Slaps Of The Week (7/15/12 - 7/21/12)

I’m not the biggest baseball fan, but you got to love the A’s sweeping the Yankees. Rolling over the country’s most despised franchise (who’s currently sitting at the top of their division), four games in a row, seems to be another sign of Bay Area sports finally becoming competitive again. On the music end of things we got a long awaited music video, mixtapes from iconic vets and new local celebrities, album releases and much more. Hit the jump to catch what you missed.

Clyde Carson and The Team - Slow Down:

Despite originally being released back in December of 2011, “Slow Down” has without question been the biggest Bay Area single of the summer. Which puts it alongside “Up” for recent, Bay Area hits, that took months to catch on. Yet with the song being played at every club and function for the past 2-3 months, and the original J12 video featuring Priceless Da Roc and DJ J12 closing in on 600,000 views, some official visuals for the track have been way over due. Luckily The Team did’t disappoint, and decided to do a hyphy throwback full of donuts, figure 8’s, dancers hitting the J12, and cameos from damn near the entire Bay. 

Download: Clyde Carson and The Team - Slow Down

P-Lo - MBMGC:

 

This week Hiero dropped a tape highlighting the work that all of the members of the group have been doing over the past year or so, Catalyst and M-Jaf dropped a California to New York collaborative album, Quad High proved he was Real Before Rap, and Dane Dee was in Motion. Yet P-Lo’s debut mixtape, MBMGC (More Bitches More Gold Chains), was the biggest release of the week. As one of the producers in The Invasion, and one of the MC’s in the HBK Gang, P-Lo has been heavily involved in shaping a lot of the New Bay sound. Yet unlike Su!, Kool John, and some of his other Shmoplife peers, P-Lo has largely played the behind the scenes roles up until now. On MBMGC P-Lo makes a proper introduction to his music by handling the vast majority of the producing and MC’ing. If you’re interested in staying on top of all things HBK and New Bay, this is a must download. 

Download: P-Lo - MBMGC

S.B. & Krypto - Covering Grounds 2:

 

For those not knowing, Sacred Muzic is a young label that has been putting in a ton of the work over the past year. Featuring Krypto, Danked Out, S.B. and Axion Jaxion, and working relationships with many of the Bay’s most sought after rappers, Sacred is poised to be a name that rings bells in the future. And the grind continues with their next album, Covering Grounds 2, from S.B. and Krypto. This Frisco to Vallejo collaboration is filled with gritty lyrics and hard hitting production, and also features Mitchy Slick, Los Rakas, Ampichino and the rest of the Sacred Muzic members. 

Buy: S.B. and Krypto - Covering Grounds 2

SayKnowledge & Chris Keys - Jack Move (Live In Studio):

Nothing makes my day like discovering an ill MC for the first time. Before this morning I had never even heard of SayKnowledge, but after clicking on this in studio video for “Jack Move”, I’ve re-watched it a half dozen times. He spits in a way that deceptively makes rap seem ridiculously easy, but at the same time his lyrics vividly paint an accurate picture of living the City. The live organ playing from Chris Keys makes the video, and creates the perfect melancholy mood for SayKnowledge to rock over. After this, I’m most definitely keeping my eyes and ears ready for new music from either of these artists.  

Starting Six ft. Roach Gigz, Clyde Carson, Problem and Iamsu! - This Ain’t Water Remix:

The Bay has been dropping hits recently, and if I was a betting man, I would put my money on the “This Ain’t Water Remix” being next. The instrumental has radio and night clubs written all over it, the chorus is catchy as hell and has been stuck in my head all day, and with verses from Roach, Clyde, Problem and Su! it has all the name recognition you could ask for. If you want to get the party lit, this is going to be the song to play. 

Download: Starting Six ft. Roach Gigz, Clyde Carson, problem and Iamsu! - This Ain't Water Remix