Persistence is key and if Tanya Morgan have it their way, Brooklynati will be Hip-Hop’s capital until Kwame Kilpatrick gets elected mayor. Still going strong with last year’s rhymefest of an album, the treacherous trio break new dirt with yet another video as featured on Billboard.com. Read the rest of this entry »
This 2009 Slept-On list covers the gamut of artists in the Hip-Hop realm. Old G’s from the mid-90s who still got the goods, even if they don’t resonate with the younger crowd. Underground super groups. Young artists on the cusp of breaking through into bigger circles. Southern legends riding out into immortality for the last time.
What ties these albums together is that for whatever reason, they didn’t quite get the love they deserved in 2009. So start off 2010 by loading up on some of the best music 2009 had to offer (for a very reasonable price).
With the soul and spirit of De La and Tribe, Tanya Mo quietly dropped Brooklynati. Backed by Sir Von Pea’s soulful production, the cast of Tanya Morgan delivered carefree stories of a rap group on the come up which spawned the infectious single “So Damn Down.” Phonte, Blu, Carlitta Durrand and Kay all co-star. Wake up and join the movement!—Landon A.
Cop: Brooklynati
Although seemingly dropping out of nowhere in the middle of September with zero promotional buzz and nary a video to boot, the brutes from Brownsville didn’t treat their undetected product like a contractual obligation. Setting things off over riot-inducing production from DJ Premier, Nottz and Statik Selektah, Foundation’s exterior sounded as rugged as day uno. Time to ante up if you haven’t heard it.—TC
Cop: Foundation
Two years after Blu & Exile’s groundbreaking project Below The Heavens shook the underground in 2007, the MPC-toting soulful beatsmith chose Fresno’s own Fashawn to be the second MC he would push onto the masses with their collaborative project Boy Meets World. Ex’s lush production meshes together beautifully with Fashawn’s lyrical tales reflecting his upbringing in the northern part of California that raised him. While the album didn’t reach far within the commerial realm, the critical acclaim and respect he gained as a lyricist in his region of the country makes his freshman outing a success that he can most definitely build on.—K1NG
Cop: Boy Meets World
’09 was a big year for K’Naan. He began the year by receiving the buzzworthy badge from The Man er…MTV and the summer months had him on the road with the Rock the Bells tour. Troubadour was a cocktail of worldly delights mixed with all the familiar elements of Hip-Hop that helped to make a sleeper hit. The guest roster adds flavor to the mix as Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Mos Def, Chubb Rock, Chali 2na and Kirk Hammett of Metalica all make appearances.—Landon A.
Cop: Troubadour
Who said that hurricanes can only hit along the coasts? On his 7th studio album, Twista came out spinning early and often on this one. With songs like “American Gangster,” “Talk To Me,” & the radio friendly “Wetter,” Mr. Mitchell was operating at full strength during the eye of his storm. Although it loses steam near the end when he lends his attention solely to the fairer sex, Category F5 show that Twista hasn’t lost a step during his time served and when focused, is still as lethal as ever.—MZ
Cop: Category F5
Fresh Daily - The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion
Fresh Daily is the Hip-Hop you love. An old school delivery with new-age punchlines make The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion a joy to listen to. Daily’s bars are laugh out loud funny at times but it’s tracks like “Love Breakdown” and “Crimes of Passion” that allow the New Yorker to show off his more serious side. And try to listen to “Gutterman” or “Untucked Nunchucks” and not get the yuck face. Fresh Daily is a pundit on the mic and more outings like this will guarantee he’ll be a force in the game for a long time.—David D.
Cop: The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion
Overshadowed by releases from his other Old G contemporaries, Sir. Griffin proved that G-Funk stays winning well into middle age. Help from a mix of the new Cali crew and some standbys didn’t hurt. Top tracks like the dark, “100 Miles & Runnin’” (poor title though c’mon Warren,) move the album, and even some of the poppy efforts like the Snoop collabo “Swagger Rich” are still enjoyable. Warren’s not consistent or adept enough to label this a new classic, but fans of old school, West Coast Hip-Hop should definitely partake.—Patrick M.
Cop: The G. Files
Donny Goines – The Breakfast Club
Ever wonder what the lyrical equivalent of Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise and crushed red pepper would amount to? If so, Donny Goines served up such a platter with The Breakfast Club. Mixing engaging food for thought (“Sublime”) with light midday meals (“Party Apple”), the free buffet was essentially a compilation seeing that it featured nearly every hot act in today’s blogosphere. Too many calories present to let this dish go cold.—TC
Download: The Breakfast Club
Curren$y – This Ain’t No Mixtape
After flooding the Internet with a massive amount of mixtapes over the span of a year or so, New Orleans’ own Curren$y decided to take a little time to craft an independent album alongside Amalgam Digital. Utilizing his effortless flow to glide over the sonic landscape provided by Monsta Beatz, Spitta crafted an album with enough weed & sneaker references to put Complex to shame. While it didn’t quite break him through to the mainstream audience, it proved to be a worthy project for any rap fan’s collection this year.—K1NG
The guy doesn’t look the part and on first glance his name reads like a Twilight character. But 30 seconds of hearing Lushlife spit rhymes and you’ll believe in the product. Still Cassette City was largely ignored by the general public, who may have been turned off by the visuals or just didn’t know any better. That’s a shame, because the album combines introspective rhymes that keep coming with new-age production that keeps to its underground roots.—Patrick M.
