Latest Posts

Tonight: Black Milk

October 23, 2015

Detroit rapper/producer Black Milk has proven to be one of his city’s most formidable hip hop artists over the last decade or so. Heavily influenced by A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and Motor City beat legend J Dilla, Black Milk brings his soulful beats and rhymes to Mohawk Place tonight with live band Nat Turner. Milk is a frequent collaborator with the city’s best, including songs with Slum Village, Royce Da 5’9,” Elzhi, and the 2011 project with Danny Brown titled The Black & Brown EP. Last year he dropped his sixth album, If There’s Hell Below, with notable indie hip hop label Fat Beats. Filled with more of Milk’s smooth jazz sounds, Hell Below includes features from Cali’s Blu and Houston legend Bun B. Milk’s tracklist should include many songs from the record, and all his tracks will be complimented by the energy of the live band.[...]

Torrey Dudley Arrives with “Lost”

October 16, 2015

Torrey Dudley is a 17-year-old Buffalo rapper doing a great job experimenting with his sound. He’s released a variety of different songs including “Hell Bound,” an aggressive street anthem, and the sing-songy, calming “I Wonder.” His latest release “Lost” is a hazy, melancholic track about struggles with substance and worth. The song’s gradual piano line and the subtle echo on Torrey’s voice creates a druggy atmosphere that reinforces the young rapper’s subject matter. Torrey’s wordplay is beyond is years, playing on words and assonance in lines like “better pray to God that you got blessed,” and “feel like I’m moving in circles, making moves with a bunch of squares tryna move in my circle.” The track also closes with a beautiful guitar outro from Landon Barron. Despite the lyrical content of “Lost,” Torrey is sure finding his way as an artist. His melodic voice and ability to create atmospheres are an exciting[...]

midnight Drops XII Labors EP

October 9, 2015

Rochester singer midnight (or mdnt) has been dazzling of late, feeding his listeners spectacular electronic r&b tracks for much of the past year. Singles like “Adonis” and “Baptize” drew expansive acclaim for midnight, building hype up to his release of debut EP XII Labors. Featuring seven tracks of his crooning falsetto and ear for great production, midnight’s debut is a wonderful introduction to the talented artist. The project kicks off with “Baptize,” produced by Buffalo’s YLXR. The track, indicative of its title, sees midnight birth a new attitude and confidence, “standing up to fears that haunt me, can’t no one stop me now.” On “Floating and Falling,” the singer takes on a surprisingly bright beat. Producer craves’ bouncing, lively instrumental syncs up nicely with midnight’s dark vocals as he pleads with a lover to take whatever he has. “Cool Kids (DFWU)” has more of an edge to it than some of midnight’s[...]

ASlaveNamedDot & Don Scuzz Drop “Sixes” Video

October 2, 2015

Buffalo rapper ASlaveNamedDot dropped a video for the single “Sixes” following the August release of his mixtape, #SlaveTalk. “Sixes,” a project highlight featuring Hooligan rapper Don Scuzz, is a great mesh of smokey chill vibes building to up to some hyped rapping. Dot leads the track off with a great verse that show off the Rich $lave crewman’s versatility behind the mic. Alternating his flows throughout, Dot gets into some clever rhyme schemes right away with a play on words involving Allah and his music. Dot goes on to talk on whipping, women, and ambition on a verse that hits everything. Don Scuzz’s baritone voice on a killer hook gives off the presence of something between Nate Dogg and Chief Keef. Scuzz goes on to deliver fire on the closing verse, coupling flow with bars on lines like “If they Facebooking thuggin’, Imma block that bitch, hoe’s on my shoulders, I[...]

Short Moscato Releases Debut Full-Length Whatever / Forever

September 30, 2015

Short Moscato has been fervently involved in the Buffalo hip hop scene. Whether it’s showing other acts love on Twitter, or collabing on tracks with some of the city’s other great artists, the Good Hueman remains ever-present and dedicated. His full-length debut Whatever / Forever is a fine testament to city and craft, boasting a whose-who of features and great new Buffalo music. The feature list is really something, with appearances from Dr. Ooo, Komorebi, Hitch Burney, Gaines, M-A, Illusive, WZA, and Truey V. The Dr. Ooo-assisted “Swishers” is a project highlight as Ooo’s signature jazzy flow pairs perfectly with the gruffness of Moscato’s voice. “Face It” with M-A is the project’s banger, as Moscato and the MileHigh rapper take exchange frantic flows over a knocking beat. Though packed with impressive features, Moscato’s solo tracks stand as some of the project’s best. Opener “Steady” sees his wordplay on full display, with clever[...]

