Tanzania Lateef - Free Angela | Video

Tanzania Lateef The Songbird’s new single “Free Angela” on the Cinema7 Multimedia Group imprint is a breath of fresh air.

Infusing jazzy soul samples, chops & groovy drums courtesy of producer Max Damage from Santiago Chile (South America) with soulful riffs and harmonies by Tanzania, this piece can easily be spun between hip hop, r&b or soul cuts without changing dynamic.

It doesn’t hurt that if you preorder the album on the website ($10) you will receive this single for free.

Check out the video and stream the album below.

Music Video:

Music Link:

https://cinema7multimediagroup.com/single/12517/free-angela

Tanzania Lateef, also known as Stormy Monday, is an American singer, songwriter, co-producer, and Cinema 7 recording artist. She was born in Washington D.C., raised in Baltimore, MD and San Bernardino, Ca, and currently resides in Philadelphia, PA. She is most known for her performances at The Black Lilly in Philly, background vocals for Patti Labelle and Bilal, as well as her mixtapes.

As a child Tanzania was exposed to various music genres through her parents including reggae, blues, classical, hip hop, funk, rock, tribal, house, and world music. Her first and biggest influence was Bob Marley, particularly his “Redemption Song”. Coming from a diverse background in music, she was also influenced to pursue her music career by Teena Marie, Anita Baker, Phoebe Snow, Mary J Blige, and Jodeci.

Tanzania came to Philly from Baltimore during the neo-soul explosion to perform at the popular club The Black Lilly where she could show off her vocals. She spent some time at Jazzy Jeff’s A Touch of Jazz studio and Mama’s Boy studio learning how to write and record. While signed at A Touch of Jazz, she met rapper/producer Baby Blak. They had an instant vibe and began to work together under his label Cinema 7 Multimedia Group.

In 2004, Tanzania recorded background vocals for Patti Labelle’s “Black Butterfly” on the Johnson Family Vacation Soundtrack. She also performed background vocals for Bilal at S.O.B.’s (Sounds of Brazil) in New York City. She has made various appearances performing at The Black Lilly and B-Boy BBQ in Philly and went on a mini tour with DJ Jazzy Jeff performing in London at the Jazz Café.

Tanzania has been featured on Baby Blak’s songs “Chess Move God”, “Cambridge Ghetto”, and “Black Man Rap (Ode To 98)”, Greg Porn’s “Salud”, and Aul Purpis’s “Wow”. She currently has a mixtape out called “What’s The 911?” where she sings over hip hop beats starring various Philly emcees.

Currently, Tanzania is working on her album “Less Than Zero” which embodies the subjects of life, hustle, love, sex, party, pain, and joy. She is also working on two mixtapes, “White Widow” – a laid back red light feel, and “What’s The 911? Part 2” – a follow up to her first edition of melodies over hip hop beats. She is also featuring on Baby Blak’s mixtape “The Virgo Tape”, as well as working with fellow Cinema 7 producer Gross on his upcoming project.

Tanzania is focused on her career and determined to open new doors to opportunity and business ventures with her music and forthcoming albums. When not recording music, she works on her cooking series which includes cookbooks, videos, blog, and is starting a business with her mother.

Find more info here:

tanzanialateef.com Instagram Facebook Twitter

Dallas Hip Hop Sensation C.J. Watson Delivers 'The RoseSTAR'

C.J. Watson returns with his fourth studio album release, presented by DirtyRed Production and Real Every Day Entertainment, LLC. In ‘TheRoseSTAR the Dallas multifaceted artist weaves together storytelling and lyricism to offer listeners a perspective on Portland, Oregon aka The City of Roses, where he was born, as well as his upbringing in Dallas, Texas, aka The Lone Star state.

The 18-track album comes with elite, special features including J.Waiters, Street Da Villain, #Mandi, Tag, SoloTX, ChurchBoi, Garshar, Tad Nips, and B$G Lil’Ken. Watson also enlisted Poetic Killa, Phow Slurz, Gifted Legacy, UnknWxn, and Pablo Brown Beats for production.

C.J. Watson’s energy on the project in combination with different aesthetics for each track is sure to entice audiences while the hooks linger long after the album is over. Head over to iamcjwatson.com to hear the album in it’s entirety. This dose of earmilk is one that will not sour or expire.

Spotify link

https://open.spotify.com/album/1BILoR4tlu7MF6qpjvh3E0?si=v19CFH8ER4GA83gopD42_g

The Cream Always Rises to The Top. Thank you Jadakiss and Nas.

