Blog: Ruby Hornet

Chicago's Michael DeJaneiro channels Jay-Z circa "D'Evils" on his new one, "Road To Riches". The video is directed by Mecca Ent.

Aside from his hitting Occupy Wall Street, Climbing mountains and whipping Ferrari F402s Lupe is now also a DJ and recently announced a side-project with long-time friend and DJ Sky Gellaty. The duo (SNDCLSH) who are currently working on their first EP of EDM titled "Don't Drop The Flag". Taking influences from Daft Punk, Kavinsky, Avicii, Nero + more this is definitely an exciting addition to the Lupe Fiasco saga. Read More at Hypebeast . "I caught the bug right away. It was less about scratching the turntables with my elbows but I realized that [...]

Emilio Rojas has been bubbling for years, can argue for a spot amongst the most over looked emcees in recent years. "Not on no cocky shit, but I'm fucking nice, yo," Emilio told me in late 2010. "I'm good at rap, man. There aren't a lot of things I'm good at, but one of them is rap. I'm fucking nice. That's the way I feel and if I need to prove that all the time, then fuck it, I'll prove it all the time. That's what I'm going to do." Emilio Rojas sets out to prove it again on his [...]

Vic Spencer's path to musical notoriety has been a long one, but as he states in Kidz In The Hall's "I Swear" , "it's nowhere near time to retire jerseys." Vic is taking a page out of Danny Brown's book, embracing his thirty year status, and releasing the best music of his career. Spencer released his last mixtape, Vic Greenthumbs , in September, and has since supplied a heavy dose of visuals. He's also spent considerable time improving his craft, taking his time to perfect his sound. "I want to make timeless music. I've always [...]

"Give'em the combo, I ain't talkin' bout no soupes." Live from the 773. Scheme goes in over Common's "Sweet". I think we're getting to a limit on the "Sweet" freestyles, especially since this one will be hard to top. New Scheme coming soon. Believe that! Scheme: "Sweet" feat DJ Scend

For the end of the party... 5 days away from the release of his Echo Boom mixtape, Cris Cab brings along 'The Gully God' Mavado and Wyclef to help him out on this newest release. A verse from the most respected reggae artist in the game today, mixed with high energy production and a beautiful chorus, "Rihanna's Gun" once again showcases Cris' diversity as an artist while still maintaining his signature vocals and giving the fans something to move to!

Yuna is a promising singer/songwriter currently prepping for the release of her self-tited debut album. Today we check in with her via her new single, "Live Your Life", which is produced by Pharrell. The song is available for stream below and can be purchased on iTunes. I definitely dig the music as well as the message.

J The S gives us a new video for "Razor" off his recent release, The Last Days . The song borrows from Peter Tosh's "Stepping Razor", and puts it to great use. J The S shines on the record alongside veteran Styles P, and Court Dunn handles the visuals. Watch it below.

XV will be live at Schubas on Friday, and we have a pair of tickets to give away for the show. In order to win, hit us on Twitter (@rubyhornet) and let us know which former Chicago Bull is also one of XV's relatives. Also, peep XV's latest video for "Batteries" feat Trae The Truth.

It's all green lights for French Montana these days. The emcee has a newly inked deal with Bad Boy, a buzzing single in "Shot Caller", and one of those so-bad-it's-good singing type of choruses on "Stay Schemin'". Just don't try to email him any congratulatory messages. French Montana: "Everything's A Go"

Sugar Tongue Slim's latest installment in the Gold Rush series features the Atlanta-Philly rapper (can we just call STS an A.T.elphia or Phatlanta rapper already?) making The xx's "Shelter" his own. The track's video shows footage of STS's recent show at the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia. Gold Rush will be released on February 29th.

I was fortunate enough to see John Legend speak and perform last night. If you ever have the chance to see Mr. Legend speak, perform, or do both, do it. He was a great speaker and he sounds as good performing live as anyone I have ever heard and will likely ever hear. Anyway... he released a new track which is featured on the Think Like A Man soundtrack. "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)" is a bit different than the piano-playing crooner's usual material and you'll hear the difference shortly after hitting play. This track is going to [...]

Mike Carson, Mike Waxx, Darnell Williams and the folks at ILLROOTS have announced their new lifestyle brand ILLAMERICA. Definitely another major move in the direction of success for the homies, with designs from Ibn Jasper + probably many more worthy members of the community as well. take a look at the look book below as the On-line store will open Saturday. ILLAMERICA from ILLROOTS.com on Vimeo .

Stalley's back again...The video for this Ski Beatz-produced track came out a while back, as in at least a year ago, and most, including myself, thought that it would be on his debut album Lincoln Way Nights . This clearly did not happen but it seems fitting for Stalley to officially release this track about the street he grew up on after releasing "City of 30,000 Wolves", a song about his hometown, just two days ago. Stalley - "Harsh Ave"

Production duo Winston Lord & Stephen Jones aka Introspective Minds are always creating, and most of the time you never know it. This week the young duo known for their blunted, jazzy beats are here with their latest output for the fans in "The Tiger Blood EP" . Lookout for much more from the duo in 2012, most relevant now, on J-Coop's upcoming Pimp Tight Playa LP, which will be dropping here on RubyHornet.com on Feb. 1st.

If there's any shortcut to a Chicago audience's heart, it runs right through the beyond-classic "Hay" by Crucial Conflict. Prior to his set at our Digital Freshness on Saturday , eXquire picked up the hint and decided to treat the packed Beauty Bar to a little remix of his viral-smash, "Huzzah". It worked, and it worked well. Not that eXquire needed any shortcuts, he had the crowd live throughout his set, making this the icing on the cake. Check the live clip below. And we must get a Cold Hard x eXquire record? Somebody make that happen. [...]

The good folks over at ArtDontSleep sent over this track to celebrate their booking of Hypnotic Brass Ensemble for their event with EVFA "Homage". If you're in the Los Angeles area on February 23rd make sure to stop by Exchange LA for the event. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is made up of eight brothers from the south side of Chicago. They're compositions are incredible and their cover of "Spottieottiedopaliscious" by OutKast is no exception. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Spottie by ArtDontSleep

McKenzie Eddy and GLC filmed a video for "Windmills" this fall when the Blurock tour hit Chicago. Shot mostly in the South Loop, the video also features a guy wielding, which is something you can't even plan for... This is off Young Platinum , Eddy's really dope project she did in part with GLC.

Rick Rubin is a legend in the game we all play and his most recent endeavor finds him "Ruining" (A-la Queen '91) Justice's latest single "On & On". Obliviously, Rubin's rendition is very relevant and yet dissimilar in it's own way. The remix is off the January 30th single release which features edits from Tiga, Brodinski and Erol Alkan. Pow. s/o The Fader

BBU will release their long-awaited sophomore mixtape, bell hooks , next month. Previously we presented the album's lead single, " Kurt De La Rocha" . That one was a rock tinged jam about freedom in the music biz, which paid homage to two artists that always did it their way. BBU's new joint brings it back to Chicago, as the GLC assisted, "The Hood", witnesses the strength of street knowledge (no NWA). Celebrate the new mixtape's release with us and BBU on February 23rd at Schubas . BBU: "The Hood" feat GLC