National Museum of American History officials (a part of the Smithsonian Institution) are planning a 5-year $2 million dollar initiative to start-up a permanent collection of hip-hop artifacts, records, and belongings.

Kicking off the collection are items from such luminaries and legends as Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Fab 5 Freddy.

Although, Yahoo's assertion that vinyl records, turntables, and mics are merely relics gathering dust in urban attics is just flat-out wrong and misguided.

Like this shit, dead - jerks.

If you're on MySpace you probably get more than a few bands trying to add you as their "friend" on any given day. And if you're anything like me you think a lot of these bands fucking suck. All too often these bands make music that isn't even remotely similar to anything you like and it's pretty obvious that they're just using some script to add EVERYBODY as their friend. Now I'm sure a lot of you have figured that out and probably don't even bother to listen to these bands music. You just click "accept" or "deny" based on general principal and try to save a couple seconds of your precious time. Not me though. I actually listen to most of these bands. Why would I do such a thing? Because, every once in a while these bands are actually adding people who they genuinely hope will enjoy their music, and they actually make music that is exactly my taste. UK duo My Toys Like Me is just such a band.

When I clicked on the profile link in their add request and heard their first song "Sick Couple" start to play I was completely blown away. I immediately clicked "accept" and then clicked "comment." As I listened to the song, and the two others ( "Gold Lace" and "Wisheso" ) on their profile, I typed up a short, but very complimentary comment. Then I sent them a message saying I wanted to help spread the word about their incredible music. And that, brings us to where we are now, with me telling you about a band you NEED to hear. Comprised of producer Lazlo Legezer and vocalist Frances Noon, My Toys Like Me make music that is nothing short of revolutionary. I don't even know what to call it or classify it as, but if the success of another similarly unclassifiable English import named M.I.A. is any indication then American critics, hipsters and music aficionados alike are bound to be flocking to heap praise and play on these two Londoners in no time.

Which isn't to say they sound anything like M.I.A. at all. No, their sound is more like Goldfrapp produced by Timbaland or Portishead remixed by somebody like Peaches... or something It's reminiscent of trip-hop, electro, new wave, house, funk-punk, broken beat, b-more-club, UK garage/grime, micro-house, rio baile funk and hip-hop all at once, with burping electro basslines, buzzed-out synthesizers, delicate keyboards, spacey electronic effects, thumping kick-drums, hand-claps and all kinds of excess percussion aplenty. It really sounds like nothing else, but if I have to make a descriptive attempt I'd have to say it's not unlike Bugz In The Attic's take on American crunk ( or maybe hyphy ) or Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo trying their hand at broken beat... with enticingly sexy female vocals draped all over the whole thing... sort of like a strangely vulnerable but dangerously sensual naked girl draped all over your lap in the back room of a darkened strip club. It's sexy, it's smart, it's musical, it's electronic, it's danceable, it's hi-tech, it's lo-fi, it's emotional, it's funky, it's beautiful, it's sexy, it's catchy and it's grimey as fuck. I mean, despite the cute stuffed elephant in their MySpace avatar I can only assume that the toys that like them are in fact sex toys of some kind. And with the way Lazlo's deep bass vibrates and Frances' sweet voice caresses I wouldn't be surprised if eargasms ensued for most of the group's future listeners.

Listen now for yourself and see what happens.

My Toys Like Me "Sick Couple"

And if you want to hear more from the group visit their MySpace page where they have a couple other songs streaming in their music player. They're currently working on setting up their own website at MyToysLikeMe.com, but it's still under construction right now. Bookmark it anyway though, and check back every once in a while to see what might pop up.

Long Beach, California-bred true-school rap guys Ugly Duckling have a new video for the song "Smack" available for viewing and downloading on these here internets. It's available through Google Video and YouTube ( both of which I hate, but what are ya gonna do? ) and you can also find a download in the media section of their website. Either way, you can peep it in either of the embedded Flash players that Google and YouTube offer, and you can also download it in a number of formats from the Google link. Peep it, it's pretty goofy.

Ugly Duckling "Smack"

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Ugly Duckling's new album 'Bang For The Buck,' from which "Smack" is drawn, drops in the states April 11th on Fat Beats records.

