When you make a bomb ass dinner and don’t finish it all, you don’t throw it away; you have leftovers. And after all those ingredients and seasoning soak in the food overnight, there is a more desirable meal awaiting you the next time your stomach starts growling. Consider Rockie Fresh’s The Otherside Redux his premier audio cuisine revamped, Read the rest of this entry »

Emilio Sparks gets paid to be a professional cretin.

As if his dream job isn’t great enough, he mostly likely has your favorite rapper on speed dial for prank calls because he’s the spontaneous type. While you can catch the shameless disc jockey weekly on WSIA 88.9FM and his iTunes podcast, “The Emilio Experience,” he’s contributing to Hip-Hop in a major way with his 2nd compilation of beats-n-rhymes in Scumbino’s Way. Read the rest of this entry »

Words by C. Paicely

Rockie Fresh teases us for months with bits and pieces of an upcoming project, and now he’s rewarding us with a holiday gift for all our patience. A dope ass mixtape. Thanks, Rock.

On The Otherside we are presented with an unpolished rapper spiting over polished production from The Cartoonz and the contrast is strangely refreshing and endearing. On “The Worth,” electric guitar riffs echoing behind him, Fresh rolls through compound-syllable rhymes with a matter-of-fact ease that almost dwarfs the beautifully composed music. The intro track, “A.C. Green,” showcases Fresh’s ability to smoothly ride a bass-driven trunk-pounder with clarity and refreshing crudeness, while the clever “Sofa King Cole” displays Rock’s wordplay wizardry and swagger-filled delivery. Even the month-old “Living” feels brand new when tied into the well-sequenced string of songs that make up the mixtape.

“What’s the Hurry” introduced Rock as a rhyming recluse shrouded in darkness, and that aura continues to resonate throughout The Otherside. Fresh is resigned to the solitude that comes with progressing beyond his peers, and flawless production combined with monstrous gusto from the slick-spitting Chicagoan make this free mixtape feel like an organic work of art.

See for yourself and stream/download The Otherside by clicking on the player below.

For the last week, I’ve been banging this Rich Hil x Kid Cudi “Trippy” joint that Sickamore sent over. I specifically remember not liking it at first, because I was left wanting 16′s and bars instead of a bunch of lopsided hooks. But now, this oh-so-appropriately titled haze of high-pitched organs and low vocal tones has left me disregarding any and every ill thought I could ever have, regarding anything. Any thought, period, for that matter. Read the rest of this entry »