The young poet/rapper George Watsky, whose first mixtape "Guilty Pleasures" was featured on FMK in January, dropped his second mixtape "A New Kind Of Sexy" on 1st August 2011. Guilty Pleasures was good, but in my honest opinion, A New Kind of Sexy brings a new, slightly better kind of music. First of all, Watsky himself has has evolved a lot between these two mixtapes (Guilty Pleasures was released in October 2009), which manifest in smarter wordplay, better flow and judicious lyrics.

Don't believe me? Here are a few examples:

Song: 4AM Monday

Haters give me balance. Every Kyle's got a Cartman
I know how failure tastes, I drink it straight from the carton
I always keep a gallon in the fridge at my apartment
to remind me how it feels to drop the ball like Stevie Bartman 

Song: Amazing Grace ft. Pat Dimitri

I used to ask strangers if they believed in a God
to see if we were peas in a pod
and if they didn't agree with me then i'd argue and try to be smarter thinking I'd hear people applaud
But
I'm getting older
And I'm getting dummer
Or least I know less than I did when I was younger
I used to profess, now I'm more pro-wonder
I used to fear death, now I'm set to go under

In addition, "A New Kind Of Sexy" feels more consistent than "Guilty Pleasures." When the latter was more "all over" with the beat selection varying from M.O.P. and Eminem to Miley Cyrus (which did gave the whole mixtape a fresh and different feeling, but I also heard some criticism regarding the unconventional beat selection, e.g. saying "great lyrics are wasted on some trashy remix to a crappy song" about the song "Colored Lines" on Miley Cyrus' beat). Anyways, no matter how you felt about Guilty Pleasures, the 2011 Watsky mixtape does feel more altogether than the 2009 release. My last words? Get that new kind of sexy!

DOWNLOAD LINK: WATSKY - NEW KIND OF SEXY (2011)

Tracklist:
1. They're Not Ready 00:50
2. A New Kind of Sexy ft. Intuition & Dumbfoundead 04:01
3. Danger w/Damon Elliott 03:56
4. Kidnap Your Boyfriend 03:06
5. Women, Women, Women 02:31
6. There and Back Again 02:25
7. Pumped Up Kicks Remix 02:56
8. D.A.N.C.E. Remix 03:35
9. Pauly Shore Saw My Penis 02:46
10. Ask Me Anything 01:37
11. Ten Fingers 02:28
12. Energy 02:26
13. Show Goes On mini-mix 01:48
14. 4AM Monday 03:48
15. Amazing Grace ft. Pat Dimitri 02:36
16. * 06:30

Update: Also check out Watsky's newer mixtapes:
Watsky & Mody - Watsky & Mody (2012 Mixtape) Free Download

Today we bring you a hot mixtape from 2010- it's Phil Ade's mixtape The Letterman. Hosted by the legendary Don Cannon, Ade rocks the beats in style on the 20-track collection. Featuring artists include Raekwon, Skillz, Raheem DeVaughn, Wale and others. The mixtape is, without a doubt, a quality release and Ade should definitely be heard and looked out for. That dude is good.

DOWNLOAD LINK: PHIL ADE - THE LETTERMAN (2010)



Tracklist:
01. The Letter  
02. Unusual  
03. My Story  
04. One in a Million
05. Borderline  
06. Rapper Eater
07. The Jacket (ft. Kyonte) 
08. Like Dat (ft. Tabi Bonney) 
09. Toast 2 Life (ft. Kevin Ross) 
10. Paid in Full (ft. Tracie Josephine) 
11. Worth Your Time
12. Pay 4 That  
13. Out Your Clothes (ft. Raheem Devaughn)
14. Rollers
15. Tipsy Mood (ft. Kingpen Slim) 
16. OMG (ft. Skillz)
17. Young Black Successful (ft. Stello & Raheem Devaughn)
18. Hollywood (Remix) (ft. Raekwon, Wale, Tabi Bonney, & Raheem Devaughn)
19. Yesterday  
20. We Outta Here Baby 

We're a bit late with this one, but better late than never, eh? So, Elzhi is a Detroit rapper who released his mixtape Elmatic in May 2011. As the name of the mixtape suggests, the mixtape is deeply influenced by Nas' classic album Illmatic- in fact, all tracks of this mixtape have (almost) the same headings as the songs on Nas' album.

