After releasing a new track, Harlem’s Jim Jones made even more news when he and an interpreter translated lyrics to the song, “Perfect Day,” into sign language. The two appear in a pop-up box on the bottom right hand corner of the video, signing the lyrics to the song, which has also become a success on YouTube. 

“I learned it like in five minutes,” he told New York Daily News. “I would love to learn some more sign language. I think it’s kinda fly…The kids where I’m from are too eager to learn gang signs, so maybe they can learn sign language.” 

The video for “Perfect Day,” can be seen below.

In other news, Ohio’s J. Rawls has had a productive career, producing on albums including Black Star’s debut but he is now making news by releasing his solo project, The Hip Hop Affect, which will be out on May 17. The disc is set to feature Rhymefest, Sadat X, Edo G and more. In a statement promoting the album, J. Rawls explained a bit more about the concept. 

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“We birthed it, created it, and reared it.  As with any child, we don’t like every change that we see Hip-Hop make, but we stick with it because we love it.”

Aside from representing Hip Hop, Rawls represents Ohio on the disc, making sure many parts of Ohio are present. He included a long list of emcees on the album’s final cut as an ode to the O. The full track listing is below. 

1.  HHA Intro (ft. Joshy)
2.  Best Producer on the Mic (ft. Diamond D, Oh No & Kev Brown)
3.  Face It (ft. Sadat X & Wise Intelligent)
4.  Jewel (ft. Afaliah)
5.  Going Through Records (Interlude)
6.  Salute (ft. Piakhan)
7.  Just Rhymin’ with Fest (ft. Rhymefest)
8.  That Very First Day (ft. Fat Jon )
9.  Heeey (ft. El Da Sensei, John Robinson, LeFortheUncool & Afaliah)
10.  Who Am I? (ft. S.P.I.R.I.T.)
11.  Making a Beat (Interlude)
12.  Sandsy (ft. J. Sands [Lone Catalysts])
13.  Ya Friends in the Way (ft. Senor Kaos)
14.  Are You Listening? (Bad Azz, Copywrite & Edo G)
15.  Jussy on the Mic (Interlude)
16.  Why You Do
17.  Find a New (ft. Casual)
18.  Da Beatbox (Interlude)
19.  We’re on Top (#OhioTakeOver) (ft. Count Bass D , Trav Dave , Rashad , Co-City, , J Osceola , LeForTheUncool , Stalley , Tage [MHz, Columbus], Copywrite [MHz, Columbus], Donwill [Tanya Morgan,Cincinnati], 6S , Donte [Mood, Cincinnati],Piakhan , Ilyas [Tanya Morgan, Cincinnati], Main Flow [Mood, Cincinnati], Dominique Larue , Hood Apostle , ILL Poetic , ILLOGIC , Iyball [Fly.Union, Columbus], JaySwiffa[Fly.Union, Columbus], Jerreau [Fly.Union, Columbus], P Blackk )
20.  The Beat’s Done (Interlude)
21.  HHA Outro (Joshy Gets It)

Another new album set to come out is Apathy’s Honkey Kong, which fans will have to wait for. The DG emcee will first give fans a new EP, Primate Mindstate. No date has been officially released for any one of the two projects, but Ap has revealed his artwork (pictured), as seen at HipHopSite. 

Finally, Major Lazer will have its own show on Adult Swim soon. The group, which consists of Diplo and Switch, are on board to produce music for the soundtrack and say they’re excited to show parts of their love of Jamaican culture on a major platform like this one. 

“The whole point of the Major Lazer project was to expose what we like about Jamaican music and Jamaican culture, so if the cartoon gives us a bigger platform to do that, then we feel like we’ve accomplished something,” he said in an interview with Spinner last year. 

The television series, which has no premiere date as of yet, will be based on Lazer’s “Hold the Line” video, one that gained inspiration from G.I. Joe and He-Man. The video can be seen below.