Judah hits us with a video for his track commemorating the year that was in the DMV, 2008. Pretty simple but cool video just showing Judah on his computer in a stripped down building and RA also makes her appearance for her singing part at the end. I posted the audio to this track earlier and I like it but was not expecting a video, it’s a cool track that recaps the year well and is definitely worth the listen, especially if you’re from the DMV.

mickey-factz-thinking-out-loud

Mickey comes with some new heat recorded over the beat for Kanye’s “Say You Will”. This joint is great, hands down better than the original song or the original album, although that isn’t saying much. “Thinking Out Loud” is what rap should be about, just someone spitting real talk over a beat. Mickey doesn’t just spit though, he lays down almost 7 minutes of mayhem. He also gets really into the lyrics and sounds very emotional which also makes them more powerful and gives the lyrics more meaning. I like this song but because of how intense it is it isn’t something I would bump all the time but it is still agreat record, especially if you’re trying to switch things up in your rotation.

mistah-fab-ft-clyde-carson-fly

Mistah F.A.B. and Clyde Carson gives us a Bay Area collaboration for his first sinlge off of his album coming out in March called The Bus Ryde. I have liked F.A.B. for a few years now and I’m a little disappointed with this release. The guy has so much talent and this song just doesn’t do it for me. The beat is OK only because of the synthesizer keys and bass groove, the rhymes aren’t great and the content is the same old stuff we hear from everything on the radio. I also have liked Clyde for even longer than F.A.B. and was just expecting more from them, hopefully there are some better tracks on the album.

idle-warship-try-it-on-_howwedoitoverhere_

And we’re back after some spotty posting over the holiday season, I hope everyone had a safe and fun time. Back to business though, Idle Warship, the trio consisting of Talib Kweli, Res (both pictured above) and Graph Nobel hit us with another track in their flurry to release music. This time they jump on the Busta track “This Is How We Do It Over Here” originally produced by Dr. Dre, although I probably shouldn’t say “they” as much as Talib jumps on this track haha. “Try It On” is a good track, but out of the three we have received it is still not replacing “Steady” as my favorite. Now I would like to see them try their hand at an originally produced track instead of the mixtape approach of using other people’s beats.

2008-rap-up-judah-feat-rathemc-pro-by-judah

“Skins fans got syced over that 6-2 start, but as the season got deeper they lost they heart,” haha thanks for rubbing it in Judah. Here is the DMV yearly rap up, similar to Skillz, aka Mad Skillz, yearly rap up but just focused on the DMV. There are definitely some funny lines and nothing too crazy and he covers some national headlines also. RA comes in at the end with some singing, I almost didn’t even think she was going to be on the track haha.

Spotted at ForTheDMVOnly

This is one of my favorite songs from the album Stick 2 the Script and a great song to shoot a video to, I wish they had more Pimp C clips though. Statik chops up a bunch of Pimp C samples for the chorus and has Pimp’s UGK partner Bun B and Houston unsung hero Cory Mo rhyming over it. The video is looks like it is shot in Houston and is directed by Wraithe for Kinetik Cinematix. If you haven’t already, go and and get his album, it is definitely one of my favorite recent albums to drop and I rarely like the producer/DJ collaboration albums.

02-midnight-train-to-georgia

A much different post for us here at B&B but for those who know me they would not be too shocked. I spotted this gem of an album over at Blind I for the Kids and am really impressed with the whole thing. The song above is “Midnight Train to Georgia” sung by all 4 members mentioned above. I grew up on these R&B/soul/Motown/oldies whatever type of music you want to call it thanks to my Dad so I love everything about it. The symphony definitely adds a different dynamic and gives the songs a richer sound for all of these classics that they remade. Click the break for more tracks, the track listing and link to the Blind I post.

Dresden Soul Symphony Link

Dwele - “Take Me to the River”

04-take-me-to-the-river

Tweet & Dwele - “I’ll Take You There”

16-ill-take-you-there

01. MDR Symphony Orchestra - Prelude
02. Joy Denalane, Bilal, Dwele & Tweet - Midnight Train To Georgia
03. Bilal & Dwele - I Thank You
04. Dwele - Take Me To The River
05. Joy Denalane - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
06. Bilal - I Got A Woman
07. Tweet - Lovin You
08. Joy Denalane, Bilal, Dwele & Tweet - Midnight Train To Georgia (Reprise)
09. Jemma, Nicole, Sewuese, Ricardo - I’m Coming Out
10. Joy Denalane - A Song For You
11. Joy Denalane & Bilal - You’re All I Need To Get By
12. Dwele - Let’s Stay Together
13. Joy Denalane & Tweet - It’s A Man’s Man’s World
14. Dwele - Me And Mrs. Jones
15. Tweet - Betcha By Golly Wow
16. Tweet & Dwele - I’ll Take You There
17. Joy Denalane, Bilal, Dwele & Tweet - ABC
18. Bilal - Sir Duke
19. Joy Denalane - Everything Is Everything
20. MDR Symphony Orchestra - Prelude Reprise
21. Bilal - Master Blaster
22. MDR Symphony Orchestra - Love’s Theme
23. MDR Symphony Orchestra - T.S.O.P.
24. Bilal - Love Train
25. Joy Denalane, Bilal, Dwele & Tweet - Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now
26. Joy Denalane, Bilal, Dwele & Tweet - Midnight Train To Georgia (Finale)