Let me paint you a picture: the year is 2004; I'm a junior in high school, and it's spring time. The weather is beautiful outside, and the country roads welcome my friends and I with open arms; more impressively, Lil' Wayne could rap... and well. More often than not, Tha Carter was the soundtrack to those beautiful afternoons. On "This is the Carter", Lil' Wayne boastfully says "I'm finally perfect"; that statement couldn't be more true about Wayne's fourth solo outing. Mannie Fresh's production on Tha Carter is near legendary, and Lil' Wayne's vivid imagery and [...]
Ah... Yes, so for some time now I have been digging on Prof. (musically and creatively); A Minneapolis native, south-side (Powderhorn represent!), who makes music that is of quality production-wise, catchy lyrically, and that has an easy way of relating to, even with some delusions of grandeur and vulgar hyperboles. Prof.'s imagination is over the top, and hard to overlook, but his sense of humor is something to be admired in an age of all seriousness. His music is an escape from a world of frowns and disapproval. A couple of summers ago I received a cd of [...]
Before Alchemist and Oh No released Gutter Water , I wasn't sure what to think; any time that two producing emcees collaborate on a project, I'm almost certainly going to compare their effort to Champion Sound by Jaylib. I still remember picking up my copy of Gutter Water the day that it came out, and I also remember being completely blown away. There was one immediate thought that came to my mind: Should I pour bleach into my ears to clean out the filth that I had just [...]
I spotted this one at 2DopeBoyz last night, but it was far too late to post anything, so I decided to throw it up today. Big K.R.I.T. released the artwork for his upcoming mixtape 4EvaNaDay , and he let go of the lead single as well; According to K.R.I.T., "Boobie Miles" is about overcoming all of the trials and tribulations that often seem to get in the way when you are trying to reach your dreams. "Boobie Miles" is so smooth, and although it doesn't have a producer credit, I'm fairly certain that K.R.I.T. produced [...]
I was very excited to see this pop up on my Facebook feed yesterday, and I'm glad that Jon Jon Scott posted this. This last September, various musicians got together at the Stonefly Brewing Company in Milwaukee to recreate some of Dilla's production pieces with a classical, yet modern mindset (very similar to Suite For Ma Dukes ); I was bummed that I didn't get to see Unlooped Vs. Dilla , but it looks like I might get another chance to experience a one-of-a-kind opportunity. They haven't released [...]
The second single off of the new Sleigh Bells album, Reign of Terror , has been released for viewing over at reignofterror.tv . This has happened not a moment too soon since I can not or choose not to remember the name of the first single. "Comeback Kid" has gotten me, once again, excited for the sophomore album by the popular Brooklyn, New York duo. After hearing the first single I was thinking, "Oh no, another follow-up failure to an unprecedented debut album." Major Disappointment of 2011: Sleigh Bells cancelling Lollapalooza. [...]
I'm so blown away by this effort by Copywrite that I don't even know what to say. The former MHz member, Columbus Ohio native, and frequent Rjd2 collaborator is back with his new album God Save the King dropping on February 28th. "Rest in Power" won't be making an appearance on the official tracklisting, but this cut is beyond incredible; I haven't heard Copywrite sound this hungry since he released The High Exhaulted back in 2002. If you like hardcore raw lyricism with witty punchlines, then this track is [...]
Of Monsters of Men is an Icelandic indie/folk band who have been riding the elevator of success with "Little Talks" to the top. This is a stripped down version of that song which was recorded live by KEXP 90.3 out of Seattle in the bands living room from Iceland back in late 2010. The band is still gaining momentum from this song and now seems destin to join the likes of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros as a band with a cult following. "Little Talks" blends horns with a playful chanting in the chorus and is worth a listen before your friends [...]
When Hip-Hop fanatics talk about modern day underground classics (the last 10 years), they generally always mention a few albums: Blu & Exile, Below the Heavens ; Little Brother, The Minstrel Show and Madvillain, Madvillainy . For some odd reason, I don't hear anyone talk about The Left, Gas Mask ; Journalist 103 , Apollo Brown & DJ Soko crafted the perfect record with no filler and no throw-away tracks. I've been well aware of Apollo Brown's skills on the boards for some time, but for [...]
Strength to Survive is the new album by the DC-based band SOJA . This album is produced by John Alagia who has worked with the likes of Dave Mathews, John Mayer and O.A.R. to name a few. By the time you are a couple of tracks into the new album you can tell that the 7-piece band has progressed their sound beyond the spectrum of reggae. They definitely are perfecting a blend of reggae sound with meaningful melodic lyrics and a rhythm that puts a smile on your face as you reflect on your own life. Strength [...]
