Listen to New Tracks from MC and Producer Beaatz, from the City Natives Crew
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Arizona-Based Native Hip-Hop Trio, Shining Soul, Drop New Video for "The H.E.A.L.I.N.G"
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Through their vintage beat production and empowering rhyme delivery, Shining Soul has made and name for themselves and has carve out their own unique lane in the AZ Hip Hop community and beyond with their distinctive blend of socially conscious, yet soulful brand of hip-hop.
Emcee Liaizon, Bronze Candidate and DJ Reflekshin have proven time and time again that their music is universally accessible and has the power to start the healing process regarding the social ills we all face through the medium of hip-hop. Whether opening for major acts such as Phife Dawg, Ana Tijoux and Pharoahe Monch or “spreading their medicine” throughout the U.S., Canada and Germany with their rigorous tour schedule, Shining Soul reaffirms hip-hop can be a conduit for positive change, internally and externally.
So after years on the road, Shining Soul is back at it with their new music video titled “The H.E.A.L.I.N.G”. Shot in Washington D.C by El-Shamesh Photography, “The H.E.A.L.I.N.G” is just a glimpse of their long awaited third full-length album Politics Aside.
“The H.E.A.L.I.N.G” promises to be a disclaimer for what's to come and a wake up call for all those sleeping on Arizona's favorite rap trio.
Watch: Shining Soul - "The H.E.A.L.I.N.G."
For more Shining Soul, visit: shiningsoul-music.blogspot.com and shiningsoulmusic.bandcamp.com
STREAM: A Tribe Called Red Drops New Single "R.E.D." feat. Yasiin Bey, Narcy, and Black Bear
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A Tribe Called Red released another single this month, building much anticipation for their new album "We Are The Halluci Nation", dropping September 16, 2016.
"R.E.D.", which features Yasiin Bey, Narcy, and Black Bear, made its world premiere on Ebro's #Beats1Ebro radio show on Apple Music this week.
The single includes powerful verses from legendary hip-hop artist Yasiin Bey (aka the mighty Mos Def) and Iraqi-Canadian MC The Narcicyst (aka Narcy)—dropping fire lyrics over ATCR's "Stadium Pow Wow" beat, and the song is a testament to border-smashing, cross-cultural collaboration and creative connection.
"I think it is the first time in history where you have an African, an Iraqi, and the Indigenous [People] of Canada are on one song", Narcy says. "It feels like the beginning of something new and old, the rebirth after many injustices."
This is just the beginning of a new phase of Tribe "showing the power of our people combined".
Listen to A Tribe Called Red's "R.E.D. (feat. Yasiin Bey, Narcy, and Black Bear)"
https://soundcloud.com/a-tribe-called-red/red-feat-yasiin-bey-narcy-black-bear
Bump it on Apple Music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mWZ7u9vl3E
MC Wake Self Talks Collab with Gift of Gab, Artistic Growth, and Upcoming Album "Malala"
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Big things are happening for Albuquerque-based MC Wake Self. Currently touring through Europe after dropping his latest single, "Change the World" featuring Gift of Gab of the legendary hip-hop duo Blackalicious, Wake took some time out of his busy schedule (and lack of zzz's) to give us the lowdown on his upcoming album Malala.
First off, let's start with "Change the World." What was it like to collaborate with Gift of Gab and how did that come about?
It started when I went on tour with him in 2014. We did a short run of shows in the 4 corners area, and after a show in Durango a fan asked us "when is a Gift of Gab and Wake song dropping?" He looked at me and said we should do that, so I approached about him last year and sent a beat to him. He's a really cool dude, definitely deserving of all the success and praise.
Who else did you work with for Malala?
I usually don't have many rap features on my albums, unless it really fits into my vision for the final product. Mainly I have a few vocalists, musicians and producers involved. I got Def-i on there, that's my best friend we always make music together. The majority of the album is produced by SmokeM2DG. He's extremely gifted with the beats. I really love working with him, I always have these long random descriptive ideas of beats and song concepts I send him, and usually he can bring to life and make sense out them. I may have one more feature that I can't talk about just yet.
