Mellow hip hop icons De La Soul have always marched to the beat of their own drum machine, bucking contemporary trends and collaborating with unexpected cohorts. Now, 2/3 of that revered group are taking on all-new personae to release a strange-sounding concept album.

Releasing a self-titled record under the group name First Serve, rappers Dave (AKA Plug 1) and Posdnuos (Plug 2) star as their alter-egos, Deen Whitter and Jacob ‘Pop Life’ Barrow, two kids from Queens who dream of conquering the music industry from the ground up.

The duo call the album “the soundtrack to a movie that has yet to be made and a fable for our times.”

First Serve’s first single is “Pushin’ Aside, Pushin’ Along.”

De La Soul’s last studio album was 2004′s “The Grind Date,” although they’ve released several compilations since then and have appeared on songs by Gorillaz (including the Grammy-winning “Feel Good Inc.”) and indie icons Yo La Tengo.

Scene One Act One:: The Goon Time Mixtape

In the unusually warm 3am air of a Parisian suburb, a house party is getting out of control. Police Nationale have been called – but no-one can get near. The air is thick with Hip-Hop filling the adjacent streets, acting like a force field. You can hear the faint licks of Aerosmith and the rising vocals of Bowie as far as the Champs Elysees. Is that DJ Kool Herc on the decks? Situated in the Capital of French Electro, the influence is audible, while Meth, Red, Jay-Z and even Mystikal get 16 bars in on the mic. Who knew The Beatles were this funky?

The cause for celebration? It’s the wrap up party for First Serve, an undercoverproject that has been two years in the making. First Serve is the brainchild of 2 & 4 (aka Chokolate & Khalid, producers/ DJ’s). After an instant meeting of minds they decided to embark on a musical adventure – a Hip Hop album played by musicians. All they needed was a couple of MC’s to help complete their vision. Enter NY based Jacob ‘Pop’ Life and Deen ‘D’ Whitter.Listen to the mixtape recorded at the party. It’s funky, it’s hip hop, it’s disco… and it’s a classic!

Tracklisting:

1-First Serve – We Made It Interlude

2-First Serve vs Aloe Blacc – Pushin’ Aside, Pushin’ Along

3-Notorious BIG vs De La Soul – Whatchu Want

4-Krs-ONE vs 2&4 –

5-Jay-Z – 99 Problems (Prodigy Remix)

6-First Serve vs Run DMC – The Work/Walk This Way

7-Run DMC vs Jason Navins – It’s Like That

8-Theophilus London – Girls Money

9-2&4 vs Akil (of Jurassic 5), Busta – Must B The Music (Remix)

10-First Serve vs Eminem – Move ‘Em In, Move ‘Em Out

11-Lupe Fiasco feat. MDMA – Coming Up

12-Cee-Lo – Bright Lights, Bigger City

13-Grand Master Flash – The Message (2&4 Mash Up)

14-Mystikal -Bouncin’ Back

15-Jurassic 5 – The Influence (2&4 Mash Up)

16-Redman vs Dj Quick – Get Dirty (2&4 Remix)

17-IAM – La Saga (2&4 Mash Up)

18-First Serve – Must B The Music

19-The Beatles vs Joan Jett vs Cypress Hill vs House Of Pain vs RATM – Mash Up

20-BB King – Boom Boom Boom (Remix)

21-De La Soul – Say No Saturday

22- Nas – Made You Look (Remix)

23- Ini Kamoze vs Naughty By Nature – Here Comes The Hotstepper

24- First Serve – Move ‘Em In, Move ‘Em Out (Demo Version)

Download Here.

and visit us on http://wearefirstserve.tumblr.com/

“Mistress Jawns” is simply a display of that practice. Some of the samples I used for the project are famous, well known staples in hip-hop, but the personal challenge was to do something NEW with them, so that you automatically don’t go “aw, man, that’s the sample from ____!” (that is, if you know your samples/actually care about that sort of thing). The other source material was acquired from being bored on twitter and asking friends, “quick, give me a song to sample!” so I could sharpen my fangs during periods of down time. For months, these beats have soley served as house cleaning music, but I’ve decided to free them from their hard drive purgatory for the world to hear.

If you haven’t already, feel free to stream (or purchase!!!) “Mistress Jawns” here @ http://smallprofessor.bandcamp.com/album/mistress-jawnsx

Annnd in case you haven’t heard the other installments, they can be located @:

http://smallprofessor.bandcamp.com/album/beats-rhymes-jawns (Beats & Rhymes Jawns)

http://smallprofessor.bandcamp.com/album/elderly-jawns (Elderly Jawns)

Thank you – yes, YOU – for your support and listens, it’s very much
appreciated. ^_^

Peace!

