2Mex's Fanbase Better Listen Up

The Latest Greatest, 9/29/10


New official 2Mex album, "My Fanbase Will Destroy You," coming out on Strange Famous Records October 26th. Looks like it's produced mainly by Deeskee and Busdriver, with a couple tracks produced by Ceschi thrown into the mix as well. 2Mex's output has been hit or miss as far as full length albums are concerned, but he's generally dope and this album has been in the works for a while. Strange Famous calls it "the ultimate 2Mex album," so one can only hope! Tracklisting and leaked song below:

1 - My Intro Won't Destroy You
2 - Dead Hand Control (feat. Maney Wilson, prod. by Ikey Owens & Deeskee)
3 - Back
4 - What You Know About (feat. Prince Po, scratches by Buddy Peace)
5 - Dead Deer Diary (prod. by Ceschi)
6 - Rollercoaster (feat. Murs & Ariano)
7 - The Fun In Funeral (feat. Deeskee)
8 - Bluetooth Cyborg
9 - Career Suicide For Dummies (feat. Busdriver)
10 - Surveillance (produced by Ceschi)
11 - Press Your Luck
12 - Jolly Rancher
13 - I Just Didn't Know feat. Stacey Dee
14 - There's A Way
15 - AFC West (feat. Busdriver, Riddlore?, Ngafish, Shaheed, Akim, Ellay Khule, Wreccless, Deeskee)

2Mex - Dead Hand Control feat Maney Wilson by Strange Famous Records

And a video from the album:

Awol One & Gel Roc "Life Before Death"

Expanding the Backpack, 9/27/10

Alright, so I'm not a big fan of mixtapes or retrospective compilations of tracks collected from various albums, but I'm going to make a little exception here because of how much I love this West Coast underground stuff. "Life Before Death" is a compilation created by Awol One & Gel Roc, both highly respected stylistic MCs in their own rights, and contains tracks that both artists have appeared on over the years. This means that we get mostly West Coast underground posse cuts, featuring the likes of Ellay Khule, Abstract Rude, Of Mexican Descent, EX2, the Shapeshifters, Myka 9, Jizzm, L*Roneous, Zagu Brown, Tommy V, etc... not bad! It's got a few exclusive unreleased joints from Awol & Gel to tide over the hardcore West Coast underground heads who already own the majority of these songs as well. Plus how can you resist that album cover?! You can download the compilation for free over at Gel Roc's Bandcamp page, or stream it in full using the player below.

Tracklisting with guest spots and credits:

1. Humanimals (produced by Avatar)
2. Feat the Poet (produced by Toca (Ceschi, Tommy V, Max Heath))
3. Darkness (feat. Sunspot Jonz & Jizzm. Produced by Factor. Taken from Awol One & Factor’s “Owl Hours” album)
4. Reasons to be Cheerful (feat. Orion South & Phoenix Orion. Produced by DJ Hive)
5. ’91 Octane (feat. Myka 9. Produced by Factor. Taken from Myka Nyne’s album “1969”)
6. Planet Blood (feat. Mascaria & Jizzm. Produced by Mascaria. Taken from the Chemikillz album “Eggs of Blood)
7. Fall Apart (Produced by Mascaria)
8. Headstrong (Remix) (feat. Ellay Khule, Jizzm, 2Mex, Aamir, Xczircles. Produced by Xczircles.)
9. Staring at Death (feat. Ecid. Produced by Ecid. Taken from the Awol One & Ecid album “Are…”)
10. Confusion (feat. Abstract Rude, 2Mex, Xololanxinxo & Circus. Produced by Daddy Kev. Taken from the Awol One & Daddy Kev album “Souldoubt”)
11. Cease to Amaze (feat. Regret, Existereo, Syn, Zagu Brown, 2Mex, Tommy V & L*Roneous. Produced by Mascaria. Taken from the Gel Roc album “Laws & Flaws”)
12. Gull Powa (feat. 2Mex, Bleek & Circus. Produced by Circus & Bam Bam. Taken from “4 Eyed Mortals”)
13. Life Iz… (feat. EX2. Produced by Sirk. Taken from EX2’s “Undersounds of the 562”)
14. Kem Eye Killers (feat. Akuma, Liferexall, Lord Zen, 2Mex, Barfly, Existereo & Mascaria. Produced by Mascaria. Taken from the Chemikillz album “The Chemikillz”)
15. Green Monster (feat. Mascaria. Produced by Mascaria)

Deeskee with the A.d.d?

