New Music: Kanye West feat. Pete Rock & Jay-Z – 'The Joy'

A few months back, I pretty much wrote off posting anything else by Kanye West. I think it had something to do with him drafting in teen pop dream (ahem) Justin Beiber to appear on a song as part of his 'G.O.O.D Music Fridays' series.

Okay, so on looking back, I actually totally wrote off posting anything by Kanye. But god damn, there's just no way I can front on this: Mr West flowing over a Pete Rock beat (which borrows heavily from Curtis Mayfield's stone cold classic, 'The Makings Of You').

Oh, and there's a little assistance from Jay-Z, too. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you - 'The Joy'. And I say again... god damn!

A few months back, word got out that The Diamond Toothed Wonder had flown true school hip hop favourite Pete Rock out to Hawaii to work on his highly hyped new album. I for one was a little sceptical that anything would come of the planned sessions.

But whaddayaknow - it seems that Pete and 'Ye did indeed get busy by creating the 'The Joy' - a smoking, soulful joint which is currently burning up my speakers.

Charlie Wilson and Kid Cudi are also credited as guests on the song, but I don't really know what they did. I don't really care either, to be honest - it's just damn good to hear Kanye and Jigga rhyme over a beat from the number one soul brother.

Kanye himself hits the nail on the head when he rhymes: "No electro/no metro/a little retro/ahhh...perfecto". Ah-fucken-men.

You can listen to 'The Joy' by Kanye West featuring Pete Rock & Jay-Z below. If you're feeling 'The Joy', you can get your download on at Kanye West.Com, where you can also pick up the rest of the G.O.O.D. Music Fridays downloads:



For those of you who are interested, Kanye has also tweeted that his new album is now finished. A few days ago, I wouldn't have cared about this news, but if there's anything remotely like 'The Joy' included - and it seems there will be - I'll definitely be checking for it.

Mix Tape: J.Period & Black Thought - 'J.Period Live Mixtape (Illadelph Edition)'

When people debate hip hop's greatest Masters of Ceremony past or present, Black Thought of The Roots is regularly overlooked. The theories behind these snubs have been bandied about for many years - lack of charisma, some say. But whatever your take is on the matter, it's hard to deny that Thought possesses a truck-load of lyrical talent.

If there were any Black Thought doubters in the crowd at last month's Manifesto hip hop festival in Toronto, Canada, I'll bet that they were turned into believers after the veteran M.C. served up a timely little reminder of the depth of his skills.

Backed by mix tape guru J.Period, Thought performed what was for all intents and purposes a 'live' mix tape, throwing down over new and classic hip hop hits by the usual heavy hitters (Jay-Z, Biggie, Snoop, Damien Marley), as well as home-town favourite Drake, and a selection of Roots joints.

As an added cherry on top, the whole thing was rounded out with an action-packed finale segment, where B.T. paid tribute to his favorite MCs by doing what amounted to a pretty damn good batch of impersonations. Time to give the credit where it's due, ya'll - Black Thought is a true do-it-all man.

But if you weren't in the crowd in the T.Dot and are cursing yourself for missing this virtuoso performance, fear not. J.Period is now offering a 30 minute EP - entitled J.Period Live Mixtape (Illadelph Edition) - recorded live. You can download it here. While you're at it, check out a video of the show in all it's glory:

New Music: Snoop Dogg - 'Come Around My Way'

Life is too short to be all high-brow on it 24-7, 365. So with that in mind, it seems like a good time to loosen the old straps on the backpack a little and enjoy an unreleased number from none other than Snoop D-O-double-G.

Details on this one are sketchy, so I'll stick to what I know: the song is called 'Come Around My Way'; and it's produced by Scott Storch. And that, my friends, is where the details end.

Granted, 'Come Around My Way' isn't a classic by any stretch - it's unreleased for a reason, after all. But there should always be a little room for Snoop's grandiose babbling in everyone's day.

Check these lyrics out to get an idea about what to expect: "These are the Pimp Olympics/Let me lay down these new linguistics/combinations like fries and fishsticks". Like I said... unreleased for a reason - but good fun all the same. You can check it out below:

'Come Around My Way' was kindly unearthed by DDotOmen.Com. Head over there to get your download on.

Video: J-Live - The Way That I Rhyme

J-Live has always positioned himself as a multi-faceted hip hopper. While most folks know him for his rhymes, he's never afraid to flex his DJ skills - and with J's wax-spinning efforts taking centre stage over the last few years, his own music has faded into the background a little.

But, after what felt like a good few years between albums, J came back strong in 2010, leaking a quality tune, 'The Way That I Rhyme' - a straight up joint that was on heavy rotation at AGOMWAB Manor - earlier this year to the tune of solid reviews.

