No, this ain't a "10 Best Albums of 2011" list (I might try and scavenge one of those together in January), just a list of dope albums that dropped in the December-ish time frame. Easy to overlook ill releases when you're busy trying to come up with favorites for a span of 12 months, so here's some recent quality rap musics to check for:
1) Moka Only & Chief - "Crickets"(Feelin' Music)
Not 100% sure if this album officially dropped in December or if it was more like November (or earlier in Europe), but it definitely deserves a mention as one of 2011's sleeper albums and got more rotation than any other album I picked up during the holiday season. Moka Only puts out an awful lot of music and not much of it manages to grab my attention, but with the help of Chief he's delivered what is arguably the strongest album of his prolific career. Moka handles himself very well over the course of the album, with his relaxed stream-of-conscious flow and pop-driven hooks doing each song justice. But Chief is definitely the star of the show here. From the perfectly layered pianos of "For Always" and "If You Want It" to the mellow guitar loops of "Relief," Chief's intricate psychedelic jazz production makes this project sound downright amazing. I remember being a fan of some of Chief's past albums, but he's never quite impressed me to this degree and the pairing with Moka Only provides some good chemistry. The whole album has a really nice open jazz vibe to it, with both Moka's vocals and Chief's beats moving in interesting free-flowing directions. The little instrumental interludes between songs are a very nice touch and really add to the atmosphere as well. Unfortunately, the CD of "Crickets" is only available as an import and tends to run in the 18-plus dollar range regardless of who you buy it from, but it's well worth the extra money spent. Stream the album in full below, and see for yourself:
2) Thirsty Fish - "Watergate" (Mush)
How lucky are we to be blessed with two full-length Open Mike Eagle projects in one year? To be fair, Open Mike Eagle only represents one-third of the group Thirsty Fish, which also boasts the likes of new school Project Blowdians Dumbfoundead and Psychosiz. This album was released digitally back in May, but finally got the proper CD treatment in December... still counting it in this list since I waited on the CD before giving it a proper listen. The sounds of "Watergate" are quite crazy, and by crazy I mean off-the-deep-end insane. These dudes are going all-out on the bizarre styles tip, repping their Los Angeles heritage to the fullest with some truly weird flows and creative concepts. The beats are largely challenging electronic affairs provided by an assembly of ultra talented beat-makers, including Daedelus, Tokimonsta and Exile. Lots of great moments abound, but some stand-out songs include the style-by-the-dozen marathon of "Antique Blowed Show" and the drunken Busdriver cameo-laced "Grind It Out." My personal favorite track, "Ducks Fail," offers up a reinterpretation of the "Duck Tales" theme song along with some very clever mallard-intensive lyrics. Lots of points for originality with these three, peep the song "Working the Numbers" below:
2011 saw the expansion of Damu the Fudgemunk's awesome Redefinition Records label, which reached beyond Damu's beats to tap into the catalogs of some very talented and underrated hip hop producers. While Kaimbr & Kev Brown's "Al Green Project" and Grap Luva's "Neva Done" got a decent amount of attention, it seems like K-Def's recent album quietly slipped under people's radars... appropriate given the night motif of the cover and the title I suppose. Sleeping should be highly discouraged, however, since this album is damn fine collection of jazzy mood-driven beats that blend live instrumentation seamlessly with sampling. The entire album sounds like music that could be played through the wee hours of the morning, and the nocturnal vibes blend together into a very cohesive body of work. Nice little instro joint with a few chill vocal contributions and an obscure old school LL Cool J number thrown in as a bonus cut. Check out the track "Supa Heath" below:
Caution: contents of Acid Lab Record gifts are highly flammable and should only be opened with goggles and a pair of radiation proof gloves. This new free compilation from Gajah and BeOND's Acid Lab label is actually one of the strongest legally free albums you're likely to download this year. The free EPs that Gajah put out earlier in 2011 were good, but this project feels a lot stronger and more cohesive, showcasing some impressive verses and grimy beats from Acid Reign and their extended fam. If you were a fan of Acid Reign's "Diversity" album earlier this year, then you definitely need to give this album a listen, as it sounds like a natural extension of the sound they were aiming for on "Diversity" only with more impressive stylistic MCs involved. Excellent tracks from BeOND and Olmeca, some really good stuff from Gajah and Express Fresh... the only dude on here who doesn't have me completely convinced is Damien Rodriguez, but even his songs are decent. This project feels less like a compilation and more like a complete crew album, and I can that it's one of the few free albums that's gonna get some fairly regular rotation from me in these last days of 2011 and beyond. Excellent artwork by the super talented Albane as well. If you're a fan of LA chop-shop styles, don't miss this one! Download it at the Acid Lab Records Bandcamp Page or stream it in full below:
New free album from Scienz of Life frontman and frequent MF Doom collaborator John Robinson, entitled "Gifted." John Robinson has a super dope voice and has always been kind of underrated as an MC, plus he always collabs with top notch producers and brings some interesting lyrics and content to the table. This free "Gifted" album is John Robinson's holiday gift to the masses, and features Flying Lotus, J Dilla, Ta'Raach, and I.D 4 Windz handling the beats amongst others. This project is unmixed and is mostly a collection of unreleased songs and B-sides from Mr. Robinson, but it still features some ill rhymes and beats, particularly the tracks "Her" and "Dap." I also gotta say that hearing John Robinson and Wordsworth go back and forth on "Cherish" makes me long to hear more collabs between those two. Their voices definitely compliment each other. You can download "Gifted" for free over at John Robinson's Bandcamp Page, or stream it in full below:
