Latest Posts

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[...]

Pluto Brady- The Beat Tape

April 28, 2014

Rochester producer Pluto Brady balances hazy, melodic textures with sinister elements of trap, bass, and hip-hop on his self-titled debut beat tape. The 18-year-old artist  has been previously credited for tracks on rapper Donzelly’s DMS mixtape as well as Black Kray’s Goth Luv mixtape and various other MCs. Bringing to mind producers like Clams Casino, Ryan Hemsworth, and Suicideyear, Brady’s instrumentals place emphasis on slow paced, patient melodic builds, making for an immersive experience that reveals new layers with each listen. Throughout the tape’s eight tracks, the vibe ranges from ethereal, reverb-laden hip hop on tracks like “Without You” to futuristic r&b on “I Don’t Know What to Say.” The lush “Alone Forever” starts off the collection with a captivating hybrid of menacing trap -inspired percussion and fluid melodic synth swells behind a soulful piano riff. “Internet Eyes” builds around a similar style of elegant keys, but heads in a slightly darker[...]

Gucci Mane and Young Thug – Young Thugga Mane La Flare

April 25, 2014

With the release of Young Thugga Mane La Flare, two of the biggest trap stars in the game in Young Thug and Gucci Mane take on a project full of banging club tracks. Young Thug is the up and coming Atlanta artist that has been making waves with hit club singles like “Danny Glover” and “Stoner,” who has received the co-sign from the Trap God himself. Gucci, renowned for his consistency on his free projects, comes through with another solid effort on this tape, exchanging verses and choruses with Thugga throughout. Young Thug’s distinctly unique flow his on display throughout the project, as expected. On the mixtape’s second track “Bricks,” his squeaky sing-songy autotune effort on the chorus contributes to one of the more memorable and catchy songs on the whole tape. He is the shining star on this thing, as his charisma and true originality are impossible to ignore. Simply[...]

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[...]