It’s Donwill’s birthday, so he’s giving you a present. For the past three years Donwill, one third of rap group Tanya Morgan, has released music on June 4, his born day, to show appreciation for his fans. This year is no different and Donwill is offering DPPLGNGR, a follow-up to his LP Don Cusack in High Fidelity, for free download.

the title comes from just becoming a whole different person over time, sorta like a doppelganger of  yourself. that feeling that you get when you look in the mirror and dont really know the person looking back at you even though they look just like you. our lives change us incrementally on a daily basis so after a few jarring experiences one day we all lose who we were to become who we are. thats life right? you change it or it changes you.

For more from Donwill on this project check out his blog McDayJob.

Update: The mixtape is not an official project from Glover, instead a compilation of CG’s best but as a departure from being hosted by a DJ, it was curated by these guys.

Fresh of the heels of his Freaks & Geeks EP, actor, Donald Glover, better known in music circles as Childish Gambino has yet another project floating in the blogosphere–an unofficial mixtape titled, I Do Not Talk. You may recognize Donald Glover as character, Troy, on NBC’s Community. When he’s not acting, writing (He used to be a writer for Emmy award-winning show, 30 Rock), or even hosting (Glover hosted MTV’s “Woody Awards” this month) he’s rapping and singing under his pseudonym, Childish Gambino.

Part comedy, groupie chronicles and revenge of the nerds soundtrack, CG finds his niche as the “smart middle class black kid” over indie influenced rap tracks, or rap influenced indie tracks–you decide. I Do Not Talk download and stream of his last album, Culdesac, after the jump.

Childish Gambino – I Do Not Talk | Download Here

Culdesac by Childish Gambino

Pacific Division, better known as, Pac Div, have released a video for “Anti-Freeze,” the first single off their recent mixtape, Mania. Their forthcoming album, Grown Kid Syndrome, has no release date but is expected to drop this year. Read more for a stream of Mania.

Pac Div – Mania! (Mixtape) by uristocrat

Pittsburgh native and Wiz Khalifa affiliate, Mac Miller, has released yet another free project, On & On & Beyond. It’s a six track EP that features staff favorite, “In The Air,” a track originally on Miller’s Best Day Ever.  Read more for a stream and download.

Mac Miller – On and On and Beyond Preview – SBG by SBG Movement 2

Mac Miller – On & On & Beyond | Download Here

Studio Life: Big K.R.I.T. Album Listening Party for “Return of 4Eva” from 3 Little Digs on Vimeo.

Fresh off performing at arts festival, SXSW, rap newcomer, Big K.R.I.T.—King Remembered in Time—just dropped his latest project, Return of 4eva, to a bevy of anticipating fans. Return of 4eva is a welcomed follow-up to his critically acclaimed album, K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, and was trending on Twitter in Atlanta, Houston, Washington, D.C. and even New York.  Read more for a stream and free download.

“I am proud to present “Return Of 4eva” to all my supporters, I took the past year to work on this project,” said K.R.I.T.

“I reached out to some of my favorite artists that I felt represented what this album was about. Ludacris, Bun B, David Banner, Chamillionaire, Big Sant, Joi and Raheem Devaughn all helped me to make my vision of this album complete.”

Big K.R.I.T. – ReturnOf4Eva by Q-CA

Big K.R.I.T. – Return of 4eva | Download Here

Dom Kennedy just released, The Original Dom Kennedy, a follow-up to his critically acclaimed mixtape, From The Westside With Love. Expect cuts reminiscent of Dom’s Best After Bobby early days as well as his newer FTWWL sound on this project. Have no fear, Dom Kennedy promises that From The Westside With Love II is on the horizon, The Original Dom Kennedy is simply a teaser to whet your musical appetites. Read more for the tracklist and download.

Dom Kennedy – The Original Dom Kennedy | Download Here

With no warning, young emcee Wiz Khalifa decided to release mixtape, Cabin Fever by ways of twitter. Khalifa, famed for his singles “Say Yeah” and “Black and Yellow” is a recent Atlantic Records signee and his forthcoming album, Rolling Papers, is scheduled for a March release. Read more for the tracklist and download.

Wiz Khalifa – Cabin Fever | Download Here

We’re not going to lie, the download page for the new mixtape looks beyond suspect, which is why we’re confident it’s an M.I.A. authentic. The tape is titled Vicki Leekx (it’s one track and 36 minutes long) and can be downloaded here. Enjoy.

