I’ve started to realize how huge it is when a unique producer is paired with an MC and they share the same vision. Eddy B & Tim Gunter, two dudes from North Carolina, are the latest addition to the evidence. Eddy B, a UNC student, and Gunter, who goes to NC State, apparently met back in 2010 and have been producing hits since. Due to the nature of the duo, the Chiddy Bang comparisons are inevitable, but I think that’s too easy. Xaphoon Jones is a beast on the drum pad but I’ve really never been impresed with Chiddy (although there’s no way you can’t respect the World Record). Meanwhile, Eddy B’s got the wordplay and style to keep listeners interested, even when the subject matter goes towards continuous metaphors and braggadocio. I’m a firm believer that all that expands after some experience, age, and exposure, and they’ve already got a good amount of complete tracks that demonstrate focus. Plus, he’s got a slight southern drawl that adds a unique flavor to his flow.

Gunter puts his creative spin on the beats, mixing in synths and other electronic elements. And he’s definitely not afraid to showcase his diverse musical taste: through their Dear North Carolina, Welcome Back mixtape and Overseas EP, he’s managed to sample Sublime, STRFKR, Coldplay, The Doors, Nosaj Thing, Ellie Goulding, Len + more. Needless to say that’s a very interesting list for producing hip-hop tracks, and he accomplishes in making them work with the drums while Eddy B goes in. I’m guessing his experience creating mash-ups has helped with that. These two are definitely a pair to keep an eye on. For now, grab “Dear North Carolina,” & “Welcome Home” below!

Eddy B & Tim Gunter – A Love Affair
Eddy B & Tim Gunter – Super Mario Flow
Tim Gunter – Adderall (Gucci Gucci Remix)

Download | Eddy B & Tim Gunter – Overseas EP
Download | Eddy B & Tim Gunter – Dear North Carolina, Welcome Back (Mixtape)

If there’s one man I’ll give my blind trust to when it comes to mixes (aside from Treasure Fingers), it’s A-Trak. Here’s the July Mix for Fool’s Gold Radio, the second installment of the series full with funky turntablism/disco/house/electro. FOOOOOLS GOOOOOLD

Fool’s Gold Radio – July 2011 Mix by A-Trak

Tracklist

1. Kid Gloves – Music Power (A-Trak Intro Edit) – Fool’s Gold
2. Rogerseventytwo – You Take Me Higher – Fool’s Gold
3. Marble Players – Let You Go – Marble
4. Alexander Technique & Junior Sanchez – One Day They Love You – InHouse
5. Kid Gloves – Below The Belt – Fool’s Gold
6. Carte Blanche feat. Alexis Taylor – With You – Ed Banger
7. Deadboy – Wish You Were Here – Numbers
8. Tripmastas – Roll Dat – Magnetic
9. Duck Sauce – Big Bad Wolf
10. Santiago & Bushido – Rhythm For Me – Relief
11. Kry Wolf – Lost In Tremé
12. Roska – Abrupt – Hotflush
13. Dexter – Fat Skinny People – Clone Crown Ltd.
14. The Count & Sinden – Future (Canblaster Remix) – Domino
15. Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team – Bassface – Sound Pellegrino
16. Dr. Gonzo – Dushi – Southern Fried
17. 1984 – Arabesque (NT89 Remix) – Discobelle
18. Arnaud Rebotini – All You Need Is Techno (Gesaffelstein Remix) – Blackstrobe
19. Bart B More & Tommy Sunshine – Body Work – Secure
20. Felix Cartal – The Joker – Dimmak
21. Bassjackers – Mush Mush – Musical Freedom
22. D.I.M & TAI – Ion – Boys Noize Records
23. Clouds – Numbers – Turbo
24. Jaymo & Andy George – Tension – Moda
25. Siriusmo – Feromonikon – Monkeytown
26. Icona Pop – Manners (Style Of Eye Remix) – Kitsuné
27. Para One & Tacteel – Always – Fool’s Gold

New upbeat track from Asher Roth, “Another One Down,” featuring DA from Chester French. This one’s lighthearted and will get you in a good mood if you’re not already in one. Also check out the trailer to the upcoming video for “Last Man Standing,” which features Akon (still don’t understand it but the song’s good). Video looks like it’s gonna be crazy!

