Latest Posts

EVC’s Cove Releases New Track

November 14, 2014

Multifaceted producer Cove is always reliable for dope new material. His latest track, “It’s the jawn!!!,” is a high energy instrumental that keeps the head rocking. Stuttering organ synths and a distant voice encourage you to “Come on!” throughout the length of the song. Bringing forth feelings of inspiration and drive, it’s the most recent instrumental track of Cove’s to evoke emotion. A member of the ever-talented Essential Vitamins Crew, Cove is behind several standout tracks, and crafted the wonderfully moving album love.gained/love.lost.too., one of my favorite projects of the last year. “It’s the jawn!!!” is another notch in the talented belt of Cove, an artist that breeds consistency and intuition.

Azizi Gibson – “Smoking With The Gods”

November 12, 2014

Maryland-turned-LA rapper, Azizi Gibson, is on the rise, and it seems to be his fate. Leaving family and college behind in his home state, Gibson headed west with the hopes of making it big. By chance, he ran into mega-producer Flying Lotus at a gym while he was couch surfing, and showed him some of his music. One thing turned into another and now Gibson is signed Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, and releasing dope music like “Smoking With The Gods.” In the video, Gibson blows trees with a personified Yahweh as the two cruise around outer space in an old school Benzo. Humorous and at times psychedelic, the video works as a great introduction to Azizi. He’s an artist that could and should blow up, and has the talent to go in several different directions with his tracks. On here, Gibson opts for the smoker’s anthem, and the catchy, monotonous hook[...]

T-Pain’s Return to Relevancy

November 7, 2014

What a week it’s been for T-Pain. The premiere hook-man of the late 2000s was the face of the auto-tune era in pop-rap music, but few people knew that there was so much more to this artist. When T-Pain began using auto-tune, it was innovative and creative. As with any fad, at the decline of it’s popularity, auto-tune in pop music was looked at with disdain. We believed (often times correctly) that is was a crutch for those that lacked real talent. There were artists like Kanye West and Bon Iver who received exceptions from this perception, due to their artistic integrity, but T-Pain was thrusted in with the former group. What everyone forgot until seemingly recently was that T-Pain was using auto-tune before nearly everyone else. Auto-tune was popular because of him, but it wasn’t bad because of him. It was bad because people who couldn’t sing tried to[...]

Chief Keef and Gucci Mane – Big Gucci Sosa

November 5, 2014

Big Gucci Sosa proves two things; Gucci is still here, and as shocking as it is, Chief Keef is back. Despite constantly being in and out of an orange jumpsuit, Gucci is consistent as ever on this thing. Keef has seemingly spent the last couple years of falling out of Chicago’s drill scene, instead opting for lean-induced, lazily-composed auto-tuned madness. It appears as though Guwop has talked some sense into young Keith Cozart though, because this album features a Keef spitting some of the hardest verses of his career. Opening track “Semi On Em” leaves no one questioning to the mindset of these two trap artists. “Bitch, I’m Gucci Mane, you heard that I go coco-loco/So much money that my pitbull got a diamond choker” the trap god raps as the beat thumps and the bass bangs. Keef’s introductory verse on the project signals the listener that we are getting the throwback version of the still-young Chicago[...]

Flying Lotus – “Ready Err Not”

October 31, 2014

Continuing the theme of spooky music videos around Halloween time is producer Flying Lotus. A single off of the super-critically acclaimed (and appropriately titled) Your Dead!, “Ready Err Not” is minimal-sounding, excellently produced song that I didn’t know was scary until this video. Straight out of the twisted mind of David Firth, the animator behind “Salad Fingers,”  “Ready Err Not” is a demented animation that looks into the lives of some deformed cannibalistic sub-humans. I’ve shown 5 people this video and every single one of them (dat sample size) voiced their uncomfortableness. It’s also an unconventional type of NSFW so if you don’t want to be looked at as the office weirdo I’d stay away for now. It’s artistic, intentionally off-putting, and allows you to re-imagine the song in a way that I know I didn’t see at first. Watch it below, and remember it’s NSFW.

