What’s good folks. There’s alot happening simultaneously over here, so in an attempt to get it all straight in my head, I figured I’d give y’all a heads up and recap of what’s going on with our upcoming projects. (Note: This list is in no particular order).

Substantial – Sacrifice (2007)

“Resurrection of the House Party” is currently buzzing around the internet and is officially on sale as a digisingle on iTunes (and all other pay-download services). The track & video have already been featured on HipHopDX, Spitkicker, ArtofRhyme and hit #11 on the 1200Squad.com Top Downloads chart last week. That’s big considering that there’s thousands of songs to outrank – major label releases included. So far so good.

Substantial’s QN5-debut album, Sacrifice is done. It’s about to go out to mastering and you’ll be seeing a full tracklisting in the next couple of weeks. Rest assured, you’ll be able to pick this up in stores within the next 2 months. In the meantime, help us spread the word about Substantial and the new single. Remember, blue schoolers are our best publicists.

Tonedeff – Deffinitions Vol.1 (October 2007)

Deffinitions is a new series, featuring all Tonedeff-produced instrumentals culled from my production discography throughout the years. This is in the vain of Kno’s Excremental series. Deffinitions will be mainly available as an online-exclusive release with a limited run collector’s CD available at UGHH.com in October. Check the Blog Archives for more info and tracklisting.

CunninLynguists – Dirty Acres (2007)

After the now-classic A Piece of Strange, Kno is currently driving himself mad via a mixing frenzy in the studio putting the final touches on the fourth CunninLynguists album, Dirty Acres. I’ve heard some tracks off this new record and I’ve been blown away thus far. Deacon & Natti have done some real beautiful work on this album and sound even more in sync with each other than ever. The cover-photo shoot has been completed and we’re currently going around conjuring up a final album cover to present to the world.

This album features appearances by Witchdoctor & Phonte on the first single, “Yellow Lines” (which you can now hear at HipHopDX), as well as a track with Devin The Dude.

I will go to bat right now and say that CunninLynguists are, in my humble opinion, the BEST Hip Hop group currently doing it right now – bar none. They’ve created classic-status album after classic-level album after classic-level album and only seem to get better with time. And these haven’t been classics in a sense of “You Had To Be There When It Was Hot”- classic… these are albums that stand the test of time and hold up to repeated listenings for years. THAT’S why I’m convinced and you can’t convince me otherwise.

This album is supposed to drop by the end of the year, but as usual, anything can change. As soon as we have a concrete date, we’ll let you know. I’m sure some of you are salivating already.

Tonedeff & Kno – Chico & The Man (2008)

Kno & I intend to keep this project in complete secrecy until every single piece is ready to roll out. All I can divulge is that, when you see a cover…you’ll know the release is right around the corner. Up until now, I’ve refused to even put a year next to the title, but we’re close enough so that I can say “2008”. Just know that we’re putting everything we have into it and it’s MUCH closer than you might think.

PackFM & Domingo – I Fucking Hate Rappers (2008)

The pairings continue! One of Brooklyn’s best wordsmiths/live performers paired up with one of Brooklyn’s production legends. The neck-snapping potential for this project is through the roof. Domingo has already laced the beats for the project. There will be a couple “Brooklyn-esque” collabo’s on this one as well and of course PackFM is looking to put a shotgun in the mouths of the naysayers who still managed to sleep on his critically acclaimed debut, whutduzFMstand4?.

You can check out the very first leaked song from the project, “Sire” at HipHopGame.com. (Be sure to show your support and leave a comment). The cover is currently being worked on and it’s hysterical. No release date has been set for this.

Mr. SOS – Dr. Stangelove (2008)

Mr. SOS is still at work on his full-length debut album, Dr. Strangelove. I’m working as co-executive producer on this one, so I get to hear everything as it comes down the pike. He’s been working with some new producers on it and the stuff I’ve heard so far has been very promising.

For those of you who were at the Megashow in LA, you caught the first performance of “Bionic”, a track which I produced for the album. Judging by the songs that are already done, this album features a more aggressive and passionate SOS than we’ve previously heard. Not quite sure when it’ll be done, but I’m pretty certain you’ll see something ‘08.

Session – Spicasso (Spring/Summer 2008)

Session is officially back in action after a long hiatus. He’s already written a slew of new material to which we’re currently matching up to some fireworthy production for his upcoming debut. Look for beats from the entire QN5 squad and a FULL display of Session’s versatility.

After taking some time away from the project, we’ve been able to come up with a fresh take on the concept behind the record. All I can say at the moment is that it’s definitely one of the more unique projects I’ve been involved in and people aren’t going to expect this at all. Sure, there’ll still be the prototypical Session-”Bangerz” but the full album itself works on multiple levels. Let’s just say that we’re both excited about it again.

This is a project that has gone through alot of stops/starts (word to SOS & Pack) since I brought Session on board back in 02. Our initial run of songs we recorded were absolutely ridiculous, but we hit a stalemate along the way, due to various circumstances, that stopped production on the record entirely. We’re currently looking for a release date sometime in the first half of 2008.

Extended Famm – The Second Coming. Pause. (????)

We’re currently cooking up production for this. Aside from the concepts, we’re basically still at ground zero with this one, save for a few songs. We’ve kept our promise to have at least ONE eFamm song on each of the members solo albums, with “Quotables” on Archetype, “Ugly Woman” on whutduzFMstand4? and “Sign Language” on the upcoming Sacrifice (which is banoodles). Beware the triumphant return of Squijee and the patented Extended Famm-style humor.

QN5 DVD (????)

Yes, the fabled QN5 DVD is still in the works. I’m currently digitizing years worth of mini-DV tapes, culling through hours and hours of live footage, behind the scenes antics and interviews. As usual, I hate to half-ass anything, so expect this to be totally worth every nickel in your pocket when it’s finally done. I just wanted y’all to know that it’s being worked on.

As you can see, we’re committed to bringing you the best Hip Hop music possible. Also, as you can see there’s never a dull moment for me either. Hahah. I’m looking forward to an even bigger and brighter ‘08 and we thank you for all your love and support over the years. But please, tell more friends.

Hollerate!
Tone.