1. Her (produced by IG Culture) 2. Freestyle @ Lotus Crib (produced by Flying Lotus) 3. A.T.R (Annette Tijuana Robinson) (produced by ID 4 Windz) 4. C.U (produced by Ta'Raach) 5. Why'd You Lie? (produced by R'thentic) 6. Cherish (feat. Wordsworth) (produced by K.Dubble) 7. Heavenly (feat. Invizible Handz & Tiffany Paige) (produced by J Dilla) 8. Dap (feat. Farrah Burns) (produced by Flying Lotus) 9. On the Road Again (produced by ID 4 Windz) 10. Rap Thing (produced by Flying Lotus) 11. Ordo Ab Chao (produced by J Dilla) 12. Makings of U (IG Culture Remix) (produced by IG Culture) 13. UK (feat. Cymarshall Law & K Banger) (produced by ID 4 Windz)
Get your interactive 3D monster madness goggles ready. Ecid's new full length, "Werewolf Hologram," is gonna be dropping February 28th 2012 on Ecid's own Fill in the Break's label. Ecid is one of those rappers/producers that kind of snuck up on me through his work with Awol One, which impressed me enough to get me digging through his extensive back catalog. His dense conceptual lyricism and layered production make for albums that can be revisited months later and still retain some replay value. His last solo full length was produced by Arsenic and took a slightly more traditional approach to the hip hop genre, but this new one seems to be harkening back to Ecid's high-concept self-produced projects like "Red Beretta." Very eager to hear the direction that Ecid's production is taking on this one, I feel like he's one of those artists that gets a little better with every new release. Tracklisting and music video below, limited deluxe pre-order packages for CD and LP pressings of the album available on Ecid's Bandcamp Page. With this, Bleubird's "Cannonball!!!" and Busdriver's "Beaus$Eros" all dropping at the beginning of next year, it looks like the first quarter of 2012 is going to be dominated by the more cerebral side of the hip hop spectrum. Viva la nerd rap!
1. Werewolf Hologram 2. Men Kill Men 3. I Heart Gravity 4. The Pursuit of Everything In Between 5. Go High Lion 6. Boo Boo 7. Incredible 8. Oh Well 9. Marching On 10. WOOLF 11. So Damn Einstein! 12. The Future is Free (feat. David Mars & Leif(Kolt)) 13. Rock Stars Don't Apologize (feat. Awol One, Kristoff Krane & Eyedea) 14. Back From Japan 15. Surprise Yourself 16. So Much Fire
A few nights ago, I went to Qwazaar & Batsauce's Cali tour stop at Club 6 in San Francisco. I'd originally intended to check out their performance at Maleko's "FRESH" #5 in Half Moon Bay the night before, but decided to go to this show instead due to it being a much shorter driving distance from where I live. Club 6 is nowhere near as cool a venue as HMB's Old Princeton Landing and Maleko's "FRESH" series has been quality since day one, but sometimes a convenient location is just a convenient location. This Qwazaar & Batsauce show in SF coincided with a release party for Bay area rapper Ro Knew's new album "Fool's Wisdom," which ended up dividing the evening into two very different kinds of shows. Much respect to all of the people involved in this event since I know it takes a lot of connections and effort to set these kinds of things up, but the two shows here were a pretty much like fire and ice to me, and I think it's worth covering that disparity here.
FeGo was the first act to take the stage, and he was just plain awful. Granted, it seemed like this was one of FeGo's first times on stage and I even think he mentioned something about this being his first performance in San Francisco, but never the less it was a clear case of him needing more practice on the mic before pulling off a proper set. FeGo was extremely nervous on stage, to the point where it made him blank on entire verses from his songs and retreat to his laptop to cut the tracks short. He repeatedly begged for rappers in the small crowd to join him on stage to boost his confidence, even pointing towards me in the hopes of me being a rapper in disguise, which was pretty sad. The few verses that FeGo did manage to pull off were nothing special, but the worst part of his set came when he paused the music and had his friend Camera (Carmela? Something along those lines) get on stage to do an acapella number. Her acapella singing was shrill and off-key, her pseudo spoken word follow-up had no passion or interesting lyrics, and there was no musical accompaniment to camouflage her amateur performance. It lasted for at least 5 minutes, and I felt almost embarrassed to be watching it from the front row. On the off-chance that FeGo and Camera come across this review: keep grinding at your respective crafts, but your live set needs some work.
Ro Knew was the next performer of the night, with his friend Mic Logik from Chicago backing him up as a special guest. Their set was not good, and unlike FeGo and Camera, they didn't have as much of an excuse for the bland music and lackluster stage presence. Ro Knew has been putting out solo and group albums since the earlier part of the 21rst century, so you'd figure that dude would have all the elements of a banging live show down flat by this point. But his set felt like it was played by-the-numbers, without much of the enthusiasm I would have expected from an MC promoting a brand new album. I think that perhaps Ro Knew was a little stressed that Qwazaar and Batsauce hadn't arrived at the venue yet, and was stalling for time while realizing that his set was going on too long. I give Mic Logik credit for seeming passionate enough during his verses on the Division One songs that he and Ro Knew performed, though the combo of the two of them on stage looked like it could have been a father and son rapping together. Strange observation, but one that stands out in my memory for some reason. By the end of Ro Knew and Mic Logik's performance, I had kind of tuned out their show and was paying more attention to the various people in the crowd and their reactions to it. Not a good sign when I'm standing in the front row and you lose my attention, sorry guys!
