State of the Artist - Common Senses mp3

A nice jazzy, laid back track (great horns) from the unsigned Seattle-based group, State of the Artist (sota), who have been together since 2007. Visit their website for more info.

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp mp3

The album leaked last December, and is available for retail in February.

Having had the album for over a month, I'm still struggling to get into it, but I can't get bored of this single.

Drake - Best I Ever Had (Video)

I told you back in April about this kid (and even gave you the mp3 for free). He's the next big thing across the pond (where it appears Rock & Roll has died, and poppy Rap&B is the way to go).

I didn't mind this track a few months back, it grew on me. But, thanks to radio-playlist ubiquity, I'm starting to get super-tired of this. Now we've got a video (directed by Kanye West), and so no doubt it will be an ever-present on TV now too. See what you think...

Wale - Um Ricka (feat. K'Naan) mp3

Produced by Mark Ronson (the horns are unmistakable) and featuring K'Naan (straight out of Compton Mogadishu, Somalia).

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Wale is one of the hot new properties in US Hip Hop. You may remember his debut mixtape built around vocal snippets and themes inspired from the TV show Seinfeld (called Mixtape About Nothing... and featuring this cover). This is taken from his new mixtape with 9th Wonder 'Back To The Feature', which dropped last night.

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This track has a fittingly tribal beat, and obviously, the horns are grrrrreat.

Drake - Best I Ever Had mp3

You may like this, you may not (I'm probably in the latter camp, moving towards the former slowly), but you should probably know about this dude because he's the next big thing.

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An artist from Toronto with links to Lil' (spit) Wayne's Young Money records, he has honed a singing/rapping style that is proving hugely popular... his visit to New York's Hot97 radio station at the weekend caused actual roadblocks and prompted a DJ to claim that he had "shut New York down"... despite the fact that he has no official single or album releases to his name. Anyway, see what you think and remember the name:

Charles Hamilton - Scorpion mp3

This young Sonic The Hedgehog-obsessed rapper from Harlem is one of Hip Hop's great hopes for 2009. With broad subject matter, an anti-thug rap approach and an impressive work-ethic (he's dropped two mixtapes in the last week!), not to mention he's got age on his side, those hopes seem to be in safe hands.

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He shared the cover of The Fader this month (with Little Boots), and although the article spent too much time concentrating on Charles's Harlem-based peers and not enough on Hamilton himself, it's still a sign that his profile is heading in the right direction. He's a track from his 'Well Isn't This Awkward' mixtape (which centres on relationships, and was dropped in time for Valentines Day. Download HERE). It features a nice D'Angelo vocal sample, and a Mortal Kombat vocal introduction. You can't go wrong.

Theo - Dillagence (Video)

A new video, over a classic Dilla beat, by a young emcee who is supported by ?uestlove's okayplayer family.

Go there (by clicking HERE) to get his free mixtape 'The Birth'.

Mikkey Halstead - Karma mp3 & video

Up & coming (pause) Chicago emcee Mikkey Halsted's latest single, produced by Kanye West's mentor and regular Common collaborator No I.D.

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Karma mp3

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mp3 pinched from eskay at Nah. Go visit him for the video to the track.

Daniel Merriweather - Change (Video)

Australian Daniel Merriweather's first single from his Mark Ronson-helmed debut album 'Love & War', out next year. Features labelmate and fellow Ronson buddy Wale.

Warwick Avenue - Duffy feat. Wale mp3

Washington DC rapper (and recent signee to Mark Ronson's fledgling label, Allido Records) tags a verse onto Duffy's single from earlier this year, which I assume is now getting airplay in the US.

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Warwick Avenue (Wale Version) mp3

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GDP - Succumb (Video)

A new emcee from New Jersey. Good video.

Apparently, he already has a large following of teenage female fans, which can't do him any harm (especially when labels have got their A&R's out searching for 'the new Em'.)