Latest Posts

A$AP Ferg – “Doe-Active”

February 18, 2015

A$AP Ferg always looks like he’s having the time of his life, and the video for “Doe-Active” is nothing different. The single comes from last year’s mixtape Ferg Forever, and is a high-energy, infectious banger. The video also serves as the first release from the A$AP crew in the waning weeks since the loss of leader A$AP Yams, a death likely preventable. Directed by Spike Jordan, “Doe-Active” is a three-minute, 45 second long flex by Ferg, who shows off his celebrity friends and bootylicious females as he screams “I got a hundred dollar bill for every bump on your face.” Notice that “Doe-Active” is a play on the acne cream “Pro-Actve.” I particularly enjoy this chorus because it always seems like Ferg says it too many times, like he knows he should probably move on to a verse, but he still just wants to rub it right in our zit-infested faces.[...]

Drake Pulls Beyonce, Drops Surprise Album

February 13, 2015

Friday the 13th, February of 2015. A day that will live in Drakefamy. It was just yesterday that we were all wondering what rap superstar Aubrey “Drake” Graham was cooking up. Early in the day, he dropped “Jungle,” something of a promo video of him walking around his hometown of Toronto, and rumors of a mixtape had been swirling since Drake became increasingly active in recent months. And at about midnight, the hype came to fruition with the release of If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Always savvy, Drake went over all of our heads and dropped a full album on iTunes! Surprise albums have been all the rage in hip hop-RnB in the last few years, most notably starting when Jay Z announced during June’s 2013 NBA Finals that he was dropping Magna Carta Holy Grail on the 4th of July. That commercial, with all of it’s Rick[...]

Trap Rapper HC Kush Drops “Sly Green”

February 11, 2015

Hood Connect’s HC Kush is a ruthless emcee well-versed in the trap lifestyle, and his latest single, “Sly Green,” is a testament to just that. A menace on the mic, the Buffalo rapper brings a cold authenticity to his lyrics. With a collected tone, he drops lines like “I’m Mr. HC, come and shop with me. 80 percent of my city prolly cop from me,” and “We can’t find you, we kill your family. 32 day city wide killing spree.” Kush doesn’t sugar coat anything. He can be mean, and he’s seen it all. He and Hood Connects have a slew of tracks on their YouTube page worth checking out, and peep out the vid for “Sly Green” below.

Negative Death – “Burn” feat. Bad Cello

February 5, 2015

Consciousness and positivity is the mantra  of Negative Death, the new hip-hop pop duo combining Utica with Queens. Front man Paul Payabyab-Cruz channels the likes of Pharaoh Monch and Saul Williams in his poetic verses and Zeno Pittarella is the man behind the beats. Both have a history of musical ventures, with Utica’s Zeno coming from the acts Bad Cello (who gets the feature on the single) and Comfy. “Burn” is the lead single from Negative Death’s forthcoming project Conscious Pop. The track has evidence of Zeno’s poppy past, including the vocoder-y beginning of the track and the energetic electric beat. Paul brings the thoughtful heat the who time, with standout lines like “consider me Prometheus, yes I am somewhat heatheness, I’ve come to bring the fire down and make sure we are breathing it.” Great for both the ears and the mind, “Burn” is just one track of a great upcoming[...]

Saint Opal Does a Futuristic Croon on Debut Track

January 28, 2015

In the past we’ve featured music from Ez Amadi including his track “Dali,” and now we’ve received news that he’s started a hip hop-RnB collective known as Black Sol. Included in this collective is Ez, recently featured rapper Dean Chatham, and singer Saint Opal, from whom we first hear from below. Floating on a acid-y beat, Opal croons over other-wordly synths on this ambiguous track of longing and apprehension. Her vocals are consummated with a trailing, echoey effect that makes the track ever more haunting. The Black Sol crew is hard at work, with two new tracks on their soundcloud in the past three days. Stay tuned for more from the Erie County crew. I’m anxiously awaiting some more stuff from their other two members, Melo Nymbus and Eddy Haze.  There’s a lot of talent on that roster.

