Music 5 O’Clock Shuffle: Jim Jones, Drake, Sleigh Bells, Curren$y & More

Left To Right: Jim Jones, Chip Tha Ripper, Drake, Sleigh Bells, Curren$y

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

As the week rolls along, the new music piles up. We’re certain you don’t have time to sort through everything, but we got you, as usual. Regulars like Jim Jones, Drake, and Curren$y had new stuff hit the blogs today, along with rising artists like Sleigh Bells and Chip Tha Ripper. Listen to (and download) it all after the jump…

Wake N' Watch Wake N’ Watch: Dame Dash Presents ‘The Blak Roc Project’

We featured one of the songs from Dame Dash’s new music venture on our 5 O’Clock Shuffle last week. Our Shuffle selection, “Hoochie Coo,” can be heard in the video above and caught our attention with its catchy Mos Def hook and splashy verses from Jim Jones, but the high profile collaborations don’t stop there. It turns out that the Blak Roc Project is getting help from several more notable MCs (Raekwon, Q-Tip, and Pharoahe Monch to name a few) with production handled by rock band, The Black Keys. Things look promising and we really think Dame Dash might be onto something here, but we’ll know for sure when the album hits stores on Black Friday.

Tune in to Complex.com every morning at 8 AM for your daily “Wake N’ Watch” video.

Wake N' Watch Wake N’ Watch: 1997’s Hip-Hop Freshman Class

Damn, the future of music is hard to predict. Back in December 1997 (on DMX’s birthday), journalist Touré assembled an all-star line-up of hip-hop’s hottest rookies for a roundtable discussion. Big Pun, John Forte, Mos Def, Canibus and Mic Geronimo—five MCs that everyone expected to usher rap into the post-jiggy era. Luckily, the Shades of Hip-Hop Video Mixtape was there to capture the event (including this spontaneous freestyle session) because the buzz didn’t last long for most of these once promising artists.

John Forte, in particular, hit on some rough times. Two and a half years after this video was shot, the former Fugees affiliate was arrested in the Newark Airport with $1.4 million worth of liquid cocaine and sentenced to 14 years in prison. But after being granted a pardon from Dubya, Forte finally has his life back—today his eclectic new EP StyleFREE comes out (click here to buy it for $4.99), his first release after seven years behind bars. And who knows, if enough people cop it, Forte will be back eating mangoes in Trinidad with attorneys before you know it.

Politics & Crime A History Of Celebrity Protests

We love women who are down for a cause. Especially when that cause involves going down for the cause. We keed, we keed, but when we saw Jessica Alba getting nailed (not that type) for defacing public property in Oklahoma City, with a save-the-sharks poster we had to tip our 5-panel to the hottie. Jess isn’t the first celebrity to give the big eff you to laws and institutions. Take a look back at five other celebrities who weren’t afraid to fight, for their right, to protest…

Style Buy It Now: Mos Def x Undrcrwn

Time to dust off the ol’ Jansports, people! Mos Def and Talib Kweli are reuniting as Black Star for a one-time concert at the Nokia Theatre in NYC on Saturday night. Though each MC brings his own unique style to the Black Star sound, the Mighty Mos has always been the bigger star. That’s why Dante’s the one with the streetwear collabos, House roles and tell-all books from ex-stripper wives and all that. But we still fuck with you, Talib. No worries.

To commemorate the weekend show, UNDRCRWN is reintroducing its Mos Def x Dustin Canalin collection, which features a bunch of T-shirts and a track jacket. For detail pics and more info on today’s Buy It Now—two tees and the jacket— see below…

Weekly Recap Call It The Week Of Leaks

We were California dreaming (word to The Mamas & the Papas) with the state’s hottest chicks. [LINK]

Protect yourself from getting sick with these streetwear Swine Flu masks. [LINK]

Now that Kelis deaded her relationship with Nas, we wondered, “Is she’s a wifey or a trifey?” [LINK]

Just imagine a world where some of your favorite athletes are mayors. [LINK]

Check out ESPN correspondent and certified hottie Erin Andrews talks about video games, dream dates and movies that makes her cry. [LINK]

And From The Complex Network:
Bastardly: Miranda Kerr and Bar Refaeli trigger your lesbian fantasies. [LINK]

Nah Right: Is Mos Def rapping again? Check out “Casa Bey”. [LINK]

Nice Kicks: New Balance MT580 Black is that running shoe you need. [LINK]

On Smash: Red and Meth still get it crunk (la, la, la, laaa) with “How Bout That”. [LINK]

Kicks On Fire: Marc Jacobs meets Vans (Chukka’s & Slip On’s). [LINK]

Das Gamer: See how Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption takes on the Wild West. [LINK]