Potholes In My Blog: Watch Dels Perform His Melancholy “Pulls” with Kerry Leatham & String Quartet

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1. Watch Dels Perform His Melancholy “Pulls” with Kerry Leatham & String Quartet
2. Listen: A$AP Ferg Drops Three New Songs Off His Upcoming ‘Ferg Forever’ Mixtape
3. Listen: Ghostface Killah Heads To “The Battlefield” With AZ & Kool G Rap
4. Coultrain Announces New EP, Shares Soulful Lead Single “Kiss of Death”
5. Freeway & The Jacka – Highway Robbery
6. Listen to Joey Green’s Super-Smooth New Single “Girls Love Clothes”
7. Listen: Ty Dolla $ign Actually Stands for Something On “Stand For”
8. Listen: Falside Drops Sample-Heavy New Beat Tape ‘Duvet’ Featuring Ridiculous Album Art
9. Watch: J.Cole Announces New Album in Mini-Documentary “2014 Forest Hills Drive”

Watch Dels Perform His Melancholy “Pulls” with Kerry Leatham & String Quartet Posted: 17 Nov 2014 11:01 AM PST To celebrate the release of his new album, Ninja Tune recording artist Dels along with a string quartet recently shot these intimate visuals for Philips & Noisey deep in the bowels of the Brunel Museum (UK). Dels enlists the vocal assistance of Tape Club’s Kerry Leatham for the stunning version of “Pulls,” a track taken from Dels’ latest, Petals Have Fallen. Moody visuals that go hand in hand with the melancholy track. This is an excellent introduction for those previously unfamiliar. You can watch the performance below.

Listen: A$AP Ferg Drops Three New Songs Off His Upcoming ‘Ferg Forever’ Mixtape Posted: 17 Nov 2014 10:42 AM PST "Trap Lord in my belly." Smell that? For you dum-dums slow on the uptake that means A$AP Ferg's eating off his last record, and he's really in the building and feeling himself on this one. It's almost too early in his career for him to be lifting lines of his own to recycle for choruses (the "Ride around the city feeling like P Diddy/Glock nine in my silk shirt" couplet from "Dump Dump") but that's just the cockiness you have to expect from the A$AP Mob at this point. Their crew's in here, they're wearing designer shit, they're smoking good, and the ladies they're lucky enough to have around are quite the sight. It's the street single, and it's from #FergForever mixtape, coming Soon™. The drop comes on the back of a tequila-drunk festival bounce track called "Doe-Active" that has Ferg counting the bumps in your face with his hood pope proclamations, and another loosie that falls a bit flat and finds YG sounding a bit out of his nouveau-West coast element. Between this, that, the third, and Rocky's "Multiply" it seems like they're getting the hard spits and headbang thumps out of the way to get us riled up. In lieu of progress I'll gladly take more of the same. A$AP's back, steady mobbing. Hear all three tracks below.

Listen: Ghostface Killah Heads To “The Battlefield” With AZ & Kool G Rap Posted: 17 Nov 2014 10:27 AM PST After announcing his new album and sharing its chill lead single last week, Ghostface Killah ramps up the energy for his latest preview off 36 Seasons. “The Battlefield” is just as gritty as you’d hope with a title like that, though there’s plenty of soul here thanks to singer Tre Williams and the live instrumentation-centric instrumental. Still, the Wu member and his guests, Kool G. Rap and AZ, use the live aesthetic to further unravel the grimy concept of Ghostface being a “Staten Island vigilante” who returns to his home to see everything has fallen apart. You can hear the song below and pre-order 36 Seasons here.

Coultrain Announces New EP, Shares Soulful Lead Single “Kiss of Death” Posted: 17 Nov 2014 10:11 AM PST As St. Louis singer/songwriter Coultrain prepares his upcoming EP (titled Side Effex of Make Believe; divided for love’s sake), he teases us with a powerful, soulful ballad titled “Kiss of Death.” His unique storytelling ability is on display here as it acts as the last chapter in the story of his Seymour Liberty character. It details Liberty’s infatuation with a murderous widow, which leads to him helplessly falling through a maze of agony and enlightenment because of the woman. It’s produced by Stoney Rock (also known as Black Spade), who laces Coultrain with an instrumental that is really cohesive with his singing voice. The banging drums throughout provide an almost-palpable heartbeat to the song, and are masterfully accented by the light chimes. Overall this track is a journey—albeit a short one, but definitely one worth taking. You can hear the track below.