BadBadNotGood and Ghostface Killah – “Ray Gun” ft. DOOM

January 23, 2015

Toronto trio, BadBadNotGood, burst on to the scene a few years back remixing the likes Odd Future and A Tribe Called Quest. Their jazzy, improvisational sound got the attention of some of rap’s most well-respected artist, and it set them up for this collaboration with the Wu Tang’s Ghostface and the masked underground rap giant DOOM. “Ray Gun” is a strange ride following a metal-faced alien, played by Odd Future’s Left Brain. The video heads into a go-go bar and the veiled assailant tries to take a lady back with him to the motherland. The whole thing is pretty weird and shot like it’s in the 80s, working nicely with really great verses from Ghostface and DOOM. Check it out below, and stay tuned for a new collab album between Ghost and BadBadNotGood coming next month.

Joey Bada$$ – B4.DA.$$

January 21, 2015

It was just two and a half years ago when Brooklynite wunderkind Joey Bada$$ got rap’s attention with his debut mixtape 1999. Stylistically an ode to the smooth, jazzy times of golden age hip hop, the mixtape was received fantastically and Joey was praised for conscious, prophetic lyrics about his life in Flatbush as a 17 and 18 year old. It was completely out of the ordinary for a 17 year old to have such a defined, retro identity. With a delightfully monotonous flow heavily influenced by DOOM, Joey’s voice fused effortlessly with the light, low-key beats of the project. Several of the instrumentals came from songs from this Golden Era that Joey sought to emulate, originally crafted by the likes of Lord Finesse and J Dilla. 1999 was also an important project because it showcased the talent of Joey’s friends, grouped together under the name Pro Era. The others proved[...]

Action Bronson’s Insane Hot 97 Freestyle

January 16, 2015

It’s not a stretch to say that Action Bronson is one of the most consistently entertaining characters in rap. Without even getting into his raps, Bronson has his delightful cooking show “Fuck, That’s Delicious,” one of the most discernible images in hip hop, and a host of viral cinematic music videos, and a partner in Big Body Bes that is equal parts annoying and likable. When it comes to the rhymes, his obscure references, negative boasts, and next level vulgarity shape up to a raw listening experience that can get you to laugh out loud or scrunch your face in approval after a particular nice line. This Funkmaster Flex freestyle sparks both phenomenon, and led the legendary radio host to say that Bronsonlini is the “nicest in the game,” due to lines like: “If I die change my suit four times at the wake, and make sure I get my[...]

Dean Chatham Brings Wake Forest Experiences to Buffalo

January 14, 2015

College is a fun time for so many more reasons other than partying. In my experience, every decision you make either means nothing or ends up being way more important or influential than you could’ve ever imagined. New Buffalo-based rapper, Dean Chatham, has taken off with this idea of sorts on “Year 2.” Drawing inspiration from his experiences a year and a half into his Wake Forest education, Chatham jumps between his drive to succeed as a student and the inevitable urge to live the college life, especially being that he’s now a rapper. Chatham condemns himself and his classmates at times on the track for their university vices, rapping “My generation livin’ too fast, drop class for shot glass, I’ll be lucky if I pass.” But he knows he’s as scatterbrained and undecided as any 20 year old, going on to say “I’m in college, young and reckless is[...]

Another M Gets a Clean Rerelease from Sammus

January 7, 2015

In June of last year, female rapper and Ithacan Sammus dropped Another M, a project reimagining the tale of classic video game character Samus Aran. The main character in the Metroid series, Samus was the first female protagonist for many gamers. Samus’ identity was ambiguous as she marched through the game, defeating anything in sight on her path of heroics. The artist Sammus drew parallels between herself and the character that had surprisingly profound affect of gender stereotypes on Another M. To kick off the new year, Sammus gave us another chance to discover a very cool, yet powerful project with a release of the clean version. The production of Another M has a distinct video game feel to it, a testament to Sammus’ past venture as a producer for games. It’s filled with arcade synths and blips and bloops, along with noises that sound just like action queues in a game. It’s as if[...]

