To commemorate our 3 year anniversary since we launched, we’re proud to present our first mixtape compilation, The Vaults Vol. 1.  This compilation features exclusive, previously unreleased recordings from The Roots, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, Q-Tip, Robert Glasper, Talib Kweli, Phonte, Shad, Pharoahe Monch, Kano, Tanya Morgan and Joe Budden.  Tracklist and download instructions after the jump.

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Marc Cary, an emerging jazz pianist out of NYC, launched his vision of hip-hop at Harlem Stage’s Gatehouse as he directed a dedicated core of musicians joined by some talented emcees.  The highlight of the night hands down went to Phonte, who handled the mic with ease doing a rendition of If You Dont Love Me with the band, with some sick freestyles and solos added in.  Check out the band lineup and exclusive recording below.

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Hot 97′s Peter Rosenberg resumed his Noisemakers series this past week by welcoming Phonte and 9th Wonder to the event at 92Y Tribecca, which marked the duo’s first time sharing a stage together in many years.  Fans were treated to rare, never before told stories and anecdotes about Little Brother’s origins, their personal careers and a whole lot more.  They discussed the state of hip hop, connecting with fans via social media, and of course, hilarious early encounters with Kanye West.  9th also shared insight into his early production style, working with Lil B, teaching at Duke University and other upcoming projects.  Rosenberg did another fantastic job curating the show, crafting an informative look at two of the most talented figures in hip-hop.  As always with Noisemakers, a live house band performed tracks from Little Brother’s and 9th Wonder’s catalog.  This time, handling the duties was hip-hop band Dujeous, who was paired with Illmind to trigger live samples with the band.  A new twist for this edition of Noisemakers was after the show, the band welcomed fellow emcees Donwill, Skyzoo, Torae, Mickey Factz, Act Proof and Mojo for a freestyle cipher over Jay-Z’s Threat beat.  Here is our exclusive, complete 2.5 hour recording of the evening, including the full interviews and live band tributes.

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This is the type of dream collab show you pray would happen one day:  The Glasper Experiment and Phonte.  Revive Inc. put this amazing event together and it was easily one of the best shows of 2010.  The band brilliantly played through a mix of Phonte’s Little Brother work, guest features and covers, including amazing renditions of Radiohead’s All I Need and Nirvana’s It Smells Like Teen Spirit.  Tay also flexed his lyrical muscle by freestyling often and proving hes hands down one of the best off the dome.  Here are some of our exclusive recordings from this epic evening.

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The Foreign Exchange dropped by the Sirius XM studios in DC to bless an intimate crowd and radio listeners with a beautiful live in-studio performance.  Backed by the talented full live band, Zo! & The ELs, and the soulful voices of Yahzarah and Darien Brockington on background vocals, this was truly a great set.  Here is the entire performance, which recently aired on the Sirius XM show, Subsoniq (Hip Hop Nation, Sundays at 9pm).

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Revive Da Live put on what will go down as one of the best concerts of the year when they presented their latest installment of their Flagship Series at Le Poisson Rouge, titled “Hip Hop 1942″.  The premise of the show being was to perform jazz standards and seamlessly blend them into classic hip-hop songs that sampled the original.  It was a beautiful night of music from some of the best underground jazz musicians in the NYC area and the emcee duties were handled by John Robison, Raydar Ellis and Phonte (of Little Brother / The Foreign Exchange).  Here is their Dilla tribute, which included “The Official”,  “Fall In Love” and “Diana In The Autumn Wind”, with the trio of emcees freesyling, creating a jazzy hip-hop bliss.  If you live in NYC, you need to start checking out Revive Da Live’s concerts- you will not be disappointed.

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