Latest Posts

Pizza Pizza Comes Through With Some Fresh Slices On Pie I

April 23, 2014

Airy synths, lead bass rhythms, and a variance of drum noises help form an impressive first album for Buffalo electronic hip hop artist DJ Pizza Pizza.  A pitched down “Pizza Pizza” DJ drop spatters throughout the songs, and they are probably the only words that matter on the whole project. The rest of the vocals heard serve as instruments as Pizza Pizza crafts a debut full  of different head-bobbing trip-hop/trap instrumentals.  Pizza Pizza is probably worth looking into due to his image alone. Every picture on his social media accounts is pizza related, and  his logo is of Little Caesar’s mascot holding an MPC and rocking a gold grill in his teeth with some gold on his wrist.  The format of the album, titled Pie 1, is that each song is a numbered slice that makes up the whole pie. The first song, “Slice 1,” is a really hard hitting trap beat[...]

Pharoahe Monch – PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

April 18, 2014

Pharoahe Monch’s PTSD provides a nice contrast from the usual super lyrical rap album. Monch has mostly been known for his lyrical dexterity and his technical rap skill, and as expected, that is all on display with this theme album. There is great variety in his flows throughout, and on a variety of songs Monch busts out tongue-twisting internal rhyme schemes similar to something MF DOOM would use. Continuing on themes Monch developed in his previous LP W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), this album paints the picture of an artist who has battled with the music industry, and the aftermath of doing so. He talks of drug addiction, mental health, and even goes as far as to draw parallels between the Trayvon Martin incident and his plight in the music scene. Intermittently between tracks a computerized voice will talk to Monch, guiding us through the steps in his therapy. Each song provides a conceptualized[...]

Chuckie Campbell Reps The 716 In “Synesthesia” Video

April 16, 2014

Southern transplant Chuckie Campbell showcases the city like a lifelong native in the Buffalo in black and white is anything but video for “Synesthesia.” Synesthesia, (I borrowed this from Wiki) is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. I know, right? Basically, it’s like if you look at a letter, you’ll see a color and different letters have different colors. This is one of the more common occurrences, but overall one sense is linked to another in some undefinable way, as the experience varies from synesthete to synesthete. Yes, that’s what they are called. The track, which comes from his critically acclaimed album, More Die of Heartbreak, is deeply personal and lyrically hard-hitting in an almost soft-spoken way. If Mackelmore had street cred, “Same Love” might have sounded a bit more like this,[...]

Waka Flocka Flame – Re-up Mixtape

March 27, 2014

Waka Flocka goes hard in the motherfuckin tape on his new mix, Re-Up, an 11 track compilation with solid production and clever collaborations. His much-anticipated album, Flockaveli 2, doesn’t drop til later this year, and this mix will carry you through til it’s release. Fellow Atlanta rapper Young Scooter is featured on the 808 Mafia produced second track, “Cook Jug,” and has one of the catchier hooks on the mix. Both “Lottery” and “Ain’t No Problems” have that signature Waka sound, and the latter has verses from oddly charismatic ATL rapper Young Thug and Judo. “Word to the Wise,” an impeccably produced track by up and coming rapper-turned-producer Metro Boomin, is one of the strongest on the tape, and it’s worth mentioning that Metro is only 19 years old. He can’t get into the clubs that play his music, but that’s what house parties, like the one in “Real N!gga Love,” are for. Featuring the OG of[...]

Producer/MC Jon Bap Readies New Album

March 20, 2014

Buffalo based singer/songwriter and producer Jon Bap has an eclectic sound that ranges from experimental rock to soul, jazz and hip-hop. In addition to boasting impressive skills as an MC, the artists remix work which includes tracks from Beyonce, The SEVENth, and an ethereal, spaced out take on 50 Cent’s “What Up Gangsta.” Evident from his diverse Soundcloud uploads, Bap is capable of incorporating countless influences to create a truly unique sound, like on the track “The Best Out” which features a mellow beat and soulful vocals sampled from UK singer Sampha juxtaposed with fiery Drake sample from “Too Much.” In anticipation of his upcoming album, the artist recently shared a collection of demos and studio takes that didn’t make it onto the album. The nearly ten minutes of material includes smooth vocal melodies, a comical impression of Atlanta rap group Migos and an experimental track that borders on noise[...]