Kid Rock and Scott Stapp are now starring in their own sex tape. Filmed sometime in the late 90's, the video depicts the "Rock Stars" getting oral sex from groupies and other scandalous adult activities, including the very special prostate milking of Mr. Rock. These guys know how to party!

Acey's not alone this time. And neither is Jenny. AGF is German. But Five Deez aren't ( even though they recorded their album there ). That's pretty much all you need to know.



Aceyalone accompanied by RJD2 "A Beautiful Mine"



Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins "Melt Your Heart"



AGF.3 + Sue.C "Geneva"



Five Deez "Kommunicator"

Aceyalone and RJD2's 'Magnificent City,' Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins' 'Rabbit Fur Coat' and Five Deez's 'Kommunicator' are all available in stores now on the Decon, Team Love and Rapster labels respectively. AGF.3 + Sue.C's 'Mini Movies' is a little more mysterious though so I'm not sure if it's officially been released, or when it might be released, but it's on the Asphodel label either way. Don't forget to look for these records so they can take up space in your house, not just on your iPod.

Okay, so I was planning on posting this MP3 from the new 'Run The Road Volume 2' grime compilation later this week when I do another "keep it on the download" update. But then Vice Recordings went and made a downloadable MP3 of it available and saved me the ripping, encoding and uploading time.

The song in question is the simian themed "They Gave An Inch" by Roll Deep Crew member Trimble which features production ( and if the catchy chorus from Mitchell Brothers member Teddy is any indication, writing assistance ) from none other than The Streets own Mike Skinner. It happens to be my favorite track from 'RTR2' and I think I actually like this joint more than that new Streets track Emeyesi posted the other day. Anyway, Trimble is straight animalistic on this track, rapping about monkeys and street violence like an even more demented Sean Price, but with a British accent!

Trust me, you'll dig it.

Trimble "They Gave An Inch"

You can cop 'Run The Road Volume 2' right now at a store near you on the Vice Recordings label. Vice will also be releasing 'The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living,' the new album from The Streets, on April 25th.

In the first sweepstapes of it's kind in iTunes history, fans who purchase both "Black Sweat" and "Beautiful, Loved, and Blessed," the new singles from Prince's forthcoming album '3121,' will be automatically entered for a chance to win a once in a lifetime trip to Prince's home! Four lucky winners will win a trip for two (2) to enjoy a private show by Prince in the comfort of his home. To automatically enter, simply purchase "Black Sweat" & "Beautiful, Loved & Blessed" at iTunes now!

For official "no purchase necessary" mail-in info and official rules, please visit www.3121countdown.com.

And if you still haven't heard either of these songs ( even though I posted 'em a couple weeks ago ) you can stream them both in there intirety right here before you buy!

Prince "Black Sweat"

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Prince feat. Tamar "Beautiful Loved and Blessed"

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When Imageyenation favorites She Wants Revenge and Joaquin Phoenix team up you know the shit will be proper. And it is. I like this band more every day.

She Wants Revenge "Tear You Apart"

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Taken from the soundtrack of 'Jak X: Combat Racing' for the Sony Playstation2, and apparently inspired by the game, or at least inspired by video games in general, is "Reborn" a new track from Definitive Jux artist El-P featuring emcee Cage on vocals.

The game also features a joint from dance producer Digweed while the soundtrack for Sony's 'The Con' apparently features jams from Blackalicious and Dan The Automator featuring Casual.

I guess the soundtracks to the games are available as paid downloads from some Sony download site, but the site in question only works in IE ( it actually alerts you to this fact when you visit it ) and since I'm in love with Firefox and think you should be too am going to forgo linking to them.

Regardless, you can download the El-P and Cage track from us right now for free!

