Witness - .45 Sweetheart

A few months ago some friends and I went to go see my buddy Kaz aka Kaznasty perform a small free show at a local eagles club..

Pulling up to this place we really questioned if there was a hip-hop show going on there or not. Walking in wasn't any different, the bar was filled with what looked to be like the regulars all in their mid 50's. I didn't quite know what to expect at this point but we stuck it out because Kaznasty is a great artist (I'll have to post some of his stuff here soon).

The first act up (Hyphon and Def Mek) actually did a damn good job, with a more or less twisted sense of rap. It was definitely respectable. Then, up walks this white guy in a sweater vest. We looked around at each other not knowing what to expect. As soon as he spoke I knew we were in for a treat. His voice was sharp over melodic beats with lyrics that stuck inside you. I'd finally found Witness, the perfect poet/artist. We spoke with him after his set and told him how much we enjoyed it. We bough his album "The Evermore EP" and he gave us a free copy of this album ".45 Sweetheart". We kept both CD's of his on replay up until today. Beautiful music from a man who hails from the East coast and is now residing in Minneapolis. If you're a fan of artwork in any form check out his mixtape ".45 Sweetheart" and enjoy.

http://www.recollectiverecords.com/45sweetheart/

Mally - Leaks of Integrity

Mally from the 612 recently dropped another mixtape following his '09 smash "The Passion" (which you can also download for free on his bandcamp site). Gritty back to it's roots hip-hop is something you can always expect from Mally and his newest mixtape "Leaks of Integrity" is nothing short of that. Free download as always, enjoy!

http://mally.bandcamp.com/album/leaks-of-integrity

Alicia Leafgreen

Let me say one thing; Alicia Leafgreen puts it down for the twin cities. They're tons of male rappers and artists in the cities (almost too many..) but as far as females go they are few and far between, especially ones worth listening to. Alicia Leafgreen has got some major talent, and an old-school feel to her. She also was involved with Intermedia Art's B-Girl Be over the last year which showcases local female talent as far as the hip-hop and artistic community goes. Check out her new mixtape "Old School Vs. New School"

http://rs360.rapidshare.com/files/338619980/Old_School_Vs._New_School_mixtape.zip

Nerve and Dj Arkitekt - The American Lowlife LP

This isn't the usual type of hip-hop that I listen to but this is definitely a quality mixtape with apperances by some local names. Give it a listen and enjoy, I did :)



Below: Press release

Dear Listener,
How are you? Hope everything is well. Remember that time we went out drinking and hit on, what happened, to be the bouncer’s girlfriend? You still owe me for the hospital bills. But it was kind of you to ask about the album while I was in the ICU. It’s so nice that this record can finally see the light of day. There were times that we never thought that it would. After countless ups and downs, failed record deals, a stint in several rehabs, hollow promises and more than one case of heartbreak, our album has finally been heard. Touching on all of the subjects above, we wanted to make an album that had songs that were serious as a suicide note and songs that just made the listener smile. Here’s the tracklisting for our debut LP “The American Lowlife”:
1) Opening Credits
2) Find My Love on the Dancefloor
3) She’s Lovely
4) Saturday Night
5) Dead in the Eyes
6) Just Lean
7) Intermission
8 ) This Will Break Your Heart (feat. Adam Levy of the Honeydogs and Joe Christenson of White Light Riot)
9) Anybody Out There
10) Moving On
11) ROCKSTAR
12) Gotta Give It Up
13) Wake Up (feat. Def Mek)
14) By Now
15) Closing Credits
16) Bonus Track: Till They Play (feat. St. Paul Slim and Def Mek)

Download "The American Lowlife LP"
http://www.zshare.net/download/70750766a0244305

(having trouble making this a clickable link ATM soo... just copy and paste that into your web-browser)