year.

Homeboy Sandman's Coming To Town

If you have yet to see rapper Homeboy Sandman perform live you're really missing out. But lucky for you the New York City rapper will be gracing the stage at Atlanta's Apache Cafe on Saturday, January 15. I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions, but one thing I want to do more of this year is to check out more Hip Hop shows. I know that seems a little odd, but I really do miss going to shows :-( Sooo if I miss out on this Homeboy Sandman show then ya'll know I'm really slacking lol.

'Michael' Listening Session (NYC)

Not sure how I feel about this new Michael Jackson album, but if you're curious about how the album may sound and you live in New York City there's an album listening taking place at Roseland Ballroom on Monday, December 13. DJ Cassidy will give attendee's a full listen to the album which is titled Michael. The event is free, but be sure to RSVP ASAP because tickets are on a first come, first served basis. Click here to RSVP.

Michael will be released globally on Tuesday, December 14.

Red Bull Soundclash This Sunday (ATL)

I'm about 110 percent sure that everyone in Atlanta knows about the Red Bull Soundclash event taking place this Sunday, November 14 but I just had to post the details on here in case some poor soul is out of the loop. From the description it sounds like Soundclash, which will feature both The Roots and Shiny Toy Guns, is more of a live mashing up of genre's rather than a battle of the bands. Details below...

The Tabernacle
November, 14 At 7 P.M.
Tickets Are $8.50 At LiveNation.com

Norah Jones To Release Album Featuring Outkast, Q-Tip And More

Wow, it looks like songstress Norah Jones' upcoming album entitled Featured will definitely be one for the Hip Hop lover's out there. The album, which features various collaborations between Jones and other musicians from the last decade, will be released on November 16. Collaborations between Jones and Outkast, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Willie Nelson, and the late Ray Charles will all be featured on Featured. (How about that for a play on words?)

"A lot of the people on this record are people I've worshiped since I was a kid, and some of them are younger and more my contemporaries," said Jones in a statement. "Even though the musicians are so varied, the vibe of the songs makes sense when we put them all together."

The tracklisting for Featured is as follows:

1. The Little Willies - "Love Me"
2. The Foo Fighters feat. Norah Jones - "Virginia Moon"
3. Sean Bones feat. Norah Jones - "Turn Them"
4. Willie Nelson feat. Norah Jones - "Baby It's Cold Outside"
5. Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson - "Bull Rider"
6. Dirty Dozen Brass Band feat. Norah Jones - "Ruler of My Heart"
7. El Madmo - "The Best Part"
8. Outkast feat. Norah Jones - "Take Off Your Cool"
9. Q-Tip feat. Norah Jones - "Life Is Better"
10. Talib Kweli feat. Norah Jones - "Soon the New Day"
11. Belle & Sebastian feat. Norah Jones - "Little Lou, Prophet Jack, Ugly John"
12. Ray Charles feat. Norah Jones - "Here We Go Again"
13. Norah Jones feat. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
14. Ryan Adams feat. Norah Jones - "Dear John"
15. Norah Jones feat. Dolly Parton - "Creepin' In"
16. Herbie Hancock feat. Norah Jones - "Court & Spark"
17. Charlie Hunter feat. Norah Jones - "More Than This"
18. Norah Jones feat. M. Ward - "Blue Bayou"

Picture Diaries: A3C Hip Hop Festival

As expected the A3C Hip Hop Festival was pretty darn amazing. I saw some favorites perform, gained some new favorites, and met sooooo many cool people. I didn't really take too many pictures since I only had my lil' rinky dink digital camera, but here's the best of what I did capture. Enjoy!

Oddly enough, this was the only picture I have from my first day at A3C. We hit up Vortex in Midtown for some grub following Friday's festivities.

I absolutely love the lighting in this picture. Some b-boys and b-girls were doing their thing Saturday afternoon in front of the big Red Bull stage.

Senor Kaos!

Hollyweerd on the 2DopeBoyz stage.

Next stop...SXSW suckaaaas!

#LushLife

Homeboy Sandman & Pack FM!

Cunninlynguists!

Stalley!

H-Town's own Killa Kyleon.

Mistah Fab!

The Atlanta Brave himself, Donnis.

Double-O!

Kidz N The Hall!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Killer Mike + Immortal Technique = Pure INSANITY! (I'll be uploading video from their performance some time tonight)

Emilio Rojas!
The End.

Luxe Life: iWave Crystalized Headphones

Are your in-ear headphones not cutting it? Are high-end headphones like Beats by Dre just not chic enough? Then look no further than iWave's new crystalized headphones. The headphones come in a variety of vibrant colors like red, pink, and gold and also feature Swarovski crystals on the exterior. Interested? Well, you may want to start saving your pennies now because the iWave crystalized headphones retail for a jaw-dropping $2,000.

If $2,000 isn't really in your budget then iWave offers a number of other headphones with a more reasonable price tag. To check them out visit iWaveAudio.com.

Late Pass: "Shawt Bus Shawty"

On Tuesday of this week I spent the day with a certain rapper for a "Day In The Life" piece that I'm working on. Prior to meeting up with this rapper, myself and some other folks were waiting around for him at a record store. While we were waiting somehow the "Shawt Bus Shawty" video on YouTube was brought up. I mentioned that I had never seen the video before and someone let me watch it on their phone.