El-P feat. Cage "Reborn ( Exclusive Remix )"

New York based Hassidic reggae artist Matisyahu is, in the words of our own Cereffusion "blowin' up." Though I'm sure some people still refer to him as "the Jewish reggae dude, the one who wears the whole Jew costume," he's received an almost overwhelming ammount of exposure ( especially for a member of an insular religious sect ) over the last year. For the most part the reaction to all that exposure has been extremely positive. An appropriate response considering the positive vibes of his music, which is in itself positive in both content and sonic quality. Luckily one needn't spend countless hours studying the Torah ( unless you're into that sort of thing, like me ) to come to a similar conclusion about the man's music. All you need to do is peep his debut studio release 'Shake Off The Dust...Arise,' his critically acclaimed live album 'Live At Stubb's' or his forthcoming sophomore LP 'Youth,' which arrives in stores March 7th via JDub records and Epic/Sony.

If the first single from that album, also titled "Youth," is any indication Matisyahu has nothing but more positivity to offer, and is sure to continue pleasing listeners and critics alike for some time to come. The tune is a smokin' ( though not ganja smokin' according to an interview with the singer in this month's 'Blender' ) blend of ruff dubbed-out roots reggae riddims, raw dancehall style toasting, an uplifting sung vocal and rocked-out Jewish folk melodies. And it happens to be one of the tuffest reggae selections I've heard since Damian Marley's "Welcome To Jamrock" exploded onto the scene a year and a half ago. You can hear the song, and check out it's accompanying video ( which is pretty sweet ) in a couple different streaming formats at the links below.

Matisyahu "Youth"

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If you want to be like Cereffusion ( a lover of the Hebrew people if ever there was one ) and help Matisyahu "blow up" even more, don't forget to cop his new album 'Youth' when it rolls out like a Torah scroll via JDubb/Epic records on March 7th 2006!

The Streets "When You Wasn't Famous"

Mike Skinner delivers once again. Like there was any doubt. Fuck the geezers. This is classic Streets. I love me some Streets. In fact I'm gonna go outside right now in the crisp February air and hump Biltmore Street while I listen to this joint on my iPod.

Look for The Streets new album 'The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living' to drop on 4.10.06 in the UK on 679 and 4.25.06 in the good old US of A on VICE.

How could I forget you all on Valentine's Day?

I couldn't.

Enjoy one of the sweetest, most beautiful songs/videos ever to have been created by man.

Courtesy of Tenacious D.

Enjoy.

At the age of 27 Argentinean artist Jose Gonzalez is making quite a name for himself. His style is already being compared to artist like Nick Drake, Elvis Costello, and Paul Simon. Not to metion the release of his album 'Veneer' has received nothing but rave reviews in his homeland Sweden, Jose hopes for the same once his album is released worldwide.

One of the first singles of this album is a cover of The Knife's "Heartbeats." Since I was a fan of The Knifes song I was curious to see how Jose Gonzalez covered this song. To my amazement Jose's cover is the complete opposite to the original that I could hardly tell it was the same song.

Jose Gonzalez "Heartbeats" ( right click and "save as" to download. For Mac users click File and "save as" to download)

The Knife "Heartbeats" ( right click and "save as" to download or for Mac users click File and "save as" to download)

Being the complete opposite worked in favor for Gonzalez's. His cover is a wonderful acoustic melody and you can tell he has an ear for the acoustic guitar. After hearing his single "Heartbeats" I am eager to hear what else this artist can do.

Pretty much the first thing to greet me when I woke up Friday was a text message from Emeyesi saying that producer/emcee James Yancey a.k.a. Jay Dee a.k.a J. Dilla was dead. My phone happened to be sitting on top of a pile of CD's at the time. The CD on top of the pile was 'Donuts,' a collection of J. Dilla's instrumental work released this Tuesday by Stones Throw records. The experience was sort of surreal, and though it's been well known that Dilla wasn't in the best of health for some time, and the subject of his condition and future was brought up for conversation by members of the Urban Alternatives posse as recently as Wednesday night, it just didn't feel possible that he could really be gone. To tell you the truth it still doesn't feel real. How could someone so young, so talented, so accomplished and yet so full of promise be dead so fast? And unlike so many hip-hop artists due to natural causes, not violence! It's like a nightmare.

