Random Axe added to Rock The Bells

Random Axe (Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Sean Price) has been added to this years Rock The Bells tour with headliners including Nas (with special guests Pete Rock, AZ & DJ Premier) Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kwali), Mobb Deep, Cypress Hill, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, the GZA, Immortal Technique, Slaughterhouse and Ms. Lauryn Hill.  Rock The Bells 11 will be hosted by The RZA, Murs 3:16 and Supernatural.



Random Axe (Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Sean Price) collab drops June 14

The long in the works super-group collaboration between uber-Hip Hop producer Black Milk and gutteral gifted street voices Guilty Simpson and Sean Price is set to drop June 14th.

The lead track The Hex is now available for viewing, purchase (through Itunes) and listening.

Random Axe "The Hex" by duckdown

Elzhi releases Elmatic mixtape produced by Will Sessions

Elzhi originally of Slum Village, one of the most slept on so-called 'conscious' rappers of the past decade, has released an homage of sorts to Nas' debut Illmatic.   The Elmatic mixtape was made free for release yesterday and the recording can be found at this link. Production is attributed to Will Sessions, a sprawling soul funk with horns ensemble hailing from Detroit, Michigan. 

Having met and formed through the jazz program at Wayne State University Will Sessions backs or has backed (in addition to original Funk Brother Dennis Coffey) Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Mayer Hawthorne, Monica Blaire, Phat Kat, & Rickey Calloway.

The most recent lineup of Will Sessions seems to be Sam Beubien (arranger/trumpet/keys), Bryan Arnold (trumpet/keys), Tim Shellabarger (drums), Tom Parks (trumpet), Matt Martinez (photos), Ryan Gimpert (bass) and Eric Kacir (guitar).  It's not clear how the group collaborates in a production environment with for instance Elzhi.  Sam Beaubien (in addition to being a member of The Country is particularly known for his superlative arrangement on Mayer Hawthorne and the Country's breakthrough album A Strange Arrangement.  Both Beaubien and Tim Shellaberger had their hands fully in the mix of Black Milk's trademark Album Of The Year showing an ease and facility collaborating in various genres.

Elzhi's Elmatic features guest spots from fellow Detroit heavyweight Royce Da 5'9, Stokly Williams (of Mint Condition) and the original producer of Illmatic Pete Rock.

The tracklist for Elzhi's Elmatic is:

1. The Genesis
2. Detroit State of Mind (Houseshoes Shout)
3. Halftime
4. Memory Lane
5. The World Is Yours
6. Represent
7. Life’s A Bitch feat. Royce da 5’9 and Stokley Williams of Mint Condition
8. One Love
9. It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Pete Rock Shout)
10. Pete Rock Shout

Dennis Coffey & Will Sessions (Scorpio Bass Solo) Live @ SXSW

Dennis Coffey backed by the Will Sessions ensemble/production team at this year's SXSW seen here performing a cut, or really a solo off a cut, from his seminal Scorpio album.

Coffey is booked in for a couple of central Canadian dates July 8 at the Horseshoe then later in the week at the mammoth Ottawa Bluesfest