Straight up and down, a song / video hasn’t hit me this hard since Earl Sweatshirt’s “EARL.” I caught a glimpse of some chatter about “Wikispeaks” on Twitter the other night. Us night owl rap nerds do some of our best work after midnight.

At the current moment, I don’t know much about this kid Wiki. From a little detective work, I can tell he’s a rebellious kid from somewhere uptown (around 96th St or so) and he’s really into graffiti. He runs with a crew called RATKING (shouts to my TMNT fans). And if you ask me to go further, I’d go as far to say that he was cryogenically frozen in the Rawkus / Def Jux era and just thawed out recently to save NYC from the bullsh*t. The second coming of Yak Ballz, even. The kid can SPIT.

Sh*t like this makes me proud to be from NYC. There’s an aura that emanates from the concrete, sewers and subway tunnels and it permeates our pores. Wiki absorbed ALL of that and it’s evident in his music. I can’t wait to see him evolve.  If you dig the video, you can grab the entire project entitled 1993 below, which dropped in October of 2011. He’s just starting to get eyes on him now. Instant fan right here.

I happed to be scrolling thru one of The FADER‘s daily newsletters the other day and a name caught my eye — Joey BADA$$. Sounds like sometone straight out of a mafia movie. But conversely, this happens to be a 17-year old kid from Brooklyn.

After hitting play, my mind was kinda blown. Then I had to check my calendar to double check that it was still 2012. It always takes me off guard when artists of such a young age churn out music that reference a hip-hop sensibility that was popular when I was young. A hard-as-nails lo-fi beat and straight SPITTING.

This is from a forthcoming project entitled 1999. So that already explains alot. I’m keeping an eye on this kid as well as his Progressive Era family. He seems wise beyond his years.  The future is looking so bright right about now.

I liked “Survival Tactics” so much that I did some more digging. Gearing up for the release of the aforementioned solo project, 1999, Joey has unleashed yet another promising joint entitled “Waves.” Brooklyn keeps on takin’ it.

I think people are starting to forget what true R&B sounds like.  Somewhere along the way, with the ascension of EDM in mainstream, vocalists were influenced and the corporate machine saw the dollar signs.  Special Request harkens back to a time where could hear satin melodies slide over lush production brushed w/ hip-hop highlights.  The Bay Area’s soul crowned prince 1-O.A.K. nailed it with his new album.  Straight windows down, seat-back, holla at a girl from the passenger side music.  100% written and produced solely by him.  The talent in the Honor Roll family is endless.

DOWNLOAD | 1-O.A.K. – Special Request

An acquaintance of mine said something very interesting via a Facebook status update — “all the excitement around Robert Glasper shows that the hip-hop community is aging (duh) and desperately needs music that reflects adult experiences.” I don’t know if i could have said it any better. In case you’ve turned a deaf ear to what’s going on in the strong marriage of contemporary jazz and hip-hop, accomplished pianist Robert Glasper recently released an amazing piece of work entitled Black Radio.

The album features the likes of Bilal, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, Musiq Soulchild, Chrisette Michele and many more. FROLAB was lucky enough to be invited to some of the studio sessions to document the creative process and turned it into a mini-EPK. Support good music, ALWAYS. We need more creations like these.

We all know Coco of Quadron has a golden voice box. But this right here is just magical. Place that same voice in a courtyard in Vienna and let the acoustics take over from there. Check out this chilling clip of Coco, August (omnichord) and Mads (percussion) — the touring incarnation of Quadron — covering the Lauryn Hill classic “Ex Factor.” This was filmed towards the end of 2011 during a European tour.

And the illest part of this is Coco’s comment on the YouTube page: “OMG thank you all for the love!! if you only knew how hungover we were…”

Just in time, as the front door slowly closes on 2011, The Kid Daytona slides his new project right into our living rooms all slick-like.  Still buzzing off the impeccable first edition of The Interlude, ‘Tona heard the streets talking, got back in the studio and cooked up some more marvelous treats showcasing his signature smooth, deliberate NYC-bred bravado.  As usual, putting the trust in his homie / beatsmith 6th Sense (who handles most of the production duties), it’s just another walk in the park.  New York is is very good hands whenever The Kid steps in the booth.

