New Gods'Illa video for, "Sal's Pizzeria"

Gods'Illa, one of my favorite hip hop acts out of the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia, if you didn't already know,) just released a video for, Sal's Pizzeria,which is one of the dopest tracks on their latest album.  It is clear to me that these guys really think about what they put down on paper.  I love when hungry emcees with skills put down a track that calls out the homogeneity of the mainstream emcee.  Especially when they call them, "robots."  Because they are! 

I randomly came across Gods'Illa one night listening to Ill Street Grooves one Monday night on 89.3FM, WPFW - Washington, DC on a night in Summer 2011 when Gods'Illa was in the studio promoting their latest project, The CPR Blendtape,  which features several cameos from on Ms. Erykah Badu (under the pseudonym, Ms. Downtown Loretta Brown).  The show got me hooked.  I downloaded the mixtape straight away, and if an mp3 could "pop", it would've. 

Fast forward a few months to October when I was down in Atlanta for the A3C Hip Hop Festival.  An amazing array of up-an-coming hip hop acts from across the country and the world.  It was one of those shows with a million acts, most of which played 10-20 minutes.  I was watching The Bodega Brovas with one of my buddies, and leaned over to him and told him the group I came to see was, Gods'Illa.  Wouldn't you know they were standing right aside us and overheard my comment.  Needless to say, I immediately introduced myself as a fan of their work and we shot the shit everytime we crossed paths over the next 3 days.  Their set was one of the best at A3C, and even included a feature with Boot Camp Clik member, Sean Price. 

All that to say, check out the video!

Hip Hop Album of the Year

So after listening to many new albums this year (boy, was this a good year for hip hop,) I have finally come to the decision that yU's (as in why you?) album, The Earn, takes top billing as my best hip hop album of 2011.  Keep in mind, I'm a 36-year-old white guy who no longer listens to garbage about ho's and guns.  That being said, The Earn is for grown folk.  yU, of DC's talented hip hop trio Diamond District, delivers real talk over tight, jazzy beats.  This is a great album to marinate on after a long day's work.  In fact, the video for the track, Write On, (below) provided me the motivation to create this blog.  I never thought yU could deliver in his second album the total package he presented in his solo debut, Before Taxes.  Alas I was right...this album is even better.  Forget about a sophmore jinx and cop this album.

Honorable mentions include the following albums:

DTMD: Makin' Dollas
Actual Proof: Still Hotter Than July
Median: The Sender
Gods'Illa - CPR Blendtape

Stay tuned for more as 2012 is already shaping up to pick up right where 2011 left off.  Already slated is an album from master emcee O.C. with production by Detroit's own Apollo Brown.