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Its been almost 6 months since the tragedy in Haiti and the country is still trying to pull itself together. Some of hip-hop’s finest have collaborated with Oxfam America to bring to you Notes of Haiti (Ayiti). This compilation features Exile, Blu, Karriem Riggins, Invincible, Buff1 and many more.  Fans can download this 16-track banger by donating what they can ($1 to $100) to help Oxfam expand their efforts in Haiti.  The music is just as real as the cause. If you don’t believe me, just press play above. Every little bit helps. Peep the playlist after the jump

1. Karriem Riggins – Virgo 02:57
2. eLZhi – Growing Up feat. AB 05:00
3. Invincible – Taxicab Confessions 03:45
4. Fashawn – Father 03:24
5. SlopFunkDust – Rushing 01:45
6. Astro – Underdogs feat. MEDaphor 03:20
7. Crown Royale (Buff 1 & DJ Rhettmatic) – Photographs 03:44
8. Jordan Rockswell – Ten 02:31
9. Blu – Spanish Winters 02:43
10. Now On (DJ Haircut, Jackson Perry, IX Lives) – Doo It 02:46
11. Aloe Blacc – Very First Time 03:41
12. Exile – Exbox (Live on the MPC) 01:27
13. CoSS & Sene – Let’s Begin 03:29
14. Marv Won – Ways To Go 03:27
15. 14KT – Less Than Enough feat. AB 03:52
16. Houseshoes – Everything 02:16

Hello my name is…
Anthony Azeal Jackson. Tony is a real common name in my family. Coming up I had an older cousin with the same name, so I got stuck with the nickname “Baby Tony.” Needless to say, by the time I was 16 I had outgrown it. So, we put a spin on it with “Big Tone” and it’s just been that ever since.

I was raised in…
A two parent household on the Northwest Side of Detroit, the 7 Mile and Southfield area to be exact. From there we moved to Redford, a small suburb on the outskirts of Detroit’s Westside. I’ve called a couple other places home since then, but I was born and raised there.

The reason that you’re reading about me is…
I’m promoting of my upcoming release, “The Art Of Ink” out on Tres Records. So hopefully, you’re either reading about me because you’re familiar with some of my previous works, or you’re a fan of the Tres brand. Either way, good looking out. I appreciate you checking for me.

Right now I’m working on…
Getting married, stacking a few bucks, and finishing my producer’s compilation, “Audio Playground.” (It has been the most tedious project thus far. Artists are so uncooperative).

But I’d rather be…
On my honeymoon, pockets on swoll, or listening to the test presses of my producer’s compilation, “Audio Playground” at Oslo. One day.

My most prized possessions are…
In my studio.

But I’d give it all away for…
God.

The first thing I do in the morning is…
Meditate…or at least try to. It doesn’t always work out that way, but I’m workinonit.

The last thing I do at night is…
Put my cell phone on the charger. I feel cripple with a low battery during the day.

My momma always said…
Music runs in my family. People used to come from great distances to see my Grandfather play the trumpet in South Carolina. She says he’d be proud.

I love it when people…
Dance and enjoy themselves at events. That energy is inspirational.

I hate it when people…
Blame life for circumstances and act like there’s nothing they can do to change them. I ain’t preaching, I just can’t stand to hear complaining about things they control.

If you ever see me walking down the street…
Speak, wave, or nod. But don’t just look…I can get a little paranoid when folks stare and don’t holla.

My most notable run-in with the law…
I got caught shoplifting at Northland Mall in the early 90’s. It was a nasty little habit I picked up for a season back then. They stretched me out so out cold in the mall. I’m talking handcuffs, the whole nine. It seemed like the police radios were on volume 10. Nobody was shopping, everybody was watching. They took me in the basement of the mall; I didn’t even know malls had basements. I could here them paging my mom over the mall P.A. system. It was definitely not a good time. I’m not certain, but I think I’m still “banned” for shopping there.

If I had to say sorry it would be because…
I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit being jaded, unappreciative of my gift and other opportunities. I gotta lot of making up to do and music to make.

