I have the EP linked up below, and if you like it like I do, head over to mellomusicgroup.com to get a free download. – Skylar Woodman

Tito Lopez – Pressure

Gulfport Mississippi’s blaxican (Shout out to Kemo) Tito Lopez is readying his latest mixtape The Hunger Game and he’s still at work on his full-length studio LP The King’s Speech- but this is the latest sonic shot fired from his Venting Session series, entitled Pressure. It’s a very short, but substantial joint in the spirit of a radio freestyle. The cut just bangs and it sure sounded like Manifest material to me. Download the joint and turn the volume up. I’ll let you know the next time Tito grabs a mic. – Skylar Woodman

You’re about to hear 2/3rds of the dynamic producing group The Left- as this is DJ Soko‘s 7″ A Side Stand Up from Mello Music Group- but the beast behind the boards is, unmistakably Apollo Brown. Fellow Detroiter and one of my favorite rappers Guilty Simpson opens the track up, murders it, and passes what’s left to one of Apollo’s preferred MCs and another Manifest favorite NYC’s Hassan Mackey. The cut features pulsing horn stabs laid over deep kick drums and a host of golden era vocal samples getting tore up on the hook, the lyrics and the production obviously do not disappoint… pure modern boom bap from Soko & Brown.

The 7″ is selling fast, but I’m told you can still grab it at UGHH.com. The B side is Biters and with Guilty behind the mic again, each side is in a struggle to see which track goes harder. Go snag you a copy & support that classic hip hop, it’s a must have. – Skylar Woodman

Being that I co-sign everything Mello Music Group (Apollo Brown, Sareem Poems, Oddisee, Diamond District, Declaime, Hassan Mackey, Georgia Anne Muldrow, O.C. & the list just goes..) venerable hip hop traditionalist producer Gensu Dean just leaked a fantastic collabo joint with Jackson, Mississippi’s 7evenThirty and Queens, NY’s Homeboy Sandman jumping on the mic. It’s a pretty ridiculous cut, with the two MCs trading blisteringly ill verses over a crazyass vocal sample and a hard drum loop laced by Mr. Dean. Pure heavy rap artillery on this one. Peep the track, i’ll figure out where this project is going to end up, and keep you updated on the latest from 7evenThirty, the kid Sandman, and Gensu Dean. – Skylar Woodman

There’s really not enough that can be said about the impact that the Beastie Boys have had on music and in particular, hip hop culture. There was never anybody like them before their transition to rap in 1985, and when you look at albums like Paul’s Boutique and Check Your Head- there hasn’t been another group like them since. Considering their fellow legendary Golden Era hip hop contemporaries Run DMC, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, I always thought that the Beastie Boys would be the one group to stay together, literally until death stepped in. They’ve been best friends since the late 70s, with none of the drama, jealousy, or career changes that pretty much every other group from that period has dealt with.

Adam Yauch leaves behind a wife, Dechen Wangdu, and a 14 year old daughter, Tenzin Losel. He leaves behind two lifelong friends and an unrepairable hole as 1/3rd of arguably the greatest rap group in history. He leaves behind millions of fans of his near 30 years of unbelievably great hip hop music. He did wonderful things with his life and I’m never going to stop listening to the Beastie Boys. Rest in peace to my hero, Adam MCA Yauch, 47. – Skylar Woodman

T.Dot Canada’s greatest MC (It sure as shit ain’t Drake) Kardinall Offishall is putting the final touches on his May 2012 LP A.M.T.R.I.M. : Allow Me To Re-Introduce Myself, and leaked one last cut off of it before it drops- this is Wessup. The joint is laced by Norfolk VA’s supremely talented rapper/producer Nottz. K.O. gets real real loose on the mic and Nottz drops an instant classic behind the boards with a full compliment of drum samples, twangy guitar, and funky horn loops. I’d love to see M.O.P. get on the extended mix and go in on this one. Kardinal Offishall’s A.M.T.R.I.M. is coming in less than 30 days- best believe I’ll keep you fully apprised when the LP is nearing release.- Skylar Woodman

By now you probably know that the Barclays Center isn’t even completed yet, but the New Jersey Nets wrapped their final season in Brick City with a poor record of 22 wins and twice as many losses. They’re officially the Brooklyn Nets, and with the new arena and new city- part of their ownership felt it was appropriate for a complete redesign of the team’s logo and color scheme.

For the first time, the Nets franchise isn’t wearing a combination of blue, red, white, and/or grey. There’s no goofy diamond pattern going up the ribs like there once was. It’s a total departure from the New Jersey Nets aesthetic.

The Nets likely won’t be the only ones to wear a monochrome jersey in the NBA next year- The Miami Heat have been wearing the Punisher joints for at least a season. Personally, I was thinking with the BKLYN move they’d take the Red, White, and Blue stars and stripes colorway from the Julius Erving era in some way and flip it. I don’t know enough about typeface and fonts to nail it by name, the “Brooklyn” looks just like the “New York” and “Nets” of the 1968-1977 NY Nets. So there’s certainly a nod to it. Jay-Z’s so in love with the color blue you’d think that it would’ve made it in there somewhere.

What do you think of these? Too much of a bite on the San Antonio Spurs colors that have stayed so true for decades? We’ll see if a change of venue and a reskin can get the Nets back in the playoffs. – Skylar Woodman

Brooklyn NY producer, rapper, and singer and 1/3rd of Pangea Whosane has a new project almost wrapped, and it’s called Brooklyn to Cape Town, this being the title track, laced by one of my favorite producers in the game Oh No. The joint is packed with bright brass horn loops and solid lyrics from another 1/3 of Pangea MC Jimmy Flexx. Peep the cut, and best believe I’ll keep you updated on the Brooklyn to Capetown mix tape, coming soon. – Skylar Woodman

Kane Mayfield – Over Ya Head (Featuring Homeboy Sandman)

Long Island NY MC Kane Mayfield just dropped a track that is likely to end up on his debut full length LP Rhymes by Kane, release date yet to be set. He enlisted the help of Queens’ Homeboy Sandman and the two jumped on a snare-heavy uptempo joint that bodes well for the new album. Peep Over your head, and we’ll keep you updated on the Kane’s LP. – Skylar Woodman