Atmosphere had a great 2008, releasing one of their best albums to date, When Life Gives You Lemons Paints That Shit Gold.  While the album garnered praise from critics and fans alike, the group also quietly released the 12th edition of their Sad Clown EP series, Sad Clown Bad Spring #12.   This live performance from Webster Hall features Slug and guitarist Nate Collis performing an acoustic rendition of one of the EP’s standout tracks, “Not Antother Day”.

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Panacea have quietly established themselves as one of the most consistent, innovative and all around best hip-hop groups out there.  Producer K-Murdock paints lush, sonic landscapes for criminally slept-on emcee, Raw Poetic, to script his vivid tales with precision delivery.  I cant recommend these guys enough.  Aside from from their outstanding studio releases, they also put on one of the best live shows in hip-hop.  Performing with their side-project band, RPM (Restoring Poetry in Music), they expertly translate the spacey vibes to live grooves.  Here is an exclusive live performance of their single “Starlite“.

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Pharoahe shows off why he’s your favorite rappers favorite rapper with this incredibly dope new acapella verse he treated his fans to at his show at Highline back in November. Just another example of why he’s one of the best lyricists out there.

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Mos Def played a bunch of new songs tonight from upcoming release, The Ecstatic, which is set to hit store shelves in the coming months. At the opening of his set, he debuted an inspired remix of Brooklyn Go Hard, featuring the vintage type lyrics many have been patiently waiting for Mos to return to. He also spit the verse acapella to let the crowd sink it in. Another highlight was a funky new track from the upcoming album titled “Casa Forte”, which samples Banda Black Rio‘s song of the same name. Enjoy the exclusive audio treats below.

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The legendary Knitting Factory closed its doors for the final time last month, but before shutting down, it hosted one of its best concerts ever. Black Moon & Smif N Wessun held a one night only event, billed as A Tribute To The Classics, in which they played material from Enta Da Stage and Dah Shinin’, all backed by a live band. It was a historic night for hip-hop as the energetic crowd bid its farewell to a landmark in the New York music scene.

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The Foreign Exchange kicked off their first ever official tour in New York City this past November at the Highline Ballroom.  For those who are sleeping on good music, The Foreign Exchange is comprized of Phonte (of Little Brother) and soulful producer extraordinaire, Nicolay.  Backed by a live band headed by Zo!, a frequent collaborator with Phonte, and with background vocals from the lovely Yazarah, here is the first time “Daykeeper” was ever performed for a live crowd… the results speak for themselves, simply beautiful music.

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