Just Blaze & Baauer - Higher feat. Jay Z (Video)

Here is the short film for "Higher" from Just Blaze and Baauer. For the past year, Just Blaze has been dabbling in (what America call) EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and joined forces with producer Baauer. The two have been touring together and "Higher" is the track that got people talking a few months back.

The track features vocal samples of various Jay Z tracks, most notably "U Don't Know" and "Change The Game".

Watch the video below and also see Just Blaze's appearance on Power 105.1's "The Breakfast Club" with DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God.

Prodigy on The Process (Video)

Once again, Peter Rosenberg lines up another stellar guest for the latest edition of his Complex TV series "The Process". This time he has QB representative and Mobb Deep legend, Prodigy.

Originally hailing from Long Island, he talks about how his writing style had to change to fit with his adopted Queensbridge peers. His rhyming partner Havoc was instrumental in this and he explains how his improved ability often resulted in arguments over his verses being too long.

Watch the episode below and check out past interviews at Complex.

J-Zone's Peter Pan Syndrome Album Cover and Tracklist Revealed

Today J-Zone revealed the album cover of his upcoming LP, "Peter Pan Syndrome". According to Zone's website, next week we can expect a whole heap of song leaks, promo videos and old demos. Not to forget pre-orders.

Check the cover and tracklist below.

Busta Rhymes on The Combat Jack Show (Video)

The latest episode of The Combat Jack Show sees the crew talking to head of the Flipmode Squad, Busta Rhymes. Early rap battles with Jay Z and how Chuck D helped him to step his game up are a couple of the subjects discussed in the interview.

Catch the first part below with more to follow.

Stüssy’s Yo! MTV Raps Mini-Doc (Video)

To coincide with their new "Raps" inspired collection, Stüssy commissioned a short documentary on the early days of Yo! MTV Raps and the influence it had and also the fashion in the golden era of Hip Hop.

Watch both parts below. The collection is available now.

The Kid Daytona & DJ Cut Killer - Classic Shit (Video)

The Kid Daytona drops a visual for his collaboration with Paris' DJ Cut Killer. "Classic Shit" features Daytona over classic 90's French beats delivered by Cut Killer. I'll be honest, I don't know the instrumentals but one sounds familiar and I think it comes from an Alliance Ethnik song.

Check the video below and be on the look out for The Kid Daytona's upcoming project "Savoir Faire" which is out this Autumn.

100

So after a little over a month, I've made it to my 100th post on the blog. For the past couple of days I was trying to think if there was anything special I could do to mark the occasion. I was going to do a whole piece on Hip Hop turning 40 years old but I decided to do a short history lesson on that yesterday instead.

As I haven't really plugged my Mixcloud selections on here, I thought I'd make a fresh one to add to my little collection. This time I've made quite a lengthy compilation made up of tunes I've gathered over the last few months, some songs featured on the blog and also a few old tracks thrown in too.

Stream "Raise Your Limits" below. I'll also have a download link for it soon. You can also find more of my mixes on Mixcloud.

Raise Your Limits by Watchdeez on Mixcloud

Hip Hop Turns 40 Years Old

 

Today marks the 40th anniversary of what many consider the birth of Hip Hop. August 11th, 1973.

It all started in the recreation room of a tower block on 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, New York City. This was the home of the family of DJ Kool Herc, who held a "Back To School Jam" fundraiser for his little sister.

Disco was the popular music at that time but Herc chose the funkier soul sounds of artists like James Brown and spanned genres to the sound of rock too. However, he played these records a little differently than anyone else. This party, and the ones that followed, witnessed a new style of record playing that would soon  become known as Herc's "Merry-Go-Round" technique. Using two copies of the same record, he would take sections from songs that hyped up the crowd the most and double them up to make longer stretches of that particular section.

This would become the backdrop for B-Boys and dancers at parties and started the early guise of the Hip Hop DJ or turntablist. Many DJs followed, honing this craft and it became one of the foundations of Hip Hop, alongside graffiti, emceeing and breaking.

Take a look at this excerpt from the 1983 BBC documentary "Beat This: A Hip Hop History". The narration is quite funny to listen to, as it's all rhymed!

Happy Birthday Whitney Houston

Today would have been Whitney Houston's 50th birthday. Thought I would post a few videos.

Camp Lo & Pete Rock Talk About Their New Album (Video)

Following last month's release of their joint album, "80 Blocks From Tiffany's Pt.2", Camp Lo and Pete Rock break down a few tracks with Esteban Serrano for Fuse TV.

If you missed the album, you can get it here.

Stalley - Honest Cowboy (Mixtape)

Stalley just dropped his new mixtape "Honest Cowboy". This serves as a free warm up album before his debut on Maybach Music Group coming soon.

Stream and download in the player.

Throwback Thursday: R'n'B Edition ('95-'96)

After the Throwback Thursday a couple of weeks ago with forgotten gems from the Wu-Tang, I wanted to bring it back to the mid nineties with a selection of R'n'B videos. Unlike these days, quality R'n'B was actually in the charts and there was an abundance of it. There is so much to choose from that I just picked four artists that came to mind from that era.

D'Angelo, Aaliyah, Mariah Carey and Jodeci. All four of these acts took very different paths later in their careers. The tragic loss of Aaliyah in 2001 is still in everyone's mind. The derailment of Jodeci as a group with their live show exploits, leaving fans disappointed. Rumours of D'angelo's return to the spotlight after a spate of live appearances recently and Mariah Carey's breakdown, return, marriage and motherhood all keeping her in the news.

Luckily for us, we can simply go back to what made them stars and amazing artists in the first place. Dwelling on what could've been or might still be is getting old now, so just relive and replay the classics.

Have a listen and look at four of my favourite videos from that era. I've also included a Mixcloud playlist I put together called "You Sing, I'll Rap"of 90's remixes which can be streamed below the video.

You Sing, I'll Rap by Watchdeez on Mixcloud

  

Schoolboy Q - Collard Greens feat. Kendrick Lamar (Video)

With single having already been circulating for a few months now, Schoolboy Q finally releases a video for "Collard Greens". The track features his Top Dawg brethren Kendrick Lamar sounding like an alien again, but that's what we've come to expect by now. Oh, and the video isn't too appropriate for viewing at work. Do what you think is best.

Eddie B/Harry Fraud - Anywhere It Takes Me (Download)

I should've known it was Shark Week, seeing as "Sharknado" finally made it to UK television screens today! If you don't know what I'm talking about, click on the link. Haha!

Anyway, Eddie B, of Harry Fraud's Surf School collective, releases a nice snack for you to bite on. The free download of "Anywhere It Takes Me" is la musica de Harry Fraud. Enjoy.

RA The Rugged Man - It's Gone (Audio)

RA The Rugged Man shares a previously unreleased track that can be found on the limited edition cassette tape version of "Legends Never Die", available earlier this year. The track, "It's Gone", visits the last 25 years in the rap industry and name checks many of the greats and his influences.

"Legends Never Die" is out now through Nature Sounds.