Strange combination of artists, but we ain’t mad. From Blade Of The Ronin, hitting March 3rd.

iHip-Hop Distribution tells us: “As Vast Aire and Vordul Mega, collectively known as Cannibal Ox, prepare for the release of their highly-anticipated sophomore album Blade of the Ronin, Pigeons & Planes has premiered the album’s second single, “Harlem Knights.” The track is scored by BILL COSMIQ’s melodic production, as Vordul opens the song with a verse pertaining to his uptown upbringing. Vast follows suit with vintage verse of Harlem snaps and braggadocio.

Blade of the Ronin is the first new album from Cannibal Ox since their 2001 debut The Cold Vein, which is highly regarded as a classic amongst hip-hop fans and critics alike. Blade of the Ronin features guest appearances by MF Doom, U-God (of Wu-Tang Clan), Elzhi, Artifacts and more, and will hit stores worldwide on March 3rd via IGC Records / iHipHop Distribution.”

As Vast Aire and Vordul Mega, collectively known as Cannibal Ox, prepare for the release of their highly-anticipated sophomore album Blade of the Ronin, with the album’s first single, “Iron Rose.” “Iron Rose” features a stellar verse from masked super-lyricist MF Doom and is backed by a monstrously heavy beat by producer Bill Cosmiq, who helms the production on Blade of the Ronin. Vast, Vordul and DOOM deliver thematic verses regarding iron that is sure to magnetize listeners.

Blade of the Ronin is the first new album from Cannibal Ox since their 2001 debut The Cold Vein, which is highly regarded as a classic amongst hip-hop fans and critics alike. Blade of the Ronin features guest appearances by MF Doom, U-God (of Wu-Tang Clan), Elzhi, Artifacts and more, and will hit stores worldwide on March 3rd via IGC Records / iHipHop Distribution.

An air of mystique surrounds the careers of Harlemites Vast Aire and Vordul Mega, collectively known as Cannibal Ox. Fourteen years after earning their status as luminaries of underground hip-hop, Cannibal Ox is set to release the highly-anticipated sophomore album Blade of the Ronin. Serving as the follow-up to the duo’s acclaimed debut album, Blade of the Ronin is the embodiment of Vast and Vordul’s years of creation and properly serves to provide listeners with the grimy yet futuristic soundscape that they’ve come to expect from Cannibal Ox.

In 2001, Cannibal Ox released its debut album, The Cold Vein, which remains one of the seminal works of the New York hip-hop scene. Regarded as a cult classic amongst hip-hop purists, The Cold Vein has been ranked as #152 on Pitchfork’s “Top 200 Albums of the 2000s” list. In November 2014, The Village Voice ranked the track “Pigeon” from The Cold Vein #22 on its All-Time Top 40 Songs About New York list (“Big Apple Records”). The Voice went on to praise The Cold Vein, remarking, “the early-2000s underground hip-hop scene in New York offered a hyper-experimental take on the culture’s foundations, with the location of the genre’s birthplace giving these creations instant credibility. One of the best results came in the form of Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein.”

Since the success of The Cold Vein, Cannibal Ox has largely maintained their independent, enigmatic persona, shying away from the glowing heat of the mainstream limelight. In 2005, the duo released Return of the Ox: Live at CMJ, a live album recorded at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York, but otherwise remained relatively off the radar as a collective with exception of Vast and Vordul appearing on each other’s solo endeavors. In 2013, Cannibal Ox re-emerged with a maxi-single entitled Gotham, which included three tracks produced by a widely unknown yet remarkably talented producer by the name of Bill Cosmiq. Upon listening to the project’s title track, fans were taken aback by how the duo still sounded in its prime. As Spin Magazine declared, “while it doesn’t sound like a day has passed since Vein, Vast and Vordul were always spitting from the future.” Gotham would go on to be re-released as a Deluxe LP Edition along with the first reissue of The Cold Vein in nearly a decade as part of Cannibal Ox’s partnership with iHipHop Distribution.

Today, Cannibal Ox reveals the cover art and track list for their long awaited sophomore album, Blade of the Ronin. Blade of the Ronin solidifies the triumphant return of Cannibal Ox as the kings of underground hip-hop, as Vast and Vordul capture their trademark sound with Bill Cosmiq at the helm for the majority of the album’s production. Together, this trio has created an album that personifies a sense of insightful lyricism and poignant production that has arguably been absent from the scene since The Cold Vein. The album also features tremendous guest appearances from MF Doom, U-God (of Wu-Tang Clan), Elzhi, Artifacts and more, all of whom compliment the vibe of Can Ox. Blade of the Ronin will hit stores worldwide on March 3rd via IGC Records / iHipHop Distribution.

