PEACE. Whether you’re one of HHL’s daily visitors or someone who has stumbled onto HipHopLinguistics.com for the first time, thank you for visiting this website. Unfortunately, I am currently on vacation. Due to a summer filled with travel and time off, I have decided to take my first break from this website in more than five years. I will be back in a couple months, but in the meantime, check out my four vacation posts below. These will catch you up with my favorite music of the first half of 2010, as well as what I’ll be bumping during my travels:

1. My Vacation Albums
2. My Favorite FREE Album Downloads of 2010
3. My Favorite Videos of 2010
4. My Favorite Tracks & Quotables of 2010

Have a great summer! And stay up on real hip-hop! PEACE

“HELLO” is a brand new mixtape by NYC hip-hop group the Metermaids. Mixed by DJ Rob Swift, “HELLO” is a bunch of remixes of popular indie rock songs of 2009, including tracks by Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, The White Stripes and more. If you want to sample some of the tracks before downloading, check out Yellow Tape and Girls and Music. Click below to download the Metermaids’ “HELLO”:

Download

Def Jux affiliate Cassettes Won’t Listen continues to impress me with his remix projects. Earlier this year, he created dope remixes for Bisco Smith’s Time Zones and Yak Ballz’ The Compass. Now CWL is back with his latest remix project “Animal Ox” – a mix of Indie rock back Animal Collective and underground hip-hop legends Cannibal Ox. Keep your eye out for his new solo joint dropping later this year. Click below to download Cassettes Won’t Listen’s “Animal Ox” for FREE:

Download

This is the second leak from the Metermaids’ upcoming mixtape “HELLO,” which is hosted and mixed by DJ Rob Swift. The mixtape is being released at the end of this month in preparation for the duo’s new collaboration with producer 9th Wonder “Rooftop Shake.” Yellow Tape is a remix of indie rock band Grizzly Bear’s Two Weeks. If you like this, check out the mixtape’s first leak Girls and Music. Click below to listen to the Metermaids’ Yellow Tape:

[See post to listen to audio]

And right-click-save-as the following link to download the track for FREE: Download

Big ups to the cats at Backwoodz Studios for sending this over. The Super Chron Flight Brothers have impressed me with everything they’ve ever dropped, including “Emergency Rations” and their FREE mixtapes “Indonesia” and “Deleted Scenes.” Strangers With Candy is a new track from their upcoming album “CAPE VERDE” – a concept album about a day in front of the television.

Rabbi Darkside is a local NYC hip-hop artist who has really impressed me this year with his “Darkside of 2009” mixtape and new collaboration album with Hired Gun and Zajazza called “Skillz To Take Brazil” – which I finally got around to checking out this weekend. Thank Hip Hop is a new track he put together in response to recent attacks on hip-hop based educational programs. The track below is the original, produced by Lotus, but the download includes a couple versions of the track – included one dope remix featuring a bunch of local cats, such as Mista Mayday, Hired Gun, Angel D, Appl Juic, Farbeon, Rabbi D, Doron Lev, Dyalekt & Caits Meissner. Click below to listen to Rabbi D’s Thank Hip Hop:

[See post to listen to audio]

And click the following link to download the tracks for FREE: Download

It’s always nice to hear new music from the Metermaids. The NYC duo is preparing the release of their new album with 9th Wonder, “Rooftop Shake,” but apparently still managed to put together a brand new mixtape titled “HELLO” in the meantime. Girls and Music is the first leak from “HELLO,” and is a remake of “My Girls” by Animal Collective. “HELLO,” which is hosted and mixed by DJ Rob Swift, drops June 22nd. Click below to listen to the Metermaids’ Girls and Music:

[See post to listen to audio]

And right-click-save-as the following link to download the track for FREE: Download

This is another nice preview track from Homeboy Sandman’s upcoming album “The Good Sun” – scheduled to drop June 1. I’m really digging what I’m hearing from the new album thus far. If you like this, check out Angels With Dirty Faces and Bonkers – a track that didn’t make the album’s final cut. Click below to listen to Homeboy Sandman’s Yeah, But I Can Rhyme Though:

[See post to listen to audio]

And click the following link to download the track for FREE: Download

Big ups to the cats at Tru Statement Entertainment for sending this over. M.A.E. is an NY-based duo, and Fuck Dancing is a track from their “More EP” – which you can download for FREE here.

This is a nice little freebie from the Uncommon Records crew, off their upcoming project “Lobotomy Music” from Short Fuze & Nasa. Don’t Feed the Machine features Short Fuze on vocals, Nasa on production, and Shortrock on the turntables. The album also features cameos from Uncommon Records crew affiliates Cirrus Minor, Eleven, Karniege, Passive 65ive and W.A.S.T.E.L.A.N.D.S. Click below to listen to Short Fuze & Nasa’s Don’t Feed the Machine:

And click the following link to download the track for FREE: Download