Chill Ali Drops New Track “Free Energy”

September 23, 2015

Buffalo rapper Chill Ali is an artist who has the ability to keep his flow “chill” at all times. His latest track “Free Energy” is a testament to that, as Ali takes on real life hardships while still committed to the style that we’ve come to love. While speaking of friends and family who are users (“you give em what they’re asking for, but now they’re coming back for more.”) and watching other rappers stretch the truth (“a bunch of actors, how you play that tough?”) Ali’s flow is composed as ever. It’s one of his realest songs to date, and an exciting hint at future material from one of the city’s coolest. Keep an eye out for a Chill Ali project in the near future, and check out the track below.

200 Kids Outside Drop AutoPilot Project

September 2, 2015

200 Kids Outside is an alternative hip hop duo from Buffalo consisting of rapper/vocalist Neetchy and producer/mixer Minel. Their latest project AutoPilot is an impressive collection of melodic, cloudy tunes of varying styles. Neetchy brings a unique blend of melody and rap to the group, while Minel serves forth instrumentals that draw elements from many different genres of music. Their production value is top notch, even though they’re self-described as “bedroom musicians.” Though unconventional, Neetchy’s singing shines throughout AutoPilot, particularly on the unification track “Needle,” essentially a ballad vocally. Layered, mechanized vocal tracks are characteristics of the duo’s music, and their use puts the music over the top sonically. This is most apparent on project standout “Stranger,” where Neetchy’s melodic ear creates a track thats hummable from the very first listen. The production on this track is great too, centered around some guitar strums that could be straight out of a King Krule,[...]

Edwang Releases 333 Remix Album

August 26, 2015

As one of the city’s most creative hip hop producers, Edwang’s output is always worth checking out. He’s cooked up original songs with rappers and also done some great remix work, the latter of the two being the inspiration for this post. Ed’s taken on remixing duties for some tracks off of The Tortoise and the Crow, an album from LA/Hawaii duo the Grouch and Eligh in a project called 333.  The Grouch and Eligh present a nice canvas for which Ed to work on. Eligh usually comes through with the faster of the flows, whereas the Grouch has a gruffer approach to his rapping. It gives Edwang more variety with how he wants to attack his beats. The first minute and a half of “All These Lights” is centered around some nice piano keys and then the beat is turned on its head as it evolves into some crazy post-dub electronica. Its[...]

King Midas Releases “Take a Trip” Video

August 19, 2015

“Take a trip, make it flip.” Its not a complicated formula, but its absolutely working for Buffalo rapper and Loot Boy King Midas on his latest track “Take a Trip.” With youthful exuberance, Midas flips and whips over a playful instrumental remnant of the ringtone era of rap music. Catchiness has been the law of the land in rap, and Midas is certainly doing his part with this head-nodding chorus and digestible verses. The beach-vibe video maintains the fun summer sounds. The track serves as the second single from Midas’ upcoming project Midas Touch, and the Loot Boys are cooking up No Free Loot for release in September. Give “Take a Trip” a watch below.

Mic Excel and L-Biz Release Unsettling New Vid

August 7, 2015

Oktoberfest is in stores, so some Halloween-y, horrorcore-inspired hip hop from Buffalo’s Mic Excel and L-Biz couldn’t be more welcomed. Though not quite horrorcore in the vein of artists like Gravediggaz and Three 6 Mafia, “What’s Under Your Bed?” is certainly on the creepier spectrum of rap music. On the track, Mic Excel delivers an emotionally manic verse, and L-Biz follows it up by discussing his demons as well. Framing the verses is a crooning hook from Angelica R, who begs the question of the track’s title. The track, produced by Angie M. Conte (aka Sparklebomb), includes funeral organs and running dialogue of what sounds like a taped phone conversation between a serial killer and a sex hotline worker. This is definitely a video that will be getting some plays back for the upcoming Halloween season, as it includes occult imagery, some demented barbies, and a Psycho-inspired shower scene. Turn a[...]

