Mac Lethal - 11:11 & The Original 11:11 Sessions

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http://www.mediafire.com/?mmmjgzwyhxm . http://www.mediafire.com/?z1mgzjml1g5

So! Mac Lethal is a hip-hop artist from Kansas City, MO. Here i have two albums. Despite their similar names and a few shared songs, the albums are actually very different. Both albums are certainly worth checking out, both together as a comparison and independently on their own merits.

11:11 is an album with a more typical hip-hop instrumentation and arrangement like Sage Francis or Cecil Otter. He clearly draws influence from a lot of non-hip-hop sources but manages to make an incredible hip-hop album nonetheless.

The Original 11:11 Sessions, despite the name, doesn't seem to me to have much in common with 11:11. It takes a more Buck 65 (circa Secret House Against the World) interpretation on hip-hop, blending folk influences and more physical instrument recordings (including acoustic guitars), while still making an undeniably enjoyable and distinctive hip-hop album.

http://www.lethalville.net/
http://www.last.fm/music/Mac+Lethal

Otem Rellik - Carbon Based Boy

http://www.mediafire.com/?mm2mnmlwkzm

Otem Rellik makes hip-hop in his basement, recording and producing it all unassisted. I wouldn't have been able to tell if i hadn't read it, it is a very professional sounding album.

Lives in the same genre ballpark as Astronautalis and Sole.

In other news, i survived the second round of layoffs at my company, which makes me a happy fella. Job searches are a pain in the ass.

http://www.myspace.com/otemrellik

Hymie's Basement - Hymie's Basement (2003)

http://www.mediafire.com/?nj1ov0ydjzw

Part of the anticon family, Hymie's Basement is composed of Yoni Wolf and Andrew Broner (of Fog). Shares some similarities with other Yoni Wolf projects like WHY?, Reaching Quiet, and cLOUDDEAD. Indie-folk-hiphop, and unabashedly... anticon.

http://www.last.fm/music/Hymie%27s%2520Basement

Cecil Otter - Rebel Yellow (2008)

http://www.mediafire.com/?ukrmwklzvkm

Cecil Otter (aka Jake Smith), a member of the Doomtree hiphop collective, makes music comparable to Sage Francis, Aesop Rock, etc. Good, interesting, hiphop.
The first track honestly creeps me out a bit but the album as a whole is excellent. I found this via SXSW 2009.

http://www.doomtree.net/cecilotter/
http://www.last.fm/music/Cecil+Otter

Astronautalis - The Mighty Ocean & Nine Dark Theatres (2006)

http://www.mediafire.com/?utk3dbmnrtj

Tracks:
1. Short Term Memory Loss
2. Meet Me Here Later
3. Seaweed Sheets
4. Lost At Sea (Part 1: That Old Sin)
5. (Part 2: The Getaway)
6. A Love Song for Gary Numan
7. Barrel Jumping (A Man of Letters)
8. Astigmatism
9. Skeleton (Everybody's Favorite)
10. My Dinner with Andy
11. Xmas in July
12. Down and Out in the Bold New City
13. Meet Me Here Later (Reprise)

And now for something completely different.
Unlike the last few bands, Astronautalis (real name Andy Bothwell) is definitely still active, and definitely not folk-punk. Sort of white-guy indie hip-hop similar to Buck 65 or Why?

I was debating whether to post Astronautalis' debut album You and Yer Good Ideas or this, his sophomore album. I went with this one just because it's so goddamn good. Check it out, enjoy it, buy the new album if you like it.

http://modelcitizens.org/
http://www.last.fm/music/Astronautalis