Blind I | The Boutique Music Blog | Quality Over Quantity.

VIDEO: COMMON – CELEBRATE

And we’re back! New visual from the Chicago legend Common for ‘Celebrate‘ – one of the many cold ass joints on Common’s new album “The Dreamer, The Believer”. Go cop that.!

Tags: Celebrate, COMMON, Video

MAIYA PRESENTS…RENDEZVOUS VOL. 15

I once told Sulaiman that I wanted to find the art that was on the walls in that scene of Belly (by Thierry le Goues) and suggested he use it for (RDV7). I’m big on art and the walls of my apartment have always been lined with it. He delivered immaculately. The talent on the Blind I staff never ceases to amaze me. Our imaginations are all over the place.  For this volume, Noah asked me the usual, “What do you want the cover to look like?” I responded with my usual abstract (albeit unhelpful) explanation of what I had in mind.  It went something like this.

Me: Ummm this is what I’m thinking (Shows a classic photo of Kate Moss smoking a cigarette). I like the idea of a beautiful woman smoking a cigarette. Probably because I want someone to take an edgy picture of me with a cigarette. Even though I don’t smoke.  (Shows photo of Naomi Campbell naked pointing a gun at the camera). Like a good girl gone bad vibe.
No: I feel you. Let me look at all of these pics. I’m in full agreement with having titties on the covers of RDV now. I’m glad Pam Grier was the first.
Me: Well… it’s not about the titties, Noah. More like raw sexuality and strength, you know?
No: Yeah…All that. And titites!

The one we ended up with was the first image I sent to Noah. And I love the way he flipped it! If you’ve noticed, we’ve posted less and less of these compilations. It’s not because we don’t love them or don’t care. We just want to adhere to our mantra of quality over quantity and allow you to really spend time with each one.  It’s always a joy for me to highlight artists that are friends of mine on here and this month there are several.  Hopefully you enjoy this one! Tracks/links after the jump.

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Tags: ANNA WISE, BLIND I, blu, BLUM, CARLITTA DURAND, COMMON, CORTEX, DAEDELUS, drake, EVIL NEEDLE, ILL POETIC, J DILLA, JOANNA NEWSOM, KELELA MIZANEKRISTOS, KNXWLEDGE, MAIYA PRESENTS...RENDEZVOUS VOL. 15, MINGUS MURRAY, MNDSGN, PHONTE, Quadron, RZA, SZJERDENE, THE ROOTS, THE STUYVESANTS, The Weeknd

VANGUARD:NOVEM

It’s been a minute, but now I’m back in it. Truthfully, I went away from the compilation game for selfish reasons. If you’ve browsed around Blind I in the past year or so, you’ll know that I do my artistic thing. The deeper I got into my craft, I found myself with less & less time to check out new artists. But your hunger was strong for a staple that we’ve been known for since 2006, and we weren’t about to let that just drop so quickly. So I decided to smack myself in the face a few hundred times, sift through some of the wack new developments in this hip-hop shit, some of the over-saturated others, and give you guys a cool crop of fresh records encompassed in my NEW compilation continuation – Vanguard. So from here on out, only shit I’m fucking with in the flesh will make this comp. If it’s short, you know why. If you got dope shit, keep sending it. You too may very well be a part of the Vanguard moment in music. For my inaugural piece, I’ve got features from legends DJ Premier, Nas, Common, and The Roots…..some new-age heavyweights like Black Milk, Thom Yorke, DOOM, Pac Div, Asher Roth, Freddie Gibbs and Big K.R.I.T….and dope newcomers like Casey Veggies, YP, Rockie Fresh, Chance the Rapper, D2G, Vic Spencer, Schoolboy Q, ASAP Rocky, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, Mathien and yours truly. The future is now…partake!