Now he's got together with some of his crew to make what is billed as a 'viral' video for said tune. As a side note, I'm not exactly sure what is 'viral' about this video - unless 'viral' is the latest euphemism for 'made on a flip cam'.

But whether the video is viral or not is largely irrelevant. If the music is good, everything else is secondary. And J's always been pretty good at this music thing. Nice to seem him back doing what he does best. You can check the video for 'The Way That I Rhyme' below:

'The Way That I Rhyme' features on J-Live’s upcoming EP, Undivided Attention, dropping November 2nd. You can read more about this on his website. While you're at it, you can also swing by his Bandcamp page, where you can also download one of the handful of DJ mixes which J has been compiling. Some good listening there, too.

New Music: AZ - 'The Calm'

It feels like it's been a minute since I've posted up some new hip hop shizz.

Maybe I haven't been paying attention as much as I should (damn job, getting in the way of writing about music for free... I need to sort out my priorities, obviously).

Or perhaps I'm getting old(er) and cynical(er...I just made up a new word!). Most likely, it's a fine mix of the two.

Whatever the case, it just seems like it's been all quiet on the western front when it comes to new releases that I deem to be high quality on both the beats and rhymes front.

But I've finally found something which has helped me break out of the slump - a nice slice of boom bap pie courtesy of AZ.

It's been 15 years since A burst out of the gate with his stellar first album, Doe Or Die. And in order to celebrate his career/commiserate his crow's feet, he's going back to the well by creating an anniversary edition. Which is where today's cut, 'The Calm', comes in.

Is it just me, or could 'The Calm' fit nicely into the original Doe Or Die? The head-nod inducing, bouncing and booming beat from Statik Selektah certainly helps. But got-damn, if AZ doesn't sound as good as he did on his seminal debut, I'm not A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard. Believe that.

You can listen to 'The Calm' by AZ below, or head over to Nah Right to get your download on.

The 15th anniversary edition of Doe Or Die will be released on 23 November. Also, watch out for a new album from AZ and Statik Selektah coming in 2011. If either of them are anything like 'The Calm', I'll be buying on sight.

New Music: Colonel Red - 'Holla'

A soulful little somthin' somthin' from Colonel Red today, with the UK singer, writer and producer unleashing his sizable vocal talents and channeling his inner Marvin, getting loose on a cover of Mr Gaye's classic tune, 'Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler).

It's pretty tough to match Marvin's original, of course. It's one of the crowning moments of his glittering career, after all. You can check it out below:



But Red does a pretty damn good job of paying homage on 'Holla', swapping the original track for something a little more upbeat, with punchy drums and vocoder a-go-go, while putting his own stamp on things, lyrically speaking.

You can download 'Holla' by Colonel Red below:

Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito mark 20th anniversary on WKCR

Back in the pre-internet dark ages, there were a few tried and true sources that I used to turn to in order to stay up to date with what was fresh in the world of hip hop.

The first source was easy to pick out of a crowd, due to the fact that it wore its name on its sleeve. I’m talking about The Source magazine, of course, which was the undisputed king of hip hop magazines during the early to mid 90s.

But by the time I became addicted to the black crack in the mid-90’s, The Source made way for a new fountain of musical inspiration – Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito tapes.

Stretch and Bob revolutionised hip hop radio, unleashing a barrage of soon to be legendary artists on an unsuspecting listening public in New York City (or at least those who could hack the late night time slot). Then there were the listeners from around the world who used to snap up tapes of the shows – such as myself.

The Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito show was as famous for its blistering freestyle sessions and upfront records as it was for its comedy, with the banter between Stretch, Bob and regular contributor Lord Sear being the stuff of legend.

After many years of rocking the airwaves until the sun came up, Stretch and Bob eventually parted ways, handing the show on to others. That is until recently when WKCR – the station which gave S & B their break – announced that they were pulling the plug on their regular hip hop show.

As it transpires, this annoucement coincided with Stretch & Bob's 20th annivversary since they started out on the satio. So it seemed only fitting for the pair to return for a reunion show last night, marking their anniversary and saying goodbye to the show once and for all by doing what they always did so well – namely, playing dope records, and having fun while they did it.

For those of you outside NYC (myself included) who couldn’t tune in to hear the pair tune out, some kind soul by the name of AtotheL ripped the audio, touched it up a little and sent it over the folks at The Smoking Section, so you can get your download on. Nice.

While we’re on the subject of Stretch & Bob, XXL Magazine has put together a collection of the top 20 freestyles that took place on the show, with the likes of Nas, Big Pun, Mobb Deep, KRS-One and Big L holding court. Get your download on here.

Video: N*E*R*D - 'Help Me'

I've not really been head over heels in love with the last few N*E*R*D albums, if I'm being totally honest.

