Photo: Legato/WireImage
Nas, 1991 Demo Tape [Unreleased Demo]
This 18-year-old demo showcases a fierce young Nas tearing through a staggering collection of narratives and battle rhymes. This tape has been popping up now and then for the last few years, but the demand for it is never quite slaked. Which is something Nas may want to keep in mind, should he — for whatever reason — suddenly need to make a whole bunch of money quickly at some point in the near future.

Weezer, “Kids/Pokerface” [MGMT/Lady Gaga Cover]
This giddy, live-in-concert synthesis of MGMT’s hip floor-filler and Lady Gaga’s substantially less hip floor-filler is proof that Rivers Cuomo’s tastes remain interesting and unpredictable, even when Rivers’ records do not.

Da Chip! The Music of Daft Punk on Vintage Game Systems [Covers]
In truth, Daft Punk’s own music is only a generation or two removed from video game soundtracks, so what Da Chip! has done is just narrow the distance. Daft Punk, meet your distant cousin — MegaMan.

Rakim, “Holy Are You” [Advance Single]
Rakim! Is back! So why does he sound so tired on this track? We’ve been waiting eight years for Rakim to finally pull us back from commercial hip-hop’s embarrassing implosion, we just wish he’d have brought a little more fire. It’s like being suspended from the top of a building only to spot, in the distance, a near-sighted greying Superman.

Slaughter of the Bluegrass, “Blinded By Fear” [At the Gates Cover]
We don’t really even need a kicker for this one: Swedish bluegrass band specializes in metal covers. Seriously. That’s the deal. Fans can vote for the group’s next cover on their site, so those of you out there who have been aching for a bluegrass cover of 1349’s “Maggot Fetus… Teeth Like Thorns,” your hour has arrived.