Freeway & The Jacka – Highway Robbery Posted: 17 Nov 2014 05:50 AM PST Freeway & The Jacka – Highway Robbery Team Early/The Artist: 2014 It's been more than 11 years since Freeway's first album, Philadelphia Freeway, propelled his charismatic delivery into the marketplace. Yet despite his waning relevance, I'll never again pass up a chance to hear him in hopes of witnessing another semblance of that initial enthusiasm. His debut represents the iconic Roc-A-Fella releases from the label’s early days, a staple of nascent-2000s hip-hop. Thanks to the Jay Z cameos and a production landscape populated primarily by Kanye and Just Blaze, Philly Free seemed poised to become one of the Roc's biggest successes. Freeway’s voice had this infectious, higher-register magnetism, and he seemed most deserving of the platform at the time (unlike some of the filler on the Roc roster — read: Memphis Bleek). After moderate commercial success, however, he experienced a spiritual crisis and went on The Hajj to Mecca. Now, over a decade and only one major label album later (two others, indie releases, gained little attention or criticism), he's teamed up with Oakland emcee The Jacka, which seems like a harmonious pairing given that both are Muslim, in their late 30s and about 10 years removed from their most commercially successful work. Unsurprising for two artists tightly tied to their neighborhoods, much of the fifteen tracks are in service of documenting street life and struggle. Freeway and Jacka have an innate ability to resonate with their listeners as they navigate that territory, highlighting the urgency of topics such as street violence and drug trafficking. There's a sense of authority gained when one has endured a similar struggle, and that powers much of the album, especially on songs like the reggae-influenced and Freddie Gibbs-assisted "Cherry Pie." There are plenty of other standouts, many of which include cameos from other high-end lyricists. Cormega plays philosopher on "Write My Wrongs," a gloomy-synth-laden beat where all three emcees feel right at home; Killer Mike joins for the breezy, jazz-inspired "Sunnah Boys," where his calculated flows and punctuated raps blossom alongside one of Free's most enlivened performances on the project. While some of the varying sonic styles are welcome — there's the expectant sex song, "Shuckin' & Jivin'," and the high-pitched jazz that powers "Just Remain — obvious attempts at creating an anthemic track feel ill-advised, which drastically hamper the album's built-up rhythm. On "Dying To Try Me," a braggadocious track with energetic, almost squealing synths, Freeway raps, "… and all the broads pee-pee when they see me." On the next track, "One More Time," they sample the Daft Punk song of the same name — a song that even predates Philadelphia Freeway by a few years. Though the improved bass on the production provides it a nice thud, Free and Jacka suddenly sound remarkably out of place, and as their staccato-rapped back-and-forth chorus continues to repeat, that sense of authority seems to all but vanish, and all of a sudden you realize how distant they've become from the pulse of culture, that it's no longer 2003 and that their time in the public eye is all but fading to memory. 3.5 out of 5 stars 3.5 out of 5 You can purchase Highway Robbery iTunes.

Listen to Joey Green’s Super-Smooth New Single “Girls Love Clothes” Posted: 17 Nov 2014 05:00 AM PST Joey Green is someone I've grown more and more familiar with recently, and his work ethic is definitely translating to growth as an artist. He returns with a brand-new track, titled "Girls Love Clothes," which acts as the latest leak from his upcoming collaborative project with K.eYe.D. K.eYe.D opens up the track with a lax, laid-back verse that flows nicely with the vibe-filled, piano-laden instrumental. Green follows that up with a more upbeat flow, which contrasts with the [trash.goon] production quite nicely. Overall this track is hella smooth, and, as K.eYe.D points out, it "feels like mood music to drinking Fiji Water." Grab yourself a bottle of Fijian goodness and enjoy. You can hear the track below.

Listen: Ty Dolla $ign Actually Stands for Something On “Stand For” Posted: 17 Nov 2014 04:49 AM PST To say I’ve been back and forth on the Ty Dolla $ign fan spectrum would be an understatement. If you said Ty Dolla $ign was a talentless hack I would understand. If someone said Ty Dolla $ign was the future, I’d also completely understand. I’ve seen Ty perform and honestly was underwhelmed, but then again there’s something to be said about the catchiness of “Paranoid” and “Or Nah,” which continuously gives me faith that Ty can create something truly worthwhile. With “Stand For,” Ty may be on his way to creating his statement. Backed by a supreme beat by DJ Dahi and Diplo, Ty’s “Stand For” sounds like a catchier version of Kendrick Lamar’s “i.” The track is simultaneously uplifting, degrading, positive, and raunchy, but it stays true to what Ty has been building. If this is any indication of what he’s building towards with his debut, Free TC, than we might be in for a sleeper hit. Listen below.

Listen: Falside Drops Sample-Heavy New Beat Tape ‘Duvet’ Featuring Ridiculous Album Art Posted: 17 Nov 2014 04:46 AM PST Falside’s new beat tape Duvet is sample on sample on sample goodness. The NYC via Rhode Island beatsmith cooks up 10 off-kilter jams that have a weirdly warm charm to them. From the slow sizzurp drawl of “Greenback” to the decidedly Eastern flair of “Tropical Flesh Club,” Duvet is an unpredictable ride throughout. If you’re in need of some new beats to warm up your day than you stream Duvet below. Get it here.

Watch: J.Cole Announces New Album in Mini-Documentary “2014 Forest Hills Drive” Posted: 17 Nov 2014 04:45 AM PST J. Cole has always been a risk taker and on Dec.  he’s taking the ultimate risk by dropping his new album pretty much out of nowhere. Last night on Twitter, J.Cole announced that his 3rd studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, is dropping in three weeks’ time. The title is significant, because it is allegedly the address of the home Cole just bought in his hometown. Accompanied with the news was a mini-documentary following Cole around his stomping grounds. If nothing else, it truly feels like Cole has grown. In the documentary he talks about becoming a better man, son, brother, and boyfriend, while briefly speaking on the temptations of Hollywood. It’ll be interesting to see if Cole can do a Beyoncé and release an album with little fanfare. Cole for the last few years has done well working the singles game so it’d be nice if he goes back to his purely hip-hop routes and totally ignore the traditional major label rollout. Peep the documentary below.