In fact, aside of 'All The Girls In The Line For The Bathroom' (or what ever it's called - you know what I mean), I can't really remember many if any tunes off the top of my head.

Whatever was going on in the bathroom has obviously killed a few brain cells.

But I must admit, after hearing the dribs and drabs that have been filtering through my inbox from their upcoming LP, Nothing, things are looking up a little.

Following on from their first Daft Punk-produced single, 'Hypnotize U', Pharrell, Chad and Shay are back at it again with a new video.

This time around, it's a tune by the name of 'Help Me', which combines ballady guitars with bursts of energy around the chorus. Again, Pharrell isn't really rapping on this. But again, I'm not mad at it.

You can check out the video for 'Help Me' by N*E*R*D below:

Jay-Z launches new book with a twist

Always the businessman, Jay-Z is soon to expand his revenue streams (that's business-like speak, kids) by branching out into the world of books. Well, branching out for a second time, actually. But let's just sweep his last foray into the world of the written word under the table.

On 16 November, Jigga will release Decoded, a book which doubles as a lyric sheet and memoir which documents the big man's time on top. But would spreading the word by holding a simple book launch with fine wine and what Arsenio Hall would describe as "good-ass cheese" do for Mr-Z? Of course not.

In this day and age of quirky marketing shenanigans, Jay has teamed up with web search engine Bing to create a scavenger hunt of sorts, sending his loyal fans scurrying around cities mentioned in his lyrics in order to get a sneak peak at early extract of the book.

According to MTV, "entire pages of the book will be reprinted on traditional advertising spaces like billboards, but they’ll also appear in rare, hard to find spots like the bottom of a hotel swimming pool, the lining of jackets in a store window, the felt of pool tables in a pool hall and plates in a restaurant, among others."

Jay launched the campaign the other day in Miami, with the lyrics to 'Big Pimpin' showing up on the bottom of a pool to give competitors an idea of where they might find the lyrics pages. I'm guessing the rest might be a little better hidden than this one. Just a guess, though. You can watch a video of the launch below:



The pages will show up in cities near and dear to Jay (think New York, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Las Vegas and good old London) until the book is released on November 16.

If you manage to spot one of the pages, you can send a text message that includes a code printed on the page to announce you’ve found it. The first however many people who text become eligible to win a signed copy of Decoded and/or a trip to see Jay-Z and Coldplay in concert in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve.

But if you're not in one of those centres, fear not - you can scavenge online too by visiting Bing.com/Jay-Z.

New Music: Prince Fatty - 'Bedroom Eyes Dub'

It's all action stations once again here at AGOMWAB.

That's right folks, after a prolonged period of enforced silence (due to me embarking on a ten day sabbatical where I contemplated the fate of the world from atop a mountain overlooking the Turkish plains... okay, so I really just went on holiday), I'm back and rearing to deliver you some more of that uncut raw.

But enough of this talking. Let's get back in the swing of things with some (guilt) free stuff for you to download.

Today, I have a tasty little serve from a gentleman by the name of Mike Pelanconi, better known to most as Prince Fatty (Those of you who have been down with this site since the early days might remember the name thanks to the Prince's rather large re-rub of the Old Dirty Bastard classic 'Shimmy Shimmy Ya').

Now, Fatty and his band of merry musicians are back with their long-awaited second album, Super Size, and to celebrate they're giving away a free album track - the dub-heavy 'Bedroom Eyes Dub' featuring the vocal talents of Natty - for your listening and downloading pleasure. You can check it out below:

If you like what you hear, you can stream the whole Super Size LP through Prince Fatty's Bandcamp site, buy it digitally through Bandcamp, or just do it the old fashioned way and buy it on CD via your local record store, Bandcamp or Mr Bongos (who are responsible for releasing this wonderful piece of reggae brilliance to the world. Big up).

Ticket Give Away: RBMA Culture Clash, London

Alright now party people, as promised earlier this week…drum roll please… it’s time for a give-away!

I've got two tickets on offer for the RBMA Culture Clash, taking place this Thursday at the Round House in Camden. That's London Town ya'll - if you're not in the area, or unable to get your ass into a plane, train or automobile, then this isn't your lucky day. Sorry.

For those of you who can make it to London for 14 October, here's how you can be in it to win it (competitions are just made for cheesy word play, aren't they?). All you need to do to enter this fine competition is e-mail me (make sure you put 'Red Bull Music Academy Culture Clash' in the subject line - I'm a stickler for rules too by the way) with the answer to this simple question:

Which crew won the first Red Bull Music Academy Culture Clash in February 2010?

The winner will be announced here Tuesday evening. Check the comments section of this post to see who managed to blag themselves tickets to what will be one of the gigs of the year. Good luck.