The popular New York indie rock group Cults made their television debut on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" Friday, January 20, 2012. They performed "Abducted" which is off of their self-titled album Cults which was released in June of last year. You can catch the video if you head over to the site for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." This process is going to test your patience but if you are a Cults fan than it is worthwhile. Once you sit through the advertisement head to the last scene, approximately the 37:30 mark to catch the [...]
I'm still impatiently waiting for XV's debut album The Kid With the Green Backpack because I know that it's going to be a game changer; his latest offering Zero Heroes is one of the best mixtapes I've heard in the last few years. Vizzy dropped some visuals for the track "Batteries", and it features Trae the Truth. You know why I love Vizzy's music so much? In the first few lines he spits you get a Ninja Turtles reference, and later on an Uncle Phil reference; he grew up in the [...]
The Yardfather is back, and he's using his built up momentum from last year's spectacular outing The Greatest Story Never Told . Yesterday Sai-Giddy dropped his long awaited street album Warning Shots 3: One Foot in the Grave . I can honestly say that this mixtape is bananas; all of the beats are straight fire, and Saigon spits that hardcore street flow that you've become used to hearing. Production comes courtesy of Just Blaze, DJ Corbett, Shuko , Red Spyda and Scram Jones . You can also expect to hear [...]
This is the definition of a dope video. Last week I posted the teaser , and yesterday the official video came out for "Falling Down" by Evidence. This is one of the dopest videos I've set my eyes on in a long time. If you've been sleeping on Cats & Dogs , you probably shouldn't be listening to Hip-Hop, and that's a fact. Filed under: Media , Video Tagged: "Falling Down" , Cats & Dogs , Evidence
I never thought I would be at the Triple Rock on a Sunday evening listening to metal. I never thought I would be there with a head-cold, a camera, and a mission... The mission to see La Crosse natives Orwell rock the crowd (do their thing), and do a recap of the show and their CD afterwards. The incentive: the music, the atmosphere, and the unique aspect of the musical acts and their fans. I also enjoy Orwell's live performance so much that I had to go and have a second viewing. They killed it at the Hex [...]
In this dismal season of album releases January has been less than significant. This is usually the case and I know people are probably just dying waiting for something worthwhile and fresh to come out. I did a little digging and found out SOJA(Soldiers of Jah Army) are releasing their fourth coming album Strength to Survive a week from today on the last day of January. If you like reggae music with a ska feel you should lend them your ears for just a couple of minutes. It seems that the Virginia based band is [...]
That's right folks; The Paid Dues Festival has released their official lineup for the 2012 concert series. There are definitely some heavy hitters on this bill; those who attend can expect to see Wu-Tang Clan, Dilated Peoples, Kendrick Lamar and The Living Legends, just to name a few. The one thing that I love about festivals like Paid Dues and Rock The Bells is that they do a great job of highlighting acts on both coasts of the country. Even though I'm not huge on acts like Odd Future and Dipset, I would still love to [...]
These last couple of leaks off of The Coldplay Sessions is really starting to get me amped for February 7th; M.i just dropped "Bubble" a few days ago, and I can honestly say that I'm digging the hell out of it. As I've mentioned before, M.i has a super laid back flow, and he makes it very easy to like his music. He brings along Brooklyn native Scienze to do some damage on his beautiful jazz influenced beat. This Austin native is becoming one of my favorite emcees; this dude has skills on the mic and [...]
This music festival happens in the backyard of the Midwest. It is located in Chillicothe, Illinois and takes place from May 25th-27th this year. Summer Camp offers you the 3-day camping festival at a very nice price. If you were fortunate enough to grab early bird passes or advanced early bird passes then you already know you got one hell of a deal. Tickets are priced at a nice cool price of $174.20 for the time being. They offer lay a way so you can take your time paying off your ticket to a great time. Join [...]
Do you ever find that there's music that you criminally slept on (see: The Only Color That Matters is Green ) ? More often than not, I end up finding out about a project that I managed to neglect for some reason or another. I was looking for a weekly column that I could do, and I feel like Slept On Saturdays is the perfect idea. Every Saturday I'm going to take the opportunity to shed some light on a mixtape, album or track that I overlooked because of sheer obliviousness. After all, [...]
Mind Inversion
Avicii – Two Million
Yellow Magic Orchestra edit from Chrome Canyon
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
H&M Lookbook Mujer y Hombre Otoño 2012.
