GENTRIFIED MINDS

Est. 2015 We are a Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY-based creative and educational media enterprise and production group with the goal of helping budding artists gain exposure and representation, while also paying respect and bringing awareness to hugely relevant cultural movements with foundations in urban environments.

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For this edition of Sample Source Sunday we would like to pay homage to one of the most legendary emcees to ever stand in front of a microphone, Queens’ late great Prodigy of Mobb Deep. Prodigy’s career was one filled with iconic work - the Queensbridge native was an integral part of the foundation of the horrorcore subgenre within Hip-Hop. Today we’ll be looking at the source material for several songs across Mobb Deep’s decorated catalog, a song from the illustrious Quincy Jones.

Jones is a musical icon known for a great deal of notable work. One such piece is the song “Kitty With the Bent Frame” and to say that the prodigious duo enjoyed the tune would be quite the understatement. They referred to the 1971 hit not once, not twice, but three times. Most prominently, it appears in possibly their best known track, “Shook Ones Part II”. RIP to a true legend- he will live on through his iconic voice on unforgettable records.

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Ever since revealing his identity, Your Old Droog has continued to prove to be one of Brooklyn’s true hip-hop greats, dropping his critically acclaimed full length album Packs and a successful tour that spanned the US with a few dates in Europe. To keep up the momentum, Droog recently offered up an eye-catching visual for one of the dopest tracks this year, “Bangladesh” ft. Heems. You won’t regret peeping this joint!

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NYC repper Wiki has really been on a tear since he’s exploded on to the scene, making noise with his first group Ratking, an incredible solo tape back in 2015 and an upcoming group project with some of hip-hop’s most stand out underground acts. His music video for the song “Mayor” is a perfect illustration of his love for NYC and a great preview for his full length No Mountains in Manhattan which dropped yesterday. Definitely a project worth checking out.

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Today the late venerable hip-hop heavyweight Sean Price has his hugely anticipated posthumous release Imperius Rex come out, and you know we had to show some love. With the unfortunate recent passing of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, it makes even more sense to highlight a track that features his expertise as well as that of Corona, Queens legend Styles P. A truly significant joint both for the current time and for the history of this great culture. Click and listen!

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DC native and NYC based experimental hip-hop artist billy woods continues to release awe-inspiring work, building on the super dope catalogue he’s amassed with fellow NYC based producer Blockhead. Admittedly we’re a little late to this party, but it was impossible to pass up such a truly sick song and visual. woods comes with exactly what a seasoned fan would expect, the off-kilter flows delivering breath-of-fresh-air witty punchlines with his trademark sardonic approach. The video came as a precursor to his full-length release Known Unknowns, which everybody should definitely be checking out posthaste! 

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Another treat for us to present to everyone is this super ill, thought-provoking visual from Gentrified Minds alum and NJ heavyweight spitter Ben Black. In anticipation for his much awaited forthcoming solo work, as well as the occasionally hinted at duo project Garbage Pale Kids featuring longtime collaborator Kev Bars, here is a mixed media project of sorts titled “Bowling (U Fucked Up)” where Ben joins forces with illustrator Stephanie Herrera for a stop motion video he captured. Kev is also featured on the hook and in some assorted adlibs throughout the track which is delivered over an instrumental recently released by Lil Ugly Mane. Hopefully there’ll be more impressive work from these folks soon!

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Another legendary lyricist still making major noise is one half of the pivotal Sacramento duo Blackaliscious, Gift of Gab. Following the recent release of his EP Rejoice! Rappers Are Rapping Again, Gab presents listeners with a visual for the earnest and thoughtful joint “The Gentrification Song”, where he reflects on the effects of the changes in his hometown as well as those changes in cities across the country using his trademark lyrical dexterity through multi-syllabic rhyme schemes and super-precise flows to keep the audience tuned in to every word. Great song about some great subject matter from a true emcee great!

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Late Brownsville hip-hop legend Sean Price still has gems dropping that bump like crazy- recently this video for his Alchemist-produced straight banger “Imperius Rex” emerged and had a lot of heads nostalgic for that true New York lyricism. His posthumous album of the same name is currently available for pre-order. Go get that and rep for someone who help put on for Brooklyn in more ways than we can thank him for!

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It has been quite the busy and successful year for iconic rap duo Run The Jewels. After dropping another critically-acclaimed album at the top of 2017, having music featured in Gears of War, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and most recently Marvel’s Black Panther trailer, AND a current tour, we felt it was necessary to look at the source material for one of their hottest joints to date: “Legend Has It”

The sample that kicks the song off and sets the tone musically for the rest of the instrumentation comes from 70s London progressive rock outfit Gentle Giant. The band was known for challenging the conventions of music in their time, and appropriately RTJ follow in this tradition in their approach to hip-hop- great production on the track with help from a truly interesting musical act from back in the day.

