Video: St. Paul Slim and Toki Wright - Live at "Artist Meets Artist"

Slim uploaded this video of him and Toki Wright's performance at the Rhymesayers' Artist Meets Artist concert earlier this month to a MySpace bulletin late last night, and, if you watch the video, you'll know immediately that Slim and Wright absolutely tear it up. Baldheaded Samsun and A Different Mirror can't come soon enough (actually, Wright's Mirror is set to drop on June 9th via Rhymesayers). To watch another video from the concert, go here, or, check out even more videos of Atmosphere, Brother Ali, and Trauma doing their respective things below (via)


(Brother Ali - "Good Lord" - Live @ "Fine Line Music Cafe")


(Atmosphere - "God Loves Ugly" - Live @ Fine Line)


(Trama - Live @ Fine Line)

St. Paul Slim MySpace Page
Toki Wright MySpace Page

(Jon Graef)

Rhymesayers Announces Lineup For SXSW Showcase

This just came over at the Eyedea and Abilities MySpace blog. It's the lineup for the venerable hip-hop label's South-By-Southwest music conference showcase, and, as you can imagine, it's a doozy. Check it out:

+ 03.19.2009 + Rhymesayers Label Showcase
Venue: Habana Bar Patio / Backyard
Address: 708 East 6th Street
City: Austin
State: TX
Doors: 8:00PM
Ages: All Ages
Cost: SXSW Wristband

8:00 - 9:00 - Plain Ole Bill
9:00 - 9:30 - Toki Wright
9:30 - 10:00 - I Self Devine
10:00 - 10:30 - Abstract Rude
10:30 - 11:15 - Eyedea & Abilities
11:15 - 12:00 - P.O.S
12:00 - 12:45 - Brother Ali
12:45 - 1:30 - Freeway & Jake One
1:30 - 2:00 - BK One

Read more info here.

Show Announcement: Rhymesayers' "Artists Meet Artists"

Atmosphere meets Brother Ali
Muja Messiah meets M.anifest
Toki Wright meets St. Paul Slim
Jimmy 2 Times meets Plain Ole Bill

Monday, March 9
Fine Line Music Cafe
9 PM | $20 | 18+

These performances of Rhymesayers crew members (and a few who aren't) will consist of "special combined sets." Sounds pretty promising. Thanks to MB, amongst others, for show information.

P.O.S. Day Is Today

It's an amazing record. Already on my Top Ten List for 2009.

Click here to buy "Never Better" on iTunes right now.

POS on MySpace

Video: Jake One/Rhymesayers Single Contest

Jake One explains all in the video above.

Eyedea & Abilities Announce East Coast Tour

East Coasters who've been waiting for a taste for Midwest hip-hop can finally indulge their rhymethical palatte (and dance their asses off, too), because Minneapolis rap duo Eyedea & Abilities have announced a brief East Coast tour. The duo, who've been mainly working seperately on other projects. , have reconveined for the follow-up to their so-called "Appetite for Distraction" tour. As the Rhymesayers page notes , this is the first time the pair have played East Coast dates since their album E&A dropped back in 2004. Hopefully, these dates will be a warm-up for a more extensive tour, and maybe, just maybe, a record. Or at least a free EP. After all, it isn't like Rhymesayers acts are reluctant to release their art directly to the masses, right?.


Here are the tour dates:

5.27 - Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
5.28 - Philadelphia, PA @ Barbary Saloon
5.29 - New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
5.30 - Providence, RI @ Living Room
5.31 - Allston, MA @ Harper's Ferry
6.01 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground

For more show details, click here. Or, you could just roll up in your 6-4 the night of the show and pray to Jebus that tickets are still available. Anyway you want to do it. We're not here to judge.

Eyedea & Abilities MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Atmosphere Announces, Headlines Soundset 2008 Lineup (Minneapolis Hip-Hop Festival)

Download: Atmosphere - "Watch Out"
Download: Brother Ali - "Original King"
Download: Mac Lethal - "Rotten Apple Pie"
Download: Eyedea & Abilities - "Now"
Download: Grayskul - "Scarecrow"
Download: Aesop Rock - "None Shall Pass"
Download: Beat Junkies - "The Godfathers Talkin Handjive"
Download: Blueprint - "Big Girls Need Love"
Download: Dilated Peoples - "Spit It Clearly"
Download: I Self Devine - "Songs In The Key of Trife"
Download: Little Brother - "Breakin' My Heart" (feat. Lil' Wayne)
Download: Los Nativos - "Black Flag Red Star"
Download: P.O.S.- "Music For Shoplifting"

Festival season is almost under way, and one discouraging trend is that tickets to those paeans to music in an outdoor setting is that ticket prices have gone up. 3-day Pitchfork passes have gone from $50 to $65, and Lollapalooza tickets will set you back almost $200 for total admission, as opposed to $150 from a few years back. Fortunately, those wanting to take in great music at an affordable price can breathe easy.

Atmosphere, the Minneapolis rap duo who are set to release their sixth album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, in little less than two weeks' time, announced this morning that they would be headline the SoundSet 2008

In 1997, Rhymesayers gathered over two dozen local artists and more than a dozen local DJs and B-Boy’s to perform at a South Minneapolis warehouse until dawn to a capacity-filled crowd. Two years later, Rhymesayers expanded the concept at First Avenue, with Soundset Wednesdays, drawing a crowd of over 1700 people for the opening night and maintaining sellout capacity for its entire run. This was the birth of Soundset and a catalyst for the success of Rhymesayers, now one of indie Hip Hop’s most successful and respected labels worldwide.