At this point in the night, I was a little unhappy with the way things were panning out and was fearing a major let-down of a show. But as soon as Batsauce set up his laptop on stage and started plugging out funky beats on his production equipment, things took a very major turn for the better. Batsauce single-handedly worked his magic on the vibe of Club 6, flipping it into a fun party atmosphere and seriously heightening my appreciation for him as a producer. I don't think I've ever witnessed a beat-maker improve the entire atmosphere of an event so effortlessly, and this was before any formal set of his had even taken place. Needless to say, my mood was greatly improved.
Lady Daisey, a soul singer who frequently collabs with Batsauce and who's also his wife, was the first to join the producer on stage for a set. She completely floored me with an awesome performance that I can safely say was one of the funnest times I had at a show in 2011. Lady Daisey's vibrant and energetic singing worked wonders with Batsauce's funky uptempo beats, to the point where the dynamite combo actually managed to transform the all too self-conscious Club 6 into a miniature dance floor. I don't know if Daisey and Batsauce are aware of how huge an accomplishment that is, but generally Club 6 draws crowds that sulk in darkened corners regardless of how great the performer is. I've never seen such a significant chunk of the crowd have such a great time at that venue, and the awesome quality of the singing and music made it easy for folks to drop their worries and get loose. Beyond being an excellent singer backed by excellent beats, Lady Daisey was also a pleasure to watch on stage. She was brimming with positive energy and had an upbeat personality that translated well into her fun style of singing. She was also clearly having a great time on stage, and seeing her have so much fun performing just made it that much easier for other people to have a great time. Batsauce was a pro at backing up Lady Daisey on the music side of things, knowing exactly when to contribute background vocals and keeping things extra raw and soulful behind the boards. By the time Lady Daisey and Batsauce were done with their set, I was sweating like crazy from dancing so much in the front. It was a really terrific and fun set that left me feeling elated.
I was very excited to see Qwazaar and Batsauce play as the evening's headliner, and they did not disappoint in the slightest. I've seen Qwazaar play live in a number of groups over the years including Typical Cats, Outerlimitz, and Dirty Digital, and the man tends to impress with his distinctive voice and impeccable flows. The only time prior to this that I saw him rock the mic solo was at a Galapagos4 Christmas show at Elbo Room back in 2006, but I seem to remember that being a sloppy and disappointing set. Qwazaar's new material with Batsauce is the strongest stuff he's ever worked on, however, and the new songs translated super well to a live setting. They played a bunch of tracks from their "Bat Meets Blaine" album (one of the best hip hop releases of 2011) and their "Style Be the King EP" (also excellent), with the rapper and producer both holding their own on stage and delivering what the hungry fans like me wanted to hear. The vibe of the set ended up being darker and more aggressive than Lady Daisey's show, but it fit Qwa's style well and offered up some really killer renditions of joints like "To the Death" and "Style Be the King." Some other standouts included the intricate flows and reflective lyrics of "I'm Gone," the pounding horns and uptempo hook of "Power," and the relaxing vibes of "Surrealism" which brought Lady Daisey back out to sing the refrain. Qwazaar's voice and flow have never sounded better, and he got rowdy over the course of the set, racing around the crowd and singling out people to deliver his complex verses to. The finale of "Shake" had Qwazaar practically moshing through Club 6 and ended the evening on a high note. A very impressive set that lived up to lofty expectations.
So despite the questionable first half of the evening, this ended up being a super fun and awesome show that I'm very happy I attended. Should Batsauce and his talented friends decide to revisit the Bay area, I'll be there... Same Batshow, same Batchannel. A little live footage to give you a taste of the evening below:
New album from perpetual road warrior rapper Bleubird, entitled "Cannonball!!!," dropping January 24th 2012 on Fake Four Inc. Bleubird's been putting out some really interesting avant-rap music for a minute now, both as a solo artist and through collaborations with similar-minded hip hoppers like Sole, Astronautalis, Thesis Sahib and Edison. I had a chance to see him live and chill with him in his RV van back in June, and his charisma and entertaining personality definitely boosted my appreciation for his music. He's clearly someone who's meant to be an entertainer in the music industry... hell, he could probably be a stand-up comedian or motivational speaker if hip hop didn't own his heart. Anyway, his new album "Cannonball!!!" is co-produced by Radical Face and Astronautalis, and the leaked songs I've heard from it have been pretty stellar. Definitely excited to see how this one turns out, glad to see Fake Four behind yet another talented artist. Awesome snake bite cover art above, promo videos below:
Playing a bit (read: a lot) of catch up here as per usual. October didn't really have that many stellar hip hop titles to offer, but November was pretty loaded with ill shit. Here are some of my picks o' the litter:
1) Doomtree - "No Kings"(Doomtree)
The second full length Doomtree release featuring every member of the crew is predictably solid, but not in the most predictable of ways. The two singles that leaked prior to the record dropping ("The Grand Experiment" and "Beacon") and the cover art had me a bit worried about whether DTR would deliver with this one, but I breathed a sigh relief as soon as the disc hit my stereo. The music on "No Kings" is not as immediately accessible as Doomtree's self-titled debut, and there aren't really as many standout songs as there were on the last one, but in some ways it feels like a more cohesive body of work. This album was apparently recorded over the course of a week-long retreat at a cabin in the woods, and a glance through the production credits reveals that most of the music was a collaborative effort between several of Doomtree's core beat-makers. So, what does the final product sound like? Envision a soundtrack for a rebellious group of punks in a futuristic world where gangs like theirs rule the streets (think "The Warriors"), and you won't be far off. This is a layered album meant to be played from beginning to end, but there are some anthems on it for sure. "Bangarang" has got the sort of focused Mictlan hook that's sure to get people chanting loudly at shows, "Team, the Best Team" features an interesting backdrop of Lazerbeak horns that grows on you with each listen, and Sims owns "Gimme the Go" along with every other song he's featured on on this album. "Little Mercy" showcases Cecil Otter's unique brand of lyricism and production skills extremely well, with a tight little Dessa verse thrown in the mix to compliment his style. My favorite track, "Bolt Cutter," features a beat that sways between hard-hitting electro vibes and delicate guitar strums, all topped off by an extra-catchy P.O.S punk hook.. I don't think this album's quite topping Doomtree's self-titled debut due to the sheer number of standout songs that joint had, but it's definitely one of the stronger and more challenging pieces of hip hop you're likely to hear in these last months of 2011. Check out the video for "Bolt Cutter" below, and lend this album your ears.
