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Last night, Def Jam’s Billie H. serenaded David Letterman’s audience with a cut off her #1 album, Epiphany.

Hot 97’s Funk Flex just world preemo’d this. CDQ manana, but in the meantime take heed: this one sounds right to me. (Pardon the terrible cuts.)
Dear Summer,
Remember Amerie? She’s now signed to Def Jam. Album in August.
Make it hot,
YN
{mp3}01 new amerie{/mp3}
CDQ To Tha Rescue. FTW!
{mp3}01 why r u – main{/mp3}

Better late than never, right? This week, Peter’s lad takes a crack at Taurus’ spooky instrumental.
{mp3}reason cory gunz taurus day 1 rough{/mp3}
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Here, the boys from VA perform my favorite cut, “I’m Not You”. Lord knows how many times I’ve ran this back. The Neptunes’ steel drums coupled with Malice’s and Styles verses is what did it for me. After the jump, see if you can recognize Roscoe P. Coldchain in “Cot Damn”.

Word on the curb is that Datwon Thomas has stepped down from his position as Editor-In-Chief of XXL and Executive Editor, Vanessa Satten will resume duties at the top of the masthead. No reason as to why Datwon allegedly left his post, but we’ll have more as this story develops.
Update: “Day quit,” says an unidentified Harris Publications employee. “Vanessa’s EIC.

Nip Hussle flips Sade’s classic groove, on the second leak off Bullets Aint Got No Name Vol.3 Coming this June.
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She’s on a roll: Karen Civil
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In honor of their performance last night, here’s some vintage footage of the Thorntons, Pharrell, and Kelis circa 2002. Peep the jersey dress and trucker hat? Ha! After the jump, track 6 off, Lord Willin’


Man, this drop from Masspike Miles is seriously smooth from start to finish. The Road Less Traveled totally delivers on that signature R&B vibe, and the production choices across these tracks are just insane. It honestly feels more complete than a lot of full-length albums out right now. Tracks like "Devoted" with Bun B and the title track hit different when you are just cruising around the city late at night. If you are heading out to grab the physical copy or hitting up a late-night listening session across town, trying to flag down reliable taxi services can sometimes be a real hassle, so planning ahead definitely saves the mood. Overall, this project proves why he is such a vital part of the Maybach crew. Definitely keep this one on repeat for a while.