I know, to some this must sound like melodrama. And still others are probably wondering why the death of a hip-hop artist who wasn't even "famous" is a big deal at all. But what those people don't understand is that a person like Dilla was the beating heart of hip-hop. He was a producers producer. He banged out some of the best hip-hop ( and neo-soul ) beats of the last 15 years ( for the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, The Pharcyde, Common, D'Angelo, Janet Jackson, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Poe, Spacek, Mad Skills, Keith Murray, Phife Dawg, Mood, Brand New Heavies, Macy Gray, Heavy D, The Roots, Black Star, Erykah Badu, Bahamadia, Bilal, Mos Def, Chino XL, Fourtet, Jaylib, Oh No, Dwele, MED, Talib Kweli, Frank-N-Dank, Slum Village and others ). He was a founding member of Slum Village, a member of the Ummah production squad alongside Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, a Soulquarian, and most recently one half of super-duo Jaylib ( with producer/emcee Madlib ), the project which arguably spawned the collabo trend which has since attributed to the rise of Madvillian, Danger Doom and others. And though he wasn't the type to score enormous hits and never became widely known outside of hip-hop's underground core, he was respected, even to the point of being touted by the likes of Pharrell Williams as his "favorite producer."

He was a workhorse behind the scenes and behind the boards. And apparently it was his work ethic which, in the end, did him in. Reports circulated a few years back that Dilla had experienced kidney failure. He admited in an interview with 'URB' magazine that it was his hectic schedule that caused his health problems.

What happened was that the doctor told me that I'd ruptured my kidney from being too busy and being stressed out and not eating right. He told me that if I'd waited another day, I might not have made it.

There'd be days when I wouldn't eat at all because I'd be in the basement, working all day.

Concerns about Dilla's health even resulted in an internet rumour claiming that he'd died, which originated on the Okayplayer message boards, circulated around the web, and was quickly proven false. All was quiet until a few months ago when photographs surfaced of Dilla from concert appearances overseas where he appeared dangerously thin, sickly and confined to a wheelchair. Once again his health problems were blamed on a hectic work schedule and failure to eat due to long hours spent in the studio. Press releases issued by Dilla's management assured the public that his health was improving, that he was eating right, and that he would doubtlessly recover though.

I for one was not so positive, and I couldn't help but think, if his "handlers" were so on top of things they'd be making sure he was getting pizza's, sacks of Big Mac's and ( ironically enough ) boxes of donuts delivered to him in his basement beatmaking laboratory. I wondered why people close to him weren't saying "dude, we ain't putting out no more of your records, we ain't booking no more shows, until you're eating right, resting and recuperating." I even joked about boycotting Dilla's records, refusing to spin any of his music until I knew he was actually eating and not starving himself to death. Now it seems as though such concerns were either all too real or that Dilla was already just too far gone and beyond improvement no matter what measures were taken.

We'll never really know the full truth of what could have been though, as James Yancey a.k.a. Jay Dee a.k.a. J. Dilla died on Friday February 10th in his sleep from liver complications at the age of 32.

His newest LP, 'Donuts,' is in stores now on Stones Throw records.

In memory of J. Dilla I plan to play 'Donuts' in it's entirety on next week's edition of Urban Alternatives. The show will air late night Wednesday February 15th into early morning Thursday February 16th from 12 midnight to 3 AM eastern time on 90.7 FM WTCC in the Springfield Massachusetts area. Links to live streaming audio of the show can be found elsewhere on this site.

Okay, so I'll admit I wasn't too psyched about "Te Amo Corazon," the debut single from Prince's forthcoming Motown/Universal full-length '3121.' The schlocky lite-jazz track and latin overtones were about as palatable to me as if he had done a Reggaeton track featuring Noreaga on guest-vocals. It was fine and dandy I suppose. But it just wasn't the Prince that I grew up on. The Prince I grew up on would've flown in naked on a Pegasus with a Linn drum machine strapped to his back while wailing on his axe and falsetto screaming about chicks masturbating. It just didn't make sense to me that in the day and age of shit like the Pussycat Dolls "Don't Ya" and Black Eyed Peas "My Humps" ( which ape Prince's patented early '80s production steeze ), not to mention the success of one Pharrell Williams, that Mr. Nelson would be popping out some ol' easy listening wanna-be caliente shit. It had me wondering whether or not the Jehovah's Witnesses had some prohbition against drum machines ( * see note ) that I didn't know about.