The Latest Greatest, 9/25/10


West coast underground ish alert: it would appear that mega-underrated LA producer Deeskee has just dropped a new full length album's worth of production with this cat Add?, who I've never heard of. The samples sound pretty good and it features guest shots from dudes like 2Mex, Matre, and Alpha MC; so chances that with those dudes, and Deeskee's signature ill beats, the end product will end up being dope. Still, I'm somewhat skeptical of this Add? dude, and wonder if he's actually someone who's down with Deeskee and the LA underground scene or if he's just someone who paid for an album's worth of production and a couple of dope guest spots. It's listed as being released on LA2theBay, which is a good sign, but the closest I've come to digging up any info on Add? is this promo video:



Album is available for listening and purchase as of right now at CDbaby or Amazon, and I'm sure other retailers like Access Hip Hop will pick up on it soon. Will probably end up ordering this at some point.

Wisest Rap Album of 2010?

The Lowdown, 9/18/10

Owls seem to be all over the place in 2010 - Oldominion's reoccurring insignia, album covers by the Deftones or Ill Bill, and even a new 3D children's film about talking owl guardians. There are owls that charge in talons first and others that sit back and watch, growing wiser. Qwel & Maker accomplish both.

Qwel & Maker's "Owl" not only holds the crown for best album in a month loaded with quality independent hip hop releases, but also represents the best Qwel & Maker album to date. And by that, I don't only mean the best album of these two as a duo, but the best Qwel album, the best Maker album, and one of the best albums released by Galapagos4. This is a perfect album to introduce new listeners to the talented MC and producer, and also an album that will make longtime Qwel & Maker fans flip out over how damn great it is.

As a rhymer, Qwel is in top form here. The style of complex rhyme patterns and intricate lyricism that he's developed over the years has really taken shape into something that he can claim as his own, and he shines over the course of the album. One complaint I've had with some of Qwel's past albums like "The Harvest" is that while his full throttle rhyming can sound amazing in individual songs, hearing that style over the course of a full album can get tiresome. Thankfully, "Owl" is loaded with variety as far as mood and tempo go, with calmer tracks like "El Camino" balancing out the insane rap patterns on songs like "The Down Dumbing." Another notable improvement from Qwel on this album is his writing, which retains his original style of penning verses while touching upon more down-to-Earth subjects than his last few albums. Now that his four horsemen albums are a wrap, Qwelly seems to come across as less overtly religious and more focussed on tackling subjects that people can relate to. These include a track about alcoholism and abandonment that incorporates interesting river metaphors, a track about life on the road, a story about a man that's incarcerated, and words to the wise for the younger generation.

Maker, for his part, outdoes himself on the music side of things with raw soulful production that really takes you back to the things you loved about hip hop in the first place. I thought his production on Glue's "Catch as Catch Can" was damn funky, but on this album he really takes that formula to the next level. The beats sound extra dirty but polished at the same time, and one can't help but wonder whether the Now-Again catalog that he remixed had some influence on his choice of soulful sampling. The beats are never static, always shifting and changing in subtle ways to accommodate Qwel's rapid-fire flows. Many banging tracks on here, my personal favorite being "Letting Life Pass By" with it's understated bass-line and brilliantly flipped vocal sample - one of the year's best beats in my book!