When will that album drop?
It drops August 24th, on my moms birthday! [Wake professes he is a momma’s boy]
What kind of themes are you working with in terms of lyrical content in Malala?
I don't want to give away everything, but I feel like I reached pretty deep down the rabbit hole on this one. I discuss youth incarceration, homelessness, environmental issues, and spiritual enlightenment. There's a lot about personal growth; my experiences with depression/anxiety and the human condition. A few more lighthearted songs as well, some songs to try and motivate people to be true to themselves, and be proud of they are no matter what boxes or boundaries they don't fit in.
How has Malala shown your growth as an artist since your last album?
I'm at a better point in my life right where I've found more understanding on how to open myself up to these creative moments. Life is a trip, literally a journey and I'm just expanding in various ways in life that integrate with the advancement of this music. I think sometimes we know things, have ideas and concepts in our head, but it takes a while for the full depth of them to become realized. I'm just thankful every day, every second, and it's really allowed me to climb out of some tough years, be able to see clearly and feel more alive.
STREAM: "Change The World" ft. Gift of Gab here:
Mob Bounce Reclaim Identity, Share Influence and Bring Healing in "Mob Medicine" Doc
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Last month woke hip-hop duo Mob Bounce released "Mob Medicine," a short documentary about their journey in finding themselves and empowering native communities through their music.
“We started getting our ideas out and it’s like we just started created this whirlwind of thoughts which slowly turned into action and looking at us today, that’s become our healing tool,” Travis Adrian Hebert aka Heebz the Earthchild (Cree/Métis) says of Mob Bounce’s beginnings.
“What I feel about my lyrical content is that it’s the spirit materializing a message through me. Part of my intent with that is that it connects with other people," said Craig Frank Edes aka The Northwest Kid (Hungarian/Scottish/Irish and Gitxsan). "Being aware its like you understand your surroundings and the energy around you and you have the opportunity to create life.”
Like many Indigenous youth, Travis and Craig grew up with a loss of their cultural identity, but discovered that hip-hop was the vehicle in which they were meant to share their experience and spread knowledge to others who have gone through similar experiences.
“I feel like our music is good for the youth and for the people who need healing in the sense that we bring terminology to that social awareness," says Craig. "Eventually there’s just layers and layers that will peel apart and it creates a lot of healing for the youth who had to experience a lot of the same things say me and Travis experienced in our communities."
Check out "Mob Medicine" below, directed by Media Creatorz Amanda Strong and Bracken Hanuse-Corlett:
For more Mob Bounce visit: facebook.com/mobbounce
Saskatoon MC T-Rhyme Talks Indigenous Arts and New EP "Diary of a Mad Red Woman"
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Earlier this month, Saskatoon’s Tara T-Rhyme Campbell released her new EP, Diary of a Mad Red Woman, just ahead her first performance at the Indigenous Arts Festival in Toronto. We caught up with Tara to talk about her "5 track compilation of short stories in poetry form, backed up by dope beats."
How did it feel to break out new material at an event like the Indigenous Arts Festival?
It's so refreshing and gives me a great sense of pride to be a part of these big events that headline so many other amazing Indigenous artists. It's inspiring to see my people being given these types of platforms to perform and showcase what they love!
Is it your first album release?
Technically yes, this is my first album with all original pieces of work. I had previously released a mixtape in 2013 entitled From Scratch, but that was more of a showcase project. Diary of a Mad Red Woman is definitely more organically Hip Hop.
Who did you work with on this album?
