Blue Scholars "Freestyle"...

Now most other blogs would put this up as a "freestyle", and it may very well be, but either way it's definitely a dope video. Zia Mohajerjasbi does them right every time, I'm a fan...but then again I'm not an Emmy award winner, what do I know. I'm gonna post it up and let y'all check it. A little insight about the video at the end. I didn't know the Caravan was like a snowmobile...!

Somet​hing we did to fend off the cabin​ fever​ from the snows​torm that hit earli​er this month​ and cance​led our homec​oming​ shows​.​ Direc​ted and edite​d by Zia Mohaj​erjas​bi. Filme​d one Decem​ber after​noon in South​ Seatt​le.

Ummmm....wow.

Please, go back to 5th grade - or whatever your last level of education completed - and beg them to take you back.  We are all a little dumber for having listened to that.

Come Along and Ride on a...

I was perusing my favorite postin' spots (as usual) and ran across a video I just had to put up here. As you may or may not remember, B told y'all I'm a fan of Bambu. One listen to "I Scream Bars for the Children" and I was sold. Bam's latest release, "...exact change...", isn't quite as good as Bars, but it's filthy nonetheless. You can hear/feel the growth he made between the two joints, both as an artist and as a man. Back to the reason for the babble: I caught the shorter music video version of "Crooks & Rooks" over at Blind I (Ed. note: sorry about the mispelling earlier). Let me just say this: The video is a fantastic voyage (pun intended). Remember that Coolio shit? This shares some similarities to that video from the days: Dream sequence, ridin' in a '65 (at least it looks like one, but I'm about as far from mechanically inclined as Soulja Boy is from a rapper), and ending with him rolling home. But before you think I'm clowning, "Crooks & Rooks" is anything but some corny dude with a corny doo making a corny crossover video. This shit is tremendously well done. The story, the shooting, the black & white...it all adds up to an instant classic. Then I clicked through and watched the short film version, and it's even better. Alright, alright, I'm done. Watch the video.

Bambu "Crooks & Rooks" Music Video (Short Film Version) from Kid Heroes on Vimeo.

Apparently the "Making Of" drops New Years Day here. Based on the quality of this video, it should be worth watching!

Breaks out the vault...

Broken from the vault over at FSD this is said to be an unreleased track from Kanye featuring Sly Polaroid and Timmy G. Crazy....

Kanye West feat. Sly Polaroid and Timmy G - Payback

Brother Ali...

Rollin through the Dope Boyz today and found this Brother Ali The Rope-A-Dope Mixtape. This,  apparently, is an unofficial mixtape put together by the fine people at Rhyme House, and is more of a compilation of Brother Ali joints. Some Brother Ali is better than NO Brother Ali...and also peep the video of the man from Minneapolis as he performs here in Seattle. Peace.

Brother Ali - Rope-A-Dope Mixtape

Once again...

Looks like it's that time of the week again, that time for a new joint from them dudes Dyme Def.

Dyme Def - Panic

WTF: Immigration?!

So I am back with another installment of WTF...this one is an ode to the Seahawks having played their last home game of the season last week. I posted a few earlier WTF photos from Hawks games, you just never know what you're going to run into down there around the stadium. 

There are always a few protesters, preachers, random people politicin to get something on a ballot of some sort...yada, yada, yada. I found this one particularly interesting...

Now say that you were going to protest or demonstrate against immigration, illegal aliens, etc, etc.... Wouldn't you want someone carrying the banner that may not be confused for an illegal alien himself. I'm not saying what their demonstrating is right, but I'm just sayin. Especially love the "Stop Illegal Immigration" t-shirt! Classic. I have often thought about getting one that says "I'm Against Kicking Babies", how do you thing that one would go over! Peace.

Fresh from the inbox...Preservation

Just got, what looks to be, a  nice little joint in the inbox. Prop to E at WTR on finally gettin his "mixtape" done and out. Haven't heard it yet, but if it comes from E then it has to be nice. I'mma bout to listen right now and y'all should do the same. Then slip on over to WTR and show the homey love. Congrats E. Peace.

When They Reminisce.com and Sneaker Politics Presents: Preservation Mixed by DJ Ragz

More Holla-day Spirit...

Murry Christmas!!  Or whatever your flavor, hope the season is good to you.  Here's one last gift from us here at AYCE.  Enjoy!

