Wednesday, May 22, 2013

[Mixtape Review] Che - TIT


Back in 2006, Jay-Z referred to Lupe Fiasco as a "breath of fresh air" what Jay was referring to was the fact that Lupe was bringing something new to the rap game which at the time lacked creativity and was stale. If I was asked to describe Che I would use the same exact words. Besides a few artist like Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj (depends on who you ask), Angel Haze and Nitty Scott not too many female artist are noticeable. In my opinion Nitty Scott is the best female rapper to come out in the last fives years mainly due to her ability to actually rap and her ear for production. I see the same exact qualities in Che.

TIT benefits mainly from two things, Che's ability to rap well and intelligently and the production. Throughout the entire tape both of these hold true. Not during any point did I think she or the production was slacking. It is also one of the better tapes I've heard mixing wise, most indie releases lack in sound quality but TIT sounds clean. 

Another thing I noticed was Che's versatility not only can she rap but she can sing pretty well too. It added another level to her tracks and kept them personal, as many of her tracks are, by not having to rely on a singer trying to capture her emotions/lyrics. Songs such as "Hard Knock", "Blindz" and "My Rooster" are a few examples. 

One thing rap is missing right now is creative and real subject matter, especially female rap. One of the highlights of TIT is Che's ability to creatively share her personal stories. On TIT she describes her issues/experiences with her father, sexuality, relationships, drugs and life in general. Not one track sounds the same but it all comes together to tell a story and by the end of the tape you'll feel like you've known Che for all her life. Few artist these days can make a tape telling their personal stories and make you care and that was what Che was able to do much like Kendrick Lamar did with good kid, m.A.A.d city. 

Speaking of Kendrick Lamar you can hear a lot of him in Che, his influence is definitely there. However, it never comes off as her emulating him, simply just an admiration for his craft. TIT even features many samples that can be found on Kendrick's tracks, such as Relaspe. It was nice to see how both Che and the producers could use the same sample but flip it into something totally unique and dope. 

To wrap this up, Che dropped what is easily one of my favorite tapes so far in 2013. I can only see things going up for her. With her unique style, fluid flow and lyrical skill Che stands out in an age of clones. Hopefully she can gain the recognition she deserves, she already has gained the eye of Juicy J recently joining him on stage at his show in Pontiac at the Crofoot. I expect to see many more great things from her in the future and this is only the beginning.

Standout Tracks: O.T.A.F.O., GERMZ, Sniper$ and Diaper$, Relapse & Annoying Hippy.

FINAL VERDICT
+ Lyrical skill
+ Great production from the beats to the mixing
+ Subject matter
+ Sharp flow and wordplay

- A bit too long

9.5/10

Black Hippy - U.O.E.N.O. (Black Hippy Remix)


The Black Hippy crew decides to become the latest in the slew of rappers to remix Rocko's U.O.E.N.O. 

SIR E.U - fxck4preview (Nike boy$$$ilovethisbitch)



Bored and awake around 4 AM, I decided to check Twitter to see if anything interesting was going on Internet wise and to my disappointment literally no one tweeted in a few hours. Then as I began to close the app on my phone I see a notice that I had new a tweet on my timeline. I refreshed my TL to see a link from the subject of this blog post, SIR E.U with the words "fxck4preview" naturally I clicked the link.

I've come to expect snippets when the word preview is attached to a song, I should've known that E.U would literally do the opposite and include a nine minute track. After my listen I retweeted E.U's tweet and added the word "godly". It was literally the only way I could describe the track at the time and still is. I won't bother going into further detail, I stand by that one word assessment. I'll just let you form your own opinion of the track. If you have read this up until this point I'd like to thank you but you should really press play (if you haven't already), because I'm done with the story and it is beginning to get awkward...

rMell - Omelette Du Fromage



About a week ago, rMell dropped this smooth tune "Omelette Du Fromage" (nice name) featuring a Beyonce sample and some cool lyrics. Be sure to check out his album NEOGEO, if you haven't yet. WolfMell coming soon... :p

Surp - Truth is blisss



Surp dropped this joint a few days ago and in typical fashion he absolutely goes off. I've ran out of adjectives/ways to describe this dude. I'm honestly going to start writing just "Listen" when it comes to a Surp track. No words needed other than that.