I was fortunate enough to have worked with an array of talented beat-makers and producers from all over! Shelby Sappier aka Beaatz, being 1/4 of the City Natives crew from New Brunswick, blessed me with the production for "Start Over"; PC Beats from the UK produced "Dreams"; Justin Knight aka Mils from here in Saskatchewan produced "First Entry"; Doc Blaze from Florida produced "Kill H.E.R." and "Golden" which also features vocals by the amazingly talented Sierra Jamerson from Edmonton. All the mixing and mastering was done by my talented producer Jon Cennon at the Quality Control Project Studio here in Saskatoon. I am really excited about how everything fell into place, and hope it reaches people well.
What inspired your work in this project?
I was definitely inspired by my good friend and mentor Lindsay Knight aka Eekwol. She has been a constant positive reminder to stay true to myself when it comes to my art. I had confided a lot of my ideas to her and she really pushed and motivated me to follow through with the project. I am very blessed to be surrounded by empowering people, especially women, in the hip hop scene. What kind of audience are you looking to reach out to? Each and everyone! I never want to limit the audience my music reaches, because I feel hip hop shouldn't be limited to a certain group of listeners. If you enjoy good music and storytelling, then I would hope you could enjoy my work!
Any plans to tour over the summer?
Sadly, I don't have any plans to tour. Not that I don't wish to, but I am a mother first and foremost, so I don't think I could be away from my kids long enough to actually tour. But thankfully I have been blessed with opportunities to sporadically travel with my music so far, and it is definitely something I hope to continue to do. Diary of a Mad Red Woman is available for purchase on iTunes and Bandcamp.
STREAM: T-Rhyme - Diary of a Mad Red Woman
Find T-Rhyme on Instagram: @beadsrhymeslife and on YouTube.
Leonard Sumner Brings New Music to His 2016 Summer Tour
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As the music and culture festival season commences, Anishinaabe hip-hop/roots artist Leonard Sumner will be making his way back and forth across the country on the first of his summer tour dates.
"I usually play some new songs, I've been adding some spoken word material to my sets every now and then. It's been getting a great response and more motivation for me to get back in the studio," says Sumner.
After recording some new demos back in January, he hopes to be back in the studio by the end of the year.
It's been awhile since Sumner's popular release, Rez Poetry, but fans can look forward to hearing his classic folksy beats. "It's still on the same path", he says. "It still fits outside the box."
Catch up on his new music this summer, as Leonard Sumner tours across Canada.
Leonard Sumner - Summer 2016 Tour Dates
July 6 - Pacific Rim Arts Fest - Hitacu, BC
July 8-10 - Mariposa Folk Festival - Orillia, ON
July 24-26 - Dawson City Music Fest - Dawson City, YK
July 28 - 2017 Canada Games Countdown - The Forks, Winnipeg, MB
August 12-14 - Interstellar Rodeo - Winnipeg, MB
August 19-21 - Summerfolk Music Fest - Owen Sound, ON
September 2-4 - Shelter Valley Folk Fest - Grafton, ON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhfBNUI__4c
Check leonardsumner.com for tour updates throughout the summer. He might pop-up in a city near you!
DOWNLOAD: The Last Stand Mixtape - Vol. 1
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RPM is proud to bring you an exclusive premiere of The Last Stand Mixtape, Vol. 1—a groundbreaking new compilation of Indigenous music, hip-hop, and spoken word.
If storytelling is the lifeblood of Indigenous creative expression, hip-hop has become its most recognizable and resonant form.
Across Indian Country, Native artists are uniting in common consciousness to effect change in their communities and to take a stand to express what they believe in. And they're rocking mics while doing it.
The Last Stand Mixtape, Vol. 1 brings together a rising generation of Indigenous voices dedicated to using art and music for social change. More than a year in the making, the compilation features a who's who of emerging artists mixing hip-hop, R&B, and spoken word poetics over the mixtape's 22 heartfelt tracks.
From Mic Jordan's impassioned opener "#DearNativeYouth" and Enter Tribal's "Love of My Life", to new joints from Tall Paul, Frank Waln, and Def-I, the mixtape includes Native hip-hop from across Turtle Island, plus soulful R&B jams from the likes of Desirae Harp and Inez Jasper.
