Yung Martez

The post Yung Martez Releases New EP Titled “Certain Moments” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Recently, the two decided to remind fans of how dope this project is by releasing a new visual for the album cut “Concrete,” which features assistance from Westside Gunn and Termanology. The clip — shot by Watsyn Filmz and Trill Art — sees the collaborators bringing out the whips and jumps between Houston and NYC.

Check it out below, along with — if you’ve been asleep — a stream of Trillstatik for your enjoyment.

Suggested Articles:

Listen to Bun B’s New Album, ‘Return Of The Trill’

Bun B Recruits T.I. & Big K.R.I.T. for “Recognize” (Video)

The post Bun B, Statik Selektah, Westside Gunn & Termanology Bring Out the Whips for “Concrete” Visual appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Image credit: EMPIRE

It’s been five years since Bun B dropped Trill OG: The Epilogue…today, he officially returns to the scene with Return Of The Trill, led by the T.I. and Big K.R.I.T.-assisted “Recognize.” In addition, the 14-track project also sees big name appearances from Run The Jewelz, Yo Gotti, 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, 8Ball & MJG and more.

Stream the latest from the Port Arthur legend below.

Suggested Articles:

RESPECT. Interview: Ewing Athletics President Talks Growth, Sneaker Culture, Bun B Collaboration & Much More

New Music: Mobb Deep feat. Bun B & Juicy J – “Legendary”

The post Listen to Bun B’s New Album, ‘Return Of The Trill’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Image credit: EMPIRE

UPDATE: New visual added below.

Come August 31st, Bun B will be back in the game via his new album Return Of The Trill, his first since 2013’s Trill OG: The Epilogue. Today, he delivers a new banger titled “Recognize,” which features assistance from fellow Southern kings T.I. and Big K.R.I.T. Vibe to the Port Arthur legend’s latest — and get a look at his forthcoming album artwork — below.

It’s time! My new album Return Of The Trill is available for pre-order! New single Recognize featuring @troubleman31 and @bigkrit is available for immediate purchase and streaming now! Link in bio! Let’s bring this Trill back to the front! #UGK4Life #RIPPimpC #RIPMommaWes #PAWorldwide

A post shared by Bun B (@therealtrillionaires) on Aug 17, 2018 at 6:54am PDT

Suggested Articles:

#OnTheRadar: Shoota The Outlaw feat Bun B, Le$, Kidd The Great – “So Southern”

RESPECT. Interview: Ewing Athletics President Talks Growth, Sneaker Culture, Bun B Collaboration & Much More

The post Bun B Recruits T.I. & Big K.R.I.T. for “Recognize” (Video) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

LE$ Instagram/Jorgey Films

The underground rap scene boasts more talent than the majors these days, and when talking about southern underground rap, you can’t leave out LE$. Originally he was born in New Orleans, but if you listen to him, his tie to Houston, Texas is undeniable. His love for the city is unmistakable, his laid back flow displays how hospitable he is, and his description of whips and culture is top notch. He matches that with a work ethic only rivaled by the likes of Gucci Mane & Curren$y, the guys he watched blow up from dropping so often.

Already having put out the amazing Midnight Club project in late May, it’s only September and he’s already coming through with a new project to close out the summer. By many standards Midnight Club maybe LE$’s best project, and if not it’s easily somewhere near the top. The samples, the raps, the cohesiveness of the project easily make it one of the better releases of this summer. Not one to get comfortable, LE$ is giving us Summer Madness in less than 24 hours. LE$ has been through a lot to get where he’s at now, and it’s unlikely he’ll let up anytime soon. He tells us what inspired Summer Madness, how he hooked up with DJ Mr. Rogers, his relationship with A$AP Yams and a whole lot more.

RESPECT.: In regards to your name where did the nickname Dolla come from?

LE$: Man coming up I was one of those guys always trying to figure out how to get some money. Like even now with the music, I’m independent and I do all my own stuff and finance my own s**t from jump. I was always a dude that that had some type of hustle. Everybody has their little broke struggles or whatever but I look back at those times like it was fun. Like being in college, being at U of H, (University of Houston) and I remember having 30 bucks for like 3 or 4 days. But you had to figure out little hustles to have more money than everybody around you.