Already downloaded the tape, tell us what you think!

Baller Carmelo Anthony has teamed up with Krossover Entertainment to produce mixtape, Become Legendary. The mixtape features Nas, Ghostface Killah, Bun B, Jadakiss, MC Lyte and  Shawn Chrystopher among others. Download and tracklist after the jump!

01 Michael Jordan – Become Legendary
02 Bun B – Mastamind f. Diego Cash, Steel Bill & Scotty
03 Nas – Foul Breeze
04 Jadakiss – Goes Up f. Diego Cash
05 Styles P – M7?s
06 N.O.R.E. – Legendary f. Al Gator, Diego Cash & Mr. Kane
07 Young Dro – I’m On It
08 MC Lyte – Rockin’ With The Best
09 Young Dre – The Illest f. Nipsey Hussle & Bad Lucc
10 Ghostface Killah – The Eulogy f. Sheek Louch, Diego Cash & Bully
11 Tru Life – Stand Up f. Jay-Z
12 Cavi – Look How Far We Came f. PO & Omega
13 Cassidy – Hypnotized f. Diego Cash
14 Saigon – You Make Me Sick
15 SouthSide – Shoot You
16 Trifelon – Make ‘em All Come Out
17 Shawn Chrys – Catch Me If You Can
18 Jody Breeze – Rookie Of The Year
19 Big A & Al Gator – Jordan
20 Big Sean – Poster
21 2 Much – Here To Rock
22 Cavi – Become Legendary f. Diego Cash & Ja Miss
23 Al Gator – M7?s Freestyle

Carmelo Anthony – Become Legendary | Download Here

The clock struck midnight and J. Cole’s blog, Dream Villain, went down. The influx of Cole fans has the website bandwidth acting up so there is no download in sight for Friday Night Lights. Stay tuned for a link when the dust settles.

Update: The link for the download has arrived. J. Cole – Friday Night Lights | Download Here or Here

01 Friday Night Lights (Intro)

02 Too Deep For The Intro

06 Villematic

07 Enchanted

08 Blow Up

09 Higher

10 In The Morning

11 2Face

12 The Autograph

13 Best Friend

14 Cost Me A Lot

15 Premeditated Murder

16 Home For The Holidays

17 Love Me Not

18 See World

19 Farewell

20 Looking For Trouble (Bonus)

The self-proclaimed face of the DMV (read: Washington, D.C. metro) and Roc Nation signee, Wale’s mixtape, More About Nothing, a follow-up to the acclaimed Mixtape About Nothing, is now available for download. Get excited.

Wale – More About Nothing (mixtape) |  Download Here or here

In the days leading up to his mixtape, Wale leaked some material from the tape, check it out:

Wale’s mixtape, More About Nothing will be available for download today at 12 p.m. Get excited. Read more for the tracklist and latest release, “Black and Gold.”

theblackandgold1.mp3

British songstress is back at it again with the release of her (almost) mixtape, I Almost Made A Mixtape. In New York? Well the good folks in the Estelle camp are giving away free tickets so a special show tomorrow in the city.

Estelle – I Almost Made A Mixtape | Download Here

via estellemusic.com

Estelle will be taping a daytime showcase for Grey Goose Rising Icons tomorrow (6/30) in NYC at Hiro Ballroom! We would like you to come out this music industry VIP event – for free! If you meet the below requirements, email us your FULL NAME and you will be allowed in for free!

Email greygoose@estellemusic.com if you qualify!

Today marks what would have been Tupac Shakur’s 39^th birthday.  In the fall of 1996, Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas and days later died on September 16 of his injuries while hospitalized. In tribute, Terry Urban has released The 16^th of June, download and tracklist afte the jump.

An East Harlem native, Shakur spent much of his childhood growing up in New York City and Baltimore, MD before making the move to Marin City, California after his sophomore year of high school. During his high school career on both coasts, Shakur developed an appreciation for the arts, often partaking in ballet, acting, jazz and poetry.

After a brief stint in the hip-hop group, Digital Underground in 1990, Tupac began his solo rap career with debut, 2Pacalypse Now in 1991. Although it did not receive much commercial success, it marked the beginning of a very lucrative career for Shakur. He went on to become one of the highest selling artists in the United States with chart-topping albums Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.  Additionally, Shakur took to acting and landed roles in the acclaimed films Juice, Poetic Justice and Above the Rim. Even more, Shakur’s posthumous projects— R U Still Down?, Until the End of Time and Better Dayz—  sold a few million copies each.

