Monday, December 31, 2012

CRASHprez - Chargin ft Defcee



Who would've known that one of the hardest records of the year would have come from CRASHprez? That's exactly what "Chargin" is due in part to the hard hitting production from Joseph Chilliams and of course CRASH and Defcee deliver. Just another example of CRASH's versatility and again Defcee who brings the heat with his verse just as he did on "Dateline" from the former's excellent project CRASHvillainy. These two might've fucked around and created a new genre, Conscious Trap sounds like a good name to me. I wouldn't mind hearing a collab tape from these two in the future either but for now I'll just enjoy this track, as should you. 

Cal Rips & DeMarco Taylor - Pleasantville



FYM's Cal Rips & DeMarco Taylor link up for this peaceful joint, love the minimalistic approach to the production of the track. Taylor not only impresses with his verse but also with his vocals on the hook, which help to enhance the serene vibe and Rips' wraps up his impressive 2012 with one of his most heartfelt and personal verses yet. Both artist bring their respective talents to truly create a new world "Pleasantville" and a all-around excellent track. 

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

[Album Review] Gary Samurai - Lemuria.


Atlanta standout rapper Gary Samurai recently released his latest album Lemuria., which after doing some research I learned is the name of a "lost" land that resided somewhere between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Many theories are out there about whether or not Lemuria actually existed, similar to the lost city of Atlantis. I suggest you read a bit about Lemuria itself, as it will help you further understand the theme of the album and Gary's vision. With that little background info out the way, lets get to the actual Lemuria that exists.

[EP] Curren$y - 3 Piece Set


Curren$y is always in a giving mood and per norm with Spitta he decided to drop off something for the fans. While in Chicago around Thanksgiving, Curren$y linked up with Thelonius Martin and the result of those (closed) sessions comes in form of 3 Piece Set. As the title suggest the project is comprised of three songs, two of which feature long time Jet Lifer, Young Roddy and it is always good to hear Spitta over some soulful production. At nine minutes in length it's definitely short but the quality of the tracks more than make up for that alone. Kick back, relax and enjoy. 

Thursday, December 13, 2012

[Video] A$AP Rocky Performs Long.Live.A$AP. on RapFix Live




Featured as the first ever RapFix Live performer, A$AP Rocky took the opportunity to perform the intro "Long.Live.A$AP." from his debut album of the same name. Pretty impressive that he produced the track himself, it's great to hear a traditional trillwave joint from him rather than "Goldie" or "Fuckin' Problems" which were more along the mainstream side. Hopefully we'll see more artist debuting tracks on live TV it's always interesting to see how the crowd reacts, even here when Rocky initially started to perform the crowd wasn't moving at all but by the end the whole audience was vibing out to the record.

[Video] Toro Y Moi - So Many Details



Back in October Toro Y Moi's single "So Many Details" dropped and was/still is one of the best tracks released this year. Two months later Chaz decides to bless us with the visuals for it and I can only describe it as simplicity at it's best, definitely my personal favorite for V.O.Y. Look for his latest album Anything In Return January 22, 2013.

[Video] A$AP Twelvyy - Y.N.R.E.



A$AP Mob member Twelvyy finally releases visuals for his AraabMUZIK produced banger "Y.N.R.E.", watch as he and the rest of the Mob ride around New York and enjoy the nightlife. Be sure to check out the A$AP Mob's Lord$ Never Worry for this track and more.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

[Album Review] rMell - NEOGEO


Although it has been more than a week since the release of rMell's NEOGEO the support for it hasn't stopped. The young artist even trended on Twitter in the Washington area for more than a day and the feedback has been amazing. One of the main reasons I held off on reviewing it or even posting it was because I felt I needed more than just a day or two to critique an album that has been in the works for two years. I didn't want to give a stereotypical "Yo this album is dope be sure to download" type of review. So after listening to it multiple times and contemplating what to say about it, I finally feel confident in my ability to deliver the best review possible for NEOGEO.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Miguel - Adorn (Bad Boy Remix) ft Diddy & French Montana



Miguel's latest single "Adorn" from his sophomore effort Kaleidoscope Dream gets the remix treatment from DJ Ted Smooth. Of course Diddy delivers your typical Diddy verse along with the ad-libs (Let's rock, don't stop. C'mon!) and Bad Boy's single relevant artist French Montana actually drops a solid verse over this smooth mix of Biggie's "Get Money" and Adorn. Dope shit.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

[Album] Surp - for the LOVE of SOUND


Just as with the actual cover to the project, the artist known as Surp is shrouded in mystery. All I know about him is that he has a habit of dropping songs/projects seemingly out of nowhere, he is the SoundCloud God, he raps very well, he is from New York and is in a group called Backwards Society. Surp's for the LOVE of SOUND originally had a release date of October 31st, however it was delayed for whatever reason and than Surp decided to drop it randomly with no warning on November 21st. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least and immediately downloaded the project and listened.