Asher Roth – Another One Down ft. D.A.

[via]

BONUS!

Some Southern fire from Big K.R.I.T. & Yelawolf. Best enjoyed with chicken, biscuits ‘n whiskey. /stereotype

Big K.R.I.T. – Happy Birthday Hip Hop ft. Yelawolf

J. Cole just shared this mini mixtape/EP with us via Dreamvillain.net. Some old, one new, all good. He takes on Common’s “Go” on “Knock On Wood” and the last one, “Unabomber” is one of my favorite Cole tracks. Plus that album art is dope! Best part is it seems like we’re gonna get a stream of unreleased shit til Cole World: The Sideline Story is out 9/27.

“1. Like A Star – Was saving this for the 2nd album. Due to some other shit beyond my control, I’ma let this out now.

Every Sunday til the album drops I’ll be back with something. Maybe just 1 song, maybe a video, depending on how I’m feeling.”

J. Cole – Pity ft. Omen, Voli

DOWNLOAD | J. Cole – Any Given Sunday Vol. 1 (Mediafire)

New drop from Drake off his upcoming Take Care album. Drake goes with his usual style of dipping in and out of singing/spittin. It actually sounds pretty good, but the lyrics are kinda tired. It’s almost like Drake’s been in a depression and is just starting to pull out. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you enjoy his raw emotion aka if you have panties that can be wet by his insecurities) our ears have been his diary. This one’s produced by Boi-1da and Noah “40” Shebib and picks up the pace from “Marvin’s Room” and the title song “Take Care,”. Take Care the album comes out October 24th.

Drake – Headlines

Much has been said of the current ‘new school’ of rappers — a group of these freshman that have now graduated into the next stage, their ascent to stardom. With his latest project, Section.80, Kendrick Lamar has risen to the top of his class as the first to release a well-structured, complete album. Although lacking the commercial appeal of many of his peers, he has gained the respect of those embedded in the true culture of hip-hop — its relevance as a medium of expression and the social nature of its background since its beginning. Through 16 tracks, Kendrick Lamar takes listeners on a journey of social expression (I don’t want to say commentary because that sells it far short) with hard bars and soulful beats.

The album begins with the crackling of a fire and a strong voice leading a community of listeners. The opening track, “Fuck Your Ethnicity,” is an important one in introducing the album, clearly highlighting that the message(s) and issues presented apply to every breathing person. The piano hits hard while Kendrick showcases his ability to stand toe to toe with the best lyrically. (I got 2/That’s a metaphor for the big shit I do/TMI, TSA, man I’m fly/Put wings on my back/That a plane or an angel?/ Both, like a pilot with a halo – whoa). He delivers them with a subtlety that contradicts how other rappers would be yelling out and delivering more chuckles than punchlines. From here he goes into “Hol’ Up,” the brightest song on the album. The trumpets bring us in to some bars and subsequently Kendrick’s repeating Hol’ Up on the chorus, which is catchy as fuck. Kinda like Dom’s “Grind’n,” you’ll catch yourself repeating it throughout the day after listening.

“A.D.H.D.” launches us into the heart of the album. If beats and rhymes are all that you feel coming from your speakers when you listen to Section.80, you’re missing the true intention of this 16-track artistry. There’s a much larger pill to swallow than the relentless flow and great production. This album serves as a wake up call to Generation Y. Much has been made of our generation’s downfalls and its potential for utter failure (I kinda touched on this on a tumblr post). A big issue that we’ve come across is how to convey these issues to the population to inspire some kind of change; many that realize the issues we face are simply overcome by apathy. It remains to be seen the impact music can have, but this album is a valiant effort, masterfully crafted over its central themes. In A.D.H.D., Kendrick watches medication overcome minds (chorus hits: 8 doobies to the face, fuck thought/12 bottles in the case, nigga fuck thought/2 pills and a half, wait fuck thought). This issue’s been on my mind a lot recently, reminded of me of something the homie Jeff over at 12FV wrote a while back “We don’t spend much time on our thoughts anymore. The present has showered us with instant gratifications. Whatever happened to meticulous cultivation and its hardworking counterparts? We want everything at our fingertips and we want it streaming from all directions.”

