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This week I'm switching it up a little and slappin' 2 brand new joints from some Bay legends and 2 new EP's from some Minnesota legends  ....

iTunes: Zion I & The Grouch - Leader

iTunes: Zion I & The Grouch - One

"One" Music Video

This week I have been slappin' two brand new joints from The Grouch and Zion I, that can be found right here at Thizzler.com. I have been a fan of The Grouch and Zion I's solo projects for a very long time so when they released Heroes In The City Of Dope back in 2006 i was blown away. It has been about four years, and the Heroes return with two new banging tracks. Zion I and The Grouch bring us Leader and One, the only two songs off their Leader EP. Both songs are distinctively different, but feature true Amp Live hard hitting 808 beats. One is an up tempo dance track  that will get the party crackin'. It is reminiscent of Smack from the first album, but with a fresh 2010 feel. One is featured on the Step Up 3D soundtrack which makes me think that Zion I and The Grouch might be selling out a little, but hey who am I to judge? You got to get paid right, and if you can get paid while still straying true to yourself I say do it! The other track on off the EP, is Leader. Leader is a self aware slapper about never following others. In high contrast lyrically to One, Leader  features similar trunk slapping production from Amplive. Zumbi's chorus is the highlight of Leader for me; "I pledge allegiance to myself, I swear the world don't know my name".  The Grouch doesn't slack on the track and give us his usual dose of ill rhymes and white boy Oakland funk.  The Leader Ep is officially a slappet, sort of like snippet of a track; its a little piece that when you hear it you just cant wait for the full version to come out, yaddimean? So look out for the upcoming full length album from two of the Bay's most gifted, Zion I and The Grouch.

Don't forget to save your dollar dollar bills y'all and download the Leader EP right here on Thizzler On The Roof for FREE!

This week I have been keeping the trunk full of Atmosphere slaps. I know what you are saying "damn, Simon is bringing us some other group from the Mid-West on this Bay Area website" well I am and it's my opinion that they are probably the best duo in Hip Hop at the moment. For those of you who don't know Atmosphere consists of Slug and Ant. Slug works the mic while Ant works the production and turntable, the group also has other members who rotate in playing live instruments on wax and at the shows. Atmosphere is responsible for Rhymesayers entertainment which features a roster of Brother Ali, Freeway, Evidence, Mac Lethal, and a host of others. Atmosphere has released two EP's To All My Friends and Blood Makes the Blood Holy combined as one full length album; they dropped on Tuesday. Atmoshpere is on their hustle as of late, these two EP's are just a lead up to the upcoming full length album coming sometime soon. To All My Friends and Blood Makes the Blood Holy feature the poignant lyrical story telling that Slug has been come to be known for. These two EP's also features raw beats by Ant, he continually pushes the boundary between Hip Hop beats and Guitar laden white boy music, but the way Atmosphere does it makes it the most REAL Hip Hop. Atmosphere also brings in a new guitarist and piano player for To All My Friends and Blood Makes the Blood Holy; they complement the duo of Slug and Ant very nicely. Every single track bangs on both EP's, but some of my favorite tracks include Shotgun, Scalp, and Commodities. Commodities has one of the hardest hitting beats i have heard in a long time and a cool theme about not whoring yourself out on social networking sites. Atmosphere have done it and have created forward thinking, slapping, Hip Hop Music. Atmosphere and 2pac are what got me into Rap music and Hip Hop culture so do your self a favor and SLAP To All My Friends and Blood Makes the Blade Holy.