The N. Period

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Poor Vida hosts local hip-hop acts twice monthly and provides Dallas musicians a regular opportunity to be heard by the most devoted fans in the area. Shot at a recent "Sunday Sessions," the following video shows a freestyle battle including some of the hottest up-and-coming Dallas-area emcees. Fierce competitors include MC Astro, Cainam, Flotation, Bobby Fischer and more.

So you know who passed away on November 22? Flint, MI rapper MC Breed died yesterday in his sleep after complications he had been having with his kidneys. On September 5, Breed collapsed while playing pickup basketball and was hospitalized and placed on life support when his kidneys failed. R.I.P. Breed, and remember, there ain't no future in your frontin'.

If you've been involved with the Dallas underground hip-hop scene for a while you probably have heard of Mes the Jive Turkey. After building steam here in D/FW, Mes scored a bit of a nationwide buzz by landing such high profile gigs such as the Vans Warped Tour. Nowadays the Jive Turkey can be found residing in the Los Angeles area, where thankfully he continues to create music. Here's a brand new track from Mes, fresh for the holidays and produced by Picnic Tyme.

Q-Tip, along with Chicago's The Cool Kids, will be playing at the Dallas House of Blues and it is sure to be a lively affair. And just announced yesterday for all you late-night birds, Tip will be spinning a DJ set at Suite.

Album number two from Info-Red of the Dead Stock Crew and Hypnotic Tunez bumps along with an even more polished version of the witty punchline style that this MC is known for. If you are not familar, Kaleidoscope will surely serve as a thorough introduction to Info-Red's witty and decisive wordplay.

Music aficionados Pitchfork have attempted to capture the essence of modern music with the publication of the upcoming book The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present, which traces what they deem the most important songs since the days when the pizzazz of David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop gave kids an alternative to the sweetened pop that the Beatles popularized the previous decade.

Eric Wareheim, of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! fame has created a stunnig video for MGMT's song "The Youth." If you like these comedians like I do, this video is a must. Also, worthwhile for anyone with even a passing interest in breakdancing.

So it's pretty safe to say that DJ Z-Trip is a genius. Well, he's put out yet another one of his precious mixes, this time focusing his laser on the upcoming presidential elections. Clocking in at just under 55 minutes, the theme is Obama and the tunes are pumpin'. Uplifting, too. Download it from Z-Trip's site, for free.

What? Kanye Kanye Kanye. Big ups for the Olympics timeliness.

Announced last week, these fresh monsters are a collabo between Nike and the Roots, famed drummer ?uestlove. This KOTW selection is ?uest's take on the iconinc Air Force 1 shoe. In a nightmare move for driving search engine traffic, the shoe will be called the the (h)Air ?uesto 1, according to his blog.