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Tonight: Teamwork 2014 The BBQ

July 20, 2014

Dinner and a show for $10? And some of the proceeds go to a local youth organization? Sign me up. For the third year, Team Radio hosts this event, aimed at bringing the community together one artist and innovator at a time. Chae Hawk is one of Buffalo’s best backpack rappers, and his music with a message mission is clear in everything the multi-talented artist does. There are many facets to the music industry, and Chae and his team are educating local students on what it truly means to be an artist in varying capacities. From web design to press to designing and printing posters, there are a myriad of ways to express yourself without a mic in your hand, and this event brings them all together. This 16+ event, hosted by Billy Drease is being held at Buffalo Iron Works, and tickets are still available. BBQ begins at 7/music[...]

Lone – Reality Testing

June 25, 2014

British producer Matt Cutler began recording as Lone in 2007 and has since been responsible for the some of the most inventive, dynamic tracks in dance music in recent years, layering hip hop drums with 90’s rave-inspired synths  to create a maximalist sound that feels equally suited for a solitary headphone trip as it does for the club. Reality Testing, Cutler’s fifth full length and second LP for the esteemed, rehashed dance label R&S Records, delivers much of the same kaleidoscopic bliss as 2012’s Galaxy Garden, but with more concision and emphasis on texture and reflective atmospherics than its’ predecessor. As a result, the album presents itself as synthesis of 90’s hip hop grooves and jazzy, melodic house, two genre’s that share both a common past and formative purpose. When last year’s J-Dilla referencing single “Airglow Fires” was released along with the ethereal b-side “Begin To Begin,” it was apparent Lone’s return would be marked[...]

Yung Lean – “Yoshi City”

June 18, 2014

Yung Lean videos come in two categories: Entertainingly low-quality (see my favorite vid ever, “Hurt“) or surprisingly high-quality (“Kyoto“). “Yoshi City” falls in the latter category, and that means we get to see the awesome things Lean got to waste his budget on. For “Kyoto,” it seemed all the money went to some outrageous alien special effects. On “Yoshi City,” the money goes into a pimped-out SmartCar, complete with the scissor doors that have become a staple of the elite. The video also features some melancholy scenes of Lean-Doer walking wretchedly through caves and parking garages and what looks like it could be an Egyptian Tomb. Over some fluttering synths from consistently dope SadBoys producer Yung Gud, Lean boasts some of his most emotional lines to date. Watch it here:

Tonight: Cross Faded Tour f/ World’s Fair & Two-9

June 14, 2014

Get all the way turnt up tonight at Waiting Room with a fresh lineup of hip hop, brought to you by the good people at After Dark Entertainment. World’s Fair & Two-9 touch down in the Queen City for their Cross Faded tour, bringing their blend of alternative hip hop to the stage, along with Network, Bill $aber, Blair Copeland, and Devon Charles. This all ages show (if you’re under 16, bring a grown-up…this would be an excellent early Father’s Day present for the cool dad in your life) is $15 at the door, and doors open at 7. Pro tip: regardless of your age, don’t be a yung thug. There is a little to zero tolerance policy for fuckery at WR, and you will be asked to leave.    

Tonight: Chuckie Campbell

June 13, 2014

Looking for a place to get spooky this Friday the 13th?  Weather permitting, the patio at Ohm Ultralounge is the place to be. The cash-only bar and lounge opens its’ doors at 8pm for a night of local hip hop under the stars (and full moon). For just $5, you get a full bill of music, featuring Kentucky transplant and Buffalover Chuckie Campbell, Dead Trash Mob, and G.S. + Indie Visuals. The Indie Visuals (say that three times fast) crew is a hip hop collective based out of Buffalo, and promotes all forms of hip hop artistry, from graffiti and breaking to beat-making. Record label Dead Trash Mob also reps the 716, and will have artists from the label performing tonight. This 21+ show promises to be full of good vibes, great music, and beautiful people (as long as you’re there).