Christmas Rap (1987):

1. Run-DMC - Christmas in Hollis

2. Sweet Tee - Let the Jingle Bells Rock

3. Dana Dane - Dana Dane is Coming to Town

4. Spyder-D - Ghetto Santa

5. King Sun-D Moet - Christmas in the City

6. Derek B - Chillin' With Santa

7. Disco Four - He's Santa Claus

8. The Showboys - That's What I Want for Christmas

9. Surf MC's - A Surf M.C. New Year

Take it Back Tuesday - The Holla-day Edition

Ho, ho, ho bitches!  Santa's Lil' Helper here (I had Lil' way before that motherfuckin' Wayne character.  I got your lollipop right here pal!)  Anyway, I got the holiday spirit in me - can I getta "Amen?" - and so I thought I'd share this little gem with y'all. 

From the apparently defunct Off The Hook Mix Tape Series, this is Season's Beatings: The Second Coming.  J Squared & Hudson chop up some Christmas classics with plenty of hip-hop's finest carols.  I'm not gonna lie, it's a little weird sometimes, but that's why they invented the fast-forward button.  And it's free, so don't bitch Scrooge.

Anyway, grab a cup o' eggnog - mixed with plenty of whatever your favorite flavor may be - and get your holladay on! 

Season's Beatings: The Second Coming

Tracklist:

01.biggie's christmas intro
02.the ventures -jingle bell rock
03.Run DMC -Christmas Is
04.Ella Mitchell and Chorale -Away in a Manger
05.Donny Hathaway -This Christmas
06.Kool Moe Dee -Christmas Rap
07.Hot n' Sassy -Christmas Strutt
08.Jacob Miller -Deck The Halls
09.Lee 'Scratch' Perry -Merry Christmas, Happy New Year
10.The Salsoul Orchestra/Biggie Smalls -Sleighride in Brooklyn
11.Lou Rawls -Santa Claus is Coming To Town
12.beck -little Drum Machine Boy
13.Mase ft. Snoop, Puffy, Keith Murray, Salt n' Pepa & Onyx -Santa Baby
14.Easy E -feat.Buck Wheat & Menajahtwa -Merry Muthaf***** Christmas
15.Destiny's Child -Little Drummer Boy
16.Rotary Connection -Christmas Love
17.The Electric Jungle -Funky Funky Christmas
18.Elton John -Ho Ho Ho
19.Lou Rawls -I'm Coming Home for Christmas
20.The Wrecked Donkey Interlude
21.Billy Taylor Orchestra -Bright Star in the East
22.Lou Rawls -Christmas Will Really Be Christmas
23.Mary J. Blige -Christmas in the City
24.De La Soul -Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa
25.Big Daddy Kane & Biz Markie -We got this one for Christmas...

(Sorry I don't have any album art.  Can't find a good version and I don't have a scanner.  Can you help a brother out Santa?)

P.S. - If y'all are good, I might have more Holladay cheer to spread tomorrow. 

Fresh to Def every Sunday...

As promised more new music comin your way from Dyme Def. These four new joint got me fein'in for more.

Dyme Def - Women B Gettin It (produced by Bean One)

Dyme Def - Fresher N My Kicks (produced by Bean One)

Enjoy. Peace.

The end of an era at Qwest Field....

Don't waste Fossil Fuels..

So we got this in the inbox the other day as well and took me a day or two to give it a listen...it is an all instrumental album put out by Kid Hum. The same Kid Hum that brought us the Suicide Watch Mixtape from Whygee and Sunkenstate. With the exception to the Beastie Boys latest album, I have always felt like instrumental albums are a bit like a drunken kiss from the hot girl in school...it's nice, but it leaves you wanting more! Thats kinda the way I felt with this album. While I was feelin most of the joints on here, it left me wanting to hear someone going over these beats other than the computer generated voice overs which I got to admit where a bit annoying the further I got. Hopefully when he releases it those aren't included! I can definitely respect the artistry though. Don't just take my word for it, listen for yourself here. Peace.

From the inbox: Royce Da 5'9"...

Got this in the inbox a couple days ago and just gettin to post it up, some of us gotta work to eat...ya know! Nice little joint from his new album Street Hop due out in April. Royce also shot a video, and since I am too impatient to wait for it to download, I borrowed it from OS! Also, not sure how exclusive it is to the NMC when we all got it...but oh well, to each their own! Peace.

Royce Da 5'9" - Shake This produced by DJ Premier

Here's the video:

Mos DEFinitely...

So Catch and I make it out to see a lot of shows here in Seattle, but one thing is for certain, we do have our favorites. Last Saturday we risked life and limb in the blizzard and made it to the Mos Def show at The Moore Theatre. Man, you gotta love Mos Def, seriously one of the illest entertainers in the business, but I think we were just as excited to see Dyme Def.

