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On his last non-freestyle feature, It’s Getting Old, Dre-Ski sounded a little exasperated with the unceasing grind that comes with being an up-and-coming emcee. Fortunately for the Virgina Beach native and his fans, new mixtape leak Why We Hustle (making its world premiere right here in the Booth!) finds Ski fully re-energized and more driven than ever to claim his rightful place at the top of the game. A propulsive, soul-sampled beat by production group The Common Wealth keeps the momentum up as Dre delivers his determined bars, acknowledging the frustrations that are part and parcel of the independent grind but expressing confidence that the man upstairs has his back. Dre-Ski’s latest mixtape, the Booth-cosponsored Calm Your Taste Budz, is set to hit our front page February 5. In addition, fans should be sure to check back with us this Thursday, when we premiere the official music video for the emcee’s Booth-exclusive Hotline freestyle.

In 2006 Matisyahu enjoyed an unlikely turn in the national spotlight – after all it’s not every day an orthodox Jewish rapper/singer/beatboxer with a distinctly reggae style gets played on MTV – but in the three years since his breakthrough album Youth he hasn’t exactly been a household name. Undaunted, he’s now re-releasing new versions of some past songs, starting with the Akon assisted One Day. A track that absolutely floats thanks to some lighter-than-air production from The Smeezingtons (whose name still makes me chuckle) One Day is a deeply inspirational track that Matisyahu fills with the sound of his distinctive voice and spiritual lyrics while Akon does his best Wyclef impression and tries to shift his focus from (not) disrespecting women to advocating for world peace, a difficult transition he accomplishes. If One Day has you lifted be sure to check out the updated re-release of Matisyahu’s last/new album Light, available in stores and online now. 

In this fast-moving, impersonal era of emails and sexting (side note: is “sexting” not the most awkward technology-related coinage since “vlog?”), it’s rare that two people are able to set aside the time for a good, old-fashioned dirty Phone Call. Blind to You singer Collie Buddz, however, is all about getting hot and heavy via his mobile handset, as demonstrated by this newly-released single. As the Bermuda-born singer delivers a secondhand account of an erotic chat with his girl, Booth-acclaimed production duo K-Salaam and Beatnick man the boards, serving up a Caribbean-informed slow-jam instrumental with a characteristically lush, spacey sound – complete, of course, with plenty of sampled female moans. Is this steamy, reggae-influenced ode to phone sex a winner? That, Booth readers, is your call (lame pun intended). Collie Buddz’ forthcoming full-length, Finally…, is set to drop sometime this summer via Harper Digital/Mojizo Records. In the meantime, fans can keep it locked to our front page for the latest news and tunes.

There are some truths that are so obvious we rarely comment on them, except to illustrate the concept of obviousness: the sky is blue, one plus one is two, JD Era goes hard, you get the picture. On You Know That, the inaugural leak off his forthcoming Th1rt3en mixtape, the Toronto up-and-comer informs listeners that, though a new decade has begun, he himself hasn’t changed one bit: “Still underrated, still one to fear, still don’t like rappers, n*gga get the f*ck outta here.” Fellow T-Dot native Beat Merchant backs the track with a tension-fraught blend of organ chords, synth-arpeggios, and choral background vocals, lending Era’s hard-hitting rhymes an ominous edge. Is this track’s openly aggressive style a better look for JD Era than the laid-back vibe he brought to his last feature, Champagne Nights? You be the jury. Either way, fans of the Ontarian up-and-comer can hear more on his new, DJ DAX-presented street album when it drops early next month.

Every so often emcees struggle for years to prove their worth, only to find themselves in a musical dilemma: they’re too high-profile to be classified as underground, but too under-the-radar to make the full crossover to mainstream. This usually tends to be a crippling disease, but street vet Redman breaks barriers in both directions, retaining the diehard fans he started with while consistently adding new ones. His latest single, Oh My, is the latest display of his versatility, featuring multilayered, big band production from Andrew “Pop” Wensel that’s unpredictable and persistent enough to match Red’s off-the-wall lyrics (Family Guy watchers will rejoice at hearing the Quagmire reference midway through). Above all, Red’s delivery still shows off the mixture of smoothness and power that he’s mastered since his 1992 debut. If this track receives the praise and promotion it deserves, fans new and old will be playing it on repeat. Look out for his upcoming album, Reggie Noble 9½, set to drop March 23.

Download Oh My at RefinedHype.com!

It’s been said more than once around these parts that a major guest feature can be a double-edged sword; just take Sean Garrett’s new promo single Get It All. On one hand, we’re probably not talking about this track, and by extension Garrett, if it didn’t contain a guest verse from the hotly controversial Nicki Minaj. On the other hand, it’s never a good thing when an artist gets overshadowed on their own track, which is exactly what happens here. Garrett, whose songwriting skills are undeniable (see Mario’s Break Up), isn’t exactly displaying the full range of his production skills on Get It All – there’s a fine line between minimalistic and simplistic, and this feels like the former – and his vocal skills don’t exactly impress. Still, you have to admit that Sean Garrett’s on your radar, and considering he recently left Interscope to start his own label, that’s a mission accomplished for Mr. Garrett. Stay tuned for more from the man they call, simply, The Pen.

Download Get It All at RefinedHype.com!

Snoop Dogg has made his first signing as Creative Chairman of Priority Records, adding West Coast rappers Cypress Hill to the revived label’s roster. Snoop and Cypress Hill made the announcement on yesterday’s Lopez Tonight show, where the Black Sunday band performed their hit ?Insane in the Brain.? Cypress Hill will release Rise Up, their first album since 2004′s Til Death Do Us Part, on April 6th.
According to Snoop Dogg, ?Cypress Hill is undeniably…

T.I. is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over his Grammy-award winning track What You Know. Rapper Motoe Blizzid, real name Nathan Filby, alleges T.I. used parts of his 2004 song Reverence, which was distributed to industry insiders, for his own track.
According to legal documents, obtained by RadarOnline.com, Filby claims the 2006 single has the “same rate of harmonic range” and states the two recordings have “nearly identical instrumental…

New totals show the recent Hope For Haiti telethon generated more than $61 million in relief efforts.

Black Wall Street leader Game has publicly questioned the United States school system and suggested that the government has ulterior motives for making kids attend.