Amongst the many performers for the all day hip-hop festival are hometown heroes (and Rhymesayers co-horts) Brother Ali, P.O.S, and Psalm One; legendary DJs Beat Junkies; Marxist rappers Los Nativos; Fellow Rhymesayers acts Mac Lethal, Grayskul, and Eyedeas & Abilities; and indie hip-hoppers Aesop Rock. Many more can be found on the flier above.

Tickets for the May 25th festival, taking place in the Metrodome Parking lot, are on sale NOW! and will only set you back $20. That is, if you participate in the special 3-day Fan Pre-Sale at either Fifth Element Online or Soundset. If you don't buy now, then don't worry. Ticket prices, once they are on sale to the general public, only increase by $5.

That's probably one of the best deals in the country for fans of underground and independent hip-hop.

At the top of the post, you'll find a playlist of all the groups playing the festival, and below you'll find their MySpace pages.

Atmosphere MySpace Page
Brother Ali Myspace Page
Aesop Rock MySpace Page
Eyedea and Abilities MySpace Page
Little Brother MySpace Page
P.O.S. MySpace Page
Beat Junkies MySpace Page
Abstract Rude MySpace Page
Los Nativos MySpace Page
Psalm One MySpace Page
Blueprint MySpace Page
Mac Lethal MySpace Page
Grayskul MySpace Page
Dilated Peoples MySpace Page
I Self Devine MySpace Page
Musab MySpace Page

Buy Rhymesayers music here.
Buy Independent music here.

(Jonathan Graef)

Atmosphere Gives Away Free Album Online, Coins 2008's Best Album Title

(via Rhymesayers)

Download: Atmosphere - "Don't Stop" (from Sad Clown, Bad Winter 11)
Download: Atmosphere - "Full Moon" (from Strictly Leakage)
Download: Atmosphere - "The Things That Hate Us" (from Strictly Leakage)


Those of you who may have been disappointed with your Christmas presents can still count on the kindness of strangers (or, in this case, a well-known Minneapolis-based hip-hop duo) to help chase away your "winter doldrums". As a Christmas present to their fans and supporters, Atmosphere have pulled a Radiohead, giving away an entire album's worth of material for free on the group's webpage.

The group is calling the album Strictly Leakage and states, in typically self-deprecating fashion, that "(Leakage is) great for first dates, crappy houseparties, or to play in the backround while you google yourself again." Download Strictly Leakage here.

In addition to releasing new material for free, the band has, and will, put out music using more traditional means. Ant and Slug released EP Sad Clown, Bad Winter 11 last week, and you can listen to "Don't Stop", a track from said release, at the top of the post. But the news that is most exciting is that Atmosphere announced the title and release date for their new LP. When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold is due out on Rhymesayers on April 22, 2008. How awesome is that album title?

No word on a tracklist or any downloads from the upcoming release, but as soon as one hits, we'll let you know about it. Up top is the aforementioned Sad Clown download, a video of the duo playing chess by a fireplace, and two excellent, furiously funny tracks from Strictly Leakage.

Once again, download Leakage here.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Video: Brother Ali, "Take Me Home," Live On "Late Night With Conan O'Brien"

Download: Brother Ali - "Take Me Home"

Brother Ali is still taking the undisputed truth to the masses. Not only that, but the Minneapolis rapper managed to do it on national television as well! Check out this video of Ali performing the track "Take Me Home" on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien". An MP3 of the studio version of "Take Me Home" is posted below the video.

Ali is on tour right now, but he doesn't have a date until Oct. 29th, when he'll be doing a thorough tour of the West coast. Check out tour dates here.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth

Grade: A-

Download - Truth Is

Brother Ali has never been one to pull punches, and his audience has always benefited from this lack of restraint. But while he shares some of Eminem's vocal tics, Brother Ali's straightfoward storytelling doesn't reach shrill Marshall Mathers levels. Instead, he talks about his fascinating background - Ali is albino, recently divorced with a son - with nuance and subtlety.

The hype behind The Undisputed Truth, at least locally, has reached deafening levels. It's been a few years since The Champion EP, and fans have done little but bide their time until this record's release. Unfortunately, the record doesn't live up to its hype. Though this album is his best so far, Ali doesn't quite reach his potential. He gets pretty close on most of these tracks - especially on the all-cards-on-the-table "Lookin' At Me Sideways," the driving "Daylight," the maddeningly catchy "Take Me Home" - but the production doesn’t match his ambitions.

Ant from Atmosphere has been Brother Ali’s producer for a few years, and his clean approach has dulled Ali’s bite. This is also the case on The Undisputed Truth, which is full of sharp moments – “I view the future like it’s hindsight,” he proclaims on “Take Me Home” – but is ultimately sonically flat and cold. The disconnect is frustrating, leaving the listener with memories of impressive lyrics but nothing to keep.

Nonetheless, these are some good songs. In addition to the aforementioned highlights, the record boasts the indelible single “Truth Is,” his divorce chronicle “Walking Away,” and “Faheem,” Ali’s ode to his son. This is easily his strongest work to date, but someone please get the man a new producer.
(David Brusie)

Brother Ali on Pitchfork

Minneapolis-based hip-hop star Brother Ali scored a 6.6 on Pitchfork today. A little low for my taste, but check out the piece here.

Brother Ali - "Freedom Ain't Free"

(Ian Anderson)