Edwang Shines On Collaborative Effort With Duce

June 11, 2014

Buffalo born producer Edwang has honed his craft remixing and mashing up other rap songs, but he’s stepped in a new direction with this collaborative effort with rapper Duce. The Duce Bootlegs is a project full of poppy hip hop goodness that reasserts Edwang’s staying power. He’s crafted complex beats that still allow the freedom of an emcee to flow over. The bouncy keyboard on “True Hollywood Story” sets the tone for the rest of an album that never takes itself too seriously.  The beat in “Pirate Booty” is based around a upbeat west-coast guitar riff, and the rapping is basically Duce rattling off pirate references in each line. His best rapping probably comes in “Old Joe,” where Duce narrates the unfortunate experience of catching an STD. Edwang continuously impresses on the beats, and flashes his experiences in productions by including some pop culture bites for skits between songs. Aziz Ansari’s[...]

Tonight: Radarada

June 7, 2014

Get on that ra ra shit tonight with the release of Radarada’s debut EP, the aptly titled First Edition. Featuring fellow Buffalo artists Jack Topht and Dr. Ooo, the album is a compilation of what happens when people stop being polite and start getting weird. The all ages show opens it’s doors at 9pm, and is being hosted at one of Buffalo’s best new(ish) music venues, Buffalo Iron Works. Tix are five duckets, but being surrounded by so many yung thugs at an all ages show is kind of priceless, so this is easily the best $5 you’ll spend all weekend. Everyone in attendance will also get a ticket to the show’s afterparty, being held at a semi-undisclosed location (a house on the west side, and the address is on the ticket) and promises to have “free drinks, music bumpin, and good times.” In the words of Robert Sylvester Kelly:[...]

50 Cent – Animal Ambition

June 6, 2014

Animal Ambition works when 50 Cent understands that he’s worth 140 millions dollars. Sometimes 50 gets caught up with his life back when he was fresh off of being shot 9 times, straight off of the streets, and all the other details that made him one of the best crossover gangsta rappers of all time. Now though, 50 hasn’t been on the streets for a long time. In the same way that Jay-Z still gets grief for his coke selling subject matter 20 years after the fact, 50’s strengths and weaknesses are on this album are dependent on whether he’s living in the past or the present. In “Hold On,” we see 50 attempt one of his sing-songy catchy hooks that took him to the top of the music industry 11 years ago. It’s not going to be the last time he does it on this album, and it’s probably[...]

Meyhem Lauren & Buckwild – Silk Pyramids

May 30, 2014

“So Queens that you could feel me, so dope that you could deal me.” That’s what NYC rapper Meyhem Lauren asserts on the opener of his latest album Silk Pyramids with producer Buckwild, and that’s the script that he sticks to for the length of this impressive project. Lauren doesn’t break any ground with his subject matter on this, but he does a great job rapping about rap stuff. Action Bronson, a past collaborator with Lauren, assists him on the album’s intro, and he really kills it. The beat Buckwild crafts is straight up Bronsolino’s alley, a female vocal loop that sounds like it’d fit right in with with Bronson’s “9.24.11” and “9.24.13” series. Action always comes through with the ridiculous braggadocio bars. He provides the album’s first rewindable moment with the line “Cross your motherfuckin ass in basketball wearing sandals.” Murked. One of the album highlights for me, and I[...]

Tonight: Sauced

May 24, 2014

As one of Buffalo’s most diverse and creative music scenes, the instrumental hip hop and beat producer community has long needed a continual event to showcase some of the city’s vibrant, unsung talent. Tonight, Duke’s Bohemian Grove Bar will host the first installment of Sauced, an event aimed at featuring local as well as touring producers, providing an opportunity for their studio heat to be brought to a live setting. Veterans of the Buffalo hip hop scene, Shuteyes and Tone Atlas, will be rocking live on the MPC with local MC Mad Dukez and DJ Charlie the Butcher hosting the event. Also on the bill tonight are Oakland producer Durazzo, whose jazzy, sample-based tracks have a reflective, soulful feel and New Orleans producer AF The Naysayer as a part of their “Back on the Pads” tour.  Music starts at 10pm. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/87419866″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]    

