Named after the recent Survival Skills album, the mixtape features nineteen of the game’s most talented emerging artists remaking classic records by the two hip hop legends.

Since the project is a modest ten tracks long, I suggest you find the time to give it a quick listen.  I applaud the creative concept and quality of the music put forth.

I’m going to highlight a few of the standout tracks below:

Sha Stimuli, Promise, J.A.M.E.S. Watts, Fashawn – “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know Remix”

Sha Stimuli kills the first verse of “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know.”

“If you don’t know me by now I doubt you’ll ever know me,
I’m not on Atlantic, I ain’t signed to Sony,
I’m not even sure how many labels are left,
But I’m labeled the booth assassin while the masses have slept…
Your flow ain’t as half as tight as like the way ya’ll dress.
And my knowledge reigns supreme, no I ain’t KRS.”

I know a lot of people are going to love that line about these new rappers having better style than rapping ability, ha!  Also, the comment about not knowing how many labels are left is pretty great, as it seems they’ve been having layoffs every couple of weeks!

Here’s KRS-One’s original track, which sampled Clifford Brown’s “Yesterdays.”

Torae & Skyzoo – “Talk Shit Remix”

Torae and Skyzoo put forth two of the best verses off the entire project with this track. If you’re still sleepin on these impressive Duck Down emcees, hopefully “Talk Shit Remix” will wake you up!

Here’s an excerpt from Torae’s verse:

“Killin every nigga in ciphers,
Couple dudes got more buzz, but none of ‘em nicer.
If you feel you can fuck with it, fuck it then bet your budget,
Nigga’s pen is pathetic, promise I prove it in public, youngin,
My family is OG status,
Shittin on who mattered when you was shittin in pampers.
And that’s an understatement,
What better label for the most underrated, than one that started under the pavement?
For this engagement, get your skullies on,
Timberlands, Champion hoodies, let’s get the gully on.
I’m label mates with apes, legends, and greats,
Duck Down’s what it is and ya’ll shit what it ain’t.”

Those first lines about being better than the dudes with buzz had me hooked.  The following excerpt is from Skyzoo’s verse that sums up his hip hop success:

“I became the talk of the city,
Whether blogs or the building,
From the server to the staircase, and all of that within it,
I’ve been saying this forever, so all of it’s a given,
The mixtapes was free throws, chalk it up to scrimmage.”

Here’s Buckshot’s original track which samples Miles Davis’ “Bitches Brew.”

Cause, The Kid Daytona, & Chaundon – “South Bronx Remix”

I know The Kid Daytona had a great time goin in over this South Bronx anthem!  Here’s an excerpt from his verse:

“I was raised up the block from the house that Ruth built,
Raised off hip hop, shouts to Kool Herc, still,
Wonder how it used to feel,
To walk through the streets, with a boom box bumpin’ BDP.”

With lines like those, Cause, The Kid Daytona, and Chaundon capture the feelings of current Bronx natives who reminiscence over the borough’s hip hop dominance.

Other tracks to check out are: Christian Rich’s “Buck Em Down Remix,” Tanya Morgan’s “Gotcha Open Remix,” and Diz Gibran and Shawn Chrystopher’s “Sound of Da Police Remix.”

Download the whole project now, and experience the tribute!

Here’s Sha Stimuli’s video for “Change” directed by Court Dunn.  The whole video’s concept is sick!

HipHopAtLunch.com will be covering shows and interviewing all the talented artists whose path we cross.

Last night’s bill consisted of Termanology, Skyzoo, Statik Selektah Bekay, Emilio Rojas, Jon Hope, Shawn Chrystopher, Donny Goines, and JtheS, but we soon found out that anything can happen at CMJ.

Termanology and Shawn Chrystopher didn’t make it to Santos, however special guests Joe Scudda, Sha Stimuli, and Cormega put on a good show in their absence.

John Hope really got the crowd involved with his energetic stage presence.  He also came through with his Essence Music Group family to represent Providence for the night.

Check out Jon Hope performing “The Most Important Song Of My Life.”

That song is wonderfully produced and carries a great message of respect and love within the hip hop community.

After his set, Jon Hope took a minute to touch base with HipHopAtLunch.com, explaining his previous comments about Pill’s “Trap Going Ham” video, and talking about why he follows porn stars on Twitter!

Jon meant no disrespect when he recorded “Smartest,” inspired by Pill’s “Trap Goin Ham.”  Instead he decided to portray the change he would like to see in hip hop.  Jon took this interview as an opportunity to clear that up.  Also, if you’re a pornstar hit Jon up on Twitter:@JonHope and let him know what you thought of the interview!

Jon Hope’s upcoming project, A Work In Progress, should be interesting, as he stated that it will differ greatly from Some Kind of Wonderful.  If we can’t have Some Kind of Wonderful Part 2, I hope we see more tracks like Breathin’ which saw time on MTV.

Other standout performances from the night were Joe Scudda’s “Trunk Rattle.”

Joe Scudda has a great stage presence, delivery, his confidence really comes out in live performances.  I can’t wait to hear the album he’s working on with Statik Selektah!

Emilio Rojas performed “Bold & Arrogant.”

His upcoming mixtape, The Natural, with DJ Green Lantern is something to keep an eye out for.

Donny Goines performed “Bring It Forward.”

If you haven’t downloaded The Breakfast Club yet, I suggest you jump on that.

Bekay performed “I Am,” produced by The Alchemist.

That’s a dope track about hip hop.

Cormega performed “Journey,” produced by the Large Professor.

That opening line is sick, “Life is a journey/Before I went the rap route/I served niggas off the bench like Stackhouse/Going in with no intention to back down/My cocaine flow solidified/I spit crack now.”

My favorite performance of the night was Skyzoo’s “The Beautiful Decay.”

I like how Skyzoo started off performing Nas’ “The World Is Yours,” which he said inspired “The Beautiful Decay.”

Statik Selektah also blessed us with a first listen of his upcoming album’s radio record, “So Close, So Far,” featuring Bun B, Wale, and Colin Munroe.

Bun B, Colin Munroe, and Wale is one sick line up!

Sha Stimuli closed out the night.

If all of CMJ has as much talent as last night, my camera is in for a workout!

Before leaving Santos, we asked Jon Hope to speak on the origin of his name.  To much surprise, Young Jeezy had some major influence!

I didn’t realize Jon Hope had so much meaning behind his name, but it’s definitely a good thing he doesn’t call himself Jeezy anymore!

Big shout out to Statik Selektah, Brandon of Show Off Marketing, Matt of Coalmine Records, and everybody who came through or showed love!