1) Talib Kweli Prisoner Of Conscious (Blacksmith)

2) The Uncluded (Aesop Rock + Kimya Dawson) Hokey Fright (Rhymesayers)

3) Qwel & Maker Beautiful Raw (Galapagos4 Records)

4) Sunspot Jonz and BOAC Skywalkers (Outhouse Records)

5) Sole No Wising Up, No Settling Down (Black Canyon)

Thanks to E-Lit at Amoeba Berkeley for his run down (video and chart above) on all the latest in hip-hop releases at Amoeba Music this week that include such new joints as Sunspot Jonz (Mystik Journeymen/Living Legends) who teamed up with Bay Area producer BOAC (founding member of The Earthlings along with DJ Bootleg who used to book the hip-hop shows at the defunct SF venue Maritime Hall) for his latest release Skywalkers - released on the long running Living Legends label Outhouse Records. As E-Lit notes it is a fun, all killer, no filler hip-hop release.  Other new releases include the straight up hip-hop album from Qwel & Maker Beautiful Raw on Galapagos4 Records, and the much more alternative/adventurous hip-hop outing from The Uncluded: Hokey Fright on Rhymesayers Entertainment. The Uncluded is the pairing of Aesop Rock with Kimya Dawson who have worked together before this new collaborative full-length album. You may recall that Kimya Dawson made a cameo on Skelethon - the stellar solo album (following a five year gap) from Aesop Rock last summer (when he did a memorable in-store at Amoeba San Francisco), and that Aesop Rock in turn had made guest appearances on Dawson's album from the previous year Thunder Thighs. Released by Rhymesayers Entertainment it features the single "Earthquake." See the accompanying video below and you will immediately see why E-Lit describes it as like children's music in its production presentation of the 16 track album that, according to the publicity release from the label, "helps to tell the story of two people who are finding therapy through making art together."

Usually DJ Quest goes to Amoeba but last week it was the other way around when the Amoeblog visited the Mission District home studios of the legendary San Francisco turntablist (video below) who has done several performances at Amoeba Music over the years including a record release set for his 2008 album Questulous and another with the DJ youth group the The DJ Project, that featured youth DJs from Horizons Unlimited and the Quest School of DJ Arts, where he mentors at-risk youth to gain arts education as well as the employment and entrepreneurial skills to help get them music-related careers. Throughout his two-decade plus career DJ Quest has always been as much of an inspiration and educator to aspiring DJs as he has been an artist/performer - using the turntable as a tool and sort of text book to educate and inspire. Last summer accompanied by talented young DJs he went down to Monterey County, CA where, as part of the Monterey County Free Libraries' (MCFL) Summer Reading 2012 program at several branches across the county he hosted several well-received scratch/hip-hop DJ turntable performances and Q+A seminars.

Compared to Bay Area, the weather in NYC of late has been overall pretty crappy with some nasty rainy days like today: overcast, wet, showery with highs only hovering around the 60 degree mark. Yep, for spring coming into summer this is not the most desirable weather, but it is another needed reminder for anyone living in or visiting that it is always good to carry an umbrella with you anytime in NYC (summer or spring) because it can switch up from sunny to stormy in an instant. Last Saturday, when the weather was mostly nice, warm, and sunny, outdoor events included a big free hip-hop jam at the season re-opening (after the winter) of NYC graffiti mecca 5 Pointz (pictured above), which was simultaneously the kick-off of the all summer long, four-month hip-hop event accurately titled Celebrating 40 Years of Hip-Hop. Yes, believe it or not is now four full decades since that fateful day back in 1973 in the Boogie Down Bronx when DJ Kool Herc's block parties would kick-start the global music and cultural movement of today known as hip-hop. The always impressive, decade old 5 Pointz Aerosol Art Center, which has been rumored to be facing eviction for some time now but reportedly is not in any danger for the next year, will continue its celebration of hip-hop between now and September 14th with most entertainment taking place on Saturdays (but note the area is open to public 24/7. Entertainers will include influential, legendary NY hip-hop DJ/producer Marley Marl spinning music and local emcees and beat-boxers holding informal battles - and, of course, lot and lots of graffiti art being done live. 5 Pointz Aerosol Art Center is located near the E and 7 train stops at 45-46 Davis St at Jackson Ave, Long Island City, Queens; 317-219-2685, 5ptz.com).

"Gun Fever," the brand new Hieroglyphics song/video that was unveiled last week at the same time that the 2013 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits was happening in Houston, Texas, tackles the current controversial topic of guns in America. From watching the new video, that the longtime Oakland hip-hop collective recorded to offer their input  on the gun debate as folks who grew up in a city known for gun violence and to reflect on the prevalent fascination with guns in American society, it got me thinking about songs about guns.

And there are a lot of songs about guns. Not all but many, not too surprisingly, are rap songs from the gangsta side of the genre that glorify gun use. Of course, like the new Hieros joint (which features some of the crew's best talents including Del, Casual, Tajai, and A-Plus), there are many other hip-hop songs that look at guns in a more analytical manner such as Paris' "One Gun" (off Acid Reflex) or Aesop Rock's "Babies With Guns" (off Bazooka Tooth) which suggests that nowadays guns are so prevalent in our society that even babies are packing.

      



1) Ghostface Killah Twelve Reasons To Die (Soul Temple)

2) Illogic & Blockhead Capture The Sun (Man Bites Dog)

3) Kid Cudi Indicud (Dreamworks)

4) R.A. The Rugged Man Legends Never Die (Universal)

5) K-Def The Exhibit (Solid Smoke)

Thanks to my man E-Lit at Amoeba Berkeley for again this week taking time to share information on all the new hip-hop that's been dropping lately while simultaneously proving that, despite what the naysayers might try to have us believe (that the current state of hip-hop is not good), that there is actually a ton  of incredible new hip-hop coming out these days! You just have to look for it - and Amoeba is the perfect place to your looking. As E-Lit noted in the video interview above and in the corresponding top five chart also above - among the new recent arrivals in the hip-hop department at Amoeba Music are (following a nine year gap) R.A. The Rugged Man's Legends Never Die (Universal), K-Def's The Exhibit (an EP in both CD and vinyl formats that arrives in addition to his recently released Signature Sevens 7" series ), and Illogic & Blockhead's five-star new album Capture The Sun on Man Bites Dog. Peep the recent Amoeblog interview with Illogic & Blockhead interview in which they talk about this album, and check out below the latest video from the new album: the Erik Anello directed and edited and  Laura Green shot music video for the charged Capture The Sun track "Atlantis Depth."