![Mela Machinko “Hov Said It Best” (Promo) [video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/5005111_lg.jpg)
W.A.R Media & Soulspazm Records are proud to present Mela Machinko's debut "Hov Said It Best" coming out June 25th. However as pleased as we are, we've been met with some less than flattering feedback about it. See what Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Jean Grae, Torae, Skyzoo & a host of others had to say. Mela will be live at the Apple Soho store NYC June 25th: http://www.apple.com/retail/bl ackmusicmonthlive/ iTunes: Hov Said It Best - Mela Machinko
![Jean Grae – Special [mp3]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4820161_lg.jpg)
Comedian DC Pierson celebrates the release of his new Crap Kingdom novel with a new track "Special" by Jean Grae. The story of a normal teenager who learns he's the Chosen One in a magical kingdom, and then learns that the magical kingdom he's the Chosen One in... SUCKS. http://crapkingdom.com/

Happy Friday! I don't know if you're excited that it's nearly the end of February, or if you're stressed that the beginning of the year seems to be going by so quickly because, well, I don't know who you are. You seem cool, though. However you're feeling today, I hope you're enjoying the moment right now, whether this mix provides you with a respite from work, or gives you a soundtrack for your day or weekend. In a too philosophical-for-me way this week, I've been contemplating the moment, and how important being present is. I ain't even [...]
![Official DEMOS Documentary Trailer [video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4777168_lg.jpg)
In just a few more weeks, the Hip-Hop community will be given new voice and guidance through the release of an exceptional new documentary. Today, REEM Docs is proud to offer the first look at this groundbreaking film, DEMOS: An Independent Artist’s Guide To Success, as the first in a series of events leading up to the film’s May 22, 2013 release. Two years ago, DEMOS creator and budding documentarian Kareem Fort set out to show the world alternate view of success in Hip-Hop. As COO of HiPNOTT Records, Fort knew first hand that, contrary to popular belief, success [...]

Jean Grae has been prepping albums called Gotham Down and Cake or Death, and while those official LPs have yet to emerge, the South African-American rapper is tiding fans over with the digital collection Dust Ruffle. The 10-track album is subtitled Songs I Found Under My Bed, and Complex notes that it's an assortment of material recorded between 2004 and 2010. Stream it below and purchase it from Bandcamp. Read more »
Every day, Daily Downloads offers 10 free and legal mp3 downloads, plus free and legal live sets from around the internet. Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Black Tape for a Blue Girl : free and legal (name your price) Mesmerized by the Sirens album [mp3] search for more Black Tape for a Blue Girl posts at Largehearted Boy BOY : [...]

Ho X 3. A Christmas Thingy. by Jean Grae
Photo gallery of Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn (December 18th, 2012) Read the full article at http://www.prefixmag.com/photo s/talib-kweli-pharoahe-monch-s ean-price-music-hall-o/
Oh, Rolling Stone . Sometimes you make it so easy. We try not to spend too much of our time nitpicking the amusingly out-of-touch pontifications of Jann Wenner's empire, but occasionally something comes along that annoys us so much that it's hard not to react. So it was recently, when the magazine's editors came back from the mountain with stone tablets purporting to contain "The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time." In fairness, reading RS for hip hop recommendations is like reading Trucking Monthly for advice on bicycles, but even so, if [...]

photos by Gretchen Robinette Cocorosie / Jean Grae The third annual Tinderbox Music Festival went down across three stages at Webster Hall this past Sunday (11/11). The festival aims to showcase "powerful, diverse, and innovative female artists and female-fronted bands" and this year's fest included Cocorosie, Jean Grae, Selebrities, Sirius Plan, Mal Blum (who plays Mercury Lounge on 12/11 with Zoe Boekbinder [...]