But it's the addition of spoken word that sets The Last Stand apart. Poetry courses through the album's veins. It weaves through the beat-based tracks with new pieces from The 1491s' Bobby Wilson, Tanaya Winder, and Rowie Shebala, to the beatbox rhyming of Lyla June Johnson's "Sundance Year Round".
The Last Stand Mixtape represents the best aspects of being Indigenous in the 21st century: it's rooted in culture, pushing the boundaries of what's expected, and building a community ready to stand up to anything.
So, as America gathers around the dinner table to binge on turkey and colonial conquest, today's a good to day to give thanks for something worth celebrating—the survival and artistry of Indigenous youth bringing power back to Native America.
Stream and download: The Last Stand Mixtape, Vol. 1
TRACK LIST
- Mic Jordan - #DearNativeYouth
- Supaman - Raise Em
- Marlon Footracer - Dear Native Youth
- Enter Tribal - The Love of My Life
- Desirae Harp - Center of the Earth
- Rowie Shebala - Indian Phoenix
- Bobby Wilson - All Rise
- Tall Paul - All Kingz
- Autumn White Eyes - Indigene
- Hannabah Blue - I Don't Want to Be Sick Anymore
- BazilleDx - A Tribute to Pain
- David Rico - The Rez Don't Visit
- Lee Francis - Crack in the Mesa
- Def-I - The Land of En*Frack*Ment
- Tanaya Winder - Ain't No Sunshine
- Inez Jasper - Fallen Soldier
- Reed Bobroff - The Four Elements of Ghost Dance
- Wake Self - Today Was Like
- Lyla June Johnson - Sundance Year Round
- Echo Slim - On the Road
- Frank Waln - Victory Song
- Thomas X - Celebrate
Download The Last Stand Mixtape, Vol. 1 at laststandmixtape.bandcamp.com
DOWNLOAD: Staying Underground Mixtape - Collaborator 25: Culturite
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Download a hype, collaborative mixtape between Staying Underground and RPM's Culturite.
Staying Underground and RPM connected earlier this year over a love of dope beats and good music.
Host and curator Thomas Rapsey's expertly curated Staying Underground mixtapes are, as he puts it, "Where The Future Culture Is Found", and his selections—which range widely through soul, hip-hop, electronics, instrumentals, and destination out experiments—are second to none.
Listening through his Collaborator series—which pairs a guest DJ mix on the A Side, with Rapsey helming the B Side—we thought it would be fire to join forces.
RPM's Culturite (aka Jarrett Martineau), who compiled our Indigenous Futurisms and #NationHood Mixtapes, drops a mix of his latest favourites, while Rapsey rounds out the B Side with some killer cuts, both interspersed with iconic cinematic samples.
And it's only fitting that we drop this new collab on October 12th—Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Let's make this a time to reorient our attention away from the evils of colonial marauders, and toward the celebration of Indigenous life—and the music that unites us in struggle for a decolonized world.
Staying Underground x RPM prsnt:
DOWNLOAD: Staying Underground - COLLABORATOR 025: CULTURITE (RPM.fm Premiere) - w/ Mistah Rapsey on the B Side.
