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.

I’m gonna start this post off by saying that if you haven’t heard The Roots’ Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Sandwiches by now, bang your forehead on a flat surface really hard one time.  Now that we’ve got that out the way, partake in this nice, quick-and-dirty (and ?uestlove approved) beat jack release by two-thirds of Tanya Morgan, Donwill and Von Pea.  Nothing fancy.  Just dope instrumentals and Lessondary-seasoned lyrics delivered fresh to your inbox.  You can probably tell I’m trying to run this “sandwich” theme into the ground right now.  So I’ll stop right here.  Just download it.  It’s free.  These guys are dope even when they’re just effin’ around.

OK you should have purchased Donwill‘s new solo album Don Cusack In High Fidelity by now. Seriously. I’ve talked about it to no end on this site.  I even put you on to a free mixtape.  And guess what?  I have yet another free treat.  It’s something I’ve been bumpin’ for a couple weeks now.  The feel of the song totally reminds me of the two consecutive years I went to Cancun for Spring Break. 

It’s fun, debaucherous and free-spirited.  If you don’t dance around with a frozen drink and spill that sh*t all over the place, you’re not doin’ it properly.  Ladies and gents, the Wallpaper. remix of “Love Junkie” with help from Harlem’s Cash and Cali-based band The Park.  We got a magical collabo here, folks.

It’s only a matter of time now before Donwill‘s highly anticipated solo album Don Cusack In High Fidelity (a thematic project based on one of my favorite movies, High Fidelity) hits the streets.  Like I’ve said before, you might wanna watch the movie before peeping the album.  The concept behind Laura’s Tape would make a little more sense too.  For those of you who are familiar w/ the flick, you will soon see how flawlessly this project was executed.  I need to pull my DVD back out. 

Peep this fantastic free mixtape (mixed by the Bay Area homie DJ KingMost) that is gonna get you ready for the real thing dropping on March 23rd.  Love and music go together like peanut butter and jelly.

A little while back, Tanya Morgan‘s label iM Culture hosted a remix contest for one of the joints off of Brooklynati, “Never Enough.”  Producers were given the acapella vocals and challenged to craft a new version of the song. 

The homie Chuck Mack (formerly known as Chuck P, from Chuck Tries R&B Again fame, one of my favorite mixtapes of 2009) entered and was chosen as one of the finalists for his gravy smooth rendition.  He didn’t win, but it didn’t stop him from getting the label’s blessing to let it fly free along with ANOTHER remix that he did not submit (which would be the “Wonderful Company” remix).  Both gems are below for your downloading and listening pleasure.

DOWNLOAD | Tanya Morgan – “Never Enough (Chuck Mack remix)”
DOWNLOAD | Tanya Morgan – “Never Enough (Wonderful Company remix)”

This was VERY unexpected.  I didn’t even know about this and I know these friggin’ guys personally. *shakes fist* On the way very soon is a brand new project called Lessondary Radio.  Intrigued?  Well now get ready to lose your mind from the following text that was included in the email w/ this joint: “The Lessondary crew have hijacked select frequencies from Exile‘s criminally underrated Radio album for proper aural assault.”  What else needs to be said? This is probably going to be off the meat rack.  Peep the first leak below.  You may wanna turn out the lights for added effect.

DOWNLOAD | Elucid, Von Pea & Donwill – “We’re All In Power”

If you have Tanya Morgan‘s Brooklynati album (and if you don’t by now, shame on you), then you’re very familiar w/ what I’m about to present to you.  Nothing I say can top the press release I recieved along with the video:

HARDCORE GENTLEMEN is a early-mid 1990s rap group consisting of group members RAPZ KAOTIC, REEFER SUTHERLAND and KILLAH SILK. The group was based in Brooklynati, USA and saw great success with their classic and only single “HARDCORE GENTLEMEN” (DJ Jurx Records, 1994). Unfortunately, after selling a platinum single and a gold album (RUGGED & SMOOTH, DJ Jurx Records, 1994) their follow-up single, “BRUSH YA TEEF WIT IT” fell on deaf ears and led to the group’s destiny of being one-hit-wonders.

Immediately following the release of their hit-single “HARDCORE GENTLEMEN” and in promotion of their debut LP, Hardcore Gentlemen toured the United States and parts of Canada, but ended the tour abruptly when group member KILLAH SILK was slapped with 14 paternity suits from 13 different women. A State Court jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and the rap group was forced to return home and try to maintain their momentum doing local gigs in Brooklynati. After the lack of success surrounding their touring efforts, the group faded into obscurity and is remembered only for their successful, self-titled single. They are regularly revisited on countless “Where Are They Now?” television shows profiling hip-hop acts.