Anyway, bottom line: this is brilliant stuff and all of you indie rap fans ought to go out of your way to acquire yourselves a copy! Amoeba Berkeley still has a few (keyword: few) digital download cards left that come free with the album and give you access to a remix album featuring mighty fine re-interpretations by Joe Beats, DJ Vadim, and Emynd amongst others... so you live in the East Bay, come get you some! Sample song below:

Dark Time Sunshine, Void Pedal, Propaganda & Bru Lei at Shattuck Downlow

View From the Front Row, 9/18/10

So the other night, I went and saw Dark Time Sunshine, Void Pedal, Propaganda and Bru Lei at the Shattuck Downlow in Berkeley. First show I've been to in a while... September has been a relatively quiet month as far as live events are concerned, though it's looking like October is going to make up for that. Anyway, first of all, let me just say that it was really cool to see Dark Time Sunshine's name up on the Shattuck Downlow's list of events, since this was their first tour as a headliner if I'm not mistaken. Got to the venue very early as in "on-time" and ended up having to wait within the two hour range before anyone got on. Never a fun thing but at least I was with a friend so we got to chat it up for a bit. I also fulfilled my mission of handing Zavala of Dark Time Sunshine the latest Amoeba Recommends brochure, which features a chunky review of Dark Time Sunshine's album written by yours truly on the first page of the staff picks. He was flattered and appreciative, of course.

On to the music: the first act in the line-up was Bru Lei, who I was kind of surprised to see there as an opening act of all things. Bru Lei the Martial Arts MC has been holding it down in Columbus, OH with his group Spitball since the turn of the century, and he's guested on early songs by folks like Blueprint and Illogic amongst others. He also did a collaborative album with producer Amos Famous a few years back called Danger Zone, and it's a dope disc still worth checking out. Bru Lei had some art on display for people to look at, which he brought up to the stage prior to performing. My friend and I both agreed that artistically, it didn't amount to much though! I should note that by the time he got on stage, the crowd had grown to a massive 6-8 people in attendance, counting my friend and I. Bru Lei's set got off to a very rough start, with beat failures, forgotten lyric fumbles, and indecisiveness in which songs he wanted to perform. He picked things up a bit later though and performed a couple of songs well, including a great autobiographical song about how "Bru always made his babysitta smile" and a song called "The 'L' Word" which featured just about every "L" word except Lesbian (this track also featured my friend's favorite lyric of the evening: "goes well together like Lobster and Lasagna"). Short and decent set by Bru in the end, not the best from him but he's definitely an underrated MC worth checking for.

The next MC that got on stage was a dude named Propaganda, who I hadn't heard of but who is apparently from a Christian rap group out of LA called the Tunnel Rats. One might assume that this would translate to some lame preachy religious shit, but surprisingly Propaganda's songs were anything but and he was clearly the highlight performer of the evening. From the minute Propaganda got on the mic, he just started spitting all of his heart and soul into the microphone, with a passionate energy and delivery that was accentuated by the way he moved around on stage. He definitely had his voice, cadence, and delivery down flat and he kept things varied and entertaining with his songs and interludes. These included a humorous interlude involving M.O.P's "Cold as Ice" at a wedding and an ode to Propaganda's recently deceased friend Citizen Aim. It was great to see an MC so into performing his songs regardless of the size of the tiny crowd or the lack of supporting DJ (he just played beats off his laptop). Really strong set, I already regret not picking up his album after the show!

Dark Time Sunshine came up to perform next in an act of schedule juggling after the venue decided that the turn-out wasn't going to get any greater than 6 people. Unfortunately, they didn't end up being very entertaining live. When I saw them a month or two back at the Layover in Oakland I got a similar impression, and this show just confirmed it. That's not to knock on Dark Time Sunshine: "Vessel" is hands down one of the best albums of 2010, and Onry Ozzborn and Zavala are both really great recording artists. Zavala, for his part, is really interesting to watch in a live setting. He molds his beats on the spot using his production equipment, so the music always has subtle flourishes and unexpected switch-ups that makes it sound refreshingly different from the actual album while not being too far removed from it. Unfortunately, Onry Ozzborn is kind of a bore live. Sad to say since his recorded material in recent years is miles beyond most rappers' outputs in terms of originality and quality, but on stage he just stands around with one hand in his pocket reciting his verses with this tired expression on his face. No surprises and no real effort made to connect with and entertain the crowd. Still, it was nice to see some of my favorite songs of the year performed live, including the brilliant "Run," "E.R," and "It Lives." But overall, not a live experience that I can whole-heartedly recommend.

By the time Dark Time Sunshine was done performing, my friend and I realized that we were the only two people left in the audience - crazy! Felt awkward, but special at the same time. Void Pedal went up to play some of his beats while some MCs freestyled and my friend and I went to sit around fora while and listen until we felt like bouncing. I scooped up some limited merch, including Dark Time Sunshine's tour CD "Cornucopia" and Void Pedal's self-titled EP, so mission accomplished in that regard. Decent show overall I guess, though Propaganda really made the evening.

Void Pedal "Void Pedal" EP

Expanding the Backpack, 9/15/10


A new free self-titled EP from the Chicago instrumental hip hop group Void Pedal. I hadn't heard of these guys, but they're being distributed by Fieldwerk Recordings, who have previously put out instrumental LPs from PNS (Molemen), Zavala (Dark Time Sunshine), Meaty Ogre (Qwel/Galapagos4), Grayskul, and others. Fieldwerk have already built somewhat of a small reputation for quality instrumental hip hop music, and this Void Pedal EP further strengthens that reputation, because it's clearly high-quality stuff. Void Pedal has a dark and dreamy atmosphere to their music that wouldn't feel out of place next to some of Dark Time Sunshine's stuff, so I guess it comes as no surprise that they're currently opening for Dark Time Sunshine on their Make a Darwish Tour. You can download the free EP Here. I'm seeing them tomorrow night with DTS, so live show verdict to come! Here are the rest of the tour dates:

09.15 | Tacoma, WA | Hell's Kitchen
09.16 | Berkeley, CA | The Shattuck Downlow
09.17 | Sacramento, CA | The Distillery
09.18 | Pomona, CA | Songod Summer Fest @ the Fox Theatre
09.21 | Pomona, CA | Angelo's
09.22 | Los Angeles, CA | Low End Theory @ the Airliner
09.23 | Oceanside, CA | The Royal Dive
09.24 | Yuma, AZ | The Dunes Bar
09.25 | Hendeson, NV | Daddy Macs
09.27 | Albuquerque, NM | Tree House On Coal
09.28 | Colorado Springs, CO | The Black Sheep
09.29 | Denver, CO | Summit Music Hall – Front Room
09.30 | Cortez, CO | Blondie's

Southern Comfort in the Midwest

The Latest Greatest, 9/14/10

As if to illustrate my point in my last post about Oldominion having a good year, here's the latest output from their camp. Candidt's "Sweatsuit & Churchshoes" hasn't been issued as a CD yet, but Candidt has been kind enough to put his album up for you to listen to on his Bandcamp page in addition to selling it digitally. Streaming it as I type this, and it's sounding like a complete banger! Will definitely jump at the opportunity to purchase a CD of this, surprising to hear so much quality stuff from Oldominion these days. Listen to "Don't Worry" (produced by Seattle mainstay Vitamin D) and tell me this isn't the sound of a crew on the come-up. Oh, and Onry Ozzborn murks his guest spot on "All in My Way," kicking off his verse with the line "I could have wrote 'The Secret' when I was 9 years old" haha! You should ignore Candidt's campy artwork and give this album a thorough listen. Apparently, he's going to be touring with JFK in October as well. Production credits for the tracklisting below:

INTRO (prod by Kuddie Fresh)
SAY DAT (prod by Vitamin D)
BULLY feat Pegee 13, Maya Jenkins (prod by Kuddie Fresh)
COOBREEZE feat Maya Jenkins & Xperience (prod by The Vision)
ALL IN MY WAY feat Snafu, Onry Ozborn, Maya Jenkins (prod by Smoke)
GOODTIMES (prod by DJ Roc’phella)
SUPER RAPPERS feat SOTA Boys (prod by Kuddie Fresh)
DON’T WORRY feat Maya Jenkins (prod by Vitamin D)
BOBBLEHEADS feat Brotha Brown, Xperience (prod by Kuddie Fresh)
NO STADIC (prod by Vitamin D)
SUNSHINE feat Xperience (prod by Kuddie Fresh)
VOODOO (prod by DeeJay)
CAN WE SMILE feat by Xperience (prod by Justo)
CINNAMON NIGHTS feat Macklemore, TLove (prod by Kuddie Fresh)
GRINDTIME feat JFK, Xperience (prod by BeanOne)
TRYNA LIVE feat Slem One (prod by Kuddie Fresh)
SLOFLO (prod by Vitamin D)
BANGALANG feat Syndel (prod by DJ Roc’phella)
MAKE DAT MONEY feat Von OP (prod by DJ Roc’phella)
IMAGINARY STEREO feat Maya Jenkins (prod by Taysean)
EVRYTIME MY PHONE RINGS feat Von OP (prod by DJ Roc’phella)

