My bad for the slow posts. Currently I’m rocking a broken foot, a heavy-ass cast and a shiny pair of crutches, so that will be my excuse going forward. That said, I think I sound some tunes for the BBQ I’m about to limp over to…

I brought you their first mix so it’s only right I bring you their new one. Check out the details below…

Since Flight School Vol. 1 was so lovely, TOBE$ & DJ Yoda aka Sparkle Motion, are back to give you more pause. They return with New Jack City Vol. 1, taking things forward a few years from where Flight School left off. To the days of hi-top fades, parachute pants and doing the Running Man. Think Bobby Brown cruising for chicks in a 1989 Testarossa, and Mike Tyson riding shotgun with a white baby tiger on his lap.

Download the mix here: Sparkle Motion – New jack City, Volume One Mixtape.

And be on the out for Slow Jamz Vol. 1 and Flight School Vol. 2, both coming soon.

Check out the tracklisting after the jump…

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Since I posted the audio a couple of weeks back, it’s only right that I post this. I’m pretty sure this isn’t anything official, but at least it looks good.

Spotted over at RapRadar.

Won’t ever be the same without Mike. Looks awesome though.

Been a little minute since I posted one of these. Check out Special Ed’s story on “I Got It Made” below…

In this episode of True Hip-Hop Stories, Special Ed discusses the making of his hit recording “I Got It Made.” He also gives his thoughts on the Rick Ross & John Legend collaboration “Magnificent”, which was inspired by Ed’s song “I’m The Magnificent.”

Nice little video from Mos, previewing his new album, The Ecstatic, which drops June 9th.

A record player that rips while it plays? Whoever came up with this one? I need to shake their hand, now. Check out the info below…

….what if you have a stack of old records around that you want to listen to on your iPod? If you ask the RIAA, you’ll be pointed towards an online store where you can pay for your music all over again. If you ask the folks at Denon, they might suggest their new DP-200USB, a turntable with a twist.

The $250 record player does all the dirty work for you. You can, of course, just pop on a record and listen, but the guts of the machine contain an MP3 encoder and will not only detect gaps and separate tracks into individual files, it will query Gracenote and actually add names and ID3 tags to the resulting MP3s. To be clear, the tagging is carried out by included software back on your PC.

The neatest touch, though, is the position of the USB port. It’s on the front, so you can just stick a pen-drive in their and rip. Just press record and it’s all automatic once the music starts. You even get to listen as you copy….

Birthday is 5/28 folks. You know what to do.

More info here: Wired.com Gadget Lab: Denon Record Player Rips as it Plays.

As soon as I heard about this one, I had to let folks know. Niel is one of my favorite DJs and I don’t even remember the last time he put out a mixtape, but I’m sure he’s not rusty at all, given the fact he’s been backing up Jay for the last year plus. Check out the info below…

Long before backing up Jay-Z around the world I was known way more for making these really interesting thematic mixtapes, as opposed to being known for throwing up diamond roc hand signs.

The 2nd cd I made was one called sweeet, dang near 10 years ago. It wasn’t as planned as my other cds, but it became clear when it was done that it was about the sweet goodness of love life and soul.

The music on it felt good, like the sunshine.

Now although I’ve done some crazy things over the past year – performing at Madison Square Garden, hitting the stage in front of over 120,000 people at the glastonbury, and being on the stage front and center as the man behind the 1’s and 2’s at President Obama’s Inauguration, I’ve learned to my greatest pleasure that I’m the same cat I was 10 years ago.

Nothing’s changed, because -
I was who I was before I got here.

I’m this person, who listens to a lot of music, who loves the art of djing, and whose answer to Huey Lewis’ (can’t forget the news!) eternal question will always be an unequivocal “yes” – I do believe in love.

This cd is called Sweeet part 2, to keep pushing the feeling on. This is my first cd in over 3 years, and I really missed making these things for y’all. Sorry it took so long…

Check out a sample below and a tracklisting after the jump…..

Sweeet Part Two Sampler.

Click here to buy the CD for the $5 Early bird special: Sweeet Part 2 Pre-Order.

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Gotta love HBO for continuing to bring quality to TV. My good friend Rolando hipped me to this a few days ago, a new show their set to launch, Brave New Voices. Check out the info below…

One part Def Poetry Jam and two-parts documentary, Brave New Voices is a new late night series that features the finest young spoken word artists in the country. We ride along as teenage poets from San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York, Santa Fe, Honolulu and Ann Arbor prepare to compete in the Brave New Voices National Poetry Slam Finals…

…They left their family, got on a plane, performed in front of a crowd of thousands and found new opportunities for growth and friendship beyond borders.

And one team rose above the rest to become the 2008 National Youth Slam Poetry Champion.

Check out a clip from the show below…

The series begins airing this Sunday @ 11PM EST. You can check out the first episode now, and get more info on the show, here: Brave New Voices On HBO.

Also, Ro: Congrats.

I stumbled on this earlier today, at RapRadar of all places. Check out the trailer for this new documentary below…

One of the greatest musicians finally gets his well-deserved shine Still Bill honours the musical legacy Bill Withers left us with. The film premiered last week at SXSW, let’s cross fingers this gets a top-notch dvd release soon….

“It’s ok to head out for wonderful.
But on your way to wonderful you’re gonna have to pass through allright.
And when you get to alright, take a good look around and get used to it, because that might be as far that you’re gonna go.” – Bill Withers

I need to see this. If anyone has a screener, you know what to do…

If anybody needs some of his music, holler at the kid.

This is funny and all but I really can’t listen to this for more than about 10 seconds…

…If this doesn’t make you wanna jump on some goombas, warp through sewer pipes or punch bricks to get coins then you must be too damn young. Props to Jesse Tugboat – the man behind the 8-bit goodness….

8-bit Hip Hop medley by Jesse Tugboat

Jay-Z — Dirt Off Your Shoulders
T.I — What You Know
Chamillionaire — Ridin’
Ludacris — What’s Ya Fantasy
Bonecrusher — Neva Scared
Twista & Kanye — Overnight Celebrity
Ludacris — Move Bitch
Lil’ Jon — Get Low
Kanye — Gold Digger

Spotted here.