2) One Be Lo - "L.A.B.O.R" (Subterraneous)
One Be Lo's latest full-length album "L.A.B.O.R" ("Language Arts Based on Reality") is possibly my favorite One Be Lo release to date, not to mention one of the stronger traditional rap albums you're likely to hear this year. Apparently, the "L.A.B.O.R" acronym does not stand for "Loved Amongst Bloggers Of Rap," as I've seen this album largely hated on, ignored, or downright slept on by the indie rap internet hype machine. The publicity and fanfare for this album are so tiny, in fact, that there are major One Be Lo fans out there who aren't even aware that it exists. Boasting zero distribution and over 20 songs, I suppose one could mistake "L.A.B.O.R" for some of kind of One Be Lo mixtape, but that would be a grave error. This is a very cohesive and complete body of work. 100% new songs, segues and interludes, all tied together by a clever animal theme that One Be Lo applies creatively to a variety of off-beat topics. Granted, this album does have a couple of flaws... With 21 songs, it clocks in at 74 minutes, which is at least 14 minutes too long for any rap album. There are a couple of filler songs ("DESTINY (of the Phoenix)" in particular stands out like a sore thumb with its sub-par DJ Twelvs beat), plus too many interludes and sampled pieces of dialogue, an unnecessary intro skit, and even the occasional corny line or hook. But what makes "L.A.B.O.R" such an enjoyable listen is that despite all of this, One Be Lo simply belongs to a superior class of MCing. His voice, flow, cadence and rhymes are all straight-up immaculate even on the very worst of the songs on here, to the point where he can hold your attention on his own over the whole album without a single guest. That's no easy feat given the length of this beast (no animal pun intended). DWills handles the majority of the production and gives One Be Lo some extra solid boom bap to work with, with 14KT, Vitamin D, Nick Speed and Mike Posner all delivering great offerings as well. Scratches handled by DJ Abilities. Excellent stuff. You can stream the album in full via One Be Lo's Bandcamp Page below:
3) Señor Kaos - "The Kaos Effect" (High Water Music)
Very dope album from Atlanta MC and Binkis Recs affiliate Señor Kaos, presented by the always underrated High Water Music label out of NYC. My knowledge of Señor Kaos prior to this album was limited to a couple of guest spots he had on other High Water Music releases, which were decent but nothing that made me blink in amazement. This album, on the other hand, got some serious blink-age. Right from the get-go, "The Kaos Effect" seized my attention with the song "The Understanding," where Senor Kaos bears it all and impresses with his delivery over an extra dramatic banger from Illastrate. From there on out, we're treated to a number of solid tracks that could easily work as singles, with many songs highlighting Senor Kaos' effortless style and Illastrate's ill production chops. "Automatic Classic 2.0" finds Kaos dropping interesting lines left and right over a slow-moving Illastrate heater, "Restless" is smooth to the core with an admirable guest verse from J-Live, and "Did You Miss Me" features Binkis Recs in a lesson in lyrical beat-downs. Senor Kaos also knows how to get topical, with "Girls Rock Too" presenting an ode to women throughout history and "Spirit of Jax" offering an homage to his fallen Binkis homie of the same name. Great stuff, check out the super fun video for the song "No More" (produced by Marcotiks) below:
4) Big Quarters - "Party Like a Young Commie" (Lake City Browns)
Back in 2009, when Big Quarters dropped "From the Home of Brown Babies and White Mothers," I was completely sold on their material to the point where I deemed their album one of the sleepers of the year. Well, the follow-up from the duo of Brandon Allday and Medium Zach is finally here, and it's another impressive collection of songs with a seasonal Fall vibe that's sure to make you smile. The sound of"Party Like a Young Commie" is a lot different than the lo-fi excellence of their last one, with a more polished sound to the beats along with some strengthened hook writing. One listen to the live instrumentation of Medium Zach's instrumental "When the Head Connects to the Body" and it quickly becomes clear that these two are out to make some grown man rap music. That's not to say that they don't have a little fun with jams like "C'mon" and "Perfect Match," but the songwriting here is very mature and introspective for the most part. I'm always impressed by how Medium Zach and Brandon Allday manage to make their music sound so unique, as there's something very distinctive about the way they handle their verses and their choices of music. Lots of cool mellow vibes on this one, check out the backyard BBQ video for their song "Perfect Match" below:
Wait wait wait, two Rec League-related show reviews in the span of a single month? What is this, one of the recommended blogs on Routine Fly's website or something? Naw, but for reals, if I'm showing a concert bias here, it's only because these crazy San Francisco motherfuckers know how to throw a really live show. And this jam, which occured on 11/11/11 and which I'm late in reviewing here, fit that bill pretty damn well.
