Leisure Lab

Artist Feature – MaG

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:51:05 +0000

MaG explores the price of living in his Reagonomics mixtape, with lyrics that often delve into socio-political issues. This is rap with substance, not just political posturing. MaG says, “Sure now its ‘cool’ to be a back-packer or a hipster and talk about your real life, but nobody’s speaking for the impoverished, the lost, the forgotten.”

Call it depth of character. While other rappers focus on their own autobiographies, MaG tells his story within the context of the community and the world around him. He wants to speak for the voiceless.

But MaG doesn’t preach – ultimately his focus is on making good Hip Hop music. “I just hope the music I make can affect people in the way the music I listened to affected me. I want people to throw in a MaG joint and go, ‘Wow, this reminds me of how it used to be….this reminds me of how music is supposed to sound.’”

The Reagonomics mixtape features collaborations with artists such as Skyzoo, Darien Brockington, and Torae. And the co-signs don’t stop there. In fact, Buckwild calls him “the future of NYC Hip Hop.”

As for MaG’s future – he has projects with kevinnottingham.com scheduled for August release dates, and new solo work dropping in the near future. Expect big things to come from this Bronx emcee.

More on MaG:
Download MaG – Reagonomics
MaG at MySpace

KRS-ONE and Buckshot – “ROBOT”

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:11:34 +0000

iCON the Mic King – “Drifting With The Tide” Video

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:07:21 +0000

DJ JS-1 – “Brainbender” feat. Kool Keith, Ced Gee Canibus, Prince Poetry, and Rahzel

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:00:55 +0000

More from JS-1, the song is called “Brainbender” and features Kool Keith, Ced Gee, Canibus, Prince Poetry, and Rahzel.

JS-1: “The song has four verses. It’s long and just the way I like it, not the way most people do it. I got Kool Keith to say a classic Ultra line ‘I’m sending brains are bending’ for the chorus, which kind of holds true when people listen to something like this.”

DJ JS-1 – “Brainbender” feat. Kool Keith, Ced Gee Canibus, Prince Poetry, and Rahzel

DJ JS-1 – “Nuthin” featuring CL Smooth, Brother Ali, and Sadat X

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:54:47 +0000

“Nuthin” comes from the new album by DJ JS-1 called NO SELLOUT (Ground Original 2), the second installment to DJ JS-1’s first album, Ground Original.

DJ JS-1 – “Nuthin” featuring CL Smooth, Brother Ali, and Sadat X

Dâm-Funk – Toeachizown

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:34:38 +0000

Dâm-Funk’s debut album Toeachizown will be released as a quintuple LP set this Fall. The set will feature five records: LAtrik, Fly, Life, Hood, and Sky. LAtrik is available as a digital release now. And a preview download of the title track from Toeachizown is also available.

Quantic and his Combo Barbaro – “Arianita”

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:56:02 +0000

Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro will release Tradition In Transition in the U.S. on July 14th. As a preview, Tru Thoughts is giving away the song “Arianita,” and you can get it here.

Hot 8 Brass Band at Glastonbury

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:39:03 +0000

Mark de Clive-Lowe and Lady Alma – “I Can’t Help It”

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:02:08 +0000

Mark de Clive-Lowe and Lady Alma pay tribute to Michael Jackson with their version of “I Can’t Help It.”

iCON the Mic King – “Drifting With The Tide” featuring Awar

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:44:24 +0000

iCON The Mic King is releasing a collection of songs that he’s calling the Headphone Classic Series. The first song in the series is called “Drifting With The Tide,” and it features Awar of the group Popular Strangers.

iCON says, “Drifting With The Tide deals with very real issues of betrayal and unattainable love.”

iCON the Mic King – “Drifting With The Tide” featuring Awar