It’s been hit or miss lately for Usher. First, after making an entire album about how in love he was he got divorced, then decided to write a song terrible song about his experiences call “Divorce Papers”. From there he managed to regain some musical credibility with the release “There Goes My Baby”, which he promptly squandered by dressing like a “gay urban Batman” at his All-Star performance. The rollercoaster ride continues with “Guilty”, a softly bouncing cut that has Usher pleading his case to the judge, along with the “I’m Back” emcee T.I., for whom the word “guilty” carries an entirely different meaning. Listen and download…

Due to, um, we’ll have to say “differences” with Capitol Records it unfortunately looks like Novel’s “Audiobiography” album isn’t going to be released, at least anytime soon, but lucky for us he’s determined not to let all those hours in the studio go unheard. Hence today’s certified bedroom burner “Take Over”, a sultry track that showcases both Novel’s undeniably songrwriting skills and impressive vocals skills. Plus, those bongos you hear in the background? That’s actually me playing, true story. Listen and download…

First, one of Young Money’s most promising talents Jae Millz has dropped a new mixtape, “The Flood”, and if you’re into that booming, Southern styled street lyricism, I guarantee you’re going to dig this one. But, as regular followers of the RefinedHype’s Twitter have probably already figured out, I’ve got an ulterior motive behind posting this - namely, share site fuckery. For better or worse, share sites like usershare, mediafire, zshare etc. have become an essential part of the online hip-hop game, and while all of them aggravate me to some level, I’m willing to live with most of them…except LimeLinx. Listen and download…

It sounds insane now, but there was a time, 1993 to be specific, when no one knew who the Wu-Tang Clan was. And then they dropped “C.R.E.A.M.”, a song that in no uncertain terms announced the arrival of the greatest rap crew of all time. Seriously, this song is the s**t. See more…

They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and in GhostWridah’s case, that’s true. I first became aware of the Miami emcee after my homeboy DJ Z over at DJBooth.net got caught up in some drama between Ghost and Don Cannon over Ghost’s single “Red Bottoms”, a controversy that made sure I was on the lookout for more from the man. Well, today more came in the form of his new “Just Begun (Freestyle)”, a joint that finds him flexing his lyrical dexterity over Reflection Eternal’s brand new but classic sounding beat. Listen and download…

If you’re like RefinedHype you talk about yourself in the third person, and spend all day scouring the interwebs for the latest and illest hip-hop. That’s why now, because we love you so much, and want to get you hooked on our product, we’ll be delivering the RefinedHype Daily Re-Up, a collection of the top ten tracks of the day, some which were featured on the site along with some extras, conveniently wrapped in one dope, raw and uncut package. Download now…

One half of Outkast’s legendary lyrical output Big Boi is preparing to drop his unbelievably freshly named new album, “Sir Lucious Leftfoot the Son of Chico Dusty”, but before we get the final product (whenever that is), Big’s holding fans over with some visuals to his single “Fo Yo Sorrows”, featuring Too Short and George Clinton. Enjoy.  See more…

J the S and I have a lot in common. We’re both from Boston, both heavily tattooed, and both are deeply talented emcees. Ok, maybe not that last one, but you can’t blame me for trying. The point is, the widely heralded up-and-comer has just dropped his new mixtape “Wish You Were Here”, presented by DJBooth, 2Dope and IMKing, and I couldn’t recommend it more highly. In addition to some always intense, often personal and occasionally hilarious lyricism from J the S, “Wish You Were Here” features guest verses from Jadakiss, Nipsey Hussle, Crooked I, Emilio Rojas and many more. Listen and download…

No rapper has been more thoroughly confusing over the last decade than Kanye West. In the six plus years that he’s been on the scene, critics, fans and haters have often found themselves bewildered by West’s choices, and I was beginning to think that Yeezy was simply an enigma we’d never truly understand. And then I read the following quote on his blog: “I never feel like I’m not the underdog. I never felt completely comfortable.” Suddenly I understood his every move. See more…

RefinedHype favorites Fly Gypsy (a.k.a. emcee Kowboy Kom and producer Alexei) are in the midst of an remixtape project (see their “I Wanna Rock (Brooklyn Remix)”, and if you’re familiar with their always adventurous style, you really shouldn’t be surprised that they decided to touch Lil Wayne and Eminem’s controversially rocking “Drop the World”.  I think we can all agree that you hear my voice way too much in these pages, so I’ll turn things over to Fly Gypsy for the remainder of the world premier of their “Drop the World (Remix).