A Side: Culturite 1. Phantogram - Fall in Love (RATKING Falling Off Remix) 2. J Dilla - Dillatronic #7 3. Branko - Take Off (Ft. Princess Nokia) 4. Flako - Twelve O'Clock Shadow 5. Frank Liin - Enslaved 6. Little Simz - Is This Freedom? 7. OSHUN - Protect Your Self [Prod. by Eric David] 8. ILLER - Healings 9. Aesop Rock - Cat Food 10. Ras_G - Let _ G Know… (Keep It A Billion) 11. Low Leaf + King Britt - A Light Within 12. Fatima - Circles 13. WOKE - The Lavishments of Light Looking (Ft. George Clinton) 14. emune & deadxbeat - thru time
B Side: Mistah Rapsey 1. Estere - Reptilian Journey (Jordan Rakei Remix) 2. KEITA JUMA - H O L Y 3. Tom Misch - High 4. Mndsgn - Exhale 5. Blu - Cosmophobia [Prod. by fate] 6. Jitwam - Alone 7. Pacific Yew - (((( Bloodroot Bloom )))) 8. Jean Deaux - Who Am I 9. Mo Kolours - Orphan’s Lament 10. +ma - indigo w/ v.wegen 11. Little Simz - Wings [Prod. by IAMNOBODI] 12. Kanye West - Touch the Sky (Johnnie Young Remix) 13. Janita - Let Me Love You (NeguimBeats Remix) 14. montell2099 - found 15. Ta-ku - Krule Love
http://www.mediafire.com/download/73hvq5jw4j9ekg3/Collaborator+025_+Culturite.mp3.zip
DOWNLOAD: Mob Bounce's 'Mob Medicine', A Powerful Debut Album of Indigenous Hip-Hop
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Rising Indigenous hip-hop duo Mob Bounce drop their hotly-anticipated new album, Mob Medicine.
Gitxsan MC The Northwest Kid and Cree/Métis MC Heebz the Earthchild have been locked in the studio working on their "grassroots labour of love" for a minute now, but the hype has been building for their debut album to drop.
Well, the wait is over. Mob Medicine is here.
A self-produced effort featuring the two MCs trading conscious bars over decidedly abstract hip-hop beats, Mob Bounce combines west coastal naturalistic imagery and acoustic poetry with more rugged spiritual anthems dedicated to uplifiting the Indigenous community.
From the spoken word melodics of "Land of Giant Dragonflies" to hypnotic healing joints like "New Sage" and the half-sung, eerily melancholic "Starseed", the duo pushes out beyond the limits of masculinist rap bravado and into more intimate and interior territory.
Mid-album cuts like "Walk With Our Sisters", a crackling rhythmic dedication to missing and murdered Indigenous women, and the early single, "Oral Tradition", find Mob Bounce bringing their commitment to culture, family, and community to the forefront, but it's in the album's closing tracks, like the sublime "Sacred Space" featuring Drezus, that their music really finds its spirited groove, infusing the Mob's open-hearted aesthetics with hip-hop's urgency and prophetic poetics.
Don't sleep. This is just the first step on their journey. Get a dose of that good Mob Medicine and like they tell it, #burnsageeveryday.
Stream the album in full below or head to mobbouncemusic.com and grab the free download.
Mob Bounce - Mob Medicine Track List:
1. Cree Dance Clearwater Revival 2. Redfist 3. Culture 4. Animal Spirit Interlude Poem 5. Animal Spirit 6. Land of Giant Dragonflies by Wysper Light 7. Welcome to the Struggle 8. Baldhead with Braids 9. New Sage 10. Starseed Interlude Poem 11. Starseed 12. Redboy 13. Walk With Our Sisters 14. Oral Tradition 15. Brush That Rain 16. Our People Were Sleeping But Now We’re Awake 17. Stay With Me 18. All My Relations 19. Sacred Space (Keep it Real) Ft. Drezus 20. Grandpa’s Journey Song
Stream Mob Bounce's "Mob Medicine"
STREAM: David Morin's Soulful Debut Album 'Every Colour' is Beautiful Music for the People
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David Morin is being called "the next big thing in music". Listen to Every Colour and you'll see why.
If you grew up in the era of the Soulquarians, Dilla, D'Angelo, Badu and the whole neo-soul movement—well, damn, whenever you were born—you know how those deep, souled out, hip-hop vibes make you feel.
Those jonz in your bones, everybody loves the sunshine, brown sugar, guess I'll see you next lifetime vibes. You know, those soulful feels. The everything is right in the world and despite all the pain and struggle and endless things to worry about you know you need to just kick back and vibe out kind of feels.