Apparently no such prohibition exists though, because for his second single Prince has cut off a thick slab of drum machine and synthesizer flavored funk. The song, "Black Sweat," features an updated take on Prince's signature '80s production style, with Linn drums, handclaps, synths and ping-pong electro bass aplenty. Not only that, but he's singing about getting naked and making bitches scream, and he even flips one of those stilted spoken breakdown chants he used to do back in the '1999' days! This is motherfucking Prince right here! I wouldn't be surprised if he was wearing some panties and thigh-high leather boots while getting a massage from Appolonia while he recorded this shit. If you haven't heard it already, prepare yourself to get down, because you can listen right now via streaming audio.

Prince "Black Sweat"

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I was similarly impressed with one of the tracks Prince debuted during his recent performance on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live.' It was the first song he performed and it featured some of Prince's underrated guitar plucking and a shredding solo. That was more vintage Prince, and if '3121' has stuff like that and "Black Sweat" to offer then it should be a satisfying listening experience. Unfortunately though, Prince also performed a track called "Beautiful Loved and Blessed" featuring his new "protegee" Tamar that ammounted to a pile of lukewarm neo-soul papp ( leave that shit to ?uestlove and his ilk man ). Songs like this and "Te Amo Corazon" might make '3121' a hit and miss affair, but it's still doubtlessly going to be worth checking out for the gems like "Black Sweat." Regardless, maybe you like crappy neo-soul songs that try way too hard to be uplifting. If you do, you might actually like "Beautiful Loved and Blessed." Give it a listen and find out.

Prince feat. Tamar "Beautiful Loved and Blessed"

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I mean, what happened to the days when Prince's protegees wore lingere and sang about being "nasty girls" who plan on "shootin' love in your direction" while living the "glamorous life?"

I dunno, but I do know that we'll all know just how "hit" and how "miss" Prince's '3121' is when it hits stores March 21st on Motown/Universal records.

* Note -- As an aside, this brings up an interesting incident from my childhood. When I was a youngster my sister and I threw a Halloween party. As part of the festivities we planned a number of games. Seeking prizes for these games we made a trip to the local record store and purchased a number of popular 45 RPM singles. One of these singles was Prince's "Purple Rain" backed with "Erotic City" featuring Sheila E. on guest vocals. When the big party came one of my sister's friends happened to win the Prince 45. Unfortunately, this friend was a Jehovah's Witness and popular music was forbidden her, so she couldn't take the record in question and I got to keep it. This resulted in hours of enjoyment on my part spent listening to "Erotic City," which was and is one of Prince's dopest b-side's. But I digress. At the time, none of us could have fathomed the prospect of Prince, the artist forbade from ever being heard in the home of a Jehovah's Witness one day becoming a card-carrying Jehovah's Witness himself.

Emcee/producer Kimani Rogers of Roosevelt Franklin is one of a number of rap guys who have sent me angry e-mails for one reason or another over the years. Shit like that really doesn't bother me though. And it certainly doesn't stop me from liking somebody's music or telling other people that they should like somebody's music. Besides, he also recorded a really funny drop for my radio show where he dropped the "f-bomb," and if anything, the "f-bomb" cures all. It also helps that he and his partner Mr. Len make good music. And apparently Kimani and Len are getting ready to release more of that good music soon enough in the form of a sophomore LP titled 'Bare Food.'

Some basic information about that forthcoming LP ( like a tracklist and album art ) can be found at their new weblog ( the link is at the top of this post ) which they just launched a couple days ago. A quick look at the blog will also yeild a couple exclusive "mash-up" MP3's that pit Roosevelt Franklin tracks "Cuba Libre" and "Insomnia" ( which features Slug of Atmosphere and Jean Grae on guest vocals ) against Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On" and Beck's "Black Tambourine." Truth be told, I actually like this mix of "Insomnia" better than the original. Maybe you will too? Find out by downloading them shits yo!

Roosevelt Franlklin feat. Slug and Jean Grae "Insomnia Tambourine"

Roosevelt Franklin "I Turn My Cuba Libre On"

My favorite brand in pretty much, well, forever, Hot Chip, is preparing the release of a new single titled "Over and Over" on February 27th, on ( to quote their website ) "a bewilderingly large range of formats featuring a bewilderingly large number of remixes." You can pre-order copies of the single as MP3s, as well as "irritating ring-tones" of the track from their site right now!

