Music Videos That Deserve to Be Seen

My Sunshine | Blu feat Nia Andrews from aaronisnotcool on Vimeo.

A gang of new music videos have recently been released by an assortment of artists who may or may not get the shine that they rightfully deserve for their particular brands of Hiphop and overall musical contributions to the culture.

As seen above, the rapper Blu (a/k/a B) basks in the enviable southern California weather for the appropriately named My Sunshine, the lead single for his upcoming album NoYork! This is an interesting choice for visuals considering this track sounds nothing like what I've heard from the rest of the album, which is a smorgasbord of different genres of music not necessarily associated with a traditional Hiphop album. Sa-Ra's own Shafiq Husayn is the track's producer. Fun fact: The cute vixen featured in this video was also his DJ during his tour last year.

Rappers Sample N*E*R*D's Music

Aside from Mickey Factz, I can't really think of too many rappers who have dared to sample the music of N*E*R*D for their own productions.

So it's refreshing to hear Brooklyn's own "Lessondary Nose" (no matter how mediocre 3/4 of the rappers are) over a loop of the bridge in N*E*R*D's song Everyone Nose, the lead single from their new album Seeing Sounds.

The Lessondary (pictured to the left) consists of Von Pea of Tanya Morgan, Spec Boogie, Elucid and Che Grand.

Von Pea rhymes first and easily outshines them all, and although I can normally appreciate efforts from Che, he and the other two emcees fall flat on this track, which features much of the original version's drum n' bass percussion, a reason they may have had trouble with the beat. Von wasn't fazed though.

Here's some video footage of them performing the track:


The next song is by FKi, which apparently stands for Fly Kids Inc. They're signed to Mickey's label GFC, and they do a nice job with N*E*R*D's Spaz track. Nothing special, but still very nice. Whoever they are.

FKi: Spazz Freestyle

N*E*R*D's video for Spaz follows:

New Mickey!

Whoa!

Just as I was saying how Mickey is the future he comes along and drops two very dope songs in his weekly series of songs, along with his requisite explanation about the tracks:

"For week #30, I wanted to do the 2 for 1 sale. So I jumped in the studio with Tanya Morgan and made some shit! Some real Hip Hop shit. Gotta respect it."

The first joint with TM is crazy. I wasn't really sure about how I felt about songs with Mickey collaborating, but this song really works well. It's just on some braggadocio type of rhyming:

"This time I bring it back to the essence,
And still move forward, never trapped in the present.
But it's still a gift that Factz is presenting.
Untie the bow and then capture the lesson."

Von and Donwill contribute some nice rhymes but Mickey outshines them both -- even though he has the middle verse -- as he should since it's his song.

The second track features Mickey conceptually at his best, referencing the increasing pressure youth have growing up, including one verse from the perspective of a black kid and another from that of a white kid. It showcases Mickey's songwriting ability as well as his ability to adapt to any type of track; in this instance, an R&B song originally performed by Star Trak artist Robin Thicke where the music and hook vocals come from.

We Ain't Feat. Tanya Morgan

Keys of Life Feat. Robin Thicke

Tanya Morgan at Fat Beats

At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, I want people to come out and support an underground rap group (with a funny name...) that has been paying dues for years now, along with making quality Hiphop music.

Rappers Von Pea, Donwill and Ilyas are Tanya Morgan. Don't ask me the origin of the name because I still don't completely understand it if. But to be honest when I first heard of them I thought it was nothing more than a gimmick.

But after listening to their Sunset EP (2005) and their Moonlighting LP in (2006), I had a change of heart. Quality music with quality rhymes and lyrics, as well as rappers with a good sense of humor and the ability to not take themselves too seriously -- always a refreshing characteristic.

Von Pea and Donwill are the two lead rappers while Ilyas (aka the Malik B of Tanya Morgan) plays a peripheral role and rarely makes appearances with his group mates. Von is clearly the most lyrically talented of the three, as his rhyming style seemingly comes so easy to him that his raps come across as effortless. Donwill is a close second in terms of talent but first in terms of heart and passion -- he has a number of flows but is at his best when spitting fast, precise bars. (Ilyas isn't really worth mentioning as he is far from the focal point of the group. Sadly, he is the dead weight that will make sure this group never rises to the top.)

They will be making an in-store appearance tomorrow, June 17, at the famed Fat Beats record store on 6th Avenue between 8th and 9th streets, right above Bagel Buffet.

They'll be signing autographs for folks who buy their new EP -- which also comes out tomorrow -- The Bridge. Check them out. Below are two of their most recent mixtapes.

Donwill - SuhBurban Sprawl Mixtape

Tanya Morgan - Tanya Morgan Is a Rap Group Mixtape