I'm tellin ya, if you have slept on these cats you need to WAKE UP, walk outside in the snow, form a good sized ice ball, and slam it right into your nuts. Fa real, these dudes bring it to EVERY show...energy, swag, fun...they got it all. Each of them, Fearce Vil, SEV, and Brainstorm play off one another on the stage, have strong smooth delivery, and with beats by Brainstorm and Bean One all is good. The worst part is that they cut Dyme short this night and then made us wait forever for Mos to take the stage, meanwhile Dyme was wanderin through the crowd wanting to still be rockin the show. Peep the video below of them performing TheGameNeedsMe, damn near risked my life again trying to get this cause they were crackin down on recordin and peep the link for another new track...cause Dyme has a plan for 2009! Check out the message from beat maker/producer Bean One: "Aight so we have been in the studio ever since i met these guys a few years back. we have done a few substantial releases, in the past 2 years, but i tell ya thats not enough for me, and or us.. SO WERE ABOUT TO BE BOMBARDING THE INTERNET BLOGS, CORNERS, RADIOS, DJAYS, CARSYSTEMS, HOUSEHOLDS, EX EX.. will be releasing a song every 2 weeks or so, until the release of our EP some time in January. From then we will be releasing an EP every 2 months. MUCH MORE TO COME...Sincerely, Bean One." So keep an eye out...

and as promised...

Dyme Def - Jungle

So Like I said, there was a fair amount of time between Dyme Def and Mos Def, admittedly, Mos said they had some trouble gettin to the theater...and with the weather outside that night I tend to believe him. I guess I can forgive him this once. For me, Mos encompasses the term "entertainer"...he raps, sings, acts, does spoken word, and we all know he can freestyle his ass off. You know if the title says "Mos Def freestyle" that he ain't fakin the funk. Dude came out and just ripped it...completely. I think he must have played is entire new album, set to drop in March I think he said, and from what I heard it is gonna hot. For the life of my though, I can't remember the names to any of the songs I must've been too busy bobbin my head to think to remember. That being said, if y'all were there or know the names hit us up in the comment section or email and let us know. So peep a couple videos and let us know what you think...and please for give the quality of the video...damn red lights, it's more about the sound anyway, right? Peace.

Update: So the joint below is called Twilight Speedball and was produced by Chad Hugo of The Neptunes.

Update: This one is called Auditorium and produced by Madlib.



Also peep the here for more videos...

Oh shit, I almost forgot...SHOUT OUT to "nurse" Roxanne for saving the life of the guy that passed out. You know ya boy had it on lock but you came in, flashed your big ass ( . )( . ), and I am almost positive, saved the day. Shit, I ain't mad, I got a good look too!!!

WTF: That's a HUGE bitch edition...

No matter what show I go to, there is always something and believe me, we giggled our motherfuckin asses off when these two walked by.... Now I ain't a small dude by any means, and Catch ain't shoppin in the petite section either, but big mama made us look like these guys. She didn't even have to sit down to sit on that stool. They walked in and she had her arm around his neck. I guess opposites do attract.... She was working those heels too...but not as hard as those stretch pants were workin. Peace.

Take it Back Tuesday...

What up y'all??? So, we've figured out that we're not very good at keeping track of weekly features (I think we're like 2 or 3 behind in the End of the Year Awards), but that ain't stoppin' me from trying to start another!!

I've been thinking about a weekly throwback single post for awhile now. You know, old cuts that make you think "Damn! It's been a minute since I heard this one." Then you promptly jet to your computer to find said track and proceed to bump it for like three days straight. What's that? You don't do that? Well, fuck you. I do.

The first edition of Take it Back Tuesday has us hoppin' in the ol' DeLorean with Doc Brown and arriving in the year 1991. "But that's the future!" Shut the fuck up Marty and go get me a double burger wit cheese.

Ahh, '91. The year the first Gulf War began; the year Rodney King got knocked the fuck out; Michael Jordan won his first ring; Pee-wee Herman got caught beatin' it in public; and Magic Johnson announced he had AIDS... that was 17 years ago!!! Insert Punchline lyric: "You say your sick, but I don't see it!"

So we hop out the car, step over Rodney, and into the music store to browse through the tape section. (I know, we were probably buying CDs at that point, but this is my story and I'll tell it how I like!) Let's see... D, E, F, G.... Gangstarr - nope, not today... Gay Rappers United - Noooooo, that's Benny's shit... ah, here it is:

Hell. Yes. Who didn't love the Geto Boys?? These Houston cats were fucking crazy!!! Who even knew there was such a thing as a midget with a glass eye?? Yep, Bushwick Bill, Willie D and Scarface stirred shit up when they hit the scene. But it was this one from their fourth album that most people will always remember 'em for:

Minds Playing Tricks On Me

There you have it, the first edition of Take it Back Tuesday here at AYCE. My inspiration for today's pick is that I watched The Strangers today...that is one fucked up flick! Got my mind playing tricks on me! Best scurry movie I've seen in a long time.