Hip Hop’s Winners and Losers in 2014

December 23, 2014

With most of hip hop’s biggest names staying relatively quiet this year, there was a lot of room for new players in the game to surface. In the absence of projects from Kanye, Frank, Kendrick, we have to pay attention to more people. For some artists, this is great news, as they gain notoriety and stay in our conscience for the whole year. For others, no bigs in the picture means they become the ones scrutinized. Not everyone can win, not everyone can lose, and not everyone can do just one of those. So here are ten of my picks for winners and losers and winner/losers in the wonderful year of 2014. Winner/MVP – Young Thug It really was the year of Thugger. At the top of the year, solo hits like “Stoner” and “Danny Glover” had Young Thug on the cusp of the mainstream, but his stampede to the top was[...]

Noisey’s “The Rap Monument”

December 19, 2014

After many months of anticipation, one of the most exciting and ambitious rap projects of the year is here. “The Rap Monument,” headed by prodo-wizard Hudson Mohawke and his team, and in conjunction with Noisey and Hennessy, is a 42 minute rap song featuring a slew of 30 rappers. Hennessy’s inclusion is important because you see it about every ten frames, but oh well, it’s liquid gold. This track has something for everyone. HudMo crafted a bombastic, horn-heavy beat that’s emulative of his style in the best way.  He switches it up along the way as to not let it get tiring while everyone gets their shot at delivering the best verse. If you’re looking to listen to a radio giant, Young Thug has his own mini-song in the middle of the track. Industry names like Danny Brown, Pusha T, Killer Mike, and YG have a some great verses. New[...]

Donny Murakami Premieres First Track Off Debut Project

December 17, 2014

Everyone has had a moment where they wish they were someone else, and Rochester rapper/producer Donny Murakami is exploring that feeling in his latest music. “Shock Therapy” plays off of that theme, serving as the lead track on Murakami’s forthcoming project Escapism. Over some driving drums, Donny fantasizes about being a rockstar, porn star, and dope boy, before admitting to himself that he’s a just a broke asshole. Although self-loathing at times, there’s a hunger in Murakami’s voice that shines through confidently amid all the daydreaming. Thematic verses and a catchy hook make for an impressive debut from the Rochesterian. He wishes to be a rock star, but a talented hip hop artist will have to do for now. Stay tuned for more from Donny and be on the lookout for Escapism, slated to drop February 11th.

Death Grips – “Inanimate Sensation”

December 10, 2014

Death Grips is one of the biggest wild cards in music. Whether it’s dropping albums for free without their label’s permission, or no-showing at Lollapalooza, Death Grips do not appear to ever really give a fuck about the music industry. The trio of Zach Hill, MC Ride, and Andy Morin announced their disbandment along with a project earlier this year, and due to label obligations, they owe us one more album. “Inanimate Sensation” will serve as the lead single to that forthcoming album, entitled the powers that b. This song is a doozy. The video is set in a Space Jam-like arena with a fallen Jumbo-Tron taking center stage. On the video screen, Ride’s menacing presence guides us through a great track, but one that is almost uncomfortable to listen to. Death Grips production has always been top-notch, a standard of their music, and here it really shines through. Throughout[...]

[ez amädi] Channels Salvador Dali on New Track

December 3, 2014

Spanish artist Salvador Dali became famous as a surrealist painter throughout the 1900s, and Buffalo rapper [ez amädi] is summoning his spirit for art of a different medium. “Dali,” the latest track from the Erie County emcee and producer, begins with a Madvillainy-esque, cartoony introduction of the genius who was Dali. Amädi relates himself to the modern-era renaissance man as he weaves his rhymes in and out of a beautifully awkward beat of strings and keys. It’s reflective and almost brooding, as Amädi discusses previous thought trains on his path through his artistry, drawing parallels to the track’s namesake. Peep the track below and hit up [ez amädi]’s Soundcloud for more great music.