www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN14IHQ-LbM

J-Live delivers his new video, “The Authentic”. Directed by Will Feagins Jr and from the album S.P.T.A. Said Person of That Ability, J-Live approaches “The Authentic” and much of the album, as if he were a three man group, rather than a solo emcee. Track produced by Marco Polo.

Related posts:

1. J-Live: S.P.T.A. [Artwork + Tracklist]
2. J-Live: The Way That I Rhyme (Live At Fat Beats) [Video]
3. Khaleel: The Authentic Vol. 1 (Hosted By DJ Premier)

Koncept enlists the help of the one & only Royce da 5’9″ for his new single “Watch The Sky Fall” produced by Marco Polo. The track will appear on the Brown Bag AllStars member’s debut album awaken, which drops December 13th.

Koncept “Watch The Sky Fall” feat. Royce da 5’9 (prod. by Marco Polo) by iamKoncept

Related posts:

1. DJ K.O: Best To Do It (Marco Polo Remix) (feat Elzhi, Supastition & Royce Da 5’9)
2. FT (Fuk That): Can’t Stop Us (feat Bekay) [prod by Marco Polo]
3. Masta Ace: I Refuse (feat Wordsworth) [prod by Marco Polo]

Here is the lead single from Koncept’s debut album awaken which drops December 13th on Soul Spazm Records.

Purchase the single on iTunes.

Previously: Absent ft. Royce Da 59 – Best I Be (Prod. by J.Cardim)

Time has a not-so-funny way of passing us by. As we, TSS Crew strive to give you our earnest and admittedly, unquestionable opinions on the albums of the day, sometimes even a couple projects slip through our impenetrable reviewing hands. Take a SXSW here and a couple trips to New York there, the missed calls begin to pile up. So as we enter the quarter of our Hip-Hop fiscal year, here’s our chance to blow secondhand smoke on some of 2010′s offerings.

As always, there’s the good, the bad and the in-between.

DJ Green Lantern & Styles P. – The Green Ghost Project: As one third of the LOX/D-Block, Styles P. has long been regarded as a lyrical emcee, capable of keeping up with even the most elite of his peers. However, like his LOX brethren, his shortcomings of filling an album with quality material from top to bottom have been well documented. In The Green Ghost Project, Styles teams up with DJ Green Lantern, and the album starts off scorching. “Double Trouble,” “Callin Me,” and “Send a Kite,” are all lyrical burners, complemented nicely with Green Lantern on the boards. However, by the time the album reaches its later tracks, the repetitive content and production both begin to feel redundant and stale. Also, many of the features disappoint, as Jadakiss fails to match Styles’ intensity on “Invasion” and Raekwon only delivers a sub-par hook, sans a verse on “Time Will Tell.” Overall, the Ghost holds his own lyrically, but the lack of creativity in the features and production wear thin on the listener, preventing The Green Ghost Project from truly being one of the elite compounds of the year.—Raj

E-40 – Revenue Retrievin (Day & Night Shifts): Every hustler worth their weight in slick talk knows that the grind consists of a dusk and dawn. E-40 practically invented the Bay Area’s street manual and with that wisdom (and trademarked slanguage), he’s doubling down on black with his Revenue Retreivin’: Day & Night Shifts, respectively. 40 Watta’s work schedules are about as distinctive as tomato/tomahto but the bright the side is two full length albums stocked with a veteran’s viewpoint equals nothing but pure entertainment. From the cookin’ in the kitchen with Gucci Mane (“Whip it Up”) to soaking up the game (“Wet”), both timeclocks punch in as upbeat, bouncy splashes of art. Albeit, coming in as bloated manifestos, expectantly. Scored by familiar wonders, Rick Rock, Jazze Pha and offspring Droop-E, 40 succeeds in schooling those willing to put work in to learn to scrap together a few nickels. You can’t stop the boss.—TC

Day Shift

Night Shift

Juvenile – Beast Mode: Cleaning up both his sound and diction in an effort to appeal to today’s fans, Juvenile throws the baby out with the bathwater and in the process becomes just another rapper with his ninth album, Beast Mode. He traded his signature soulful bounce in for an array of generic synths. Never one to be confused as a master lyricist, verbal duds like “You got a nice rack/can I get a pool shot…” don’t sound as good when not masked by his southern drawl. “Drop That Azz” is nothing more than a sanitized recreation of “Back That Azz Up” and several other songs, (“Pussy Kat”/Yin Yang Twins, “I’m Da Man/Roscoe Dash,”Lights, Camera, Action”/Maino) rely heavily on templates laid by other artists. For a man who’s churned out more than his fair share of club bangers and street anthems, Juvenile sounds pretty tame despite his claims of going into Beast Mode.—MZ