Elzhi – “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”

Check out one of the top emcees around, Elzhi, giving a Detroit twist to Nas’ classic, “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”. If you dig this cut, go check out the whole album Elmatic, Elzhi’s great tribute to Illmatic, entirely produced by Detroit-based soul funk ensemble Will Sessions. – Wheels

Janelle Monáe – “Say You’ll Go”

Blissful track from Janelle Monáe’s excellent 2010 album, The ArchAndroid. Beautiful music, production, vocals, and lyrics. – Wheels

Big Boi Feat. Cutty – “Shutterbug”

Dope track/video from A-Town’s very own, 1/2 of Outkast, Big Boi aka Daddy Fat Sax. From his 2010 album, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. Produced by Big Boi and Scott Storch.

Gang Starr – “You Know My Steez” (Live 1998)

Killer performance from Guru and DJ Premier. Love the crowd’s energy. – Wheels

Goodie Mob – “Soul Food”

In this age of fast food, instant brewed, microwaved BS, sometimes you need some soul food. Peep this classic title track/video from Goodie Mob’s 1995 LP Soul Food. Great verses and ill production from Organized Noize. I especially love Cee-Lo’s verses on here. – Wheels

Gretchen Parlato – “Butterfly” (Herbie Hancock Cover)

I love Gretchen Parlato’s mellow live interpretation of one of my favorite Herbie Hancock classics, “Butterfly”, performed here at Jazz Open Stuttgart 2010. The band is: Gretchen Parlato – vocals Taylor Eigsti – piano Alan Hampton – bass Mark Guiliana – drums – Wheels

Curren$y – “Breakfast” (Prod. By Mos Def)

“I’m…so cold wit it, the potency of the beat is consistent with the fact that Mos did it…” Smooth cut from Curren$y, produced by Mos Def (who drops some vocals at the end). This is the final version (with additional production from Ski Beatz and live instrumentation) from Curren$y’s stellar 2010 release, Pilot Talk. – Wheels

Big K.R.I.T. Feat. Raheem Devaughn – “Players Ballad”

Some ill southern smooth talk right here with Big K.R.I.T. and Raheem Devaughn. This cut is from K.R.I.T.’s 2011 release, Return of 4Eva, which can be downloaded for free over at bigkrit.com/music/. Make sure to snag his most recent free release, 4Eva N A Day, while you are over there. They’ve also recently released physical copies [...]

Black Star Feat. Black Thought – Respiration (Flying High Mix) (Prod. By Pete Rock)

Man, I just heard this track for the first time a few days ago. Can’t believe I have been sleeping on this one, a killer remix of the classic Black Star track “Respiration”. Three of my favorite emcees (Mos, Kweli, and Black Thought) over one of the most beautiful Pete Rock beats, this cut is [...]

Evidence Feat. Raekwon & Ras Kass – “The Red Carpet” (Prod. by The Alchemist)

  Evidence, Raekwon, and Ras Kass bring heat to a killer beat from The Alchemist, off of Evidence’s 2011 solo album, Cats & Dogs. Love the way Evidence sets off this track with the opening verse. Peep the track and a little info from Evidence himself on the making of the track. – Wheels

Esperanza Spalding – “Black Gold”

Feel-good song and video from Esperanza Spalding’s upcoming album Radio Music Society (March 20, 2012). Can’t wait to hear the whole album.

Me’shell Ndegéocello – “Lovely Lovely”

Smooth, sensual song from Me’shell Ndegéocello. From her 2007 album, The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams.

Robert Glasper Experiment – “Black Radio” EPK and Tracklist

Dope video preview for the upcoming album from the Robert Glasper Experiment, Black Radio. That Sade cover with Lalah Hathaway sounds incredible. Impressive list of collaborators on the album. Check out the tracklist: Lift Off/Mic Check (featuring Shafiq Husayn) Afro Blue (featuring Erykah Badu) Cherish The Day (featuring Lalah Hathaway) Always Shine (featuring Lupe Fiasco & [...]

Planet Asia x G_Force – “Cruise Control”

Dope track from Planet Asia with G_Force on the production. “Raw rhymes, melodic shit.” Off the free album Camouflage Jackets which can be downloaded here from freshselects. – wheels

Shafiq Husayn – “The LooP” Album Preview

Short little preview video for Shafiq Husayn’s upcoming album, The LooP. His last album En’ A-Free-Ka is an all-time favorite of mine so I’m eagerly awaiting this release. – wheels