Because each artist is from a different coast–The Alchemist from California and Havoc from New York– the combination between them ties in quaint sounds from their cities. The sound is oddly still very grimy with a New York style. There is a theme in the LP easily reminiscent of an early Jay-Z or Nas with Havoc’s rap style and his hustler mentality. A daunting New York State of mind is found throughout a majority of lyrics in songs including “Seize Power,” “Maintain (F**k How You Feel),” and “The Gun Holds A Drum” feat. Prodigy. The production even seems to have a bit of Dr.Dre‘s production senses just slowed down a bit. Both artist’s do an A1 job at representing different sounds from their upbringing.

There are only a few features on the album including Method Man, Cormega, and Prodigy as mentioned above. Prodigy and Havoc have good chemistry together on songs considering they were in Mobb Deep together. Method Man and Cormega are also from New York and have a similar flow to Havoc. These few features give a couple different sparks throughout the LP which is nice, but Havoc’s flow rides well on its own for the majority of the album.

Make sure to listen to the new LP and catch up on previous works from Havoc and The Alchemist to compare how they work together vs. apart!

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New Music: The Alchemist feat. Action Bronson –“Voodoo”

Interview: Kris Kiss talks Collaborating With Mobb Deep’s Havoc and his New Tape, King of Herts Vol. 1

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Surpassing the expectations of a standard “remix” in 2016, Brooklyn’s Dj Skizz offers an oversized fixing for all hip-hop heads with this one. Let’s take a moment and reflect on how potent Cormega & Large Professor‘s ‘Mega Philosophy’ LP was in 2014. If you missed it, we highly recommend you getting your hands on it today. Anyway, “Industry” was a stand out record for many off of the album.

With a healthy list of commendable production credits, rock solid releases and an evident, pure work ethic, it’s no surprise Skizz would go above and beyond with this one – or anything he touches for that matter. As you can see above, he brought along some seasoned veterans and staples to paint his refined canvas. Could we ask for a better line-up of emcees to discuss such a heavy topic? Probably not.

That’s enough out of us. Enjoy the record – we are sure you will. Peace and love!

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The post Dj Skizz Remixes Cormega’s “Industry” And Brought Along A Few Seasoned Veterans appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Following on from their “Georgetown” collab with Fat Trel, clothing label 8&9 team up with Queensbridge rapper Cormega for their newest episode of, “The Intro.” In the video, Cormega speaks on various topics within the hip-hop culture including why the 1988 BMW E30 was such an inspiration, what fashion and hip-hop was during that year, and how the streets influenced rap. Mega, also, discusses his recent headgear collabs with 8&9. Check “The Intro” out below.

The post Cormega Discusses Hip-Hop x Fashion in 1988 appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Typically when rappers drop a mixtape, it’s filled with songs by themselves or their crew. Going against the grain and perhaps why VA is winning in terms of their scene capitalizing on the exponential effect of collective movement, Virginia rappers Willie WAZE and MacGuyver recently dropped Lumi Nation 1: Da Doubt is Fuel, featuring exclusives from over 25 artists hailing from Virginia, DC, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Missouri. Lumi Nation is a true street compilation mixtape, hosted by DJ Ras Fyah, in the essence of the late 90’s mixtape scene. The compilation even features a track from Queens legend, Cormega featuring The Outlawz.

Not just a mixtape title and concept, Lumi Nation is an ever-expanding artist culture collective created by Willie WAZE, who teamed up with his fellow G&D crewmate and rapper/songwriter MacGuyver, to bring some of the “hottest and under-appreciated artists of the DMV to the forefront while not excluding artists from all over the world.” According to Willie WAZE, “Lumi Nation prides itself on bringing the exclusive records back to the streets where the true Hip Hop taste makers have always been…something to bump in the whips, barbershops, clothing stores and MP3 Players alike.”

Lumi Nation features artists Willie WAZE, MacGuyver, Born I Music, Cormega, The Outlawz, Digaveli, Fleetwood Deville, Rahiem Supreme, Kingpen Slim, Milli, Big KA$H, Will Po, Dugee F Buller, Sketch McGuiney, and more. Production includes Beats Maravich, Large Professor, Madebyzoe, Soulplusmind, J-Scrilla, Casito Del Fresco, Innerloop Beats, Big KA$H, Imphamous Amadeuz, and Kel and BLVCK.

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Recently fallen Bay Area rapper The Jacka teamed up with Freeway for the gritty RobLo produced, “Dunya.” On the semi-religious track, Freeway and The Jacka detail the struggle of trying to keep their faith in Allah amidst the many setbacks and distractions of this world. From the Bay’s G-Easy to Queensbridge’s Cormega, a number of artists have expressed their condolences and acknowledged the influence The Jacka has had on the art form. Rest in peace The Jacka.