DOWNLOAD | The Kid Daytona – The Interlude II

Okay, so this isn’t the first time that a rap song has featured kids as the main subjects for a video. B.I.G.’s “Sky’s the Limit” and the unofficial clip for CRS’ “Us Placers” come to mind the quickest. But it’s the first time in a very long time where it has been pulled off flawlessly.  Big up to director Mike Mihail for the vision on this one. 

Peep the cinematics for “All My Love,” a tale of a school boy crush on a girl that has a man that ain’t treatin’ her right (featuring the vivacious Yummy Bingham). This appears on TiRon & Ayomari‘s A Sucker for Pumps album, one of the most dynamic and innovative hip-hop releases of 2011.

Our homie Full Crate slyly slid this hot toddy across the Okayplayer desk as an exclusive holiday treat. Teaming up with vocalist David Simmons, “Without My Heart” is an original, warm, soul-shaking composition spiked with that intoxicating flavor that only the Dutch can provide. This, along with the electronic clinic Golden Glasses EP that Crate just dropped further cements his strong foothold in the many genres he experiments in.  It’s never too late to hop on the wagon.

You can’t talk about the fusion of electronic and soul music without bringing up the name Mark de Clive-Lowe. He has been at the front of the pack for years now demonstrating that those two genres (along with some funk and dance elements for good measure) can live together harmoniously. His discography is monstrous.  But some of you still may not be up on game. His label has you covered.

Tru Thoughts commissioned the legendary DJ Spinna to throw together a 34-track mix (clocking in at just under an hour and 45 minutes) showcasing some of his strongest work.  There are even some exclusive gems sprinkled in for the MdCL vets. You can stream and / or download below. It also wouldn’t hurt to mention that Mark’s ninth studio album, Renegades, is now available.

The title says it all. It’s the mix you didn’t even know that you always wanted to hear. Off the heels of the staggering success of his tribute mix commemorating the 10-year anniversary of Aaliyah’s untimely death, DJ Brainchild felt the surge of his creative juices once again.

Who doesn’t love some nostalgia every now and then? Many of us got to experience the explosive force of three producers from the state of Virginia when they steadily became hitmaking machines in the late ’90s / early ’00s. One of them being Timbaland and the other a tag team known as The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo). Get ready to take a 52-minute trip through some of their biggest hits, album cuts, remixes and more. I don’t even have to tell you how much this is about to make your day and then some.

When people tell me there’s no quality hip-hop anymore, I tend to ignore them. It just isn’t true. Just the state of North Carolina alone is at the forefront of some of the most authentic boom bap you will hear these days. This isn’t the Southern rap that you came up on 10-15 years ago. Kooley High sticks to a strong, golden era-inspired formula which always proves fruitful. Peep the video for “Big Headed,” featuring Kooley fam and Strong Island representative, DJ Prince. This can be found on their incredibly tough sophomore album David Thompson, which is out right now.

After I got hype just from reading the subject of the email containing the newest offering from Diz Gibran & Moonshine, I noticed a poignant line in the body — “…sometimes you gotta go away to make a comeback.”  Well that’s one way to make the fiends (such as myself) go through withdrawal.  I’m just happy he wasn’t gone for good.

After a pretty lengthy hiatus (in Internet time), an EP, aptly entitled The Return, re-aligns the dynamic duo of Diz & Moon with their trademark blend of classic bars and beats.  Don’t expect your usual, garden variety Cali rap.  This project takes the scenic route via a freeway joyride with a couple back alley shortcuts for good measure.  Impressive material.  Shouts to Heather over at herfection for the presentation duties on this.

DOWNLOAD | Diz Gibran & Moonshine – The Return EP

With the departure of Ilyas, the almighty Tanya Morgan is now officially a duo, consisting of Brooklyn’s own Von Pea and Cincinatti transplant Donwill. But don’t think for a minute that they are losing steam. The same formula is still in place and quality hip-hop isn’t going anywhere as long as there’s a working mic, a beat machine and fans like myself who fiend for their brand of classic material.

The title of the EP, You and What Army, pretty much sums all of that up pretty concisely.  Peep brand new material (featuring production by Aeon, Astronote, Exile, Brizzo and of course, Von Pea) whetting our appetite for another full length project in the very near future. Brooklynati residents, rejoice.