Cop: Cassette City
Trife Diesel – Better Late Than Never
Eight years of purgatory doesn’t exactly breed excitement for the release of an album, but in the case of Trife Diesel, his tardiness proved to worth waiting for. Boldly going where NYC hadn’t been in some time, dirtier-than-fishscale parables like “Powerful Minds” and Ghostface-assisted “Respectfully” gave the East some bragging rights to close out the decade. Hopefully they won’t have to wait too long for the sequel.—TC
Playaz Circle – Flight 360: The Takeoff
Without a breakaway hit à la “Duffle Bag Boy” Tity Boy & Dolla’s flight was a little less crowded this go around. But for those who chose to take a ride were treated to their signature brand of music for in-flight entertainment. While the OJ Da Juiceman collabo “Stupid” was put into place to appease those hanger on’s from last go around, this DTP duo brought equal parts of style and substance to the table. If they can continue on their current trajectory, it’ll only be a matter of time before they’ll be shopping for bigger planes.—MZ
This was the final curtain call for one of Hip-Hop’s greatest groups and they went out in the same draped up and dripped out purple Cadillac they rode in on. If you thought this would be a sappy ode to Pimp C, you were sadly mistaken. “Still on the Grind” and “Swishas & Erb” are familiar odes to what made UGK successful while “Steal Your Mind” shows a dream collaboration with Snoop and Too $hort, forming a pimp dream team of outrageous bars. Then there’s Pimp with his insistence on unshaven pubic areas and lines like “I’m tryin to put my dick inside ya mouth/tryin’ to put my dick and nuts inside ya mouth!” Long live the Pimp.—David D.
Cop: 4 Life
RZA – Afro Samurai Resurrection OST
Noticably absent from the multitude of Wu releases for the year, RZA did manage to stay productive in the industry’s frozen tundra, better known as January. The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai Resurrection OST, the eponymous soundtrack for the violent animated movie, incorporated a massive amount of underground talent for the greater good of murder music. It’s like a Hanzo for your iPod.—TC
Brother Von Pea of Tanya Morgan was kind enough to let the masses into the methods of his madness, providing listeners with this Brooklynati sample mix, i.e. a breakdown of the samples used by the producer/rapper for the group’s sophomore album. Read the rest of this entry »
Generally posting flyers to artist’s events is futile information seeing that readers could be countries away from the location. But Brooklynati’s very own seem to have solved the problem is with new wave digital strategy. Read the rest of this entry »
Remember when I asked Tanya Morgan about the Hardcore Gentlemen a.k.a. Brooklynati’s best (and only) rap group? Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t forget to enter the From Queensbridge To Brooklynati To Portland: Test Your Hip-Hop Geography contest. Today’s the last day so get your submission on…pause.
The good people @ Audible Treats hit us about about giving you all a chance to win some free stuff. Read the rest of this entry »
Via BlogXilla
Previously Posted — Tanya Morgan Live At Fat Beats x Brooklynati Fitteds x “Drop” Freestyle
The TM trio took a recent trip to NYC’s famed vinyl establishment Fat Beats to perform their lead single “So Damn Down.”
Next up, this collaborative fitted between TM & Society Original Products, dubbed Brooklynati “Ms. Morgan” = the business. Read the rest of this entry »
I was gonna post some Flip cam footage of them performing this a few weeks ago when they did a show with Wale, but thankfully I decided against it. Here’s a proper visual from Von Martin, Donny Davis, Jr. & Ol’ Brown Eyes aka The Rap Pack aka Tanya Morgan.
Make sure you get your ticket stamped. Purchase Brooklynati.
Previously Posted — TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Tanya Morgan
If A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul were on a world tour, then Tanya Morgan is in a whole ‘nother galaxy. Convening at their lyrical Chamber of Commerce, the trio from two parts Cincinnati and one part Brooklyn take competition to school (geography class to be exact) with their third album Brooklynati. Read along as TSS Crew’s TC unfolds the mysteries of this rapper’s realm which includes Donwill, Ilyas and Von Pea’s day jobs, why Hip-Hop will always live in the heart of Brooklynati and what you will never see there.
TSS: Could you give the readers some background on your names and your occupations in Brooklynati?
Von Pea: My name came out about when I was like 14 years old. I used to call myself Von Phenom and I had shortened it to “P” cuz I would always would say “Von Pea or Von P. for short.” And when I was trying to come out with my demos, nobody was commenting on the music, just asking “What does this P. stand for?” So I spelled it out so they can stop asking. And now it just represents the underdog; something pea-sized is small and you may not be thinking about it but it’s still there. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s been a relatively good year for Ilyas, Donwill and Von Pea, collectively known as Tanya Morgan. Their stock has risen from an unknown group mistakenly refered as a R&B group, to a respectable Hip-Hop conglomerate with rising stock in a profession flooded with competition from all angles and regions. Their latest album Brooklynati seems to have them in a great position in the Hip-Hop conscious to get them acquainted with a myriad of new listeners. Read the rest of this entry »
Navigating the uncharted waters of Brooklynati come this May? It’s best you come prepared. And city council members Tanya Morgan along with IM Culture and Society Original Products have just the thing to for you Hip-Hop tourists. Read the rest of this entry »
Ahh, nothing better than some Tanya Morgan to finish off a work week. Von Pea works the beat, complete with guitar loop, vocal chops, and swinging drums, and the emcees Read the rest of this entry »
I know Tanya Morgan.
I was one of those hooked ever on their music since 2006′s Moonlighting when I stumbled upon them & The Strange Fruit Project. I was asked to review both The Healing & Moonlighting around the same time & I had the hardest time mentally separating the two trios. I liked The Healing; I loved Moonlighting and it stuck with me. Since then, Donwill, Von Pea & Ilyas have made it a point to continually release music, making their presence heard & felt as a collective and as individuals via mixtapes, EPs and performing.
When I see this “virtual tour” to the fictional Brooklynati, I love it even though Read the rest of this entry »
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