ALBUM: Church League Champions

FUN FACT: For their official upcoming debut album, Grown Kids Syndrome, Pac Div is going to be working with a couple heavy hitters including the Neptunes who they will be recording with in Miami.

WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: Two reasons, really. First off, even with their freshly inked deal with Universal Motown and forthcoming production from some of the biggest producers in the industry, this LA based trio considers themselves to be underdogs in the rap game. And they’re right. At a time when most of raps fresh faces are endorsed by the industry’s major players (Jay, Kanye, Weezy), it’s hard to see how an artist—a rap group, no less!—who’s truly standing on their own two (or six), can break into the spotlight. That’s where the second reason comes into play: these dudes make really dope music…

Made up of brothers Like and Mibbs along with schoolyard friend BeYoung, Pac Div’s second mixtape continues on with songs detailing their pre-rap life of menial day jobs, getting played by girls and the grueling upkeep that comes along with being fly and broke. If you’ve heard “Mayor,” the first release off Church, you already have an idea of the tape’s aesthetic. Although only in their mid-20s, Pac Div, along with in house producer Swiff D, root their sound in early ’90s LA rap. When breezing through the track list and stopping at songs like “Pac Div,” with its tightly looped, pulsating sax and drums that beat you back to a time before auto-tune, or the misty “Whiplash,” you’ll immediately get a Souls of Mischief vibe.

However, while there’s a clear love of the old, Pac Div, like a 1968 Camaro with a brand new LS3 engine under the hood, refits the music for 2009. The drums are crisper, the sounds found swirling through some of the beats are newer and the raps are, well, let’s just say these dudes can rap their ass off. All three of them. There’ll be no need to fast forward through any of the members verses. It also helps that the subject matter extends beyond aspirations of flyness and girls. The obviously BlackStar influenced, blatantly titled “Young Black Male” has them speaking on the day-to-day bullshit that comes with being young and black in America—a tired subject, yeah, but a fresh take nonetheless thanks to some subtle humor (“I ain’t tryna get murdered, I ain’t tryna stack birds, I ain’t tryna grab your ass, girl, I’m tryna grab hers—oops”). We know they’re now signed to a major and all that, but let’s just hope that as Pac Div leave their underdog status behind, they keep hunger that helped produce work like this.

KEY TRACKS (LISTEN):
“SHUT UP”

“WHIPLASH”

“BACK”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CHURCH LEAGUE CHAMPIONS FOR FREE!

RELATED: Pac Div Talks New Mixtape, Jordan History & Bad Day Jobs (INTERVIEW from 7/20/09)

Last month, we highlighted hip-hop’s new class in our exclusive Leaders of the New Cool fashion story, which featured The Cool Kids, Wale, The Knux, B.o.B. and Charles Hamilton. Now, Complex’s new jacks are joined by the next wave of talent like Pac Div, U-N-I, and Supreeme for a special downloadable mixtape.

The 28-track compilation that’s hosted by mixtape heavyweight Mick Boogie, along with Complex’s own DJ Treats, brings together a crop of new talent you should be getting familiar with. Download the mixtape below, and listen to an exclusive bonus freestyle from Supreeme…

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MIXTAPE

Tracklist:
1) Mick Boogie “Intro”
2) The Knux “Fire”
3) 88 Keys “Bout To Bus”
4) Treats Speaks…
5) B.o.B “I'll Be In The Sky”
6) Mickey Factz feat. Curtis Santiago “Automatic”
7) U-N-I “Hollywood Hiatus (Cool It Now)”
8) Charles Hamilton “It's”
9) Fashawn “Buyer's Guide”
10) The Knux “Bang Bang”
11) Treats Speaks…
12) Fresh Daily & Homeboy Sandman “Swerve”
13) Daytona & 6th Sense “Too Complex”
14) Marky “Higher”
15) Cool Kids “Delivery Man”
16) Chip Tha Ripper feat. Naledge, Mickey Factz & Mic Terror “Next Up”
17) B.o.B “Generation Lost”
18) Tanya Morgan “Stay Cool”
19) Charles Hamilton “Hell Boys”
20) Treats Speaks…
21) Izza Kizza “Parking Lot Pimpin”
22) Big Sean “Tomorrow”
23) D-Black & Big Pooh “Top Of The World”
24) Pacific Divison “Wake Up”
25) Donnis “Dope Girl”
26) Supreeme “Roni”
27) The Knux “Cappuccino (Remix)”
28) Nola Darling feat. Fresh Daily “Coco Rico”

BONUS
Supreeme “Freestyle”

Hosted by DJ Nick Catchdubs (and sponsored by clothing line 10 Deep), Wale picks up where the show left off: he samples the opening theme song, starts every track name with “the” (like Seinfeld’s episode titles) and questions the state of the music industry as only Jerry would have done (”What’s the deal?”). See the tracklisting and download it after the jump.

1. “The Opening Title Sequence” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
2. “The Roots Song Wale Is On” f. Chrisette Michele (produced by ?uestlove & James Poyser)
3. “The Feature Heavy Song” f. Bun B, Pusha T and Tre from UCB (produced by Best Kept Secret)
4. “The Freestyle (Roc Boys)”
5. “The Perfect Plan” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
6. “The Kramer” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
7. “The Crazy” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
8. “The Vacation From Ourselves” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
9. “The Remake of A Remake (All I Need)” f. Tawiah (produced by Mark Ronson)
10. “The Grown Up” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
11. “The Manipulation” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
12. “The Artistic Integrity” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
13. “The Star”
14. “The Skit (Untz Untz)”
15. “The Cliche Lil Wayne Feature (It's The Remix baby!)” (produced by Osinachi)
16. “The Bmore Club Slam” (produced by Scottie B)
17. “The Chicago Falcon Remix” f. The Budos Band (produced by Mark Ronson & Eli Escobar)
18. “The Hype” (produced by Best Kept Secret)
19. “The End Credits” (produced by Best Kept Secret)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

If this link is broken, head over to 10Deep.

Like Biggie Smalls material, mash-ups don’t die. But since it came in time to commemorate Brooklyn’s Finest we’ll give it a pass. Otherwise, no more mash-ups. And before another Gnarls Barkley x B.I.G. mix surfaces, we’ve moved on, so should you. Get it here.

[Via Boing-Boing]