Recently in mp3s Category

Your monthly run down of new, trending bangers, jams and slow jams. Photo by Callie Richmond for AThousandGrams.


Big K.R.I.T. featuring Yelawolf - Hometown Hero (Remix)

Southern home cooking via rising, well-received rappers from Tennessee and Alabama.


Charles Hamilton - Kat Stacks

The introspective, isolated Hamilton pops up from a semi-absence, raps impressively over a jacked beat and releases five mixtapes at once.


Drake - Do It All

Fresh rap from the genre's biggest summer star, set for some bullshit compilation.


John Legend, The Roots featuring Common - Wake Up Everybody

Legend and The Roots are making an album together, this is the first taste.


Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West - Erase Me

Once you get over fact Cudi's latest is not a rap song in any way, it's an agreeable little number.


Rich Boy featuring Drake, Lloyd - To The Floor

Nice slow burner for last call. I've always found Lloyd's insistence on going by his unremarkable first name to be a career obstacle. There has to be gravitas behind first name solo artists. You'll never hear, "we got a fresh new joint from Frank."


Rick Ross featuring Chrisette Michele, Drake - Aston Martin Music (Extended Mix)
Rick Ross featuring Raekwon - Audio Meth

The two best holdovers from Teflon Don. I'm telling you, the best album of the summer thus far. Recovery is a masterpiece but it's too thick and layered for a season when you need quick cuts between errands.

Bro, I think he might be.

Teflon Don, arriving on July 20, already sounds stirring and boasts an epic prequel. The final tracklisting is mouth-watering: short, cohesive, boasts immaculate guests. Rick Ross's authenticity as a boss/drug lord with connections was long ago disproven but he's retained a penchant for penning enormous, swelling anthems. His voice is a welcome addition to any posse cut (Ross steals just about every moment, especially 2009's who's who roll call, "Fed Up") and without a need to federate existence, we'll get winking, relatable nods to Honey Comb Hideouts.

And more car songs!


Rick Ross featuring T.I., Jadakiss, Erykah Badu - Maybach Music III

Rick Ross featuring Drake, Chrisette Michele - Aston Martin Music

Dig No I.D.'s beat and the hooks from Tony Williams and Connie Mitchell. This one is from Teflon Don, Rick Ross's forthcoming summer blockbuster. It's scheduled for July 20.

Not to be confusing, but the picture is accompanying promo art for Kanye's latest single. Like it a great deal.


Rick Ross featuring Kanye West - Live Fast, Die Young

me:  Oh jeez nahright just posted a new eminem song from recovery...featuring Pink

With a summer onslaught of big, stuffy summer albums closer than you realized, labels are passing down hearty helpings of "exclusives," generating interest in new recordings from names. Most of these songs range from solid to tight to sweet. Initial thoughts included.


Cee Lo - Georgia

Not as good as the singles from 2004's excellent solo album or the best Gnarls Barkley. But I'm intrigued to hear what a Cee Lo solo album sounds like post-household name status.


Black Milk - Don Cornelius

Milk money.


Blu & Exile - So Perfect

Reggie loves to overrate Blu. I get why on gems like this.


Bun B featuring Young Jeezy - Just Like That

Apocalyptic hustle rap. Gimme my respect.


Copywrite - Last Laugh

Khrysis produces for a relatively unknown white guy with miserably bad promotional art. He's a good rapper though, if a bit crass.


Estelle featuring Nas - Fell In Love

Same type of house/retro beat Estelle surfed on 2008's "American Boy." The guest rap is cool. I dig the synths.


Freddie Gibbs featuring Bun B - Rock Bottom

Gibbs makes up for an average, sung hook by bringing out a marvelous narrative from Bun.


Killer Mike featuring T.I. - Ready Set Go

Get ready for Killer Mike's album ya'll.


Madvillain - Papermill

Ever notice Jay Electronica sounds just like DOOM ten years ago?


The Roots featuring John Legend - Doin' It Again

One of the most delectable, ear candy mp3s the Roots have ever leaked. Instantly likable.


The Dream featuring Diddy - Champagne

You may be asking the wrong person, I love all these silly excess anthems.


Waka Flocka Flame featuring Roscoe Dash, Wale - No Hands

Tough to really enjoy even ironically.

Kanye West featuring Dwele - Power

I've been keeping tabs on Dallas's B. Hardy fairly regularly for a minute. He's a blue collar, go-for-the-throat punchline guy but his Texas roots afford him an ease and sensibility for navigating southern, bouncing beats. Case in point, this one-liner barrage over Gudda Gudda's "I Don't Like The Look."

Labeling an mp3/song with a hashtag in the title is a savvy bit of viral, Twitter age marketing, but Hardy's networked shout outs to rap zines (disclosure, ATG gets one at :48 secs and it's pretty awesome) and generally effortless and loose tone means it's not wise to overanalyze intentions. Shit is just nice and worth adding to mixes.

The song is from Throwaway Rhymes 7: I Am Rap-Bot 5000, which we'll be checking for May 24.