In tribute of Shakur and his legacy, Terry Urban has released The 16^th of June: A Tupac Shakur Celebration. Enjoy.

Terry Urban Presents The 16th of June | Download here

Miss us much? Pardon the hiatus, the newsroom has been astir with new developments and site delay has been the byproduct. Never fear, we’re back and with a few goodies you may have missed!

Lil Kim had a few choice words for Nicki Minaj concerning the “swagger jacking” rumors. At the end of the day, Kim says, “just pay homage.”

The Cool Kids are keeping us waiting in anticipation for their upcoming LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles, and dropped the mixtape Tacklebox on Memorial Day. Download it here.

Chris Brown leaked the video for the song “No Bullsh*t” via Twitter. The song is off the new mixtape recently released by Brown and Tyga, Fan of a Fan.

Visit it here.

Wiz Khalifa dropped his mixtape, Kush & Orange Juice.

Wiz Khalifa has released the long awaited Kush & Orange Juice mixtape anticipated since early January. This solid, 20 track mixtape is proof that Wiz has been on his grind and is determined to earn his spot at the top. Kush & Orange Juice has less features and collaborations, and more of the creative sounds characteristic of Wiz Khalifa and The Taylor Gang movement.

Wiz Khalifa – “Kush & Orange Juice” | Download Here

Rhymefest releases mixtape prelude to upcoming album.

Dangerous 5-18 is the mixtape prelude to Rhymefest’s long
awaited El Che album, expected to drop May 18. Be sure to download the mixtape.

Dangerous 5-18 – Rhymefest | Download Here

Nike Nando drops mixtape, U Know Nando?

DMV artist Nike Nando released his project U Know Nando?: The Mixtape this week via his Twitter. Make sure you check it out. While you’re at it, check out his blog.

U KNOW NANDO? – Nike Nando | Download Here

Words by Aja Johnson

On Monday March 22nd, Radio personality Jeannie Jones “The Kitty of the City” hosted the release party for former Day 26 member, Que Mosley’s debut mixtape The Que Files. The event was held at Recess Lounge in Washington, D.C. Guests mingled to old school and new R&B and hip-hop and watched a video of Que, until the star of the show arrived. The district’s own DJ Quicksilva spun Que’s mixtape on turntables, while former America’s Best Dance Crew competitors Beat Ya Feet Kings entertained the crowd with their dance moves.

Que said his mixtape is “set-up material for the album,” and to just “enjoy it.” The Que Files is filled with club joints such as his new single “Shake Dat.” But his song “Well Overdue,” addresses his naysayers. “You didn’t even have the decency to say it to my face/you claim you couldn’t find me but you know just where I stay,” is a line from “Well Overdue,” possibly referring to how Day 26 broke the news to him via letter that he was no longer apart of the group.

Aside from his new mixtape, Que has a new reality show coming soon with his “special friend” Dawn Richard, formerly a member of Danity Kane and is now with Diddy’s new group Dirty Money. The show will be aired on MTV.

The Que Files is available here for free download.

Look out for 25 magazine’s video interview with Que at his release party soon.

RAAAAAAAANDY (a.k.a. comedian Aziz Ansari) is AAAAAAAANGRY. Randy with Eight A’s has released a “diss track,” “AAAAAAAANGRY,” with producer Dave Sitek calling out rappers Kid Cudi, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Drake, Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, Eminem, The Clipse, MF Doom, Mos Def, and Kanye West for not sending in their verses for his upcoming mixtape.

“Clipse! What are y’all making more Playcloths? How about putting on some work clothes on and sending us a verse? Next time you guys are baking some crack ,can you look in that oven and see if any lyrics crawled in there that you can rap into a microphone. I asked you guys, I was like ‘hey can you get verses back to me in a couple of weeks’ and y’all were like ‘yuhhh,’ I thought that meant yes but I guess not.” — Randy with Eight A’s – “AAAAAAAANGRY” excerpt

“Some of y’all, alright most of yall are probably like what are these guys talking about they never sent me any beats, well you’re probably right, we’re calling you out, so send us your verses,” says Ansari on the track.