I get real aggro when…
Dope rappers turn wack singers.

The last time I swore I’d never drink was after a night of…
Acting a fool and not remembering the details the next morning. I just remember my girl giving me that “you’re an @$$hole” look and asking, “so…you don’t remember last night, huh?

Future projects and plans…
I just plan to say in the lab. Whatever happens, happens. I just wanna pump music out, and plan things as they come.

And before I leave I’d like to give a shout out too…
Julius and Daniel. Thanks for being there when I need insight, Family.

Click the image to play

 From the good folks at Interdependent Media!

Check out this hilarious version of Super Mario Brothers w/ Detroit bred MC, Finale. You maybe familiar with some of his previous works within the Detroit hip hop circuit, or his more recent work with Invincible.

You can embed “Super Finale” on your website/blog/social networking page, etc and when you beat the first level, you receive a free download off a song from Finale’s upcoming album on Interdependent Media entitled “One Man Show” produced by Black Milk.

Finale’s album, ” A Pipe Dream and a Promise” drops on April 7th, and features stellar production from the likes of J Dilla, Black Milk, Ta’Raach, Nottz, Flying Lotus, Waajeed of PPP, Kev Brown and others….

Black Milk-Tronic
Fatbeats Records
Rating: 4 out of 4
By:Preach Jacobs

Ever since the emergence of Motown records, Detroit has been one of the Mecca’s of black music. The genre of hip-hop is no different providing some of the most talented groups and producers in recent memory. Within the past three years, Black Milk has been one of the leaders of the Detroit hip-hop movement, and continues with his third solo release titled “Tronic.”

If there’s anyone that’s taken the baton and ran with it since Jay Dilla passed, then it has to be Black Milk as he channels the late producer from drum patterns, flow to cadence. Songs like “Losing Out” featuring Royce Da 5’9 is an incredible display of Milk as producer and rapper.

The song is impressive to say the least, and the instrumental outro leading to the next song is remarkable. With arrangements like these, it’s not a surprise that he’s been snatched up by Dr. Dre’s Aftermath camp to help produce projects in the near future. Songs like “Tronic Summer” and “The Matrix,” featuring excellent verses from Pharoahe Monch as well as Sean Price proving that great beats do bring the best out of artists.

“Tronic” could have easily been called “Return of the Boom-Bap” as the hard-hitting production made famous in the mid-nineties runs rampant through the entire duration of the album.
With the near year on the horizon, it could be safe to say that “Tronic” will be on the best-of-list when looking back at the albums released in 2008. You want my advice? Get this album and turn the volume up loud, but before that make sure you have a neck brace.

Hello my name is…
John Yancey, aka Illa J.

I was raised in…
Detroit, Michigan. East Side.

Right now I’m working on…
Putting my show together and getting ready to go on tour for my new album, Yancey Boys.

But I’d rather be…
Watching Seinfeld reruns all day.

My most prized possessions are…
My studio equipment.

But I’d give it all away for…
Nothing.

The first thing I do in the morning is…
Write.

The last thing I do at night is…
Close my eyes.

My momma always said…
If you follow your heart you’ll always be successful.

Words by: Laura Weber

Danny Brown is a ferocious Detroit MC whose myriad metaphors are packed in a clip for his lyrical disposal. His eight bars on eLZhi’s recent The Preface stood out as he blasted with, “Hit the trees hard like George In The Jungle…” Danny’s effortless juxtaposition of attraction to grizzled street life and youthful pleasantries is what makes him a force in a city full of tough lyricists.
His first album — the recent Hot Soup, with producer Nick Speed – was a runaway underground success in Michigan. The only thing glaringly un-Detroit about the album is on the inside of the cover; in the picture, Danny sits at a table in a restaurant in direct competition with Detroit Hip-Hop’s favored greasy spoon, Lafayette Coney Island.

Q: I have to ask — why are you sitting at the American Coney Island and not Lafayette Coney Island in that picture on the inside of your album? 
A: Because that’s where they allowed us to shoot at, and we had to work with what we had to work with… It was too crazy in [Lafayette.] You know how [American Coney Island] always be extra empty — wasn’t no one in there on a Sunday morning. [Lafayette] was packed because a Tiger game had just got out, or some shit.

