Blame Game

New album from the bad-girl-turned styled-good. Click the album cover to download.

EDIT: Link re-upped. It's rapidshare. I might sharebee or mediafire it later.

Pride of the Jungle

click the album cover to download

EDIT: new link until sharebee gets its act together.

The posterchild for "underground sensation" released this much-awaited, much-anticipated, much-delayed Volume 3 from her Young Hustla mixtape series at the turn of the New Year. It was floating around 2 of the internets for much of January and I finally have enough time to share it with yall this weekend.

If you don't know who Teedra is by now, rub a ped-egg across your face--eyes open. The woman who created the best R&B album of the decade requires no introduction. She is, simply, the truth. Click the album cover to download the mixtape. I'm tryna keep it googlebot-proof so no track listing. But when it's the young lioness, do you even need one?

Lastly, if you really like it, buy it off her MySpace. I know I'm giving it away for free.99 here, but she tryna pay her bills and it's a recession.

Smoke Signals

It's coming.

Real Niggas Light Candles 4.
Monday, February 9, 2009.
Noon.

Ivory Trade

Coming soon.

Keep it real, nigga

Real Niggas Light Candles 4 has been done for about a month. All I need is cover art. It's sad as... well, let's say there was about to be a lotta sibilance in that short sentence. I'm starting to feel that there's a vibe between the winter additions and the spring ones, cuz as soon as I rounded out the 4th, the 5th began with a completely dialetic vibe. That is to say, don't be fooled. There's a reason there's candle smoke on those covers. Vol 4 is done and Vol 5 is about a-third to halfway done. I might shock and awe. No theatrics? It worked for Biggie. It worked for L-boogie.

Volume 1 was groundbeaking, Volume 2 was historic, Volume 3 was classic. Only time will tell us how much it really... matters. All I can say is, quietly, I led a lotta leaders. I see yall and I know yall hear my footsteps: if I'm not in front of you then you know that if I keep running, I will be. Vol 5 might be my personal 808's and Heartbreak. That is, if Vol 4 is my hybrid of Ryan Leslie and Ready to Die.

Real Niggas Light Candles:
Volume 4, sooner
Volume 5, soon.

To the casual reader, this rant is nonsense--understandably. But to the regular reader, especially that reluctant, reticent, regular reader (because, in addition to being ur favorite blogger's favorite blogger, I'm also ur favorite blogger's least favorite blogger--you know who you are), you know what this means: I'm DipSet right when Cam took over the rock (CHEA!)--you can't tell me nothin'. I might have to stop supplying yall material till yall shout me out (a nigga can't get a link credit as the source?--"lls," as the young kids say now).

Don't you know that everybody hears a star?

Nevertheless, I only believe in riots of convenience.

Anybody interested in submitting cover art for Volume 4, send it to youhypesikenah@gmail.com.

I feel like Hov

Sincerely,

Your favorite blogger's favorite blogger

Jimmy Raps In His PJ's

I'm all for cute white backup singers. I have a litany of other snide remarks about this vid, but I respect it, so I'm muzzling myself.

Filament

The Fray's latest. Their song "Hundred" was featured on the last installment of Real Niggas Light Candles and "How to Save A Life" is a classic. Click the album cover to download.

Tahiri>>>>>>>>>>Your life, your mother's life, & the life of your unborn child

For the uninitiated, this is how Joe Budden keeps his rap career alive between mixtapes and beef. It's genius. Get a digicam and record your girl cleaning ur apartment, cooking for you, etc. all while you both squabble. I obviously don't post these webisodes regularly, but I felt that the camera still rightfully deserved a post. As a ole head at the barber shop said this weekend, a chick like this'd make me a "please, baby, please" typa negro. Well, not exactly, but it'd be pretty cot durn close.

Ape Shall Never Kill Ape

Nigo's boys. Click the album cover to download. Album has features from Martin Louie The King, Jr., Pharrell, Chris Brown, and others. Disfruta.

Obi and Femi, this one's for yall

Wale - Warrior (Freestyle)

I normally wouldn't post this, but I'm gonna try to do my part in maintaining a level of hype for Wale's '09 major label debut. Plus, this track goes. The original track is by a dude outta London named Donaeo and is called "African Warrior". It sounds like a summer warehouse party in Philly (which means it's heatrock). It's the hotness in LDN and I'm sure it would burn down any cool guy party between B-More and NYC. Not the pretentious jawns that are sadly all over my beloved DC, but the kinda parties these guys photoblog about where ppl are too cool to care about caring. That's a long way of saying download both these tracks. Your eardrums will love you for it.

Donaeo - African Warrior

I got the instrumental for this jawn as well. Holler if ur interested.