Has it already been a year?  Time flies.  Near the end of 2010, fellow Brooklynite Sam Champ got up some courage to click a few Bandcamp buttons and blindside the masses with his exceptional Sam Champ Remixes EP.  Needless to say, this got an obnoxious amount of rotation on my iPod and then some.  Well, 2011 is coming to a close and I guess tis the season, right?  Behold, another gift.  Available for immediate download are all the instrumentals from last year’s project along with a couple of bonus tracks for good measure.  If the stars line up properly, hopefully we’ll see even bigger things down the road from this talented gent.

In an era of spoilers, teasers, trailers and leaks, it is refreshing as hell when an artist can just drop a project out of the blue.  Seriously.  No fanfare or hoopla.  I opened my email one day and sitting in front of me was a double LP worth of new instrumentals by the homies The Stuyvesants.

It had been a little over a year since they smacked us with their debut offering Brooklyn’s Finest, garnering them a gang of love and admiration worldwide.  And with their newest effort, The Finer Things, the duo do what they do best — crafting soul-laden samples into hip-hop heaven.  Great mood music for any occasion.

DOWNLOAD | The Stuyvesants – The Finer Things Vol. 1
DOWNLOAD | The Stuyvesants – The Finer Things Vol. 2

Some of you are probably dying to hear some quality bars over these beats, huh?  Not a problem.  Remember Naturel?  The cat that set the summer off over a Stuyvesants track called “Stoops, Parks & Rooftops?”  Well, he’s at it again and in very convincing fashion.  The self-proclaimed (and fully approved) “third half of the Stuy” takes the first track off the second volume of The Finer Things, “Yearning (for Your Love)” and gets all superman lover on it.  Stream / download below.

The happily-married duo of Adam Pavao and Sarah Ruba can do no wrong and the anticipation for their full length release is reaching a fever pitch. As expected, you guys went apeshit over “Nap On the Bow” a couple of weeks back. I damn sure know I did. So how about something unexpected?

New Look just dropped off an exclusive to The Fader called “Janet,” an incredible new school cover of Janet Jackson’s “He Doesn’t Know I’m Alive” from 1986′s Control, her third studio album. And they were even kind enough to make it downloadable. I triple dare you to not bust a couple moves in the mirror to this.

Big shouts to the homie Shine Travis, host of wildly-popular Crack Distributors Radio webcast.  His show is one of the most respected platforms for emerging artists in hip-hop.  And he’s always keeping my inbox full with some next sh*t.

Something he recently sent over that caught my ear was the video you see above for the handsomely Dilla-esque joint “Big Lights, Deep Shades” by Nemo Achida.  The beat is hypnotic and Nemo flows over it with remarkable poise and determination. The joint is so fly it led me to go ahead and download his (FREE) debut EP, Goodbye Brooklyn, which you can find below.  Keep an eye out for this kid.

There’s something genius about this song and video. Maybe because it harkens back to the good ol’ days where I’d hop on the LIRR to Manhattan on a Friday, head straight down to the West Village and roam Fat Beats for an hour or more perusing vinyl (even though I didn’t own turntables). It makes me smile. There are a couple reasons for that. Necro did the beat. And El-P (formerly of the NYC ’90s underground juggernaut Company Flow) is on it. Those two things are a mindf*ck right off the top.

But sprinkle in a bunch of other current-day independent rap monsters and hire TKTK Media to get their black-and-white Hype Williams on and you get the remix of “The Last Huzzah” by Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire. He’s the guy that’s dressed like bizarro Professor X the Overseer from X-Clan (RIP).  This video contains Lucky Charms, golf clubs, butt cheeks and plenty of other random stuff that you won’t be able to look away from.

The incredibly-dope debut album Eastern Standard Time by North Carolina born-and-bred rap fam Kooley High dropped in 2010. The Raleigh-Durham area has proved itself to be a fantastic breeding ground for new hip-hop talent and these guys are no exception.  And as a testament to their timeless sound, the crew has slowly and deliberately crafted music videos over the past year. There’s no rush when you have technology on your side. Peep the video for “Atmosphere” in all of it’s 2D and typographic splendor, featuring fellow North Carolinian emcee HaLo.