RAAAAAAAANDY Mixtape is set to release, “whenever the f*ck we want it to.” If the “AAAAAAAANGRY” track is a prelude to what’s to come of the project, RAAAAAAAANDY Mixtape may become one of the better mixtapes of the year. #veryfunny

“AAAAAAAANGRY” – RAAAAAAAANDY | Download Here

Gold of The Five One and Killah Priest

One fourth of band The Five One, Gold blogs from the SXSW festival in Austin, TX! Download The Five One’s Road to SXSW at thefiveone.bandcamp.com.

What’s up everybody.. I’m blogging from Austin’s SXSW Festival, the night before our show at Opal Divine’s Freehouse. I injured my foot somehow and rolled it awkwardly a couple of days ago. I’ve taken breaks in walking by taking these bike taxis, which is a huge relief considering how much distance we cover in one day. It’s a beautiful concept that I hear they have all over Europe, so it’s great to see it at this Festival. Your ride is all about what you work out with the bike rider, sometimes they’ll treat the whole charge as a tip, while others they’ll set a price for you to meet. My buddy Billy Carranza from Reston, came to kick with us from a suburb of San Antonio. Here’s a picture of Billy with GREEN rockin’ the Colorpillar Tee:

First stop was Nice Kicks, a street shop that sells modern/pop-culture/hipster/hip-hop influenced tees, shoes, watches, etc. GREEN wanted to stop by and pick up these GREEN Supras, but they had an orange color incorporated that made him less interested. I thought they looked like Miami Hurricane shoes, but the owner of the store insisted that they were St. Pattys-themed. While we were there, I managed to snag this sweet watch:

Basically, this event is a huge conference. Every venue has a line-up of bands with some sort of theme. One of the events we attended consisted solely of “Duos,” one of which were El Ten Eleven, who wrote the original song for “Stuntin’ Like Mufasa” (Don’t ask me the name of the real song, only GREEN knows as far as the colors are concerned). Each day, we’ve been hopping from place to place and networking with folks representing anything and everything aligned with the art/music industry. We’ve met hired musicians that are between the ages of 18-20, to a Columbian punk rock bands, to musicians part of a touring act signed to Sony Japan. It’s been all over the place, and it’s clear as day that any artist/musician or whatever you call yourself that is interested should definitely be EVERYWHERE. I saw a dude rockin’ a Wizards tee, so I approached and met a writer for the Washington Post. Today, outside of the Muse show (which I did not see), this camera man for Myspace approaches me and asks what I think of the show. Obviously, I said I loved it and said that they should come out to DC, other colors chimed in, and we signed release forms to be in this Myspace video.

A couple of days ago, we were at the Austin Convention Center, where we picked up our artist wrist bands, which gives us freedom to get into most of the events for free, and we attended a conference that show-cased all kinds of different companies and organizations. I met someone who is in charge of Miami Music Festival and exchanged information. Turns out that the gentleman occasionally visits The Five One’s hometown of Reston for business. It was great to meet him and he said that he would love to have The Five One support the event. Miami has a great music scene and we have yet to play in that area, so this was one of the first booths I had to approach. We also approached Blackberry, who were more than happy to play our single, Mandatory for all the attendees approaching. The Starkey Hearing Foundation had a booth that gave hearing tests to anybody interested. We got these sweet ear plugs with cases, I’ve been taking them out all over the place since the music is BLARING everywhere. At some point, we were chatting with an acoustic group (can’t remember the name for the life of me) that gets a lot of attention on the blogosphere, when Erik Estrada rolls in. I met him and we got footage. It’s hilarious, it came completely out of nowhere:

Mini-Me was also there, which was awesome. We also met Morgan Currie, who is the violinist for the Canadian group The Tom Fun Orchestra. Morgan is a computer wiz who created Marcato, a software that bands can use to get organized. It is completely free and he explained to us how to use it. One of the highlights would have to be chatting it up with some folks that run a record label based out of Scotland. Love the accent and culture/music, so it’s always a pleasure for me to link with them. I explained our band and the concept and they loved the idea. It’s really important to me that The Five One is heard around the world, and not just the states. Scotland is a place I have to see and experience one day, why not have them already know who we are when we come through to perform!

