Andre 3000 says no Outkast reunion, more interested in collabs

Mr. 3 stacks hisself sat down with the venerable Mens’ style publication GQ recently and now that it’s in print- you can dissolve any hopes of an Outkast project for the time being:

There’s been a lot of talk on the Internet about an OutKast album and I have to say that as of now, there are no plans for another OutKast album. There’s a lot of music on the horizon. I’ve been living off the excitement of new artists. I’ve been privileged to have these new artists kind of reach out and grab back and say, “Hey, Andre, we want you on this song.” So I’ve been taking those calls and for the last two years, I’ve been doing collaborations. So these new artists have kind of been keeping me alive. I’ve just really been feeding off of that and this year I think I’m planning to do a solo project. I don’t know when it will come out, but hopefully it’ll come out this year. As far as OutKast, I really don’t know if or when that will happen.

Predictable, really. Between the movie appearances and side projects, you can debate where his career is headed- I’m not really interested in doing so. I’ll keep checking on those loose joints he drops through the years and see where it goes. – Skylar Woodman

Tags: Andre 3000, No Outkast Album

سو (Yasiin) Bey – N.I.P. (video)

Dante Smith known for decades as Mos Def might’ve changed his name to Yasiin Bey, but the man’s ideology and the themes he uses in his music are indeed same as they ever were. Bey’s taking on Hit-Boy and Kanye West‘s absolutely wretchedly produced smash hit N*ggas in Paris but flipping the title to reflect the polar opposite of what Watch The Throne is all about- instead of that luxury, all hype wacked out designer rap shit that ‘Ye & Jay came with, Yasiin comes with that substantive, grounded, world-perspective that the Roc-a-Fellas of the world rarely choose to take. If you’re in denial about the state of America and the world at large today, you’ll not like this video. If you came up listening to Public Enemy, Paris, and The Coup and now like the work of cats like Mr. Lif, Immortal Technique and Dead Prez- you will identify with where Bey is coming from. Check the video & recognize the real. – Skylar Woodman

Tags: Mos Def, N*ggas in Paris, N*ggas in Poorest, Yasiin Bey

Twista – They Want Efx (freestyle)

Twista – They Want EFX (Freestyle)

The absolute cream of speedrap (312)’s Twista got ahold of an instrumental loop of Golden Era legends Das Efx‘s 1992 U.S. Billboard top ten platnum single They Want Efx and rips the track like he was shot out of a circus cannon. It’s way too short at 1:40 but Twista swings nicely from his signature words by the pound double-time delivery to a slower, Das Efx type cadence which is true to the original. It’s 16 bars and he’s gone. Peep the joint and give some thought to giving Dead Serious a listen for the hell of it. – Skylar Woodman

Editor’s note: Don’t be scared off by the low budgetry of the accompanying image. The track is really nice. – S.W.

Dj Premier & the Berklee Symphony Orchestra – Regeneration (Remix featuring Nas & Apathy)

Dj Premier & the Berklee Symphony Orchestra – Regeneration Remix ft. Apathy & Nas

The all-almighty DJ Premier leaked the remix to his entry on Hyundai’s promotional film on their new Veloster sport compact car entitled RE:GENERATION. You could consider Preem’s cut the title track from the film and the second time around he turned the beat up and brought in Connecticut’s Apathy to round out the joint. It’s modern boom bap from the best in the business. Included is the video on the making of the original version. Download the remix and keep the box turnt all the way up. – Skylar Woodman

Tags: Apathy, Nas & Premier, Premier Regeneration, RE:GENERATION

Killer Mike & EL-P – Big Beast f. Bun B, T.I. & Trouble

Killer Mike & EL-P – Big Beast f. Bun B, T.I. & Trouble

Company Flow’s amazing El-Producto dropped a snippet last year of a track with onetime Outkast affiliate Killer Mike from their May 2012 LP R.A.P. Music and despite not even being a minute in length, I posted it here because it was just what I was looking for from these two. Yesterday EL-P leaked a full track from the project featuring Atlanta’s T.I. and Trouble, and it’s more of that patchy sledgehammer El-P production that we’ve never heard paired with dirty south trap rappers. You throw one of Texas’ all-time greats Bun-B in there, and you have a momentous posse cut can’t nobody front on. Mike is screaming on verses 1 & 4, Bun is super rhythmic and exhibits flawless cadence, and T.I. just spills syrup thick ATL drawl everywhere. Couldn’t like this track more. Download the joint and keep it turnt up to 10. R.A.P. Music is coming May 15th. – Skylar Woodman

Tags: Big Beast El-P, Bun-B, Bun-B Killer Mike, El-P Killer Mike, Killer Mike R.A.P. Music, T.I., Trouble

Jelani the MC vs. Wildabeast – Home School Sessions Live recording of Strandbeast EP

Streaming live video by Ustream

Tomorrow, Monday the 13th at 10am EST, Manifest Favorite MC & Producer Jelani Day is going to film the making of his fourth EP with fellow Harlem rapper/artist, Rawkus 50′s Wildabeast. This will also be the fourth time these kids have sat down and crafted a hip hop EP over the course of a day- They’ve already dropped 2010′s Beastroc, and 2011′s Thin Walls, and Rising Shadows. Jelani put me onto his ustream channel where you can watch the writing, recording, mixing & mastering of the entire project. As of now I’ve got the artwork and the address- Come check the below link come 10am EST to peep some live Hip Hop in the making, & support a couple of really creative cats. See you Monday morning. – Skylar Woodman

Tags: Home School Sessions, Jelani the MC, Strandbeast EP, Wildabeast

Phonte Coleman – The Good Fight (Video)

Manifest Fam Phonte Coleman dropped the video forThe Good Fight lifted from Charity Starts at Home, his amazing 2011 LP. The video for The Good Fight goes from the cubicle to the condo to what looks like some vacant properties in downtown Raleigh. The stark reality is that foreclosures are rampant anywhere from Michigan to around ‘Te’s way in NC- and these visuals compliment the substantive nature of Phonte’s work very well. Peep the video and let the track sink in.. and please don’t give up if you’re fighting the good fight. – Skylar Woodman

Tags: Charity Starts at Home, Phonte Coleman

Torch – Slowdown F. Meek Mill, Wale, Stalley, Gunplay & Young Breed

Torch – Slowdown featuring Meek Mill, Wale, Stalley, Gunplay &Young Breed

Yesterday The Triple C’s consisting of Mayback Music Group’s Torch, Gunplay, and Young Breed dropped an ill new millennial posse cut ripping off the beat from EPMD‘s 1990 classic Rampage. Instead of Uncle L The Triple C’s brought along fellow label mates and Manifest favorites Stalley & Wale (no Pill?) along for numbers. It’s fun to hear cats in 2012 still using Lowell Fulsom’s twangy electric guitar loops, and I think the cut came out nice. Check out Slowdown, you won’t regret it. – Skylar Woodman