Deniro Farrar – Rebirth

May 23, 2014

2014 looks to be a pretty big year for Charlotte rapper Deniro Farrar. Last year saw the release of two mixtapes (Patriarch and Patriarch II), which helped him to a selection to the illustrious XXL Freshman Cover for 2014. Signed with Vice Records and Warner Bros, Farrar released his major label debut this week, a six track EP titled Rebirth. Farrar keeps a low, calmly rough flow throughout the project, but each song has a distinctly different flavor to it. Lunice of the electronic hip hop duo TNGHT provides an eerie landscape for Farrar on the second track “Burning Bills.” Smattering vocal samples (similar to the ones he and other TNGHT member Hudson Mohawke helped contribute to Kanye’s Yeezus)are worked in with  graveyard synths. It’s the perfect compliment to the lo-fi, gritty raspiness of Farrar’s voice as he raps about the almighty dollar.  The hook has some pretty cool, demonic imagery to it, leading[...]

Mac Miller – Faces

May 16, 2014

Mac Miller has taken an unconventional path as an artist. He gained notoriety as pseudo-frat rapper after a couple mixtapes as a late teen, then released an independent that was number 1 on Billboard. With a style that appealed to the mainstream, and a debut album that was panned and looked at as cheesy, a legitimate future in the rap game is something that didn’t seem to be in the stars for Mac. And yet here we are, Mac’s almost a year removed from a critically acclaimed album and on the cusp of a critically acclaimed mixtape. He has scored collaborations with the likes of UGK legend Bun B, kind of-legend/anomaly Jay Electronica, and consensus top 2 rapper on the planet Kendrick Lamar. He’s befriended Kendrick, has a significant friendship with ScHoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, frequently collaborates with rap messiah Earl Sweatshirt, and is becoming one of the most reliable[...]

New Visuals from Local Rap Trio Nameless

May 2, 2014

Coming off of the Walking on Water EP that dropped back in March is Niagara Falls trio Nameless’ hard hitting track “Milli.” After an intro from the EP’s opening track, the dreamier “In The Air,” the mood switches to the hard-hitting “Milli.” With a backdrop of some gritty western New York scenery, each of the group’s members gets a verse over some pretty dope, murky production. Highlight lines include “I tried to keep it modest but it simply wasn’t honest, what you think I hustle hard for, I studied Reaganomics.” from the second emcee of the group and “Hi Mom, drugs are awesome, so damn high I bet I could Moss em’,” from the third guy rocking the ski mask. I can’t figure out their individual names, but with the name ‘Nameless,’ I think that’s the point. Check it out .

Tonight: We’re Talkin’ Plowed

April 30, 2014

In the words of M-E-T-H-O-D Man: “it ain’t nothing like hip-hop music/you like it ’cause you choose it/most dj’s won’t refuse it/a lot of sucka MC’s misuse it.” One of those DJs is Buffalo’s own LoPro, who plays classic hip hop on a classic format: records. Every Wednesday night at Duke’s, he spins old school hip hop while the bartenders serve up $1 beer and $2.50 shot specials. Bonus points for having late-night kitchen hours and the best eggplant wings in town since Off the Wall (RIP). This weekly event starts at 10 and goes til 4, and there’s no cover. If you’re looking for a place to talk proud and get plowed, this is it.

Billy Drease Williams Drops The Long Awaited EDREYS MMIV

April 30, 2014

Billy Drease Williams is a veteran of the Buffalo hip-hop scene. If you’re not familiar with his work you might recognize one of his five songs (as a part of the duo Raw Intel) that made it onto the ESPN NFL 2k5 video game, the ultimate sign of success in the music industry. 15 years out of winning the Buffalo Music Awards Hip Hop Artist of the year award, Billy Drease releases EDREYS MMIV, a full project with an interesting backstory. Per his Bandcamp page, EDREYS MMIV was recorded 10 years ago and kept under wraps until this week in celebration of Billy Drease Williams’ birthday. The title is a nod to his given name, Edreys Wajid, and in Roman numerals MMIV is 2004. With the exception of “If I Should Die,” and “Hold Me Tight,” Billy Drease also handles the production on the whole project. It is really a wonderful piece of[...]