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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The  Roots & Q-Tip headlined the Hennessy Artistry tour this year and last week they touched down in NYC for the grand finale.  As with all the Hennessy shows, there were many special guests as Ronald Isley, Bobby Brown, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, Mike Posner, D-Nice and Eve all took the stage with The Legendary.  Hennessy was gracious enough to stream the event live on ustream, so you can check out the full concert on-demand below, as well as download our audio rip of the show.

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Black Thought has been considered by many to be among the best emcees of all time, but after his incredible ‘freestyles’ on the Shade 45 Dilla tribute recently, many hip-hop heads bowed down and gave him the crown as THE greatest.  Even Q-Tip was at a loss for words when it came his time to grab the mic.  While this has been floating around the net for a bit, here’s our exclusive mix of the session, with some of the levels raised (including bass) and mastered properly.  I edited out Tony Toca (sorry pal) and everything flows perfectly.  Enjoy raw emceeing at its finest over Dilla beats.

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Earlier this week, Talib Kweli became the latest hip-hop icon to be celebrated at Peter Rosenberg’s interview/concert series, Noisemakers.  Previous featured Noisemakers guests include DJ Premier, Questlove, Q-Tip and Raekwon.  If you’re not familiar with the event by now, Rosenberg accurately describes it as the hip-hop Inside The Actor’s Studio, featuring an in-depth interview and live sets by Daru Jones and The Noise performing impeccable live interpretations of Kweli’s vast catalog.  What makes Noisemakers so enthralling is that this is not just any standard interview, but rather an engaging hip-hop conversation.  Kweli shared tons of stories ranging from his childhood up through the current day including his first encounters with Dilla, Kanye West, Hi Tek, Corey Smith, Common and many other central figures in hip-hop.  He also told some hilarious stories about Kanye West and also there’s a brief cameo by Q-Tip.  Check after the jump for audio of the entire evening, including the complete interview and live performance sets, plus a few videos.

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The Roots & Common made the final stop on their Hennessy Artistry tour in New York City at Terminal 5 last week.  With special guests joining them in each city of the tour, the crowd knew we were in for something special being in the Mecca of hip-hop.  Among the many surprise guests, legendary emcees were in the house as Q-Tip joined The Roots on stage, followed by Queen Latifah to close out the show.  Here’s some fantastic soundboard audio of these moments.

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Q-Tip took the stage at the Oustide Lands Festival in San Francisco yesterday afternoon and gave what was definitely one of the better performances of the festival.  Tip always has a ton of energy when he performs, and when you have the entire Tribe catalog at your disposal, its guaranteed to be a dope show.  Phife Dawg also made a surprise appearance during “Award Tour”.  As usual, his extended live version of “Electric Relaxation” is always one of the highlights of the set.  Full setlist and MP3/FLAC downloads after the jump.

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