Video: MarQ Spekt & Kno “Wikileaks”
MarQ Spekt teamed up with Atlanta producer Kno for one of the best albums for 2011, Machete Vision. While Machete Vision was released over 6 months ago, it’s an album that’s still gaining momentum and still feels fresh. It doesn’t even seem strange that they’re just now releasing the first official video for the album’s closing track “Wikileaks”. Spekt’s wordplay-rich verse details how having too much knowledge can lead to paranoia. If you like the video, you can grab the album for $6.
Connect with MarQ Spekt via Facebook | Twitter
Written by John Bugbee
Album Stream: Ab-Soul ‘Control System’
Most of my favorite rappers these days are in the 30+ age bracket, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of young artists that I’m excited about, quite the contrary. Ab-Soul has been overshadowed by Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolBoy Q in their L.A. based “Black Hippy” crew to this point, but his outstanding new album Control System looks to change that. What Ab-Soul lacks in technical proficiency and lyrical dexterity, he makes up for in atmosphere and thoughtful creativity. Control System follows up on several of the ideas and themes displayed on ScHoolBoy Q’s excellent album Habits & Contradictions released earlier this year, proving that while the collective may be moving up to the majors with Dr. Dre and Interscope soon, they will try to maintain their aesthetic and creative control. Ab-soul’s skeptical, druggy vibe is on full display in these two excellent music videos. Peep the full album stream and purchase from iTunes if you dig.
Connect with Ab-Soul via Facebook | Twitter
Written by John Bugbee
Fresh Track + Video: Illogic & Blockhead “Matter of Minutes”
Illogic has been one of my favorite MC’s ever since I first heard him on the Aesop Rock song “One Brick” back in 2001. Aesop’s primary producer at the time, Blockhead (who just released the excellent instrumental album Interludes After Midnight), has found himself with a lot more free time recently since Aesop has decided to fully produce his upcoming solo album Skelethon. Thankfully, Blockhead has stayed busy and has been working with several of my favorite MC’s these days, including billy woods, Open Mike Eagle, & MarQ Spekt. Illogic is the first MC that he’s worked with extensively since Aesop though, and their Preparing for Capture EP is set to be released on June 5th. The EP is the first in a line of several releases the duo have lined up for 2012, and if this new song/video is any indication, we have a lot to look forward too from Illogic and Blockhead. Illogic’s primary appeal as a rapper is a combination of his extensive vocabulary and the use of that same vocabulary to convey primal, introspective messages and ideas in abstract ways. “Matter of Minutes” is a perfect example of that style, peep the video and grab the mp3.
Written by John Bugbee
Thought on Tracks 