The past week in NY Hip-Hop was on fire due to 2 events that made the game change it's opinion on the importance of being able to deliver on 2 opposite sides of the same cultural dynamic of being an MC. The live performance and the album/body of work argument that is always made when someone is asked to perform for the Hip-Hop Culture. Jadakiss and Nas not only answered the call to what NY Hip-Hop and most East Coast purist have been calling for when it comes to the culture, but the delivered in ways artists dream of and made their cases for Greatest of All Time nominations in the culture. Let's start with the Verzuz.

On August 3rd 2021, Verzuz put on an event that featured The Lox vs. Dipset. Dipset is composed of Freekey Zekey, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, and Cam'ron while The Lox is comprised of Sheek Louch, Styles P, and Jadakiss. This was built as a battle between 2 of the best crews to represent the NY Hip-Hop streets. Harlem vs. Yonkers and the world was waiting in anticipation to see who was going to win the epic battle. The problem is that while Dipset may have hits they missed what the Lox had: Chemistry and a plan. The plan seemed to be be to let Jadakiss take control of the event. He did alone what the Dipset could not do and that was to Master the Ceremony or in other terms, MC. Jadakiss measured the temperature of the crowd and brought the essence of Hip-Hop to the forefront. He attacked the Dipset for rhyming over their vocals, He went acapella and did Freestyle verses, he took the crowd under his wing to make the audience apart of the performance while giving everyone that watched the verzuz an example of how a REAL MC, not only performs but gives the wow feeling of speaking life into an audience. 2 major parts of the performance came when Jada kiss freestyles over the Who Shot Ya? instrumental and when he did his verse from Ja Rule's Song I'm From NY. Jadakiss became the Mamba that night but dropping The Dipset in the Garden and elevating the argument that he deserves to be amongst the greats in Hip-Hop. Then Escobar Season Returned.

Nas has been every rappers favorite rapper from the beginning of his career. He has seen the best and the not so great come from his career. From a Masterpiece debut to people questioning his beat selection also being engaged with the the top MC in the game, Nas has journeyed through Hip-Hop like no other MC to date. When it seemed like Nas could do no right, he teamed with Hit Boy and they created a Grammy Winning album, King's Disease. August 6th 2021 Nas returned with King's Disease 2 and he gave Hip-Hop more of what is needed and that is a mature perspective of what life is through the eyes of a man that is maturing into age, and more importantly life as he sees his legacy take shape inside and outside of the music. With so many artists dying prematurely and the newer generation has been suffering with the loses of Mac Miller, Juice WRLD, Pop Smoke and so many others, too many to name, this generation is not getting the chance to appreciate and grow with their favorite artists in their time of growth and development. Nas has successfully embraced his role in this part of his life by revamping his sound, incorporating new artists on features and bringing back favorites of the past like The Firm, Lauryn Hill and Brucie B. Nas put the greatest MC focus on making an album and not just a hot song every now and then. With songs with 3 verses on them and talking about minding your business, taking care of family, health and giving back we see and hear the mature voice of Hip-Hop and that is the OG talk Hip-Hop has needed for a long time.

People have always argued what is the difference between a rapper and an MC. 2 examples of MCs were on display this past week and I think the argument can be put to rest now hopefully. By Jadakiss' performance and Nas' streak at making music that counts not just for the vibe we can now give further reference to how it should be done to those that do not have the answers and are still asking the same questions. If Jadakiss' next album continues this hot streak he is on now then the Top 5 Dead or Alive title will mean more to not only his fan base but to those that love this culture and document its' legacy. Nas is aging gracefully taking his role as an elder statesman in Hip-Hop to the next level. With great music produced on his last 2 albums, a budding business empire through investment and his own label, Mass Appeal, Nas is showing how an MC moves and gives back to the culture. Being the Greatest is not only self proclaimed or a title given by the people. It is displayed in the hard work, the dedication to the craft and the art you create and the appreciation of that work paying off. Dipset and Hip-Hop in general learned to great lessons this week. Hip-Hop is not what you say but how you live. Preparation and delivery will always beat a trend. People will remember hits for as long as they are hot, but legacies transcend hits. What Jadakiss and Nas accomplished this weak makes the culture stronger while the songs may be eventually forgotten, the moments will stack up and this is how the cream always rises to the top. The songs will fade, and the beats may change but the experience and influence given by an MC is life changing and the culture was made stronger by what these men accomplished and raises the bar for it to continue further.