Right off the album starts off in a weird way with "Start ." an instrumental that seems like it would sound more at home on his Blunted Renditions series, needless to say I just chalked it up to typical Surp-ism (new word) and left it at that. What happens over the next 15 tracks is superb lyricism and other worldly metaphors. Aside from "Hello ." which is essentially "Start .", I won't pretend to know why Surp started and ended the album with such odd instrumentation but I won't knock it either. Surp is what underground Hip-Hop is at it's finest. The project features no hooks, and yet you don't seem to notice or mind. Curren$y is another artist, who can do this and still have me invested in the track oddly enough. 

Although every track is dope and for the most part I enjoyed the majority of for the LOVE of SOUND, there are a few tracks which stood out from the rest and I want to give a little shine to those. First off "Prawllum", the track that caught my attention and made me a fan of Surp in the first place. Also, a perfect example of why I think so highly of his lyricism, just a flat out verbal assault of lyricism in the best form. Next is "Bad Character ." which features Surp spitting over a Madlib joint and effortlessly dropping bars, almost as if was freestyled. "MellSURP" is the collaboration between rMell and Surp and stands out due mainly to the former's production and the later laces it and doesn't let the beat outshine him."Hot Hawaiian Punch ." and "Bullshit" both stand out for the same reasons. Lastly, "This is for you ." which is amazing for the simple fact that Surp states his parents were arguing while he was recording it. Now that may not seem like much but for the song to have such a peaceful vibe and for it to have be recorded while something opposite of that was happening and for Surp to be able to maintain the vibe throughout the song made it stand out to me.

To wrap this up, and I promise this isn't a review (Surp don't be mad) just an analyzation. for the LOVE of SOUND is one of the illest projects this year and for some strange reason I feel like Surp wasn't even trying to accomplish that. From my perspective he seems to genuinely enjoy making music and doesn't to much care for the attention that comes with it, as talented as he is. "I could be wrong, even though I maybe be right" (kudos if you know where that's from) but oh well. Nothing else to say other than listen and be sure to keep Surp on your radar for the next couple of years. I think homie is gonna do some big things. 

Stream below or download



Monday, December 3, 2012

[EP] Louseph Bruise Em' - Como Sea


Producer extraordinaire Louseph Bruise Em' is once again back with another EP, however he keeps it strictly instrumental this time around and that necessarily isn't a bad thing. Lou is easily one of the more talented indie producers out right now and one of my personal favorites, at least in my top 3. One thing about Como Sea that sets it apart from his past works is the fact that Lou made this in about an hours time and that's highly impressive for it to sound so great. I don't know if him being around SIR E.U has made him into the monster that he is, but he definitely is the E.U of the producing game.

To elaborate on that, he and E.U both are able to create such excellent tracks and do so in little to no time at all. However, unlike most artist their work doesn't suffer from the lack of time spent in the creating process. The only drawback is that those projects most often are short in duration, which is my only complaint about Como Sea. Aside from all of that, I highly recommend Como Sea even with it's short duration, it's still one of my favorite projects released in the later half of 2012. Good shit Lou.

Stream or download (this jawn) below.


[Video] Lupe Fiasco Talks G.O.O.D Music, State of Hip-Hop & Career


Lupe Fiasco recently stopped by Power 96 and chatted it up with KC Chopz who goes in-depth with some great interview questions ranging from Lu's career and his future, fashion, skateboarding, breaking down the differences in Kanye West and Pharrell's production and way more. A definite must watch for any Lupe Fiasco fan.

[Video] Nitty Scott, MC - Planes, Trains & Automobiles



Nitty Scott, MC the dopest female in Hip-Hop right now period, is back with a video for "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" from her excellent project The Boombox Diaries Vol.1. Not to many artist male or female seeing Nitty on the mic and she is definitely one of the most creative in the game right now. Be sure to check out her TBD Vol.1, you won't be disappointed.