Playdough – Writer Dye [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Tracklisting:

01. Modest Mouseketeer
02. Stickabush
03. Adidas Have 3 WhiteStripes
04. Nirvandings with Chucky Sly
05. Kick In TheDoors with Othello and Theory Hazit
06. Leon is King with Sivion
07. ViolentFeminine with DJ SeanP
08. Pearls of a Pig Jam with Sev Statik
09. ArrowSmitherines
10. Bending Benson

The latest project from Playdough entitled Writer Dye is available for free download. All the production is crafted by Florida producer For Beats Sake. It has guest appearances from Sivion, Othello, Chucky Sly, DJ SeanP and Sev Statik.

Writer Dye is a concept album in which Playdough takes lyrics from other bands and genres and turns them into hip-hop songs.

The album has 10 songs with lifted pieces from The White Stripes, Kings of Leon, The Doors, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, The Violent Femmes, Nirvana and more.

(source: Sphere of Hip Hop)

theBreax - Right Above It (Remix) [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Another great remix from theBreax featuring Andy "C-Lite" Mineo who recently came into the spotlight when he featured on Lecrae's Background single off the Rehab album. Download below.

Viktory - Believe It Now [FREE DOWNLOAD]

01. Believe It Now
02. Changed Me
03. Most High
04. Count On Me
05. Both Knees
06. Scarr'd Rapper
07. Dopeman
08. Hold Me Down feat. Marvin Winans Jr.
09. Move
10. Need 2 Be
11. God Is Love
12. C'mon Man
13. Slip N Slide
14. Everywhere
15. In The Sky

Viktory's hit classic album Believe it Now has been made available for free download permanently. All you have to do is register to a mailing list an you will be instantly sent a direct download link to your email. The album every fan of Christian Rap should own now can really be owned by everyone. You have no excuse!

Hip Hop Video of the Week!

Future Music Video from Fadacy on Vimeo.

Music Video for Future off Applejaxx's Jesus High EP.

theBreax - All Powerful (Power Remix) [FREE DOWNLOAD]

This awesome track by theBREAX is a remix of the track "Power" by Kanye West. Download it for free below. (Right-click, Save As)



(source http://illbreakscrew.ca/)

Southwest Mextape - Man of War & Dj Promote [FREE DOWNLOAD]

01. Wrong Track
02. Rock Rock
03. Move On
04. Warman
05. Bang Bang (ft Sam Hart)
06. Shouts Out
07. Phone Messages
08. Buttefly (Re-Mex ft Sam Hart)
09. Butterfly
10. Hands Up
11. Cutting While Riding (DJ Promote)
12. Trials (PortisHead)
13. King of Scratching (DJ Promote)
14. God Whisper
15. Bigs Up
16. Where's My Mixtape
17. A New Dawn
18. Live on Shade 45
19. Brain Surgeons (ft 24_7, Spoken Nerd, Capsule)

DJ Promote has recently put up his incredible mixtape with Man of War, the Southwest Mextape up for free download on his bandcamp page. You can download each track individually for free or the whole mixtape in one go for a donation of only 1 buck! This mixtape is worth much more so be sure to put down a dollar to say thanks.

The cuts and mixes on this album show DJ Promote at his finest. Man of War and his unique grimy, slick, rapid fire flow will leave you absolutely floored. At times his voice will have you fooled it's being morphed through the same turntables DJ Promote is feeding his dope cuts through. His flow is that crazy.

This mixtape needs to be heard to be believed. Hit that button below to have your mind blown.

Praverb The Wyse - The Gospel is FREE 2: The Rebirth [FREE DOWNLOAD]

01. Intro
02. Back With Heat (ft. Nametag, DJ Grazzhoppa)
03. CJ The Genesis on the BEAT
04. Rock On (ft. Blame One, Theo 3, DJ Grazzhoppa)
05. Dependant On Me
06. Reason I Rise (ft. C.B. News, Jo Blunt)
07. Tru Master Freeverse
08. The G.OD. (feat. ReuM)
09. We Are All One
10. 1Mic
11. Blessed With the Gift
12. Very Lyrical (Cuts By DJ cazz)
13. The Conculsion