Cannibal Ox ‘Blade of the Ronin’ Tracklisting:

1. Cipher Unknown (Intro)
2. Opposite of Desolate f/ Double A.B.
3. Psalm 82
4. The Power Cosmiq f/ Kenyattah Black
5. Blade: The Art of Ox f/ Artifacts & U-God (of Wu-Tang Clan)
6. Pressure of Survival (Skit)
7. Carnivorous f/ Elzhi & Bill Cosmiq
8. Thunder In July f/ Space, Swave Sevah & Elohem Star
9. Water
10. The Horizon (Interlude)
11. Harlem Knights
12. Sabertooth f/ Irealz & Bill Cosmiq
13. Iron Rose f/ MF Doom
14. Solar System (Cosmos) (Skit)
15. The Fire Rises
16. Gotham (Ox City)
17. Unison (Skit)
18. Vision f/ The Quantum)
19. Salvation

From The Quantum’s new Paragon EP, available now on iTunes.

The Quantum is the creative collective consisting producer/writer Bill Cosmiq and writer Salvador. Their goal is to bridge the creativity of Hip-Hop’s “golden era” to today’s diverse soundscape. In the end, they are providing their contribution to the art form and culture that has help to define modern music.

In 2013, Bill Cosmiq began working as lead producer on a number of projects for the IGC (Iron Galaxy Clik) Record label (the brainchild of Vast Aire and Vordul Mega of Cannibal Ox). During the process of working on the long-awaited sophomore Cannibal Ox album, Crimson Godz and Vast Aire albums, Bill Cosmiq started developing an alternative sound that would define “The Quantum”. Months of creative development resulted in their debut EP “Paragon,” in 2014. The EP is a sample of the sonic diversity expected on their forthcoming album.

While Cannibal Ox’s seminal debut, The Cold Vein, was released in 2001, Vast & Vordul are also currently in the studio recording their long-overdue sophomore LP, which will be released in 2013, as Vast states “we never broke up, but the timing is now right for a new Cannibal Ox LP. Iron Galaxy Records is about to take over.”

After a successful west-coast tour run, Vast and Vordul are preparing for a east-coast run and recording new material for there forthcoming sophomore LP. Today, Cannibal Ox announces the release of a new Maxi-Single, “Gotham,” which includes three new tracks and will be available on 4-16-2013.

1. “Gotham” (Ox City)
2. “Gases In Hell” (Inhale)
3 “Psalm 82”

***All Tracks Produced by Bill Cosmiq

Today, Double A.B. & Dub Sonata are releasing the video for “Sunset” – the song also features singer David Kiss – and as the title implies, the visual is replete with time-lapsed cityscapes that meld perfectly against A.B.’s vocals.

Also of note, although the video is just coming out in December, the clip was filmed some months back, before Hurricane Sandy impacted along the eastern seaboard. As such, the video, shot in Coney Island, Brooklyn, one of the New York City neighborhoods hit hardest by the storm, offers a unique look back at what the waterfront looked like just a few short months ago, before the storm devastation.

Justin Hunte sits down with Legendary recording artist Vast Aire for a one on one about Vast Aire’s new release OX 2010: A Street Odyssey on Man Bites Dog Records.
]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/07/25/vast-aire-talks-street-odyssey-2011/feed/ 3 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/06/03/vast-aire-man-of-steel-video/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/06/03/vast-aire-man-of-steel-video/#comments Sat, 04 Jun 2011 03:12:40 +0000 http://www.hiphopsite.com/?p=34971

Man Bites Dog Records & Fat Beats Records are proud to present Vast Aire’s “Man of Steel” Music Video/Mini Movie from the album OX 2010: A Street Odyssey available in stores now! Directed by RML.
]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/06/03/vast-aire-man-of-steel-video/feed/ 0 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/05/31/vast-aire-thors-hammer-feat-raekwon-vordul-mega/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/05/31/vast-aire-thors-hammer-feat-raekwon-vordul-mega/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 03:25:29 +0000 http://www.hiphopsite.com/?p=34782 [cont.]]]>

Approximately 10-years ago (Cold Vein was released on 5-15-2001) Vast Aire and Vordul Mega (collectively known as Cannibal Ox) released their seminal debut, Cold Vein, on Def Jux Records. Now, a decade later, the pair team up again with Raekwon for “Thor’s Hammer” which appears on Vast Aire’s new solo-LP, Ox 2010: A Street Odyssey, which is now available at all retail and online outlets (iTunes).

