Four Decades Later...

August has been a pretty special month that saw hip hop celebrate it's 40th birthday.  There were various events and reviews to mark the occasion, but I'm really surprised that something more notable hasn't been done.  A collaboration track by some of the old school icons, or a decent documentary or something more tangible to make the occasion special.  Oh well, it looks like hip hop spent the night on her own with a glass of wine and a box of chocolates!

Still, despite those birthday blues, she still saw fit to provide us with more goodness....

New Jeru

It's been a while since we've heard from the Prophet, but he's back with a forthcoming EP entitled The Hammer.  This early taster has Extra P on the boards and is one of the nicest tracks I've heard from Jeru in quite some time.  The EP also contains production from The Beatnuts and PF Cuttin.

The Return of the Zone

I honestly didn't think J-Zone would ever release another long player after he retired from hip hop a few years back, but unlike when Jay-Z came out of retirement, J-Zone's return to the game proves that his production is just as good as before (maybe even a tad better!).  Check out this sampler and if you're digging it, then head over to his bandcamp page to check out the full album or make a legit purchase.

Willie The Kid

I overlooked this when it dropped back in July, but this steady paced collaboration with Action Bronson and Roc Marciano with Alchemist on the boards is hitting the spot, even though I'm not normally a fan of Alchemist's stripped down production.  I'm still perplexed by how Action Bronson is so well respected when he sounds exactly like Ghostface Killah.  Back in the day that was called 'biting' and a biter got no love!  Still, this track is nice, and it's worth exploring more of Willie The Kid's music too.