Watch: FKA Twigs—”Papi Pacify”

Check out FKA Twigs get her kinky on in her latest music video “Papi Pacify.” Co-produced by Arca, both the vocals and the beat are highly hypnotic and sensual and fit right in line with her previous release “Water Me.” Her album EP2 will be released on September 17 via Young Turks and if it plans to have more production by Arca, who played an important role on Yeezus, not only should we have an idea of what it’s going to sound like, it should also be a reason to get really excited about it. Watch FKA Twigs’ video “Papi Pacify” below.

[via Pitchfork]

Watch: Dom Kennedy—”South Central Love”

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In anticipation of his new album Get Home Safely, which is set to be released on October 1, Dom Kennedy drops visuals for his latest single, “South Central Love.” Just as with most of Dom Kennedy’s work, both the music and the video embody everything that the world has come to imagine when they think about laid-back, west coast hip-hop: the cars, the girls, and that cool, California beat. Although already largely recognized within California and among music aficionados elsewhere, it’s only a matter of time before Dom Kennedy becomes a household name across the nation. He has a flow that’s so smooth it’s deceivingly wholesome. Take this song for example, it’s a love song that talks about finding a real and long-lasting relationship, but tucked within all the lofty romanticism are quick references to drugs and murder and not necessarily as an observer, but rather with Dom Kennedy as the protagonist. However, this in no way takes away from the quality of his music. If anything, it makes it that much better by allowing him to appeal to both conservative and liberal listeners alike. Watch “South Central Love” above—it’s the perfect song for a Sunday afternoon. 

Watch: YC the Cynic—”The Heaviest Cross”

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New York has steadily been regaining its prominence in hip-hop with the emergence of a slew of artists and groups that having been working with and feeding off each other. Groups like A$AP Mob, The Underachievers, and Flatbush Zombies as well as individual artists such as Joey Bada$$ and Action Bronson all know of each other and have either collaborated together at some point or at least made reference to one another in some form or fashion. You also have newcomers like Black Dave and Bryant Dope who have been taking a more minimalist, nostalgic, and boom-bap approach to their music. Then you have YC the Cynic. Everything from his flow, and its content, to his beats and even his sense of fashion distinctly mark him as belonging to a league of his own. He recently dropped a cleverly titled single, “Negus,” where he touched upon socio-political topics that ranged as far back as ancient Egypt. However, in his video “The Heaviest Cross” he drops the political dynamic to delve deeper into the personal and social issues that afflict him. The visuals demonstrate that he seeks to set himself apart as a lyrically driven emcee by refusing to bolster mainstream tropes such as money and fashion. Interestingly, he possesses a level of weird that is reminiscent of Odd Future, but in a good way. In fact, YC the Cynic almost comes off as a New York Tyler the Creator, but perhaps less extreme. Nevertheless, he has a unique and solid flow that shows a lot of promise for the future. Also, he has some serious production behind him provided by Frank Drake. Watch “The Heaviest Cross” above and if you like what you hear, grab a hold of the Bronx rapper’s newest album, GNK. 

Watch: Lil Debbie—”Bake A Cake”

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Sometimes the absurd is just as entertaining as the non-absurd. Or at least that’s the angle that Lil’ Debbie—and the entire White Girl Mob, for that matter—has been taking throughout her musical career. The release of her latest music video “Bake a Cake” does little to dissuade public opinion. In it, you can see the bay area rapper, who is coincidentally the sister of Kreayshawn, embody the height and excess of wealth with references to France’s Palace of Versailles and Marie Antoinette. I guess she deserves some credit, though, for being able to draw parallels between the 18th century and the 21st and for investing what looks to be a lot of time and money into the video’s production. Not to mention that the beat, which is produced by Nik Nikateen, is a monster of beat that allows anything that Lil Debbie says sound good. Still, the young artist does a good job of complementing the musical production, even if that means saying less. Check out the video above and judge for yourself.

