Breathless. That’s how I imagine Black Thought must have felt after his 75 bar workout on Black’s Reconstruction. The South Philly MC refuses to let a pause for air come in between him and the neck-breaking track, as he abuses it non-stop for 3 minutes and 17 seconds, and has it gasping for air when Questlove holds the drums and lets him go acapella for a couple lines - forcing you to pay close attention to the MC at work. (Pause for breath.) Rick Cordero’s also putting in some work as he matched The Roots frenetic single with a mini-movie, where an unlucky bastard is dragged around, has gasoline poured on his bloody cuts, and is about to be burnt alive a la Reservoir Dogs. My ramblings don’t do it justice though - check it out for yourself and remember to circle April 29^th on your calendar: Rising Down will be on shelves nationwide.

Just as we’d virtually outgrown the teething stages of internet downloads, TRACE’s own electric lady, Santogold, gives us another morsel to sink our teeth into. After much anticipation, Santogold’s debut video for “L.E.S. Artistes” has hit the web, and the cyber-world is abuzz. Directed by London’s own Nima Nourizadeh, the video references Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain (1973), a cult film classic marked by psychadelic visuals and allegoric undertones. Santogold takes the opportunity to experiment with her artistry and draw from her bottomless cauldron of creative influences. Both in her music and now with this video, Santogold shows great scope and creative depth of field. All of those expecting an M.I.A. reproduction can kill the noise now (we still love you Maya). Santi has created her own lane. And to all the self-righteous hipsters who think Santi’s laughing with you, just try to keep dancing when you realize she’s laughing at you!