Style 43

Brother Ali is hitting these shores again for a set at Glastonbury [Saturday ...

A few weeks ago I was preparing some questions to email to BK-One for a little interview. But a few days later we found out that he was coming to the UK with Brother Ali and so we asked if we could interview them in the flesh. The answer was a resounding 'yes' and so following on from our interview with Brother Ali yesterday, we now have the BK-One interview for you to get stuck in to. Aren't we good?

Brother Ali and BK-One hit London last week, for a sold-out show at Cargo. As usual they tore it up and got as good a reception as they always do when they pay us a visit. Before the show we managed to have a little natter with Ali which I have painstakingly transcribed for you below. Be on the lookout for the BK-One interview coming soon! S43: So how’s the tour been going so far? Ali: Yeah its been great, I’ve been having a lot of fun. I’m enjoying it a lot. S43: Do you notice much difference between the types of crowds you get at your shows, as you move from country to country? Ali: Yeah. Germany and Scandinavia know our music pretty well and I feel like we’re just getting started there, y’know what I mean, but they’re very responsive. France, except for Paris cos they know our music and it’s great, but outside of Paris it seemed like a lot of people were there cos they heard there was music, and they didn’t know my music, they don’t speak English very well and I don’t speak French very well, so it was really interesting. The UK is really rowdy, excited and you have a lot of energy. I like it a lot.

The Brother is back! Everyone's favourite Rhymesayer is going to be hitting British soil for ...

If you caught the piece we threw up a week or so ago, then you already know about the soon-to-drop Freeway and Jake One album, "The Stimulus Package". The album is set to drop mid-February on Rhymesayers and will feature, among others, Raekwon and Jay-Z favourite, Beanie Siegel, alongside Freeway's relentless rhyming and the beats that have made Jake One, some of RSE's hottest property.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-EMcct1K3E[/youtube] More musical mayhem from Murs, Slug and Aesop Rock this week, as the video for "Felt Chewed Up", premiered on MTVu (we got it ...

Riding on the high from their success together on the tracks, "The Truth" and "How We Ride", Freeway and Jake One are due to release a collaborative album on Rhymesayers, in February 2010. In preparation for the album they have made this little mixtape which they are giving away for free. Freeway is something of a paradox, as he is simultaneously releasing material through Rhymesayers and Cash Money Records, who are about as far away from each other as possible in terms of content and releases. Rhymesayers boast the likes of Eyedea & Abilities, Blueprint and Brother Ali on their roster; whereas Cash Money offer up Lil' Wayne, Mack 10 and Jay Sean.

Oh wait, what's that you're saying? Yesterday's Felt 3 freebie not enough for you? Need something else to fill the void? I bet you do. Well we're never one to shy away from the demand for all things hip hop and so now we have another track from Felt 3 to giveaway at everybody's favourite price.

Felt 3 is out next week, people, and to celebrate the Rosie Perez Tribute, 2DopeBoyz have gone and scored a free download of one of the tracks from the album.

This week saw the release of the video for 'Never Better', the single taken from the album of the same name, released earlier this year. The third album from the Rhymesayers signed, Minnesotan hip hop marvel P.O.S, proved a huge success on the underground hip hop scene across the globe.With an album that represents his best work to date, leading to tours across the US - including the Warped Tour - supporting bands like Bouncing Souls, and relentlessly releasing some of the best hip hop I've heard in the past couple of years, alongside some of my other favourite rappers in the collaborative collective Doomtree. With such success since the release of 'Never Better' and the Doomtree, 'False Hopes', album, it seemed high time P.O.S took some time to come out to the UK; bringing his good friend and fellow Doomtree member Paper Tiger along with him. Well here at Style43 we're always ready and willing to hang out with our favourite rappers. This is what went down..

Not really, in fact they make us happy with their festive gifts. If you head over to Fifth Element now, you can cop yourself a free download of a Halloween mixtape from Nikoless Scratch and Rhymesayers resident, DeeJayBird, called "Scripts of the Lost Souls". RSE love to give away their wares and we can never get enough of it to be honest. Apparently the mixtape was recorded 11 years ago in, and was the product of watching a huge amount of horror flicks and digging through the darker crates of hip hop, combined with Jel's production techniques and Bird's artistry. The full thing is a hefty two hours long and comes with all the original artwork as well. It is described on the site as being "not for the faint of heart or the kids for that matter. However, for those with nerves of steel, a sense of humor, and a flair for the extreme…let the nightmares begin!". Yeah!

