Latest Posts

Common – Nobody’s Smiling

July 25, 2014

Longtime G.O.O.D. music signee and legend in his own right, Common, is an interesting player in the rap game. His career started a couple decades ago under the name Common Sense, and his song “I Used to Love H.E.R.” is looked at as one of the greatest achievements in rap music history. He has a host of Grammy nominations, and a couple of wins. He’s also a successful actor, currently starring on the T.V. show Hell on Wheels, a Don Moretti favorite. He’s got borderline classic albums like Be (executive produced by Kanye, those were the days) and The Dreamer/The Believer, but he’s also had a few duds on his discography, especially when he tries to go instrumental like with 2008’s Universal Mind Control. Whenever Common sticks to the script, you can count on a thoughtful, poetic effort from perhaps Chicago’s most lyrical emcee ever besides maybe Lupe. Black history, activism, and Chicago social commentary plus a[...]

Chill Ali’s Dope Debut before the Debut

July 23, 2014

There are so many different styles in hip-hop, but there’s always refreshing about songs that take a personal, narrative approach. Buffalo hip-hop artist Chill Ali flexes his empirical muscles on T H R O W A W A Y S, a mixtape of tracks that didn’t make the cut for his upcoming album #FREEYAMIND. One of the standout tracks, “Shit on You,” is Ali’s description of his special relationship his boo. Over a chill instrumental, Ali talks of how superior she is to the other ladies. It’s honest and genuine. He even goes as far as saying he wishes for her every night at 11:11, which is not only a cool bar, but also pretty damn meaningful because there’s so many things to wish for. “Fake 1z” is a gripping story about chasing success and avoiding betrayal. No spoilers, but it’s an impressive feat in songwriting and a track that I can’t[...]

Shlohmo and Jeremih – No More

July 18, 2014

I stumbled upon this unlikely duo a little over a year ago when they released “Bo Peep” and the accompanying NSFW video that made my whole body feel funny. This project was originally slated to drop back in February, and after a few more quiet months, it was unsure if No More would ever drop. Shlohmo had previously remixed Jeremih’s “Fuck U All the Time,” but the two took step forward in their musical careers when they began to work together. Shlohmo is an electronic musician who’s been releasing music since 2009, and Jeremih is the artist behind “Birthday Sex.” As weird as it is to believe, this collaborative is perfect parts electronic/catchy RnB with a really creative vision. Shlohmo seems to be the mastermind behind this project, and he really is brilliant in his execution. Jeremih’s contributions are excellent, but the project really shines in the atmospheres Shlohmo creates and the way[...]

GOH vs. Sugarstarr feat. Redman and Method Man – “I Used To Be”

July 16, 2014

Hip hop’s favorite stoner emcee duo is back on a track together, and it’s a body mover. Meth and Red dropped the platinum Blackout album in 1999, starred alongside each other in cult stoner flick How High in 2004, and then released a sequel to their first album in 2009. The two have stayed relatively active in the rap game for the last 20 or so years, but it’s always special when they get behind the mic as a duo. They’ve given us the GOAT high school basketball warm-up track in “Da Rockwilder” and had a couple high charting singles with “How High” and that song with Toni Braxton. Besides their musical talent, they’re also two of the most entertaining figures in rap. Anything new by them is worth a check out. The dance-y beat crafted by the German DJs listed in the title turns this into something to casually enjoy as well.[...]

MellowHype – INSA

July 11, 2014

There is a clear hierarchy in the notorious West Coast collective Odd Future. Frank Ocean recently dropped his OF representatives, but he’s still somewhat associated and he is untouchably superior to the whole group. He garners acclaim from all directions and his masterpiece ChannelORANGE is one of the most celebrated albums in recent years. Then there’s Tyler, the Creator, the outspoken king of the teenagers, and founder of the group and it’s image. He is Odd Future, and his first major release Wolf saw many positive reviews and was praised for it’s independence and creativity. Next in line is Earl Sweatshirt, who’s probably the superior rapper of the two, but also much more of a recluse, and therefore out of the shine. His debut Doris was an introspective, murky depiction of life as a depressed teen prodigy reluctant to star, and the critics loved that too. So that’s the big three, and after that who comes[...]

NehruvianDOOM – “Darkness (HBU)”

July 9, 2014

The announcement last summer that underground rap titan MF DOOM would be collaborating with then 16-year-old rapper Bishop Nehru sparked a lot of questions. Who is Bishop Nehru? And why him? Why would a rapper with such a legendary discography choose to make an album with an unproven kid? To what extent are they working together? So we anxiously awaited nearly a year for something to come out of it. This week, we got a a new song/video in”Darkness (HBU)” that raises even more questions than before. Bishop Nehru provides some good flows and thoughtful lyrics, but now all the questions surround DOOM. Is he going to rap on any of these songs? The song is good, but the beat is recycled from one of DOOM’s Special Herbs instrumental projects. Will there be new DOOM production? Is DOOM going to appear in any upcoming music videos? Will this thing actually drop[...]