This Sunday (11/11) is the third-annual Tinderbox Music Festival which "powerful, diverse, and innovative female artists and female-fronted bands." We already mentioned that the line-up includes headliners Cocorosie but will also feature Jean Grae (who playes the Hurricane Sandy benefit at Knitting Factory on Thursday), Selebrities, Lili Haydn, Computer Magic , Hard Nips and more. Full line-up, which takes over all three stages at Webster Hall, is below. Like the two years past, Tinderbox fest goes to support the Willie Mae Rock [...]
New York MC Jean Grae brings some heavy wordplay and a stand-out video to go along with it. Jean Grae has already established herself as an MC to watch after working with artists like Talib Kweli-someone who she is easily comparable to. With "Kill Screen," Grae shows she can certainly hold her own some extremely well-read verses, but what's equally attention-grabbing on this video are the myriad of subliminal images and messages. Inspired by the ideas of mind control Grae has taken it upon herself to densely edit the video with many hard cuts and fast messages that encourage replays and pauses to catch [...]
![DJ J-Live – HOTvsDOPE Vol. 1.1 [mixtape]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4571818_lg.jpg)
HOTvsDOPE Vol. 1.1 by DJ J-Live HOTvsDOPE was founded by J-Live. J-Live tours worldwide as an emcee and a deejay, but has started this party as his main residency in Atlanta GA. Each party will feature two deejays going round robin and two visual artists with their work on display. The goal is to cultivate an environment where the best of popular music isn't shunned, but can share a space with lesser known but also high quality tracks. Hot Vs Dope is about going out to a party and not hearing the same old [...]

Max Bell finds the revulsion invigorating. Another year. Another BET awards. Another round of ciphers. I give you my thoughts off the top of the dome. But really though, off the top of the dome. Seriously, I didn't write this, look at it, think about it, and then try to make it sound better or clever. Can you imagine how terrible it would be if I did? Exactly. "Grand Hustle" Trae [...]
Does anyone know whether 2 Chainz or Drake won that award? What award? It could be any of them, so it doesn’t really matter, does it? The truth is no [...] The post Watch: The 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards Cyphers appeared first on The Smoking Section .
When Flavorpill favorite Jean Grae debuted her new track "Kill Screen" earlier this month, we were totally smitten. How could you not love a song based on Donkey Kong samples? Now that we've seen the crazy noir-inspired music video for the Gotham Down bonus cut, we're in that much deeper. According to MTV Hive , Grae — who shot, directed, and edited the clip herself — says that it's "an Easter egg hunt" and "there are single-frame clues and messages and extra videos hidden within the video." In other words, click through at your own [...]
![Jean Grae – Kill Screen (full) [video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4530262_lg.jpg)
New full video for Jean Grae’s “Kill Screen,” bonus track off Gotham Down . Jean Grae‘s ”Kill Screen” saga continues today. Having whipped up a frenzy with the song itself and last week’s mysterious video trailer, she’s now released the full-length flick for the Gotham Down bonus cut. Shot, directed and edited by Ms. Greasy herself, it’s a suitably noir and witty accompaniment to the track that features a bloody Grae and a host of subliminal images. Grae herself calls the video “an Easter egg hunt,” adding that “there are single-frame clues and messages [...]
![Jean Grae – Kill Screen (Trailer) [video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4516288_lg.jpg)
New trailer for Jean Grae's "Kill Screen," full video out September 24th. It seems like just yesterday Jean Grae dropped “Kill Screen,” a bonus song to her forthcoming album Gotham Down (out December 11). The track set the internet ablaze, with 683 syllables that wove together pop culture-referencing rhymes and sweet video game samples. Now the cult of “Kill Screen” turns mysterious with this teaser trailer for the forthcoming video. “This is the trailer to the “Kill Screen” video. I can make trailers to videos because I can do whatever I want,” Grae [...]

Right, I'm back in the land of the long white cloud (Google it) after three weeks of jetsetting. Or schlepping around in economy class, more like. Yep, that's probably a bit more accurate than jetsetting. There's obviously been a lot of fresh music released since I've been gone (as much as I try, time doesn't stop when I want it to), so the next few days will be catch up time here at AGOMWAB™. The first tune on deck today is some newness from Jean Grae, who has pushed [...]