Here's Skarr Akbar's video for "Ventilation," directed by Tha Profitt. Some good visuals, although I hate that bit with the (incorrect) definition of the word ventilation at the beginning.

Labels: Skarr Akbar, Tha Profitt, video

This is Huli Shallone's video "E Pill Poppin'," directed by Tha Profitt.

Labels: Huli Shallone, Tha Profitt, video

Tha Profitt's really been on his grind with directing videos lately, here's one for his song with Comp "Tell Me Something I Don't Know."

Labels: Comp, Tha Profitt, video

Here's Dirt Platoon's video for "Pennsylvania Ave." from the album Deeper Than Dirt that they're dropping with Brake Fast Records on September 15th. Profitt directed the video, Tom Delay and R. Taylor produced the song and this shit is great, you need to watch this.

Labels: Brakefast Records, Dirt Platoon, Tha Profitt, video

Labels: Black Hole Rock Club, Bossman, flyer, G.E.M./Tha Plague, Tha Profitt

Labels: Comp, flyer, Tha Profitt

Labels: Dirt Platoon, flyer, Minlus McCracken, Ms. Stress, Tha Profitt

Tha Profitt / Kezey - Nosebleed Section / Dumbass The Seed (Profitt Productions)

In addition to his frequent solo mixtapes, Tha Profitt seems to be doing more and more collaborative ventures these days, including releases that showcase his whole label roster and split releases that feature a solo record by him and another by someone else. Last year there was a double CD with Scryptz, and this one is on the same tip, although it's just on one CD, with Profitt on the first 20 tracks and Kezey on the last 13 tracks. Nosebleed Section is one of the better Profitt releases I've heard, partly because he's not recycling a bunch of songs from his other CDs like he usually does. Also, he's really starting to kind of carve out more of an identity, because the dude really grinds hard and works at this music thing, and he kinda talks about the toll that takes on him on this album, and lets you in on his life a little more, which I think makes the songs more interesting and relatable. He's still got a weird voice and is probably kind of an acquired taste, but the kid can definitely flow. I wasn't really feeling the Kezey half, though, that guy just can't ride a beat to save his life, should be just doing poetry or something. Profitt's side of the CD features guest verses and drops from local artists including Skarr Akbar, TestMe, Bossman, Stackz, Mullyman and Alicia Peace, as well as appearances by Lil Fame from M.O.P. and Termanology and Tech N9ne. You can download this at allbmorehiphop.com/thaprofitt and allbmorehiphop.com/kezey, and this weekend Tha Profitt is performing at the Black Hole on Friday and at The Quarter on Saturday.

Tha Profitt f/ Sylence, Heavy Gold and Tony Bosco - "On My Way" (mp3)
This is the best of a handful of posse cuts on the CD, and I had to post it since Tony Bosco gets so much hate in the comments section here and his verse on this is pretty dope.

Labels: ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Bossman, mixtape/album review, mp3, Mullyman, Skarr Akbar, TestMe, Tha Profitt

Labels: Bourbon St, flyer, Kartel, Ogun, Only, Skarr Akbar, Steez Promo, Tha Profitt

Labels: Black Hole Rock Club, flyer, Huli Shallone, Los, Tha Profitt

Labels: Black Hole Rock Club, flyer, Huli Shallone, NOE, Ogun, Tha Profitt

PenDragon - HomeRun King (Team Arson)

I talk to PenDragon pretty often and always check for his music, but between having a baby and everything else that's been going on, I've been really slow to catch up on this mixtape he released on his site over the summer. I mean, the mixtape has a baseball theme and here I am posting about it after baseball season, and after Drag dropped another mixtape, 24, in the past couple weeks, so I gotta claim a late pass. Anyway, it's got his remix of DJ Class's "I'm The Ish" that I posted a few months ago, and the song "Beat It Up" that he shot a dope video for, along with a lot of new stuff of varying quality, with guests including Real 2 Real, Tha Profitt, and Jae Poet. I'm not sure why but this isn't really hitting me like I Got Hits 4 Cheap did, a few good tracks but there's some stuff that just has weak beats or awkward hooks or something detracting from it. Plus, I keep warning Drag to stop throwing around the word "king," both because of how played out that word is in this city, and because it keeps bringing to mind the phrase "drag king," which isn't really a great mental association for him to have.

