"Live From Vermontistan" - Wombaticus Rex

Fresh produce from the Green Mountains. This was mixed and recorded at Burke by the NEK legend Walter Westinghouse. Just ripping through my catalog with Louis Mackey assisting. We had a great time with good people and questionable substances.



If you're digging this, you will almost definitely enjoy "Fear of Death and the Need for Reproduction."

"Sell Coke to White Folks" - Tomorrow Kings

Lead single from Chicago assault squad Tomorrow Kings off their upcoming conversation-starter, Nigger Rigged Time Machine. Dig it.

"Bitches" - Lil' Debbie

This might represent a career peak for Lil' Debbie, but let's enjoy the ride while it lasts, right? Her delivery keeps improving and this beat is a catchy little nightmare.

I have this whole song memorized and I recite this shit at work all the time.

#CLASSIC: "Juicin' Dranks" - Blu & Exile ft. Taarach

Effortless funk mastery. This is a gem, daug.

"Galaxy in Niafunke" - Algorhythms

Fresh desert blues from Algorhythms. "Galaxy in Niafunke" is clearly channeling Mali, and this short "benediction" is just the beginning, with an album on the way and several more singles to come.

every last molecule making up my blood and bones
was busy being something else less than 12 months ago
every last atom that exists in your brain
came vast distances though black, infinite space
every last bad decision we made, it had it be done
it's tragic, it's dumb, but that's just what gravity does

#DAUG - "Breakup Music" - Humpasaur Jones

Finally. Yes. Breakup Music dropped on Labor Day 2013. We are hugely relieved to have this done, and pretty damn proud of it, too. Album is free, or feel free to donate some money for the World Around cause. We always like that.



See Also: Potholes coverage & Answering Questions about Breakup Music.

#CLASSIC: Turf Fienz

We don't post a lot of b-boy content here but holy shit, this was impressive. Oakland has some serious flavor.

"brooklyknight" - Sene

Like a transmission from an alternate universe, with a customer-tailored video treatment to match. This is hella tasty stuff. Sene keeps improving on an already impressive flow.

Dr. Quandary - "Can't Go On Without You"

In the past 48 hours, Dr. Quandary pulled two surprise moves: he formally resigned from World Around Records, and he dropped this hypnotic gem, Can't Go On Without You. Clearly we can expect something fierce & new from this free agent before the year is out. This cat was a hard worker and a smooth manager and WE SALUTE YOU #DAUG.

Fortune 5000 - "The Lifestyles EP"

SO PSYCHED TO HAVE THIS DROPPING TODAY...IT'S BEEN A LONG EMOTIONAL JOURNEY, THO...WE MADE THIS TRIUMPHANT MASTERPIECE UNDER SPIRITUALLY ADVERSE CONDITIONS BECAUSE FRIENDSHIP IS DOPE...SLICK NICK AND JUSTIN RHYMES, ASHEVILLE TO BURLINGTON RAP-STRAVAGANZA OLD SCHOOL FREAKOUT-ATHON, WHAT?...BUT REALLY, WHAT, THOUGH...WE STILL RAP THE RAPS AND RHYME THE RHYMES NO MATTER WHAT, FORTUNE 5000, WE GOT A LOT MORE RAPS IN STORE...WE SAY BROTHER BUT NOT BRO, BRO...WE LIKE FORESTS AND ANIMALS, PEOPLE ARE COOL, TOO...WE JUST WANT TO ROCK BEATS AT YOUR PARTIES, BOOK US TO PLAY RAP SHOWS AT YOUR PARTIES AND WE WILL COME AND DO THAT...THIS EP IS MADE TO BE PLAYED LOUD AT PARTIES OF ANY SIZE, AND OUR RAPS ARE CRAZY SERIOUS! FORTUNE 5000, THAT'S THE NAME!

THE INBOXXX: The Paradigm - "Bad News"

Hump Jones: Greetings, Earth Humans, welcome back to THE INBOXXX. We're gonna share the whole pitch on this one...and remember, your email is always a pitch, cuz it's all a performance, daugs & daugettes:

The Paradigm: This is a song I Wrote and recorded 4 days ago, its political and some what rebellious I think the message is strong and think it should be shared and put out for others to here so they can wake up
cheers from the paradigm.



DJ Squid: Like the beat, it's got some bounce, covers all the bases. And oddly enough it doesn't get boring, even though the melody doesn't go anywhere.

Hump Jones: Yeah, the hook is solid, too. I can't fully understand but it's dope and catchy. This attempt at fast rap, though...not so much, not so much.

DJ Squid: Can we talk naming conventions, though? I do have to mention, if I had come here blind I wouldn't be entirely sure if Bad News was the artist or the song title. It's one thing when your name is, like, JOE THA RAPPER...

Hump Jones: I can't even remember what that first verse was about now. Is this actually a political song, daug?

DJ Squid: God damn, artists should seriously never write their own copy. Is this what I sound like when I write to blogs?

Hump Jones: You do that?

DJ Squid: Good point. I don't. He should have practiced more, done more takes on the fast rap.

