John Legend 'Wake Up Sessions' Album With The Roots Close To Being Finished

via MTV

John Legend is a pretty lucky guy. He sang the national anthem at the World Series and joined Stevie Wonder onstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert last fall — on the same day.

The piano-playing crooner will follow those achievements with the release of his next album, Wake Up Sessions, with the Roots. According to Legend, he's been a fan of the Philadelphia band since his college days, when he was a student at the University of Pennsylvania.

"We're, like, 99 percent done. We've done all the recording, and now we're mixing half the album, and it's coming out in September," the singer told MTV News. "I'm very excited about it. It's gonna be a very interesting, very cool album. And like I said, I'm a big fan of the Roots. I'm excited to be able to put out an album with the Roots. This is a group I've been following since I was a kid at UPenn. I would go to open mics and watch them host the open mics, wishing I could be onstage with them, and now I'm in the studio with them making this album, and it's pretty exciting."

Legend and the Roots joined forces last month to perform at a 40th-anniversary Earth Day event. Wake Up Sessions is the follow-up to Legend's 2008 album, Evolver, which featured the Andre 3000-assisted "Green Light."

Res 'Black.Girls.Rock!' Album Available For Download

It's been a while since we've heard from the solo artist Res. Sure, she's been moonlighting as a full time member of neo-hip hop soul trio Idle Warship with Talib Kweli and Graph Nobel. But going back to Res's 2001 debut record 'How I Do' showed so much promise, but was effected by music business volatility and she was unceremoniously dropped from her label which dubbed the record as failure with selling 244,000 units.

Through Res's wisdom of knowing we are in a new age of the music business, she is offering her new album 'Black.Girls.Rock!' for a FREE download off of her website The 1 RES and it comes with a very nice DigiBooklet, too.

Download here:
Res - 'Black.Girls.Rock!'

(MF) Doom: New Album Collection And Working With TV On The Radio Guitarist

via press release

DOOM is one of the most original and uncompromising voices in hip-hop. From his work in the 90's with the seminal KMD to his legendary releases under a variety of aliases including MF Doom, Madvillain, King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn, Dangerdoom & more, his prolific body of work has always valued artistic integrity and creativity over anything else. As numerous and varied as his albums are, DOOM also has a thick catalog of guest appearances, remixes, non-album tracks, & vinyl only singles. For the first time, Unexpected Guest presents many of these hard to find tracks as a mix CD, executed and overseen by the Super Villain himself.

With a list of co-conspirators which includes marquee level names such as Talib Kweli, Ghostface & GZA as well as underground heroes Vast Aire, CountBass D & Kurius, the music on this disc highlights DOOM's ever-present trademark wit and taste for raw and ominous beats. On "Trap Door," he spits couplets like "No curse words / DOOM the worst church nerd verse heard" over a plucked bass and guitar line from producer Jake One that sounds like the funkiest spy movie soundtrack imaginable. "Sniper Elite" sees the emcee united with the late J Dilla, and is one of the many tracks featured that has yet to see an official CD release. The album will also feature a never before heard live version of DOOM's classic "I Hear Voices" from the Operation Doomsday album.

Peppered with his signature comic book dialogue and vintage sound clips, Unexpected Guests presents a treasure trove of DOOM obscurities which should shed light on material that even some hardcore fans may have missed. It's a frenetic, virtuosic look at a true hip-hop original.

Tracklist (Final tracks and running order TBA)
01. Get 'Er Done ft. DOOM - Jake One
02. Fly That Knot ft. DOOM - Talib Kweli
03. Sniper Elite ft. DOOM - Dilla Ghostface DOOM
04. Trap Door ft. DOOM - Jake One
05. Sorcerers ft. DOOM & Invizible Handz - John Robinson
06. Da Supafriendz - Vast Aire
07. Quite Buttery - Count Bass D ft. DOOM
08. ? - DOOM ft. Kurious
09. All Outta Ale - DOOM
10. E.N.Y. House - Masta Killa
11. Bells of DOOM - DOOM
12. My Favorite Ladies - DOOM
13. Street Corners (Remix) - Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck & GZA

Also read here:
MF Doom and TVOTR’s Dave Sitek to release album

Dizzee Rascal 'Tongue N Cheek' UK Release Announced

According to Pitchfork, Dizzee Rascal will release 'Tongue N Cheek' in the UK on Monday, September 21. The release has no stateside label representation yet. As you know, Def Jux put out Dizzee's last release 'Maths + English' in the states.

Here's the track listing for 'Tongue N Cheek':

01 Bonkers
02 Road Rage
03 Dance Wiv Me
04 Freaky Freaky
05 Can't Tek Me No More
06 Chillin Wiv Da Man Dem
07 Dirtee Cash
08 Money Money Money
09 Leisure
10 Holiday
11 Bad Behaviour

Read more of the article here:
Pitchfork - Dizzee Rascal Reveals Bonkers New LP

Nas talks next album, peace and love

Nas recently spoke with Billboard which covers his latest activities with Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and the upcoming collaborative release "Distant Relatives", impending divorce from Kelis and planning his follow-up record to last year's "untitled".

"It's funny; drama is something that definitely kicks a fire underneath artists," Nas says. "But I try not to make that my focus. I'm trying to have peace and love.