When I rolled up to Elbo Room and saw a line out the door, I knew it wasn't going to be your average handful-of-people type turnout event. Lines outside the Elbo Room were an unheard of phenomenon to me until this show, and the spot was packed with one of the biggest crowds I've ever seen there before the music even started. Lots of Rec League regulars were in the spot, with some additional family members and 11/11 bar-hoppers thrown into the mix.
Melina Jones was the first person to perform, and she put on a good warm-up set that had her having a lot of fun on stage and getting the crowd properly hyped for the music. I wasn't too familiar with her stuff but had heard of her through her collaborations with the underrated Bay Area producer Deedot, whose soulful boom bap production is a good compliment to Melina's style. Her rapping had a cheerful melodic quality to it that was fun to rock out to live, though she indulged in a bit too much call-and-response banter with the audience between songs. Still, she was having fun and so was the crowd, which was surprisingly full of people who had traveled a good distance to see her. Melina's set got off to a bit of a bumpy start when she asked the DJ to rewind the intro music he was playing so she could rock a verse over it, and it took a bit of time for the DJ to catch on to what she was asking, but aside from that the set was smooth sailing. Fun opening act that tested the noise levels that the packed house was capable of.
Pep Love of Heiroglyphics came on to rock it next, and he kicked a smooth set that showcased his laid back natural style and cadences. It was strange to see a veteran MC like Pep Love right in the middle of a bill of modern lesser-known rappers, and stranger still to see the crowd's rather apathetic reaction to him. To be fair, while Pep Love definitely rocked steady with his flow, he was not as fun an act to watch live as some of the evening's other rap types, plus he hasn't released any new material in a minute. You'd think that the Heiro emblem on the show flyer would be one of the major draws of the event, but apparently the crowd was mostly there for either Richie Cunning or Melina Jones. Pep Love's set started decently and got better and better as it went on. He worked his way through tracks from "Ascension" as well as some funky new material from his upcoming album due out in 2012. His performance felt like the polar opposite of Melina Jones' show - all rapping and songs with little to no crowd interaction. It was still a nice set of songs from a skilled rapper, and I was surprised there weren't more hardcore fans in attendance chanting along to his lyrics by heart.
Richie Cunning closed things out as the evening's headliner, and he shut shit down with the best set of the night. I've seen Rec League and Richie Cunning live countless times at this point, but it's great that the group sets and solo sets differ and that they can continue to switch things up with each show. Richie had the energetic masses eating out of his hand, to the point where his performance of "One Dollar Wonder" had at least six people tossing dollar bills on stage. He covered a number of his illest songs, including a couple of tracks not typically played at Rec League's group shows like "Work It Out" and "Pure Imagination." Of course, some of the standard Richie heaters like "1906" and "Richie Cunning's Day Off" were covered as well to great effect. A few new songs were also aired to the appreciative crowd, including a joint produced by Domino of Heiroglyphics that had Domino himself come up on stage to introduce the song in order to get folks properly hyped for it. Apparently, Richie Cunning and Domino have a collab album in the works, and the track that was played sounded fresh with some hilarious Richie quotables. Of course, no Elbo Room 11/11 party would be complete without a few Rec League collabo numbers, and Rob Rush, QM and Haji P joined Richie on stage for a few crazy party songs. Richie even played "The City" as an encore, repping San Francisco to the fullest. Good times, major props to DJ Bad DJ for holding down the mix and interludes despite being drunk since before the show had started!
All in all, this was a party of epic proportions that proved once again that Rec League are the guys you want to dance away your special occasions with.
Another pick from the slew of free releases that established underground artists were handing out on 11/11/11 is this new EP from LA oddball rapper Subtitle aka Giovanni Marks, who returns after a long hiatus with this messy, concentrated dose of noisy weirdness. Dubbed "Crev Wave" in the genre section of the download, the music contained within follows an ADD pattern of minute-long songs that incorporate a lot of dense electronic production and Subtitle's trademark mumbly monotone flow. Though I haven't dug all of Mr. Marks' projects, he's an undeniably original musician and has put out some incredible pieces of music, including the criminally slept on Lab Waste album with Thavius Beck which maintains a very high spot in my personal echelon of LA hip hop releases. Subtitle's "Black Jack Parsons" EP is produced entirely by Giovanni Marks himself, and is being offered for free via Nocando's Hellfyre Club label. An interesting pairing for sure... I'll be checking for Subtitle's "My So Crev Life" full length, which is due to drop on Hellfyre Club next year. Check out the EP below:
1. In_gage 2. Retrospective in Crev 3. A Makers Rocks 4. (I Can't) I Can't Be Disturbed 5. Disco @ Los Golobulus Phreestyle 6. Whipp'd 0002 7. Pulled Paper (feat. Chrome Drops) 8. Scales (Juugo) 9. But Still 10. #____ 11. Out_gage
So, it seems that 11/11/11 offered up quite a few free download-able albums from respectable hip hop artists. Hands down the weirdest and most unpredictable of the bunch is Awol One's new project "Scab Party," which deviates from hip hop altogether in favor of some bizarre lo-fi punk singing aesthetic. Entirely produced and sung by Awol One, one can only scratch their heads and wonder what color pill sent the renowned Shapeshifter into such an utter state of mindfuckery. Scab Party's self-titled album is far from easy listening, to the point where it may even induce some hair-pulling and ear-plugging amongst Awol's more sensitive listenership. I'd be lying if I said I was feeling this 100%, but it is sort of fascinating to hear how weird Awol sounds doing this style of music. You can download Scab Party for free at the Brain Vein Music Bandcamp Page, or stream the album in full below. Poke it, pinch it, but don't pick at it too hard. And phuckyer blog!
1. Said Lady 2. Can Still 3. California Sun 4. You Can't Take This Away 5. So Dangerous 6. Don't Sweat It Though 7. Live Here Anymore 8. Thousand Dead Hipsters 9. Face Full of Cocaine 10. Welcome to the Battlefield 11. Thunderbeast Speed 12. So Popular 13. Phuckyer Blog
A little over a week ago, I had the chance to attend the Grimm Image Halloween Bash as part of my late October LA vacation. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't partially plan my trip around attending this special monstrosity of an LA rap show, as it had one of those dream line-ups that you can only get on your knees and pray for in the Bay Area. The show didn't end up being as perfect as I'd hoped it would be, but it was still a spectacle with some interesting highlights that got me thinking a lot about LA's hip hop scene and the community within.
As a precursor to this review, I should mention that there was some sort of bad omen hanging over me for my entire trip to LA, and that curse worked its way into this show without question. For starters, the line-up of the Halloween Bash shifted dramatically a few days before the event took place, with the Chicharones and Knives & Gasoline both dropped from the bill. The Chicharones were one of the main acts I went to see, to the point where my Halloween costume was based on Josh Martinez, but the promise of an Of Mexican Descent reunion show was still exciting as was the Candy's .22 slot. Unfortunately, the drive to the Airliner proved to be the most stressful drive of my entire LA trip... Hours of gridlock traffic, passengers who were performing at the show and needed to get there in a timely fashion, and even a mini merging accident that had me pulling to the side of the road and exchanging insurance information with people. Arguably the worst drive of my life that night, and when we finally reached the spot, half of my costume ended up not working and I abandoned the Josh Martinez impression altogether in favor of a generic airplane pilot look. The reason I elaborate on all this is because when I arrived at the Airliner and was unexpectedly put on the guest list, I was still in a pretty foul mood.
As a venue, I thought that the Airliner captured the essence of LA pretty well. Everything about it was noisy, crazy, and extremely fast-paced. It was also very spread out, offering three different locations to watch live music at in different rooms, and with everyone sticking to the room of their choice for the most part. The LA that this show offered was not the LA that I experienced at the I <3 Neila Benefit earlier this year, where artists and friends from all walks of the LA music scene came together to support their own. This show felt more fractured and private, to the point where many of the Grimm Image acts that went on had no more than a handful of people observing them, and even fewer that cared about their music. I guess I'll blame it on the number of Halloween house parties that must have been going on that night... As for me, I was front and center as usual, rocking out and cheering for every person who got on stage.
Onto the music in question. I missed one or two of the opening acts due to the time it took to get to the Airliner, including Los Feo Faces assuming they did in fact perform and weren't dropped from the bill as well. When I got up the stairs to the Grimm Image stage, Woes was hosting an intermission between sets, speed-rapping in his devilish Halloween attire. Woes seemed like a pretty skilled rapper and was good at keeping things moving between the different acts, though the night went by at such a fast pace that maybe a little breathing time would have been nice as well. Still, Woes didn't get nearly the amount of love he deserved from the crowd, and I thought he held his own in the cyphers that went on in the evening's later sets.
The first proper act that I saw take the stage for a set was Verble, who was accompanied by K-the-I??? as a backup and occasional rhyming partner. I'd seen Verble live once before, opening with Nabahe for a Matre and Ceschi tour in San Francisco, and I remember not being super impressed with his rapping that night. Verble was better at this show, however, largely thanks to the strength of some of the new material he's been working on with K-the-I??? Some of the beats that Kiki was supplying Verble with for this set were serious business... Very loud and abrasive in typical K-the-I??? fashion, but still something you could snap your neck and bounce around to. One thing that I liked about Verble as an artist was that he was clearly one of the most enthusiastic and excited rappers to be performing there that night, and it shined through in his rapping and in the way that he supported his fellow Grimm Image artists from the crowd. That bubbly enthusiasm also proved to be somewhat of a hindrance later in the night, but as far as Verble's set went, it made for a nice show.
Sully took the stage right after Verble and K-the-I??? had finished, and did his thing to a scattered but very attentive few. Sully is probably the rapper I knew the least about out of the Grimm Image artists that were performing that night, though I'd seen his name behind the production credits of some nice beats and know that he's collabed with everyone from Kurupt to Awol One. He played a number of songs from his upcoming "7 Deadly Sins" album, each of which was named after a different sin and dealt with said sin in a topical manner, though there wasn't any song that really grabbed me in particular. He also performed a few older songs from his "Eardrum Assault" album, including a song for the serious weed heads that had him grabbing a freshly rolled blunt from the crowd and blazing up on stage. I wasn't really feeling too much of Sully's MCing to be honest, but I did hear some pretty nice beats and there were a couple of heads in attendance who were bugging out to his tunes. He clearly knows what kind of music he wants to make and there are people that want to hear it, so more power to him! I'll probably give "7 Deadly Sins" a listen when it drops.
