SEARCH FOR: J. COLE

It’s two in the morning and I am in Canada at the moment, all of a sudden I see that Gangstarr just released their first record in well over a decade, so here I am sharing it with our audience. I grew up listening to tons of Gangstarr records, I feel like I was taught real-life lessons when listening to these songs and they helped raise me in a way, so the nostalgia is real when listening to their brand new release titled “Family and Loyalty” featuring J. Cole! Although the king Guru passed away in the physical over a decade ago it felt so good to hear a new verse from him, not even to mention the soothing instrumental from DJ Premier, and the stellar verse from J. Cole to top it off! This is a must-listen for any hip-hop fan, press play below!

Dreamville’s takeover of 2019 just doesn’t seem to be losing momentum anytime soon. From the group’s stellar compilation album to multiple standout solo releases from their roster, J. Cole’s vision for his collective has really come into fruition in this moment. Yesterday, Dreamville added another memorable music video to their catalog with a visual for “Under The Sun”. The celebratory opening track to ‘ROTD: III’ showcases Cole, Lute, and DaBaby delivering their most boastful bars with Kendrick Lamar holding things down on the hook. The accompanying video does the track’s energy justice, keeping the visuals simple yet effective at giving each rapper their spotlight. It’s refreshing to see these artists next to each other and just having fun in front of the camera, and the natural chemistry between them is part of what makes this song work so well. Peep the new video for “Under The Sun” below, directed by Scott Lazer, Aisultan Seitov, David Peters, and Chad Tennies:

Post By: Lee Mcintosh Although Hip-Hop/Rap is amongst the most popular and impactful genre of music in the world, R&B is not that far behind. There are lots of Rap artists who teeter the lines of Rap and R&B–whether that be from the composition of the music, the lyrical content, or even just the way the lyrics soothe over the track. Ever so often, it can be difficult to decipher if an artist is in fact a rapper or a singer. Artists such as Bryson Tiller, 6LACK and Sy Ari Da Kid are amongst the best to master the art of both genres. Singing over rap beats, or rapping over singing beats–that just shows the amount of influence that R&B has on the culture today. Often so, Hip-Hop delivers a new wave of emerging artists every few years or so. The R&B world once did not operate on that fast of a time schedule–usually only bringing in the new “it” singer every 5 years or so. In the new digital/social media era, the rate at which new R&B artists transpire is almost as often as the rappers. Here at Lyrical Lemonade, we are most known for our coverage in Hip-Hop, …

Between Ari Lennox’s emergence, Bas’ remarkable consistency, J. Cole bodying every guest feature insight (and releasing one of the biggest songs of the year in “Middle Child”), and Revenge Of The Dreamers III, Dreamville is in the middle of a real moment right now. With zen-like patience, Earthgang has been waiting in the wings with Mirrorland locked and loaded. Now with the release of “Up” it feels like it’s finally time for the eccentric Atlanta duo to carry the rock for Dreamville. If I didn’t know any better I would have guessed this was recorded yesterday because Earthgang comes out rapping like they’ve been waiting. Like a rodeo bull, once the gate is lifted Dot and Venus go absolutely buckwild, peppering the Edsclusive and VOu-produced beat with a relentless passion. With an array of flows, countless vocal twinges, and a dynamic, layered beat, there is so much going on and yet the effort sounds decisive and cohesive. With their energy and personality charging them, Earthgang thrives in the chaos and the result is one of their most convenience releases to date. “Up” is unlike anything else you will hear this year…until Mirrorland drops at least.  

After taking a break from releasing new music, Chicago rapper Jay2 returned last month with a new EP aptly titled ‘4 Tha Wait’. The 7-song project features some of Jay2’s most energetic music yet, taking the same fast-paced flows and animated wordplay that’s remained consistent throughout his work and packaging it in a more melodic way–a natural progression for his already lively, lighthearted style. Jay2’s evolution as an artist has been an ongoing process, beginning when he first started working with engineer Chris Classick. Through Classick, he met Smino and Bari in 2012, and started working with Monte Booker not too long after that. Coming up with a tight circle of collaborators and friends, which later led to the formation of Zero Fatigue, has allowed Jay2 to hone his craft over the years. Now, the 24-year-old artist is gearing up for a headlining show at Schubas this Friday. Read about the upcoming show, his favorite Lil Wayne mixtapes, and his forthcoming album in our latest interview: — MDR: How/when did you get into music? Jay2: When I was maybe 15. I always liked it, and I used to do little freestyles when I was younger on a voice recorder. Then …

The adage “you must love yourself before you can love others” can be interpreted in any number of ways, and for Chicago rapper Matt Muse, exploring love in all its forms has been a strong source of inspiration for his two most recent projects. Last year, Muse released ‘Nappy Talk’, a project he describes as being all about self-love. Muse builds himself up in layers of bravado on tracks like “Don’t Tweak”, letting off steam in the form of masterful flows over keys that seem to announce the arrival of an impending threat. But unlike some wordsmiths in his arena, Muse’s boasts come with substance, rooted in pride that goes deeper than just plain vanity. On ‘Love & Nappyness’, the follow-up to ‘Nappy Talk’, Muse lets listeners know just where that sense of pride stems from. He opens up about the role God, family, and his upbringing have all played in forming his self-perception and ultimately his voice as an artist. While coming across as softer than his previous releases, Muse proves that he’s just as, if not more, powerful with a pen when he’s at his most vulnerable. Read my latest conversation with Matt Muse to learn more about …

By Lee Mcintosh It has been nearly six years since Young Thug emerged into the spectrum of the masses, and not too many artists can say that they have had a career quite like his. Coming onto the scene sounding much different than everyone else, Thug received a lot of criticism for his style of rap, his actions, and his overall persona. As the years passed, his notoriety in the rap game is like no other–proving he was way ahead of his time. After teasing fans with his official debut album Hy!£UN35 (Hi Tunes), it eventually became nothing but a myth. Will we still get it?–the world may never know. However, here we are in the year 2019 and Thugger has finally blessed his fans with the release of his debut album So Much Fun. This project could not have come at a better time in his career. He has achieved a new level or stardom–much bigger than he would have had if he originally released a debut album in 2016. The success of his YSL compilation album Slime Language and birthing the talents of Gunna, Lil Keed and Lil Duke, proves his talents as not only an executive, but a tastemaker. Nonetheless, the fans …

Young Thug is one of the most creative & influential artist in the world and he is fresh off of the release of his brand new project, so it’s only right that he sat down with the GOAT of interviewers, Big Boy! Big Boy + his team asked Thug about plenty of interesting subjects including his brand new album So Much Fun, his relationship with Nipsey Hussle, working with Machine Gun Kelly, the idea of album vs mixtape, Lil Wayne, his interview with No Jumper, having a mind that’s always running, tweeting about running for president in 2024, what type of father he is, his relationship with Gunna, J. Cole executive producing his album, a joint project with Juice WRLD, his clothing brand, receiving praise from Elton John, advice he would give his younger self, Jay-Z’s NFL situation and so much more. Watch this awesome new interview below!

Last month, J. Cole’s Dreamville label unleashed their star-studded compilation album, ‘Revenge of the Dreamers III’. The project came with no shortage of impressive bars and top-notch talent, and the closing track “Sacrifices” quickly became a fan-favorite with verses from Smino, Saba, EARTHGANG’s Johnny Venus, and Cole himself. Today, the track gets a new video to accompany it. As the crew takes turns spitting over an introspective beat, the camera follows them through an abandoned building. Every member shines in their own moment: Johnny Venus brings his animated energy to life, Smino does his iconically melodic style justice, Saba comes through with his superhuman lung capacity, and Cole comes in to close the track out effortlessly. Emotions no doubt run heavy on this track, and the video concludes with a dedication to Venus’ father who passed a year before this video was shot (Venus’ mother also makes an appearance). Watch EARTHGANG, J. Cole, Smino, and Saba wear their hearts on their sleeves and honor those who they have lost in the “Sacrifices” video below:

A year ago, I spoke to D2X over the phone. The then 20-year-old rapper from Chicago’s south suburbs was just about to release his debut EP ‘Enjoy Life’. The EP, as its title might suggest, communicated a mindset that the rising artist had finally settled on: after backing out of college basketball offers, recording in a professional studio for the first time, and finding confidence in his skills as a rapper, D2X was finally ready to pursue that which truly made him happy. Now, on a mid-July afternoon, as the sunlight starts to barely creep in through the boarded-up window panes, D2X sits next to me on a couch in the lounge of the Lyrical Lemonade office. He’s joined by his right-hand producer Glohan Beats and friends/photographers John and Tove. A can of lemonade in hand, D2X starts to catch me up on what has changed since we last spoke. His viral track “Woop Woop” got played on Chicago’s legendary Power 92 radio station, and recently he’s headlined his first concert as part of Illanoize Radio’s Let’s Get Social series. Though these career highlights stand out in our conversation, what’s most apparent is how D2X’s demeanor feels almost exactly the same …