- Small Professor (@smallpro)

The News:

Philly Emcee Has-Lo enlists legendary producer Kev Brown for his latest reenvisioning, “Never Was Yours.” The track appears on Has-Lo’s upcoming project “Conversation B” which hits stores November 15th.

The Song:

Never Was Yours is a stark look at life’s often unforgiving path. The recognition of everything’s impermanance is reflected upon throughout the tracks lyrical display of wisdom. Has-Lo tackles aging, disapointment, loss, financial woes, and the devils deals we make to attain success, all with a stoic’s calm and unflinching eye of a narrative reporter.

“I compete to win though I lose myself / In a penthouse room, with a view from hell”

Underneath Has’ heavy lyricism, Kev Brown kicks another Low Budget classic. Kev’s track features a funky guitar chop, minimal drum programming, and an atmospheric vocal sample to complete that completes the transformation.

The Album:

Conversation B is a complete re-envisioning of In Case I Don’t Make It. Exile, J-Zone, Oddisee, Kev Brown, Eric Lau, Apollo Brown and more lend their extensive production powers to the project. It is eclectic, melodic, chaotic, bleak and brutal all at once. The journey of a man at the tipping point continues.

Audio: Free Download:
Has-Lo – Never Was Yours (prod. Kev Brown)
http://mellomusicgroup.bandcamp.com/track/never-was-yours-produced-by-kev-brown

After starting the year off right by producing three stellar records (Rus Jymes- Devastating, NXPW f. Cee Knowledge- Grown Folks Music and Distantstarr- Infinite Soul) Nex Millen has return with more! A full length remix project featuring some of music most talented and overlooked artists. Nex Millen Remixes Vol.1, in-bodies 15 tracks of true Hip Hop, Funk and Soul. Featuring artist that you wouldn’t otherwise hear over a Nex Millen produced creation.

Nex Millen Remixes shows off NX’s range for producing timeless music of any genre. All songs are produced using Nex Millen’s SGB (Serato Garage Band) free hand method. Triggering samples and drums with Serato. And playing keys, bass and percussion through Garage Band straight into a D.A.W. with just a metronome, no sequencer to automatically snap the notes into place. This allows NX to operates more like a jazz player, freely improvising as he goes, giving the music his own swing and a fresh perspective on every take laid. “Rehearse it till you know it. Then lay it. There is no rush on timeless music”. NX explains.

Nex Millen Remixes Vol.1 features some of music most accomplished artists like Mos Def, Dido, and Lady Gaga along side more independent minded artist like Joe Budden, Nico The Beast, Black Star (Mexico),Poesh Wonder and more. NX does a wonderful job of bringing these talents together to turn out an amazing project that is timeless and true to the culture. If you haven’t experienced a Nex Millen Soundscape yet then now is the time and this is the project.

Nex_Millen_Remixes_Vol1_Remixes_Tracklist

Take It 2 Da Stage (12inch Vinyl Remix)- Nuthouse f. Lawrence Arnell

Download Here.

Q: Tell us a little about your background in the game.

Trek Life:
I’m an LA artist who was a fan of LA hiphop in the mid-90′s: I watched Dilated Peoples, Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, all those people come up, and I studied what they were doing. From there I grew and started making my own music. The first producer I ever did a song with was Will.I.Am and from there I worked with Motiv-8 (Black Eyed Peas producer). Then I started doing records from there on working to hone my craft. At the time, I was running with Bishop Lamont and Spontaneous.
Probably my first big break was being on Showtime’s “The Next Episode” and meeting DJ Babu of Dilated Peoples. Babu then did my first official 12” called “Hard Work” and FatBeats picked it up. After that I worked with Evidence and Rhettmatic, Khalil and J Bizness, and managed to make my first full-length album “Price I Paid”. Over the next couple years I worked the record, toured with Kev Brown and met Oddisee. I was touring the States and Europe this whole time. Oddisee then remixed the whole “Price I Paid” project and we called it “New Money” – which Oddisee brought to the new brand new label he was working with, Mello Music Group and they picked it up. This was only MMG’s 2nd project, so it was a learning experience. Odd & I then decided to do an original album together called “Everything Changed Nothing”. At the same time a lot of my music was getting on television shows like MTV‘s “G’s to Gents”, “The Hills”, “Breaking Bad”, “The Eddie Griffin Show”, and ESPN used the track “So Supreme” during the NBA Finals with the Lakers. That was last summer, so now I just finished the remix project called “Wouldn’t Change Nothing”.