Iame "Lightfighter"

Expanding the Backpack, 9/13/10


This is late news, but I was listening to this legally free album by Iame on my way to work today and forgot that it has some joints worth peeping on it. For those who don't know Iame, he's one of the core members of the Northwest hip hop group Sandpeople as well as a member of Oldominion (who are having a great 2010, I might add). He's released two proper full lengths in the last few years, "Noise Complaints" and "I Am My Enemy," produced by Smoke of Oldominion and Sapient of Sandpeople respectively. This free "Lightfighter" album he's offering is apparently material that was recorded between the two albums, and features production by Smoke, Sapient, Zebulan Dak, $imple, and Iame himself. As is to be expected of a legally free album, it ain't as solid as his previous albums, but it is fairly strong for a freebie and features some pretty good stand-out songs. The tracks "Here to Stay," "Very Hip Hop" and "Momentary Forever" come to mind in particular. You can download the album via Mediafire couteousy of Iame's record label, Heaven Noise Recordings. Here is the tracklisting and production credits:

1. LIGHTFIGHTER Intro (Produced by Zebulon Dak)
2. Demons Behind the Music (Produced by SmokeM2D6)
3. Here to Stay (Produced by SmokeM2D6)
4. Robo Sheen Instrumental (Produced by IAME)
5. Very Hip Hop feat. Reva Devito & DJ Delay (Produced by SmokeM2D6)
6. They Don’t Care (Produced by Sapient)
7. Spinal Tat Instrumental (Produced by $imple)
8. Momentary Forever (Produced by IAME)
9. Flood of Random (Produced by IAME & $imple)
10. Call the Handyman Instrumental (Produced by $imple)
11. The Memo (Produced by IAME)
12. Let’s Go Out (Produced by IAME & Zebulon Dak)
13. Desperate Times Instrumental (Produced by IAME)
14. Donation Basket (Produced by IAME)
15. True Story (Produced by SmokeM2D6)
16. Speed of Light Instrumental (Produced by $imple)

Blueprint "Who" EP

Expanding the Backpack, 9/9/10



As promised in an earlier post, here's some new legally free music from badman Blueprint to download. The "Who" EP sets Printmatic's rhymes against a backdrop of sampled songs by The Who, almost-but-not-quite-a-mash-up. This one is better than Blueprint's previous free sample tribute EP "Blueprint vs. Funkadelic" in my opinion, not to knock that one cus' it was pretty good but something about hearing 'Print against these epic rock style backdrops is cool. Anyway, free download of "Who" at Blueprint's Bandcamp page, or you can order a deluxe physical copy at the Weightless Records store. You can stream the album in full below as well.

Lazerbeak vs. Tron

The Latest Greatest, 9/9/10

Lazerbeak - "Land's End" from Mog Dotcom on Vimeo.

New Lazerbeak video for the track "Land's End," off of his upcoming "Legend Recognize Legend" album. Need to give it more listens to fully reach a verdict, but definitely some interesting stuff... The full album will come with a DVD featuring a music video for every song.

