It came to my attention this morning that Japanese hip-hop producer Nujabes had passed away due to a fatal car accident. Reports are telling us that the death actually took place a few weeks ago but was kept under wraps to protect the privacy of the family. I have been a huge fan of Nujabes’ work for the past four or five years, so it hit pretty hard this morning when I found out about the news. He was a revolutionary in the world of jazz-sampled hip-hop, putting out some of my favorite albums of all time in Modal Soul and Metaphorical Music. Over the years Nujabes has collaborated with such artists as CYNE, CL Smooth, Shing02, Five Deez, Substantial and more. Rest in peace Jun Seba…

Hit the skip for a personal statement from Shing02…

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Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, D-Sisive hops on the remix to Saukrates‘ official single from his forthcoming album Season One. We also get a fiery new verse from Bigg Soxx! The production courtesy of Tone Mason. Please give it a spin and let us know what you think. Shout out to Real Frequency.

Download: Saukrates – “Wednesday” (Remix) Feat. D-Sisive prod. Tone Mason

Every February the good people at Rare Form entertainment put together their annual Donuts Are Forever J Dilla Tribute in NYC. I was lucky enough to come across some footage of last months event. The music was provided by ?uestlove of The Roots along with DJs Brainchild, Parler, DJ LowKey & Tara. Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey was in attendance along with members of the J Dilla Foundation. It was an incredible turnout as the event was at capacity within an hour and lineups still around the block. The video features some interview clips with ?uestlove, Brainchild & Ma Dukes. The event raised a $4400.00 for the J Dilla Foundation. The foundation is a non-profit that serves to help fund inner city music programs & provide scholarships to students attending schools with a progressive music curriculum. Props to Jerry at Nodfactor.com

Ever since I came across TAIS about a year ago, he has been making a lot of noise for himself without the help of any cosigns. It takes a lot to make it in this game without one of those, but he seems to be doing pretty well for himself. Today we get his latest effort, Too Complex, with support from DJ Whooligan. “Too Complex” is a bold statement, luckily TAIS comes through with the raps, giving us some much needed food for thought. Check it out and let us know what you think…

Download: TAIS – Too Complex

Because Coachella is just about one month away, it’s about time that we start showing some love to the artists who are going to be making this year’s event something special. Fittingly, our good friends The Kickdrums have come through just in time with a special Coachella mixtape. With songs from artists who will be performing at this  year’s event such as Jay-Z, Wale, Passion Pit, and La Roux, as well as some original material from The Kickdrums themselves, you really can’t go wrong. A full tracklist is available at The Kickdrums website. Mixtapes for day two and day three are also on their way, so keep your ears open.

Download: The Kickdrums – Coachella: The Indio Sessions: Day One

Intuition “ruined” two excellent tracks last week when he injected bars into Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” and Mayer  Hawthorne’s “Make Her Mine”. Well, the California-by-way-of-Alaska MC wasn’t done. This week, he’s revealed two more tracks of his I Ruined These Songs For You mixtape. The first features him spitting over The Black Keys’ “Psychotic Girl”, another dope-as-hell choice, and Portishead’s gorgeous “Humming” (excellent pick, again, Intuition). Get your mixtape on, people, and enjoy Intuition’s creative take on some of the best non-hip-hop tracks of the past 15 years. The full project drops March 23. Hit the jump for the track list.

Download: The Black Keys – “Psychotic Girl” feat. Intuition [Right Click Save-As]

Download: Portishead – “Humming” feat. Intuition [Right Click Save-As]

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After teasing us with the snippet back in late December the full version finally surfaces. For those who don’t know about Ski Beatz, he’s the producer behind two classic LP’s: Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt and Camp Lo’s Uptown Saturday Night. His latest project 24 Hour Karate School features Mos Def, Jay Electronica, Jean Grae, Joell Ortiz, Currency and many others. It is set to drop Spring 2010. For now enjoy the Mos Def feature and let us know what you think. Props to 2dopeboyz

Download: Ski Beatz – “Taxi” (Feat. Mos Def & Whosane)

Words by Phonte & Nicolay; “Nic and I are proud to present the debut single from YahZarah’s The Ballad of Purple St. James LP.  Working on this album cost us a lot of time and effort (and damn near cost me a kidney…lol) but I can’t think of any single person whose humility and raw talent deserves it more. We sincerely thank all of you for your support, and as always, thank you for listening.”

Yahzarah was an integral part of the Leave It All Behind LP by The Foreign Exchange. With Phonte and Nicolay on the boards I have high hopes for her debut album. The new single “Why Dontcha Call Me No More” is relatively upbeat sonically considering the lyrics. Bad relationships always seem to inspire artists to create good music and this song is no different. Please give it a spin and let us know what you think. Props to FE

Download: YahZarah – “Why Dontcha Call Me No More” [Right Click Save-As]

Two Astronote remixes in one week; you won’t hear any complaints from me. Astronote remixes Drake’s newest single “Over” produced by Boi-1da. Astronote’s version is a bit laid back compared sample-sounding original but he still manages to keep the anthemic vibe of the song. Please give it a spin and let us know what you think. Shout out to A-Side Worldwide

Download: Drake – “Over” (Astronote Remix) [Right Click Save-As]