Q: On a Sunday morning?
A: Yeah, I mean, it was morning to me, but I guess maybe not to other people. Three o’clock is morning to me. I’ve just been in the studio so much working on the new album; I’ve been working 14-hour days.

Q: That’s crazy. Where have you been going with your sound for the new album versus Hot Soup? 
A: You know, Hot Soup was really to make our sound more relatable to more people. But with this album? I really didn’t care what people thought, or nothing like that. I just made what I wanted to hear — what me and my friends wanted to listen to. That was a big complaint from a lot of my friends.

Q: What was the complaint from them about Hot Soup?
A: It was a little too soft for them. They wanted me to get back to that hard street shit that I used to do… I’ve already got like a lot of the songs recorded, but right now the one they lack is a cohesiveness. So I need to figure out how to tie it all together. But I would say that one song on this album is better than all of Hot Soup.

Q: When are you trying to put the new album out?
A: We’re trying to work that out because it’s not going to be any free download shit. I don’t want to put anything out too quick. I have a habit of counting my chickens before they hatch, so I’m going to be cautious.

Q: Did you find in making Hot Soup so accessible on the Internet, that worked to your advantage?
A: Yeah, I think so. There were a lot of people who heard it who probably wouldn’t have heard it if I was just selling CDs out of my book bag… I mean, I got responses from Italy, from France, from fucking London — there’s no way people overseas could have got it, you see what I’m saying? So that seemed like that was the best way to go. But there’s a lot of people following that trend.

Q: It seems like a limited release of the hard copy was beneficial, because I had to beg, borrow and steal to get mine…
A: Yeah, and I can’t keep a copy of the shit. It just flies off. It just disappears. [laughs] It’s the magic CD — it just disappears on its own… I made that album for all the people in Detroit who still listen to funk and actually still go collect vinyl… Now with this album [The Hybrid] it’s a whole different thing. It’s like an out of body experience. It’s much more lyrical. What people don’t realize with Hot Soup is that I was holding back.

Q: How do you mean?
A: I mean, I wasn’t really being lyrical on that. I was really dumbed down.

Q: Yeah, but your metaphors are so crazy.
A: Yeah, but at the same time, it’s stupid too. You see what I’m saying? Like there’s a lot of shit purposely to make people say, “Dang, you’re fucking wack!” Like, I got a lot of flack for Hot Soup — I’ve heard I have the most annoying voice in the world, I’m not believable, there’s nothing exciting about me pretty much. That’s what a lot of people were saying. But, I mean, I think the only person to say some shit like that is a person who hasn’t been around my way.

Whoa… That is a very impressive list of artists. Not to mention my boy Rick Rodney will be there in person.

Words by: Brandelyn Castine

Light candles, burn incense, throw on a Dwele CD and instantly, life is better. On the cusp of releasing his fourth album, Sketches of a Man, Detroit native, singer/songwriter Dwele has come a long way from his humble beginnings. Now boasting the title of musical veteran, Dwele has been in the game since the late ’90s and has had a tremendous impact on soul music from the moment he stepped on the scene. Humbly printing 100 copies of his self-released album, Rize, Dwele’s unique sound hit the streets of Detroit and quickly spread like wild fire. “I pushed up 100 copies and expected them to last for a long time but wound up selling out in a week. It got a lot of play at Café Mahogany and people showed they were interested. Then the music started to spread over the internet, overseas and back…it was crazy.”

Aside from the initial sales, Dwele had no idea that the album he recorded with some friends in his bedroom would spark the career that would eventually find him with a Grammy nomination almost ten years later. “The news about the nomination came out of the blue. When I first found out, I almost crashed my car. My manager called, and said, ‘D, I hope you got a suit in your closet because you’re going to the Grammys.’ When he said that I had to slam on the brakes and pull over. I still didn’t believe it until I got home and looked at it online.”