Dark (Thanksgiving?) Time Sunshine

The Latest Greatest, 9/8/10


Brand new 13-track Dark Time Sunshine album, entitled "Cornucopia." Haven't heard anything off of it yet, but their album "Vessel" is easily one of the best of the year plus their free "Believeyoume" EP was dope as well. This is going to be a tour-only CD, limited to 500 copies, so if you have a chance to catch them live you should! They're going to be touring all through September and October, peep the live dates:

Headlining on tour with Void Pedal:

09.14 |Olympia, WA | The Royal
09.15 |Tacoma, WA | Hell’s Kitchen
09.16 | Berkeley, CA | The Shattuck Downlow
09.17 | Sacramento, CA | The Distillery
09.18 | Pomona, CA | Songod Summer Fest @The Fox Theatre
09.21 | Pomona, CA | Angelo’s
09.22 | Los Angeles, CA | Low End Theory @The Airliner
09.23 | Oceanside, CA | The Royal Dive
09.24 | Yuma, AZ | The Dunes Bar
09.25 | Hendeson, NV | Daddy Macs
09.27 | Albuquerque, NM | Tree House on Coal
09.28 | Colorado Springs, CO |The Black Sheep
09.29 | Denver, CO | Summit Music Hall
09.30 | Cortez, CO | Blondie’s

On tour with Pigeon John & DJ Abilities:

10.01 | San Diego, CA | The Loft – UC San Diego
10.02 | Visalia, CA | The Cellar Door
10.04 | San Francisco, CA | Cafe Du Nord
10.06 | Seattle, WA | Nectar Lounge
10.07 | Portland, OR | Backspace
10.08 | Boise, ID | The Reef
10.09 | Bozeman, MT | Zebra Cocktail Lounge
10.10 | Salt Lake City, UT | Urban Lounge
10.11 | Denver, CO | Larimer Lounge
10.12 | Boulder, CO | University of Colorado – Club 156
10.14 | Madison, WI | High Noon Saloon
10.15 | Minneapolis, MN | 7th Street Entry
10.16 | Chicago, IL | Morseland

Fudgemunk Back by Demand

The Latest Greatest, 9/8/10



Damu the Fudgemunk, the skilled Washington DC producer behind such albums as the instrumental "How It Should Sound vol. 1 & 2" and Y Society's "Travel at Your Own Pace," is back with some new music for 2010. This particular track features Insight on the raps, but is apparently from a new Damu EP "Supply for Demand" which is dropping some time later this year. New music from the Fudgemunk is never a bad thang, as the beat on this new jam clearly demonstrates. Gotta love the bow-tie-and-floppy-discs style that he's rockin' in that vid as well. Those fiending for a new Y Society album shouldn't sweat it either... apparently, Y Society's sophmore album "Cold Crush Can't Be Touched" is on deck for 2011. Wooorrrd.

Ain't No Party Like a BSBD Party

The Lowdown, 9/8/10


Blue Sky Black Death's new album "Third Party" should have hit retailers nationwide as of yesterday, and if you've previously been a fan of this duo's work you should definitely give it a listen. In my eyes, it represents a return to form for Kingston & Young God, who made a mark in 2006 with their impressive debut "A Heap of Broken Images." Since then, they've stayed prolific and released a number of albums that have showcased their signature spacey orchestral productions, but that have become increasingly formulaic with each successive release. Fortunately, "Third Party" is a drastic improvement over their past few releases, and the new synth-pop approach they've taken seems to have re-sparked some of the dynamic orchestral techniques they showed off on their debut. Alexander Chen, the singer of Boy in Static, handles vocal duties over the course of the album and fits Blue Sky Black Death's formula well. I haven't generally been a fan of his singing in Boy in Static, but somehow his delicate and emotionally cold vocals fit better over these types of dark synth beats. I've been listening to this album for about a week now, and am super happy with how immaculately produced it is. The closest comparison to it might be the "Slow Burning Lights" album that BSBD put out with Yes Alexander a few years back, but the sonic scope of this album is far more exciting. It's indie pop music through and through, but indie pop music that strikes a chord and makes you melt into a smile.

Blue Sky Black Death is streaming "Third Party" in full at their last.fm page if you feel like giving it a listen. To listen to the full tracks, you need to click on the name of the track before you click the play button. Don't forget to support the artist if you can if you dig it!