In going through the West-side of the Downtown area, we checked out the venue that we are performing at tomorrow. In doing so, we met this dude Miles, who is in the band,Outernational. It was crazy to run into this guy because just the other night, RED and I saw this guy perform a song with Tom Morello’s latest project. Apparently, Outernational’s album was produced by Tom Morello, which is crazy! The song that they performed with Tom Morello’s band SSSC had a heavy gypsy influence. It’s always interesting for me to hear that Eastern European-esque sound, coming from Romania, home to one of the highest gypsy populations. I took this shot from the rooftop venue that they performed, it gave me a Miami vibe:

On the way to checking out Union Park, the venue that Outernational rocked, I spotted myself a GOLD beauty on the way:

Did I mention that I miss New Orleans? I didn’t want to leave that place, I liked it so much.

By the way, we definitely set up our instruments and performed on the street today. This cop pulled up, we thought he was going to have us cut everything out. He told us to play a song for him, which was pretty sweet. He then took off and we continued to rock. The highlight was jamming on this DC Gogo tune. Gives me a great deal of pride to play some hometown music in Austin. Folks stopped to hear Gogo, as I’m sure most, if not all, aren’t familiar with that DC sound. It was beautiful!

Tomorrow, we’re going to try to use power from one of the venues or stores and perform on that main 6th street strip, where EVERYBODY walks through. Wish us luck! I’m exhausted, time to get a few hours of sleep in time for more craziness.

PACE SI PRIETENIE (PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP)

GOLD

[All photos courtesy of The Five One]

Up and coming artist Ashton Travis drops new mixtape.

Ashton Travis, crowned “Mr. Freshman” of the Class of 2013 at Howard University, has dropped his highly anticipated mixtape appropriately titled, Mr. Freshman. This project offers everything from written rhymes to freestyles and spoken word to smooth R&B, not to mention a divergency of different sounds production-wise. Travis says it best in his introductory track “For Ever, For Always, For Love” when he says, “I was born to be a star like holdin’ shift and pressin’ 8.”

Download it here!

Tony Williams drops first solo mixtape. Artwork & tracklisting after the jump!

G.O.O.D. Music vocalist Tony Williams has released his first solo mixtape Finding Dakota Grey, a compilation of original songs and remakes of songs by fellow G.O.O.D. music recording artist, Kanye West. Though the name may sound foreign, you’re probably more familiar with his vocals on tracks such as “We Major,” featured on Kanye West’s Late Registration or “A Star Is Born,” featured on Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3. Williams  finally showcases his unique style and voice in-depth, outside of hooks and ad-libs. 

Download it here.

01. Intro
02. Hey Boy Hey Girl
03. Backstage Pass
04. Nuskyy Tv Interview
05. Dj Aktive Mix
06. Chicken Wings (Skit)
07. Amazing (Official Remix)
08. Late Early
09. Way I Like It
10. Flashlight
11. Dreamin’ Of Your Love (Parisian Remix)
12. You Know French_ (Skit)
13. Same Movie Scene
14. I’m Not Mad
15. Lala, Lala
16. Been A Lot Of Places (Skit)
17. Linda Garota
18. No (Skit)
19. King Or The Fool
20. Ain’t No Sunshine
21. Nightmares (Official Remix)
22. Still Got Love
23. We Can Make A Hit
24. I Don’t Give A Shit
25. Pro Tools (Skit)
26. Double Back On This Love
27. A Star Is Born

Check out XV’s “Lift the Game” from his mixtape, 30 Minute Layover. Tracklist & Artwork after the jump!

30 Minute Layout is preparation for his next mixtape of original material. It should be dropping sometime in the near future.

Download it here.

Shouts to Beats&Bombs!

Here’s the new video for “Riot Song” off of Johnny Polygon’s recently released mixtape, Rebel Without Applause.

Shouts to NahRight!

You can download the whole mixtape here.

Fuze the MC’s second mixtape available for download. Tracklist & artwork after the jump!

Atlanta alternative hip hop artist Fuze the MC drops his second mixtape Stereo Typical Music, available for download here. The project features guest artists Dizzie, Jones, Ashton Travis, Cha’nce and more.

FRESH DAILY & Chris Faust team up for the remix to the dance/house song “Lady” to be featured on the 2 Hungry Bros Mixtape Back For Seconds.

Download all the leaked singles here.

Shouts to Beats&Bombs!

Check out the video for “Fever”  from Raheem Devaughn’s new mixtape, Mr. February.

Shouts to Honey!

Jabari Johnson shot and edited an in-studio video for Neako’s “Three Fingers To The Sun” off of his latest mixtape, Junk Food.

Expect more of Jabari’s videos in the future!