Watch: Big Boi ft. Killer Mike & Little Dragon—”Thom Pettie”

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It might sound surreal, but it’s reality—Big Boi recruits Little Dragon and Killer Mike to provide you with that unconventional hip-hop that he does oh so well. For those who are familiar with Big Boi’s album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, which dropped last year, you’ve probably been knowing about this collaboration, but for those who haven’t, here are the latest visuals to accompany the track. It’s comprised of tour footage and reflects how fun it is to attend a Big Boi concert. Unfortunately, Little Dragon doesn’t make an appearance in the video, but her sensual vocals on the hook are good enough. Killer Mike has been making a splash in the hip-hop scene as of late, especially after his recent joint project with El-P titled Run The Jewels. Being that he’s also from Atlanta and good friends with Big Boi, it’s not surprising to see him play a prominent role in this video. Watch “Thom Pettie” above and grab a hold of Big Boi’s latest album if you haven’t already done so. 

Watch: Hodgy Beats ft. Left Brain—”Karateman”

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Odd Future’s Hodgy Beats adds visuals to his track “Karateman” from his EP Untitled 2. The song features a spaced-out, bass-heavy beat that’s more than pleasant to listen to. It also features fellow MellowHype member Left Brain who delivers a cool verse in the middle of the track. The video was directed by Rob Haffey & Etienne Maurice and involves Hodgy Beats and Left Brain doing the kinds of things you would expect from Odd Future affiliates at a classic Los Angeles kick-back. Why the track is called “Karateman” is unclear considering that neither the video nor the lyrics refer to anything involving karate, but I guess it shouldn’t be surprising either. Watch the video below and stream the EP via the SoundCloud player that follows.

Download: J’Von & Ackryte—”Aqua”

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If J’Von and Ackryte’s album Aqua doesn’t already belong to your music library, it should, not only because it’s free (link below), but also because it’s that soulful hip-hop that you have to throw on every once in a while after you get off work/school and need something to relax to. The jazz-like atmosphere of the album is created in part by Ackryte, an up-and-coming producer out of Minneapolis. His solo album, Overly was released via HW&W Recordings and is a testament to both Ackryte’s interest in music production and his abilities in making funky electronic music. His beats possess a highly-refined sensitivity to drums and melodies that’s comparable to producers such as Ta-ku or Sango.

J’Von is the lyrical equivalent to Ackryte which is why the two come together so harmoniously in Aqua. He’s based out of Seattle and displays an intelligence in his raps that others should be envious of. J’Von also has a natural and comfortable approach behind the mic and apparently in front of the camera as well—as evidenced by the visuals for “Go.” For what looks to be his first full-length album, he does well to provide diverse and high-quality lyrics. One thing to note about J’Von’s raps are his ad-libs which, at times, come off sounding like something from a Quasimoto album. Not sure if this is intentional or purely coincidental, but as a Madlib fan, I’m perfectly okay with it especially since he does it rather well.

Below is the video for “Go” which was released last week and is from Aqua. It features professional quality visuals, a well-developed storyline, and even an impressive fight scene. After watching the video, take a listen to the album via the Bandcamp music player below. If you like what you hear, click on the respective link below to download Aqua for free. 

Watch: Big Sean—”10 2 10″

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Big Sean goes all out in his latest music video “10 2 10.” Directed by Mike Carson and Mike Waxx, the visuals take an original and artistic approach to one of Big Sean’s more daring works. The beauty that one would expect from surroundings such as those in the video, which look like an isolated coast in Brazil, are transformed into something menacing with the transposing of lush green into magenta hues. The theme is further reinforced with ominous storm clouds that loom overhead at dusk. It all lends credence to Big Sean’s growing fears of failure that he expresses in the chorus as “nightmares of losing everything boost my adrenaline.” These dark thoughts are offset, however, by comical lines such as “I woke up working like I’m Mexican” and more common Big Sean metaphors such as “My homeboy still gon’ pull up on them rims big as a Ferris wheel/ So many rides up on the curb my lil cuz thought the fair was here.” Despite its highlights, “10 2 10” seems like a rather short and unfulfilling song to invest so much money into. Not sure if that translates into the album as a whole, but you can be judge of that. “10 2 10” is from Big Sean’s latest album Hall Of Fame which is out now. Check out the video below.