Action Bronson - Strictly 4 My Jeeps



The greatest thing you will ever watch. Seriously. Cartwheels. Women. RiFF RAFF. Lyrics. Shrimp Money. Action Bronson continues to out do himself, already having a rep as one of the best out right now rap and visuals wise, he resets the bar far as what a creative video can be. However, it doesn't come off as forced just for views, as Bronson would say himself "It's me".

Harry Fraud - High Tide EP


La Musica De Harry Fraud...


Saturday, May 4, 2013

SNDCLSH - THIEVES



SNDCLSH the duo of DJ Lupe Fiasco and DJ Sky Gellatly recently dropped their second single "THIEVES" which features production from SNDCLSH and DJ Kue. Lupe harmonizes well and delivers vocally, with great production and a catchy hook don't be surprised if this is all over the radio. 

Harry Fraud - Yacht Lash ft Earl Sweatshirt & RiFF RAFF





Harry Fraud tabs Earl Sweatshirt and RiFF RAFF two unlikely features, but a genius combination for "Yacht Lash" from his upcoming Scion Presented EP High Tide. Kudos to Scion for supporting great music with these EP, first Danny's Bruiser Brigade EP and now this. Unfortunately this is clean, for obvious reasons, no word on if a dirty version will be released don't expect it though as I think Danny's never received one.

[Video] Chuck Inglish - Drops



Mount Clemens finest Chuck Inglish is back with his next single "Drops", which features that signature knock and bass that his production is known for. This takes me back to the first time I heard Black Mags, I almost expected Mikey to pop up on some random guest shit too. Look for his solo debut Convertibles sometime this August.

SpaceGhostPurrp - Fuck Lames



SpaceGhostPurrp is back on his dark and grimy shit with "Fuck Lames", which sounds like it could be a left over from his BLVCKLVND RADIO 66.6 days. No word on where this track is from or if it'll even be featured on a project. Hopefully his next project will be more along the lines of this, with that original phonk sound more so than his recent "semi-conscious" raps. 

ScHoolBoy Q - She Like




Pretty dope track from Q off the 2013 XXL Freshmen mixtape.

[Video] Blu - Vanity



The ever so enigmatic artist known as Blu is back with a video and it either has absolutely has nothing to do with the song or it fits it perfectly depending on your point of view. Either way the actual music is dope and classic Blu, good rhymes and dope samples.

[Video] Mac Miller - SDS



After his highly successful debut Blue Slide Park, Mac Miller is back with his latest single "SDS" from his upcoming album Watching Movies with the Sound Off due out June18th. With a video that matches the creatively odd production from Flying Lotus, Mac spits some of his best lyrical wise that I've heard from him in a while. I was initially a Mac fan way back when his KIDS mixtape dropped but after hearing Best Day Ever and Blue Slide Park he lost me. This however is the Mac that I liked way back in 2010 and while most of his new fans seem to think this is to weird (judging by the Youtube comments) I can only hope that the album will have more tracks like this. 

Friday, May 3, 2013

[EP] Mann - L.I.S.A.


West L.A. rapper Mann recently released his latest EP L.I.S.A., which just so happens to be one of the best indie releases of the year. Admittedly I was draw to this project because of the cover but I stayed for the music. Mann definitely has his own sound, especially for an California artist, he isn't on that TDE, OF, Bay Area production wave, which is always refreshing. Lyrically L.I.S.A. is strong but the highlight for me was the production. With only seven tracks L.I.S.A. may seem short but the actual length of the tracks prolong the listen, which was my only problem with the project itself. A few tracks could've benefited from being a bit shorter but all in all everything sounds great. 

Stream below or download here