You can miss the St. Louis Force with generic ramblings of country grammar to piggyback off some stereotype. Instead, they’re out to give the world their own unfiltered brand of raw rap and it continues tonight in their Midwest sister city of Columbus, OH. Read the rest of this entry »

Nato delivers a visual for “REVEL,” the tune Track spoke on for final entry of The 30 Day Song Challenge. Yeah, the vid’s arrival seems a little late but it’s right on time considering how stale most music is at the moment. Read the rest of this entry »

I spent a whole morning examining my iTunes catalog and mixtape playlists, trying to figure out just what my favorite song was at this time of last year. When no clear-cut champion emerged, I had the bright idea to search my Gmail to see if I did any excessive ranting and raving that could help determine the right choice, and found this in a chat log: Read the rest of this entry »

St. Louis has been clean out of control in Twenty Eleven, earning more highlights for WSHH fiascoes than on the real rap scene. That simply won’t do and Tech Supreme — the multifaceted producer slash rapper slasher artist extraordinaire — has rounded up some of the finest talent in Missouri’s should be capital to reign a true Supremacy on the game. Read the rest of this entry »

Nato Calpih’s mind sharpening rhymes are the perfect tonic for a lazy Monday. The spiritual leader of The Force comes correct with the Reach EP. This brief collection of dopeness includes the mature “Her” and posse track “Anamoly,” both previously featured on your favorite Hip-Hop site. Read the rest of this entry »

Now this is some extra cool sh#t, for it’s almost a rap-sin to mention that you have a family of your own or that you’re in a committed relationship. Nato bucks that stigma with the video for “Her,” the track dedicated to his moon and co-starring the kids as well. Even better is the idea that next time there’s a spat @ home he can always say “Yeah but, remember that time I put you in my video?” Read the rest of this entry »

This is a posse cut in every sense of the word, each of these guys with a Cardinals New Era worn proudly. Every notable rap gang in the Lou makes an appearance here including The Force, Family Affair and the St. Lunatics. The surprising thing is everyone’s verse is strong, each one combating for the listener’s vote for which emcee killed it. In the end, it’s a victory for all as the home team wins big on “Anomaly.” Read the rest of this entry »

It takes a confident man to share what’s in his heart but Nato Caliph has done just that with “Her.” Over a particularly melodic beat, Nato breaks down the key moments of a his relationship: how he and his boo met, the struggles in the middle and the joy of making it out the other side. Bryant Stewart’s soft choruses help keep the mood right, but it’s the truthfulness and certainty in Nato’s lyrics that tie it all together.

It’s the kind of mature, thoughtful track we’ve come to expect from the Lou native. No kids allowed here—grab it and enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »

We were supposed to post this last week but in the wake of the Al Jazeera-influenced AIDS video, I figured most of you were scared enough & couldn’t stand any additional finger-waggin’ reminding you of how much of a bad idea it was to sleep with that one chick from the club whose name you never knew (much less forgot). Of course, it turned out to be a hoax and everybody’s back to humpin’ like jackrabbits. But Nato’s here with a bit of solemn, down-to-earth advice in the form of rhyme, reminding everybody to strap up, otherwise redbone Skeletor will be @ your door.

Download – Nato Caliph – “Rules”

Aside: Nato has to be one of the illest names in the rap game period. I may make that my “club name.”

I’ve already highlighted what I like about Nato so I’ll spare the details. Read the rest of this entry »

Understandably, DJ Trackstar’s a busy guy, but he’s been holding out on us y’all. We’ve been properly introduced to Wafeek, Vandalyzm, Black Spade, Karim, & Rockwell Knuckles but Nato Caliph has been kept in the shadows. I had to go all the way to Austin to find out about him and I won’t make you guys suffer from not going. Read the rest of this entry »

Preface this whole thing by saying that my memory is not the best. That’s why I went ahead & posted the The Temporary, Abbreviated Version before. Impaired by heavy intake of substances over the years along with the mass amount of info I process on a daily, my mental hard drive isn’t what it used to be so I have to frequently discard quite a bit. Therefore, I’m going to type up as much as I can remember from this past weekend’s Austin foray.

The number one rule of SXSW — If you want the sets to roll right, you better do it with white…people.

I say that with 100% love & respect. Aaron Berk, Jill & Aaron H. from the Knuckle Rumbler had everything coordinated to a tee, ushered artists along and were cordial, plus accommodating. If doff my New Era in full respect to them putting in all the work to pull this thing together & have it go off without a hitch.

The performance that most slept-on — Mickey Factz

I didn’t feel bad for Mickey. I felt bad for those who weren’t familiar with his music & his music seemingly went past them. Mickey wasn’t deterred & proceeded to work up a sweat while throwing himself into an amplified set. The height of his show was when he tore threw “Automatic” & “Hollywood.”

The performance that still leaves me on the fence about an artist — Charles Hamilton

Don’t get it twisted. Sonic laid it down, specifically “Loser” and “Brooklyn Girls.” But @ the same time, there were some awkward attempts @ interacting with the crowd that showed that his stage performance still needs some mastering. I’ll give son his credit due because after his performance, I caught him on the corner freestyling Mister F.A.B & a crowd of random folks.

The “MC means ‘Move the Crowd’” performers — Buff1 & Black Spade

Let’s face it: Buff1 is not a household name by any means. We all know it’s hard Read the rest of this entry »