Hots f/ Raheem Devaughn - "Movin' Pretty" (mp3)
Hots is part of NEK producer Neize's 1Up Productions company, next artist coming out of the camp. He guested on a song on Bossman's independent album, "Blam Blam," which is also going to be on the Virgin album, and he's also on the hook of Bossman's "Be Easy" from the This Is A Warning and Street Radio 2 mixtapes. He had a song that got some spins on 92Q back in 2003 called "2 Step," you can check for the video here. This is his new single with Raheem Devaughn, who's a soul singer from Maryland who put out an album on Jive last year. Officially he reps D.C. but he gets down with a lot of Baltimore artists, he did songs with D.O.G. and Bossman recently too. I got this song from Neize a while back, although I've heard it on 92Q too. I'm not too clear on what the title is, the file I got was called "Movin' Pretty Clean" but I guess that just meant it's the clean version of the song.

Blaq Starr f/ D.O.G. - "Rider Girls" remix
Not to run into ground the fact that I think Blaq Starr is the shit (I am, after all, the person who picked him for the best club music producer award), but man, this song is crazy. Rapidfire synth notes more melodic than what you usually get on a club track, and another weird singsong hook (I actually heard some lady singing the chorus today while I was walking down Broadway). Plus he sings some weird verses about if it wasn't "strictly business" between him and K-Swift he would "hit it in the worst way," but "just because they riders doesn't mean they sluts." But then about last week they just unleashed the remix with verses by maybe the most buzzed about rapper in the city in the moment, plus that hook at the end with the stuttering female voice going "grind me grind me gri-gri-gri-grind me grind me," they definitely took a hot song and made it hotter. You can hear it on D.O.G.'s MySpace page.

Tim Trees - "Get Slick With It"
When I interviewed Trees a few months ago, it sounded like he wasn't planning on collaborating with Rod Lee again for his new album, but then this popped up. I think it's actually the beat that Rod Lee played when he was on Rap Attack a few weeks ago and had singers and rappers call in and audition over it. Anyway, it's cool to see them working together again, since they've made more hits for Bmore radio and clubs than any other MC/producer combo. Not the hottest song they've made together, but it's got some cool moments, like that bit where Tim says "my crew don't sing like a church choir," and then the beat drops out and someone sings a big high gospel note.

Labels: Baltimore club, Blaq Starr, D.O.G., Hots, mp3, One Up Entertainment, Rod Lee, Tim Trees