That goodness. That realness. Vibes.
That's what Métis artist David Morin's Every Colour has. It's music that moves you with both the rawness of its streetcorner cypher origins and the polish of its professionalism—soulful gems crafted in some hidden Vancouver version of Electric Ladyland, magic made in the quiet hours of long, languid west coast nights.
Morin's take on soul music is studied without sounding derivative. Over the album's 12 tracks, Every Colour effortlessly flows out your speakers with its expertly crafted, on point vocal performances, and produced-to-perfection sheen. But don't get it twisted: the high gloss acoustics are just a bit of honey added to the mix that soak into the depth of Morin's deft musicality and subtle lyrical jabs at systems that aren't working for the people.
Who else is crooning, as Morin does on "You and Me"—"so sadistic / on a mission / to control the way you think / in a system / where all they do is take/ it's just a classic case / of a fascist state / lying to your face"—over a rolling bassline, Isaac Hayes'd strings, and a breezy, George Benson-esque guitar lick?
Morin makes systemic critique sound like sweet seduction.
Deeply indebted to Voodoo-era aesthetics, Every Colour overflows with D'Angelo-inspired, winding grooves, horns, strings, tasteful guitar stabs, and head-knocking hip-hop beats, that expand and contract in constant interplay with Morin's melodic, layered vocals.
Enlisting acclaimed producer Joby Baker on the boards and with Bombay Records at his back, Morin is already getting love from established hip-hop media outlets: a recent feature in The Source dubbed him "The Next Big Thing in Music" and, just this week, Okayplayer showed him love with a video premiere of his latest single, "Come Home".
Known both for his legendary street performances and live performance skills, Morin is more than just a singer—his multi-instrumental talents as a beatboxer, loop pedalist, beatmaker, and varied vocalist have set him on a rising trajectory to infiltrate mass musical consciousness. We challenge you not to get down.
David Morin is the truth. And his gospel is soulful goodness.
Every Colour is available everywhere on iTunes. Stream the album in full below, and catch him on tour or at a street corner near you.
STREAM: David Morin's Every Colour
WATCH: David Morin's "Come Home"
DOWNLOAD: Angel Haze's New Mixtape, "Back to the Woods", is Next Level Amazing
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No more waiting. The new Angel Haze project, Back to the Woods, is here.
Get it for free. Until midnight. Right now.
This "accidental masterpiece" is already blowing our minds. Angel Haze is elevating their game to a stratospheric level.
Following a string of increasingly dope releases, from Reservation and Classick to Haze's killer debut studio album, Dirty Gold, in 2013, Back to the Woods arrives at a time of tremendous emotional upheaval in their life, but one that inspired incredible development in haze's personal growth and creative expression.
In an interview with Billboard, Haze talks about what they're hoping listeners will take away from the project:
I listen to this record and I hear an exponential amount of growth. Not just as a person, but as an artist. I don't really know what people will take away from it, because I think interpretation is up to everybody. I just hope in some way, shape or form, they understand that I am who I am. I am just trying to feel my way through life. I'm not trying to take a form. I'm not trying to change any minds. I'm just expressing myself, and if you feel it, you feel it. If you don't, then they motherf—king don't, and that's just it.
Back to the Woods is a bombastic assault that rolls out over 11 tracks of Tk Kayembe-produced firepower. Rugged, raw, badass, and overflowing with strength and purpose—Angel Haze is taking rap out of this world and into the beyond.
Check the Back to the Woods album release party September 14th at Baby's Alright in Brooklyn, New York. The album is available worldwide on iTunes, Spotify, and other music retailers.
DOWNLOAD: Angel Haze - Back to the Woods
ANGEL HAZE - BACK TO THE WOODS - TRACKLIST
Tracklist for #BACKTOTHEWOODS @AngelHaze pic.twitter.com/UWRwqDx6Dz
— UniversalMusicCanada (@universalmusicC) September 14, 2015