[DOWNLOAD Vanguard:Novem]
Track listing after the jump.
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Tags: ASAP Rocky, Asher Roth, Big K.R.I.T., BLACK MILK, CASEY VEGGIES, Chance the Rapper, COMMON, D2G, DJ PREMIER, DOOM, Freddie Gibbs, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, Mathien, Nas, PAC DIV, Rockie Fresh, SCHOOLBOY Q, Sulaiman, THE ROOTS, Thom Yorke, VANGUARD, Vic Spencer, YP

VIDEO: COMMON & NAS – GHETTO DREAMS

Rashid and Nasir connect for the visual for their new collab. These are 2 of my top 5 of all time, so needless to say I’m in STAN mode.

Tags: Cocaine 80s, COMMON, Nas

COMMON – GHETTO DREAMS (FEATURING NAS) / #COCAINE80S

SO MOGS JUST WANNA DROP CLASSIC JOINTS AT 2AM ON THE WORLD! Yo. Common, Nas, and No I.D. jumped in the studio under the #Cocaine80s act to produce “Ghetto Dreams”, a RIDICULOUS banger than I’m not gonna turn off anytime soon. Enough talking from me….please PARTAKE! and hit the jump to check out more about #Cocaine80s…

Tags: Cocaine80s, COMMON, Nas, No I.D.

BLIND I SAYS GO! JUNE 2011

Blind I faithful, I almost didn’t do it. I looked at the new music that the world had to offer, at our submissions, and I just didn’t feel like what was presented was strong enough to make it to GO! You know me, them ordinary things don’t move me. I need some shit straight out the movies, word to Mighty Mos. So, being the critical mind that I am, I scoured my music database for what felt right, refreshing, and in taste with my current mood of happiness, hard work, and the chase of perfection. A parallel universe, you might say. So without further ado or delay, enjoy the June 2011 version of Blind I Says GO! and let me know how you like the shit! Cause I love it! Hit the jump for the download link + track listing.
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Tags: Beat Maker Beat, COMMON, DOM. Kennedy, Erykah Badu, Heralds Of Change, JAMIROQUAI, Mathien, MF DOOM, Neak Undefined, NOSAJ THING, OUTKAST, OWUSU & HANNIBAL, P & The Yessirs, Pharrell, Q-TIP, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Sebastien Tellier, Shabazz Palaces, Sonnymoon, The Flaming Lips

NO KNOWS DOPE | NO KNOWS NOSTALGIA | MAY 20XI

So this was an idea I had back in 2007. $ even made me a cover & everything & I never put it out. I decided to pull from that & make this to give y’all for this months edition of NKD, thus we going back in time, to a place where I was coming up as a MC I bumped the schitt outta everything on this edition. Broken tape decks & everythang! This past Saturday I was up @ my DJ W1shOne’s Audio Playground all day working on a mix of this for y’all but was not able to complete it the way I wanted to within such a short time, thus, expect a mix with songs that are not on this to be intertwined with some of these songs & more a lil down the road this year. Ill drop it randomly so stay TUNEd for that. Until then, go inside my mind/ears & enjoy some NOstalgia.

TL & DL after the after…

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Tags: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, A.T.B.A.N. KLANN, ANOTHA LEVEL, Black Moon, Black Sheep, BRAND NUBIAN, CAMP LO, Canibus, COMMON, CRU, DERELIKS, Digable Planets, ERULE, FREESTYLE FELLOWSHIP, Group Home, HELTAH SKELTAH, Jeru The Damaja, Keith Murray, KWEST THA MADD LADD, LPG, MADLIB, Mobb Deep, PETE ROCK & C.L. SMOOTH, SOULS OF MISCHIEF, THE NONCE, THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., THE PHARCYDE, THE ROOTS, THE TUNNEL RATS, TRACEY LEE, Y'ALL SO STUPID, YAGGFU FRONT