Gig: Goldie warms up for the RBMA Culture Clash

The second Red Bull Music Academy Culture Clash is almost upon us.

That's right folks, it all goes down on Thursday, 14 October, when four of London's biggest sound systems descend on Camden's Roundhouse for what promises to be a night of heavy tunage and good-spirited (maybe... maybe not) competition.

If you're not familiar with the concept of a sound clash, you can school yourself on it here. Right, now that you're an expert, it's time to get into spirit of things so you'll be loose and limber when the needle hits the first record next week.

I can't think of a better way to warm up for a sound clash than to get a bit of smack talking going between the participants. Any takers? But of course. Enter Goldie, the defending champion from Culture Clash One (I just had a WWF flash back - this seems like the musical equivalent of the Royal Rumble).

The Golden one looks like the sort of geezer who isn't afraid to speak his mind. He sat down with Ross Allen recently to open the curtain on his sound clash technique, claiming that his opponents should beware - after 5 hours, he reckons he'll still have a bunch of records in his back pocket that could “iron out” the other crews.

Watch below as Goldie also looks back on investing £50 on dubplates, and then rediscovering a bunch of them in a couple of suitcases stored in his loft. Sounds like he's ready to battle:



Tickets for the RBMA Sound Clash are still available, but with the likes of Goldie, Skream, Benga, the Channel One Soundsystem and a bunch of other big names on the bill, this is sure to sell out. More info on tickets and the like here.

However, if you fancy your blagging ability, or consider yourself just plain lucky, drop by A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard on Monday for your chance to win a double pass to what will be one of the biggest musical nights of the year. Get ready, ya'll.

New Music: N.E.R.D. - 'Hypnotize U'

French Electro-Pop heavyweights Daft Punk might not be the first producers that hip hoppers look to when they start planning out their next albums (Kanye excluded, of course). Probably something to do with the fact that they don't make hip hop, I guess.

But Le Punks certainly know how to make a catchy tune, as they show on to their latest effort alongside Pharrell Williams - a man who knows a thing or two about producing hip hop hits - and his fellow N.E.R.D.-ers Chad Hugo and Shay Haley.

Looks like Pharrell and the gang have linked with the Punks in order to push their sound in a new direction. Or to make a hit that will earn them lots of pocket change. And I must admit, I'm not too mad at it.

The result of their unholy alliance is 'Hypnotize U', a sleazy slab of synth-pop which fits with Pharrell's high pitched vocals like hand-in-glove. Dare I say it, there's a touch of Prince there. Cue hate mail from Prince fans.... now!

You can listen to 'Hypnotize U' below:



You can also check out N.E.R.D. performing 'Hypnotize U' live on The David Letterman Show a few weeks back:

Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon and 'The History of Rap'

I'm not really sure what 'die-hard' (translation: uptight) hip hop fans think of Justin Timberlake. But I'm not ashamed to admit I have a soft spot for him. Have I ever bought a JT album? No. Will I ever? Probably not. But it's hard to deny the man's talent.

I recall the moment that Timberlake first won me over. 2003. I was in Amsterdam. As a result, I my motor skills were impaired. You can make up your own mind as to the reasons why that might have been the case.

After arriving back at my hotel - a typically tall and remarkably skinny canal house - I realised that I was going to have a lot of trouble climbing up the the top floor, thanks to the near-vertical steps standing between us and our room. My wife got me through it though, bless her soul - she stayed strong when her husband's confidence waned.

After finally making it to the relative safety of our room, I sank into bed and turned on the TV. And at that moment, I was confronted with an angelic image: namely, JT telling me to rock my body like only he could.

I'd not been a fan until this point. In fact, I was the dictionary definition of 'die-hard' hip hopper that I mentioned earlier - and up until then, JT had been the musical anti-Christ in my book. But something changed that night. Maybe it was Amsterdam's finest colouring my judgement with it's own special technicoloured tinge, but whatever the reason, from that point on I became a believer in the man and his talents from that point on.

One of the things that about JT that impresses me to this day is that he isn't afraid to have a little fun, as his appearance with Beyonce on Saturday Nite Live a few years ago showed. Earlier this week that fun streak shoed through once again, as Justin displayed his hip hop chops alongside late night TV host Jimmy Fallon and his band of merry musicians, The Roots.

Jimmy and Justin decided to run through a quick history of hip hop, covering everything from Sugarhill Gang and Run DMC through to Biggie's 'Juicy' and 'My Name Is' by Eminem. Watch below to see the whole performance... and for you die-hards out there, don't get too upset that Soulja Boy has made it into the mix. Relax... but if you just can't get over it, a trip to Amsterdam might help: