Notherground Makes Honor Roll (UPDATE)

As the final hours of '09 tick away, it's nice to know that Notherground's hard work hasn't gone unnoticed. Yesterday, we announced that Outasight and The Kid Daytona had made the Top 10 Most Underrated list for the year, today, the love keeps spreading.

UPDATE: 6th Sense and Outasight are 2 Dope Boyz
You might've heard of a little site run by these dudes Shake and Meka, it's pretty ill, it's called 2DopeBoyz. You should check it out. If you do, you might see that BOTH of Outasight's mixtapes from '09 made the Top Mixtapes lists,  the Outasight & D/Will collaboration The OutaWill Sessions got an honorable mention for Top EP of the year, and a handful of his tracks were chosen for the Top Songs category.  6th Sense gets nods for Emilio Rojas's tape and The New Classics among others. Get the full list here.

6th is 9th:
Pure Hip-Hop took a comprehensive look back at the year that was and picked out their top albums, mixtapes, artists, producers, and newcomers. They also put together a list of the top Ten Producers to Watch in 2010... Coming in at #9, none other than Notherground CEO 6th Sense (our homie Apple Juice Kid slipped in at the 10 spot, too). Read the full article here. 

Outasight, Not Out of Mind
One of the most prolific bloggers around and a man I have a lot of respect for, Dart Adams (of Poisonous Paragraphs and Bloggerhouse) finalized his list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Albums, EP's & Mixtapes of 2009. Alongside projects by Cunninlynguists, KRS-One, Blue Scholars, Meth & Red, and People Under the Stairs, you can find Outasight's Further in the "Next 150" section.  See the full list here.

Daytona, 6th Sense Make Top 10 Free Album Lists
Kevin Nottingham has put up a handful to "Top Lists" today, and among them, the Top 10 Free Albums of 2009.  The Kid Daytona got an honorable mention for Come Fly with Me, and 6th Sense gets credit for his work on Mag's album and Donny Goines's The Breakfast Club. Read it here. 
 

6th Sense: Mixtape Don? 
According to another KN list, 6th Sense has done production for some of the best mixtape projects of the year. Check out their "Top 10 Mixtapes: 2009" list: Emilio Rojas's The Natural goes home with the #1, and the Peter, Bjorn & John remix project Re-Living Thing, the De La Soul tribute Le Da Soul, and Buff1's It's a 1derful Life all earned Top 10 spots or honorable mention. Check the full article here. 


Thank you to all of the bloggers, artists, dj's and, most of all, fans that have shown us so much support this year. We promise we'll keep working just as hard in 2010.

One Love,

Mike Rosen

Ou & Daytona: Top 10 Most Underrated

Junior over at Dear Whoever put up a list of his Top 10 Most Underrated Mixtapes of the Year -- 2 Notherground affiliates made the list. Outasight's new release Further took the number five spot, and Daytona's Come Fly With Me touched down at number two -- the only one to beat him? Lupe Fiasco.

Here are the links:

Outasight - #5 Most Underrated Mixtape of the Year

The Kid Daytona - #2 Most Underrated Mixtape of the Year

Super Friends: One of 09's Best Rap Songs

Notherground got some international love today when Hip-Hop Nerd named the 6th Sense, Outasight, Print, Mickey Factz, Homeboy Sandman, $trictly Busine$$, Oddisee, Von Pea & Fresh Daily collaboration "Super Friends" one of the Best Rap Songs of 09. They also put Outasight on their Freshman list.



Here's the link: "Super Friends" is Best Rap Song of the Year

Outasight in Wall Street Journal

Yeah, you read that right, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL just published an article on Notherground homie Outasight. Billing Ou as a new breed of emcee, John Jurgensen links Ou to artists like Blu, Kid Cudi and Mayer Hawthorne. Peep the full article here.

Daytona Just Wants to Rock

The Kid Daytona goes in for a freestyle over Snoop's "I Wanna Rock".

Download/Listen: The Kid Daytona - I Just Wanna Rock 

Find Magazine: Outasight is Employee of the Year

The Find Magazine just published a feature length article about the homie Outasight. Shouts to writer Ryan Monk for putting together some of the most informative and well-written coverage of the rising star to date.

Here's an excerpt, click below to read the whole article:

Originality could be the perfect middle name to bridge the gap between the two first names on his birth certificate. Like no one before, Outasight has united soulful-pop croons with breezeless boasts about big city dreams, life, love, and music appreciation.

Read the full article here.

White Boy Likes Hip-Hop w/ Outasight

WhiteBoyLikesHipHop? talked it up with Outasight. Check out the interview here.

