Eternia back in TO

Eternia Returns to Toronto from themanifesto.ca on Vimeo.

Extremely glad we here for this right now. WHAT UP, E? Peep the info after the jump...

"You know that face you got, when a real gritty, rugged track came on and you just mean-mugged to the rhythm of the track? Like, you were feeling it, but you were feeling the rapper’s disgust for whatever it may be. Well, Eternia, one of hip hop’s elite female lyricists, can and will make any listener do that. Why? Because she’s mean on the mic, fierce with her poetry, and relentless with her assault.

Always representing Toronto to the fullest extent, E has enjoyed quite the successful year as herself and MoSS (producer) finally released their much anticipated album At Last on the legendary Fat Beats Records. The album has a variety of features ranging from Rah Digga, Rage (Lady of Rage), Jessica Kaya, Tona, Maestro, Joell Ortiz,Termanology, Reef The Lost Cauze, as well as Tiye Pheonix, Jean Grae and Ras Kass on remixes.

Not jaded by the critical acclaim and fan satisfaction, E stays real with it, “I do one thing, and one thing only, and that is emcee. That’s it.” And that she does well. Always on the cusp of being undoubtedly one of Toronto’s finest, Eternia has definitely garnered plenty of attention in her other hometown, New York. A scene where the underground is big, if not bigger, than the mainstream facet, Eternia knows the importance of showing T Dot talent to the world. “People weren’t watching Toronto until recently,” E says with Manifesto TV, “Our artists are different.” While Manifesto attempts to bridge the two hip hop communities of New York and Toronto together, Eternia is living proof that it is accomplishable. Catch her at the Manifesto Main Event, September 26th, 2010 at Dundas Square in Downtown Toronto."

Mel Gibson Racist Rant RAP with Ras Kass (2010)

Wow. Amazingly hilarious. Ras sent this one through today, shit is GOLD.

The song is actually called 'Pussy From Behind' by Mad Max featuring Ras Kass. I don't even wanna speak on it, just watch and listen.

Ras Kass and Royce Da 5'9" - Attitudes 2012 (video)

The big homie Ras Kass done did it again. This cut, 'Attitudes 2012', is produced by Sick Jacken and features Royce Da 5'9".

Not much else you can really say about this. Beat is bananas, both Ras and Royce come with it as expected - just fucking dope music. Video is cool. Mad simple, kinda cut together from various images and random videos and whatnot, but it works.

Cop this shit.

Eternia w/ Ras Kass ~ Behind The Scenes of "It's Funny" (Video)

I've been maaaaad lazy and didn't even post the two joints Eternia & MoSS leaked from their upcoming album 'At Last', so my bad on that. First up, shouts to E and MoSS for inking a deal with Fat Beats for their album! Been a long time coming.

So the joint is called 'It's Funny' and there's two versions - one with Joell Ortiz and one with Ras Kass. Check the video above for some behind the scenes action.

B Please: Race, Class & Linguistics

OK, I'm a bit late on this given that I actually read this article last weekend, but I just had to post about it. Anyway, Mina Jasarevic wrote a great article on HipHopDX.com about the use of the word "bitch" in hip hop and I think its a great read. The article features quotes from Talib Kweli, KRS-One, Eternia, Joell Ortiz, Ras Kass and B-Real.

Anybody who knows my girlfriend knows that she's a pretty staunch feminist. We've had some pretty extensive discussions/debates/arguments over the portrayal of women in mainstream culture generally, but perhaps the most challenging are those about the portrayal of women in hip hop culture.

I love hip hop to death and have bumped any number of misogynistic anthems in my life, but I've got to say its something that's pretty difficult to justify on a rational level. After all, if the point of hip hop is so often drummed up as an outlet for the marginalised, how can you then justify the subjectification of women?

I've got to say the conclusion to the article (or lack thereof) is a bit of a cop out, as are Joell Ortiz's quotes which seem more like attempted diversions rather than facing the issue being discussed.

I really think the dicsussion of misogyny in hip hop too often comes from outside the culture. It's about time the discussion came more regularly from within.

Ras Kass - AMZIN (Street Video)

Ras Kass is STILL one of my favourite emcees of all time. Check out the dope street video for his new track "AMZIN" which will be on THE QUARTERLY, coming November 23 at Ras Kass Central.

As a bonus, here is the video for "THE RECONCILIATION" which will also be on THE QUARTERLY. Make sure you watch this one in full screen!

Finally, here's a video from a couple of months ago where Ras explains more about THE QUARTERLY.

November 23.

Ras Kass - Live Concert At Rileys in Point Loma, CA

Ras Kass is my second favourite emcee of all time. Yeah I said it.

Here he is performing some of his most classic tracks - "Miami Life", "Soul On Ice (Remix)", "Ghetto Fabulous", "3 Card Molly", "Goldyn Chyld" - and I'll let you sit and wonder who my favourite all time emcee is. That's a complete other post though.

For now, watch Razzy do his thing.

U-N-I and Ras Kass @ House of Blues

About to check this out, but it looks fresh. The homie Ras and U-N-I rippin' it at House of Blues in LA. Boom.

"Feet Are Funny, Aren't They?"

I was having a Twitter debate the other day about old school rappers and new school rappers dissing each other. I'm kinda of the opinion that it's fine (if you've got a proper reason) as that's just the nature of an emcee: bragging; battling; brawling.

I just don't like it when new school rappers (or fans) don't have respect for the greats. Even if they're wack now (or were always wack) you still gotta give them a certain level of respect, right?

Case in point: Eazy-E. He didn't write his own rhymes. He could hardly spit them. Go back and listen to Straight Outta Compton and try telling me with a straight face that Eazy could flow...

Regardless, we all loved his shit.

This video is from an appearance on Arsenio during the whole 'beefing with Dre' thing. It's beautiful viewing.

"Watch me gamble for paradise, and if I gotta pay the price... easy come, easy go like Eric Wright" - Ras Kass on If/Then

Black Milk x Ras Kass in Venice, CA (8/28/09)

Peep this ish. Thrizz will love it. Ras and Black. Too real.

Spotted @ NahRight.