After a very promising (and very free) test release of the clean version several months ago, Diamond District’s In Da Ruff is officially available in stores today, with cuss words restored and bonus tracks. Though it isn’t getting the national acclaim that Wale is, the trio of emcees XO, yU and rapper/producer Oddisee have cut what is certainly the most complete D.C. rap album of the year. And it might just be the best in many years.

In The Ruff was also released on nice double vinyl, a huge look for a contemporary rap album. Whether that vinyl can actually be purchased within the city limits is yet to be seen—not one of the remaining boutique-y record stores in this city actively stocks new hip hop vinyl. (Shame on you, Smash, Som, Red Onion & Crooked Beat. Oh yes, we’re naming names.)

Yesterday the Washington Post ran a large feature on DC hip hop.* Chris Richards’ piece offers a cursory “why hasn’t DC rap blown up?” history and intro as well as short profiles of Wale, XO, Kingpen Slim, Tabi Bonney, Phil Ade and producers Best Kept Secret. It’s a well meaning and pretty efficient overview, but it’s also predictably been causing some debate within the DC hip hop community as well as some concern about the orientation of Wale’s hat amongst WaPo readers.

And perhaps some concern is warranted (err… within the hip hop community, not about Wale’s hat). The easiest way to critique an article like this is to point out artist omissions. I understand the need for space in a newspaper column so I’ll mostly try to avoid such trivial complaints here.** But there are some larger holes in the story that deserve to be addressed. Read More “DMV Rap Attack: Washington Post Weigh In” »

Mp3 blogs are teetering on the edge of irrelevance. Thanks to Twitter an artist can cut out that middleman completely and deliver new songs directly to fans and followers. From the studio to the tweets in just minutes. The DC hip hop community in particular has been taking great advantage of this approach. Here are some recent zshare jams, as tweeted by a few of the area’s most promising emcees. (You can’t keep this middleman out the game, dammit!) Read More “Digging For Tweets” »

Benji, Gorda Brega, Toney Night, XO & Syxx – “Uptown’s Finest 2”
Carty Yeah, Southeast Slim, Whitefolkz, Kingpin Slim, Mo Chips – “Hottest In The Hood (DMV Remix)“

Two brand new posse cut primers on the ever burgeoning DC rap scene.

First up is “Uptown’s Finest 2,” the self-explanatory title track from the forthcoming EP of the same name. Secondly, a whole slew of local faves hop on Red Cafe’s “Hottest In The Hood” for some unofficial remix action.

Much hyped Interscope signee and self proclaimed DC RAP AMBASSADOR Wale will be rocking the 9:30 Club on Wednesday night, backed, as usual, by inimitable go-goers UCB. We’re just going to pretend that his atrocious Lady Gaga collaboration never happened.

Equally talented but less blogged about about locals Tabi Bonney and X.O. (of Diamond District) are opening. Get your Nats fitted ready and hit the jump for some videos.
Read More “Wednesday: Wale & Friends @ 9:30″ »

Diamond District (geddit?) is a hip hop supergroup consisting of underground favorites XO, YU, and Oddisee. Their debut album In The Ruff dropped yesterday and is a nice slice of boom-bap rap that nods subtly to Marley Marl and Pete Rock with one foot in the present tense. The clean version is available for free download. Presumably, the curse words will cost you.

Check after the jump for a short documentary about the group. Read More “Free Download: Diamond District – In The Ruff” »

New Wale Single, DC Graffiti, DMV Awards, Lyriciss and more! Read More “DMV Hip Hop Round-up” »

Realmatic is the latest collection of material by DC’s own Hip Hop upstart and my nominee for the City Paper Best of DC 2009 Local Hip Hop Artist: X.O. For the unfamiliar, the kid from uptown Georgia Ave has been tearing up the scene like pro for a few years now dropping a series of mixtapes and rocking mics across town. Over Realmatic’s bouncy go-go influenced hip hop beats, X.O. effortlessly graces tracks with an authentic flow that conveys a real D.C. street experience with the wisdom of a old head. It’s raw, it’s D.C., it’s from the streets, it’s poetic and it’s contemporary. Guest appearances from Wale, Trill, Gordo Brega and others, with beats by Best Kept Secret, Judah, YU, Baseheads and Nez and Rio. Available for free download on via zshare.

Bonus: There will be a release party and performance on Tuesday at Major in Georgetown. 8 to 10 PM

While the recording industry is busy lamenting the death of their business model at the hands of the Internet, a number of local hip-hop artists have found a way turn this market threat into an opportunity. Free download mixtapes (which are neither mixed nor on tape, discuss…) have been catapulting artists such as Wale, Ra the MC, Marky, XO and others into the upper reaches of internets stardom. No more standing on U Street peddling burnt CDs, the free download is the new strategy to burst onto the scene and connect with a new generation of listeners. Its like the indy punk zine for D.C. hip-hop.

Judah, one of the producers behind Wale, Ra the MC, XO and others, summed it like this: “Who cares about the radio, we know that radio doesn’t make or break artists. With the internet, the fans gonna find you.” Here’s some free downloads worth finding:

Ra the MC – A Mixtape About Something. One of DCs finest female MCs shows the boys in the industry she doesn’t play!

Marky – The Drive Thru. Theres something about a 19 year old DC MC rocking over a Citizen Cope track that’s worth checking.

The DMV Mixtape – August 08. Get ready for September’s edition with this fresh installment of the monthly mixtape from the DMV Music Blog Cartel.

XO – The Takeover. We wrote this up a few months back – get a late pass!

Wale – 100 Miles and Running. This is like the OG of the DMV free mixtape ish!