The Smoking Section

0:00 August Greene (Common, Karriem Riggins & Robert Glasper) - Black Kennedy feat. Samora Pinderhughes 4:13 Black Thought - Conception feat. Reek Ruffin (prod. Salaam Remi) 8:27 Pharoahe Monch & Khrysis - Crazy 12:16 Marlowe (L'Orange & Solemn Brigham) - Lost Arts 14:56 Apollo Brown & Locksmith - Advice to My Younger Self 18:09 Brother Ali - Sensitive 21:48 Masta Ace & Marco Polo - Still Love Her feat. Pearl Gates 26:23 DJ Jazzy Jeff - SCARS feat. Rhymefest 30:06 Damu The Fudgemunk & Flex Mathews - Deadin The Weight 34:17 Jericho Jackson (Khrysis & Elzhi) - Self Made

If you missed out on the Metalheadz session last month you really made a huge mistake.  This is that flava that they talk about every now and then. I keep a bluetooth speaker in my backpack and had a few people stop and ask me about this particular mix when I was shopping. Afterwards are a few of the tracks that are featured in the mix.  'Field Of Whispers' is a techy, funky release from Dispatch Recordings featuring a collaboration between the beautiful Kyrist and Russia's own Black Barrel. The sound is reminiscent of Octane & DLR.     I was a few months late on this particular tune but it was still amazing when I finally got to it. I've really been enjoying this next one from the mighty Commix a lot over the last few days. If you're the type that has to have something new, I'd recommend this cut from Maverick Soul that I've been rocking out to since this morning. Simply put Halogenix is one of those names you need to know. ...

     I'm not interested in his studio recordings but I gave his freestyle a shot and found that it wasn't that bad. I definitely was not impressed but I was surprised that he was as competent as he was. Meek Mill had some light bars going on there. He came off like he was a little gassed off his own name but overall he did deliver a lot of hype and more than a little bit of substance. A lot happens in this freestyle before the beat begins as Meek Mill discusses his corny ass reconciliation with Drake which leads Flex down a road of apologies too.         'Bars On I-95' last hit us with a freestyle from Ms. Hustle two weeks ago. Since then it has been really quiet on the online freestyle front. If you're not familiar 'Bars On I-95' is a Connecticut based freestyle platform for elite level emcees. They have featured a consistent roster of Connecticut based emcee talent as well as a few big name heavyweight bar talkers from the culture. During ...

       The cats over at 'Bars On I-95' have come through two weeks in a row with exceptional female talent. Ms. Hustle runs with the baton Lady Luck passed off last week as A.B. and Cease continue curating what will one day be a legendary list of freestyle performances. Ms.Hustle is hard and brings to the table an aggressiveness that is not present in a lot of male emcees. Ms Hustle is right at home on the home of the heavy spitters. I would have liked to hear a little bit more from her.   'Bars On I-95'...Thank you for this one. This one impressed with instant classic status. Other female emcees would be wise to take a lot of notes here. Any emcee in general could learn something here. Now I'm wondering if the rest of that Fred The Godson will be better than this. I don't think it will be. This is Lady London spitting all bars and no bullshit on 'Bars On I-95' home of the heavy talkers and she fit right in. I didn't know Lady London would be t...

    This is Fred, he represents the Bronx. Rapping is easy for him. What follows is part one of a session 'Bars On I-95' dropped a few days ago. I imagine part two is going to be where the real action is. This particular segment weighs in at just over three minutes during which Fred The Godson treats you to some light bars that show exactly how easy this is for him. You can tell Caes was excited to introduce him and hear what he was going to say.        A new contender to the world of online freestyle platforms is 'Don't Flop Entertainment' starting off their freestyle series with Fred The Godson. The production quality is very good as they are no strangers to content creation. Whether they have the ear for consistent elite level freestyle selection remains to be seen.       One of the hot topics in the battle world right now is the recent defeat of veteran Jae Millz at the hands of KShine of NWX. Millz had a solid first round wit...

     Even today in 2018 it still seems like everyone wants to be a dj. Some truly want to study the craft and become part of the culture while a large portion of these alleged knowledge seekers are infatuated with money, fame and potential affection from women with poor judgement in men and bad taste in music. But for those who truly seek the path to higher levels of turntable enlightenment Rob Swift and his Brolic Army are here for you.     In 2014 Swift began teaching a course called 'Dj Skills & Styles' as a professor at the New School for Liberal Arts in New York City. During the course students use turntables and vinyl to learn the fundamentals of mixing, scratching and beat juggling. With only twelve student per class each semester you are damn near getting one on one time with one of the most respected and experienced turntablist on the planet. If you are like me and desire to battle then this right here might be exactly what you are look...

     It's Friday night and you're looking for some music to listen to but you're not sure what. That's what 'The Smoking Section' is here for. All you need to worry about is grabbing something to smoke and maybe a beverage of some sort. I like IPA's myself. First up on the list is a freestyle from Ciroc Studios at Hot 97, home of Funk Flex, in NYC. Not everybody can come up here. That's the mantra. Flex has a respectable thing going on and when you tune in you can catch freestyles from some of the more established or mainstream names in the game as well as seasoned battle rap veterans that you don't know but will definitely enjoy. Most guests get on the mic and hold it down however there were a few times when the performances were trash. Examples of those exceptions would be the appearances by Quentin Miller (aside from being wack he sounded like he was whispering), Juice Wrld (I thought his freestyle was bad until I heard some of his recorded music...