Weezy Season is Postponed, Still Approaching

October 29, 2014

October 28th was supposedly the date that tumultuous, polarizing, larger than life hip hop artist Lil Wayne would release The Carter V. The fifth and final Carter concludes the Carter series that has sold well over 8 million copies to date, and has been hyped up as being Wayne’s magnum opus. You may have noticed, V did not end up being released yesterday to many’s disappointment. However, we did get a confusing, yet reassuring video from Wayne that says the album is on it’s way. In the video, Weezy asserts that he has been working so hard on the album that he’s made over 30 songs for it. 30 songs won’t fit on an album he says, so The Carter V will now come in two parts. Coo. It seems like positive news, since we appear to have a bunch of high quality Weezy tracks coming our way. But, Wayne also announced in the video that the first[...]

Ratking – “Cocoa 88”

October 24, 2014

Underground rap trio Ratking are defiantly New York. Hip hop videos have reached the point where luxury seems essential in every single music video. There’s gold, girls, and paradise almost every time. Ratking is one of those groups that disassociate themselves from this aspect of hip hop. They’ve said in the past that they’d like to be associated with punk more so than rap, and looking at videos like “Cocoa 88,” it seems like a reasonable request. The video is poorly lit, dirty, seemingly poorly shot, and filled with attitude as Sporting Life, Wiki, Hak, and guest emcee DJ Dog Dick (great name) post up around random spots in the big city. The face of the group is Wiki, a multiracial fireball who’s missing half of his teeth from taking a punch to the face. Peep the vid below, and watch a throwback to the dungeon days of rap.

Do I Love Makonnen?

October 22, 2014

Makonnen Sheran has had a whirlwind of a couple months. The 25-year-old ATLien has spent the last 5 years or so in legal trouble, stemming from the accidental death of his friend while Makonnen was trying to take a gun from him. Posted up at home for all that time with a computer and a passion for music allowed Makonnen to hone his craft during the heyday of MySpace. After years of rubbing virtual elbows with the likes of Adele and Lil B, Makonnen was released from his confines. Upon release, he was able to meet up with another one of his virtual friends from back in the day, superstar producer and probable Miley Cyrus slampiece Mike Will Made It. Will brought Makonnen to the studio and introduced him to the producers that would forever change the course of his musical path, the ones that man feel Makonnen should thank[...]

Frigid Giant Releases Spicy New Video Complete with Luchadores and Tequila

October 17, 2014

There are very few things in the this world more entertaining than a good music video, and lucky for us rising Buffalo emcee Frigid Giant has released exactly that with “I Didn’t Wanna.” Following “Shuma Gorath” as the second video off of From My Cold Dead Hands, “I Didn’t Wanna” follows the adventures of Giant after he awakens from a deep booze slumber to find himself shirtless on Hamburg beach with an empty bottle of Patrón to his side. As he finds his way through “Tijuana,” he re-ups on more alcohol at Don Tequila, meets up with guest artist MCKP, and discovers his new identity through a lucha libre mask. In between this cinematic adventure we also get some spliced in luchador action, really helping drive home the south of the border vibes. The song itself narrates a lot of the vid, and features a killer hook that is now stuck[...]

Big KRIT – “Sway in the Morning Freestyle”

October 15, 2014

Forever one of the most underrated artists in hip hop, Mississippi rapper, Big KRIT, made an appearance on rap radio icon Sway’s morning show yesterday to hype up his upcoming album, Cadillactica. Though it took a little peer pressure, KRIT took the opportunity to spit a couple freestyle verses, the first off the top and the second a little preview of album, coming November 11th. With backing from the buttery guitar-based beat of Geto Boyz “My Mind’s Playing Tricks on Me,” he goes off for a few pretty sweet punchlines before the beat falls out and the show really starts. KRIT is consistently praised for having a killer flow, and to hear his southern drawl pick up to rapid fire speed acapella is almost startling. It doesn’t seem possible. His second, prewritten verse comes off of Cadillactica is a passionate, if not scornful message to those that doubt his talent. “KRIT is one of[...]