Now, don't get this wrong. Elzhi is not trying to "beat" Nas by turning his songs into his own, the mixtape can rather be looked at as a personal tribute to Illmatic & Nas and Elzhi's own take on the classic tracks. And the result is outstanding. Accompanied by a live band called Will Sessions, Elzhi brings the classic, raw hip hop from Illmatic back to life.

DOWNLOAD LINK: ELZHI - ELMATIC (2011)



Tracklist:
1. The Genesis
2. Detroit State of Mind (Houseshoes Shout)
3. Halftime
4. Memory Lane
5. The World Is Yours
6. Represent
7. Life’s A Bitch feat. Royce da 5’9 and Stokley Williams of Mint Condition
8. One Love
9. It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Pete Rock Shout)
10. Pete Rock Shout

I really like Stones Throw Records. Not only because they are the home for a variety of awesome artists such as Madlib, MF Doom, Aloe Blacc, Mayer Hawthorne and others, but also because they are kind enough to release cool stuff for free downloads from time to time. Here's one of these releases: Detroit rapper Guilty Simpson with Bumps on a track called Drums. Gymbag remix added as a bonus. Enjoy!



DOWNLOAD LINK: GUILTY SIMPSON & BUMPS - DRUMS (2011)



DOWNLOAD LINK: GUILTY SIMPSON & BUMPS - DRUMS (GYMBAG REMIX) (2011)

Henry Bowers is an enormously talented Swedish rapper. Not only does he make good songs, he is also one hell of a battle rapper and a skilled poet. Plus he has a cool beard. The TV OD LP was officially released for free download on the 24th of April, 2011. And no, he does not rap in Swedish. He raps in English.

The LP is a prime example of what underground hip hop should be about. Bowers takes a shot at the society of today: mass media (duh!), globalization and hypocrisy - all that on smoking hot dubstep-influenced beats. Just awesome!  Henry Bowers is definitely a dude that needs to be checked out by every true hip hop fan out there.

DOWNLOAD LINK: HENRY BOWERS- THE TV OD LP (2011)



Tracklist:
01. Real Estate / beats: Kryptonite
02. Can’t Cool Us feat. Elijah Guidance / beats: Kryptonite
03. Swing Batter Batter Swing / beats: Kryptonite
04. Where’s the Remote? / beats: DJ Lo-kut
05. TV Overdose / beats: Johan Tilli (Lissi Dancefloor Disaster)
06. On a Bad Day / beats: Spakur
07. Practice Caution feat. Kid Colt / beats: Kryptonite
08. A Tinkle for Your Thoughts feat. Noventa / beats: Noventa (Consensus Lo-Fi)
09. Payday / beats: DJ Lo-kut
10. Eternal Life feat. Mingus X-24th / beats: Cleast Intwood


Also check out Henry Bowers' official website.

Chamillionaire is a critically acclaimed American rapper who recently released a new mixtape called Major Pain 1.5. The mixtape is, without a doubt, a quality product. Great sound, on-point lyrics and a great beat selection are the keywords of this mixtape. The mixtape is something that should satisfy both underground lovers and the-latest-radio-pop-rap-hit lovers... especially if either of them loves that little "dirty south" feeling.

DOWNLOAD LINK: CHAMILLIONAIRE- MAJOR PAIN 1.5 (2011)



Tracklist:

1. Already Dead Intro
2. War To Your Door
3. Slow City Don
4. Slow it Down
5. Next Flight Up
6. Never Come Down BREAK***
7. This My World Feat. Big K.R.I.T. (Produced by VMAN Productions)
8. King Me
9. Chandelier Ceiling (Produced By Big. KRIT)
10 Livin Better Now
11.Gotta Be The Baddest
12. Naked Man Skit (Roy Wood Jr)
13. When Ya On Feat. Nipsey Hussle (Produced by Andrew Dawson)
14. Think About it
15. My Toy Soldier
16. Stay Screwed N Chopped
17. Forever Be A King Break
18. Tone For Life (Famous)
19. Wake up Outro

FreeMusic King features Grieves' new single called Lightspeed today. Released by Rhymesayers, from the upcoming Together/Apart album. Available on Rhymesayers' website, Amazon, iTunes and FreeMusic King. Good music.

