Sims wrote his upcoming solo album&nbsp;More Than Ever&nbsp;last winter after a personally trying period of his life, which included death and sickness in his immediate circle of friends and family. He came to the conclusion that the only acceptable answer to &quot;big loss is big joy&mdash;urgent, defiant, unapologetic joy.&quot; The 13 tracks on the record capture Sims executing that conclusion.&nbsp; 
 
According to a press release, to create&nbsp;More Than Ever,&nbsp;Sims enlisted the unrelenting and adventurous production of Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger, and ICETEP. After many long days and nights sequestered in his South Minneapolis basement, the Doomtree MC has emerged with the most honest first-person account he&#39;s ever recorded. From wrestling some of his demons to staring down his insecurities, he&rsquo;s been able to change and grow through his recent revelations. The first single, &ldquo;OneHundred,&rdquo; features his razor sharp wit, impeccable wordplay, and an undeniably infectious beat.&nbsp;More Than Ever is a 45-minute journey through the ebbs and flow of Sims&rsquo; life and shows his ability to overcome any challenge put in his path. Sims is embarking on a massive fall tour in support of his new album, which kicks off in November.&nbsp; 
 
TOUR DATES

11/3&nbsp;&ndash; The Cactus Club &ndash; Milwaukee, WI * 
11/4&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Schubas&nbsp; - Chicago, IL * 
11/5&nbsp;&ndash; The Crofoot - Pontiac, MI&nbsp; 
11/6&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;The Loft &nbsp;- Lansing, MI&nbsp; 
11/9&nbsp;&ndash; Great Scott &ndash; Boston, MA&nbsp; 
11/11&nbsp;&ndash; Boot &amp; Saddle &ndash;&nbsp;Philadelphia, PA * 
11/12&nbsp;&ndash; Rough Trade &ndash; Brooklyn, NY&nbsp; 
11/13 - DC9&nbsp;&ndash; Washington, DC * 
12/1 &ndash;&nbsp;Marquis Theater&nbsp;&ndash; Denver, CO * 
12/2 &ndash;&nbsp;Barbosa&nbsp;&ndash; Seattle, WA * 
12/3 &ndash; Doug Fir Lounge &ndash;&nbsp;Portland, OR * 
12/6 &ndash; Blue Lamp &ndash;&nbsp;Sacramento, CA * 
12/7 &ndash; The Catalyst &ndash;&nbsp;Santa Cruz, CA * 
12/8&nbsp;&ndash; Bottom of the&nbsp;Hill &ndash;&nbsp;San Francisco, CA * 
12/9 &ndash; The Satellite &ndash;&nbsp;Los Angeles, CA * 
12/10 &ndash;&nbsp;The Wayfarer&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Costa Mesa, CA * 
12/11&nbsp;&ndash; The Casbah &ndash;&nbsp;San Diego, CA * 
12/13&nbsp;&ndash; Valley Bar &ndash;&nbsp;Phoenix, AZ * 
12/14 &ndash; Launchpad &ndash;&nbsp;Albuquerque, NM * 
12/16 &ndash; Three Links &ndash;&nbsp;Dallas, TX * 
12/17 &ndash; The Sidewinder &ndash;&nbsp;Austin, TX * 
12/18 &ndash;&nbsp;Paper Tiger&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;San Antonio, TX * 
 
* w/ Air Credits (The Hood Internet X ShowYouSuck) 
 
By Kyle Eustice for RAPstation.com

Sims wrote his upcoming solo album&nbsp;More Than Ever&nbsp;last winter after a personally trying period of his life, which included death and sickness in his immediate circle of friends and family. He came to the conclusion that the only acceptable answer to &quot;big loss is big joy&mdash;urgent,...

Sims Upcoming Solo Album, "More Than Ever"

Public Enemy, The Roots, and Living Colour performed this weekend at the opening ceremonies for the Smithsonian Institute&#39;s brand new National Museum of African American History and Culture.&nbsp;

The new museum opened its doors to the public this weekend, following an opening ceremony that featured a speech by President Obama.&nbsp;&ldquo;African American history is not somehow separate than the American story. It is not the underside of the American story. It is central to the American story,&rdquo; Obama said. The museum is dedicated to giving visitors an &quot;unvarnished&quot; education on African American history, starting with the role African Americans played in the founding of the country, the struggle of slavery and The Civil War, all the way up to their influence on today&#39;s pop culture and modern society.

The museum was built after a long, fifteen year struggle in Congress to secure funding and a location. While some Conservative politicians expressed resistance to the idea of a federal museum dedicated solely to African American history, Congress eventually approved of the museum, thanks in part to a long, bipartisan campaign led by Representative John Lewis (D-Ga.), a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960&#39;s. Lewis, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and other key Civil Rights leaders, had to pause frequently during his speech to hold back his emotion. &quot;This place is more than a building. It is a dream come true,&quot; Lewis said.