RESPECT.: What did you study while In college?

LE$: I went to U of H out here man, I didn’t graduate but I was studying psychology. I really didn’t have a purpose to be in college. I just wanted to get the f**k out New Orleans to be honest with you. Houston was always a second home to me, cause my mother moved to Texas when I was like 7 so I been back and forth my whole life between Texas and Louisiana. Louisiana got really bad so I kind of was like man I don’t want to be here. The s**t like a dead end. And Houston was like the closest big city at the time with all the opportunities at the time. It wasn’t a New York. Atlanta was right there, but I didn’t know anybody there. I love Atlanta but I just didn’t want to live there. Houston was just familiar to me, and it wasn’t far from home.

RESPECT.: So explain to me why you drop so much music.

LE$: That’s just how the game is right now. I looked up to n***as like Gucci. And everybody who was really popping, they was dropping a lot of music. Future caught his wave by dropping a lot of music, Curren$y he drops a lot of music, even Drake, right now he’s dropping a ton of music. You can work on something for a whole year, drop it, and people be done with it in two weeks. So you gotta keep mashing, keep pushing your movement forward and keep the shit relevant and new. Cause people be on the next s**t so fast these days.

RESPECT.: What inspired the use of all samples on Midnight Club?

LE$: That was the original sound that me and DJ Mr. Rogers came with. I’ve always been a sample heavy artist. I’m a fan of that sound. Like Common, my favorite album by him was “Be” and that’s a sample heavy album. Jay-Z, American Gangster, Reasonable Doubt, even 4:44 everything is real sample heavy. I feel like it brings the soul to the project. It makes people connect to it differently. It’s definitely some original beats that a lot of people can make that have that same vibe, but it’s something about samples that bring that vibe that you can’t really get anywhere else.

RESPECT.: So what inspired Summer Madness?

LE$: I was working on all this stuff at the same time. I wanted to have something to drop right after Midnight Club, cause I know how music is digested quickly and they be on to the next s**t. I wanted something to close out the summer. It’s the daytime version of Midnight Club. It’s the exact same amount of songs, it plays the exact length of Midnight Club. You can damn near go song for song but it’s just different vibes. Like all the videos from Midnight Club were night time except “Top Down,” but this one will probably be a daytime thing with the visuals and s**t. It was a continuation, I wanted to drop something for my fans going back to school too. That’s when a lot of music is shared cause say you going back to college and you gon bring music you been listening to, your roommate’s gon bring some s**t he’s been jamming. You might meet a chick from somewhere else, she’s listening to something. Everybody just putting music together that they like, and that’s when people spread that s**t around. The music was meant for the summer of course, I always wanted to do a summer project.

RESPECT.: Run down your favorite artists to work with.

LE$: Freddie’s (Gibbs) the homie, we toured together. We got a lot of s**t cooking together, that’s my closest homie as far as music goes. Slim Thug that’s like my big brother of course. I like working with Freddie, Domo Genisis, I like working with Polyester. I got some s**t coming with G Perico. Larry June, I’m working with him too. Myself, Perico, Larry June, Polyester, Jay Worthy, we all kind of trying to bring a certain vibe to the game. We trying to bring that funk back to this s**t. That old sampling, funk, riding music. Not the super hip-hop sampling, but the G-Funk, more of the s**t that people can ride to, we all kind of on the same vibe. Cardo too, I been working with him for years. Dom Kennedy, he been around pushing that vibe for a minute. Big K.R.I.T., that’s my n***a. Curren$y, everybody knows my history with him and Jet Life, and that’s just all the homies.

RESPECT.: How did you and Cardo link?

LE$: One thing I’m gon always credit Cardo for is he’s onto s**t before anybody else is. Even when it came to me, Cardo was backing me before it was cool to f**k with me. He does it with a lot of artists, he keeps his ears to the tweets and to the streets, and he sees who people f**ing with, and if he f**ks with it, he’s not to big reach back and give them beats and get them out there. He’s definitely at the forefront of that whole G-funk movement coming back.