Avatar headed up to the stage once Sully was done, and flipped another strong set of his trademark aggressive flows and punk-inspired hooks. Avatar actually let me crash at his spot in Inglewood for my trip to LA, and if there's one thing I learned from observing him in his natural habitat, it's that the man has a serious home studio work ethic and is patiently sitting on some bangers. He performed a number of said bangers during his set at this show, along with some dope songs from his album with Dynamo like "Tear Jerker" or "Our Day Will Come." Raw beats and raw rhymes. The frustrating part about Avatar's set was that he had the smallest number of people watching him out of any of the acts that played that night, and getting those self-conscious few to cheer or even applaud for him was a near impossible task. The supportive crowd at Avatar's last show in Half Moon Bay with Knives & Gasoline seemed colossal by comparison. Shame, because Avatar poured his energy and soul into his songs and came with a damn good set. What's up with that LA? No love for your own?
K-the-I??? got back on stage next to kick a set of solo jams. Unfortunately, my LA curse was still in full effect, because it turned out that Kiki's computer was in the hospital and that he had to rock older joints off his iPod instead of showing off his new instrumental broken beat set. I was a little disappointed just because of how many good things I'd heard about K-the-I???'s beat set from his buddies Bleubird and Sole, but Kiki still did a great job barreling through intense rap verses from his "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" album. I'd seen K-the-I??? play the album in full at the Elbo Room in SF a couple years back, but the Thavius Beck beats haven't lost any of their thump and watching K-the-I??? kick his unique off-kilter styles of rapping is always impressive. Some highlights of his set were "400 on the BPM" (perfect over club speakers) and "Lead the Floor" (always super intense live). A lot of the post-Halloween-party show-goers started peetering in midway through K-the-I???'s set, so his reception was also much more lively and appreciative than any of the previous acts, which was nice. Good set, let's hope that his computer makes a rapid recovery.
The Grimm Image section of the Airliner was filled with people by the time Candy's .22 got on to play, and they put on a very interesting set that was slightly more varied and improvisational than what I'd expected. Candy's was one of the acts I was most excited to see live, as I'm a big fan of the weird styles that Stereo13 and Barfly have to offer and the "Girl and Her Gun" album that they put out this year is my shit. I'd seen Existereo live many times before in the Bay Area and in LA and he's never disappointed, but this was my first time bearing witness to Barfly and the collaborative music that these two make on stage. It was definitely an odd and awesome spectacle, with Barfly's strange drunken rant vocals balancing Existereo's precise flows and cadences well. They kicked things off with the strange sleeping anthem "Zzzz," which started their set on the quiet tip, only to bounce into "Switchfoot" next to get things hype. Verble joined them on stage to fill in for Mickey Avalon on the track "I'm the Man," incorporating Mickey's name into his lyrics and fitting the mix of the song well. They also switched the beats on some of the songs to add some improvisation into the mix, breaking out a slow synth number for "Cool With Me" that prolonged the hook while 2Mex joined them for a verse. One of my favorite tracks they played was an unreleased number that had a verse about Barfly getting calls on his phone from people and a hook about the Heartbreak Hotel or something along those lines... Stereo13 mentioned at the end of the song that the it was "so fresh, it hasn't even been laid down in the studio yet." By the end of their set, things turned to an MC cypher on stage with lots of LA rappers trading verses, and Stereo13's styles stood out the most in my opinion. Very good and interesting set from these two, about as strange as one would expect and unconventional even by left-field hip hop standards.
The crowd that had formed in the Grimm Image room of the Airliner merged closer to the stage as Of Mexican Descent got up to do their thing, with Deeskee taking over for DJ Leviathan behind the boards. 2Mex and Xololanxinxo were clearly alight with the prospect of warming fans hearts with whatever old beats they could dig up off their laptop, and they put on a great show. It was pretty inspiring to see these two mainstays of the LA hip hop movement perform songs they hadn't played in years as if it they'd made'em yesterday, and the whole set felt like a true throwback to the old school dedicated to the heads who'd been listening since day one. From their "Exitos" album, OMD played "I Am Still," "Money is Meaningless," and "All Turn Native" amongst others to massive applause. They also played "Night and Day"(!) minus the Circus verse and even "Opium Scorpion" off of Mum's the Words' first album, the latter of which had 2Mex clowning about how folks wouldn't be up on that shit. While the collaborative songs were very well-received by the crowd, the tracks that seemed to really get folks excited were the Mindclouders songs that 2Mex chose to perform, including "Paranoia Sheik" and "Odyssey Honestly." Xololanxinxo also decided to take things way back, going pre-OMD with his Concrete Jungle song, which showed off his interesting musical stylings well. No "Atlas" from these two champs unfortunately, though Jizzm wasn't present so the song wouldn't have been complete anyway. Verble and Liferexall also got on stage to rap with Of Mexican Descent for a couple songs, with Verble overstaying his welcome a bit and dropping some distasteful line about being "the best thing since Of Mexican Descent." He was clearly excited to be sharing the stage with a bunch of LA rap legends, but shouldn't have insisted on hogging the mic quite so much while he was up there. Enthusiasm does have its drawbacks, I guess. Anyway, Of Mexican Descent left their fans feeling satisfied, and also mentioned the likelihood of a new OMD album emerging in the future. Crossing my fingers here.