Phil “The Voice” Roberts’ Debut Album “Loud And Clear” Releases November 11, 2010

Vine Style Records is proud to announce the debut album of Phil “The Voice” Roberts, entitled “Loud and Clear” on November 11, 2010. You can get a free download of the single "Pour My Heart Out" & see the new video at www.vinestylerecords.com

Full press release and bio is below:

90K Watts - Los Angeles, California, September 16, 2010 – Vine Style Records is proud to announce the debut album of Phil “The Voice” Roberts, entitled “Loud and Clear” on November 11, 2010. This is a lyrically potent and musically original project. The album displays the Voice’s trademark passion as he weaves in and out of beats with the expertise of a veteran while maintaining the freshness of a newcomer.

In February 2010, The Voice dropped his lead single, “Pour My Heart Out”. “Pour My Heart Out” was included on the “Best of TWRS” episode on The Wade -O Radio Show. This “feel-good” Los Angeles Anthem has received some serious radio attention and has raised hopes for a fresh, new Los Angeles hip hop sound. Other Radio shows like; FNF LIVE with J Blaze on 88.3 FM in Miami, Holla Fest Radio in New York City, Rek City Radio with Mpax in Houston, The Gospel Mix Show with DJ Elvee on 102.3 FM in Los Angeles, and others have spun The Voice’s music in 2010.

“The Voice brings a sound, passion and level of ministry to Christian Hip Hop that is missing and very much needed on a national level. He’s representing the West Coast very well." -DJ Wade-O

“Loud And Clear” is his life’s work and it truly lives up to its name. It is a project that walks the listener through a passionate and philosophical journey toward God.

About The Voice Phil “The Voice” Roberts is an MC, producer, and record label owner with a bachelor’s degree in religion from Vanguard University. He is an Ordained Minister with the Assemblies of God and currently serves on staff at a Los Angeles church, working with at-risk youth. His passion is to bring the message of God’s love and purpose to everyone who listens.

The Voice is also a former host of the KING FM Radio Show with Reyna Day and Sammy Sayso on 99.5 KKLA. He has been involved in the rap industry since 1993. He has worked and performed with many notables in the gospel hip hop community. This is his first full-length project.

Hip Hop Video of the Week!

This is the official music video for "Background" ft. C-Lite off Lecrae's new bestselling album, Rehab. The video features top quality production values. The cinematography is beautiful and the cityscape setting is incredibly pretty. Check it out.

Flavor Fest X Live Streaming!

Big news! Annual Christian Hip Hop conference, Flavor Fest will be live streaming on November 7th for the world to see! Viewing is free but donations can be made that go towards Crossover Hip Hop church's new building. This is a great opportunity for the ever growing global community of Christian Hip Hop followers to check out it's most important gathering. So if you can't get a ticket or you live on the other side of the globe, you need not worry any longer. Sit back relax and check out www.flavorfest.org or www.crossoverchuch.org on November 7th to stream the event straight to your PC. There is more information below about what Flavor Fest is for those who don't already know.

(source Sphere of Hip Hop)

Flavor Fest info:

"The first Fla.vor Fest was launched in November of 2000. Our mission statement is "To train, network and resource emerging leaders to impact hip-hop culture for Christ." The conference targets pastors, youth pastors, church planters, youth and church leaders, and artists. Fla.vor Fest has become one of the largest, well known events in the Christian Hip-Hop Community. Over 10,000 people have been a part of the event over the years. Several TV stations, newspapers, websites and magazines have done exclusive reports about the Fest. The INSP (Inspiration) Network sent their Steelroots crew to capture live footage for their TV Shows. Jaq Thomas, who does marketing for Steelroots, was quoted by The Tampa Tribune saying, "Tommy is a true pioneer in every sense of the word. He has set a standard, pushed it out there, and now the world is paying attention. Last year the show's producers spent $35,000 to film Fla.vor Fest. We're willing to spend that kind of money because it is an awesome conference. A lot of people are being changed by this ministry.""