After signing with Asylum/Warner and releasing the free, Further LP, Outasight took a few minutes to inform the readers of WhiteBoyLikesHipHop a little about himself, how he would categorize his style of music, and what we can expect from him in the future 

Metal Lungies - Best of 2009

Metal Lungies put together their end of the year recap by doing a little "best of". As part of it, they had their friends and favorite artists comment on the best songs of the past year, 6th Sense was invited, he also made the list by voting for himself.

Check it out here.

Merry Christmas from Notherground

It's been a big year for Notherground. We put together major releases from The Kid Daytona and Outasight took part in some high-profile mixtape projects alongside the likes of Mick Boogie and Terry Urban, and worked with everyone from Peter, Bjorn and John to Bun B. Needless to say, none of that would've been possible without you, the fans, friends and family who continue to show support. So, to everyone, whether you've been with us since the beginning or just joined the movement yesterday, THANK YOU.

To show a little appreciation, we wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. So, without any further shenanigans, we give you: The O.D. Christmas Rap feat. 6th Sense, Mike Maven, J Nicholson, Evan Frank & Joey Angerone. Enjoy. Happy Holidays/New Year from Notherground.

O.D. -1: Christmas Rap from Joey Angerone on Vimeo.

MaG + G.C.: Rich & Famous (Remix feat. 6th Sense & Zach Berkman)

6th jumped on the remix for the lead single off MaG & G.C.'s $5 Cover project which dropped for free earlier this month. Grab it below.

Download/Listen: MaG & G.C. - Rich & Famous (Remix) feat. 6th Sense and Zach Berkman

FRSHPulp Interview with Outasight

Our friends over at FRSHPulp connected with Outasight to talk about his beat-picking process, and, of course, what makes him so gottsdam FRSH.

Here's an excerpt... Read the full interview here

You’ve been working with producers such as 6th Sense and Cook Classics with a sound that’s very distinct. How do you pick instrumentals? What is your writing process like?
A lot of the sound is coming from scratch now, so we just start working on rough ideas and bring more musicians in, and just keep building. I start writing, we’ll record vox, then we build some more musically. It’s a lot of fun to work with such talented people cause it really pushes me to get better and test myself to get out of my comfort zones in writing or melody.

Full Article... HERE.

All Signs Point to Yes: Outasight's Further is a Hit

Early Press for Outasight's New Album

Outasight's new project Further was only released yesterday, but it's already made it's way all across the web, with every major blog from OkayPlayer to NahRight to 2DopeBoyz asking its readers if they're ready to go Further -- the response has been a resounding "yes."

Here's a sample of what cats are saying about the new album (which you can download below!):

"This project is by far one of the top tier mixtapes of 2009 and if you overlook this you’re severely selling yourself short."  - IllRoots

"Something like a masterpiece." - TC, The Smoking Section

"Musical breath of fresh air" - Dub Floyd, HighOffLife.com 

"Everything on this project feels soulful and sounds lush, from the beats to the rhymes to the singing. It’s no wonder that Outasight and the whole Notherground crew are making such big moves lately. Well deserved for sure."  - The Judge, VinylMeltdown  

"If you’re a fan of music (not just hip hop/rap), than this will definitely be an experience for you. "

- Meka, 2DopeBoyz

Let's Go Further - New Outasight Album Drops!

LRG Presents... Outasight - Further

If you've been on the internet today, you probably know about this already: Outasight has dropped his brand new album Further (presented by LRG).  Ou does his singer/emcee thing over 14 tracks of production from the likes of 6th Sense, Cook Classics, D/Will, Mike Cash and J. Glaze, and the end result is divine. The Smoking Section called the album's lead single "Brand New Day" "something like a masterpiece." and I think they're right. Oh, and the cover art from Black ELement has Further looking almost as classy as the man behind it. 

Grab the free LP below. 

Download: Outasight - Further (Presented by LRG) 

 

 

MTV Interviews "Firestarter" Outasight

MTV: Outasight Brings New Perspectives to Hip-Hop

Ou is on the move. MTV News brought him in for an interview and featured him on their website along with Ameer as two up and comers who are bringing new brands of fire to the game. Get the story here and watch the video below to learn where Outasight got his name. Further drops next week!

MTV Shows

DJ Booth x E1 Music x DJ RTC: In the Booth v.3 (Mixtape)

Here's the 3rd installment of DJ Booth's In the Booth series. Showcasing #61-90, v. 3 features joints from the likes of Nero, Toki Wright, ESSO, 810, Add-2, 6th Sense, Fresh Daily, Nickelus F and many more.

Here's the tracklist + download:

Download: DJ Booth x E1 Music x DJ RTC - In the Booth v. 3 

The Higher Plane Interview w/ 6th Sense

  6th is as talented as they come in the industry 
with a grind to match.

