The great underground rap label Mello Music Group just signed Stalley, who will release a new project on the label later this year, and they’ve also just announced a new label compilation, Bushido. It’s due April 2 via MMG, and it features Stalley as well as Quelle Chris, The Alchemist, Open Mike Eagle, The Lasso, Marlowe, Homeboy Sandman, Oddisee, Skyzoo, L’Orange, Namir Blade, Iman Omari, Joell Ortiz, Apollo Brown, Murs, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Cambatta, B-Real, Kool Keith, Nottz, !llmind, and many others, including several exciting collaborations between the artists.

The first single is “Black Rock,” which features Joell Ortiz, Namir Blade, Stalley, and Solemn Brigham (of Marlowe), and it’s a compelling five-minute posse cut that hearkens back to mid ’90s East Coast rap and sounds fresh today too. Check it out below.

Here’s some background on the comp, from the label:

In feudal Japan, the Bushido Code defined the way of the samurai. It was a blueprint to conduct warfare with honor: a system built upon the qualities of rectitude and courage, honor and loyalty. In the modern world, these historical tenets may seem antiquated, or sometimes even obsolete. But the power of tradition is resolute and unyielding. The art of the rugged drum and the razor tongued rap are timeless.

After a decade in the music business, Mello Music Group has witnessed the dealings and promises of the record industry. Running counter-clockwise to the mainstream ethic, Mello has settled on its own code of conduct and value system. Their catalogue is a Hagakare of hip-hop — a practical and spiritual guide to the essence. While the sounds are varied, an MMG release ensures that the art comes first, the artists are religiously devoted to the upholding of standards and values. The musicians swing fast blades and fly the Mello banner with speed and strength.

[…] Label Daimyo Michael Tolle, has historically used these compilations as an opportunity to create and build, pair new collaborations, and curate the sound for the coming year. At first, these albums heralded the arrival of a new hip-hop force; now, they serve as a reminder that Mello has expanded upon the proud lineage of seminal indie labels like Loud, Stones Throw, Rhymesayers, and Def Jux. It is a sanctuary of the raw. At its core, the artists achieve a platonic ideal of hip-hop.

You can read more (and pre-order) at Bandcamp. Full tracklist below.

Tracklist
Iron Steel Samurai feat Quelle Chris (prod by Alchemist)
Gold Gloves feat Open Mike Eagle (prod by The Lasso)
One Of The Last feat Marlowe (prod by L’Orange)
Yours Truly feat Homeboy Sandman (prod by Kensaye Russell)
No Trouble feat Oddisee (prod by Oddisee)
Gwan B OK feat Zackey Force Funk (prod by The Lasso)
Ya-Neishi The Vocals feat Skyzoo (prod by L’Orange)
Symbol Of Hope feat Open Mike Eagle & Namir Blade (prod by Elaquent)
Never Lived feat Oddisee (prod by Oddisee)
None feat Homeboy Sandman (prod by Iman Omari)
Bane Bran feat Quelle Chris & James Shanan (prod by Quelle Chris)
Black Rock feat Joell Ortiz, Stalley, Namir Blade & Solemn Brigham (prod by Namir Blade)
Outlast feat Dueling Experts & Joell Ortiz (Prod by Apollo Brown)
Black Man feat RJ Payne (prod by Apollo Brown)
Turnt Garveyite feat Murs (prod by Georgia Anne Muldrow)
Nightmare feat Cambatta (prod by Apollo Brown)
Rap feat Homeboy Sandman (prod by Eric Lau)
You To Me feat Oddisee (prod by Oddisee)
Zero Fux feat Kool Keith, B-Real & Joell Ortiz (prod by Nottz)
Banners feat The Perceptionists (prod by !llmind)

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