Q: Tell us a little about the new project “Wouldn’t Change Nothing”.

Trek Life:
“Wouldn’t Change Nothing ” is coming out on my label, Mello Music Group, Tuesday July 12th , it’s another summer record. We brought on a lot of dope producers to revisit the “Everything Changed Nothing” album. This one’s got some of my West Coasts people like J Bizness, Duke Westlake, A3, Captain, and DJ Buddy. Plus it’s got Detroit’s Apollo Brown and MarvWon, Philly’s Has-Lo, Audible Doctor who did Joel Ortiz’s Battle Cry, ST/MiC came through with some heat, SlimKat78 who did a lot of work on yU’s Before Taxes killed a joint, and of course Oddisee jumped in for two tracks. It’s a big record. Aaron Sutton from Visual Goodies did the cover art.

Q: What direction was Oddisee taking the production on this single?

Mike Tolle (Mello Music Group): Oddisee’s range and ability to produce songs that fit into a variety of genres has always been one of the reasons for his success, whether it’s producing a track with artistic sentiments and irregular rhythms, or making a classic grimy boom bap track, or even a polished commercial gem. For this one Oddisee dipped into a more commercial sound, polished and more epic in it’s tone. It is completely sample free as well, he used nothing but stock Pro-Tools sounds this time around.

Q: What’s ahead for Trek Life?

Trek Life:
First and foremost, working this record – everybody needs to be at itunes on opening day and cop “Wouldn’t Change Nothing”. On top of that, I’m working on my next record called “Hometown Foreigner” with Duke Westlake. Otherwise, just spending time with my family and making music. Shout to Al Lindstrom for hooking up the debut!

Enjoy & Feel Free To Share!

Free Download (Mp3): Trek Life “Wouldn’t Change Nothing” (Produced by Oddisee):
http://mellomusicgroup.bandcamp.com/track/wouldnt-change-nothing-prod-oddisee-2

Buy The New Album from Trek Life “Wouldn’t Change Nothing” now!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wouldnt-change-nothing/id446485610

Pre-Order the CD version of “Wouldn’t Change Nothing”
http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/detail.asp?t=Trek-Life-Wouldnt-Change-Nothing-Audio-CD&UPC=MMG010BCD

“My ghetto housewife watch reality shows/ She might get to snapping if the cabinets ain’t closed/ When the cameras start snapping she ready to pose,” raps Common over the tracks shimmering synth and rumbling drums. The Chicago MC and actor excitedly described how he was so inspired when writing the song’s lyrics.

“I decided to write about ghetto dreams just in a way that was raw,” Common said. “I almost approached it like I was a character because I don’t smoke cigarettes and blah, blah, blah. But I still was talking abut those things ’cause it’s like, if I step in the shoes of myself and my other friends and people that just dream about higher things coming from a tougher place. I told it in respect to the relationship I got with my lady, it’s ill. It’s not a love song or none of that; it’s just raw. It’s ill lyrics man, I’m telling you.”

Nas heard an early version of the track and immediately wanted to jump on the song. According to Common, No ID and Nas were in the studio recording together when the producer played the Queensbridge MC the record. “Once Nas heard that — No ID played it for them ’cause they was working — and Nas was like, ‘I’ll get on that,’ ” Common said. “And Nas is my favorite MC, so that was a blessing.”

The artwork for “Ghetto Dreams” features a photo of a youthful looking Nas and Common that was taken sometime in the mid ’90s.

“We was at a Fat Joe video, I think,” Common recalled. “Two young MCs, young dudes, just real young cats, one from Chicago, one from Queens that just ended up reconnecting and connecting and always being cool. I ain’t going to say ‘reconnected,’ ’cause every time me and Nas always would chop it up, I felt like we was two musicians that really just loved and respected each other, two voices that really mean something to the culture and respect the culture. So, we always had on a personal level just a respect for each other.”

Download here.

Download Here.

+Tracklist+

tomorrow night (Crane)

surrender (N. Ashford/V. Simpson)

black sk’n blue eyed boys (Grant)

It’s To late (C. King)

bangla desh ( G. Harrison)

sultana (Titantic)

rain (J & H Feliciano)

she’s a lady (P. Anka)

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