During Atlanta's recent A3C Hip Hop Festival (Oct 6-8th), Grooveshark teamed up with the legendary Stankonia Studios and the production teams SMKA and Royal Flush to create an exclusive mixtape.

The project features original songs from artists playing the festival as well as some hometown heroes, and is available for full stream on  Grooveshark.

The tracks are also accompanied by several behind the scenes videos featuring the artists and production teams creating the songs from start to finish.

Artists who participated in the project include 9th Wonder, Killer Mike, Ying Yang Twins, Freeway, Aleon Craft, Fashawn, Thurzday, Rapsody, and many more.

Click here to check out Stankonia Sessions.

Check out the latest cut from Little Rock, Arkansas rapper and Grind Time affiliate SL Jones featuring Killer Mike and Pill.

Look out for the mixtape Flight Risk, dropping later this year.

Check out the Malice sampled track below:

[ audio http://hiphopwired.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/SLJonesHustlin.mp3]

Coast2coastmixtapes.com has been putting in major work dropping mixtapes with your favorite artists and giving light to newcomers.
Here's one of their latest tapes hosted by Killer Mike, you can download here.

"There's not enough opportunity for young people to take advantage of the American dream."

With about 50 tents are set up at Woodruff park, Mike expressed he was surprised that more everyday Atlantans weren't participating in the demonstration.

According to spokesman George Chidi, Occupy Atlanta and Atlanta Hip Hop Day will team up for a two-day music fest already scheduled  to take place in Woodruff Park on October 22 and 23 headlined by music legend Afrika Bambaattaa.

The festival will take place several days after the deadline Mayor Kasim Reed set for protestors to vacate the park.

Atlanta rapper Killer Mike spoke during a rally in support of Troy Davis in Jackson county, Georgia yesterday.

Unless you live under a rock, you should know that Davis was executed last night for the murder of a Georgia police officer in 1989.

Prior to his speech Mike tweet:

Watch here and listen to the strong words of courage and strength Mike was able to conjure up in support of Troy Davis:

Although protests did not prevent the execution of Troy Davis on Wednesday night, rappers Big Boi and Killer Mike were two of the thousands of protesters that rallied outside the Georgia State Capital and marched to the jail in Jackson, County Georgia where the execution took place.

Reverend Al Sharpton was also among the many supporters that took a stand for justice.

More pictures from the protest, along with video of Big Boi documenting last night's scene are posted on the next pages (via Straight From The A).

10 Rappers Formerly Known As…

When we first heard about Mos Def's plans to retire his current moniker for a new name, Yasiin, it got us thinking.

Of course, Mos isn't the first emcee to change his name and he sure won't be the last.

We started putting together a list, although our good friends over at The Rap Up beat us to the post.

So, we decided to piggyback off their list and add a few names of our own.

Hit the next pages to check out 10 Rappers Formerly Known As...

Killer Mike had a few more issues to get off his chest surrounding his controversial single and video "Burn."

Mike's "Burn" video was banned by BET earlier this year and he talked about the song's lyrics with CNN Radio's Gavin Godfrey:

"I was always partial to radical activists because they balls out put the truth out there.

"And I think that influenced me rap wise because to say that, I told my brother on the way up, I learned as I got older just to tell women straight the truth whether it hurts or not.

"When you go to the doctor, they don't tell you, you got a cold when you got cancer.

"And what we have to admit right now, in matters of church and the black community is we have cancer."

That's deep Mike. Real deep.

Listen to Killer Mike's CNN interview below:

Killer Mike aka Mike Bigga, whose controversial “Burn” video was yanked by BET then subsequently put back in rotation after public backlash, recently addressed the whole situation in an interview with the Huffington Post.

“I'm not faulting BET for this alone," noted the Atlanta rapper. "They aren't the only network that makes room for just about any party song, mine included. But since this company professes to be a proponent, an agent of help and change for the African-American community, I think they also have a responsibility to air a voice like mine when I have something to say on behalf of the working class and the working poor."

Mike added that BET will probably never change it's counterproductive practices.

“I am so tired of the whole BET conversation," he continued. "BET is what it is and has been what it is for 20 years, and BET is not going to really change in any substantive ways because BET makes a hell of a lot of money using the business model that it uses."

The video for “Burn” off Mike's PL3DGE LP featured news footage and addressed sensitive subjects such as the Oscar Grant case. Killa Kill says he was asked by the network to tone the video down.