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

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.

Shape Shifters

Invincible

Emergence Media

Rating: 3.5/4

The long-awaited debut solo effort from Michigan native Invincible is like a sock to the head for anyone still sleeping on this lyrically gifted emcee. As one fifth of the all-girl hip-hop group ANOMOLIES, and a major asset to PPP’s first album, Triple P, Invincible finally steps into the spotlight with Shape Shifters. To call this “conscious hip-hop” would be a grave misnomer—she’s a culturally aware, internationally minded, societal watchdog, with a library of beats so dense you almost wonder what bangers didn’t even make the cut. Invincible keeps her production in the Michigan family with fiery magma flames from production team the Labtechs, and Detroit sensations Waajeed, House Shoes and Black Milk. Black shows his range with dirty strings and a tough snare on perhaps the hardest joint on the album: “Recognize.” Featured on this track is Finale, a Detroit MC who only makes Invincible stronger and vice versa. The duo complement each other in earnest. Also appearing on Shape Shifters are ANOMOLIES, Tiombe Lockhart and Buff 1, among others. In all, this album and Invincible are perfectly suited for any head checking on Detroit or a solid boom bap to snap their neck to.