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by: EyeDee for: H3Soul.com  Background/History Where did you grow up, & during what era? Jersey (many different cities) in the 1990’s What was the rap game like during this time? Nobody was really getting signed up on my way in the rap game was pretty much nonexistent all I had was my love for the music and a drive to make it happen. Influences & Inspiration Who are your top three influences? I would have to say Mobb Deep, BIGGIE, & Nas for sure. Did u have a mentor? My man “Complex” he was like the ill will of scraping the plate, know what I’m saying.. unfortunately he passed away in a car accident.. Yeah “Complex” learned a lot from him. Style & Process How would you describe your style? RAW & UNCUT {to summarize I’d say he’s bringing true experiences to the music-all about that real life} What’s your process when starting a new piece of work? Dig for a sample matching my feeling to that track, while also taking into account anyone who I might be working with at that time; but yeah kinda starts w/the sample -you know what I mean. Opinions & Advice What is your take on the music of today? There’s a lot of crazy shit, there’s a lot of good shit, but one thing I find bugged out is there’s really no regular hip-hop that’s getting good burn; you gotta come w/some trap music (or whatever’s trendy that week). It’s just a shame there’s a lot of talented Emcee’s besides myself that are dope af -yet don’t get the recognition they deserve. Don’t get me wrong, it’s poppin’ that they’re poppin’ (in regards to the popular music of today) I ain’t never going to hate on a man that’s doing they thing -that’s just facts. Do u have advice for any entrepreneuring young artists out there? Don’t ever be afraid to invest into yourself. If you believe in yourself enough to think that you belong in the upper echelon, the big leagues w/the big dogs then you’re gonna have to get the big equipment to make that happen; now I ain’t telling you to go broke trying to keep up w/the Jones’ -you gotta know your lane in this game... Just don’t second guess when it’s time to invest In Yourself Action ParkKillerseason w/Prodigy & Terminology
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NC lyricist/DJ/producer K-Hill [Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane, 9th Wonder], releases "Rudiments" a song that does exactly what it says in the title, a concise, articulate rap in it's simplest form. If you need a quick lesson on how to construct the perfect two verses, and a hook then take your seats for Rudiments, produced by NC producer BSquared off their upcoming "Untitled" collaborative extended play. #khill #bsquared #rudiments BANDCAMP | SPOTIFY | iTUNES | TIDAL  Milkcrate (Dj Flatline & KendeR) from Toronto, Canada remix of K-Prez & Castle Money Beats Summer '16. "The inspiration comes from that unforgettable Summer...from the weather to all the memories." The track is real smooth and perfect for the summer time .. just hope we can get out there to enjoy it! This remix is also on the "Loosies 3" project which is available for free download and contains 15 tracks remixed and produced by Milkcrate featuring The Good People, Jeru The Damage, Smiff-N-Wessun and more.  New music single off Napoleon's new EP dropping June 19th, 2020 "Charles de Gaulle" (bilingual EP, each song has a french and english version). Pernell Whitaker - Napoleon Da Legend ft. Giallo Point Produced by Napoleon Da Legend (Champs Elysees = French lyrics) 
 For years I told the story of how I left Cincinnati, Ohio back in 2008, jumping the cliff to pursue a full-time career in music. I even made a song and video about it. It's a great story, I used it as inspiration both for myself and for other artists looking to make a leap toward their dreams. But as time has passed, I've learned how to better articulate some of the key details that eluded me in my early days of sharing. These details are crucial, because they distill this romantic idea of 'following your dreams' down to a very practical series of tangible steps. That said, below is the revised edition of this story. My hope is that in reading this, you can see how tiny steps create the appearance of a giant leap. So, Cincinnati, 2008: I'd just released a successful album and toured internationally. However I returned from that unprecedented high to a lonely apartment, a depressing Cincinnati winter, a huge stack of bills and no clue how to move forward with my career. I'd like to say I knew what to do, but I did not have the foresight or courage to immediately