REQUIREDAUDIO HEARD BEFORE THE HERD TEXT BYJOEL MARASIGAN Palm Trees and Gangstas Da Fishmarket Thedjstrong and Kurupt Chali 2na Hosted by Los Angeles’ Kurupt, Palm Da Fishmarket has everything you Trees and Gangstas helps to re-intro- need to fill up on fresh tracks. 2na’s duce the West Coast’s finest. The 32 solo features Supernatural, Dilated tracks feature: Butch Cassidy, E40, Peoples, Swollen Members, Roots Eazy E, Erule, The Game, Jayo Felony, Manuva, Linkin Park, and of course Krondon, Emcee Eiht, Outlawz, Phil Jurrasik 5. Atypical J5 beat stylings Da Agony, Planet Asia, Relativez, and more and more of 2na (one of The Grind Date Spice 1, Too $Hort, Trey Dee and WC. Metal Fingers Presents... Special the more distinguishable voices in De La Soul There are also some out-of-towners Herbs Vol. 7,8 hip hop) make this album a surefire With a successful self-owned like Twista, Lloyd Banks and Sleepy Metal Fingers headphone banger. If you have the SpitKicker tour (spitkicker.com), a Brown. Thanks to folks like MF, the holder of a boulder, money car system to handle the nice beat couple Apple computer gigs, world Thedjstrong, the West is about to folder. Hey, wasn’t it KRS who said production, bump it and share the tours, the design of a limited-edition tweak mixtapes left coast style. that one? Mister mysterio himself, music with your neighbors alongside Nike called the “De La Dunk,” eight —thedjstrong.com MF, has come out with another one you. albums in 15 years (the last one was in his Special Herbs series. If you 2001’s AOI: Bionix), they’re back. already heard volumes 1 and 2 and And they’re back with an album that then later volumes 4, 5, and 6, you shows why they’ve made it this far. know what to expect from the cur- The Grind Date steps away from rent volumes 7 and 8. But what hap- their Art Official Intelligence concept pened to volume 3? The Special album trilogy and just gets back to Herbs series is among my favorites. good ole hip hop music. It includes It’s nothing but beats. With volumes guests like Flavor Flav, Common, 7 and 8 MF brings more rare loops Spike Lee, MF Doom, Ghostface, Carl and his funky drum programming. Thomas, and soundscapes from It’s so simple, yet so good. In my Slum Village’s JayDee, Dave West humble opinion he even gets away and Madlib. De La Soul points out Play Your Position Vol. 2 with simply looping that Doobie Conversation with Dudley they want longevity and not a “flash Dow Jones Brothers melody on “Mandrake.” Declaime in the pan” through “Much More.” It Strong Arm Steady’s own Krondon Special Herbs Vol. 7, 8 is the kind of Dudley Perkins (Declaime) has one comes down to the fact that they hosts this mixtape and shows exact- album you can pop in your player, of the best raw voices out there. It love for hip hop culture and it ly what’s hitting on the streets out let run, and just drift off into your combines the musical mash-up of shows. Pos said, “I’d like to think De West. This is a no-slackin’ tape that preferred altered state. Personally, beat-makers OHNO and Madlib with La Soul is like incense that’s burning includes a cast of artist tracks from the altered state I chose is sex. Beat emcees Lil’ Dap of Group Home and slow and even. By the time it has fiz- the likes of 213, Nore, Bad Azz, DPG- lovers out there, this one’s for you. Philly’s Grand Agent. And we can’t zled out, it has left a great aroma.” Unit, Eclipse, G-Unit, Ice Cube, Lil —Michael Cruz forget the lyrical compatriots —spitkickers.com Scrappy (f/ DJ Quik), Memphis Bleek, Medaphoar and Wildchild. Missy, Mobb Deep (f/ Nate Dogg), Conversation with Dudley moves Strong Arm Steady (Phil Da Agony, slightly above par. Listen to this Xzibit and Krondon), Planet Asia, Sly album on your walkman while Boogie, The Game, Trina, Twista, stomping through the city. Xzibit, Young Buck, and Znuffstar (f/ —upabove.com Fabolous). —thedjstrong.com 05.02.2nr.57.