Hot new video for Lookin’ Fly off Murs’ new album “Murs for President.”

New video for ScholarMan’s Passin’ Me By 2008, a track from his free mixtape “The Pull Forward EP Vol. 2.” Download it now for free if you haven’t already.

And if you like this, check out his recent videos for What You Puttin’ Back and The Answer II from his upcoming album “Gameshift: The Movement” - dropping in January ‘09.

  Rating:
  Review Date: October 6, 2008
  Website: Homeboy Sandman
  Label: Independent

Homeboy Sandman “Actual Factual Pterodactyl” Album Review
I knew this album was going to be dope. But to be honest, I didn’t know it was going to be this dope. I’ve always looked at Homeboy Sandman as an emcee with crazy lyrical skills and an innovative flow, but I didn’t know he could put together such a comprehensive album: one that combines humorous rapping with conscious lyricism; the underground mentality with popular appeal – all while remaining fluid and entertaining. “Actual Factual Pterodactyl” is that album. (more…)

Another dope Common remix by Beatnick & K-Salaam from the duo’s Common remix album titled “S.T.O.R.Y.” (Stories Told Over Remixed Years”) - which will be available for free download soon. If you like this, you should also check out their remix for “The Corner.”

Detroit, MI - According to news sources, Jay-Z will perform Saturday at Detroit’s Cobo Arena during a free rally and concert to promote voter registration. With just five days left to register voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is traveling to Michigan Thursday and sending in his wife and a top hip-hop artist to push the registration message.

The campaign also has created a video playing on the Obama Web site and YouTube that features Obama, running mate Joe Biden and a host of Michigan Democrats and popular entertainers who have hosted voter registration rallies and events in the state.”This is the biggest election of our lifetime,” Obama says in the video. “If you are already registered to vote, get your friends and family to register to vote. If you need more information about where to go, get on our Web site. … Remember, we need to do it by October 6th.” (more…)

There is no disputing that, in the past two decades, hip-hop music has received quite the bad rap. While critics wag their fingers at the promotion of violence and criminal activity often heard in lyrics, proponents of the genre claim the content is simply a reflection of news and reality for the disenfranchised.

Amid all the ruckus, it is easy to overlook the quieter voices in rap music; not every artist rhymes about guns and drugs. Having spent his early years in war-torn Somalia before seeking refuge in Canada, poet and hip-hop artist K’naan could easily take his place among today’s most favored gangster rappers–and probably with more credibility. However, that’s not his style. (more…)

This is a couple months old, but I just came across it. Dope video for A To The K, from Akrobatik’s 2008 album “Absolute Value.”

New York rapper Nas has never shied away from news controversy in his almost two-decade career. Even so, the artist, whose real name is Nasir Jones, has little patience for controversy for the sake of selling albums. “If you’re just faking the funk, if you’re just starting trouble with people just for attention and you got no goal, it’s going to end before it started,” Nas said. “People will catch onto it.”

Nas’ latest untitled album has stirred up plenty of its own trouble. Nas originally called the album N—-r, but left it untitled after criticism around the title. Rev. Jesse Jackson and the NAACP both criticized Nas for the album title, while some artists, including Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Common, supported it. Nas said he eventually changed the title because he didn’t want the negativity to overwhelm his album’s content. (more…)

This week’s underground hip-hop track of the week is Homeboy Sandman’s Mambo Tail Tale - one of my many favorites from his spectacular new album “Actual Factual Pterodactyl.” I keep finding myself listening to this song on the train laughing hysterically like a goofball. It is a great story about Sand’s first mambo experience. Click below to listen to the track:

And make sure you follow along with the lyrics after the break. (more…)

New video from Ill Bill’s “The Hour of Reprisal.”