Edwang and Duce return with some Gold

October 10, 2014

Buffalo producer Edwang is back with another dope collaborative effort with rapper Duce. A few months back, we covered The Duce Bootlegs, a wonderfully enjoyable project of happy hip hop. Their latest release together, Fifty Shades of Gold, switches things up a bit on the way to being another great tape.  Edwang kicks off the tracks with the title track, and a distinctly grimier beat than anything we heard last time ’round. Ed continuously keeps us guessing with his styles behind the beats. “Rumble Pack III” uses some traditional video game bleeps and bloops to create a base for which Duce to cram countless gaming references over a span of three and a half references. The name itself is a shout-out to the device that allowed your N64 controller to vibrate whenever you crashed in Tony Hawk Pro Skater, thereby making the game 20% better than it already was. Duce is particularly on[...]

Vince Staples – Hell Can Wait

October 8, 2014

One thing that can be said about Los Angeles rapper, Vince Staples, for certain is that he does not have a bad verse to his name. Although he is a friend to the Odd Future crew, musically he couldn’t be more different. The 21-year-old has the soul of one of his West Coast gangsta-rap forefathers, notably rapping last year on Earl Sweatshirt’s “Hive” “If this was ’88 I would’ve signed to Ruthless, ‘9-4 woulda had me walking down Death Row,” a nod to some of the most famous, dark labels in hip hop history. Whether it was on either of his Shyne Coldchain mixtapes or last year’s Stolen Youth, a collaboration with Mac Miller’s production pseudonym Larry Fisherman, Staples has consistently brought introspective gangsta rap to his bars. Hell Can Wait continues this style, and this EP is a strong prelude to the debut album that Staples says is coming next year. Buzz for[...]

Joey Bada$$ – “Christ Conscious”

October 1, 2014

The hype is building for the debut album from young Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$. Cleverly titled B4.DA.$$ (Before Da Money/BADASS), the album hopes to continue the streak of very strong records from Joey. 2012 saw the then 17-year-old release 1999, a mixtape of boom bap beats and a laid back flow of monotony. Joey appeared wise beyond his years as he narrated life on the street as well as life with the homies of Pro Era, and the project garnered critical acclaim (it remains one of my favorite mixtapes ever). Last year, Bada$$ released Summer Knights, again well-received, but with somewhat of a change stylistically. A characteristic of pre-Summer Knights Joey was his consistently smooth, easy flow. The new project saw him go in a direction aimed towards aggression. “95 Til Infinity,” “Amethyst Rockstar,” and even the rasta-flavored “My Yout” featured a harder, raspier voice from Joey, distinctly removed from his old[...]

Yung Lean – Unknown Memory

September 26, 2014

This one hurts. This one really hurts. And it hurts because the pieces are there, but it just falls short of what it could’ve been. I do like this album, but I can’t help but listen to it thinking of what I wanted it to be. I would say that I’m crying about this, but with Yung Lean being associated with the Sad Boys, crying might be considered a good thing. I had such high expectations for this project, the debut album from one of my favorite artists Yung Lean-doer. The worst part about reviewing this album is the sincerity behind it. I know listening to it that Lean tried his best to make a really good album. He cut down on the jokes, and cut down on the rapping super hard, instead opting for a lot of autotune singing. I really liked it on “Ghosttown,” but my expectations were[...]

Kendrick Lamar – “i”

September 24, 2014

Yesterday morning, rap’s current co-president (along with Drake) debuted the first single off of his upcoming album. Titled “i,” the track was pretty much all about good-vibes. Centered around a chorus of “I love myself,” Kendrick fires out short verses with a rapid flow, essentially declaring that in order for him to give love to anything (the hood..music..his city) he first has to give love to himself. Content-wise, it’s probably most similar to his song “Real” off of good kid, m.A.A.d city. It’s note-worthy because “Real” was looked at by many as one of the weakest tracks on the album. With “i,” Kendrick departed from his ghetto commentary (well, it’s an underlying theme) in favor of a feel-good track, and there’s plenty of backlash about this track because of that. As far as production goes, Pharrell brought back to relevance the quick-pluck disco-guitar with Daft Punk on “Get Lucky,” and it[...]