This is relatively old news, but I completely missed the boat on it when it first came out, and it’s dope, so I’m posting it anyways.
14KT is a producer from Ypsilanti, Michigan.  Apparently, the beats on Nowalataz were made as a sort of tribute to Dilla.  Here’s 14KT describing it in his own words:
“Here it is… a project I unofficially had done since 2006. It started when James Yancey a.k.a. J Dilla passed that February. To cope with the death of my favorite producer, who I liked to call my …

Hip Hop Renatus is the latest mixtape burnin’ up the interweb.  Presented by DUB MD – admittedly a cat I’ve never heard of – Renatus features a host of up-and-coming wordsmiths spitting hot 16s over “new, rare, classic and unreleased” beats by hip-hop’s finest producers: Dilla, Primo, Madlib, Pete Rock, Large Pro, 9th Wonder and more.
Apparently, ‘renatus’ means rebirth in Latin.  And on this album, DUB MD and his guests do just that by providing new life to some absolutely bananas beats.
In DUB MD’s own words, the project is “thirty …

Much love to Classic Drug References for posting a link to the newest issue of Shook, an excellent new magazine that caters, in their own words, to “beat heads and music junkies.”  If you’re a fan of the production aspect of hip-hop – or any break-based music, for that matter – Shook is mos def the mag for you.  Check out the free issue and then go out and buy a copy for your library.
Also worth checking out is a free compilation of beats by up-and-coming producer Kameleon.  Courtesty of …

Okayplayer.com has hooked everyone up by giving away a free download of Murs & 9th Wonder’s new album, titled Sweet Lord.

You can download it here:http://www.mursand9thwonder.com/9thWonderMursSweetLord.zip
And here’s the tracklist, in case you’re curious.
1. The Intro
2. Are You Ready?
3. Nina Ross
4. Free
5. And I Love It
6. Pusshhhhhh
7. It’s For Real
8. Marry Me
9. Love The Way
10. Murs Inatra
While I haven’t had a chance to listen to it just yet, I have some pretty high hopes for it!
So check it out.

Taking a page out of the Radiohead playbook and improving on it, Nine Inch Nails superstar Trent Reznor has decided to release the newest album for free on the web. Not backwards, not low quality, not snippets.
The. Full. Album. There are multiple versions to choose from. The audiophiles among you may actually choose to download a 1.2 GB monstrosity of the album in wav form. It’s not compressed so the sound should be nice and crisp.
You can download the album here.
My favourite part about this whole …

Gnarls Barkley, the group that keeps on giving, has decided to do the unthinkable.  They’re giving away a free copy of their new album, The Odd Couple.
You can download the album here.
Now, the only catch to this is that they have given away the album as one big track, and…it’s backwards.  Completely backwards.  I’m not sure if it would work but you could always consider flipping it back around using an audio program like Audacity.
You probably have Dangermouse to thank for this, since downloaders and the internet are really what …