Valor Shines on “The Grove”

August 5, 2015

Buffalo rapper Valor is a fun listen. He flirts between serious and nonsensical, and his sound seems purposefully lo-fi and one-takish. On “The Grove,” Valor rides the beat with a pacing and bounce emulative of something form the New Atlanta scene. It seems unorthodox at times, but always remains where it wants to be. Valor also has somewhat of a tongue-in-cheek subject matter, evident by the opening words of the chorus, “Wake up in the morning and I piss sunshine.” Buffalo producer melisahasagun came through with a great, versatile beat that could be flowed over in numerous ways, and the way Valor chose to attack it has me excited for his beat choices down the road. Give it a listen below.

Tonight: Blueprint

July 31, 2015

World-class lyricist Blueprint is headed into the Studio at the Waiting Room to perform tonight. The Rhymesayers MC is a frequent collaborator with some of independent hip hop’s best, like producer RJD2 and rapper Illogic, as well as his high-profile labelmates Atmosphere and Aesop Rock. As expected with a Rhymesayers signee, Blueprint can rap his face off, and often does so on genre-bending production. Blueprint’s latest album King No Crown is a fusion of the soul samples and experimental sounds that have brought his projects acclaim in the past. Joining Blueprint in the show is the North Carolina veteran rapper Supastition. Best known for his 2013 single “Yada Yada” Supa’s career extends from his time as a NC battle rapper in the late 90s to his current role as an artist and social activist. Tickets are going for $10-$12, and doors are opening up at 7 pm.

MileHigh Muzik Drops Track Each Day of July

July 24, 2015

Buffalo’s MileHigh Muzik crew has been producing quality, versatile tracks for a minute now. The great thing about MileHigh is that when they release these songs, they do so at a frenetic pace. As a Christmas present to their listeners, MileHigh dropped a new song every day of December in a series entitled #JUUGcember, and six months later they’ve brought it back for July. #JUUGly is the consistent dopeness we saw in December, if not at a higher level. Milehigh’s ability to cross rap subgenres ensures that each track feels fresh, and contributes to a project that touches on so many sounds. There’s the gothic bangers “Replacement” and “Don’t Worry,” which combine melodic verses with cloudy synth lines and heavy sub bass a la Travi$ Scott. The instrumental from MileHigh figurehead M-A on “10 Chains” is somewhere between the work of ATL’s Zaytoven and Erick Arc Elliott of the Flatbush[...]

ASLaaVeNaMeDot Releases “Sacrifices”

July 15, 2015

Buffalo rapper ASLaaVeNaMeDot, or A Slave Named Dot, is a grinder, and he’s trying to get his smooth flow and reflective bars some recognition. His latest track “Sacrifices” discusses that chase. The thoughtful construction of “Sacrifices” makes more that just a struggle-rap song. The hook “I guess I gotta die to get my shit played” can be interpreted as a double entendre referencing the hard work that goes into “making it,” along with the unfortunate phenomenon we see in music (and hip hop in particular) of romanticizing fallen artists. Recurring gunshot ad-libs create a sense of hype that pairs perfectly with the mellowness of the song’s primary horn sample. This is a pretty cool song, effortless where it could be forced, dynamic when it could get stale.  Peep the song below, and check out ASLaaVeNaMeDot’s Lets Play mixtape, released earlier this year.

Tonight: Homeboy Sandman

July 3, 2015

I first became aware of Homeboy Sandman when he appeared on an episode of the MTV’ Made in 2010. On the show, he taught a awkward teenager how to become a rapper. I hadn’t heard of him at the time, but around then he started making huge strides in his career. Soon after his MTV appearance, he signed with Stones Throw Records, a haven for rappers with serious lyrical and rhyming skill, and the perfect place for Sandman. His songs and flows evoke poetic vibes, and the complexity of the subjects he takes on in his songs (the American dream, Illuminati conspiracies) leave no word wasted. Homeboy’s latest album Hallways was released in the fall of last year to critical acclaim.  Homeboy Sandman will be back in town tonight, in a last minute, holiday edition of the Public Presents. The show starts at 11pm at Hardware, and for just $5 bucks, it’s[...]