If you don't feel like clicking a link and visiting another site though you can watch the video for "Over and Over," directed by Nima Nourizadeh right now via a couple of different streaming formats.

Hot Chip "Over and Over"

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And if the idea of experiencing the "Hot Chip sound" in person rather than through pixelated video turns you on you should be interested to note that they'll be playing right here in Massachusetts, in the town of Allston specifically, at Great Scott ( which is appropriate when one considers the lyrics to their song "Back To The Future" ) on March 13th. Members of the Imageyenation posse will be in the house that night, for sure!

With glitched-out thrash-pop from some filthy Brits, soulful punk-funk from a band who's lead singer I want to bone, housey dancefloor-jazz from a collection of Los Angelenos and new-wavey future-soul from another chick I wanna sex up ( with beats courtesy of some of my favorite producers of the moment ) in the mix, these tracks are bound to excite your iPod and confuse your friends in one fell swoop.

Test Icicles "Shark"



Gossip "Listen Up!"



The Rebirth "Talking Me Down"



Goapele feat. Sa-Ra Creative Partners "Fly Away"

And if you find yourself liking these tracks you should try to remember that there's more where these came from on the artists albums. The Test Icicles debut full-length 'For Screening Purposes Only' and Gossip's third full-length 'Standing In The Way Of Control' both hit store shelves January 24th via Domino Recordings and the Kill Rock Stars label respectively. While The Rebirth's debut LP 'This Journey In' and Goapele's sophomore effort 'Change It All' both dropped late last year on Kajmere Sound and Skyblaze/Sony respectively. You should have no problems finding any of them in a store near you or via the internets.

Although Scottish dance music producer Mylo has unfortunately been forced to cancel his US tour dates due to contracting a virus which causes hearing loss, he's still set to release his album 'Destroy Rock & Roll' here in the states, via Breastfed/RCA, on Tuesday, February 7th. What's more, he's prepared to crack American dancefloors wide open with the single "Doctor Pressure," a funky piece of electro-house in the vein of Daft Punk which melds Mylo's "Drop The Pressure" with Miami Sound Machine chestnut "Doctor Beat." While "Drop The Pressure" was already an album highlight, the addition of the "Doctor Beat" vocal on "Doctor Pressure" just juices the track up even more. The 12'' has been rocking the turntable here at Imageyenation HQ, and the airwaves of the Urban Alternatives radio show, but now it can rock your computer via streaming audio.

Mylo "Doctor Pressure"

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A review of 'Destroy Rock & Roll' ( the overseas pressing of which was yet another "best of 2005" listee ) should be coming soon courtesy of either Cereffusion or Add-Mmm. But you can run out and get a copy of it for yourself when it hits stores next Tuesday.

Last year Vice Recordings released 'Run The Road,' a compilation of UK Garage and Grime artists, to widespread praise and critical acclaim, not the least of which being a nod for "best hip-hop album of 2005" from our very own Cereffusion in our year-end "best of" poll. The compilation was one of a select handful of releases that helped familiarize an ever widening sector of American listeners with the Grime genre, built on the already impressive buzz of genre stars like The Streets and Dizzee Rascal, and introduced audiences outside of the Grime underground to budding superstars Kano and recent Def Jam signee Lady Sovereign. Next Tuesday, February 7th, Vice Recordings willl release 'Run The Road Volume 2,' a follow-up to the popular compilation featuring tracks from Kano, Low Deep, Klashnekoff, Crazy Titch, Ghetto, Sway, Doctor & Davinche and more.

The lead off track from the album, "Get Set," comes courtesy of Low Deep ( Ghetto, Big Seac, Demon & Doctor ) and Kano. And you can check it out right now via a quick MP3 download right here.

Low Deep feat. Kano "Get Set"

Hopefully we'll have a review of 'Run The Road Volume 2,' courtesy of none other than Cereffusion, and maybe some give-a-ways, real soon. But you can go right ahead and check out the compilation when it hits store shelves on Tuesday, February 7th on the Vice Recordings label.