LISTEN: Vast Aire – “Thor’s Hammer” (feat. Raekwon + Vordul Mega)

Vast Aire – “Thor’s Hammer” (feat. Raekwon + Vordul Mega)

A Cannibal Ox + Animal Collective mashup album by Cassettes Won’t Listen? We’ll definitely listen. Press release reads as follows:

Indie powerhouse, Animal Collective, please meet underground indie hip-hop staple, Cannibal Ox. Now play nice and wait for (hipster?) heads to explode. Jason Drake aka Cassettes Won’t Listen has been busy working on a follow up to his 2008 album, Small-Time Machine, but in between studio sessions he has found the time to release his mashup of 2001′s The Cold Vein with music spanning Animal Collective’s entire career.

The impact that Cannibal Ox had on the underground hip hop community back in 2001 with The Cold Vein, catapulting El-P’s newly launched Def Jux label into indie superstardom, was unparalleled in the scene at the time. As the duo sat in El-Producto’s Brooklyn studio crafting the influential release, a group of friends were forming a band and recording music of their own less than 200 miles away in Baltimore, MD. Animal Collective broke out onto the scene during the early part of the past decade and their fan base has continued to expand with each subsequent release. Animal Ox marries the forward thinking, experimental, and genre-defying nature both groups are known for. A match made in indie heaven.

Cassettes Won’t Listen – “Animal Ox” (Mixtape)

Like many of hip-hop s greatest teams (Public Enemy, Outkast , Nice & Smooth ), Vast Aire and Vordul are yin & yang opposites. Vast is a slow speaking poet who cleverly abstracts common cliches into his own renditions (“like the assination of two birds with one stone” or “that anorexic space between love and hate”), while Vordul is the quintessential New Yorker, painting vivid pictures of the rotten apple, without resorting to the tired thug themes of today. Still grounded somewhere in the five boroughs, while the two dabble in experimental styles not common to the city, the urban essence of hip-hop is still present, simply through their attitudes and expressionism. While neither are mind blowing emcees, both are clever and have enough style in delivery to keep the listener s attention throughout.

Produced entirely by El-P, the production is where the meat of this album lies. El continues to improve, as he creates incredible musical mosaics in each of the album’s tracks. Multi-layered sample collages seem incoherent at first, but after the album s third listen, and the sounds grow to be more familiar, it becomes evident what a musical genius El-Producto really is. His production is epic in nature, as proven on tracks like “Iron Galaxy” and “Pigeon” evolving beats that are so deep, that they seem like God’s soundtrack to the creation of the universe. Meanwhile, tracks like “Atom”, “Rasberry Fields” and “Real Earth” show off his incredible knack for drum programming one that is so unique, that only he could get away with such an off-kilter style of beat-making. “F-Word” is perhaps the most down-to-earth track, as Vast explores the dark and evil corners of the friend-zone, and it s a good place to start for those not quite ready for the complexity of the Can-Ox animal.

All strokes aside, there of course will be those who can’t grasp the musical intelligence of El-P’s heavy beats, whether it s the thugged-out cats, or the old skool purists. While most likely neither will bend their ears to his abstraction, if the either of the audiences accepted El’s style, it would be only a matter of time before Noreaga, Ghostface Killah, Kool Keith, or Chuck D  started tapping him for beats at which point, or course, both parties would have to recognize.

While El-P has claimed that this is the best production he’s ever done, that can only been seen a few years down the line, in retrospect. What he has created is a musical masterpiece and while it s not for everyone like Ultramagnetic in it’s heyday, it may take some years for folks to finally grasp it. Meanwhile, those who’ve been riding El-P’s burners from end-to-end can look forward to his forthcoming solo album, Fantastic Damage .

If Cannibal Ox reminds people of Company Flow – the same, super-scientifical lyrical excursions, the same fuzzed out, electro-altered beats – it’s not a huge surprise. El-P produces the Ox pair of Vast and Vordul and they jump off from the Co Flow aesthetic with pleasing results. “Iron Galaxy” pumps one of the nicer El-P tracks I’ve heard in a while, a contrast between beatific organs and a dirty guitar riff that burns through. Vocally, the CO got some sh*t to say: “everyone knows the city’s ill/cats kill/still black man holds nine/gotta chill.” It’s a twisted, complex lyricism, seeded with metaphors and similes that take a while to grow to fruition but repeated rewinds help immensely. “Straight Off The D.I.C.” kicks a similar vibe – steady dropping drums anchoring a track that’s too weird to describe adequately – and, the Ox stomp in with a futuristic rhyme scheme that pops and locks like machinery. This isn’t exactly for the jiggy, iced out crowd and it might even be a little to the left of your back-to-the-roots underground heads but for those searching for that next level sh*t, this might be it. Oddly, El-P slides the Ox better beats than he does for Co Flow’s own joints on this double 12″, either way, it’s good to hear all these cats back in the mix.