I shall not front. This post is inspired by the fact that it’s International Woman’s Day. Fittingly, this track from Mello Music Group emcee Substantial is a part of a dedication album to the illustrious Jill Scott, a woman worthy of recognition on all 365 days frankly. The tribute project is called “Jackin’ Jill“, very witty title indeed. If this track is a good indicator of how the rest of the project is composed, it’s safe to say Mello Music found themselves a goodie with this MC. Substantial has a hell of a back story, one that is punctuated with his battle with cancer, I included that verbiage after the jump, inspiration all around on this joint.

Angelino’s are stupidly spoiled with options when it comes to live music. There’s hardly a night that goes by in this town where you can’t satiate your appetite for a good live show. Low End Theory surely sits at the very zenith of the town’s hierarchy, the weekly show consistently packs The Airliner. Flying Lotus still regularly attends and this week he brought a few high profile special guests. Not a Mac Miller fan, but Earl Sweatshirt is on a serious come up.

1. Freestyles are for mic holders. Rap songs are for just about anybody with a friend who can bear recording them. Mistah F.A.B. has impressed Bay Area hip hop heads for years with his ability to spit relevant rhymes straight off the dome top. Here he is at a recent sneaker head event in the Bay. Fancy word play with a plethora of sneaker references, yes please.

2. The darker the berry….So Kendrick Lamar specifically requested for Brittany Sky to star in his recent music video, Poetic Justice. As Kendrick put it recently, “We had another girl for the lead but I had an idea where I just wanted a little bit of a darker tone [girl] in the video, It’s almost like a color blind industry where there’s only one type of appeal to the camera,” he said. Yeah, and that’s one Eurocentric type, lighter is clearly better in the eyes of countless rappers and their production squads. It’s very apparent her skin wasn’t the only aesthetic feature that got her the gig, it’s not like Kendrick went out on a limb here! And is it just me, or is this a pretty loose definition of a “dark skinned girl”?

3. Fountain of youth. DJ Premier is the rap game’s equivalent of Michael Jordan. By that I mean, regardless of how much time passes, new generations of artists are aware and are very much in awe of the accomplishments of Premo. And just like new ballers still want to rock some fresh new Jordan’s, young cats in the know are looking to work with Premier. Here’s ZIF fave Joey Bada$$ being introduced to the producer extraordinaire, aptly showing the appropriate humility.

4. Ballers want to be rappers. Here’s the most recent example of sport imitating rap, this one brought to you by Kentucky basketball’s most alliterative player, Nerlens Noel. The star freshman who suffered a devastating injury that has sidelined him for the latter part of their season seemingly had some free time and released a song called “Number 9″ with a local rapper and Kentucky fan named Wes Grams. It’s as terrible as Kentucky’s chances at reaching the tourney this year.

5. Finally, it dropped. The album I’ve been hyping not so subtly for months from The Doppelgangaz was released two days ago. First listen impressions are usually the ones that count, and mine was pure enjoyment. This is rap music I’m going to proudly share with all of my non-rap listening friends, not that they’ll listen to it, said rap music is for hip hop fans, this album won’t turn you onto the genre. But if you’re yearning for more than what your favorite major is telling you that you like, start with HARK.

My goodness, what a Fokn great video. By now you’ve heard us speak about the illustrious Fokn Bois a few times, whether it be their immigration concerns or their knack for ostracizing Nigerians, their ability to entertain would make General Maximus Decimus Meridius green with envy. I hardly ever come across any project they’re associated with and leave without being thoroughly impressed. As for this video, it features M3NSA and I believe it was directed by Wanlov (so it’s Fokn Boi’d out!), as for Sena Dagadu, my knowledge is limited, she seems to live in Hungary but clearly is Ghanaian. What I love about this video is something that I attribute to much of their material, it simply shines, it engages you and drops you off in happy land. The final shot of the set in Accra is a lovely reminder that in 2013, artists don’t need to be in a major media center to create broadcast quality art.

Overall Grade: A -

This is my 3rd or 4th public service announcement about this group and their pending release, Hark (March 12th), can you tell I’m excited? I must say this video was “meh” at best, though I can see how for a couple of emcees out of New York this conceptualized well on paper. In my experience with video shoots, I know that location is imperative, and hard to reach locations are paramount. Nevertheless, I haven’t been this giddy about a New York based hip hop release since Papoose. Oops, I hope I didn’t just jinx it.

Overall Grade: B-

Freddie Gibbs is from Gary, Indiana, so was the Jackson Family. When I first heard Gibbs, he was in the business of constantly referring to his Gary roots despite his displacement to the City of Angels. I wondered if he was in a perpetual state of internal strife, battling the unrealistic bar that had been set by the Jackson clan decades ago. I pictured him bumping  MJ in his ipod holding a sign saying “Hollywood or Bust” at the local Greyhound station in Gary. Then of course I got swept away by his music, for the record, I deem him to be the most underrated rapper (currently unsigned) with major label appeal out there. His smooth voice is paralleled by his effortless flow pattern which is laced with precision lyrical content. I’ve said this before, but Freddie Gibbs is the quintessential “your rapper’s favorite rapper”, he’s so on point, you’ll forget that he came from a small town in the Midwest famous for birthing Michael Jackson….until now…

Because when the music speaks for itself, you don’t need more than a couch to make a music video. Dark Time Sunshine has been blipping our radar for the past year or so, Aesop for the past 15. But it’s Swamburger who’s got my favorite verse on this one, got that Mystikal spitfire flow that just demands an energetic reaction.

Good music right here.

Overall Grade: B+

I don’t know what’s more disturbing, the fact that Drake was tagged to feature on this track, or the fact that fans think he “saved” this song (see comments on YouTube). The difference between these two artists is epitomized by the visuals they were associated with in this video. Drake, in a hotel room with a big booty call on the bed, Kendrick Lamar, appearing as a shot up corpse laying on top of his dead girlfriend. Skirt steak and filet mignon.

Overall Grade: B-

Looks like the heat wave that hit Los Angeles today can be applied to its artists as well. ZIF fave Top Bananas drops a remix worthy of starting your weekend off with. I don’t know much about Alex Clare, however, the track has that hard to define sound that has come to define TB’s releases. Apparently this remix was the first track that fit into the genre “FARnB” that was started by the man himself. I’ve heard nothing of this, but considering my appreciation of Top Bananas and his proximity to our HQ, I’ll be sure to ask.

Disclaimer, this may be the worst song we’ve ever posted (probably not, but up there). When sitting down with an aspiring artist, discussions often revolve around logistical problems, one such obstacle seems to be ‘getting out there’. What concepts are going to make them distinct enough to get some attention among the masses? Here’s an idea, pick a holiday, make a track about it. I recall sitting down with Singapore Kane and telling him that putting out a MLK tribute track on MLK Day would be a good look, especially in a SEO sense. Well, kudos to artist, Nyemiah Supreme, your track about dismissing love just got some, see, shit’s easy son.

Oh, and I don’t mean to utterly dismiss this artist, I listened to some other material, and frankly some of her tracks sound eerily like Azealia Banks, that’s good, right?