So where are they now? In May of 2009, Hardcore Gentlemen attempted to do a 15-year anniversary show celebrating their classic and only single. The plan was to headline a show at Humphrey Lefty’s and to perform their hit 15 times in a row. Tragically, during the 5th performance of “Hardcore Gentlemen” the group became entangled in a fight on stage, resulting in a drawn firearm by one of their hypemen. Shots were fired, and while nobody was killed, two of the group’s three members (RAPZ KAOTIC and REEFER SUTHERLAND) were arrested and are currently facing charges for concealing a weapon and endangering minors.

Something sorta brand new from dem Tanya Morgan boyz!    Tanya Morgan hand over their hit single “So Damn Down” over to duo Keelay & Zaire to breathe some new, fresh air into and the results are pretty damn proper.  The bassline is so mean.  Somethin’ to mean mug to.  I also like the fact that there are brand new lyrics as well.  Gives the song a totally different paint job. 

DOWNLOAD | Tanya Morgan – “So Damn Down” (Keelay & Zaire remix)

You guys should know my man Donwill from Tanya Morgan by now.  There’s a project he’s been slowly and steadily working on called Don Cusack in High Fidelity.  If you’ve never seen the movie High Fidelity (starring John Cusack, Lisa Bonet and Jack Black just to name a few), please do so.  It’s one of my top 20 movies in the history of EVER.  I think you can find it cheap online and at most stores.  One of the best movies that displays the natural parallels between love and music.  Don decided to take that movie and re-interpret it in hip-hop album form. Ingenious. 

Now the bad news is this album isn’t coming out anytime soon.  Don’s still in the process of securing guest appearances and finishing up songs.  Plus with all the excitement surrounding Tanya Morgan’s upcoming sophomore album Brooklynati, this will have to play the bench until the time is right.  However, peep the video for the first single from this album, starring one of my favorite people in the universe, actress Jasika Nicole (of Fringe fame).  Cameos from Von Pea and Che Grand as well.  The joint is produced by up-and-comer (and soon to be huge, I predict) Astronote and video directed by Marques Green. 

Again, you GOTTA see High Fidelity to fully get this. Get your Netflix game up.

You don’t know how long I’ve been feenin’ to post this up for y’all.  I got the green light this morning (shouts to Audible Treats, hi Michelle).  So here it is.  Ladies and gents, from the stupid-highly anticipated sophomore effort  from them Tanya Morgan boys, here is the first single, “So Damn Down” (produced by Von Pea). 

At first listen, it sounds like a really crazy party track.  And they highly encourage that you get your same ol’ two-step on.  But when you listen to the lyrics, it’s a totally different direction.  Great concept.  The new album, Brooklynati (a hybrid of Brooklyn and Cincinatti, the two cities that TM represents) is slated to drop in May.

DOWNLOAD | Tanya Morgan – “So Damn Down”

p.s. Have you been to the official site for Brooklynati’s Chamber of Commerce?

Way back in July 2008, I posted a funky electro-schizoprenic joint by a “group” called Sterile Action Figures.  I happened to be rifling through my hard drive here at the office and came across another fun joint called “Lies” featuring Donwill of Tanya Morgan.  The title is pretty straight forward and self-explanatory, allowing Don to exploit the hell out of it over a simple yet effective loop. 

And if you don’t download it, I’ll punch you in the face.  LIIIIIIIIIIIIIES!

DOWNLOAD | Sterile Action Figures f/ Donwill – “Lies”

This kinda came outta nowhere and I’m glad.  I never expected this sort of team up but it works well.  For a minute now, Mickey Factz has been doing this online promotional campaign simply entitled The Leak where he drops one new song every week.  This one is a collabo with the homies Donwill and Von Pea of the almighty Tanya Morgan entitled “We Ain’t.”  And we got mover-and-shaker Aeon on the beat.  I have nothing else to say except that this is a winner.

DOWNLOAD | Mickey Factz f/ Donwill & Von Pea – “We Ain’t”
(re-upped Dec 22, 2008)

Before I start this, a quick happy b-day to my homie Donwill who celebrated another year in existence on Wednesday, June 4.  To commemorate the joyous occasion, Don decided to bestow a gift on everyone ELSE.  Specifically, a project w/ producer suhBURB called Suburban Sprawl.  Expect nothing but hip-hop in its rawest form. 

Click here for a foreword and liner notes (which I wish more people would do).

DOWNLOAD | donwill & suhBURB – Suburban Sprawl