Listen: Lucki Eck$ ft. Monster Mike—”Whole Stain”

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Lucki Eck$ isn’t your traditional type of rapper and the production backing him aren’t your typical kinds of beats. It makes sense considering the title of his last mixtape Alternative Trap which was released July 25. Although other fellow and newly emerging Chicago emcees such as Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa don’t neatly fit within the parameters of what we’ve come to expect from rappers, Lucki Eck$ is still more subversive. He has a very slow flow that gives the listener the impression that he’s perpetually high off promethazine, yet the fact that he never talks about it leaves you looking elsewhere for answers. Whatever the reason may be for his slow motion raps, if given the opportunity, Lucki Eck$’ unique style has a way of growing on the listener in a lulling and hypnotic manner. His latest track “Whole Stain” featuring Monster Mike isn’t any different. The beat, which was produced by Plu2o Nash—who played a principal role in production on Alternative Trap—does an especially good job of complementing Lucki Eck$’ style with a minimal, bass-heavy beat that can be likened to trap, but really isn’t. Listen to “Whole Stain” below. Also, take a look at his visuals for “Everything Out$ide” which belongs to Alternative Trap and if you like it, download his album here.  

Watch: Danny Brown—”ODB” (Prod. Paul White)

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The chorus for Danny Brown’s latest single “ODB” is slightly too raunchy to transcribe here, and perhaps the other three-quarters of the song as well, but that, by no means, should act as a deterrent to your watching/listening to it above. Produced by a Rhizome favorite, Paul White, who is from the U.K. and has been previously mentioned by Danny Brown as one of his favorite producers, “ODB” takes you on a trippy adventure through sight and sound—kind of like the Twilight Zone, but less mind-bending and more disorienting. The beat features wild and spacey synths with heavy, pitch-bending wobble-effects that’s oddly reminiscent of Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters. The far-out music is only surpassed by the psychedelic and lo-fi visuals provided by RUFFMERCY. Every element of “ODB” works in unison to startle your senses and to provide you with, yet again, a wholly original Danny Brown song.  “ODB” comes from Danny Brown’s album OLD which is expected to be released on September 30. 

Watch: Bryant Dope ft. ANTHM—”NNY”

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There are a number of things occurring in New York hip-hop right now and unless you’re paying close attention it’s easy to lose sight of some of it. One of those things is the Harlem Renaissance scene involving, most notably, the A$AP Mob, but more specifically, A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg. Lesser known, but equally part of this scene are Vinny Cha$e and Kid Art and their whole Cheers Club camp. Then you have their offshoots or contemporaries such as The Underachievers and Flatbush Zombies in Flatbush, Joey Bada$$ in Brooklyn, and then Action Bronson in Queens. But there appears to be a new movement emerging out of the Big Apple that happens to be lurking deeper within the shadows of the city’s skyscrapers despite its more buoyant and straight-forward approach. One member of this new wave is Black Dave who recently dropped his single “Taking It Back” for his mixtape Black Bart being released September 17. Another member—and who this post is dedicated to in weird and indirect sort of way—is Bryant Dope who released his appropriately titled mixtape New New York in May. Today, Bryant Dope dropped the visuals for his latest single “NNY” which features fellow New Yorker ANTHM. The beat for NNY was produced by Hannibal King and the video directed by both Bryant Dope and Max Goodrich. In it, Dope and ANTHM can be seen New Yorkin’ it up on rooftops and neglected neighborhoods with cool and charismatic flows that we have all come to love and expect from rappers from where the art-form originated. Bryant Dope even has another level of New York-ness to him(as if the Queen’s native needs any more), that is, his voice (or maybe just rhythm), which can be likened to that of AZ. Also, Bryant Dope may be sporting the same red bucket hat that Black Dave wore in “Taking It Back” but sources have yet to confirm this. All-in-all, “NNY” has that jazzy New York hip-hop beat and flow that makes you want to throw it on in the morning and get your day started on a good note. Check out the visuals above and download his album New New York below.

Meyhem Lauren ft. AG Da Coroner & Action Bronson—Drug Lords (Prod. Harry Fraud)

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Sometimes a few action figures, a master puppeteer, and a well-developed storyline make for a more enjoyable video than all the special effects and scantily dressed women combined. Well, at least that seems to be the case with the release of the latest visuals from Mayhem Lauren’s “Drug Lords” which showcases a raw drum-and-piano beat by Harry Fraud and features tough bars by AG Da Coroner and Action Bronson. With a title like “Drug Lords” it’s not hard to surmise the nature of the lyrics, but the visuals, in addition to the back-and-forth rap choreography (as opposed to the traditional 16 bars) give Mayhem Lauren, and his two New York acolytes, the edge they need make this song stand out. You can find “Drug Lords” on Harry Fraud’s free mixtape Respect The Fly Shit. Watch Action Bronson in action as an action figure above.

