Blog: Ruby Hornet

Thanks to DJ Hustlenomics we get this latest track from King Louie and Chief Keef. Produced by Young Chop, this one's a certified banger. Check out Louie as he joined Rockie Fresh at the Driving 88 show at Reggie's and listen to "Winning" below.

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Chicago's youth is really wil-n-out these days. You've seen the likes of The Village , 2008ighties , and Savemoney represented well on RH, but you might not have heard of Supreme Regime . The 5 man groups work interchangeably, with three emcee's and two producers, they have a good range. As they continue to evolve and grow they've released a steady stream of singles, the latest two being "Lisa Frank" and "American Pastime". Check these them out and look for their debut mixtape sometime this spring.

"It was fun when I started," says Asher Roth. "Then I signed a record contract." Roth is in Chicago tonight, and just finished soundcheck. In a couple hours he'll be performing to a sold out crowd at Reggie's Rock Club, playing alongside GLC and The Cool Kids in honor of his latest release, Pabst and Jazz . It's a free release he put together in roughly three days working with Chicago's Blended Babies. It's a communal project, with features a bevy of friends who all came through to their studio for the recording sessions. [...]

Krizzle had previously announced that he was going to release a mixtape prior to his Def Jam debut, Live From the Underground, but I didn't think it'd be out so soon. K.R.I.T. said that the mixtape will drop on February 20th and the first single off of Live From the Underground is supposed to be released tomorrow. The release date of his first album was originally set for September 27th, 2011 but got pushed back when he had issues clearing samples. Anyway, K.R.I.T. finished the tape and gave us this as proof. Now for [...]

Last week, Rockie Fresh celebrated the release of Driving 88 with a party and concert and thanks to Elephilms, we've got some live footage of the event. Some of Rockie's guests on stage included Phil Ade, King Louie, and YP. Peep the footage below and if you haven't grabbed Driving 88 yet, quit sleeping on Rockie and download it here .

A$AP Rocky performed in Toronto over the weekend. BlowHipHopTV captured "Pretty Flacko". Check it out below.

Black Spade takes an instrumental from Knxwledge's recently released instrumental EP, Kompsure.EP , and turns it into this new joint "Spand". Black Spade is out of St. Louis, and has done a lot of work with Chicago artists ranging from The Primeridian, Naledge, Vic Spencer, and more. He's preparing for some new projects in 2012, so stay tuned. Black Spade: "Spand" (prod. by Knxwledge)

Alex Wiley sent me this new joint last night the he cooked up with Kembe X. The song is a little old, but new to us, and in that case just as fresh. The way they flip the sample is pretty ill as well. Kembe X & Alex Wiley: "Tell They Ass Wassup"

"Everybody wants juice, and ain't enough in the cup." Here's another video from Chicago's LA VanGogh. He hits the beach for his latest, "Shayna Drew Me".

Props to Tyler for repping the Blackhawks cap Toronto based jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD have created quite a buzz for themselves with their live instrumentation covers of some of hip hop biggest tracks. Recently Tyler The Creator linked up with the group to perform his track "Orange Juice". The track steals Gucci Mane's infamous "Lemonade" and originally featured the currently MIA Earl Sweatshirt. This latest cover could be the groups best, largely because their dope abilities on instruments are matched with some vocals for once. Great track and cover, plus Tyler in wil-n-out per usual, lets hope [...]

photo by Ten I remember a time when every up and coming rapper wanted a Sean Mac mixtape, especially after he appeared DJing on BET's Rap City. A lot has changed since then. While Mac still serves up a steady supply of mixtapes, BET's Rap City is no more. Even if the show was still around, it would be just one place you could see Mac these days, as he's been able to grow with the musical trends and get himself out of any previously placed boxes. His blog, The Macnificent Mile , [...]

Fonz-E Mak hit me up a couple days ago with this joint he did with U.G. I guess I missed it the first time around. Both Fonz-E and U.G. have projects coming out soon, so they decided to team up and put a little something of their own together. This is the first jam from that project, From Calumet City To Elsewhere . Fonz-E Mak & U.G.: "Sunday School Sessions"

I gotta be honest. I've not listened to "Rack City" the original, or really anything by Tyga. But Yelawolf? Yeah, I'll fuck with that. Props LA Leakers. Yelawolf: "Rack City" Freestyle

While the #treatedcrew has been a staple of Chicago's scene for the last few years, next month will see them go national with the release of the #treatedcrew album, as well as the official #treatedcrew snapback. The album and the hat have been guided greatly by the efforts of Million $ Mano, who produced and coordinated the entire project that features Hollywood Holt, Mic Terror, Gzus Piece, Chuck Inglish, Jon James, and many more from the deep Chicago crew. Earlier this month, during a mixing session at SoundScape, I spoke with Mano about the making of the album, as well [...]

Stalley outlines a simple wishlist on his latest, "Cash and My Cutty", a previously unreleased record produced by Ski Beatz. Stalley is at home on Ski's reflective and minimalist production, which provides Stalley with just enough cushion for another edition of his blue-collar narrative. Stalley's been releasing a lot of music lately, and he is definitely at the top of his game. He is high on my 2012 watch list, and been one of my favorites over the last two years. A Digital Freshness with Stalley would be off the hook #justsaying. Stalley: "Cash and My [...]

"fucking up your rap logic." Chicago's Murph Watkins breaks relationships down into a simple equation, "I like to listen, you like to talk." Murph makes it sound easy on "Vibrant Equation", his jazzy and retro-fitted new joint that is from his forthcoming new mixtape. Check it out, and listen to yet another one of Chicago's up and coming emcees. Murph Watkins: "Vibrant Fornication"

Puck comes to us by way of Cincinnati, OH with his newest video for "Turn My Music Up". The song is off his recent EP, The Dreamer . I don't know Puck personally, but after watching the video, and listening to the song, the title of the EP seems to fit him perfectly. And you can never go wrong with a dancing gorilla. Ever. Check out the video below by Hashtaghiphop and Cremedia.

Pill will release his new mixtape, The Epidemic, on February 9th. Before that, he gives us "Yeen Gone Believe", where he spits the truth and nothing but the unbelievable truth. There's nothing like a good emcee scorned, I bet lots of people will be talking following the release of Pill's new mixtape. Get the new joint below. Pill: "Yeen Gone Believe"

"Lord Steppington, stepping in like George Jefferson." Gangrene handed out a new single today from their recently released LP, Vodka & Ayahuasca . The new joint is "Dark Shades", a care-free posse cut featuring Evidence and Roc Marciano. It's chock full of references to Rick Ross, George Jefferson, Blade, Mic Jagger, and even swagger jacking. Wave that white flag and grab it below. Gangrene: "Dark Shades" featuring Evidence and Roc Marciano

With the release of Habit & Contraditctions fresh in everyone's mind ScHoolboy Q teams up with director JeromeD again for "NigHtmare on Figg St.". The video is the second off of the album, the first was for " Hands on the Wheel " featuring the always dope A$AP Rocky. Shot in black and white, the video is grimy, matching the track step for step as Q takes viewers on a journey into a nigHtmare.