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25 year old John Barnes, better known as Blu, stands at the forefront of Los Angeles’ new down-to-earth brand of do it yourself hip hop – a rare honest lyricist in a world of throwaway rappers. His ’07 debut Below The Heavens (produced entirely by Exile) immediately set him apart as a true artist, and new projects this year alongside Ta’Raach and Mainframe (as Johnson&Jonson) have continued to spread the word. Next year will see more collaborations, touring, and Blu’s first true solo project, Godlee Barnes. In this first of his three Keys 2 The City clips, Blu describes the “west coast bubble” that makes up LA’s inclusive hip hop/jazz/rock/soul scene and highlights the musical fusion Cali’s next movement of artists brings to the game.

PREVIOUS: Keys to the City L.A. w/ U-N-I pt.1 (Video)

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Com talks about some tracks that are featured on his upcoming album, Universal Mind Control, which drops next week (December 9th).

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dubFrequency sits down w/ Pacific Division to discuss their upcoming mixtape (Church League Champions), which basketball players they represent and more.

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Ladies and gentleman, Keys to the City continues. The good folks at imeem link up with your favorite dopeboyz on the internet, HipHopDX & URB to present Keys to the City L.A. And what better way to start it off then a feature on two other dopeboyz that reside in Southern California? U-N-I up!

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I guess I can take this time to see if there are any dopeboyz/girlz out there are currently hitting the books in college? I think it’d be safe to say there’s a good majority right?

AllHipHop got the honors of premiering the latest mixtape from Stat Quo. Hit the jump to stream the entire tape. Download link coming soon. UPDATE: Figured I’d bring this back to the top since I added a download link after the jump…

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In part 2 of their interview, Pharoahe speaks on his top 5 lyricists, what he thinks about Barack Obama and why it is that Queens produces such great MC’s.

PREVIOUS: An In Depth Conversation w/ Pharoahe Monch pt.1 (Video)

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Yeah, I’m pretty sure everybody knows why I’m posting this video up. Ms. Hilson is slowly climbing through the ranks of my “things I need to do before I die” list.

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Pharoahe talks about what inspired him to write Stray Bullet; what it was like growing up in South Jamaica, Queens; what MC’s inspired him to rhyme in his particular style; and whether or not he thinks he is underrated. Part 2 coming tomorrow…

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“Raphael Saadiq brings you back to school, to his alma mater, Castlemont High. It was there that he met Professor Gregory Cole who basically forced him to play bass in the school’s jazz band after Raphael tried to go to Oakland High because “that’s where all the girls went.” In this first episode of “Keys to the City” Raphael reflects on the moments that him the musician he is today and takes you to the places where those transformations took place.”

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Brand new video off the self titled album from Johnson&Jonson (Blu x Mainframe). Directed by Kareem Eduoard. Shouts to JKim!

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Serius Jones gets the Loud Favorites treatment. Above he spits a verses from Long Time Coming and The Greatest. Hit the jump for the interview portion where they talk about his new album, Greatness, that was recently recorded in Atlanta; preparing for battles earlier in his career, DTP and more…