Step Brothers help out on this cut from the album The Diam Piece, available now.

From Fashawn and Alchemist’s FASH-ionably Late EP coming soon. Directed by Evidence.

Los Angeles rappers, Dilated Peoples stopped by Sway in the Morning to discuss their new album, Directors of Photography. First, the group started off speaking about the new class of rappers who are also lyrical, like TDE. Additionally, they explained how using independent outlets to promote their music helped them. In addition to speaking about their work with Aloe Blacc, Peoples spoke about the importance of calling out wack rappers and emcees to bite other people’s styles.

Backpack rap dons team on this Audible Doctor remix of “Twenty Squared”.

While the audio isn’t great, it’s rare we see Dilated interviews, so here’s one from Adramatic crew. Babu talks about the new album, Directors Of Photography, how the song “Rain Or Shine” produced by Babu for Evidence was originally for Common, a track on the new album called “Hallelujah” featuring Evidence, Rakaa, Fashawn, Rapsody, Action Bronson, Domo Genesis and Vinnie Paz, and other topics.

1/3 of Dilated Peoples and 1/2 of Step Brothers, Evidence, sits in with Cypress Hill’s B-Real on The Smoke Box, in this 20 minute smoke session, in which “the Doctor blazes some very special trees”. You may get a contact high, just from watching.

Prepping the final stages for it’s release Vanderslice presents Everything’s Awesome. The title track featuring Evidence from Dilated Peoples and long time collaborator and close personal friend AWAR. Everything’s Awesome is a collection of instrumentals and in addition to Evidence & AWAR features from Freddie Gibbs, Maffew Ragazino, Merkules, Apathy, Celph Titled, & Twin Gambino. Along side his partner Green Steez, Vanderslice has created a soundscape and a collage of sounds ranging in style and extreme levels of awesomeness. Head over to www.ihatevanderslice.com for more information.

Developed and directed by Jason Goldwatch, Mass Appeal’s Time Alone is a new innovative series where celebrities interview themselves. In this episode, rapper Evidence asks himself some in-depth questions.

New single from NJ producer Analogic “Twenty Squared” featuring Evidence, Rakaa and Sean Boog. This is the first single on Analogic’s upcoming debut album The Booth Shall Set You Free via Soulspazm Records which hits stores on April 1st, 2014. Other features on the album include Wordsworth, Supastition, Kenn Starr, Silent Knight, Hassan Mackey, Madkem, Bilal Salaam and more.

Step Brothers members Alchemist and Evidence spoke to VladTV about new music they recorded with former Whooliganz member Scott Caan not too long ago, and how he “killed” Action Bronson on the track. The song currently doesn’t have a specified destination regarding where it will be released, but they both confidently stated that he definitely out-rapped Bronson. Alchemist even admitted that he thinks Scott Caan has become a better rapper than him over the years, considering that he was the weaker of the two during their Whooliganz days. What do you think of Scott Caan out-baring Action Bronson?

It’s hard to believe that despite their long history as friends together, Evidence and Alchemist have never cut an album together. On wax, the beginnings of their collaborations start as early as the first Dilated Peoples’ 12″, “Third Degree”, as Al produced both the title track and its b-side “Confidence”. But the story dates back even further, as the two actually grew up together, which explains their like-minded views on beats, rhymes, and weed. With them both having twenty-year career spans in the game, now is as good a time as ever for them to come together as Step Brothers, and deliver the Lord Steppington LP.

Much like Madvillainy before it, Lord Steppington is a highly experimental album that gets better with consecutive listens. The duo’s blunted sense of humor comes through all over the record, especially through the skits, which animate the Lord Steppington character as an above the law member of foreign soil, who “doesn’t feel natural” faking humility. Such as how “Byron G” starts, led with an early Kanye rant, as the they trade verses with Domo Genesis and actor Scott Caan (Al’s one time partner in the Whooliganz) over the album’s lone Evidence beat.

The album’s production is uncompromisingly raw, as Alchemist helms the rest of the LP’s beat work. Songs like “Legendary Mesh” and “No Hesitation”, (the latter a flip of Pacewon’s “I Declare War”, as pointed out by Evidence), are driven by Al’s trademark brand of brooding, thumping bass kicks, while things get more experimental on “Swimteam Rastas”. Here, the beat changes up three times, with off kilter samples providing an uncomfortable groove. Things kick into high gear on ridiculous “Mums In The Garage”, shared with Action Bronson, over a beat so raw that it might have fit on Hard To Earn in 1994.

“Banging Sound” throws out all conventional methods of rap production on one the album’s boldest beats, yet passes with flying colors as one of the LP’s illest moments. The album’s lead single, “Step Masters”, is the most accessible thing on the album, but the crown jewel of the LP is buttery posse cut, “Tomorrow”, which brings in Blu and Rakaa, over a ridiculously hypnotic track.

Lyrically Ev and Al trade barbs, going verse for verse, almost seeing who can outdo the other with hilarious visuals. Ev is the more lyrical emcee here, but Al comes with the more quotable, ridiculous boasts, such as “To retrieve exotic pets, karate chop the nipple of yo chest,” and “flipping like things that flip,” among many other bizarre claims.

Lord Steppington is unlike anything either artist has done thus far, which is testament to their versatility. It doesn’t sound like a Dilated album without Rakka, nor does it sound like, say, Albert Einstein from a production standpoint. Evidence and Alchemist have challenged themselves here, and ended up producing a dope, unconventional underground rap album, most likely dreamed up in the smokiest of atmospheres. Here come the lords.

Step Brothers sit in with DJ Vlad to speak on the state of west coast hip-hop, and its current revival through artists like Kendrick Lamar.

Two pieces of promo video for Step Brothers’ new Lord Steppington LP.

On this episode of ILL Time, Mass Appel travels back in time to one gnarly session for the ages. Out in Lake Tahoe, circa the 1980, Evidence and Alchemist come together to broadcast a legendary skate contest, “Upland Skate Masters”. One full day of hardcore ripping for the ladies and gents of Nor Cal.

Fuse sits down with Evidence and Alchemist, who break down tracks from their debut LP Lord Steppington.. The Mixdown is a weekly show in which Esteban visits recording studios to hang with hip hop producers and MCs. Check it out every Wednesday.