Kendrick shares two distinct qualities that I can see with a young Nas. The first is standing out from his peers with a truly conscious perspective on the world around him. (I’m not on the outside looking in. I’m not on the inside looking out. I’m in the dead fucking center, looking around) He’s touched on subjects before while finding himself as an artist, but Section.80 has a much more focused approach. Although there is no comparison to Nas’ work, depicting so vividly the claustraphobic hell in between 40th Side North and 41st Side South, the similarity can still be seen. The other thing I see that draws the two together is a relentless flow. Kendrick doesn’t give you a second to breathe or ingest anything. They differ in this aspect in that Kendrick’s is more of a stream which reflects a continuous thought process that needs to be expressed in that manner to retain its intended emphasis. Whereas Nas was packing so many individual lines into a song to portray visuals, it was as if he had a time limit on each track. It’s this style that really helps in setting Kendrick apart from other rappers right now. His wizardry with words isn’t characterized by compounding obscure references or metaphors, but rather by a flow of alliterating lyricism that never strays too far from the intended thought. Each line has a soulful, heavy emphasis that hits you like the rap equivalent of a Skrillex bass drum.

Kendrick continues on his path throughout the album, each song having its own unique appeal. “Ronald Reagan Era” and “Rigamortus” are two of the best tracks released this year, across genres. The album ends with “HiiiPoWer,” the J. Cole produced track that provides an uplifting end that inspires a call for action. (Opens with: The sky is falling, the wind is calling/Stand for something or die in the morning). Check the video below to get a better understanding. It serves as a reminder that the world needs he and J. Cole to get to making their supposed mixtape together. The two possess currently unrivaled lyrical skills and passion, and given influence from each onto the other they’d produce magical shit. The entire album builds up to HiiiPoWer, and I love that it’s left until the end despite being the best track on the album. It’s a testament to the fact that this needs to be listened from start to finish to be truly appreciated and understood. Best album of the year so far, looking forward to what the future holds for the only 24-year old Kendrick Lamar.

Tracklist

1.) Fuck Your Ethnicity [prod. by THC]
2.) Hol’ Up [prod. by Sounwave]
3.) A.D.H.D [prod. by Sounwave]
4.) No Makeup (Her Vice) ft Colin Munroe [prod. by Sounwave]
5.) Tammy’s Song (Her Evils) [prod. by THC]
6.) Chapter Six [prod. by Tommy Black]
7.) Ronald Reagan Era (His Evils) [prod. by Tae Beast]
8.) Poe Mans Dreams (His Vice) ft GLC [prod. by Willie B]
9.) The Spiteful Chant ft Schoolboy Q [prod. by Sounwave & Dave Free]
10.) Chapter Ten [prod. by THC]
11.) Keishas Song (Her Pain) feat. Astro Bot [prod. by Tae Beast]
12.) Rigamortis [prod. by Willie B]
13.) Kush & Corinthians (His Pain) feat BJ The Chicago Kid [prod. by Wyldfire]
14.) Members Only [prod. by Tommy Black]
15.) Ab-Soul’s Outro [prod. by Terrace Martin]
16.) HiiPoWeR [prod. by J. Cole]

You can catch Kendrick @ The Music Box 8/19 w/ Casey Veggies & Schoolboy Q for $25.
+jangbar

J. Cole‘s back to restore faith in those that were disappointed with his last two drops, “Bad Girls Club” and “Work Out.” The track, “Can’t Get Enough,” features Trey Songz on the chorus and alotta hot lines. The beat is fire too. No word on whether this will be on Cole World: The Sideline Story, which comes out 9/27.

(Right click, Save As to Download)
J. Cole – Can’t Get Enough (ft. Trey Songz)