Of the 12 contestants in the Detroit Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle, several of them were some of Michigan’s best producers: 14KT, Nick Speed, Big Tone, Ta’raach, Forekast, DJ DDT. But 14KT took the crown: a wild card win would enable him to win a final round rematch with Toronto producer Frank Dukes, who he lost to in the second round.

“Yo, I won that mug strictly for my people. Ypsi, Ann Arbor, Detroit, that was for us!” 14KT said after the competition. “God is Good. Let’s get it in New York.”

14KT will be flown out to New York in December, where he’ll compete in the finals against the winners of the seven other cities’ competitions.

MySpace: www.MySpace.com/14ktz
Check out some of 14KT’s production on Buff1’s upcoming album “There’s Only One,” which drops August 12, 2008.

Unfortunately eLZhi’s album The Preface has been pushed back to August 12 but we now have a cover and a tracklist for you to check out. It will be worth the extra two week wait.

1. Intro (The Preface)
2. The Leak (Feat. Ayah)
3. Guessing Game
4. Motown 25 (feat. Royce Da 5′9″)
5. Brag Swag.
6. Colors
7. Fire (Remix) (feat. Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Fatt Father, Danny Brown, & Fat Ray)
8. D.E.M.O.N.S.
9. Save Ya (feat. T3 of Slum Village)*
10. Yeah (feat. Phat Kat)
11. Transitional Joint
12. Talking in My Sleep
13. The Science (feat. Fes Roc)**
14. Hands Up
15. What I Write
16. Growing Up (feat. A.B.)

Produced by Black Milk
*Produced by T3
**Produced by DJ Dez

Royce Da 5’9” and D12 have had their differences, but this weekend, they definitively answered any question as to whether they were still beefing.

Saturday night at St. Andrew’s Hall, they were the headliners of “The Detroit Reunion Concert,” a show that revolved around them working together again.

“It was a big day, and it was a big move,” Bizarre told MichiganHipHop.com.

The Eminem-led crew and Royce had issues with each other—documented in songs like D12’s “Smack Down” and Royce’s “Malcolm X”—in the early 2000s. After a showdown between crews, Royce and Proof, the group’s founding member that was slain two years ago, resolved their differences while sharing a jail cell that night. Royce and Proof would go on to tour overseas together. In reports from earlier this year, Royce said that he and Eminem—who, before the birth of D12, were the duo of Bad Meets Evil—made up and began to repair their friendship. Continue reading →

An internet leak of a 14-track album called The Revival started circulating the Internet this weekend, but Royce Da 5’9″ assures that it’s not the real deal.

“To the people listening, it’s not even near what the album is,” Royce told MichiganHipHop.com. “It ain’t nothing but old copies of certain shit. … Some of the songs, I still plan on using, but it’s such a rough and old copy, it’s not even worth listening to because it’s going to sound like such a different project by the time it comes out.”

Royce simply identified the culprit as “Somebody from back in the day, who thinks I don’t know who he is,” and said that he’d deal with the situation appropriately. Regardless of the leak, Royce says that Bar Exam II is set to hit the Internet as a free download on Aug. 26. Continue reading →

Street Justice “Monsters”
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UPDATE: eLZhi’s The Preface has been pushed back to August 12. Check out the cover and tracklist here.

eLZhi (of Slum Village) has informed MichiganHipHop.com that his first solo project with distribution, “The Preface,” will hit stores on July 29th. While artwork and a tracklist aren’t available yet, stay tuned to MiHipHop for more information.

Elzhi is performing alongside an incredible list of emcees at MichiganHipHop.com’s Launch Party/Fundraiser this Saturday, June 14th at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. For more information, click here.

Last week, Michigan Hip Hop staple (and performer at our launch party/fundraiser Saturday) Tasherre D’Enajetic started the writing process for “Project 52: D’Enajetic Challenge.” The venture will see him release a 52 new songs—one per week—through through his web site, http://tasherredenajetic.com. Monday, he released the first song: “Failure,” produced by Michigan heavyweight Mr. Porter. Follow the jump for the audio, and to see Tasherre justify his madness. Continue reading →

MichiganHipHop.com is proud to present the world premiere of Buff1’s “Beat The Speakers Up,” the first single for his sophomore album “There’s Only One,” which is set to drop on August 5, 2008. You’ll find the music video and a stream for the song below, or you can download the track by clicking here.

For more Buff1, checkout his MySpace www.myspace.com/buff1der

This past week, the mitten had some great hip-hop events go down: Respiration’s two-year anniversary in Lansing, a Binary Star show in Detroit, and The Roots’ Official Detroit Listening Party at Confidential Lounge. Follow the jump for rundowns and pictures:

Continue reading →

Fans of Royce Da 5’9″ who were looking forward to seeing him on the “Sacrificial Lambs” tour with Esham are going to have to hold their horses.

In a HipHopDX report, the self-proclaimed King of Detroit cancelled his participation in the national tour. Royce’s statement after the jump.

Continue reading →