Murs - "'67 Cutlass"

Have you heard Murs' joint project with Ski Beatz, Love & Rockets Vol. 1, yet? If not, I suggest you check it out (as well as Murs' back catalog if you're not familiar - Ski's too, for that matter).

Since becoming aware of him through his first collaboration with 9th Wonder, Murs has quickly climbed into my favorite MCs list. Here is a video he put online recently for one of the tracks off of Love & Rockets.

"'67 Cutlass" was descriptive enough to paint a clear picture without visuals, but this video, with animated additions, really succeeds at adding some humor to the song.

Mursworld 2011 Winter/Spring Sampler

Here is something emailed to me about a week ago. I'm just getting a chance to hear it this morning. This is a good mix of what Murs has been up to recently - bringing new fans up to speed, getting old ones anticipating some new music. Listen to the interludes for news on upcoming projects and check below for the video of "I used to Love H.E.R. (Again)" - a reinterpretation of Common's classic.

Whatuptho?! Thanks for signing up for my email list. Here is a link to some new music.
http://t.opsp.in/PaO4 Murs and DJ Foundation present the Mursworld 2011 Winter/Spring Sampler Some songs you might have heard already. And a couple of songs that you will be the very first to hear. I am currently on the Road To Paid Dues Tour. Hopefully I will be in a city near you soon check www.mursworld.com/shows for the list of cities. And if you have been to a show make sure you check www.mursworld.com/tour-blog to see if any pics of you or your friends made it up on the site.

transmitting live from Syracuse NY en route to Canada
Peace and Love
Murs

Murs Interview

This is a long, but great interview with Murs covering pretty much everything.

Among other things he said, I love what came out of the question about his hair, and the props he gave to Bernie Taupin, the guy that writes Elton John's lyrics (Elton writes the music) - by the way if you never really paid attention to, or shied away from Elton John's music for whatever reason, trust me when I tell you to expand your horizons and give it a chance.

3:16 is definitely one of my favorite Hip Hop albums (and how I first got introduced to Murs), and besides the shit he does with 9th, the more I listen to Murs For President, the more I like it.

A Felt Thanksgiving

I came across this this afternoon. Clever way to promote the album.

G&E: A Hidden Gem...For Me

I first downloaded this new album from Cali's The Grouch & Eligh titled 'Say G&E!' after seeing Slug (of Atmosphere) was featured on a song. That alone said to me it's worth a listen. A closer look at the tracklist with features from Gift of Gab, Pigeon John, and Blu, and I was sold (ignoring the Mistah F.A.B. appearance).

I'm familiar with G&E, but I wouldn't consider myself a fan of either necessarily. I like the Living Legends crew work (of which they are members) for the most part - probably like many outside of the left coast, I first heard of them after getting into MURS. I also knew that The Grouch produced the first Felt album, the nearly three-deep collaborative effort between MURS and Slug which uses a different producer to contribute all of the music each time out - I personally think that 'Felt 2' produced by Atmosphere's Ant is much better. But, the twosome's solo efforts (of which there are A LOT) and side group projects haven't really grabbed me in the past.

Maybe they just don't have a sound that intrigues me, or lyrics strong enough to compensate. Or, maybe I just haven't been paying enough attention. To be honest, the first listen I gave this album was not without it's distractions and interruptions. I heard it once, and I guess because it didn't find it's way through my mind's static at the time I thought it was just average at best and moved on to something else. Never giving it another thought.

A few weeks ago though, a video post for "Boom", the Slug featured track, was posted. I gave it a look, thought it was cool. Not my favorite song, but I like Slug's flow a lot. I scrolled down to the c-section and saw one post that claimed that this was the worst track on the whole album. Oh, and that the album was their favorite of the year. Although I thought that claim of greatness was definitely a stretch, I thought there may be something I missed the first time around, so I pulled it back out and took it to the lab a second time.

Needless to say since I'm writing this post, I'd like to change my answer please. I was thoroughly impressed this time around. The album is full of orginal music backdrops to accompany the equally good lyrics in most cases. The guest verses fit in well with the duo, but never overshadow what they themselves bring to the table. The potent lyricism from Grouch & Eligh is never more prominent, however, than on the extremely bold and brave "River Runs Dry". I don't think I've ever heard a hip hop track about respecting the environment, and I have to applaud these two for having the balls to step up to the plate and do it - and do it well.

I'm really glad that I chose to give this album another chance. Proof that sometimes it's good to talk and listen to other heads out there on the internet. You may get educated on some good music that was right under your nose. 'Say G&E!' is on its way to becoming one of my favorite albums of the year. And now that I've realized it, I'll be making the purchase of an official copy as soon as possible. I'll also be on the lookout to support them live on the off chance that they do a show in Cincinnati some time soon.

Say G&E!!!!!!!