Bonus Video (and a good one at that!):

And the sega continues...

Soulja Boy says there's no beef...Charles says there's no beef...but I'mma let the masses decide.... Shout out to 2dopeboyz for this one. Peace.

Charles Hamilton - Word? Alright! (Soulja Boy diss)

Homeboy got dissed through autotune?! Game. Over.

WTF: Airport edition...

What better time to write a fucking blog than when you are sitting in the airport in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and they just happen to have a wireless connection (thank you god)...to top it all off my plane is late. Security is closed...yes closed. I guess thats one way to prevent terrorism, close security and not let anyone through to the gates.

I digress, todays picture was taken after a Seahawks game a couple weeks ago. Now there are a couple of things that get my goat with this picture. First, and foremost, what THE fuck is going on with this dudes hair...? Seriously, white dudes should not wear cornrows...especially not ones with cornrows between the rows and neat little designs!

Second...the leather Seahawks jacket. I'm not hating on the fact that he's wearin a Hawks Jacket...I'm reppin the old school hat right now.  Just sayin, does it have to be LEATHER. Damn, you got it pimpin...I think he got a pinkie ring too! Funny thing is, I got caught taking this picture by a couple standing next to me and we had a discussion about how big a douche this guy really is...I'm just sayin. Alright, security is now open and I am permitted to go to the gate. Peace.

Damn Chuck...

Sonic's on another level as the video for Brooklyn Girls finally dropped.  It was worth the wait.  Nothing groundbreaking video-wise, but stylistically speaking it's nice and clean.  Depth is incredible, so you know there was some expensive-ass equipment in the building.  The pink Beats by Dre headphones???  I guess it's to be expected when Charles's involved.  Wonder what color Soulja Boy would wear - is there a color called "homo"?  How about "who gives a fuck about that little funny bitch?"  No? Anyway, peep game:

Charles Hamilton - New Music - More Music Videos

Thanks to RealTalk for this one.  By the way, it musta been mad cold in BK that day (@3:43)!

P.S. - If you ain't seen Soulja Boy talking shit about Chuck, go take a look.  And I thought Rick Ross was a douche!  Behold:

3badbrothaaa's are back

Dyme Def is back and preparing for a few EP releases in 2009. Copped this from 2dopboyz and, as usual from these cats, it's fire. According to the dope boyz, Dyme Def is set to release some of the tracks that didn't make the 2009 EPs. I've been waitin for some new shit from these cats since the release of their 3badbrothaaas Mixtape earlier this year.

Dyme Def - Dreamin (Bean Mix)

Peace.

Fresh from the inbox...

Well kiddies have I got a little treat for you...Mike Classic. Don't hate the name till you hear the tape. This cat has been gettin large play since I got this out the inbox a few days ago. Classic is a 17 year old cat from Queens, that claims to have started rappin at age 9 and been influenced by Nas. Dude is way fresher than most garbage you see around these parts. Production and samples are on point, delivery and lyrics is nice, I like it. I like the way dude can go from "hipster/backpacker" to "grimey" (fuck I hate those labels) from one song to the next and make it work without seeming like a sucka. Mike Classic goes in on Wale's Nike Boots that is pretty ill..."ching-a-ling, ring, ring, bling, bling on my wrist from here to Sing Sing/Gotta bitch with lips lookin like a porn star, Filipino, call her Lingling."

Mike Classic - Nike Boots Classic Remix

When it's Playoff Mode is a easy listen that will have you nodding your head from track to track...and the NBA sound bites will take you back to the days of Michael, Kevin Johnson posterizing Hakeem, or Starks bangin on Horace and MJ. Come on though...even Classic couldn't avoid the lure of the damn Autotune...? I mean it is just the hook and the background but still...just sayin. When is the autotune going to end? I do still kinda like the track though. So I'mma post up the mixtape, or you can go to his myspace and get it there. I'm also gonna post a couple videos here for your viewing pleasure. Tell me that those aren't the illest sneakers ever...ayo Mike I'mma need you to send me those kicks for the promotion. What, you thought shit was free homey...haha.

Mike Classic - When It's Playoff Mode Mixtape

Freestyle or not, that shit is hot...Peace.