While You Were Sleeping: Top 10 Underground Hip-Hop Albums Of August 2013 (Part 2) - Page 3

August has drawn to a close and the weather has gone from days in the 90s where it’s a nonstop parade of sundresses to days barely breaking the 70s where jeans, windbreakers & pullovers are the outfits of the day. As we enter the Fall Choosing Season, the precursor to Cuffing Season, will be underway. Even though we have less than three days of August left, the last semblance of any heat the Summer possessed will be embodied by the 10 independent and underground Hip-Hop/Rap releases featured on this installment of “While You Were Sleeping”…

“While You Were Sleeping” is a unique feature exclusive to Hip-Hop Wired. It’s key purpose is to showcase quality indie and underground Hip-Hop/Rap releases that tend to go overlooked, under promoted or downright ignored by most supposed “Rap” or “Hip-Hop” sites due to a lack of sizable marketing and promotions budgets at the disposals of the individual artists or their independent labels. The last 10 indie/underground projects from August feature legendary DJ/producer The Funky President himself J.Rocc with Oxnard’s MED as Axel F, Count Bass D, Oh No (who’s a regular on WYWS), JAMLA’s first lady Rapsody, Blame One  & Brown Bag All Stars’ J57, Matlock x Mr.Green, Lab Technician 14KT, Bambu and more.

If you missed the previous eight months of “While You Were Sleeping” you can just click here and feel free to revisit the previous WYWS installments at your own leisure. Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way? Let’s get down to business.

Here’s what you all may have missed, while you were sleeping…

Professor Lyrical x DJ Shame – Put Em All To Shame (Invasion Ent./D.i.M.E) 8.6.2013

Professor Lyrical (formerly Lyrical) is a professor at Northeastern University pursuing his doctorate. He’s taught everything from business administration to music appreciation to math at both the high school and college level. Before and during this time, he’s racked up numerous freestyle battle crowns & has been an MC for over a generation. Professor Lyrical’s new album Put Em All To Shame shows where Hip-Hop intersects with academia by having a book which accompanies the DJ Shame (Vinyl Reanimators) produced album which helps to explain how Hip-Hop culture enriched his life and encouraged him to pursue a career teaching.  On top of that? The album is dope (and is devoid of cursing which is harder than you can imagine). You can purchase Put Em All To Shame from iTunes (book), Amazon (book) or UGHH (book + CD).

Axel F. (MED x J.Rocc) – Sofa Set EP (Bang Ya Head) 8.20.2013

The Funky President J.Rocc of the World Famous Beat Junkies/Beat Junkie Sound formed a duo with veteran Oxnard MC MED called Axel F. Their latest EP on J.Rocc’s new label Bang Ya Head is the vinyl release Sofa Set EP which you can also cop in digital form. If you’re a fan of that official West Coast Hip Hop then you need to possess this yesterday. You can cop the Sofa Set EP from iTunes, Fat Beats, UGHH or Amazon. If your apartment is big enough for one, you need a Sofa Set EP…

Shaheed x DJ Supreme – Knowledge, Rhythm & Understanding (Communicating Vessels) 8.20.2013

Shaheed & DJ Supreme hail from Birmingham, Alabama and go proving that you can’t pre-judge or pigeonhole what Southern Rap is or sounds like. Hip-Hop is Hip-Hop regardless of region. This duo has been making thought provoking Hip-Hop music since 2007’s Health, Wealth & Knowledge Of Self and all is a listen to their 3rd effort Knowledge, Rhythm & Understanding to realize that they haven’t lost a step and their music is as fresh as ever. Guest appearances come courtesy of Akil The MC (Jurassic 5), Adib (Unseen Ummah), R-Tist (The Green Seed) and Angela King. You can acquire Shaheed & DJ Supreme excellent effort Knowledge, Rhythm & Understanding from iTunes, Amazon, UGHH or purchase it directly from Communicating Vessels. Yet another album I’d recommend that they won’t…

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Photo: Jamla

Rapsody – She Got Game (JAMLA) 8.20/27.2013

Rapsody of Kooley High (Return Of The B-Girl, Thank H.E.R. Now, For Everything & The Idea Of Beautiful) added to her rapidly growing resume by releasing her newest project as the next edition of DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape series. Again, since this project has all original production from JAMLA’s Soul Council and features from Raekwon, Common, Phonte, Jay Electronica, Raheem Devaughn, Mela Machinko, Ab-Soul, Chance The Rapper and many more I can’t in good conscience consider it a “mixtape”.  You can hear/download both the DJ Drama & No DJ version of She Got Game from DJ Booth, DatPiff, SoundCloud or head directly to Rapsody’s website. She got next…

Bambu – Sun Of A Gun (Beatrock Music) 8.23.2013

Bambu (...paper cuts.., A Peaceful Riot, …exact change…,Walk Into A Bar, One Rifle Per Family & The Lean Sessions EP) has been providing Rap fans with excellent conscious/political Hip-Hop music for years now with Beatrock Music fam. Bambu continues to add on to his already impressive body of work with his latest project Sun Of A Gun. Boasting features from Rhettmatic, DJ Q-Bert, DJ Babu, D-Styles, Brother Ali and many more this is so much more than a mixtape. You can stream & download Bambu’s Sun Of A Gun right now from Bandcamp. Salute the Beatrock Music crew, if you’re sick of the same ol’ bull$h*† then give this a listen.