(source Flavor Fest)

REVIEW: Poems N Dust - Dirty Words

01. Power To the People
02. Listen Up
03. Oz
04. Grace
05. Change
06. If You Wanna Know
07. Man vs Machine
08. Lonestar
09. Will Not Be Sold
10. Fly
11. Give Thanks
12. Dig Deep

(includes instrumentals for all tracks)

Poems n Dust is a newly formed duo of old favorites. It combines Dust, producer of Mars Ill fame who has made some of the most famous and memorable beats in christian rap (many will remember the incredible Sound Off among others) and and Sareem Poems (formerly known as Sharlock Poems) out of the widely-known rap group LA Symphony. Initially the combination of these two well-known artists had me very interested and I was expecting something incredible from the duo.

Power to the People starts off the album bombastically with rolling drum beat samples throughout the track and that iconic 80s funk style vibe that is so promiment in much of Dust's work. Listen Up features Rawkus 50 artist Sev Statik, on yet another funk style beat. These tracks provided a sense of security in my expectations and had me eager to hear the rest. I came to realise these were exceptions and not the rule to Dirty Words.

If You Wanna Know can be best described as annoying. It's basically Sareem rapping fun facts about himself. It's pointless, incredibly boring and the beat is not easy on the ears. This was my first major letdown from both Sareem and Dust. The lyrics seem as if they were just thrown out with little to no thought. It's presented as an insight into Sareem's thoughts but comes out as random and incohesive. If that wasn't enough Dust lays down a beat that sounds like the backing track for a circus act. I honestly don't know why If You Wanna Know was included on the album.

Dig Deep was another shocker as Dust failed to deliver again. It's the last track on the album and is probably the worst note they could have ended it on. The beat is quite strange, there are parts where the instrumental fades out randomly and the beat timing even goes out of time. My mind was blown at what I was hearing. I was extremely disappointed to hear something like this from a producer of such calibre.

There are definitely songs that are worth mentioning on the album however, but for all the wrong reasons. Hearing Dust's former companion, Manchild and one of my favorite rappers Theory Hazit, all on the same track on Fly was great. Unfortunately both Manchild and Theory outshine Sareem even in the little time they are given on the track. Both are incredibly talented artist with unique style. Manchild has his quick, witty, wordsmith style and Theory Hazit brings his classic battle-rap style swagger. Sareem on the other hand just ends up seeming even more blander than usual in comparison.

Give thanks is a mellowed out track with a beautiful instrumental containing light guitar stings. Sareem flows over the beat smoothly. It's a great track to sit back and relax to. But other than that it's not very remarkable. Half of the songs on Dirty Words can be described likewise. Not oustanding, but smooth, toned down and relaxing.

To hear Sareem over Dust's trademark funk-infused beats should be a real treat for me as a fan of both Sareem's previous work and Dust's production from his days in Mars Ill, at least in theory. Unfortunately what we end up with is lyrcisim that is neither fantastic nor horrible, but simply does its job for most of the time. There are a few tracks that are definitly worth considering purchasing (such as Fly) but for all the wrong reasons. The best songs on the album are the ones featuring great artist which outshine Sareem everytime. They made me want to switch this off and go listen to their albums. Then you have the few tracks which boggle the mind in terms of their choice of beat, content matter and tone that'll have you scratching your head.

Fans of these artists will probably be disappointed by this album. I know I found myself rather surprised at the lack of anything substantial or exciting from the duo. What we have is too much mediocre and not enough stand-out tracks. Sareem feels like he's being carried by Dust's famous production values half the time. And Dust does not lay down much of anything spectacular himself. These artists have set the bar high in the past and unfortunately haven't been able to reach past that for Dirty Words.

Hip Hop Video of the Week!

Fans of the Gospel Gangstaz will be highly anticipating their upcoming music video for the single Testify off the Luvv to Dance compilation. It's been many years since the GG'z have done anything in the public Christian Rap scene so I'm really looking forward to this music video. Hopefully this is a sign of the GG'z coming back to the forefront and we get an album or some singles in the future from these highly talented pioneers of Christian Hip Hop.