Megabusive All Year Long

The Latest Greatest, 9/6/10


Obscure West Coast underground hip hop alert - Megabusive (or Computer Chip as he sometimes refers to himself these days) has embarked on a project to release a new song for free every day for the next year. Not nearly as interesting as the prospect of an actual new Megabusive album surfacing, but still worth a gander I suppose. For those who don't know Megabusive, he was an original member of the West Coast Workforce in the mid-90's, with other West Coast rap vets like Subtitle, Joe Dub, Radioinactive and Xololanxinxo. It's rumored that he was even included in the original roster of Anticon, before "Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop" dropped. Like many obscure West Coast indie rappers of that 90's period, he has an extensive catalogue of full length CDR releases that went completely under the radar and are nearly impossible to find (hint: check the Amoeba LA hip hop clearance bins). Anyway, I doubt he'll actually put out 365 songs in a row since musicians rarely live up to promises of this sort, but good to see him still active and making music. I had the chance to see him freestyle live with Ceschi when the last Fake Four tour passed through San Fran this year, and he definitely killed it. If you'd like to listen to his new songs for free or even donate to his endeavors, you can hear them in full at Megabusive's Bandcamp Page.

Printmatic Who?

The Latest Greatest, 9/5/10


New EP from ya boy Blueprint, preluding his next official full length "Adventures in Counter Culture" which is dropping on Rhymesayers some time this year. This EP is apparently sort of a mash-up of new original Blueprint rhymes over samples of The Who, similar to what he did previously with Funkadelic on his "Blueprint vs. Funkadelic" EP. Slightly disappointing since I initially anticipated a new EP of official tracks from 'Print, but it'll tide me over till the new album drops. This will be available for free download digitally on 9/8/10, or you can order a physical copy with a poster and instrumentals at Weightless. Blueprint and Illogic are definitely the unsung hip hop heroes of Columbus, OH in my book, so don't sleep!

Laaaa-zerrrrr-beeeaaaaak

The Latest Greatest, 9/5/10



Not-so-new news, but important to point out never the less. Lazerbeak is straight-up probably my favorite modern hip hop producer. His lava banger beats are behind some of Doomtree's finest tracks, and his busy production aesthetic brings to mind a young El-Producto at the height of his prime. Lazerbeak's first solo album, "Legend Recognize Legend," is dropping about 3 weeks from now on September 28th. From what I've heard of it, it tones things down a bit in order to properly compliment Lazerbeak's singing voice, which is featured prominently on every song. Fortunately, Lazerbeak is no novice when it comes to singing of this sort - he was the lead guitarist and singer of the rock band Plastic Constellations for many years prior to joining Doomtree. This new one seems to combine elements of Lazerbeak's various genre endeavors into a melting pot of musical goodness. The CD also comes with a DVD featuring a visual accompaniment to every song... Color me excited! Pre-order Here, sample track below.

Lazerbeak "Salt And Sea" by doomtree

Hand-Painted Delorean Action with Scott & Tone

The Latest Greatest, 9/2/10

Fresh from Baje One's record label Modern Shark comes a collaborative EP from Scott Thorough and Tone Tank, both members of the Nuk Fam collective out of NYC. One thing that the dudes in Nuk Fam clearly know how to do is have fun, and the new music here seems to reflect that, whether it's getting all retro-future-electroed out or mock reggae-riffing. Tone Tank released a pretty cool collaborative album with Krayo (also of Nuk Fam) a few years back under the moniker Iller Than Theirs, so good to see him still doing his thing. The album "Scott & Tone" is available digitally on September 10th, but if you order a physical copy from Modern Shark's website each CD comes hand-painted by Tone Tank!


OK, so granted the guy ain't Leonardo Divinci, but a clever idea that falls in line with the homemade aesthetic of Tone's music. And you know I'm gonna jump at the opportunity, nerdy indie rap collector that I am. You can pre-order the CD Here and listen to some sample songs below.

Prepare Yourself for Owls. With Halos.

The Latest Greatest 9/1/10

First full official leak from Qwel & Maker's new album, "Owl", which drops 9/14/10. If the sound of this song and other snippets that have leaked are anything to go by, this could just end up being Qwel's strongest album to date. Maker laying down some extra chill funky production while Qwel rocks his wicked flow and lays down tons of interesting lyrics. The writing on this song is easier to understand and relate to than Qwel's last few albums, yet no less intelligent or concisely worded. Amoeba Berkeley's gonna be stocking lots of this one, so come holla (or hoot even) on the 14th.