&ldquo;[The museum] shows our commitment to truth. A great nation does not hide its history. It faces its flaws and corrects them,&quot; former President George W. Bush, who also attended the event, said.

Several influential hip hop groups and bands, including Public Enemy, The Roots, and Living Colour, were invited to perform at a series of free concerts held throughout the weekend at the National Mall in DC to celebrate the opening of the museum. The festivities this weekend also included speeches, spoken word performances, dances, and other events showcasing African American culture and history.

In addition to performing at the opening ceremonies, Public Enemy is also showcased inside the museum itself, which features a large banner featuring the iconic Public Enemy logo, designed by Chuck D himself. The museum features a department dedicated to black musicians and the immeasurable influence that they&#39;ve had on the evolution and development of the American music, which also highlights the work of many hip hop artists.

The Roots&#39; Questlove dedicated the group&#39;s performance at the museum this weekend to&nbsp;&ldquo;anyone, anywhere who has ever lifted a camera or a voice, who&rsquo;s ever lifted a fist or a flag, or taken a knee against social injustice,&quot; echoing statements made by Obama, who said that education about African American history and perspective &quot;needs to be told now more than ever,&quot; during his speech.

By Michael Lucerna for RAPstation.com

Public Enemy, The Roots, and Living Colour performed this weekend at the opening ceremonies for the Smithsonian Institute&#39;s brand new National Museum of African American History and Culture.&nbsp;

The new museum opened its doors to the public this weekend, following an opening ceremony that f...

Hip hop groups, politicians come together to celebrate African American Museum

Atlanta-based rapper, Scotty ATL&#39;s had a tremendously rough season. Over the last year, the rapper&#39;s endured the loss of nine loved ones, including the tragic passing of a close friend, Bankroll Fresh. Despite his losses, Scotty ATL dropped his latest album just a few days ago, and the finished product is pure magnum opus.

&ldquo;It feels wonderful to get this project out of my body, mind, and spirit,&rdquo; Scotty explained in an interview with&nbsp;XXL, &ldquo;I had to overcome a lot just to get it out. With this particular project, I wanted for people to see my growth as an artist and as a lyricist.&rdquo;

There&#39;s an unmistakable feeling of pain and despair, but that feeling loses its weight at the amount of inspiration and positivity Scotty somehow stirs within each verse and hook. Vivid narration as well as a rigorous work ethic have always been a constant for Scotty, but his latest album takes it to a whole new level:

&ldquo;The greatest rappers tell their life stories. That&#39;s why I&#39;m doing. I&#39;m giving people my real life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I focus on lyrics, focus on content and subject manner. I&#39;m branding myself as a lyricist from ATL, like a TI or an Outkast, who can give some game on a track. I talk about both sides of the streets, meaning sometimes people can only glorify the streets, but not warn about the dangers. I live that freestyle but I&#39;d also advise you to save money. If you&#39;re risking your life every day, make it count.&rdquo;

Daily Bread&nbsp;consists of eleven tracks, all of which intricately-woven with such passionate lyricism and sung through the lips of a master storyteller. The record comes with featured appearances, including Jaydot Rain on &ldquo;So High&rdquo;, and Ty Dolla $ign on &ldquo;Bye Bye&rdquo;.

It&#39;s amazing how someone can channel his internal pain into an outward expression of encouragement&mdash;that&#39;s pure artistry at its finest. Be sure to check it out on iTunes.

<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/daily-bread/id1153817214%26app%3Ditunes?ign-mpt%3Duo%253D8%2526amp%253Buo%253D8&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1475011372037000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG1UQIMMLMvu1yUaEwjHGhUhKwXXQ" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/daily-bread/id1153817214&amp;app=itunes?ign-mpt=uo%3D8%26amp%3Buo%3D8" target="_blank">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/daily-bread/id1153817214&amp;app=itunes?ign-mpt=uo%3D8%26amp%3Buo%3D8</a>

By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com

Atlanta-based rapper, Scotty ATL&#39;s had a tremendously rough season. Over the last year, the rapper&#39;s endured the loss of nine loved ones, including the tragic passing of a close friend, Bankroll Fresh. Despite his losses, Scotty ATL dropped his latest album just a few days ago, and the finis...

Scotty ATL Expressing Pain and Encouraging Life with “Daily Bread”

In 2014, a young East Harlem rapper by the name of Dave East earned top draft pick under Mass Appeal Records, chosen by the man, Nas, himself. In less than a week, East is scheduled to release his latest mixtape, which he boasts as his &ldquo;best work to date&rdquo;.

