Call us Skyzoo stans, call us “yes men” - but you’d have a hard time arguing that pretty much every track Skyzoo makes is doper than most. Of course he drops snoozers from time to time, but nothing is ever completely and utterly whack.
The Great Debater Mixtape is dropping on June 7, and based on previous releases and leaks – you can pretty much grasp the premise is on Skyzoo’s lyrical strengths and his ability to get his point across [much like a debate - gold star!]. Not sure what it will have in store for us but based on the leaks, however, this will definitely get some heavy rotation Summer 11′ and beyond – can’t wait!
BACK-TRACK (Weeks 1-4): Week 1: The “Great Debater Mixtape” Trailer [Directed by Kenneth Price]
Every Tuesday, Skyzoo & !llmind will be presenting an episode from their four part video web series “Tales From The Tape” in which they give fans an inside look into the creation of their forthcoming collaborative album Live From The Tape Deck.
Directed By: WORKSHOP
Additional Photography: Mike D’Angelo
Is it just us, or do albums that come out in the FALL sound the best….. let that marinate for a little bit…
Dub MD and Illmind are at it again, following up from Vol. 1, today they released Blaps, Rhymes & Life Vol 2! With a combination of known and unknown artists. This tape is what you’ve been waiting for since Dub MD’s Hip Hop Renatus awhile back. This tape encompasses what TheOvun is all about. Good beats and good emcees you don’t know but need to know. [that 50 cent track is just there for show lol]
This tape is produced entirely by Illmind so you know the beats are going to be crazy. The Question is, which track is the craziest? Answer coming later today, I need to marinate on this tape, check the tracklist below:
01.) Mic Legacy – Larry Davis (Produced by Illmind)
02.) D-Black – Hold Up (Gangsta Shit) (Produced by Illmind)
03.) 50 Cent – Who Run It (feat. Eminem, Cashis & Lloyd Banks) (Produced by Illmind)
04.) Heltah Skeltah – So Damn Tuff (feat. Buckshot & Ruste Juxx) (Produced by Illmind)
05.) Scarface – It’s Not A Game (Produced by Illmind)
06.) Thoth – MA To The West (feat. Oh No) (Produced by Illmind)
07.) Naps N Dreds – Bully! (feat. Kool G Rap) (Produced by Illmind)
08.) Diamond D – Don’t Beg (Produced by Illmind)
09.) Pumpkinhead – Of The Same Air (feat. Talib Kweli) (Produced by Illmind)
10.) Fortilive – Trunk Pop Music (Produced by Illmind)
11.) Project Heights – Champion (feat. Rakaa Iriscience & Noelle Scaggs) (Produced by Illmind)
12.) Sleek – Hi New Orleans (Produced by Illmind)
13.) Che Grand – Streets (Produced by Illmind)
14.) Starrs & Murph – Damn (Produced by Illmind)
15.) Bambu – Quit (Produced by Illmind)
16.) Above Ave – Root Of All Evil (Wake Up) (Produced by Illmind)
17.) Grynch – A Dream Undeferred (Produced by Illmind)
18.) Kingdom (The Movement) (Swaggerboy, Kilo & Problem Child) – Heartache (Produced by Illmind)
19.) Naturel – Love To The World (Produced by Illmind)
20.) Blitzkrieg (Bee Lavish, Quayluds, D-Minus & Contra) – Ruling Elite (Produced by Illmind)
21.) Megaciph – War (Produced by Illmind)
22.) Mister RP – Diamonds Aren’t Enough (Produced By Illmind)
**Another big shout out to everyone who put the release party together. Shout out to DJ M-POS , it was a great party; maybe Jersey is not so bad after all?
His myspace page is [myspace.com/] IMMAPROBLEM, but his name is D-Black. The Bronx bred rapper not to be confused with Washington state based rapper D. Black [he was on White Van Music, they should have a battle: $20k pot, the name, the punctuation and braggin rights....eh, im just sayin though]. You may remember D-Black from such internet takeovers as the “Mr. October” campaign where this dude dropped like 12 tracks for the month of October. Real talk, I didn’t pay much attention to this cat until he dropped “The Heist”. I was expecting to hear the track from Big L’s classic, then I saw it was produced by Madlib, then I was expecting the track from Champion Sound [yeah i know Dilla produced it]. To my effin surprise it was More Rice from Madlib’s Beat Konducta in India joint! I listened…it most definitely reminded me of the old Big L joint with the story telling and dude was right on the money with it. From then on, I kept a proverbial eye on him, I don’t know how his latest mixtape slipped off my radar. Dropping this past “Black Friday” [11/28/08], New Black City was hosted by the one and only Mick Boogie and DJ Woof.
D-Black – Dollars Circulate [prod. J Dilla, it was off of Steve Spacek joint Dollarin 04]
No offense to Spacek, but this track needed a beast, it was going to waste….
D-Black makes me optimistic that hardcore hood rap will never become extinct. In an era when you have cats like Asher Roth on the cover of XXL it’s a cause for concern [yeah we said that shit, TheOvun.com, quote us.] The majority of hood dudes trying to grind out there now are lacking two things that D-Black has: 1. Wit. Metaphors like “I Wesley sniped ya” get old real fast. Everybody can rhyme 2 words together, and a lot of people can create allusions too, but it takes a real schmert MC to engage you with his word play. [Must be the 3.8 GPA?] D-Black says that shit you want commit to memory like, “you aimed so high, you lost trust in yourself. You mentally grabbed lotion, started fucking yourself”. 2. A knack for pushing boundaries. Whether it be with his beat selection or his down right honesty, there’s something refreshing about his whole swagger. Not to mention as an added bonus, he’s also a producer. Don’t know if that will help or hinder, but it can definitely explain his beat selection skills….
D-Black – The Come Up ft. Skyzoo [prod. Illmind]
A good meeting of the minds…
Like I have stated previously, this fall is gonna be a good one for Hip Hop. Heltah Skeltah is coming back from a 10 year hiatus! Ruck [Sean Price] and Rock have joined forces again for their 3rd album, “D.I.R.T. [Da Incredible Rap Team].
It’s been 10 years, so what have they been up to? If you’ve been under a rock or locked down, you wouldn’t know that Sean P, has probably made one of the greatest comebacks in indie history with he release of 2005′s Monkey Barz and 2007′s Jesus Price Supastar. In recent months, word on these internet streets was that Rock is dealing charges of attempted murder, but that didn’t stop him from releasing the Shell Shock Mixtape. From what I’ve heard, this new album fails to disappoint with the same ole Heltah Skeltah with 10 years of improvement. Who could ask for more?
Heltah Skeltah – The Art of Disrespekanization [produced by Khrysis]
