Blog: Ruby Hornet

Raekwon linked up with CartelFilms for the visuals for "Just A Toast" off of his Unexpected Victory mixtape. The video is a fitting for the likes of The Chef himself, with a classy black tie theme accompanied with plenty of bubbly. The track also features Canadian emcee JD Era, who I hadn't heard of before but lays down a verse that stands up to Rae's. Here's to Raekwon, who throughout the years has stayed as sharp as ever and is a true OG.

Sugar Tongue Slim can spit, no doubt about it. For the past month or so, the Money Making Jam Boy has been flipping various tracks in his march towards the release of his Gold Rush album. "Great Mood" takes Wale's "That Way" and reworks it, with Rick Ross providing the simple chorus line and a dope feature from A$AP Ferg . The video shows the artists in the studio, partaking in all the various activities that are so damn good for creativity. Look for the album to drop on February 29th and head to his website where you can grab [...]

New music from Mick Boogie ( headlining Digital Freshness 2.18 ). Mick compiles rare cuts and remixes from The Roots and Nas for Illadelphmatic, a mixtape that leads into their live performance on February 2nd. Okayplayer assisted Mick on putting together the mixtape, which is available for free download here . illadelph/matic from MickBoogie on Vimeo .

One of my favorite releases thus far in 2012 is Funky As Usual , a new LP from the Paris production duo The Funk League. The two French producers, both avid record collectors and music heads, put the LP together over three years, and brought in some of underground Hip Hop's most storied emcees in Sadat X, Large Professor, Buff 1, and more. It was their love of Hip Hop culture, break beats, and rare grooves that brought the two together and also what won them respect of heads worldwide. Via email, I talked to [...]

Minneapolis' MaLLy debuted on RubyHornet a couple months ago via a guest feature on an Atmosphere record . He takes the spotlight on "Future's Classic", a dope new joint that lives up to it's name. It's fresh with an authentic veteran feel. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more. Check it below. Props to Prefix . MaLLy: "Future's Classic"

Here's another new video from McKenzie Eddy's 2011 release, Young Platinum. Watch "Purple" below.

Amir Taron is a Philly emcee preparing to release a new project by the name of aerosal diary . The EP is produced entirely by Mute Sweetenberg, and includes their new video for "Alcoholism and Afrocentricity". Watch below.

The homies, R.O.E. and Neak, sent this new track over and it's a banger. R.O.E. and Neak teamed up with Sincerely Yours and producer Slot-A for a track where the emcees attack the percussion-laden beat. This one was meant to be played loudly. Enjoy R.O.E.: "Hear Ye'" ft. Neak X Sincerely Yours

Following sold out shows with Action Bronson and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire , Digital Freshness returns on February 18th with a headlining set from DJ Mick Boogie as well as a one-time only performance of Mic Terror's Riverdale The Musical in its entirety. VIPJ and DJ RTC will perform sets as well, and you can expect some special guests throughout the night. Full flyer and info on the way. Pre-Sale tickets are available now via Ticketweb for only $5 .

J. Ivy has a dropped new video in honor of Black History Month for "Promise", which is taken from his forthcoming book HERE I AM: The Book.

Hailing from Delaware you might not expect to hear a rapper at all, let alone one like Walt Fraze when reading through this post. Yet, Fraze a member of the up and coming Dirty Middle Class crew (s/o ASAAD), reps Delaware to the fullest and does so accordingly here on "I Represent The Ark" a collection of "Delaware street classics from 2000-20053. He gives me a Mobb Deep vibe with his calm but blunt flow. Don't sleep as Fraze will only see doors open for him from here on out. s/o Troy [...]

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Julian Malone, member of the BRKF$T Club & 2008ighties crew is here today with some new music "Indeed", off his upcoming Feb. 10th release Enemy . The project will be Malone's debut LP, and sitting at about 66-minutes the project is a comprehensive piece of art Malone has been crafting, writing, listening, mixing, and mixing by himself for a while now. "I can see alot of people quoting it and telling me they love it and how I did the Justice sample justice lol. The most memorable thing about it to me is the whole third verse...It starts with [...]

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Mic Terror kept the features to a minimum on Riverdale The Musical . The lone emcee guest appearance was given to Gzus Piece, a fellow member of the Treated Crew, and one of the underground's quick rising emcees. I call Gzus Piece the Fatlip of the Treated Crew. He's one of a kind, with rhymes that stick to everyday life experiences both in terms of what he says and how he says it. "Take Ya Time" is a standout record from Riverdale The Musical , and available below. Catch Mic Terror perform [...]

While the Boston and Cambridge area was the last stop before the A$AP Mob returns to their beloved city of New York, they did right by the fans and put on one hell of a performance. From the beginning, when Rocky stormed the stage with his latest banger " Pretty Flacko " until he ended with "Peso", Rocky had everyone on their toes. Blow Hip Hop TV was on hand to catch one of the crowning moments of the night [video below], as Rocky made sure that crowd surfing fans wouldn't get ejected from the venue. Rocky didn't stop giving back after [...]

Vic Lloyd and Furious Stylez are getting ready to release Vol. 2 of their Putting The Street Back In Streetwear series. They kick it off with this new record from Paypa of Project Mayhem. Download "Check'em" below. Paypa: "Check'em"

Chicago's Tensei (Simple X and Midas Wells) released a new EP today. It's a full 10 tracks, which the duo produced using live instruments as well as vocals from guests such as ADaD, Denmark Crown Nation, and Scarlet Monk. The EP is the lead up to their full album coming later on Plugg Research. Check it out below.

Naledge of Kidz In The Hall announced via Twitter last night that he was working on a follow-up to his 2009 release, Chicago Picasso . No word on when this Chicago Picasso 2 could be coming out, but I would expect sometime 2012. He also released a new freestyle with Fooch the Emcee over the Clipse's "Ride Around Shinin'". Naledge: "Ride Around Shinin'" feat Fooch

The good folks at Kevin Nottingham recently dropped one of their first Artist Spotlight interviews in 2012 with Boston up and coming MC Charmingly Ghetto. The eager talent's November release of Study A'Broad: The International Project was one of the best mixtapes of the last quarter, and CG has much more under his sleeve. Check out some highlights from the interview after the jump. Full Feature at KN : "My name is derived from W.E.B. Dubois' social theory of double consciousness. It [...]

Freddie Gibbs is an artist we know well over here at RH and is part of the family. Now his affiliation with Lifted Research Group has landed him a quick episode in their series Education through Imagination . Check out what Freddie feels the phrase means and if you haven't already, make sure to read our recent article Two Days In Hell , profiling his time spent in his hometown shooting promo videos for Cold Day in Hell . "The Artists that LRG supports have gained [...]