If you’re staring at an upcoming commute or flight, take comfort in knowing that the folks over at HiPNOTT Records, DJBooth and The Well Veresed have kept your headphones in mind with their Executive Suite compilation. Read the rest of this entry »
Only a talented troupe of rappers could become stronger after losing a few members. Even though they’re down two from their original three, Tanya Morgan is still very much a rap group and they’re welcoming all challengers on their You And What Army EP. Taking it back to where shell toes, a turntable and a mic was the only uniform to make you star, YAWA is a lyric-driven freshfest constructed in the lower Eastside of Brooklynati. Read the rest of this entry »
Von Pea’s debut opus, Pea’s Gotta Have It, came and went quietly but not for lack of quality. To brush you up on what you may have missed out on, Pea linked up with his Lessondary breathen, Elucid and Che Grand, for some edutaining literature in the 16 bar/rhyming couplet format. Toss in a beautifully shot black-and-white backdrop by Richard Louissant, school districts all across America are brought to life way past operating hours.
Not for nothing, Hip-Hop is alive and well in Brooklynati as well. If you like what you hear, head on over to Pea’s Bandcamp for the goods.
Back in November 2009, Danny Swain’s Def Jux debut Where Is Danny? leaked unexpectedly. And it was good, as Swain’s sly, witty punchlines matched up beautifully with Alex Goose’s dusty production. But, as a result of the leak, the album was pushed back, and eventually dropped into limbo. Over a year went by with no noise from Danny or his camp. Read the rest of this entry »
After a series of excellent leaks, unfortunate delays and a continuously building sense of anticipation, Fall FWD is finally here to grace the headphones of the listening public. Over the past few weeks, YC The Cynic’s free tracks have put his creative wordplay and clever wit on full display. Read the rest of this entry »
At this point, it’s a given. When some of New York City’s finest underground emcees link up, they’re going to let lose a seemingly never-ceasing flood of slick lines. More and more and more and more, you see? Laidback, clever, distinctive and talented, each of these emcees glide over J57′s thumping drums and stuttering piano line with the greatest of ease. YC the Cynic’s the man of the hour, Read the rest of this entry »
Hip-Hop is defined by a lot of things and the various meanings are always changing. But one thing our beloved culture will always classify as is “raw.” We’d all love to kick rhymes admist the glimmering big lights and bigger dollars but a crowded basement with sporadic ventalition still ranks as equally authentic. Read the rest of this entry »
– Jay Electronica exorcised the ghost Christopher Wallace & got down with the nation of Roc. History suggests he made the right move. It remains to be seen how it affects his career in the long run, but the short term yield benefited the fans.
– Girl Talk shut the internet down on Monday with his aptly-titled All Day.
– Donovan signed a new deal and promptly added more fuel to the ire of Redskin fans before the ink could even dry. Read the rest of this entry »
There are two lines of thought when it comes to dealing with the past. You can either do your best to forget it and put the best foot forward or you draw from those experiences to better handle the future. Von Pea, of Tanya Morgan, wisely chose the latter when the time came to begin work on his debut album Pea’s Gotta Have It. Taking the “Nati” off of Brooklyn, Von takes listeners back to the simpler days of of his time in high school. Read the rest of this entry »
With school back in session across the country, it’s officially headphone season. And Che Grand and DJ Lowkey are back to serve you with another dose of headnod crack in The Fixtape 2 (In It For The Drink Ticket). With production from Von Pea, Nottz, Illmind, Cook Classics and features from Jay Electronica, Peter Hadar and the entire Lessondary, a fixtape for the free is a the gift that keeps on giving. Read the rest of this entry »
“That ain’t right, The King is S. Dot/You ain’t in control of a thing but XBOX…”
Von Pea’s got to have it and he wants it all now. Read the rest of this entry »
All fans of Tanya Morgan–new and old–should find this particular snack wrap and steal with its free price tag. After giving out samples of cheesesteaks with extra mayo, ? of said group have baked a batch of The Roots’ outtake sets and added humor, wit and double entendres for the toppings. They’ve turned Hip-Hop into your neighborhood Jimmy John’s with this project. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s a significant bit of irony in this new track submitted by 66% of Tanya Morgan. Cheesesteaks are generally greasy, unhealthy and full of unnecessary addititves. Donwill and Von Pea’s rapping is lean, purified and full of metaphorical nutrients to put a jolt into your listening experience. Let Von Pea tell it, this could be the start of something…well…delectable. Read the rest of this entry »
Von Pea stands alone, serving up a special offering for DJ Low Key & DJ Sounds Supreme The Solution Tape #1, releasing in February. 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
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