Tanya Morgan - Whatever That's Mine

I had to post this because I haven't been able to stop playing it since I saw it posted an hour or so ago. This is a new song by Tanya Morgan called "Whatever That's Mine" off of their EP, You And What Army, that'll be out November 22nd.

Click below to d/l.

http://donwill.me/2011/11/08/download-tanya-morgan-whatever-thats-mine/

Tanya Morgan - We Bad

I probably post more TM stuff than anything else on here. It's nice to have such a dynamic group coming from (in part) Cincinnati. Heard today that the group is down to two now - Donwill and Von Pea. Apparently, Ilyas is keeping busy with solo music and some other projects that are taking him away of the group for now.

It's disappointing. You never want to see members leave a great group. It always tends to happen as people grow and want to try other things. But, more great music will still come out of it, even if they do it separately. Hopefully, this ends up just being a hiatus and he comes back in the future.

I don't really need to reminisce because I listen to Tanya Morgan all the time, but here is an older one for you to enjoy that I haven't heard for a while. It's from 2006. It's a rough, gritty, black & white video with some nice shots of both Cincinnati and Brooklyn. Just what I need today. Directed by Ilyas, actually.

If you're not that familiar with Tanya Morgan, go and look up their catalog. It's a pretty extensive amount of material in a relatively short amount of time. And all quality hip hop. Spend some money on them. They're worth it. If you look back through this blog you'll see tons of their material as well as naming their 2008 classic Brooklynati my favorite album that year.

Donwill - "Breathe" Video

I was talking about Tanya Morgan on Twitter today. So, even though I started it to talk about Von Pea, here's a video from Donwill off his solo album, Don Cusack in High Fidelity (btw if you haven't seen the movie High Fidelity with John Cusack yet, put it on your Netflix list).

I'm not sure this is the best introduction for those not familiar with Tanya Morgan, But I like it. Hook vocals brought to you by Nicky Guiland.

Supporting The Best

As you can tell from the description of this blog and from most of the content, I believe it's important to support those artists whom you deem worthy of your hard-earned money. Whoever that may be. I try to make recommendations based on what I've heard, to encourage people to both explore the hip hop music scene more deeply, and to show some support to MCs that you want to continue making music.

I tweeted the other day about going down to one of Cincinnati's locally owned and operated record stores, Shake It Records, and purchasing some local music.

The albums above are what I purchased. Tanya Morgan's 2008 classic Brooklynati, which I listed as my favorite of that year, and J. Rawls' recently released The Hip Hop Affect.

Both of these albums are from musicians that I really respect and appreciate, and have contributed a lot of great music to my life so far. Both TM and Rawls are artists I would also try to support by going to a show. In fact, J. Rawls is scheduled to be down on Fountain Square in Cincinnati this summer. Should be a great show. This is a man that truly appreciates the history and culture of Hip Hop and wants to contribute to its further growth among people and generations. A worthy cause.

So, while I endorse these two records, just go out to a locally owned store and support someone that you like. When you do, tell me about it below.

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Tanya Morgan - Without Hands Ft. Che Grand, King Mez, Skyzoo

Damn...just click below to watch. A must see. Not sure how TM keep pumping out good music on such a regular basis. Oh, yea...TALENT & DRIVE. Same goes for the features.

I like the video too. Shows them all being inspired by the track and by each other while writing their rhymes.

Von Pea F/ The Lessondary - Faded

Love this track. Not from Pea's Gotta Have It, the LP he released recently, but rather from "The Most Skulduggery Of Mixtapes", So Motivational, he dropped over the summer. The beat is gutter as fuck, and the way it fades out and comes back in is dope to me. The Lessondary is a pretty capable crew of MCs, and I'm looking forward to an album from them sometime soon. It's fitting to have this song/video recorded in a dirty basement - kind of reminds me of the house parties my friend's used to throw up in Clifton years ago. Enjoy.

Tanya Morgan - "So Damn Down" Video

Yeah, I know this video has been up on YouTube for over a year now, but I just saw it!! Until recently, I haven't really taken the time to watch music videos. But, a lot of artists are starting to get creative with them again - as evidenced by some of the ones I've posted over the last few months. And since they are usually just posted online, artists don't have to worry about appealing to BET/MTV audiences with the same old bullshit.

In this video from last year's best hip hop album, Tanya Morgan use the Mouthoff! app for the iPhone, and strap the phones over their mouth while they rap. I liked it, so why not share?

Speaking of Tanya Morgan, they've been busy this year. Donwill and Von Pea each have new solo material out, and they all seem to be showing up on other projects left and right.

Try to keep up!!