It is HIGH-LARIOUS! It's basically a cartoon music video that features Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, Soulja Boy, and Waka Flocka. The end of the video when Waka Flocka is rapping is easily the funniest part. He raps the ABC's and some other random nonsense while jumping and flying around a movie theater. If you haven't seen it yet I HIGHLY suggest you check it out. It will definitely serve as your good laugh for the day. Oh, and it also features special appearances from Nicki Minaj and Hip Hop groupie Sat Ktacks. (No I'm not effing up with my spelling, I always purposely misspell her name.)

A3C Starts Today!

Woooooo! A3C officially kicks off today and I'm definitely looking forward to it. If you've never been to A3C before then you may want to check out my coverage from last year's festival, clickety click here and clickety click here. I'll definitely try and get some fun coverage for the blog this year as well.

Oh and if you are attending A3C be EXTRA EXTRA sure that you check me out on the "I Rock A Mic But Don't Rap" panel on Hip Hop journalism :-)



P.S. The picture above is a pic I took from the Kidz N The Hall performance at A3C last year.

The Tree Of Life Event (Atlanta)

ATLiens, still in need of something to do tonight? If so, I would definitely suggest you check out The Tree of Life event taking place later today at the Spring 4th Center at 9 p.m. The event will feature performances from Stanza, The DollDaze, and more. And for all you moocher's out there free food and wine will be on deck.

The Atlanta Stargazing Tour Finale

This week the Atlanta Stargazing Tour will conclude with a show featuring Killer Mike, Aleon Craft, Young Lyxx, and more. It's all going down at the Clermont Lounge in Midtown on Thursday, September 9 a 9 p.m. It will definitely be a crazy show with what will probably be a huge crowd so be sure to get there early! Peep the flyer below for more info.

Free Tickets To Heineken Inspire Featuring Big Boi (ATL)

If you missed out on the amazing Microsoft Kin/Big Boi show that was held here in Atlanta a few months ago it's now time to redeem yourself. On Saturday, September 4 Heineken Inspire will be holding a free show featuring Big Boi, Jermaine Dupri, and more at Opera in Atlanta. I'm sure this show is going to be just as crazy as the Kin show so if you're in Atlanta it's definitely wise to be there.

On top of the concert there will also be food, drinks, games, and other entertainment.

To RSVP to the show sign up for a pair of tickets on ShowClix.com. Use the code INSPIREATL. Be sure to print out your ticket and bring it with you the day of the event. Oh, and you have to be 21 and up. Sorry kiddies.

Shout out to @Likeshawndavid for the heads up on this one!

Fat Beats Schedule Of Events For Final Week

Music lovers were hit with a major blow earlier this month when it was announced that the iconic Fat Beats record store in both New York City and Los Angeles would be closing their doors. Both locations plan on going out with a bang with events planned for their entire final week. The schedule of events for the NYC location is as follows:

Monday, August 30th: Artifacts, Da Beatminerz, Immortal Technique, and more
Tuesday, August 31st: Ras Kass, Sav KIllz, DJ Ready Cee, panel discussion, and more
Wednesday, September 1st: Bobbito, Mayhem, Riz, Juggaknots, Sputnik Brown, and more
Thursday, September 2nd: Rob Swift, Torae, DJ Concept, DJ Amir, and more
Friday, September 3rd: Masta Ace, J-Live, Pacewon, Tanya Morgan, and more
*FINAL DAY* Saturday, September 4th: Just Blaze, A-Trak, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, and more

All events will take place from 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. The schedule of events for the L.A. location has yet to be announced since they won't be closing until September 18.

Playboy Tre - The Last Call (Download)

Decatur's own Playboy Tre gave fans something to look forward to this (Music) Monday thanks to the release of his latest project The Last Call. The mixtape features a little under 20 tracks and appearances from the likes of Joell Ortiz, Lil Jon, Sean Falyon, and more. I've only listened to about three tracks from the mixtape so far but Playboy Tre has always impressed thus far so I'm sure it's a worthy download.

Click here to download The Last Call. Tracklisting for the mixtape is posted below.

Twitter Take: Kanye West's "Monster"

Last night, as midnight grew closer a lot of us became a little skeptical of rapper Kanye West's promise to deliver a new track per week as part of "Good Fridays." But shortly before midnight Kanye finally delivered with the track "Monster". The song features Kanye, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, and some dude named Bon Iver.

Following the release of "Monster" it seemed like everybody and their mama hit up Twitter to give praise to Nicki Minaj for her verse on the song with some people even labeling her the greatest female rapper out right now (umm that's BS). I've listened to the song twice and yea it's kinda hot, nothing mind blowing though. And I'm sorry folks but Nicki Minaj just doesn't do it for me. Just my personal preference, no hate. The random voices and accents...weird and unnecessary. I think if other lesser known female rappers got as much hype as Nicki Minaj does then we would really see how mediocre she is, but unfortunately real female rappers don't get any play these days. With that being said let's take it to the Tweets!!