The post New Video: Freeway & The Jacka – “Dunya” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Masta Ace introduces the anti-industry theme swiftly, speaking directly to an artist who’s just barely cognizant of how much he’s getting swept up in the high life before Craig G comes in with a breathless series of stunning lines: “If B.I.G. was alive, would they say he fell off / since down South is getting more shine than up North? / … / They smile in your face, release some sort of statement / Start beef with your friends when you out on vacation.” G Rap ups the ante even further though, sounding just as advanced now as he did at his peak: “The dominant culture, corporations robbin’ like vultures / Dead philosophers they carve in the sculpture / We get the broken promises, momentary exposure,” calling attention to the continued lack of respect for hip-hop outside of its opportunity for a cash grab. Cormega bats cleanup here, spitting with even more ferocity here than on the original, clearly mad as hell: “Uncle Toms want to please the master / Fear of dominant strength so they keep you passive…/…/Basically I’m a pre-gentrification New Yorker in persona and performance / You can trace the style but can’t replace the aura.”

The post Premiere: Cormega feat. Masta Ace, Craig G., & Kool G Rap – “Industry” (Juice Crew Remix) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

RESPECT.: Your last album was five years ago. How does it feels to be back since your last album?

Cormega: I feel like my album was needed in this industry. It was necessary in today’s rap industry. When I made my last album, I was just trying to be creative and put together a good album and show a bit of growth but on this one I feel like it was necessary. It’s like the genre is being taken for a joke, so I just wanted to come out with something real.

Tell us about the concept of the album.

Initially when I was making the album, there was no concept. I just love working with Large Professor. He is one of my favorite producers so when I get an opportunity to work with him I tend to capitalize on that. I think the first song we made for the album was “Industry.” When we made the demo it stuck with me. Also, the subject matter was consistent with my mind state. After that, every song I was making for the album had to be at that level and nothing less. In this genre, people think they know you better than you know yourself; they like to put you in the box. But this is the album where I wanted to show everyone that there is more to me as an artist than what they think they know about me.

Do you feel you were doing that because you wanted to make an album that was more honest and real?

No, I was trying to do that from my first album. When I put out The Realness there was vulnerability and honesty stated on it because it was like my first step into the industry and after that I put out The True Meaning and the rest of my albums I felt now it was about legacy. When people call me a legend, it makes me feel very uncomfortable because I feel like I don’t deserve it. People who are considered legends have put out so much work and I haven’t put out an album in five years. People who are legends have put in so much more work and have elevated into a different place. This album now is about my legacy because this is the most refined album out of all of them.

You have Raekwon, AZ, Redman and few more artists on this album. How was it like creating music with them?

To have them on this album was really important. Like I said, I’m fighting for my genre and these guys are the champions at it. I’ve been on tour with these guys before and I respect all of them. You’re talking about the three of the dopest spitters. Two of them are all about spitting lyrics in their particular style. So that was symbolic for me to have them on my album. It was important for me to have Nature on my album too. People know our past. The beautiful thing about me and Nature is we showed growth. Today, nobody can ask me about Nature because me and him did a grown up thing and put our differences to the side. We did shows together and now we have a song together so that was important. The song with Raekwon was important. I had to have a song in there that was a bit edgy and the Raekwon song was perfect. Like I said, I wanted this album to be worldly so I have this singer from Zimbabwe. Like, everyone on my album is a fighter. Usually people get features from big artists to sell their album, but everyone on my album is underrated.

Was there a specific track that you enjoyed making more than the others?

The intro to the album is crazy to me. That wasn’t even the intro there was a different version. When I played that for people they be like, “Rewind that one more time.” Also the song “More”and “MARS.” The song “More” took me in a different round as an artist. “More” is like, “Wow I didn’t even know Cormega could go there. “ There is going to be lot of people who would say I didn’t even know he could go there with that song so that’s why I like that song. I like the song “Home” it has lot jewels in that song. I think lot of girls going to like that song. It has a certain feel to it. This album is definitely for the thinker.

Mega Philosophy is due to release on the 22nd. How are you feeling about the release?

I’m definitely still nervous, but I’m not as nervous as I was before. It is still a good feeling. Here is the thing: when I used to put out a song and I thought it was the shit, it would get mixed reaction. Most of the time Cormega songs are like a good feel and gets consistent, good feedback. There were times that I would do a feature with people and I might think that song is incredible and then the feedback comes back and its like ehh. Like 60/40. I recently did song with this artist and I sent it to my publicist and my publicist was like ehh, but I thought the song was dope, but that’s something you have to fear sometimes. So when I put out “Industry” and I saw people peek and got the feedback and saw them clean up their plates and ask for more it made me feel a bit better. I know lot of artists in the industry sometimes put out their best song and when their album comes out, it’s mediocre compared to what they put out before. I don’t think I’m going to have that problem.

If you could tell your fans one thing about Mega Philosophy that they could only get from you, what would it be?

This is the closest you will be to Cory. All those years you got to listen to Cormega, now you get to hear the real me. When I put out The Realness that shit was made out of anger because i was upset with the label and wanted to speak my thoughts and about the conflicts I had with other rappers. I was just venting on that album. Then when I put out The True Meaning that was after me trying to prove the media and everybody wrong who didn’t want to give me my props even though The Realness was one of the most successful albums. On this album I’m not trying to prove to anything to anyone. This album is for the legacy, for the fans and listeners. So this is the closest your going to get to Cormega as an artist. That’s what I would tell the fans.

The post Interview: Cormega Talks New Album, Changing Hip Hop & More appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.