RESPECT.: You also knew (A$AP) Yams right? How did that come about?

LE$: Yams was my n***a. That’s another way a lot of us linked up. Yams was ahead of his time bro, and when I say that i’m saying he f***ed with me way before it was cool to f**k with me. I met Yams backstage at a Drake concert. It was when A$AP and Kendrick was opening for him on that one tour. I didn’t know him at all. He seen me, shot me a DM like “yo you at the Drake concert?” I told him like yeah I’m here, we met up, and he got to naming s**t I had dropped, telling me how he f***ed with me and the whole movement, and that’s why f**k with Yams so heavy. I even posted some messages before he had passed away, he told me he was about to get a situation with Sony and he wanted to get me in. If he still was here he would have signed a lot of n***as that’s popular right now. He would have been one of the biggest music execs in the game.

RESPECT.: Run down how you met DJ Mr. Rogers since you guys make so much music together.

LE$: I was out here trying to get this rap s**t started man. I was funding it myself, rapping in a closet. I had me a little project, I went and brought the burners, I bought the cd’s, pressed all them s**ts up myself. I had a few homies that was promoters so we was handing them out everywhere we could. Club end at 2, so we a be in there f**king around till’ like 1:30, 1:45. We a run to the car, get our backpack full of CD’s. People use to sell cd’s outside the club but Drake had just put out a free f***ing album, how the f**k we gon sell s**t? So I was just like I’m gon hand these b***hes out until they land in the right hands. It took a minute, I had actually handed Slim Thug one like 10 different times. Life goes on though, you still gotta pay bills so I had kind of quit pretty much. I had handed out thousands of tapes with no results. I had a gig out in Dallas, I was about to quit for real and move out there and everything. I sat down after like 3 days and looked around the office in Dallas, and was like I don’t want to do this. S**t look pathetic. I packed my s**t up and went back to Houston. I had a month left on my lease out there, and soon after I got back I ran into Mr. Rogers. I ain’t even approach him cause I thought like he heard it and ain’t f**k with it so I wasn’t trying to bother him. My partner that I was with he a real go getter, he walked up to him like you heard my mans s**t? He was like “oh yeah I did hear his s**t, I just be super busy I wanted to send him some beats.” I’m not thinking he about to send me some beats, but later that night he sent me like 10 beats, and I recorded to all of them. At that point I had never had my own beats, I was rapping over other n***as s**t. I sent them back to Rogers, he was amazed I had did them all so quick, and that became my first real mixtape. That was like the last week of 2009.

RESPECT.: So what’s your obsession with Steak and Shrimp?

LE$: Down here in the south the term Steak and Shrimp come from listening to UGK, S.U.C., 8-Ball & MJG, Master P, really anybody who said when they got money, they was gon eat Steak and Shrimp. It’s about achieving that level of success, that you can eat that. You don’t want to eat fast food everyday, you don’t want to be broke. You want to go sit down at a nice restaurant and eat you a nice meal. That’s what that whole statement is about. S&S stands for Steak and Shrimp, but it also stands for Strive and Succeed. It’s a motivational thing, it’s an aspirational thing, and something for all the hustlers trying to get to a certain point.

RESPECT.: How do you feel about being one of the dopest underground artists who doesn’t get as much credit as you deserve?

LE$: It’s just part of the game. You can complain about it or you can work. I don’t complain, this is my 25^th tape. I don’t worry about who sees it or doesn’t. I definitely want to be on top, and be the most recognized, and get all the props I feel I deserve. But when people don’t give them to you, you don’t get mad, you just go back strategize and work harder. When a artist come out the blue and everybody talking about them, it’s not because they’re dope usually. It’s because it’s a machine behind them and they’re being put everywhere to be talked about. When you’re independent it’s a little harder, and they make it harder for you on purpose.

RESPECT.: Last but not least. Tell me where you get your signature laid back flow from.

LE$: I’m just a laid back person to be honest with you, I don’t even raise my voice. I grew up listening to Hov, and he’s super laid back. He’s got a real conversational style, when you listening you feel like you’re just shooting the s**t and you getting some game. I feel like that laid back style is universal, it ain’t going nowhere. It might not be the hottest s**t out but look at 4:44, Jay still killing n***as. People are into that, they listen to it better, sing it better, they comprehend it better. Right now though, trap s**t is killing it though, and I love it. I just don’t make it.