Hump Jones: Yeah, maybe it could have connected, but I don't think it was written right, I don't know if more takes could have saved it. The rhythm just wasn't there, you gotta practice your rudiments to solo on a snare.

DJ Squid: Yeah, true, he has to rush to catch up a few times. This third verse, though...

Hump Jones: Best yet. I always approve of rapping about sodium fluoride, too. Bonus points for a dope outro.

DJ Squid: In the end, I enjoyed this? It wasn't hugely memorable or anything but I would check for Paradigm again. The only really bad part of that submission was the copy. I wouldn't like, actively check for him again, but there is potential there. I'd give it 7.5/10 Pangboche Hands.

Hump Jones: Wicked Meh. I'm giving it a flat seven out of ten Ocular Cavity Searches, since the hook and beat were the best part to me.

DJ Squid: Well, you look like a real asshole right now. This has been yet another exciting edition of THE INBOXX, brought to you by REAL YETI RAP™ – Wendi-going gets tough, get Real Yeti Rap!™ Rap name Benadryl Italics. All day.

"Watching Rome Burn from Aventine Hill" - Louis Mackey

THE INBOXXX: $kala - "Get Up ft. Savannah Teller"

Hump Jones: Welcome to the first edition of The Inboxxx, where me and DJ Squid offer up some realtime reviews of submitted songs. Fuck a blurb, right? Real feedback.

DJ Squid: Actually, motherfucker, the correct spelling for this feature is THE INBOXXX. Drop that shit.



Hump Jones: Sweet Christ, that is officially Too Much Compression, daug. Hook is meh, her voice is great, though.

DJ Squid: Hella overcompressed, you can tell the beat has been double-overcompressed ...vocals are too flat, way in the back. Savannah Teller has a dope voice and complements the track well. These raps aren't bad but they're hella forgettable.

Hump Jones: Delivery is too friendly, flows are too simple. Does that matter? Probably not. In real life, if you bought beats like this on the regular, you could rap what the fuck ever for 16 bars, get a Savannah Teller in the booth for a hook, and go on tour before 2014. Speaking of which...

DJ Squid: Yeah. This beat is Evil Needle's One for Kennedy. We could probably spend 20 minutes on the question of whether or not he had, like, permission. Except you know he didn't.

Hump Jones: I'm always baffled when people submit music to us at all, man.

DJ Squid:Savannah went a little off key at the end there on the harmonies.

Hump Jones: Yeah, you're a dick. Compression was so out of control on those hooks, on a literal and technical level. Overall, I'm not sure if this was an improvement upon the instrumental. Does it matter that he's legally underage, daug?

DJ Squid: I gotta say, man, I am instantly put off by any track intro that involves the artist's age. If we were on a 10-point rating system I might give it a six, you know? Six out of ten Pangboche Hands.

Hump Jones: Whalam. Explain, daug.

DJ Squid: Aight, bitch. Highlights: Excellent beat by Evil Needle, beautiful hook vocals, positive track vibes/message. Lowlights: uninspired lyrics and vocals, terrible mixing, hella overdone sound/premise. Clear enough?

Hump Jones: I agree with six out of ten Arbitrary Signifiers, two young kids with strong potential making a practice track. Who should also mix their vocals and their stolen beats on a separate bus so they don't have to squelch their drums all to fuck.

DJ Squid: Let me finish, tho. This has been THE INBOXXX. Send your emails to this hippie, not me. PEACE!

"Singapore" - PremRock

This was a tight & funny piece of work. Check out Mark's Wild Years - visionary rap music, we dig it.

Shottie - Akhenaten

I really, really dug this shit. Shooting in a blizzard is also a great call. Solid fucking work right here, shouts to TeV95.

Acid Reign - Synergy

These cats are always pushing the envelope just right. They are the rightful heirs of the Freestyle Fellowship lineage, to my hick ears, but this shit is far from a throwback purity ring. Definitely best enjoyed in altered states.

"Been a Long Year" - Wombaticus Rex

Cover art by The Memetic Supply Co.



Basically, everything I've threatened to drop at any point in my career is coming out this year. First up, a lost album from 2004, Been a Long Year. Back when Wombaticus Rex was still my sole project. Pretty much every track on this album is something I still get emails asking for copies of, so rather than bellyache about sound quality like a primadonna, we're doing the right thing and just releasing it. Enjoy.

Hump Jones - The Lamentations

Fresh Hump Jones for the party people. Some warm weather music. A preview slice from SQUIDTAPE, which (allegedly, of course) drops Summer 2013. (More news here.)

"They Call Me Castro" - Curly Castro

Dope to see a Real Yeti Rap favorite doing (really damn) good: Curly Castro got himself signed to Man Bites Dog records, one of the few remaining labels that actually means something. This is an opening salvo from his first project for them. It goes hawrd. Enjoy the show.

"High on Art" - Dewey Decibel

Fresh visuals from Philadelphia insurgent Dewey Decibel. This is urgent and awesome, an exceptionally colorful blast of a video. Obviously Mr. Decibel is Kinda Artistic, and in fact Algorhythms hired him to produce an awesome cover for us. He's reliable like that. Dig into the man's musical catalog and buy something good.