One thing you may notice is that the Government Names logo appears on the back cover of this mixtape. And while I realize that artists acknowledging blogs on mixtape artwork is pretty commonplace these days, and I have always been pretty supportive of Drag, my logo showing up on his project, right by the logo of his actual label, puts me in an awkward position, as a critic that would like to write about his music, but wouldn't review this in, say, the City Paper because that logo could give them impression that there's some official affiliation or business relationship there, which would be a conflict of interest. Plus, say I don't like someone's mixtape enough to want to write about it, why wouldn't I want my logo on it, y'know? It's lose/lose for me. Drag actually put my logo on a previous mixtape last year and I let it slide, but after he did it again and another rapper followed suit more recently, I had to let him know that's a bad idea. So just for future reference, please don't do that, I wouldn't want my brand stamped on anything I'm not involved with personally on some level.

PenDragon - "Rain" (mp3)
Drag recently shot a video for this track, which is co-produced by J. Dauma and samples "Raining In Baltimore" by Counting Crows. And I won't lie, I fuck with that song, August And Everything After is a jam.

Labels: DJ Class, mixtape/album review, mp3, PenDragon, Real2Real, Tha Profitt

Labels: flyer, open mic, Tha Profitt

Labels: 1st Family, Black Hole Rock Club, Comp, flyer, Huli Shallone, Smash, Tha Profitt

Tha Profitt / Scryptz - The Co-Op: Popular Catch Phrases / Motion Picture Music (Profitt Productions)

Profitt's got a new mixtape coming out soon that I posted a track from recently, but I was going through my CDs and realized he puts stuff out so frequently that I had one out a while back that I never posted about. This is a double CD, one by him and one by another Profitt Productions artist, Scryptz. Profitt's half has guest appearances by Skarr Akbar, Bossman and Comp. I've never really heard Scryptz before and he's alright, kinda ain't good at staying on the beat, which gets on my nerves a bit, but he's got a good ear for beats and generally raps like he means it and isn't boring. He references and gives props to Big Pun a few times, and I feel like that's always a really encouraging influence for an MC to have, Pun was the shit.

I've always been impressed by Profitt's grind and have been supportive of how much music he puts out, but I gotta say, he recycles the same songs on his CDs a lot, which I guess is part of the reason why he's able to drop mixtapes so often. 7 of the 20 tracks Popular Catchphrases aren't familiar to me, but for everything else this is the 2nd or 3rd or even 4th mixtape I've heard it on. Some of those songs are really good and I don't mind hearing them again, and I mean he sent these mixtapes to me so I'm not pissed like I might be if I was a fan buying all these CDs with the same songs over and over. Still, seems kind of odd and pointless to me. Hopefully that mixtape he's about to release has some new shit on it! Two mp3s, one from each disc:

Tha Profitt - "Piece Of Shit Whip" (mp3)
This song is hilarious and I identify with it entirely too much. I have driven some shitty, old-ass cars in my life.

Scryptz - "Hip Hop Obversations" (mp3)
I have definitely found myself thinking a lot of the things he says in this song from time to time.

Labels: Bossman, Comp, mixtape/album review, mp3, Skarr Akbar, Tha Profitt

Labels: Brakefast Records, flyer, Pro and Reg, Steez Promo, Tha Profitt

Tha Profitt f/ Skarr Akbar and TestMe - "You Think U Hard" (mp3)
Here's some dope new Profitt from his next CD coming soon, with some good guests on the track. Had to use the half-n-half pic, haha.

Labels: mp3, Skarr Akbar, TestMe, Tha Profitt

Labels: Black Hole Rock Club, flyer, Ms. Stress, Shy Lady Heroin, Si-Notes, Tha Profitt

Labels: Black Hole Rock Club, flyer, Tha Profitt

Labels: B.O.M.B., Comp, flyer, For The People Entertainment, Ogun, Tha Profitt, Tim Trees