We can only hope for more big things in the duo’s future!

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In honor of the relentless stream of work from recent birthday boy and Hudson County, NJ phenom Lef-T, we’re excited to feature one track that particularly stands out from the handful of dope tracks he’s released in a short amount of time. His second record off of his upcoming project titled Blue Flame, “FWYB” truly showcases Lef’s artistic growth, as he has continued to refine his style of seamlessly blending braggadocio with witty punchlines and double meanings. Not too many other artists can excel in mixing the turn-up flavor with the lyrical dexterity of backpack rapper the way Lef-T has been able to- for this reason, we’re excited for the release of his soon-to-drop full-length, as you should be!

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On the heels of a very successful album release in Run The Jewels 3  and leading to an exciting tour, Run The Jewels has released another dope and thought-provoking visual for one of the cuts off the album, “Don’t Get Captured”. It features stop motion graphics to go with the track’s politically charged lyrics and urgent tone resembling a call to action: more than worth checking out from a duo that has made a lot of noise in the past few years!

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Queens, NY and hip-hop culture as a whole took a huge loss today in the passing of Prodigy, one half of iconic duo Mobb Deep. The legendary force was hugely influential not only on rappers and hip-hop musicians in the NYC area, but also to hip-hop music and culture worldwide. Truly gone too soon- RIP 

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A great recent release for everyone to peep comes from Brooklyn’s own Your Old Droog, a cut off his new album Packs. On the upbeat and grungy joint “Help”, Droog teams up with fellow NYC artist Wiki and elusive underground hip-hop icon Edan who is also the song’s producer to create something that instantly feels like a classic upon listening. The trio deliver some amazing bars over intricate flows, pairing perfectly with Edan’s noisy and abrasive, rock and roll influenced production. The combination of the three superb lyricists and the experimental production really makes for one of the more interesting and enjoyable songs of the year thus far. It’s also worth noting that YOD and Wik also recently dropped a joint project titled What Happened To Fire? Go and check that out ASAP.

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Local Williamsburg, BK artist and Billionsburgh representer Preem has stayed busy, dropping another sick verse a couple months ago over a popular beat- check out his version of the DJ Khaled hit titled “Master Key”.

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It’s been quite some time, but we’re back with another edition of Sample Source Sundays featuring some very noteworthy and special artists. Today’s source of sonic inspiration comes from a figure who is greatly revered and respected in the culture, Brazilian arranger, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Arthur Verocai.

Verocai was active in Brazilian music in the 60s and 70s across genres as a musician while also having a hand in the business side of things, but it was his 1972 self-titled LP that has continued to influence and inspire a multitude of hip-hop acts and keep his music career going, which is ironic considering that the masterful work was released to little fanfare during a time when it represented a revolutionary movement away from traditional musical sound.

Verocai’s song dedicated to his city “Na Boca do Sol” is a great example of his Jazzy, experimental approach, and it has been used in some amazing songs from some very impressive artists who are super influential as well. Underground legend MF DOOM made great use of it on one of his cuts, and Richmond, VA phenoms Nickelus F & Shawn Kemp also employed it to put together an absolute classic. These are all names you should know, huge talents with dope catalogues.

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In our inactivity, FreelanceBrooklyn and Bed-Stuy’s own WXLFMAN has been working incessantly. Here is a video he dropped last year that we still refer to every now and again for the song “AIGHTCHEA” which allows him to flex his dexterous ability with flows. Since then, he was able to nab the win at Who’s Next, a showcase for budding artists that ended with a performance at Hot 97′s Summer Jam. Be sure to keep up with him and his whole crew!

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NYC’s Wiki, a member of the abrasive and experimental hip-hop duo Ratking released his debut solo mixtape at the end of last year and 'til this day we’re STILL bumping it. Lil Me included a multitude of notable tracks and quotable raps, but the track that has set up the most suspenseful wait for hip-hop fans we’ve witnessed features San Jose phenom Antwon, who also dropped a dope, well-received project titled Double Ecstasy. The video served as the perfect prelude to their successful We Stole Hip-Hop tour and did a good job of building crazy anticipation for a mysterious super-group of sorts, Secret Circle, which also hosts the talents of one elusive Lil Ugly Mane, an artist from Richmond, VA who has made a great deal of noise in the underground scene. Be sure to check out more from these incredibly talented heads!