Black Dave—Take It Back

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Check out Black Dave “Take It Back” in the South Bronx with subtle visual allusions to the cult-classic movie Kids. “Take It Back” is the first video single to be released from Black Dave’s upcoming mixtape Black Bart, set to be released on September 17. The track was produced by Shy Beats and the video was directed by Jason Ano and co-directed by Black Dave. 

G-Eazy—Been On

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Gerald Earl Gillum a.k.a. G-Eazy has garnered over 2 million Youtube views for his rendition of Dion Dimucci’s “Runaround Sue” and is looking to do the same with his latest visuals for “Been On.” The beat, which was produced by Christoph Andersson, is something that you can relax and vibe to all on its own, but together with G-Eazy’s polished flow makes it something altogether enjoyable. The video, which was directed by Bobby Bruderle, does a great job of capturing the spirit of the track by filming it entirely in black and white and setting it in slow motion. In the video, G-Eazy sports slicked-back hair, dons a black leather jacket, and smokes on what appears to be a cigarillo, all of which make him easily mistaken for Jimmy Darmody, the notorious Boardwalk Empire character. Listen to “Been On” above and look out for

Stalley ft. Schoolboy Q—NineteenEighty7

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After releasing his mixtape, Honest Cowboy, Cleveland’s Stalley drops the visuals for “NineteenEighty7” where he raps about life in the drug trade and makes constant references to Los Angeles. His affiliation to the west coast is reinforced by Black Hippy’s Schoolboy Q—who lays down the chorus for the track—and by the posse that follows Stalley throughout the entire video dressed in black “Compton” hats and t-shirts.

Big Sean ft. Jhene Aiko & Lil Wayne—Beware

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Big Sean fans will be happy to hear that he’s released new visuals for “Beware” featuring Jhene Aiko and Lil Wayne. This song—unlike “Control (HOF)” featuring Kendrick Lamar which spread like wildfire across the internet—will be on Big Sean’s forthcoming album Hall of Fame

Billy Woods—Gilgamesh

— If you haven’t heard of Billy Woods yet don’t worry, not many have, but it’s not because he’s not an eloquent and intelligent rapper who tells stories that draw the listener in or because he hasn’t dropped any significant …

E-40 ft. Danny Brown & Schoolboy Q—All My Niggas

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While working on his new album Oxymoron—for which the visuals to “Collard Greens” featuring Kendrick Lamar was recently released—Schoolboy Q took a break to collaborate with the ambassador of the bay area, E-40, and Detroit rapper Danny Brown.

Roach Gigz ft. Iamsu!—It’s Lit

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Roach Gigz drops his latest visuals from his mixtape Roachy Balboa Round 3. Here you’ll see the San Francisco native rapping alongside Richmond’s very own Iamsu!—the bay area’s current rising star who was named one of SPIN’s hottest MC’s out right now.

Bishop Nehru ft. Aaron LaCrate—Appalled

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This should whet your appetite while you await the highly anticipated collaboration between Bishop Nehru and Doom as reported by

August Alsina ft. Curren$y—Let Me Hit That

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These are the latest visuals to go with August Alsina’s new track “Let Me Hit That” featuring Curren$y. The video was directed by the Reece Bros. and the beat was produced by Cassius Jay. Being who he is, Curren$y lends this track the credibility and appeal that it needs to

Just Blaze & Baauer ft. Jay Z—Higher

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There has been a lot of anticipation building up to the release of “Higher” by Just Blaze & Baauer—and it’s accompanying visuals—ever since the teaser was first released last week. Needless to say, not only did the release of this new track by the veteran Hip-Hop producer

Iamsu!—Bitch I’m Me (Teaser)

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ARTIST: Iamsu!

DIRECTOR: Dan The Man

ALBUM: Flat Fitty

RELEASE DATE: 19 August 2013

[via The Source]

The Underachievers—Land of Lords

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(KidSuper Lookbook 2013)

YG ft. Young Jeezy—Just Got Word