REVIEW: Applejaxx - Jesus High EP

01. iLive feat. Ashleigh Nickole

02. Future feat. Int'l Show

03. Jesus High feat. Odetta

04. App For That feat. Trini

05. Fear Factor Remix feat. Mr Coldstone

If you've heard much of Applejaxx's music in the past you know that he likes to focus on futuristic/technological themes in his music. This EP is another example of this as you have probably already noticed from the track titles above.

It all starts with a bang with iLive straight away, G-Styles on the beat, and right away Applejaxx kicks in with his uniquely styled lyricism. This is one of those straight up celebratory, "happy-to-be-alive" party tracks. Ashleigh Nickole chimes in on the chorus perfectly complementing the carefree celebration of life in Christ. Future, a thumper with a unique mix of tribal drums and futuristic samples, illustrates living with the knowledge that Christ has won the victory and the anticipation of his second coming.

The title track and single, Jesus High, is where this EP really starts to stand out. The single has been gaining popularity on place like iTunes and is one of Applejaxx's most popular hits. And it's not hard to see why after a listen. Produced by G-Styles, the track has undergone a bit of a revamp since it was released as a free download early last year. The major difference fans will notice is the prominence of vocal artist Odetta in the chorus. Her addition freshens up the track and give it a smoother sound. The meat of it all is Applejaxx's fantastic lyrics which overflow with quirky metaphor and references. It's really a worship song in rap form that focuses simply on uplifting Jesus.

App For That is that typical Applejaxx song. Futuristic feel, laced with synths and technologically themed. This time round Applejaxx, who self-produced, takes advantage of the modern app culture, made famous by Apple, where an app is ready to download for any and every imaginable thing you can think of. Words like "app" and "download" are used as metaphors for receiving the word of God and fruits of the Spirit. Sometimes these types of song can be overdone and cheesy (an example would be half of KJ-52's latest work), but here it just works. It's handled lightly and fits into the overall theme of the EP.

Fear Factor is a classic hip-hop centred swag track. It focuses on battle rap style punch lines and has a nice feature by Mr Coldstone. If you've ever doubted Applejaxx's lyrical ability, this is the song to check out. It serves as a warning to wack rappers and haters and is a strong way to end the EP.

The Jesus High EP is a burst of energy only Applejaxx can provide. His style is like nothing else in the industry today and that's what makes him special. Any time you hear his songs you notice something different about them. Something catches your ear. Whether its the unique production or the eccentric metaphor choices in his lyrics. It's a breath of fresh air and one that should be experienced by fans of hip hop tired of the same old same old.

The Jesus High EP is a prequel to Applejaxx's upcoming sophomore album entitled "The Outsider", due Spring 2011.

DJ Sean Blu - Street Sermonz Mixtape Vol. 1 [FREE DOWNLOAD]

The Lone Reviewer is Back

After a long hiatus i'm finally back. If anyone still cares, you can look forward to more reviews and free downloads in the coming days and weeks. The site has undergone a bit of a redesign as you may have noticed and there could still be a few more changes so bear with me. Contact me at the email in the sidebar below if you have any enquiries about albums you would like reviewed or suggestions for the site.

And please like the Lone Reviewer Facebook Fan Page to stay tuned for updates and spread the word to your friends.

Peace!

Ruslan of theBREAX - Right Out Loud Mixtape

Eye Am Productions is starting 2010 with an impressive start with the release of a new mixtape. Ruslan of theBREAX released mixtape with DJ Rek titled Right Out Loud on January 1. Right Out Loud contains remixes from popular and independent artists, and exclusive songs produced by DJ Rek & DJ Harmz. The mixtape features appearances from Eye Am Productions’ Beleaf Melanin, Mikel Anthony, Regg Henny and Gallery Drives’ NomiS. This marks the first release of a full roster this year.

Ruslan is the front man of Hip-Hop/spoken word band theBREAX and is founder of Eye Am Productions. He has toured the country and released three albums with theBREAX, he has also been featured on several major releases, various compilations and mixtapes.

DJ Rek is a music producer and engineer who has been DJing for 15 years and has produced for various mainstream and underground performers. Right Out Loud marks DJ Rek’s first release and transition into faith based music. He also produced the lead single from Mikel Anthony’s new album The Schematic and can be seen in the The Program music video directed by Sam Wells.

(source Sphere of Hip Hop)