mixtape maestro (2.0)

---

The Roots featuring P.O.R.N. & Truck North “Kool On” Posted: 30 Nov 2011 04:51 PM PST Old school soul-baked hip hop ditties centered on drug slangers living the champagne life are such a dime a dozen these days (check every other Rick Ross song) that the emergence of a new one of it’s thematic construct can seem more ho-hum than “Must download now!!”-exciting…that is, unless it’s one being birthed under the excellent fingerprints of The Roots. A highlight mid-set cut from arguably The Hardest Working Band In The Music Biz’ eleventh studio effort, the unsurprisingly remarkable undun, “Kool On” finds the always-dependable Philly collective getting all Maybach Music Group/ Clipse on us but in their own Roots way: namely, digging beyond the mega-balling street-king grandeur for a deeper, darker look at all that is involved in taking on the role. With vintage soul loop-driven production striking a cruise-friendly blaxploitation groove, Black Thought and frequent Roots collaborators, Philly emcees P.O.R.N. and Truck North, paint compellingly rich portraits of the top dudes of the block who’ve “made the quantum leap to a king from a pawn”, and now steal stares with their telethon-ready three-piece suits and ever-cool demeanor as cloak for “heavy arms”, a hustler mentality that never sleeps and a deathless paranoia that keeps senses on high alert for any and everyone with the potential to threaten their reign (or, as Porn so sweetly sums it up in his stand-out verse: “Swag is on retard, charm is on massage/ Wit is on guard, I challenge you to a duel”). Stream undun in it’s entirety over at NPR; the album drops December 6th. “Kool On” featuring P.O.R.N. & Truck North (iTunes) (Amazon): Download audio file (The-Roots-Kool-On-feat.-P.O.R.N-Truck-North.mp3) BONUS: The Roots featuring D’Angelo “Break You Off (Original Mix)” (DL): Download audio file (The-Roots-Break-You-Off-feat.-DAngelo-Original-Mix.mp3)

You are subscribed to email updates from mixtape maestro (2.0) To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610