change my conditions. Instead, I spiraled and boy did it suck. I felt a huge pressure to live up to the success of my recent project. I was depressed and sunk into the comfortability of my routine, even to the detriment of my creativity and well-being. I was honestly scared as hell and clueless as to making a leap in any significant direction. But then my best friend at the time moved out of Cincinnati and I realized life was changing whether I was ready or not. Thus, his leap of faith allowed my connection to the city to instantly lessen. As the promise of comfortabilty melted, I felt more courage following in his footsteps and pursuing my potential elsewhere. Before I'd made a major move, seeds were planted and beginning to grow. That following February of '08 I saw a primary-era Senator Barack Obama give a speech at the University of Cincinnati telling us all how we needed to change our selves and patterns if we wished to affect a real change in our life. Right place right time. I felt like he was talking to me. I left that rally inspired and decided, with little else planned, I would set a move-out date of November 4, 2008 (election day). I was still petrified of abandoning everything that felt so comfortable to me; from my daily bus rides to work to my stagnation in the local music scene. I wasn't happy with any of it, but I still had the comfort of routine, and change was scary. Setting a move-out date 9 months down the road was easy. I could always delay it or talk myself out of it. But the date had meaning and I tied it to the inspiration I felt during the Obama speech. So to my credit, I did something smart, something I don't even think I knew I was doing at the time. I broke my leap up into tiny, tangible steps.  STEP ONE:In April 2008, I walked into my newspaper telemarketer job and gave them 6 months notice. I did it for me more so than them. By telling them when and why I was leaving, I allowed someone else to hold me accountable for me dreams. If election day came and went and I was still in my little newspaper cubicle, I'd have to answer to them. STEP TWOA crucial step before moving to my eventual home of Columbus, Ohio was taking an extended and long-overdue trip to New York to handle some necessary business that would be crucial for my music career moving forward. So for my next move, I purchased a plane ticket for November 5th and set up living arrangements. Now I'd officially invested money (which was in short supply). The stakes were raised. STEP THREEThe following month I told my landlord I would not be renewing my lease by the end of that September. The pressure was beginning to mount. By taking these 3 moderate steps, I was slowly making it harder for myself to STAY rather than leave. It's as if I started running down a hill step by step until the momentum collected with such a force that I HAD to jump the cliff. To try to turn-around would cause more harm than jumping.  I moved out of my apartment at the end of September and stayed with my friend Joe for a month. On November 4th, I woke up, voted and went to my last shift as a telemarketer. I celebrated my last day with co-workers and then hopped a 4am flight to New York. During my layover in Chicago I picked up a Chicago Tribune with Obama's historic win across the front. I felt validated in my choices and used the momentum to push forward. I still have that newspaper. Apparently I'm still on my journey. I've taken a ton of leaps since 2008, from moving to San Diego to marriage to family to returning back to college, and I'm all the better for each of them (I look forward to sharing them). And as was the case with my first leap, I wasn't responsible for the ideas or even majority of courage in taking these leaps (my wife is responsible for most of those), but I can still pride myself on knowing that I took them. I've flown and I've fallen. I've crashed and I've landed. I've gotten up every time. You're no different. A motivational newsletter, book or podcast can help you mitigate risk, it can inspire you, it can prepare you, but it can't take the leap for you. I encourage you to (responsibly) take the leap.  In other news, I will be taking a brief break from my "Ill Communication" live streams but in the mean-time, you can catch the first few episodes HERE. Given my topic above, you might also enjoy this column I wrote on setting attainable goals that get you to bigger goals. Your quarantine song of the day is "Gone" from my 2012 EP "Synesthesia: The Yellow Movement". It's available for stream & download on all accommodating platforms.
