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Arson Optics feat. Young Nick & KaiZenPut It In The Air

Austin native, Arson Optics has just put out a new full length album, Lionheart, as a free download. The album features some crisp production from THX (Snoop, Clipse, David Banner), Cory Mo (Bun-B, Slim Thug) and of course Arson himself. Also there’s some guest emcee features from fellow Austinites, Young Nick and D.O.S.  From first listen, overall a solid effort and always good to see Austin continuing to make quality hip-hop.

Links
Arson Optics on MySpace

Download
Arson Options - Lionheart

Download
Flowmasters

Two of Austin’s most active artists have posted up their first mixtape from a few months back online for free download. Containing songs from not only Zeale and Phran, but also a lot of other underground Texas artists.Get it while it’s out there. Peace

Links
Phranchyze on MySpace
Zeale on MySpace

Hero & Rad ft. Mike & Ike - Smoothness, Coolness

Nice smoothed out track for your weekend. Originally posted on the HoustonHipHop.com forums, had a slow day today so decided to make a little something for this track. Mike tells me that Hero & Rad have a coming out soon, maybe they have a bit more information for us, either way the track is good. I don’t have much more information on these Hero and Rad guys, outside of the fact that they’ve recorded some songs with Mike and Ike and that they’re from Houston. Either way, good to see Houston and Austin artist working on something new, going to have to wait to see what else comes of these collaborations.

Download
Smoothness, Coolness.mp3

Links
Mike & Ike on MySpace
Hero on MySpace
Rad on MySpace

Crew54 - Keep on Moving (Checho Remix)

Despite becoming an Austin, Texas staple in the past few years, good online presence and great music, Crew54 somehow manages to still get slept on. Their last release was aptly titled “Aggressive Soul” and if you’ve ever been to a Crew54 show, there’s probably no better way to describe it. Crew54 is opening for Prince Paul tonight at The Mohawk, go check them out.

Soul 2020 producer Checho is probably one of hip hop’s best kept secrets. A few years back Checho produced most of the tracks for up and coming rapper’s first album, that rapper is Zeale32. After being away from the boards and under the radar for a bit, Checho contributed some remixes to the Rapid Ric mixed Southern Soul and is now preparing to release some new tracks and projects through Soul 2020. Ike (of Mike and Ike) has called Checho one of his favorite producers, so I’m sure whatever those two work on together is gonna be some high quality music.

Links
Crew54 on MySpace
Checho on MySpace

Download
Keep On Moving.mp3 (Running Time - 4:08)

Cover Art by The Honest Ape

The lineup for the 2008 Austin City Limits Festival has finally been announced! This years lineup looks pretty solid, and I know that in years past they’ve announced even more bands leading up to the festival. The festival will be held in Zilker Park, September 26-28 in Austin, Texas and I’ll be down there year with a Shiner in hand. The lineup includes a lot of established acts along with some acts that have been gaining popularity in Indie circles in the past year or two. Check out some songs from some of the artists that will be performing this year.

Links
Austin City Limits Festival