undun is an existential re-telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens (1974-1999). Through the use of emotives and Redford’s internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out ‘on the corner’. Utilizing a reverse narrative arc, the album begins as the listener finds Redford disoriented–postmortem–and attempting to make sense of his former life. As he moves through its pivotal moments he begins to deconstruct all that has led to his (and our own) coming undun.
With the concept for The Roots’ upcoming undun album explained, this short yet rather powerful clip of what is essentially just a shootout has a more poignant context. Particularly excellent is the hint of ambiguity: it’s not totally clear which of the two shooters is Redford. The viewer’s sympathy clearly extends to the character that is killed, but the final scenes of focus on the killer suggests the expansion may instead happen on this character, and hence throwing an interesting dynamic out there prior to the album release. A gritty, dark short clip, this is certainly worth watching as an opening to what comes next from this story. The full audio is here, and be sure to grab that album on December 9th.
Much anticipated music from The Roots’ upcoming 13th album, undun, slated to be the first true concept album of their long and storied career, and it’s a hugely enjoyable listen.
Soft synths combine with a laidback percussion to provide a smooth, relaxing backdrop, creating a laidback atmosphere that bleeds into the vocal work right from the off. The raps are extremely solid from start to finish, as both Krit and Black Thought come through with introspective, thoughtful raps to capitalise on the production, whilst the soulful hook further enhances the mellow quality of the track. Excellent effort, and looking forward to that album on 9th December.
New material from Gilbere, a man who’s likely to get some real shine soon given that he’s just taken part in the annual BET Cyphers (due to make their way to the internet any moment now!). Similarly, Big K.R.I.T. has just featured on T.I.’s comeback single, arguably his biggest co-sign to date, and one that should see his profile rise.
Interestingly, K.R.I.T.’s opening verse has a heavy T.I. influence, particularly his delivery in a speedy, tongue-twisting flow combined with a strong southern twang, whilst his lyrical content isn’t left wanting in what’s a very enjoyable opener to the track. Gilbere follows up with some enjoyable bars of his own, blending together introspection, ambition and energy, and whilst the delivery is relatively unchanged throughout, they’re still two cohesive verses that make for good listening. Solid all-round effort.
As a 2011 XXL Freshman, many people have had their attention drawn to Big K.R.I.T. Well here he gives us a free album for us to not only enjoy, but to get to know what he’s all about.
I really liked his first single from this album, so I’ll be checking this out too. You can listen to the whole album to the left, and also download it below.
“In celebration of our 4th annual Freshman issue, we linked up with DJ Whoo Kid for the 2nd year in a row to release a mixtape showcasing the up-and-comers’ talents. XXL’s 2011 Freshman Class: The Mixtape features brand new music from Kendrick Lamar, Yelawolf, Lil B, Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Lil Twist, Fred the Godson, YG, Cyhi the Prynce and Big K.R.I.T. as well as some welcomed, surprise collaborations.”
Can’t say I agreed with some of this list when it was released, but we’ll see if my mind is changed by what those I doubt put forward on this tape. Aside from that, it’s always good to grab new material from the likes of Yelawolf and Kendrick Lamar, so this should definitely be one to add to the collection.
Big K.R.I.T. has been tipped for good things this year and thus you should look our for his music, which should become more prominent as the year goes on. From the man himself:
“This is the 1st leak of my new Album “Returnof4eva” (artwork by Eric Bailey) The song is called “Dreamin” I produced the beat as well. I feel this is a perfect representation of my music at this exact moment in time bc it could have gone either way for me. This was all a dream a year ago. Now i am living out my dreams everyday. This is a personal & special record to me & i hope it inspires you to follow your dreams like i did. Motion Family shot the video for this yesterday, Thats coming soon. In the meantime u can get the song & all updates from me at Returnof4eva.com.”
A very well produced, thought-provoking song. Click here to get your paws on it.
Some welcome visuals for a track that’s been played on my laptop and my car many times over the past few weeks! The video itself has many clips of Chamillionaire’s travels across the globe, from the Middle East to South America. It’s great to see, as it not only fits the nature of the song but it’s also good to see Chamillionaire the person, and not just Chamillionaire the rapper.
You can grab the excellent audio for this by clicking here. Very much looking forward to hearing even more new material from Cham in the near future.
New heat from Chamillionaire, reminding us all of his talent. Probably paved the way (on a mainstream level at least) for the likes of Drake with the switching between singing and rapping, so it’s great to hear him come out with some new music.
This song is really good too, sounds like something straight off his criminally underrated Ultimate Victory album (which came out in 2008). Hopefully Cham will be releasing a new album soon; now that he’s off Universal records who he had many a trouble with over the last couple of years.
Here’s the video for a remix from one of the standout tracks from Big K.R.I.T.’s K.R.I.T. Wuz Here album. Featuring two rappers from the South who currently have a rather large buzz about them, this is one track you don’t want to miss out on.
Surprisingly a mellow one, this is a song you can just listen and chill, it especially feels to me a summer song you can just laze around to. You don’t need it to be a particular season to laze about, (especially here in the UK with there being snow everywhere you look at the moment!) so download below and enjoy.
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