Count Bass D – Dwight Spitz (Deluxe Edition) (Bandcamp) 8.26.2013

Back in 2002, Count Bass D’s long awaited classic sophomore LP Dwight Spitz was released on High Times Records by MF Grimm’s Day By Day Entertainment then again later on (MF) DOOM’s Metal Face Records imprint. It’s been out of print for quite some time but Count Bass D decided to re-release it digitally with all of the bonus tracks from the alternate versions added. This 31 track special edition has features from MF DOOM, J Rawls, Edan, Dionne Farris, Rayna Shine, Orianna Lee & Cana Farrell. If missed out on copping this the first time here’s your chance. Some jerk you may have heard of wrote the liner notes for this classic re-release as well. The deluxe edition re-release of Dwight Spitz is available right now on Bandcamp. Don’t sleep on it.

Matlock x Mr. Green – The Wax Museum EP (Fat Beats) 8.27.2013

Chicago MC Matlock teamed up with Mr. Green in 2010 to make the eyebrow raising jawn “Brand New Nikes”. Mr. Green (Green Future, The Only Color That Matters Is Green & The Only Number That Matters Is Won) teamed up with Matlock to craft the project The Wax Museum EP. It originally dropped digitally back in November 2012 with a limited CD run but due to  overwhelming demand it’s been re- released with wider distribution (including vinyl) on Fat Beats. You can cop The Wax Museum EP on iTunes, Amazon, Fat Beats & UGHH.

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Oh No – Oh No vs. Now-Again Two: Now-Again Music Library Vol. 7 (Now-Again) 8.27.2013

Oh No has had quite a productive 2013 thus far. Between his LP’s Disrupted Ads and The Subliminal Substance (with Chaotik Stylz) he’s back with a 19 track 40 minute opus crafted from Now-Again’s vaults…again. The first edition of Oh No’s foray into delving into the back catalog of Now-Again’s releases and using them as sample sources is now regarded as a classic so expectations are sky high for round two. Let me tell you, Oh No doesn’t disappoint. Oh No vs. Now-Again Two: Music Library Vol. 7 can be purchased from Now-Again’s digital service, Amazon, UGHH, Fat Beats or cop it directly from Now-Again Records.

Blame One x J57 – Walk In The Sun (SoulSpazm) 8.27.2013

Blame One (Chemically Imbalanced, A Complex Burden, Priest, Thief + Wizard, Days Chasing Days & Endurance) teamed up with Brown Bag all Stars’ J57 and the final product is the extremely dope album Walk In The Sun. Blame’s flow and top shelf lyricism blend perfectly with J57’s brilliant production over 13 tracks of what will end up on most end of the year lists when it’s all said & done. Blame One and J57’s accomplices and co-defendants in this audio assault case include Rhettmatic, Exile, Yeshua Da PoED, Brown Bag All Stars, Soul Khan & Akie Berniss amongst others. Walk In The Sun can be purchased from the following digital and physical music marketplaces: iTunes, Amazon, UGHH or Fat Beats. Enjoy the sun while it’s still out…

14KT – Nickle & Dimed (Mello Music Group) 8.27/9.3.2013

Red Bull Big Tune champion 14KT (Nowalataz, The Golden Hour, 14KillaTape & A Friendly Game Of KT) drops his brand new instrumental album Nickle & Dimed on the independent powerhouse label Mello Music Group. Whether you’re a card carrying beathead or just beathead curious you will derive aural pleasure from this project. 14KT’s incredible new album features guest appearances from Blu, Black Milk, MED, Jamall Bufford, AB, JMSN and more. You can acquire 14KT’s latest opus Nickle & Dimed via iTunes, Amazon, Fat Beats, UGHH or you can stream & purchase it directly from the Mello Music Group Bandcamp. If you don’t cop this then you’ve definitely sold yourself short.

BONUS PICKS: Neek The Exotic – Hustle Don’t Stop (Hustle Don’t Stop Music) 8.27.2013 & Willie The Kid – Aquamarine (DatPiff) 8.28.2013

While You Were Sleeping will return in a few more weeks to showcase of all the best releases from September as far as underground & independent Hip-Hop releases are concerned. Until then, this is Dart Adams saying “Don’t sleep”.