LE$ Instagram/Jorgey Films

It should be noted that Summer Madness was orginally slated for a 8/31 release, but due to the severity of Hurricane Harvey it was pushed back. LE$ decided to push it back to focus his time on helping his city instead of pushing an album release. He secured a place to collect and recieve clothes for the children that lost all their clothing in the hurricane. That’s an extremely admirable act in todays social society, and we appreciate artists like LE$ for doing such things for his community. Other artists like Paul Wall, Bun B, DJ Mr. Rogers and more were all apart of relief efforts. Make sure you cop that Summer Madness as soon as it drops!

Follow LE$ on Twitter & Soundcloud.

Suggested Articles:

New Music: LE$ – How U Love That

RESPECT Interview.: Meet G. Perico, The Man Quietly Making Some of The Best Music On The West Coast

The post Cruise Control: Houston’s LE$ Guides the Revival of the Third Coast appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Beatnick and K-Salaam drop Movin’ It. Photo Courtesy of: Meccahnism Consulting

We’ve got a banger on our hands! From the crew that brought you the sounds behind Lauryn Hill’s live show and the first production team in history to score music for the Olympics, comes the Mass Appeal premiere of “Movin It” featuring Midwest legend Tech N9NE & his Strange Music artist, Wrekonize.

Beatnick, K-Salaam, Tech N9ne and Wrekonize built 2003-2005 neo-soul and hip nostalgia back with their latest “Movin It” track.

No lies!! 

Man it legitimately sounds like a combination of Outkast’s Bomb’s Over Baghdad coupled with the feel of Talib Kweli’s Just To Get By! 

According to a press release sent over to RESPECT Magazine, the first single off the upcoming album The Bluest Flame, finds Tech and Wrek skating over the high octane track that combines Trap with Rock and R&B, accompany that with some bangin drums and a unique musical style that is both innovative and vintage at the same time.

Adding words to the stellar production are the likes of Talib Kweli, Bun-B, Blu, Joell Ortiz and more. The scene has officially been for the kind of hip-hop and real music that the game has been missing.

“We make all of our beats from scratch,”  K-Salaam, tells RESPECT Magazine.

He added:

“We design our own sounds, our own drums, we come up with new chord progressions. We don’t need to sample, but people are already sampling us.”

The Bluest Flame drops August 25^th worldwide. Worth noting, the duo is also releasing their Reggae EP “Give Love” w/ Junior Reid on the same day.

While you’re a it, go ahead and follow these gentlemen on all social media and content providing platforms: 

Twitter – Beatnick & K-Salaam
YouTube – Beatnick & K-Salaam
Website – Beatnick & K-Salaam
Facebook – Beatnick & K-Salaam

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Scoop B Selects: Beatnick, K-Salaam, Tech N9NE & Wrekonize Drop “Movin It” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

If you didn’t know who Tory Lanez was before, then you most certainly will get to know his life story from his debut album ‘I Told You.’ It’s been a week now since ‘I Told You‘ dropped and there has been a lot of chit chat on what the world thinks of it. I’m here to give readers my 100% opinion on the album whether or not you agree. Now, I understand where people are coming from when they say its as if he’s copying other artists styles or sounds. Many people have compared Tory’s style to the likes of Trey Songz, Fetty Wap, Bryson Tiller or even his nemesis – Drake. However, for those who’ve been listening to the New Toronto singer/rapper for a long time now, know that he has always sounded this way. The 24-year-old artist dropped an unlimited amount of music over the years with a handful of mixtapes and a selfless amount of freebies. Now that his debut albums out, Tory specifically titled it ‘I Told You,’ for all those who doubted him.