"My shit right now is age-appropriate for myself. I love everything, most of the things that are going on musically. But my music will talk about what I see, how I see it, and it should be interesting. My last things were about what I felt about hip-hop and what I felt about race matters. This new thing will be a natural thing. I have a few things that I feel like doing, but who knows what it will be."

Read more of the article here

Cypress Hill: B-Real says new album out in October plus their recent Eurockeenes Music Festival show in France photos & video posted

In this interview, B-Real talks about the 'Unite the Mic' joint forces tour with Bizzy Bone, his 'Smoke N Mirrors' release and a all new Cypress Hill release coming in October.

As reported by Baller Status

B-Real confides to BallerStatus.com that in October the latest, yet to be titled, Cypress Hill album will be released. "We're going to be doing our Cypress Hill Smoke Out in October to coincide with our record release."




You Tube video as B-Real and Cypress Hill were close to rappping up recording of the yet untitled album filmed back in March of this year.



Check out the photos (along with other artists) and video posted online from Cypress Hill's one off show at the "Eurockeenes Music Festival 2009" in Belfort, France Sunday July 5:

Rex Features

Cypress Hill
Uploaded by lestrepublicain. - See the latest featured music videos.

Wale announces "Attention:Deficit" album release date

Wale "Attention:Deficit" out September 22 on AlliDo/Interscope Records.

(via press release)
SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Of this time yet unafraid to move beyond this moment, rugged yet introspective, Wale--hip-hop's newest sensation and the first D.C. rapper to gain national attention in more than a decade--demands to be heard with his debut album Attention: Deficit (Allido/Interscope), releasing September 22, 2009. With its initial single, "Chillin'" featuring Lady Gaga, gaining spins on Rhythmic Radio, boosted by a video from Grammy-nominated director Chris Robinson, Attention: Deficit catapults Wale to hip-hop's center stage.

The 24-year-old D.C.-born son of Nigerian immigrants, Wale has previously issued a series of acclaimed, go-go/rap mash-up mixtapes that gained notice and airplay in the DMV (D.C.-Maryland-Virginia) and beyond. In 2007 super producer Mark Ronson--responsible for new luminaries such as Amy Winehouse-- began playing Wale's "Good Girls" on his East Village radio show. Soon after, Ronson added Wale to a remix of Lily Allen's bubbly pop record "Smile" and recruited him for a U.K. tour for his latest album. Wale also turned "D.A.N.C.E." from French electro-house stars Justice into a hip-hop banger renamed "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.," which he performed at the MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2008 Ronson signed Wale to his and Rich Kleiman's Allido Records and subsequently to its joint venture with Interscope. That year, Wale appeared on The Roots' single "Rising Up" from their Rising Down album before remixing his own "Nike Boots" track to feature Lil' Wayne. Most recently, Wale inked a co-management deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation and this summer headlined his first tour, which sold out a number of venues.

Along with Ronson ("Mirrors" feat. Bun B, "90210"), some producers on Attention: Deficit include Cool and Dre ("Chillin'" and "World Tour" feat. Jazmine Sullivan), Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio ("Warrior" feat. K'Naan), Sean C and LV ("OG"), and Sleepwalkers ("Diary" feat. Marsha Ambrosius).

Proclaimed "The Great Rap Hope" by The Washington Post (October 2007), Wale fulfills his promise of a new voice in hip-hop with Attention: Deficit.

Crown City Rockers announce new album "The Day After Forever"

Crown City Rockers "The Day After Forever" out September 29th on Gold Dust Media

(via press release)
Bay Area true school hip-hop soldiers Crown City Rockers have linked with Brooklyn based Gold Dust to release their upcoming album, The Day After Forever. The first album since 2004's Earth Tones, the album represents the culmination of years thrilling fans on the road, fine tuning their sound, and collaborating with like minded hip-hop artists.

Crown City Rockers have built a reputation for their driving sound derived from live instruments fused with traditional hip-hop production, which makes their live shows particularly dynamic. Emcee Rashaan Ahmad commands the crowd in the tradition of the block party greats, with a tight backing group infusing funk energy into the bouncy hip-hop sound.

Though the group has remained intact, the album represents a reunion of sorts, as many of the contributors have been focusing on solo projects recently. Rashaan Ahamad's solo album Push (2008) furthered his reputation as a party rocker par excellence, which he supported through tours with People Under The Stairs, Common Market, and others. Bassist/producer Headnodic recently helmed the boards for last year's Mighty Underdogs project on Definitive Jux with emcees Gift of Gab and Lateef from the Quannum camp, and keyboardist Kat recently completed a solo project and is currently working with People Under The Stairs' Thes One.

The Day After Forever will be followed by an extensive US tour.

Crown City Rockers "The Day After Forever" tracklist:

1. Intro
2. Break
3. Soul
4. Kiss
5. Go On
6. Astroshocks
7. Go Away
8. Crusin'
9. Let's Love
10. Clap Your Hands
11. Make It Hotter
12. That's Life
13. The Forever Song

http://www.myspace.com/crowncity

Whitney Houston: New Album and Title revealed

Whitney Houston's new album title is called, drum roll please...
'I Look To You'.
'I Look To You' arrives in stores and online September 1 on Arista Records.