Feel Good Music

Mississippi's finest brings an old school Outkast/Pimp C southern vibe. This came out last May and it's still in the rotation in my car.

Stalley is an up-and-coming artist from Massillon, Ohio. Massillon is a rust belt town in northeast ohio best known for its power house football team and the subsequent documentary made about them called "Go Tigers." Stalley came out with an excellent mixtape called "Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music)" earlier this year. Check it out.

I'm back to the podcast. I've got 2 years of music that's been waiting to get posted, so I'll try to put out a couple songs a day. We'll see how long that lasts. Wiz Khalifa has grown on me. As a Cleveland guy, I'm not the biggest fan of Black and Yellow, but for some who pretty much only raps about weed Wiz is pretty good. His Kush & OJ mixtape is one of the quality rap mixtapes of the past couple years. Here's a single off his debut album "Rolling Papers."

I love these guys' energy. They produce quality music just about every time they come out with a new song or a new mixtape. Can't wait for a studio album from these dudes from Inglewood.

Off of De La and Nike's collaborative effort, "Are You In?" this song is supposed to help you runners out there to get up and get running. I'll keep that in mind when I try to get out there in the next couple of days.

This Stones Throw member put together a mix of a Baron Zen song which I've been listening to ever since I got back for the summer. Definitely check this one out

The men from Brooklynati give their rendition of "I Used To Love H.E.R." part II with Phonte singing the tracks. This ain't a girl song.

Love this hook: I start to think, and then I sink into the paper, like I was ink when I'm writin I'm trapped in between the lines I escape...when I finsh the rhyme

The Crown City Rockers incorporate a strong jazz influence in their music. The blend of this soothing music and MC Raashan Ahmad's unique rapping style make for an easy, laid back sound. I strongly recommend their 2nd LP "Earthtones" (2004).

Dope rhymes, dope production, I don't expect anything less from this hip hop group from Inglewood.

Fresh Daily's "Tomorrow Is Day" is out right now. Check out 2dopeboyz for the free mixtape.

This guy from ATL is TALENTED. Featured as one of the top freshmen in hip hop in 2009, Bobby Ray is creating a lot of buzz with his live concerts and singles with staying power. This song apparently is a promotion for some Reeboks but it samples Bonita Applebaum so I'm OK with that.

This hip hop duo from Long Island reminds me of a throwback group that mixes in modern production and sampling. This track is one of my favorites for the summer and the sampling for Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do For Love" is a big reason why.

Y Society = MC Insight from Boston and producer Damu The Fudgemunk from DC. This underground hip hop duo put together one of my favorite albums of 2007. I've been listening to "Travel At Your Own Pace" pretty often. Definitely recommend it to the hip hop heads out there.

This is my theme song for the summer. MURS brings it hard every time. I bet he'd do a great live concert.

This veteran hip hop duo from the Bay Area is coming out with their 6th LP entitled, "The Take Over." I must admit I was not a Zion I fan at all before I listened to this album but Zumbi and AmpLive switched up their style away from the hyphy/thizz music that has dominated the Bay for a while now. What I hear now is a diverse collection of music with smooth, soulful beats and socially conscious lyrics. "The Take Over" will be in stores on 2/17.

Off of their LP in dedication to the '99 Lakers, here's an ode to the second best player in the NBA after taking down the Celtics in Boston last night.

This duo from the Golden State put an EP out called "So True". This track just makes me want to go outside and walk around in the warm weather. Unfortunately it's only like 30 degrees in St. Louis right now but one can dream...

Q-Tip's return to the music scene this year was a special one. Not only was his album, "The Renaissance" well received by his critics, but rumor has it Tip will finally release at one of his two unreleased albums of a few years ago. Kamaal the Abstract. Can't wait.