NO KNOWS DOPE | NO KNOWS BABIES | APRIL 20XI

Last Monday, April 11th at 10:43AM, my daughter Ajané arrived into the world. It was the most beautifulest thing in the world without a doubt. Being “on call” for the whole month of March & April kinda put a roadblock in my head as to what ‘theme’ I wanted to execute for Aprils NKD & as I pondered the thoughts I lowkey was already playing the soundtrack & not even knowing it. Playing songs that I felt related to what I was going through or have gone through or what I want to achieve as a man & as a father to my children. About a week before the 15th (sorry for the delay… been busy changing diapers n schitt. pun.) I finally decided to dedicate this months NKD to the babies. The children. The kids! But no… not on some Yo Gabba Gabba or Kids Sing Along schitt… naw… on some grown folks – grown biz – type of musical growth if you will. Whether you are a mother or a father, raising your sons or daughters, this edition goes harder to marauder & slaughter any biologicals that don’t bother. I breaks water! hahaha Naw pho trill tho… I’m on Cloud 9000 & 99! Blind I For The Kids… literally.

TL & DL after…

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Tags: Bilal, BRIAN MCKNIGHT, CHRIS ROCK, COMMON, CURTIS MAYFIELD, ED OG & DA BULLDOGS, Eric Roberson, GIL SCOTT-HERON, J DILLA, JAY DEE, JODECI, john mayer, Kanye West, Kelis, LAURYN HILL, LITTLE DRAGON, MARC DORSEY, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Musiq Soulchild, N.E.R.D, NEZ & RIO, NKD, ORGANIZED KONFUSION, SLICK RICK, SOJOURN, STEVIE WONDER, TALIB KWELI, TAPE MASTAH STEPH, THE BLACKBYRDS, THE TEMPTATIONS, Thenativesoul, TRACY MORGAN, XZIBIT, YAHZARAH, ZO!

MAIYA PRESENTS…SPRING SOUNDS

Dotmatic-It’s Yours

Despite the fact that most of the country is still dressed in boots and coats, spring has arrived. It’s a time for physical, mental and audible rejuvenation.  These songs make me feel like I’m inhaling a breath of fresh air, so I decided to share them with you.  You have no idea how much I enjoy putting these together each month. Blind I faithfuls keep us going. Enjoy.

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Tags: AFTA-1, Apollo Brown, B LEWIS, BLIND I, choklate, COMMON, Compilation, DOTMATIC, HEIROGLYPHICS, HI-TEK, LONNIE LISTON SMITH, MAIYA PRESENTS...SPRING SOUNDS, MELO X, N.E.R.D, NIKKO GRAY, Quadron, Ta-Ku, THE ROOTS, Tyler the Creator

BLIND I SAYS GO! APRIL 2011

Upgrades Upgrades Upgrades! They say if you want something done, do it yourself. I’ve wanted to format the Blind I Says GO! experience into a mixed format for awhile, and with a little help from Serato ScratchLive I was able to make my dream a reality! I’m one of those see-it-once-and-I-can-do-it type people, what can I say. So I decided to go the extra mile this month for GO! and put together TWO variations: one mixed hour-long session that you can press play on and let rock all the way through for your parties, gatherings, etc…..and a traditional Blind I comp with all the tracks ready for your enjoyment upon deployment. This month’s edition is stellar, featuring tracks from Max B, Boldy James, Nez And Rio, Common, Dom Kennedy, Shad and Skratch Bastid, Sir Michael Rocks, Pusha T, Pharrell, 50 Cent, Elzhi, Natasha Ramos, Vic Spencer, Action Bronson, Daft Punk, Raphael Saadiq, Yukimi Nagano, Big K.R.I.T., The Weeknd, The Stepkids, Travis Barker, Lupe Fiasco, Frank Ocean, Rich Boy, and Trae The Truth. Check out the Mixcloud of my BISG April 2011 mix and then hit the jump for the track listing and download links to both versions! GO!

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Tags: 50 Cent, Action Bronson, Big K.R.I.T., Boldy James, COMMON, DAFT PUNK, DOM. Kennedy, ELZHI, FRANK OCEAN, Lupe Fiasco, Max B, Natasha Ramos, Nez And Rio, Pharrell, PUSHA T, Raphael Saadiq, Rich Boy, Shad and Skratch Bastid, Sir Michael Rocks, The Stepkids, The Weeknd, Trae The Truth, Travis Barker, Vic Spencer, Yukimi Nagano