The video is where it's really at though. This video was my love letter to Cincinnati, how I chose to tell my story and the story of my city. Sticky Fingaz ft. Sam Jackson, Talib Kweli, KRS One, Brother J & Mad Lion - I Can't Breathe6/7/2020 Enough is enough. Onyx front man Sticky Fingaz recruits Mad Lion, Krs one, Talib Kweli and Brother J for “I Can’t Breath” Video by Myster DL. Rip George Lloyd and Eric Garner. #IcantBreath @ImStickyFingaz @MysterDL “Janet Freestyle (Remix)” is featured on Problem’s forthcoming album Coffee & Kush Vol 1 available via Diamond Lane Music Group/Rostrum Records on May 29. Lead single “Don’t Be Mad At Me,” which started as a genuine heartfelt apology to his girl has already gained over 1 million streams on Spotify. HotNewHipHop said Problem “delivers some bonafide California pimp talk...over a bouncy West Coast beat" on the track. He followed with “G Shit,” sharing a personal story in the music video about overcoming a traumatic childhood experience. Los Angeles Leakers said the song’s “instrumental is all west coast soul, like ‘XXplosive’ at its bare bones.” "In 2017 Virgina based rapper Empuls and beatsmith Roccwell already teamed up for the single "Apostle of Dope" which was well received by the Underground Hip Hop community. When Roccwell put together the line-up for his album "Still Lovin`Boombap" it was a no-brainer to contact Empuls for a new collaboration. Their new video single "Universal Slanguage" is hitting hard with blaring drums, dark samples and cuts by DJ Case" Roccwell's 15 track album Still Lovin' Boombap is out now on all digital platforms through Vinyl + Digital and features Empuls, Maylay Sparks, Wildelux, Ruste Juxx, Born Unique, M-Dot, QNC (Q-Ball and Curt Cazal of the legendary JVC Force), Craig G, Bankai Fam and many more. Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2SDpdCr Apple Music: https://apple.co/2Qm74bj iTunes: https://apple.co/33mNgK2 Amazon: https://amzn.to/2w5GRa Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/2UeE1HD  2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated rapper Joyner Lucas has announced today’s release of his hugely anticipated “Will Remix (Feat. Will Smith),” available now at all digital service providers. With brand new verses written with hip-hop and film superstar Smith, this explosive collaborative remix of the original hit version came about as a result of Jaden Smith showing his dad Lucas’ innovative video that pays homage to the actor through a reenactment of his biggest projects, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Bad Boys, and Men in Black. In return, Smith hailed Lucas’ sharp lyricism and brilliance via Instagram, adding he was both “humbled” and “honored” by the one-of-a-kind tribute. In addition, Lucas recently joined Will and Jaden for a very special episode of Smith’s new Snapchat series, Will At Home, featuring an in-depth conversation about the creation and inspiration behind the “Will” video, which rose to the #1 Trending spot on YouTube upon its initial arrival and now boasts more than 21 million individual views via YouTube alone. EL-P REISSUES HUGELY INFLUENTIAL 2002 SOLO DEBUT FANTASTIC DAMAGE ON ITS 18 YEAR ANNIVERSARY5/19/2020 
EL-P REISSUES HUGELY INFLUENTIAL 2002 SOLO DEBUT FANTASTIC DAMAGE ON ITS 18 YEAR ANNIVERSARY AS PART OF EXTENSIVE REISSUE CAMPAIGN OF SOLO CATALOG VIA FAT POSSUM RECORDS, NOW ON STREAMING PLATFORMS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER INFLUENTIAL RAPPER AND PRODUCER OF RUN THE JEWELS MAKING HIS GROUNDBREAKING SOLO WORKS AVAILABLE AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS FANTASTIC DAMAGE TO SOON BE FOLLOWED BY THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED RUN THE JEWELS 4 AND EL-P'S ORIGINAL SCORE FOR THE MOTION PICTURE CAPONE Iconic rapper and producer El-P, perhaps best known as one half of powerhouse rap duo Run the Jewels, recently announced an extensive reissue campaign of his full solo catalog via Fat Possum Records. Unavailable for nearly a decade, January 2020 marked the digital release of I'll Sleep When You're Dead, on streaming services for the very first time since its initial release in 2007. Today, his critically acclaimed and massively influential 2002 debut solo album, Fantastic Damage, makes its own official streaming debut in conjunction with its 18th anniversary, to be followed by physical editions of both albums later this year. Fantastic Damage marked the beginning of El-P's career as a solo artist, following a groundbreaking career as frontman and producer of legendary NYC underground hip hop crew, Company Flow. Fan Dam was a foundational release for his fledgling record label Definitive Jux, which would soon establish itself as an iconic juggernaut of independent rap in the wake of trailblazing solo records by El-P and label mates Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, RJD2, Murs, and more. The template El-P established on Fantastic Damage - a singular aesthetic pairing futuristic, post B-Boy production style with insightful, provocative & often prescient subject matter - was met with accolades across the media landscape, including Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, NME, VIBE, and SPIN among many others. The impact and influence of Fantastic Damage established it as one of the most important independent releases of its era, and charted a course to be followed by generations of artists in its wake. The album has been widely unavailable since El-P put Def Jux on hiatus in 2010, making it ripe for rediscovery in the new music ecosystem due to El-P's monumental success with Run The Jewels. "This album is raw and noisy and fucked up and exactly how I felt when I made it," states El-P. "It's the first time I ever tried to tackle a whole record on my own all those years ago. It was produced and recorded and mixed in my bedroom/studio in the apartment in Brooklyn I lived in at the time, right around the year 2000. It's not where I am now but it is a moment that really meant something to me and it's a huge part of my DNA as an artist so I'm glad to finally be able to get it back out there. Not only for those who knew it and missed its presence but for anyone who may have not known about it before now. I hope you enjoy this and thanks for all the amazing support over the years. I love doing what I do and I live to keep pushing forward. Fantastic Damage is, in a lot of ways, the start of all of it." The album precedes a bevy of new work by El-P, including the impending release of his original score for the feature film Capone (starring Tom Hardy), and the feverishly anticipated new Run The Jewels album RTJ4, out June 5th, 2020, also produced by El-P. 
