A blunt stream of consciousness. A crash course in reality. A 15-track demonstration displaying maturity, growth, pain and beauty.

Inspired by the great Gil Scott Heron, Dell-P returns – shortly after the release of his acclaimed A New Beginning. The jazzy, soul filled production credits are given to frequent partner in rhyme Samad Dawson.

To keep this far from another album review that you probably won’t read, let the music allow you to draw your own opinion. This is black excellence. Painted vividly, some may continue to turn their heads the other way and ignore reality. But this dense of a release is necessary in 2016 and graciously accepted from fans of true school hip-hop and awoken members of society. It’s deeper then rapping over beats – this lp embodies the word “message”, as Dell-P is known to offer. Peace and love, world.

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The post Philadelphia’s Dell-P Releases New ‘To The Moon And Beyond’ (Album Stream) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Angel Haze (Raee’n Wahya) is the world’s newest YouTube phenomenon. Hailing from Michigan, the 21-year old spent most of her childhood years in Springfield, Virginia, where she gained a passion for writing poems. Her poetry eventually lead her into becoming a female rapper. Along with her continuous grind. Angel has been making noise as an emcee for the last two years, and has released numerous songs and mixtapes via various daily blogs, mixtape sites and YouTube (where she has collected over 1 million views).

In the past two years, Angel generated enough web traffic to garner the attention of Universal Republic Records, where she is now signed as an artist. Recently, Angel released her first single with the label titled, “New York.” And, once you play the tune, you will instantly recognize the song that Angel samples: Gil Scott Heron‘s  “New York Is Killing Me” off of his 2010 album, I’m New Here. This quick clapping hip-hop/pop song might remind some of Lil’ Mama, but Haze tells us, “I’m serious about mine, and I’m here to make a dent in the rap game.” For a new female emcee that appears to be childishly shy, Angel assures us that she’s comfortable in her own skin. With lines like, Uh / I’m running, running through the jungle / Running like a slave through the underground tunnel / Told y’all niggas that I’d get these bitches / Cause I spit till my lips need 16 stitches, you will quickly understand, that this girl is here to stay.

My homie and former Missy Elliott protege Nicole Wray, who appears on Angel‘s latest mixtape titled, Reservation, quickly persuaded me that Angel‘s name will soon be mentioned amongst the likes of  other successful YouTube sensations. So, watch out Justin Bieber and PSY, because Angel Haze is on her way!

Song Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hKP5ljDar8

Mix-tape Link: http://www.datpiff.com/Angel-Haze-Reservation-mixtape.373768.html

The post NEW MUSIC: ANGEL HAZE – “NEW YORK” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

From the visionary minds of Gerald Watson and DJ 2-Tone Jones, working under the name Shaolin Jazz, comes one of the more intriguing mash-up projects we’ve ever seen: The Gil Scott Suite. The three song release serves as a tribute to the late jazz legend, Gil Scott-Heron, merging the man’s music with Wu-Tang Clan a capellas. For my money this definitely trumps the years other notable Wu mash-up (although mash-up is really too inelegant a word for this sort of thing), Wugazi; the way Heron’s music tempers in the inherent aggression of the Clan’s rapping style makes them sound entirely different–you can focus more on the lyrics without forsaking instrumentation altogether. Download it here.

Via Highsnobiety

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Both halves of the always timeless Black Star took to Brooklyn in the past week to pay tribute to the borough that made them. Saturday Mos Def headlined the Fort Greene Music Festival, dropping, amongst other classics, his own take on the brilliant beat from Jay-Z‘s “Brooklyn Go Hard” (video above). A few days earlier, Talib Kweli exuded philanthropy and held a free show in Red Hook park, where he performed this tribute to the late Gil Scott-Heron:

Yet with all this love no word yet on when the long-awaited second Black Star album will finally appear…so we continue to wait with baited breath.

Via RapRadar, 2DopeBoyz

The post This Week in Black Star: Mos Def in Fort Greene, Talib Kweli in Red Hook appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

We’re a little late, but we’d be remiss to not have a post remembering the unbelievably influential life of the late Gil Scott-Heron.

Read a detailed and telling obituary from The Guardian HERE

Watch a recent interview conducted by one of  Scott-Heron’s good friends, Jamie Byng HERE

The post Gil Scott-Heron appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Chris Cunningham teamed up with music legend Gil Scott-Heron to create his first music video in four years, an audiovisual remix of Scott-Heron’s remarkable track “New York Is Killing Me.” Nothing can go wrong when two greats collide. Nothing.

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