- Michael Kriegs, The Higher Plan

What up? It's me, Mike. I've been buried in collegiate nonsense for a minute, but now we good. So let's get to blogging.

First up, my man Mike Kriegs at The Higher Plan kicked it with Notherground Boss 6th Sense for a new edition of their "Big Ten" series. Kriegs is a true hip-hop head and, unlike a lot of half-assers out there, actually knows enough to ask questions that do more than just scratch the surface of an artist (you've read those interviews hundreds of time before, same questions, same answers etc.) -- this is actually an interesting read. Click here to check it out.

Outasight Signs w/ Warner, Album Release Party Set

Alright, so with my "to blog" list piling up, I'm going to do the smart thing and just post the most important thing first. If you haven't heard about this already then, well, I guess I'm honored that you trust us as your main source of information...

Outasight announced officially that he has signed a deal with Asylum/Warner! The news comes the week before his new project Further comes out (download it at your local blog on Dec. 16). Blogs are going crazy. Everyone from 2dopeboyz to Quddus is talking about it. Outasight's partner in crime Dre Bond put together a little mini-feature about OU's experience as an upcoming artist in search of a record deal -- worth the five minutes for the story.


Outasight Story/Signing Video (EPK) from Drebond Production on Vimeo.



Meanwhile, all you NYC cats should stop by Gallery Bar on Monday to get a lil tipsy and hear the new album before it gets released.

A huge, belated, congratulations to the homie Outasight. 

You've come a long way, now take 'em even Further.

Peace,

Mike

Outasight & D/Will - From Here to There - The OutaWill Sessions (EP)

A lot has gone down in these last few days. I'll be slowly catching up over the next few days, gotta get started now though. First up, Meka from 2dopeboyz put together a FreEp of collaborations between Outasight and producer D/Will. From 2DopeBoyz:

I gathered this collection of D/Will-produced Outasight tracks the two have done over the past few years for everyone to enjoy (and perhaps get D and OU to work together/make an entire project together one day?). With some of these tracks from past projects, or on a mixtape or hard to find thanks to dead links, these NoDJ, CDQ tracks are indicative of the perfect synergy the two of them have when working together. I hope that everyone who downloads this as well enjoys their music and encourages them to work together again.

 Makes sure you peep the full write up to catch all the praise Meka throws at OU and D.

Here's the tracklist and download:
1. Good Evening (Dream Big)
2. Love Or Confusion?
3. Darling, It’s Chemistry
4. Downtown In My Mind

Download: Outasight & D/Will - From There to Here: The OutaWill Sessions

Buff1 - It's a 1derful Life (Mixtape)

Notherground collab partner Buff1 drops his mixtape today, grab the download below:

From Rock the Dub:

Let's see if this mixtape is up to snuff: does it feature one mad talented MC? Yes, Buff1 is the truth. Is it mixed by a phenomenal DJ? Yes, Rhettmatic is the shit. Does it contain loads of features and sick beats from dope artists? Yes, this one is stacked with features from Hustle Simmons, 6th Sense, Ski Beats, Cook Classics, Donny Goines and more. Finally... is it free? Yes indeed, grab this shit below.

Download: Buff1 - It's a 1derful Life

The Kid Daytona - "Contact!" Video (ft. Kardinal Offishall)

The Kid Daytona - "Contact!" feat. Kardinal Offishall (Video) from The Kid Daytona on Vimeo.

It was clearly my bad on not getting this up yesterday, but the internet was down, so what's a blogger to do?

Noah Christofer put together this dope video for Daytona's single off Come Fly With Me, "Contact!" featuring Kardinal Offishall and produced by 6th Sense. This video's been a long time coming, hope you enjoy it.

Outasight - Rollin Wit' Me Ep. 12

ROLLIN WIT' ME Ep. 12 (LA Edition pt.3) from Drebond Production on Vimeo.

The homie Outasight drops the latest chapter of his Rollin Wit' Me series. Get pumped for Further. Heads are gonna roll.

In Episode 12: Outasight returns to LA, hits some E! Channel event, and gets back in the studio with producer Cook Classics….Outasight’s new project, “Further” debuts for free December 15th courtesy of LRG Clothing…

Chip Tha Ripper - The Cleveland Show

The new Chip Tha Ripper mixtape The Cleveland Show just dropped today. 27 tracks deep, this tape features some of the best and brightest stars in the game including Notherground's own 6th Sense. It's presented by our friends over at The Press Play Show, which might as well be a good-look guarantee.

Download: Chip Tha Ripper - The Cleveland Show