Bow Ties

A brief rant from yours truly on the sartorial taste of others. Bow ties are cool. Always have been, always will be. But they're cool when you wear them properly. The whole, "I bought a bow tie but I'm too cool to tie it" look is real lame. It's like when folks wear neckties with sweaters and leave the tie on the outside.

I don't care who you are or where you saw it, the only time leaving ur bow tie untied is appropriate is after you've been wearing it for a while and you genuinely needed to untie it. Otherwise, you're just tryna pull off a "look" which is usually too contrived to work.

Cool

Not cool

I'm done.

The Best

I know most yall negroes love Thin Mints, but I keep it OG with the original Girl Scout Cookie, the Trefoil, aka Shortbreads. It's cookie season in the streets of America, and I got two boxes of Shortbreads.

Shortbreads + Ginger Ale = Life is good.

Hungry? Why Wait?

Much of the internet is in a tizzy over the new Wale track performed at his most recent LA show. Mr. Folarin has said the single will be officially released in a week or two, but c'mon guys. You know I don't do deadlines. So I'm giving you the "unfinished" version that leaked back in December for free.99. That's right, one easy payment of free.99 and it's yours, all yours! Disfruta.

(I can't post the name of the track cuz google bots are worse than inner-city police.)

If this post gets deleted, you know why<-click it. i dare u.

Crack Kills Careers

Randomly just heard DMX's classic "How's It Goin Down" and was reminded how great life was when DMX was scaring niggas before and after equally frightening prayers. Now this nigga's hiding out from the Feds in Scott Storch's crib... Newton's Laws I guess. Either way, can't deny this was a classic album. The late 90's were the ish. Click the album cover to download. And for memory's sake, here's the vid. Disfruta.

This pic makes me mad

For a fuller view, click the pic. It's pretty much every pair of Ubiq's, 90% of which I need in my life--inmediatamente. And I was just telling somebody I was ready to sell off most my collection and get out the kick game...

Me and Andy are gonna have a serious convo about some of these jawns next time I'm in the shop. Do you know how long I've wanted those Qwerty's?!

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

The full thing.


Jazmine Sullivan - "Lions, Tigers & Bears"

This song's bridge is 1 part dope, 2 parts super dope.

Bon Appetit

On the low, Philadelphia has the best restaurants in the country. Among those who dine out regularly, this is far from a secret, but to your average American, it's blasphemy. When you say Philly, most ppl think cheesesteaks, and those who don't, think cream cheese. Hardly a gastronomical paradise. Still, those who actually take the time to get to know the city and all it has to offer realize that any person can get their grub on here. Whether it's a hoagie or a cheesesteak or sushi and sashimi, Philly has it and it tastes great.

To showcase the depth and breadth of Philadelphia cuisine, the Center City District regularly hosts Restaurant Week where over 100 of the cities restaurants provide prix fixe menus for only $35. That's anywhere from 3-5 courses for $35. If you consider Chilli's, Red Lobster, or The Olive Garden as "going out" then maybe this isn't for you, but for the more bourgeois, you know that $35 is a deal and a half. This year they extended Restaurant Week to 2 weeks, which gives you more than enough time to hit at least one restaurant. Click the link above for details, menu's, etc.

With so many restaurants, some ppl might find picking one a bit of a task, so here are a few personal recommendations:
Alma de Cuba
Bistro Romano
Haru
Davio's
Susanna Foo

Consider this the first installment of Greazy's Grub Guide. Later one's will highlight the best food spots in the city. They'll run the gamut from $40 entrees to $1 slice pizzas. Cuz that's how I roll. I'm kinda hungry now. I'm out. In search of... food.

HUF x Wale

This is a great look:

For an upcoming Wale Cali-tour, HUF has hooked up the emerging artist to create a two exclusive t-shirts for the respective HUF flagship stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco. With 50 t-shirts available at each location, purchases made at each store on the day of the concert will also result in a free ticket to the show. Look for Wale to be on hand at autograph signings at HUF LA and SF as well.

I'm a huge fan of HUF. As far as streetwear retailers, they consistently produce some of the cleanest gear. Last seasons leather bombers are drool-worthy. Plus they do it all at reasonable pricepoints and are generally cool ppl, which is noteworthy by itself when you consider their status in the game. My guess is it prolly has something to do with the whole Bay Area vibe. Just makes a nigga real chill. How Wale managed to pull this off, I have no idea, but I guess all the time spent in Cali pre-Interscope was a wise investment.

No Days Like Snow Days

Red Wings are for hypebeasts. This shoe is easily the hottest winter boot out. I don't think I'll be wearing anything else until the temperature gets back up above 50 regularly.