Bahamadia Announces New Album

Fresh off the press, Bahamadia has announced she will be releasing her fourth album entitled "Here." This would be her first release since 2006. We should also add that their are rumors of her collaborating with DJ Premier on this project- how sweet would that be! In addition, the soul lady of rap has confirmed that their will be collaborations with Foreign Exchange and UK producers Ty and Drew according to DJPremierBlog.com. She also admits that she's considering a tribute to Guru on this project.  Either way, it all goes down independent on her B-Girls label.

Del the Funky Homosapien: More Product, Same Price

One cool and innovative way for an artist to gain the attention of his fans who already has a following but hasn't had mainstream success in quite sometime is to do something that is rarely done in the Hip-Hop industry: Drop a triple disc.

Indeed, the California native and Hieroglyphics pioneer, Del the Funky Homosapien is back with a new album, The Golden Era, that dropped last April.  Even more interesting, the triple disc is loaded with a whooping 34 tracks-and it's only $12.33 for the album (amazon mp3)! Let's face it- that's hard to turn down if you know how talented Del is. The album includes The Golden Error, a brand new album as well as Automatik Statik and Funk Man. The latter two, according to his label The Council, are available "physically" for the first time. If you ask us at ABL, that is to cool- but what else is Ice Cube's cousin supposed to do!

Lastly, we honor Del because Del and his crew found out that the indi route has better perks and benefits. He built his name by dropping independent albums with the Hiero crew. The rest was history. It's good to see you shining Del. Props from ABL.

Dougie Rapper Killed in Inglewood

M-Bone, rapper from the Cali Swag District, was killed in what was called  a drive by style shooting. In his hometown of Inglewood, California, a car pulled up next to his and fired two rounds at his head on May 14. M-Bone, whose real name is Montae Talbert, died soon after. The groups representative is calling this a "random act of violence." However, XXL mag via TMZ World relinquished some more details: 

Initially reported as a random act of violence, reports later surfaced that the rapper may have been shot over a woman, according to TMZ. Word is M-Bone’s friends have been in contact with authorities and are telling investigators the rapper met a girl when he returned to LA from touring recently. Per M’s friends,
officials are still investigating, but as of now, it appears the shooting was a male tenant who lives in the young woman’s apartment building didn’t approve of the relationship and started threatening the rapper on Twitter. A Twitter feud ensued.  -XXL Mag.com

Unlike the murderers of Pac and Biggie, We'd like to think they will find the thug who abbreviated M-Bone's life to a short 22 years.  ABL will keep you posted on any news that develops concerning the investigation. In the words of Boogie Down Production, "stop the violence!"

Master P Orchestrates his Comeback: The New No Limit Records

After selling 75 million records, Master P has put together a new label; he elevated his son, Romeo, to CEO, his younger son Valentino to VP, kept Silk the Shocker and added a slew of new artists. Indeed this time around, it is "Family Business." Will P have the business swagger to put The New No Limit at the top of the charts?

Here at ABL, we are not sure. First, it's important to realize that No Limit pioneered a certain brand of New Orleans hip-hop which eventually affected the entire South. Perhaps the younger generation missed their rise to fame, but the old school heads know whats up. And, that might be the significant factor in whether P can become a top record executive again. Does P have the business swagger to tap into today's new generation of hip-hop consumers? Let me rephrase the question: In today's saturated market of Dirty South Rappers, will No-Limit be able to "shine" or will they camouflage into the existing scene?

Major obstacles stand in their way but all in all, we think it's to early to call.  No Limit still carries a brand from their last run in hip-hop where deep drum kicks, speedy high hats, funky synths and a host of other relatively simple rhythms mixed with anthem type hooks made everybody said "Uhhhh, NaNaNa, Naaaa."

But hip-hop has transformed and to compete in the south, individuality is key- that is, if you want to have longevity. Indeed, P will have to prove himself a Master to rise to fame again. Perhaps a good intro to the new generation of hip-hop is P's "Get Money" film starring himself and Gucci Mane set for an August  release.  Either way it goes, it will be interesting to see P navigate in today's increasingly competitive market of hip-hop artists.