DOWNLOAD LINK: GRIEVES - LIGHTSPEED (TOGETHER/APART, 2011)

Today I'm going to introduce you to a short instrumental hip hop track which was made by an artist named... Freebooter. Me. Well, basically, this is a track that I created as the background music for the promotional video for my site, MaYOR Traffic.

DOWNLOAD LINK: FREEBOOTER - MAYOR THEME (2011)
DOWNLOAD LINK #2: FREEBOOTER - MAYOR THEME (2011) 

Tracklist:

Edi Like Guilty Pleasures? Check out Watsky's new mixtape "A New Kind Of Sexy"

2012 Watsky mixtape: Watsky & Mody - Watsky & Mody (2012)

When last week we introduced you to Rafael Casal, a poet and a rapper who has performed on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, then this week we will continue in the same zone and introduce you to George Watsky, another Def Poetry poet. Unlike Casal, who has been unable to "blow up," Watsky recently managed to go viral with his video "Pale kid raps fast" (over 4.5 million views in 10 days). Thanks to this his other music has been getting more and more attention as well, which is nice to see. His 2009 album titled "Watsky" has been getting more and more attention, as well as the mixtape we're going to talk about here: "Guilty Pleasures."

Guilty Pleasures is basically a mixtape which features all songs from "Watsky" (the album), mashed up with different kinds of beats starting from Ke$ha's "Tic Toc" and Miley Cyrus' "Party In The USA" to M.O.P.'s "Ante Up," Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and everything in between. The mixtape is quality in it's best meaning: Watsky's wacky, funny, but also on-point and meaningful rap has been fitted perfectly on seemingly irrelevant beats. And it sounds good. From a teenager's sexual problems in "The Waking Hour" (featuring Mariami) on an Akon beat to a battle of the races on "Color Lines" (featuring Catch Wreck) on a Miley Cyrus beat: it all sounds like the song was written to that particular beat and the message doesn't fade away.

So my conclusion? Get the mixtape, it's well worth it. I mean, it's free. :) And if you do like what's on the mixtape, then buy the album. Simple as that.


DOWNLOAD LINK: WATSKY W/PROCRASTINATION- GUILTY PLEASURES (2010)

Tracklist:

1. Headphones-Amplified (feat. Rafael Casal)
2. Fuck an Emcee Name
3. Seizure Boy
4. Who's Been Loving You?
5. I Got This Love (feat. Passion)
6. A Conversation With Bieber
7. Waking Hour (feat. Mariami)
8. Girl Next Door (To Everybody Else)
9. Run My Mouth (feat. Danny McClain)
10. Color Lines (feat. Catch Wreck)
11. Hercules
12. Fight! Fight! Fight! (feat. Dahlak Brathwaite)
13. Two Blue Moons
14. Everything Turns Gold (feat. Gift of Gab and Mieka Pauley)

Rafael Casal, a young poet and rapper from the infamous Bay Area first gained recognition for his brilliant poems on HBO's Def Poetry Jam. As an underground artist and the founding member of TheGetback (check out TheGetback.com), he has released 2 EP's which are available for free download. In July 2010, Casael, along with Daveed Diggs released The Bay Boy Mixtape. It features 11 hot tracks with substance, poetic wordplay, chill beats and catchy choruses. To be honest, I personally don't understand how Casal along with his Getback companions have managed to stay so unnoticed- at such talent! I mean just check it out:

Song: "On Tour"
Many of us brag bout the stars and the women
but what we keep hidden are the scars and stumbles
pick up and zip up my bag again
cuz I'm back to somewhere else
on the map again
break another heart for the making of my art
so I savor every part of my travellin

Or the brilliant chorus of "Love Thing:"

It's a love thing, it's a love thing
it's a love until we breakin' up then
could be great but it could be nothing
want to trust but there's always something

So... Make sure you download The Bay Boy mixtape, tell your friends about it, head over to TheGetback.com and get the latest music and news from Casal and the whole Getback crew! We can't let something so good go unnoticed, can we?

DOWNLOAD LINK: RAFAEL CASAL- THE BAY BOY MIXTAPE



Tracklist:

1. Babysittin 03:12 2. Foxy Girls (Candy Store) 03:04 3. Run 03:54 4. Bay Boy 03:16 5. Hooked On You 03:48 6. Love Thing 03:20 7. On Tour 04:12 8. For The Record 04:06 9. Fucked Up 02:34 10. Could Be Wrong 03:58 11. Ghostin 02:34