El-P photo by Daniel Medhurst Fantastic Damage track list 1. Fantastic Damage 2. Squeegee Man Shooting 3. Deep Space 9mm 4. Tuned Mass Damper 5. Dead Disnee 6. Delorean 7. Truancy 8. The Nang, the Front, the Bush and the Shit 9. Accidents Don't Happen 10. Stepfather Factory 11. T.O.J. 12. Dr. Hellno and Praying Mantus 13. Lazerfaces' Warning 14. Innocent Leader 15. Constellation Funk 16. Blood For more El-P: Instagram |Twitter | Website 
Run The Jewels, the lauded duo of El-P and Killer Mike, have shared the long-awaited details of their feverishly anticipated new album, Run The Jewels 4. Set for a June 5 release via Jewel Runners / BMG, this eleven song, 40 minute powerhouse is their most ferocious and focused effort to date, and sports a lineup of all-star guests including Pharrell Williams, Mavis Staples, 2 Chainz, Zack de la Rocha, Josh Homme, DJ Premier, and Greg Nice. Recorded primarily at Rick Rubin's Shangri-La Studios and the iconic Electric LadyStudios in NYC, RTJ4 represents two years of intensive writing, recording, distilling, and amplifying the most potent elements of their music. The result is a collection of wall-to-wall bangers illuminating the group's unique ability to straddle the worlds of pointed social commentary and raw, boisterous fun. The new album is preceded by two singles, both of which arrived to rapturous reception. The first, "yankee and the brave (ep.4)," dropped during an impromptu Instagram Live session the duo held as shelter in place orders were starting to take hold. Days later, the second single "ooh la la (feat. DJ Premier & Greg Nice)" made a surprise debut in the season finale of the hit Netflix series Ozark, and became the #5 most Shazam'd song in the country. This was soon followed by the song's glorious new music video, directed by Brian & Vanessa Beletic, which quickly shot to the #7 trending position on YouTube, surpassing 1.5 million views in its first week, and brilliantly setting the stage for the arrival of RTJ4. The time between albums has been a very busy one for the duo, including scoring their first gold-certified record for "Legend Has It" from RTJ3; receiving their first Grammy nomination for the song "Chase Me," a collaboration with Danger Mouse for the hit film Baby Driver; embarking on a full US arena tour with Lorde; contributing an exclusive song for the Marvel blockbuster Venom; and landing a major sync in a global Cadillac ad, which premiered during the 2020 Academy Awards. Additionally, Killer Mike debuted his acclaimed Netflix show, Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, continued his advocacy for Bernie Sanders, and lent his political muscle to the successful election of Atlanta's first female black mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms. He'll also be making his Hollywood debut in a soon to be announced feature film. Meanwhile, his partner in rhyme and RTJ producer El-P stayed busy in the studio making the music for RTJ4, contributing a song to the soundtrack for the Oscar-winning film Roma, scoring the feature film Capone starring Tom Hardy (which makes its digital debut today), and began a major reissue campaign for his celebrated solo recording catalog. He also made a surprise cameo in the new season of Mr. Robot with Remi Malek. In addition to new music, Run the Jewels will be launching the group's much-anticipated cannabis line, a collaboration with the founder of the legendary Cookies strain. The group are also set to join Rage Against The Machine for their massive world tour, which just last week was rescheduled for 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic, and is already sold out. New tour dates below. PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM: https://lnk.to/rtj4-preorder
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