"Money" - N.A.S.A ft. David Byrne, Chuck D,Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, and Z-Trip

I found this video on Pitchfork from a new duo called N.A.S.A. This track, titled "Money" features an incredibly eclectic (and awesome) guest list: David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, and Z-Trip. I'll be honest with you, I only know who David Byrne and Chuck D, but those two guys piqued my interest enough to investigate the video. And I'm glad I did. It has a sick raggea hip hop sort of vibe. The forthcoming album from N.A.S.A., titled The Spirit of Apollo, is rumored to feature collaborations from David Byrne, Tom Waits, M.I.A., members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kool Keith, CSS' Lovefoxxx, Spank Rock, John Frusciante, Fatlip and Slim Kid Tre from the Pharcyde, E-40, Gift of Gab, Chali 2na, KRS-One, George Clinton, Seu Jorge, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Amanda Blank, Z-Trip, and DJ Qbert, Kanye West, Chuck D, Ghostface Killa, the Cool Kids, Scarface, and Santogold.

Whoa.

If that doesn't make you look forward to the February 17 release date, I don't know what will.

Check out the video here.


NOTE: My blog finally got noticed! By the copyright people! Hopefully, yall were able to get that incredible Jay-Z track "Brooklyn (Go Hard)" because that post was taken down and I was warned against posting copyrighted material in the future. Sooooo I've decided to start posting more YouTubes and links to other sites that have downloads rather than post the actual download itself. This will mean a little extra work for my three loyal Midpoints readers. Sorry guys, it'll be a little more work for you.

Lil Wayne Never Sleeps

If he did, there is no chance in hell that his output would be as insanely prolific as it is. Last week he brought us the Dedication 3 mixtape. This week we get The Drought Is Over Part 6: The Reincarnation mixtape. I just started listening to it and I already like it better than Dedication 3, but who knows what next week will bring. The mixtape starts with the infamous interview where Weezy explains that his next studio album will be called Tha Carter III, but will have none of the same songs as what we know now as Tha Carter III. He explains that he wants everyone to like Tha Carter IV and what he is working now simply isn't what Tha Carter IV is supposed to be...I guess. Best rapper alive? Sure. Easy to decipher? Not so much.

Ok, I'm a few more songs in. This shit is awesome, you gotta check it out.

Even if you aren't a Lil Wayne fan, you have to admit that is the single greatest album cover of all time. Lil Wayne has wings. And a baby. And a river of blood.

Download The Drought is Over Part Six: The Reincarnation.


BONUS: I have no idea what this song is from. It was labeled as being part of TDIOP6:TR but it certainly isn't on the mixtape. It's called Hot Revolver and he sings some Green Day lyrics and I have no idea what is going on, but it's really cool. Download it here.

Who The F!@# Is Kevin Rudolf?

He is the latest artist to sign to Cash Money Records and he continues to team up with some of the biggest names in rap. First it was Lil Wayne and now it's Nas. I can't quite wrap my brain around his stuff. Love it? Yes. Understand it? No. It's like alt rock. Except it's dancier. So like Fall Out Boy/Panic At The Disco. But not. It's club anthem dancey, like Rihanna/Lady GaGa. But it has guitar solos. And rap. I have no idea what's going on, but I like it. Check out the mp3: NYC featuring Nas.

Dedication 3

Lil Wayne with DJ Drama. just released his first mixtape since the release of Tha Carter III. I'll be real honest, I was not impressed by Dedication 3 at all. I thought it relied to heavily on other rappers and not enough on Lil Wayne himself. My first impression was actually that the skits where Weezy just talks were the best parts of the mixtape. Luckily, I took the time to go back and listen again. I was wrong. Dedication 3 is great. It takes about five tracks to really hit it's stride, but once it does it's smooth sailing for the rest of the album. The skits get funnier. The beats/samples get better. DJ Drama continues to refer to himself as "Barack Odrama". Wayne goes crazier. He say's it best himself:

"You get money and you get crazy. I get crazy and I get money."

Download it for free here.

New Wale

I've been busy, sorry I haven't posted lately.  I'll blame the music industry's lack of notable new stuff instead of blaming my overcrowded schedule.  Check it:  DC rapper Wale (pronounced Wah-lay) has just signed on to make a record with producer extrodonaire Mark Ronson (whose solo cover album was one of my favorite albums of last year).  If my math is correct, the combination of Ronson's slick producin' and Wale wit and lyricism should make his forthcoming album Back to the Feature pretty awesome.  This single, Warwick Avenue, features Duffy and is a pretty neat little jam.  Download the mp3 here and check it out for yourself.  

If you've never heard of Wale you should definitely check out two of his mixtapes.  The first, 100 Miles and Running features one of my favorite songs of the year: W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.  The song features the DC rapper spittin' over one of my favorite songs from last year D.A.N.C.E.  I never thought that Justice could be used as a rap beat, but I guess that's just a tribute to Wale's genius. The second mixtape worth checking out is The Mixtape About Nothing.   It's a Seinfeld themed mixtape.  'Nuff said.  Do yourself a favor and download The Mixtape About Nothing and 100 Miles and Running.  If nothing else you MUST hear W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.

Kanye and Coldplay ft. Jay-Z

Two new tracks for your ears:

1.  Kanye had an outragous party, that as far as I can tell from his blog, consisted of nothing but concrete, lights and naked women.  He premired his new album 808s & Heartbreak for the nude crew and released another Auto-Tune filled mp3 of a song called Heartless.  

2. Jay-Z has yet again teamed up with Chris Martin and the Coldplays.  Although billed as a remix with Jay-Z, this version of Lost! is pretty much the same except for the verse Hova adds in the last part of the song.  It's cool, but kinda dissapointing.  Maybe it's just because the quality isn't great, but I'm less than impressed.  Download it for yourself, maybe I'm wrong. 

New Eminem!!!

This morning a song from Eminem's long awaited sixth LP, Relapse, hit the blogosphere. We've been hearing for some time now that the album would be entitled King Mathers, and based on this title alone I assumed that this would be a return to greatness.  Although I wouldn't describe any of his albums as weak, the latest few have failed to capture the extreme controversy and genius present in his first slew of albums.  The new song, titled I'm Having A Relapse, isn't bad.  I haven't had a chance to listen to it enough to disect the lyrics, but after a first listen, I'm definitely a fan.  It's only two minutes, but hey, its two minutes from a dude we've been waiting a long time to hear.  The leak has been surrounded by some unsubstantiated rumors that new albums from 50 Cent, Eminem, and Dr. Dre will all be released in relatively close succession starting late 2008 and continuing into early 2009.  Apparently, Dre has produced most of Relapse (awesome) which has allowed Mr. Mathers to spend most of his time working on lyrics (awesome).  But let's be real, Dretox/Detox is the one that we are all waiting for.  50 Cent's album is set to be released December 9, but neither Relapse, nor Detox have any confirmed release dates.  Enough chit-chat, snag the I'm Having A Relapse mp3 here.