September 30th&nbsp;marks the debut of his&nbsp;Kairi Chanel. Named after East&#39;s own daughter, the proud Harlem artist describes it as a lyrical translation of his greatest and most defining moments in life, which he aspires to utilize in sparking a modern Hip-hop renaissance:

&ldquo;I want my Freshman year to be remembered as when New York City woke the f&mdash;k back up again,&rdquo; East explained to&nbsp;XXL&nbsp;during the Freshman cover session, &ldquo;Legends always do what they do, Jadakiss Fabolous, Styles, they got New York etched in stone, but I want to be remembered that it was a breath of fresh air that came in the game from Harlem.&rdquo;

With his forthcoming mixtape closing in on its release, East also hinted at an interesting proposition pertaining to his Mass Appeal boss&#39; latest project: &ldquo;It&#39;s fire,&rdquo; mentioned East at the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, &ldquo;I might be on it,&rdquo; snickering while saying so.

Although East&#39;s statement is currently just matter of speculation, Nas met fans with confidence pertaining to his 12th&nbsp;studio album:

&ldquo;I&#39;m in my zone. And that&#39;s just what it is,&rdquo; Nas reported to&nbsp;DX, &ldquo;I always stuck to my message and my way, and that might not work for anybody else. I wouldn&#39;t suggest that people follow me, but I feel like the ones that can see where I&#39;m going and they see some good in it, and if I can make somebody happy with the moves and inspire somebody over there, then I inspire a generation.&rdquo;

Despite being shrouded in rumors, both the young East Harlem rapper and the Mass Appeal Mogul seemingly share a common goal with both their respective forthcoming projects. Furthermore, the speculations prove an interesting notion to the Hip-hop industry.

Make sure to keep sync with Dave East&#39;s&nbsp;Kairi Chanel, which launches onto the charts this Friday, September 30th, and keep alert with further news regarding his rumored appearance on Nas&#39; new album.

By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com

In 2014, a young East Harlem rapper by the name of Dave East earned top draft pick under Mass Appeal Records, chosen by the man, Nas, himself. In less than a week, East is scheduled to release his latest mixtape, which he boasts as his &ldquo;best work to date&rdquo;.

September 30th&nbsp;marks th...

Dave East's Forthcoming Mixtape, and Appearance on Nas' New Album?

Love is a pretty cliche trend, don&rsquo;t you think? We&rsquo;ve seen love with its petty face, misused and abused by those unversed in its true beauty. We&rsquo;ve seen love at its finest, unconditional and often times irrational. Love&hellip; cliche, yet absolute, and the definitive goal.

&nbsp;

With so much hate televised and publicized in the modern-world, one simply must raise the question: Where and HOW does love weave into all this? Can love still flourish with so much hate? Chicago-based rapper Mick Jenkins would have a word to say, with his debut album&nbsp;The Healing Component.

&nbsp;

&ldquo;Love is a conversation that we don&rsquo;t really have at all. Especially not in rap,&rdquo; explained Jenkins to&nbsp;The Fader. But pertaining to his new record, Jenkins breaks the silence, and opens listeners to a heartfelt dialogue, wherein Mick explores love in its numerous personas, such as self-love, romantic love, sibling love, love for you neighbors, family, and your culture.

&ldquo;Just pray for me/ Holla at me, I can pray for you/ Try to make a play for you, why don&rsquo;t you show me, love/ They said it ain&rsquo;t no love here, but I do see blood, tears, and sweat, Moet/ We pour it up at gatherings that we&rsquo;ll soon forget/ Because the day-by-day negatives be consumed, and hate is booming&rsquo; and love is what flowers and finished blooms we get/ Show me your plot and I&rsquo;ll do the dirt &rsquo;till my wounds cement&rdquo;

Captured in &ldquo;Daniel&rsquo;s Bloom&rdquo;&rsquo;s refrain, Jenkins conveys the dilemma while showcasing his clever wordplay and passionate poetry. The Chicago word-smith may be the first ever to begin a Hip-hop revolution, focusing solely on the concept of love&mdash;but its a movement nonetheless, and that&rsquo;s Hip-hop in its pure essence.

The album succeeds at exploring love&rsquo;s different facets. &ldquo;Daniel&rsquo;s Bloom&rdquo; pertains to neighborly love, while &ldquo;Communicate&rdquo; conveys it through the romantic persona. Still, Jenkins focuses his message towards love as &ldquo;an extension of the truth&rdquo; very much relevant and needed considering today&rsquo;s current tumults:

&ldquo;And they be asking, &lsquo;What do love got to do with the point?&rsquo;/ It&rsquo;s the sooth in your water, it&rsquo;s the truth in your joint,&rdquo; Jenkins advocates in the track, &ldquo;Spread Love&rdquo;.

