Upcoming Hip-Hop Releases for 2009
Happy New Year to all of you and hope 2009 brings the best in your life.
2008 was very eventful; bailouts, election surprises and natural disasters. We held our own, but in retrospect 2009 will bring more surprises. As we keep on chugging through the calendar year hopefully we will come to realize that the fantasy world our music and movies keep feeding us will eventually run out. In terms of real and creative music with respect to hip-hop I will list some artists that are set to release new albums in 2009.
We will start with K’Naan , who is scheduled to release his sophomore album untitled “Troubadour”. The single “ABCs” was pre-released late 2008 and has been gathering some attention. It’s an album everyone should look forward to due to his African influence and spoken word format expressed in his music.
How can we talk about Canadian hip-hop without mentioning K-os, he is set to release his fourth album in March. The album is untitled “Yes” and features a single called “4, 3, 2, 1”.After a huge follow up with his previous album “Atlantis: Hymns for Disco”, we should keep biting our nails until the album hits stores.
In the crust of the city of multiculturalism there lies a rising star with music flowing through his veins. He has gathered much attention in Toronto and keeps pushing the bar up as far as hip-hop is concerned. He is Miles Jones; DJ, producer, emcee, songwriter and the owner of his own label Mojo Records & Publishing. He released an LP in 2006 called “One Chance” that kept heads bumping and limbs moving with a dash of inspiration. He has had the opportunity to open for the legendary KRS-One and Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan, not forgetting Thunderheist . He is set to relesae “Runaway Jones” in March 2009 and with the launch of this album there is no doubt he will be turning heads in Canada.
Moving south of the border, the black star of hip-hop Mos Def seems to be gathering strength like a rolling snow ball. When it comes to movies he is classified as a top notch actor and with so much compassion for fellow human beings he continues to be active in serveral social and political problems. He is set to release his fourth solo album in February of 2009. “The Ecstatic” is the title of the album and seems to be loaded with beats from Mr Flash , Madlib , Chad Hugo , J Dilla and others.
Hailing from Ghana and residing in Brooklyn, NYC Blitz the Ambassador is set to continue his brand of rebellion and hip-hop into the dawn of uncertainty. After opening up for sharing the stage with KRS-One and Slick Rick, Blitz has captured the ears of the people and continues to build a movement that understands the virtue of music and specifically hip-hop. His album “Suicide Stereotype” is set for release sometime this year hopefully in March.
Notable mentions include Zion I “The Takeover”, Kae Sun “Lion on a Leash”, J-Dilla “Pay Jay” and Stephen Marley “Mind Control Acoustic.”
K’Naan – Soobax
K-OS – Rise like the Sun
Mos Def – Life in Marvelous Times
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