Own A Piece of Diva, Lupe Stay’s Cool, Awards Voting Over, Dice + Truck + Free = Africa, Silky Rashaan, 2006 Rap Up.
Half Woman, Half Amazing
Whether or not her music is for you, you can’t knock the tremendous hustle game of Amanda Diva. Very few can claim to embrace so many art forms at the level Amanda does. Poet, singer, emcee, painter, dj, personality, role model, and supa-woman, Deev makes it look easy. Believe us, it’s not. Don’t be the last to know, preview Amanda Diva’s debut release Life Experience on her MySpace and own it from iTunes.
As if it wasn’t cold enough outside, Lupe Fiasco’s much anticipated sophomore release, The Cool is out today, freezin’ up the competition and taking the brainy-cool brand of hip-hop to new heights. Proving the drama of previous months irrelevant, Lue’s latest effort is getting positive reviews across the board. Read this one from the Washington Post and this from ArtofRhyme. After you head to the store to cop, mark your calendar as tour dates are just around the corner.
And CUT, that’s a wrap. Voting for the 2007 Okayplayer Music Awards has officially ended. The results will be announced this Thursday December 20th. For any of you who checked it out, thank you! We will be back next year with improvements all around.
Last week Okayplayer exclusively posted up The Antidote, an all 80’s infused mixtape featuring Peedi Peedi, Freeway, Black Thought, EST, and more as presented by Dice Raw and The Money Making Jam Boys. Break out your hair spray and multiple Swatch watches and learn the “Meaning Of Life” according to Dice, Truck, and Free as they spit over Toto’s “Africa.”
Two-step your way into 2008 with the silky, soulful offerings from Rashaan Patterson, our new favorite R&B crooner, and this month’s Now Hear This! spotlight artist. Blending the funk of Prince, the groove of gospel, and Rashaan’s own Harlem-bred swagger, Wines & Spirits is worthy of heavy rotation. But don’t get it twisted; Rashaan isn’t new to the music biz, penning hits for the likes of Brandy, Van Hunt, and Jody Watley, and offering his talents on several soundtracks including “Love and Basketball” and “Dr. Doolittle.” Browse the album’s 12 tracks, then stuff those Christmas stockings with copies for the whole fam.
Yesterday we got you excited about Skillz’s upcoming 2007 “Rap Up” event. Today we kick off our first installment in four of our “Rap Up Round Up” as we turn back the wheels of time to 2006 in Real Audio.
- dantana