4th Of July Weekend

I traveled north a bit for the weekend of the 4th, from Cincy to Cleveland to spend some time with relatives I don't see nearly enough. I loaded up the iPod with a bunch of new music I haven't gotten around to listening to yet, and some oldies, and some old oldies - I'm talking Billie Holiday and Louie Armstrong - you never know what kind of mood you'll be in.

I spent most of my time up there lounging with a beer on the deck or a boat on the lake while the kids played. Music was always playing - the kind that all generations enjoy though. So, of course I enjoyed that too. I thought I'd have more time to listen to some new stuff on the road trip portion, but the wife got a new car with Sirius/XM and wanted to check that out. The service is good, plenty of channels; few, if any commercials; and you almost always have a signal. The Eminem station, Shade45, I could take or leave depending on the specific show, probably. I wasn't overly impressed. The old school station was good for the most part. I got to hear the Kool Moe Dee vs. LL Cool J on-wax battle in order, which is always nice - though they didn't finish it. It also seems to be missing some direction as to what they consider old school. They played the Furious Five and MC Lyte. But, they also played Ice Cube. And not NWA Ice Cube, or even Predator Ice Cube. It was "We Be Clubbin'" Ice Cube. That's pretty recent if you ask me. So, it's more of a overall hip hop hits station than it is an old school station.

I did get to listen to Von Pea's (of Tanya Morgan) new mixtape So Motivational: The Most Skullduggery of Mixtapes, which is dope, complete with a Mike Tyson's Punch Out cover. I can definitely get behind this one. Plus he has a song on it called "Cantstandya" which is a Seinfeld reference that I appreciated. I'm actually listening to Tanya Morgan is a Rap Group now. It's a few years old, and I forgot how great it is. The music is smooth and they did the interludes as references to famous skits on other hip hop abums. If you haven't heard it make sure you find a copy. Tanya Morgan is one of the best groups in hip hop right now. They make my city look good.

Other than Von Pea, I have a few more things to recommend. I'll just list them.

Sha Stimuli - Overtime: My Soul To Keep
MC Esoteric - Fly Casualties
The Roots - How I Got Over (*maybe the best of the year so far)
Packfm - I F*cking Hate Rappers
Theophilus London - I Want You (*be warned that this shit is different. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I like what he's doing. Been listening to this for a while now.)
Fashawn - Ode To Illmatic

Tanya Morgan - Brooklynati (Sample Mix)

Today Tanya Morgan is in a giving mood - call it the Xmas spirit. They have released this mix of the samples used on their album Brooklynati - in all likelihood my choice for album of the year, which I will decide some time soon after the holiday. Sorry for the spoiler.

I like how it stays in line with the theme of the album. It;s like you're rolling through Brooklynati listening to the local radio station. Enjoy the mix!

http://www.mediafire.com/?jnwzgmlzyhh

Tanya Morgan Vids

Since I'm a big fan of Tanya Morgan - not just due to hometown pride, but because they make great hip hop - I figured I'd share some material I came across. The first clip is of MCs Donwill and Von Pea rapping at CDR over the "Purple" instrumental. The second is footage of the group at Fat Beats performing "So Damn Down". And, if you haven't heard Brooklynati yet, I just feel sorry for you at this point. It is seriously one of the best (and maybe THE best) albums I've heard all year. And, I listen to a lot of music over the course of a year. Pick it up.

Aight, New Drink

Wow!!! That's all I have to really say for this post. If you don't know about Tanya Morgan, run to your local, independently owned record store, and buy Brooklynati TODAY! In my humble opinion - a humble opinion that happens to be the right one, one that you should pay the most attention to - it's currently the best album of 2009. No one has shown me something better as of yet, and that includes the leak of BP3 (which is dope in its own way too, by the way...maybe more on that later).

But, Tanya Morgan's own Donwill (as Don Cusack, an homage to actor John Cusack, inspired by the movie 'High Fidelity' in this case) together with a guy named Rob Viktum (whom I haven't heard of 'til now) have recently released an EP entitled "Aight, New Drink" - you should know what this title is a reference to. If not, wake the fuck up and dig back in the CD collection that you should have for a certain 2Pac album that was kinda popular. This is a couple of weeks old, but I just got around to giving it a listen now...and, I'm about to put it on repeat. I'm loving the vibe these guys bring. Check it out at the link below, and if that doesn't work do a search. I am almost positive that this one is free, as the site I got it from does not usually post mixtapes, EP's, etc. that are not meant to be free.

And to Tanya Morgan, you have my word that once I get this job situation figured out, Brooklynati will be the first album I cop. It is absolutely worth spending the money...and not just because 2/3 of you are from Cincinnati, Ohio.

http://usershare.net/2n6l8wvp7bmn