When you operate a music blog such as the one you’re on now (even if it is mildly popular), you’re going to eventually have to deal with the barrage of unsolicited submissions by artists looking for a little digital shine. Grinding and getting your name out is a difficult task.  But unfortunately more often than none, the music is not really in-line for the vibe I’m going for on Trees for Breakfast.

But one day, an email appeared in my inbox that I took a chance on. I don’t know what compelled me to open the email, but it happened.  It was from a young lady by the name of Tracy Cruz (a long time TFB reader). And it was a link to a video for a song of hers called “Love’s Galaxy.” And the song was pretty damn good. There’s a early ’00s soul vibe in here that I miss dearly. 

After reading the credits on YouTube, I found out the production of the video was a 100% homemade family affair (featuring cameos by her husband and two adorable kids). What’s not to love there? The spacy background visuals are courtesy of Nasa ESA Space Hubble. If you’re diggin’ this, you can find it on Tracy’s album Universoul Symphony, which you can grab on iTunes.

I’ve been pretty damn excited about electronic / future pop duo New Look for quite some time. I can’t for the life of me remember how I discovered them. But I do remember that they enjoyed constant rotation in my iTunes for quite some time. But there came a lull. Whether deliberate or not, the husband / wife tag team of producer Adam Pavao and songstress Sarah Ruba have endured a very slow ascension since their 2008 How’s My Hair? EP. But now, as we near the end of 2011, New Look is stirring up the ‘net once again with this crazy new track “Nap On the Bow” and a promise of a full-length album in the very near future on !K7 Records. Things are definitely looking up.

Being a t-shirt fanatic, I am kinda ashamed of myself for not being up on T-World until earlier today (after finding this video on the homie Tim Nolan’s Tumblr).  T-World prides itself in being “the only journal dedicated to T-shirt culture globally.” And for their lucky seventh edition, which will be 200 pages deep bound into a fancy hardcover, they decided to focus on the cultural epicenter of the world. Grimy, gritty, gorgeous New York City.

Peep the visual book preview above with cameos by innovators such as Jeff Staple, Claw Money, Greg Mishka, Scott Sasso and plenty more. Make some space on the coffee table, folks.

August 25th, 2001 was a painful evening. Receiving word that R&B recording artist Aaliyah lost her life in a tragic plane crash along with nine others was way too much to handle. She was on the way to bigger and better things. Superstardom was inevitable. Her absence is still glaring yet her influence on today’s rising female R&B artists is undeniable. I could without question call myself a fan. DJ Brainchild was another.

After some reflection and perfect timing, he sprung into action. The end product? A superb mix of her biggest singles as well as album cuts, remixes, b-sides, guest appearances, and soundtrack contributions to commemorate her departure of our physical world (released on the exact day of the tenth anniversary).

The homie Wonway Posibul is for lack of a better moniker, “the man” in the Bay area. His Makossa parties (a masterful blend of hip-hop, soul, reggae, Afrobeat, Latin and more) attracts people of all colors, creeds and walks of life. I can respect a man who is all about bringing folks together. The Makossa brand has gained so much steam that it has spawned an East coast cousin in Brooklyn every summer (hosted by yours truly) @ Williamsburg independent apparel boutique Fresthetic.

Being that this is all about the music, Wonway has created a companion mix to go along with his wildly popular event series. Check out the second volume of Makossa Classics Vol. 2 below and sprinkle a little flavor into your day / evening.

DOWNLOAD (ALT LINK) | DJ Wonway Posibul – Makossa Classics Vol. 2
BONUS: If you’re diggin’ this, stream Vol. 1 right here. Download here.

DJ Shred One is no stranger to this blog.  We spent An Evening at Le Cirque, journeyed into her Lovespace (giggity) and felt the dizzying effects of a DJ Spinna tribute mix.  And now, what might be one of her most genius concepts to date.  Female vocalists who are relegated to doing background harmonies and hooks are often overlooked and underappreciated.  Most of the time, it is these ladies that are the glue that holds a song together.  Shred recognized that and built a beautiful pedestal for them to get their shine on, entitled The Bird and The Beat.  Kudos to a job expertly executed.  Still not seeing the pretty picture?  In her words…

THE BIRD & the BEAT is a soul-experiential collection of chorus, hooks and bridges, sung by the songbirds of hip hop, and supported by beats of original hip hop producers, dedicated to give the timeless sound of the female vocalist its musical moment in the sun.