After taking a five-year hiatus to serve in the United States military, M Dot is back on the Hip-Hop scene and is as hungry as ever. While he knows that he has to reintroduce himself to a new set of fans who may not be familiar with his previous work, a task that M Dot states he looks forward to.

“I realize the music industry is dominated by the artists that work the hardest, so I use that as fuel to go hard in every aspect in life, not just music,” M Dot said.

With his first single “Tap In”, M Dot decided to enlist the help of veteran MCs Ice-T, AD, and Glasses Malone. Produced by Clyde Strokes, the highly anticipated single is later to drop on September 11th with an accompanying visual directed by Jarett Bellucci the Conclusion.

In regards to how he got started in the industry, it was M Dot’s love for music inspired by his mother singing in the church choir that led him to write his first rhyme at just 12 years old.

“Growing up in Detroit, no matter who you are or where you’re from you’ll eventually find yourself in church, and for me being at church was a getaway because it seemed like everyone who was at church followed the rules of peace and love while they were there,” M Dot recalled. “I use to listen to the choir at church and watch my mom sing along with the look of complete happiness on her face, and I told myself that I’d learn how to sing so I could give her that feeling whenever she was down. So I learned how to sing, but on the flip side of things growing up in the hood there’s a lot of less fortunate people living in poverty and singing is not always the tone needed to match the energy to describe what we went through growing up, and for that reason, I learned how to rap.”

To stay up to date with M Dot, follow him here and check out M Dot’s latest single “Stylin'” below.

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The post M Dot Taylor Teams Up With Ice-T, A.D. & Glasses Malone “Tap In” For New Single appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

There are two sides to every story, and the track and video essentially tells the tale of Orlando Anderson’s narrative and the thought-process behind the events that led up to the tragic passing of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur in the late 90’s. The overall message is meant to encourage the community to think deeper and grasp the entire picture in order to help prevent and better the hustle and bustle of street life in today’s day in age. Simply put, “2Pac Must Die” will give viewers a bigger picture of the spectrum.

The post Glasses Malone Returns With New Visual for “2Pac Must Die” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The Contemporary R&B singer, songwriter and producer, TeeFlii – who brought you radio hits “24 Hours” and “This D” — drops a serious reminder of why he’s one of the West Coast’s hottest artists, with the release of his highly anticipated new double album “Annie R U O’Tay 5.”

The L.A. artist gets creative with his latest project “Annie R U O’Tay 5” with a creative cassette tape throwback touch featuring two sides: Side A is strictly all TeeFlii, and Side B spotlights the West Coast star teaming up with the likes of Glasses Malone, Keke Palmer, Casey Veggies, Dom Kennedy and more.

“I’ve put a lot of hard work and dedication into this project. A lot of people weren’t around to help me on this project. No [DJ] Mustard, no YG…just ME,” notes the LA native. “It’s pretty much just me going ahead with what I believe. I want everyone to know how much this project means to me and how hard we worked. I mean, we started off creating this project in hotel rooms, ya feel me. It took a lot to get this project to where it is.”

The fifth installment of TeeFlii’s original “Annie R U O’Tay” series – which began with Vol. 1 in 2012, produced by DJ Mustard and the Futuristiks — showcases his unique vocals, raunchy lyrics, and true talent as an artist and a songwriter.

“I wanted to show the growth of TeeFlii on this new project and show that you don’t always have to have a feature to get your point across as an artist,” TeeFlii says. “My music is raunchy and straight to the point. I say things a lot of other singers think about singing, but they are too scared or shy to express. I give them hope to be able to say the things they actually want to say.”

Stream it here on Spotify.

Or download it here on iTunes

Peep the Track Listing Below:

“ANNIE R U O’TAY 5” Track List
SIDE A
1 N tro

2 Fire & Desire

3 Bottom & The Top

4 Better

5 Dedicated

6 CeliNg

7 She My

8 4 The Gram

9 Away

10 Loud

11 MoNey Maker

12 Get It How You Live

13 Lerc’N

14 RouNd

15 Apologize

16 MillioN Miles

17 ThoNg

18 FiNe

SIDE B
19 Strange For Some Change (feat. Jellyroll & Dae Dae)

20 Thas Out (feat. Dom Kennedy & Kayess)

21 From Outta Town (feat. Casey Veggies)

22 Twerkin (feat. Fatbox)

23 It Is What It Is (feat. Alex Simone & Dap)

24 Pillow Talkin

25 Dirty (feat. Keke Palmer)

26 What’s Wrong

27 Explain It (feat. Glasses Malone)

28 Mind on a Million (feat. Newport & Kayess)

29 On Me (feat. Fatbox)

30 Do It Again (feat. Peso & SBA1)

31 You (feat. Showt33)

32 Go Deeper (feat. Queen Siraja)

33 Don’t Matter

34 Stay Down

35 If You Annie

36 Yours

The post Annie R U O’tay 5 Shows TeeFlii Has Grown Up Releasing The Most Mature Version Of Annie Series appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Kendrick Lamar’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, as his hometown of Compton, will be awarding him with a key to the city.

The post Jay Rock & Glasses Malone talk unity in Kendrick Lamar’s “Project Hero” short appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

After dropping singles like “Thuggin'” that kept the streets bumpin’ this summer, Watts/L.A. native Glasses Malone drops his highly anticipated second studio album, GlassHouse 2: Life Ain’t Nuthin But… The 14 track project features cameos from industry heavyweights, such as Kendrick Lamar, B.o.B, Dom Kennedy and The Game over hard hitting West Coast production. Pick up a copy HERE as the perfect compliment to your 3 day weekend.

The post Glasses Malone Drops “GlassHouse 2: Life Ain’t Nuthin But” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Glasses Malone new album arrives on shelves September 18th. For his latest freebie, he taps  Kirko Bangz for the chorus and The Game for a verse. “Too Hood” is the name and it will live on his upcoming project.

The post New Music: Glasses Malone – “Too Hood” ft. Kirko Bangz & The Game appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Glasses Malone teams up with Killer Mike and Kendrick Lamar for the latest soulful and politically charged single off his GH2: Life Ain’t Nuthin’ But album, “Thuggin'”. If you’re a true hip-hop head, you’ve been daydreaming of this moment since Kendrick’s “Killer Mike’d be platinum” line on “Hood Politics”. Packed with symbolism and intricate lyricism, “Thuggin’” is something you might have to indulge in multiple times to fully catch the message. Hint: They don’t mean “thug” in the traditional sense. Catch the lyric video below and stay tuned for the release of GH2: Life Ain’t Nuthin’ But.

The post Kendrick Lamar and Killer Mike Link Up On Glasses Malone’s “Thuggin’” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.