MitchArizona Debuts with a Trippy 7-Song EP

July 2, 2014

Buffalo producer MitchArizona combines ambient beats and chopped, pitched, swirling vocals to create an impressive first EP on Sincerely, Arizona. His creativity in his song composition and structure creates a unique trip-hop experience that you can just vibe to. Some of the songs feature nonsensical vocals and others feature reflective lyrics that Arizona stretches and manipulates to the listener’s desires. It’s a cloudy, thoughtful, and ambitious effort into a burgeoning genre, and I’m excited to see where this talented producer will go from here. Check out “ARZ$ $tillne​$​$” below.

Ab-Soul – These Days

June 27, 2014

Towards the end of 2012, Kendrick Lamar brought him and his crew into the mainstream with the masterpiece Good Kid, Maad City. Kendrick, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock had been releasing high quality free projects and independents albums for the last few years as the collective Black Hippy, and after Kendrick’s success, it became a waiting game to see who was going to follow him into the spotlight. ScHoolboy released his first major album, the well received Oxymoron a few months back, and saw some notoriety with singles like “Studio” and a feature on one of Macklemore’s singles. Ab-Soul has been looked at as perhaps the best lyricist in the crew, and his previous project, Control System, lets listeners into his warped thoughts and conspiracy theories, while demonstrating great technical ability. He’s proven time and time again that he has the talent to be one of the best rappers on the planet, so[...]

Staff Picks: Favorite Albums & Songs (so far) – Part 2

June 27, 2014

Today’s brings you round 2 of our staff picks for favorite songs and albums at 2014’s half way point. If you missed yesterday’s part 1 of submissions, you may read it here. Sarah Machajewski Album: Neil Young  – A Letter Home We should all be thanking Neil Young for putting out a new album. We should be thanking him doubly for making it an album of covers.  We should be thanking him three times as much for the album’s gritty phonographic sound that stands out in an age of digitized, computer-created music. But maybe that’s what Neil Young does best. His loner tendencies have led to some innovative, cutting-edge music. Yet this album doesn’t forge new paths, but revisits old ones. Young selected 12 songs that have meant something to him at some point in his career, taking from greats such as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, and The Everly Brothers. They[...]

New Music from SLPCLSDTH is Great for Sad Ears

June 25, 2014

If you want to listen to a happy song, “The book of plans were not doing,” is not the right choice for you. SLPCLSDTH talks of loneliness, disappointment, and suicide before letting the instrumental take over the conversation. His tone of despair while providing thoughtful lyricism is something we’ve seen in the past, and is a characteristic of his artistry. The beat also has a mystique to it, with swindling strings and nonsensical vocal samples. There’s music for every mood, and SLPCLSDTH continues to refine his conveyance of sadness. Check it out:

Cove Explores Humanity’s Strongest Emotion On love.gained/love.lost.too

June 20, 2014

The Essential Vitamins Crew (EVC) of Buffalo boasts “no additives or preservatives,” and that’s exactly what EVC member and hip hop producer Cove has testified to on his latest album love.gained/love.lost.too. The release is a follow up to Cove’s Love.Lost/Love.Gained. release of last February, and it follows a similar soundscape. Cove keeps the track name nearly as simple as possible. Most of the titles are just their number, with the exception of a few dates and the album’s closer. Track “two”begins with a quote from Love and Basketball, in which the main characters as children begin dating. Throughout the album Cove rips scenes depicting different stages of love from movies and uses them as interludes to further portray the album’s themes. “Apr.20” was hardly the pot-smokers anthem one would think considering it’s name. Cove chops up the same vocal sample we’ve heard on Black Hippy’s “Black Lip Bastard” remix, and combines[...]

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:

clipping. – CLPPNG

June 13, 2014

Before I start this review I just wanna touch on one thing real quick. The whole phenomenon of bands/music groups,  cutting out vowels in song/album/artist names or replacing them with Vs, is so played out. I can’t stand the name of this album, just make it a self-titled. It would’ve been cool like two years ago, but now it looks like the name of a random soundcloud artist. I digress. Clipping. is a trio consisting of rapper Daveed Diggs, and producers Wiliam Hutson and Jonathan Snipes. Hutson and Snipes both hold industrial-electronic roots with other bands and projects, and they craft the noisey in-your-face music that the band is known for. Diggs provides the raw, violent imagery to accompany the music, and he truly is a great technical rapper. Their Facebook page sums up their sound as “music for the club you wish you hadn’t gone to, the car you don’t[...]

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[...]

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[...]