If you streamed ‘I Told You‘ on Spotify or Apple Music, you will instantly notice that the album listed 28 tracks. To clarify, there are 14 tracks on the album along with 14 skits to go with each track. If you’re someone who could care less about skits, then just skip it. But for those who want to get a deeper understanding of what Tory Lanez is about, then I’d suggest listening to the whole album through. The album begins with “I Told You/ Another One,” it’s 2008 and Daystar Peterson (Tory’s birth name) is getting kicked out of his grandma’s crib. He opens up to the world about how he slept in basements, backseat of cars, his girl’s crib and pretty much everywhere he was able to be when he was dead broke. The album is a timeline of his life starting when he was 16 years old and all of the experiences he went through when it came to crime, sex, tragedy and success.

Aside from his notable singles such as “Say It,” and “Luv” which close out the album, there are many other gems on the album. One that may stand out is “4am Flex,” Tory’s been sharing his music dream with his crew and is looking for some cash money. Him and his boy are on a mission to break into a house in which they escape but simultaneously are getting shot at riding in their Honda Accord. A track like this is not a new topic when it comes to hip-hop. Some of the tracks may remind listeners of Kendrick Lamar‘s debut album “good m.a.d.d city,” when it comes to content.

Tory doesn’t just touch base on all of the trouble he gets into though, he shares his relationships he has had with ex-girlfriends and/or “girl-friends.” His songs “Friends With Benefits,” “Cold Hard Love,” “High,” “Question Is,” and “All the Girls,” all take very different approaches in explaining his trial and errors with females in his life. Some of them such as “Friends With Benefits” and “High” take you on a more trippy, lustful ride. Whereas, “Cold Hard Love” and “All the Girls” are both more uptempo tracks that you could imagine the ladies blasting and singing along to. But the track out of those that hit a very deep heartstring is “Question Is,” in which Tory mentions the abortions his lady (ladies?) had… not only once. When Tory comes in, the first line he spits is “My shorty had an abortion for me like three times / as hard as that is to say to y’all, I think it’s much harder to keep it silent.” He goes on to recognize his selfish ways in which he’s been out in the streets selling drugs in order to make money for himself and not realizing the health concerns of his girl. He says “Cause if I never have a kid again / I’d be pissed, but I deserve it, I’ve been cursed with all these man made ways in this earth that I been living in.”

Towards the latter half of the album, Tory brings us into his “Loners Blvd,” in which he describes meeting a guy named Sasha talking about management. Tory gets booked for his first show ever in Houston at the Warehouse Live, which apparently wasn’t a good one. He says “It was my worst show ever / n***as damn near got booed off stage,” not to mention “bad enough n***as let Bun B watch but I felt like I let Sasha down.” I’ve seen Tory Lanez perform twice now, and hearing this story, after seeing him is so surprising. This guy is the most live performer I’ve seen. He can sing live and he can also turn his whole venue into a jungle gym. The skit just after this track goes into Tory getting a call from Interscope in which his music spoke for itself.

I could go on and on about every single track on this album, but if you’re someone who wants to listen to a good album, I’d say that this is a solid debut album from the New Toronto. Tory’s been making his rounds doing interviews at multiple radio stations recently and in his Big Boy TV interview, he explains growing up in Toronto is a very multi-cultural experience. That he could have a best friend that is of Asian descent and/or Indian descent. That due to that type of surrounding, he hears the sounds of various groups of people and the music that everyone listens too. I think out of everything people say about him “copying” sounds, I’d say he’s an artist that knows how to adapt and evolve. He has always had his own sound if you listen to his old stuff. He’s just been influenced over the years by amazing artists and experiences in which helped him grow and learn more about his craft. He even makes a joke about copying artists and taking their s**t on the Breakfast Club. Tory’s out here to win the gold medal and will not stop until he becomes “the best version of himself.” He also mentions on The Breakfast Club how he is working on a short film, which we will expect to see soon.

If you haven’t already listened or copped ‘I Told You,’ go get it and listen to it. It’s definitely worth checking out if you want to hear some new good music. Congratulations to Tory Lanez on his debut album (that has no features), and his rise to fame!

You can also check out his interview on Big Boy TV and The Breakfast Club below.

Suggested Articles:

Vince Staples Releases New EP ‘Prima Donna’

Frank Ocean’s ‘Blond’ is Available For Streaming on Pandora

The post RESPECT. Album Review: Tory Lanez ‘I Told You’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.