A month or so ago, we put up a little article about the album from BK-One and Benzilla (who produced that ill I Self Devine/Brother Ali joint, "Officer Down"), "Rádio Do Canibal", along with a free download of one of the tracks, "Here I Am". Well the album was released the other day and I can report that it as fresh and innovative as the hype made it sound. Easily making it into my top five albums of the year, the sheer amount of research and effort that obviously went into the making of this project is amazing. If you remember, I was talking about how BK-One has spent a lot of time travelling round the world, particularly Central and Southern America, and from that he had gathered enough ideas and influences to create a base of beats, for the vocal skills of a whole host of emcees and singers.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYky7kUWP_4[/youtube] Anyone with their finger on the Rhymesayers' pulse will already know that Brother Ali is on his Fresh Air Tour at the moment, alongside label mates Toki Wright and Evidence. By all accounts the live show is amazing (shock horror), which is all well and good if you happen to be in the States and can actually go catch one of the shows, but some of us live in other places and don't have the kind of funds necessary to feed an international live hip hop habit.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XOa8eaTZuo[/youtube] A duo thoroughly steeped in hip-hop accolades, the Minnesota-based duo Eyedea and Abilities have returned with their brand new album “By The Throat”, out on Rhymesayers Entertainment (home to Atmosphere, Brother Ali, P.O.S et al). Their first album since the breakout 2004 release “E&A”, “By The Throat”’s songs range from intensely personal topics to the more esoteric (quantum mechanics).  The end result is leaps and bounds beyond what MC Eyedea is perhaps best known for, his prowess as a battle rapper (winner of HBO’s Blaze Battle, Scribble Jam and several others).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsPaYZ26Cw0[/youtube] Unless you've been comatose, incarcerated or having a massive nap for the past six months or so, you will be well aware that Brother Ali's third album,"Us", is set to be released real soon. Once again Ant is on the beats, following the success of their partnership on Ali's previous releases, so we can expect more of the originality and emotional depth that was crammed into both "Shadows on the Sun" and "The Undisputed Truth".

At last! I know we're not the only ones who have been clamouring for the UK to be blessed with a visit from one (or all) of the Doomtree crew, and now it seems as though our cries have not been in vain. Last week P.O.S announced he would be embarking on a European tour this Autumn and the UK will be getting him for no less than nine dates.

It takes a lot to make me feel good in the morning. Especially when I'm stuck in an office and it's sunny outside and it seems as though the whole world is having a party which you're not invited to. But then a little sliver of good news will come through, like a flower breaking concrete, and everything seems okay again. This time that honour went to Rhymesayers, for their announcement of the forthcoming release of BK-One's debut album. Not content with being an immense DJ, touring with Brother Ali and releasing some dope mixtapes, BK-One is now planning to release a debut album, with the help of new producer on the Minnesotan block, Benzilla. The album, "Rádio Do Canibal", is going to be 'a Brazilian musical bed for some of hp hop's most engaging MC's' to do their thing on.

The rumour mill has been running on full power for the past few weeks, since Rhymesayers started dropping hints about a third instalment in the Felt series. Following in the hallowed footsteps of Slug and MURS' first two releases - "Felt: A Tribute to Christina Ricci" and "Felt 2: A Tribue to Lisa Bonet" - the third project was to be kept shrouded in secrecy, with only a few teasers being dropped here and there. The mystery wasn't just surrounding which random starlet the album would be dedicated to, but also who would do the production. The previous producers on 1 and 2 were The Grouch and Ant, respectively, giving each album a pretty unique sound.

Grammy winning rapper and producer Michael "Evidence" Perretta has just signed a multi album deal with our favourite label Rhymesayers Entertainment. As one-third of the venerable Los Angeles Hip Hop staple Dilated Peoples, Evidence has spent the better part of his decade plus in the game, touring the globe and collectively selling well over 700,000 units. In addition to his Dilated work, Evidence has produced tracks for the Beastie Boys, Linkin Park, Defari, Planet Asia and more, including co-production on Kanye West's debut The College Dropout. In 2007, Evidence set out to solidify his solo career with the release of the critically acclaimed 'The Weatherman LP'. Followed up by 2008's 'The Layover EP' and over 200 shows, Evidence has spent the last couple of years building a foundation of supporters, fan by fan.

It seems like only yesterday we brought you some fresh free ...