Being a Grammy-nominated artist has ensured Dwele’s place amongst the Motown elite while blazing a trail for up-and-coming artists creating their own paths behind him. “Detroit’s musical climate has a lot going on. Big things are happening out there. You have artists like Slum Village, soul music artists like L. Renee, Malik Austin doing their thing. Detroit’s music is vast, representing everything from soul, hip-hop, church music, house, techno, everything.” Eager to give his fans a taste of this, Dwele collaborated with longtime friends Slum Village, G1, and Virginia artist Knocks, to name a few. There is no doubt that Sketches of a Man will give fans a healthy sampling of his personal interpretation of Detroit’s musical scene.

Dwele also used his creative talents to pay tribute to his longtime friend, the late J. Dilla. “My favorite track on the album is not actually a song; it’s an interlude, a dedication to J Dilla. While I was working on it, I used a lot of different beats of his and meshed them together and made one solid song. This track is one of the more creative songs on the album…but, unless you knew him, you probably wouldn’t get it but I tried to make it so even if you didn’t know his music it would still make sense.” It was important for Dwele to pay tribute to the one who had such a profound impact on him as an artist. “I was greatly influenced by J. I remember being in his basement when I first met Slum [Village] and I watched him make a beat in like five minutes. He would type on an MPC like a writer types on a keyboard. It was amazing.”

Excited to branch out and stretch himself as an artist, Dwele names Erykah Badu as an artist he would love to work with. “I would love to do some new age, space age, ’80s shit with Badu. Some type of track that people would hear and say that’s not Dwele on the production…but it is.”

Sketches of a Man is set to release in June and Dwele fans everywhere are waiting to get more insight into the self-proclaimed laidback dude with a rock star side that is aching to get out.

Words by: Andres Reyes

After immigrating to Michigan from Israel at the tender age of 7, Ilana Weaver, aka Invincible, used her natural gravitation towards hip-hop as a way to learn English. By the time she was in high school, she had begun to build her reputation as an MC, performing at open mics and throwing events in abandoned buildings around Ann Arbor and Detroit.  Her passion for the music eventually led her to make a trip to NY at 16, where she linked up with the famed underground, all-female aNoMoLies crew. During that late-90′s NY indie boom, Invincible was able to build with like-minded progressive artists and continue to perform constantly with aNoMoLies. Still, for all the work her and the crew put in, there is not too much tangible from that period. Invincible explains, “the way people would see us was live at shows, and we would do shows so often. We would be at every event at that time in New York opening for everybody that was coming out at that time, Blackstar, deadprez, even Black Eyed Peas at one point.”

After turning down numerous major label offers that stifled her creative vision, Invincible moved back to Detroit in 2001 and began focusing more on her own music as well as her activism. She has since solidified links with the Waajeed-led Bling47 Group as well as with fellow D artist Finale to build strong musical network for her music. Her involvement with the Detroit Summer non-profit community collective has helped her use her skills and hip-hop in general as a way to speak to and organize youth around community issues such as predatory development and the criminalization of local schools. Rather than having her music and her community involvement exists separately, Invincible makes a conscious choice to mix those ideologies into her music, while still making sure the beats are hard and the rhymes match.

That mixture of good music and a message is just what she plans to deliver when she drops her first album after more than a decade in the game, ShapeShifters, released on her own independent label Emergence Music. They say an MC’s debut album is always a lifetime in the making and in this case, it shows. The unrelenting MC tackles deeply personal issues like emigrating from Israel at a young age, the realities of the seemingly liberal Ann Arbor she grew up in and family depression, all with the finesse of a true MC. With beats by fellow Michigan family like Wajeed, House Shoes and the Lab Techs, Invincible fashions a hard-hitting musical landscape that fills the low-end nicely as she tells her story. When questioned as to the significance of the title of her album, ShapeShifters, Invincible explained “it has to do with the concept of self transformation and how that’s connected to transforming our communities, our struggles, being able to transform that through transforming ourselves.” Truly a revolutionary in both thought and action, Invincible continues to be a beacon of hope for hip-hop and her community as she leads by example.