In about a matter of a day, this DangerDoom album — a collaboration of MF Doom and Danger Mouse — is all the buzz. I first got the news at Gorilla vs. Bear, where Chris has two tracks. When you’re done there, head over to Freemotion for three more tracks, including one apiece with cameos by Ghostface and Talib Kweli. FPSA also has one of the songs, Crosshairs. At this rate, you should be able to piecemeal the album together in about, oh, 48 hours.

Gotta love Epitaph (which released Sage Francis’ A Healthy Distrust) picking up the hip-hop buzz. Epitaph’s news release on DangerDoom can be found here.

It came to my attention that I might not have put my quickie post on El-P the other day in proper historical context. So to wrap up a heavy week of hip-hop, I’ve got a little more.

El-P (short for El-Producto), who’s running the hot Definitive Jux label, first came on the scene in about the mid-90s with his group Company Flow, which included Bigg Jus and Mr. Len. The group pushed 30,000 copies of the original Funcrusher EP on its own, leading to a record deal with Rawkus. Co. Flow’s uncompromising style — “independent as f*ck” was their mantra — gave rise to the label Rawkus, which later went on to deals with Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

But Co. Flow’s Funcrusher Plus (released in 1997) was the foundation. It was harsh, confrontational and defiant — not for the faint of heart. El’s dark production underpinned the cerebral, in-your-face lyrics.

Rawkus’ desire to head for the mainstream led to a falling out with Co. Flow. El sums it up nicely on Deep Space 9mm on on his solo album Fantastic Damage:
“Signed by Rawkus? / I’d rather be mouthfu*ked by Nazis unconscious.”

Nevertheless, Funcrusher Plus is an underground necessity.

Company Flow: Collude/Intrude (feat. J-Treds)
Company Flow: Vital Nerve (feat. BMS)
Company Flow: Blind

BONUS BEAT:

Latyrx feat. El-P: Looking Over a City

I know I’ve been on a hip-hop binge lately, but we’re all about opening minds here. Another show I’ll sadly be missing tonight is the Shapeshifters at — of all places — a Phoenix art gallery called the Paper Heart.

I clearly haven’t been keeping my ear to the hip-hop ground because I missed the Shifters’ newest release, Was Here, when it dropped last year. The eight-man crew — AWOL One, Existereo, Die, Life Rexall, Akuma, Radioinactive, Circus, and LA Jae — has been likened to the Pharcyde for its animated topics of rhyme. Like a lot of emcees and deejays — Kool Keith as Dr. Octagon, Invisibl Skratch Picklz — the Shifters are preoccupied with all things alien and extraterrestrial. And that’s not a bad thing because a little imagination goes a long way in a genre sorely lacking it. (Have you seen the schlock on MTV lately?) On Pindar, they “wouldn’t be surprised if our own president was actually a space alien … really a reptilian clone lizard.”

And if you need any proof of the Shifters’ indie cred, peep American Idle, a track that features Slug (he of Atmosphere) and Busdriver. As for the music … well, Run the Crowd has to be one of the hottest party tracks out there, and check Circuit City for a sample of Eddy Grant’s Electric Avenue.

The Shapeshifters: Circuit City
The Shapeshifters: Message 4 Yer Planet
The Shapeshifters: Run the Crowd

Sadly, I’ll be missing Hieroglyphics in concert at the Clubhouse in Tempe tonight. If you ask me, Hiero — which consists of Casual, Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief, Pep Love and producer/manager Domino — is one of the most important crews to this generation of hip-hop, and not just for its music.

Long story short, Casual and Souls (with Jive) and Del (with Elektra) all had fallings out with their labels (i.e., they were dropped). By that time, the Bay area collective had enough of a following and they started their own label: Hiero Imperium. Along with crews like Living Legends, Hiero followed the DIY ethic, proving groups could choose their own path, independent of major labels. “Control is key, and as an artist, to control your masters and have ownership is important. Each artist owns their own records,” Domino told remixmag.com.

The Hiero brand — stamped by the famous three-eyed logo — has expanded, with members of Souls branching out into solo efforts. Del remains one of the most sought-after guest spots: Check Handsome Boy Modeling School and the first Gorillaz album for proof. The extended Hiero family now includes Encore, Z-Man and Goapele.

I’ve seen these guys so many times and it never gets old. You won’t see a shortage of their music on this site. So many songs to choose from. When I get really ambitious, I’m going to digitize some cassettes of freestyles I own by Hiero. For now, we’ll break you in. Enjoy the selections.

Hiero crew: Burnt (which Web site says “introduced the world to the Hiero Crew.”)

Del and Dinosaur Jr.: Missing Link (from Judgment Night soundtrack; only an emcee like Del can rock it with Dino Jr.)

Souls of Mischief: Unseen Hand (digitized from Hiero Oldies tape)

Casual (w/Del and Xzibit): Three Emcees (from Beats & Lyrics comp.; yeah, Mr. X to the Z did some hot shite before Pimp My Ride.)

Pep Love: After Dark (from Third Eye Vision)