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Ascendant hip-hop blog Drank and Dank has a rather striking aesthetic: lurid, fluorescent green and purple text splotched on a sloppily-tiled background that reads, what else, “DRANK AND DANK,” in all caps.

But even if their design is closer to a spliff-rolling 14-year-old’s Geocities page than the subtle black-and-white of Ruby Hornet, dudes know how to bring the goods: their new compilation, Dripped Up, features heavy hitters like coldest-motherfucker-in-Indiana Freddie Gibbs, Houston mainstay Slim Thug, and everybody’s favorite swinging-dick thug Waka Flocka, as well as up-and-comers like Chicago fixture Tree and D.C. spitter Fat Trel.

I’ve not made it all the way through the substantial, two-disc collection yet, but a cursory iTunes shuffle unearthed a few immediate gems - Ammunition Gang are just awesome - and left a pretty excellent impression: this is a compilation with a strong, unified aesthetic, one that evinces great taste and an admirable ability to corral promising artists as well as relative veterans.

Looks like D&D’s earned a spot on my Chrome toolbar. Check out Dripped Up over at their site.

(Photo via Drank and Dank)

The home-cooked Mississippi rapper/producer extraordinaire dropped his new mixtape, 4evaNaDay, this morning. K.R.I.T. doesn’t produce new material at the same alarming rate as former tourmate Curren$y, but, considering that all - all! - of his material is self-produced, that he puts out at least one excellent mixtape a year is truly impressive. This one’s not only self-produced but free of guest verses. K.R.I.T. previewed the jazzy, Friday Night Lights-indebted “Boobie Miles” last month. 

Last year’s Return of 4Eva was overlong and relied on a few too many Southern rap cliches - pimps, hos, Caddys, etc. - but K.R.I.T.’s sumptuous soul-food production made it an always enjoyable listen. “Dreamin’”, in particular, is a gorgeous slice of *actually* inspirational gospel rap. Once K.R.I.T. can walk without his Dixie crutches, he’ll be within spitting distance - no pun intended - of the best in the game - in terms of production if not rapping.

I try to highlight new releases by any and all up-and-comers who’ve piqued my attention, but this is one I’m truly excited about. Pick it up over at LiveMixtapes.

(Photo via Boi-1da.net)

The absurdly prolific Curren$y drops yet another in a stream of mixtapes, full-lengths, EPs, and collaborative albums. This one hits 3 of the 4: it’s an EP-length collaborative mixtape with Ruff Ryder-affiliate Styles P, who I primarily know from his guest verse on Rick Ross’ “BMF.” This one’s hot on the heels of Curren$y’s Here, a 5-song treat that let the swamp-mouthed weed rapper flow over some vintage beats, including DJ Premier’s peerless “Bring It On” all the way back from Reasonable Doubt. Assuming #The1st28 conforms to the same level of QC as the rest of Curren$y’s shit, this should be a blast.

Check it out over at DatPiff.

Boldy James’ 2011 mixtape Trapper’s Alley: Pro’s and Con’s appears to have been slept on by most of the hip-hop blogerati, which is perplexing if you, you know, listen to the thing: hard-bitten tales of ‘ye slinging - delivered in a neo-Prodigy croak - over a staggeringly good collection of heady, soul-drenched beats.

I’ll admit that I was one of said sleepers, but the infectiousness of cuts like “I Sold Dope All My Life” - plus some totally appropriate clips from The Wire - made me a convert.

Boldy dropped his latest, Consignment - Favor for a Favor, The Redi-Rock Mixtape, this morning. Pick it up here.