Let me preface this post by saying that this is a ballsy release considering the amount of love this city has for New Jack Swing. You will thus be subjected to the highest form of scrutiny. Good luck amigos, lol!

Spek Won, GMF and newcomer Marty McFligh (dope name) channel Teddy Riley and Heavy D on Jack Newton Swing!

Spek Won, GMF, and new comer Marty McFligh team up to pay homage to new jack swing, one of the greatest eras in urban and rnb music, on “Jack Newton Swing”. Song also feature on the upcoming mixtape SAINT TAINTED.

R.I.P Heavy D

DOWNLOAD: Spek Won – Jack Newton Swing feat. GMF & Marty McFligh

Previous: NEW MUSIC: Spek Won feat. Sunshine Anderson “Reality Bites”

New tape from the Chef featuring his new signees JD Era (on 4 joints) and Camo (on 2). Oh ya…Busta Rhymes, Mobb Deep and that Raekwon guy are on it too. Shouts to Pro Logic and MoSS with the production credits also. Side note, I’m happy Camo is back to being called Camoflauge.

DOWNLOAD: Raekwon – Unexpected Victory

Previous: NEWS: Gangis Khan signs to Raekwon’s ICEH2O label + drops “Merry F*ckin’ Christmas” (Mixed by DJ Shamann)

Previous: VIDEO: JD Era Interview w/ Swagg News

Directed by Mark Valino for AHR Films.

Another dope one!

Produced by: Giles Monette
Starring: Steffan “Mr.Wiggles” Clemente & Tony “YNot” DeNaro
Write up by: Tyler Rothmar
Photos by: Jerisse de Juan

“Art Honour Respect Crew ups the bar with a crisp piece featuring legendary hiphop veterans Mr. Wiggles and YNot. [Living] Super-conductors on a mission to ground hiphop’s current in its past, they speak on what the scene was like when they first came up, how things have changed, and their desire to bring back a positive, funky and social element to the cut-throat [/competitive] world of hiphop dance. Ever the stethoscope monitoring hiphop’s inner breath, AHR catches [/evokes] these renaissance men disseminating their art in Toronto, set to pow tunes by Mr. Wiggles himself, Fresh Kils and The Extremites.”

Valino’s log:
This was shot over 3 days during the 2011 Manifesto Festival and everything was really on the fly with these guys. The Interview and the show elements were shot at Manifesto’s “The Movement”, where Mr Wiggles and YNot were special guest performers. I caught Mr Wiggles’ performance and social popping session during the “All Style Dance Showcase”. Giles had caught YNot wandering around the “Floor BBoy Awards” and we decided to shoot him against the a Manifesto mural from one of the previous years. My favourite part of shooting this piece was the “Top Rock City” workshop where I could really take my time in setting up my shots and capturing all the angles I needed. The time of day couldn’t be more perfect. I used the natural light streaming from the window. As a bonus Mr. Wiggles busted out his sketchbook and started writing while YNot took over his portion of the workshop. I didn’t really set anything up. Many of the elements just fell into place, including the piece Mr Wiggle’s painted at Manifesto’s “Live @ the Square”. On top of all the other projects I was shooting for that day, I made sure I captured a couple shots of him during his process. What really tied this piece together was the music! Mr. Wiggles donated a track and I found a couple tracks that Fresh Kils had given us to use.

Check out the Timelapse of the “Top Rock City” Shoot:
vimeo.com/31792495

Follow Mark Valino on Twitter here:
twitter.com/#!/MarkValino

Previously: NEW VIDEO: KJ “Bossed Up” (Directed by Mark Valino for AHR Films)

Pretty sure there’s gonna be ’nuff albums/mixtapes dropping on Jan. 1st so here’s the jump-off courtesy of Crown A’ Thornz. Full tracklist under the hood!

DOWNLOAD: Crown A’ Thornz – Core -A- Nation

Previous: VIDEO: Crown A’ Thornz – Core -A- Nation Album Teaser

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Sweet refix of Drizzy’s “Headlines” courtesy of Slakah The Beatchild.

Welcome to 2012!

Previously: NEW ALBUM: Art of Fresh – When The Night Comes In

Previously: NEW VIDEO: Drake feat. Lil Wayne & Tyga “The Motto” (Directed by Lamar Taylor & Hyghly Alleyne)