Throughout the record, he often alludes love to the image of plain water, and I think that&rsquo;s what&nbsp;The Healing Component&nbsp;metaphorically translates to: water, water that sustains, water that cleanses, water, pure and organic. It&rsquo;s basic, but everyone needs it&mdash;kind of like today&rsquo;s reality.

Mick Jenkins&rsquo; debut album isn&rsquo;t just a showcase of his well-versed rhymes and cutting-edge wordplay, it&rsquo;s a movement rallying masses to a substance we&rsquo;ve neglected these past years: Love&mdash;it&rsquo;s&nbsp;The Healing Component.

&nbsp;

By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com

Love is a pretty cliche trend, don&rsquo;t you think? We&rsquo;ve seen love with its petty face, misused and abused by those unversed in its true beauty. We&rsquo;ve seen love at its finest, unconditional and often times irrational. Love&hellip; cliche, yet absolute, and the definitive goal.

&nbs...

Love According to Mick Jenkins’ “The Healing Component”

We&rsquo;re living in an age with technology and social media so high, artists don&rsquo;t even have to see the light of day to produce good music. Hip-hop&rsquo;s Kendrick Lamar, on the other hand, seemingly disagrees with this method. Top Dawg Entertainment&rsquo;s producer, Sounwave, affirms Lamar&rsquo;s beliefs: &ldquo;The whole process of this album [To Pimp A Butterfly] is you literally had to be in the studio with us to get the sound we&rsquo;re trying to portray.&rdquo;

On a similar note, prominent jazz artist Kamasi Washington sat down with Marc Maron on a segment featured on his popular&nbsp;WTF with Marc Maron podcast, and narrated an interesting anecdote pertaining to Washington&rsquo;s work with the the Top Dawg star.

&ldquo;Day one, he was like, &lsquo;Okay, Kamasi, write some stuff to this&rsquo;,&rdquo; mentioned Washington, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Okay, do you want to give me the files and I&rsquo;ll go home and come back?&rsquo; He&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;No, you&rsquo;ve got to write this here. You don&rsquo;t get to leave with anything.&rdquo;

&ldquo;So I&rsquo;m just sitting there listening to the music, and I have a little piano set up, and Kendrick&rsquo;s just sitting there on the couch watching,&rdquo; laughed Washington, &ldquo;But wasn&rsquo;t a vibe of like, &lsquo;Let me make sure you don&rsquo;t do anything I don&rsquo;t want you to do.&rsquo; It was more like, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m just curious to see how this process works.&rsquo;&rdquo;

The jazzer resonated to the current trend of internet sessions, as well as attesting to the unique experience you get with them, but on this bit, Washington expressed a different narration which led to a long-lasting impression over Lamar.

&ldquo;I would see him do superhuman stuff,&rdquo; Washington remarked, &ldquo;One day, Terrace [Martin] brought a new beat, and I saw Kendrick just create a whole song while he was hearing it for the first time. And it felt like a complete song. I was like, &lsquo;Did you just create that right now while I was sitting here as you were listening to it for the first time? Wow. That&rsquo;s amazing.&rdquo;

You can listen to the full podcast with the link below. The conversation with Kamasi Washington-To Pimp a Butterfly&nbsp;begins at 54:00.

<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-744-kamasi-washington/id329875043?i%3D1000375634102%26mt%3D2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1474925261776000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFHv7MctM7Avvpm75tuz5szu-Q0cg" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-744-kamasi-washington/id329875043?i=1000375634102&amp;mt=2" target="_blank">https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-744-kamasi-washington/id329875043?i=1000375634102&amp;mt=2</a>

&nbsp;

By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com&nbsp;

We&rsquo;re living in an age with technology and social media so high, artists don&rsquo;t even have to see the light of day to produce good music. Hip-hop&rsquo;s Kendrick Lamar, on the other hand, seemingly disagrees with this method. Top Dawg Entertainment&rsquo;s producer, Sounwave, affirms Lama...

Sims Upcoming Solo Album, "More Than Ever"

Hip hop groups, politicians come together to celebrate African American Museum

Scotty ATL Expressing Pain and Encouraging Life with “Daily Bread”

Dave East's Forthcoming Mixtape, and Appearance on Nas' New Album?

Love According to Mick Jenkins’ “The Healing Component”

Jazz Artist Kamasi Washington Calls Kendrick Lamar, “Superhuman”

Sight

Sound

Story