The whole show went by in a speedy blur of eccentric rap verses and colorful costumes. There was no real place to take a breather between musical happenings, and even when the Airliner shut its doors and the LA musicians congregated out front, the whole thing felt like some surreal hallucinatory dream. Caddy One, who's birthday party was downstairs during the time of the Grimm Image events, was being interviewed by some camera crew about the meaning of being a superhero rapper and was dressed in a full cape and costume. Existereo bid farewell to his homies, donned a breathing mask, hopped onto his bad-ass chopper and soared off into the night at ridiculous speed. Somewhere in the background, the buzzed rap homies and the Russian gal they found were in need of a ride home in my car. It was hard to find much grounding at the Airliner that night, and the scattered moments and images that it left in my mind were not some of the highlights of a memorable year of live music. But there were parts of it that are hard for me to shake, and the experience gave me an interesting encapsulation of all the craziness that the sprawling city it took place in had to offer... 'Till we meet again, Los Angeles.
Of Mexican Descent, performing "Money is Meaningless" in 2011:
Recently, I took a little musical holiday from my musical workplace to go hang out with some homies and see some shows out in the City of Lost Angels, Los Angeles CA. There was some sort of bad omen surrounding me during this trip where crazy shit would go down at everything I tried to attend, but in the case of the "Holograms on High" tour featuring 2Mex with Mine+Us & DJ Hoppa, the crazy shit was more of a source of amusement than frustration. This show took place at an event called El Social in a little Mexican bar known as Hermosillo Club, located in Northern LA a good distance from the spot my sister was staying at in Newport Beach. I picked my sis up and we both rolled out to bear witness to an ill show that found the talented MCs in question rocking the spot for maybe 6 attentive listeners.
Right off the bat, high marks go out to 2mex for being such a fun dude to chat with and vibe off of. Since my sister and I were two of the only people who drove a distance specifically to see this rap show, 2Mex relayed a bunch of really entertaining tour and music stories to us before the thing started. He even took us into the back of his van and played us some new songs from his upcoming album with Nobody, which he'd just gotten the master of and was excited to share. He told us about the songs where he channeled Prince and the songs where Nobody told him to rhyme like Young Jeezy. Sounded like some dope crunk shit from where I was sitting, looking forwarding to hearing the final product in full!
By the time my sister and I stepped back into the venue, Mine+Us & DJ Hoppa were on and were probably a few songs into their set. This was my first time seeing these dudes on their own, with my only other experience being a set with their group Broken Complex at Slim's in San Francisco, and they put on a really ill show for the tiny crowd of onlookers. Mine+Us was one hell of a funny and entertaining performer, breaking into "filthy" renditions of the Running Man and the Roger Rabbit after one song and ranting about how folks could join him for the smoking of some crack rock in the back alley after the show. But far from being just a comedian, Mine+Us rapped through his songs with the ease and energy of a skilled showman, delivering some excellent verses and nailing it on tracks like "Thinking About My Momma to a Funky Beat" and "Memorias De Mis Putas Tristes." DJ Hoppa held down the mix well for his part, smoothly transitioning between tracks and knowing when to rewind one or cut the beat off to let Mine+Us do his thing. Really fun set from these two, check'em out if you get a chance.
2Mex came on next and laid down his signature LA chop shop styles while DJ Hoppa continued to hold it down behind the boards. 2Mex mentioned beforehand that he was gonna rock the Hermosillo Club as if he was on the main stage for Paid Dues, regardless of the size of the crowd. He stayed true to his word and killed it with a full set of sick tracks, mostly taken from his recent full-length 'My Fanbase Will Destroy You." Just to keep the handful of people in the crowd guessing, 2Mex switched up the beats on a number of his tracks, offering fresh interpretations of his songs including an awesome rendition of "My Intro Will Destroy You" over a Zavala beat from the "Canciones Modernas" LP. Out of the tracks that were played straight, "Press Your Luck" was one of the most impressive to witness live, as the sheer amount of control 2Mex exerted over his vocal cadences was pretty amazing. There was a point in the set where DJ Hoppa threw on a really girly pop club beat and 2Mex started rapping and then freestyle singing for the hook, clowning about how Thursdays are karaoke nights at Hermosillo Club. Hoppa responded in turn by cutting off the beat for the end of the song and letting 2Mex freestyle sing acapella, which was hilarious to watch. Though I was afraid he wouldn't play it for such a small crowd, 2Mex finished his set with the ever popular Weezer-inspired "So Many More Words," which he gathered the tiny family of 6 fans in a circle for to scream the "say it ain't so" hook. He topped things off with a searing 3+ minute acapela that left those who witnessed it smiling. Great set, shame there weren't more people there to watch it!
But the night's festivities didn't end there. True to the bad omen surrounding my LA visit, there was one other act that was added to the line-up at the last minute that went on after 2Mex. The group in question, Icy Lytes, was a latin hip hop duo with one guy and one gal pounding out extremely high energy dance music with a pop electro kind of direction to it. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I'm just about the least self-conscious person you're likely to run into when it comes to dancing at hip hop shows, and that I'll dance in the front row to music I'm feeling regardless of whether there's 2 or 200 people there. But Icy Lytes was one of the few exceptions that left me in the downright awkward zone. These two were busting insanely elaborate syncopated dance routines and tossing countless genres of dance music into the mix while keeping things super uptempo for maybe 3 people who were watching them (myself, my sister, and 2Mex). The gal in the group flaunted a constant crip walk and pretty much tossed off a layer of clothing with each song. It got to a point where when the guy in the group knocked over a mic stand by accident, these two lunatics started running circles around it and jumping over it. Maybe in a sweaty dance club with a ton of people high on E this spectacle would have worked, but at the Hermosillo Club with nobody there it was about the most uncomfortable thing imaginable. The music wasn't exactly setting my spirit free either, but at least it was fascinating to watch in a painful sort of way, and gave us three spectators something to chuckle about.
Despite a little too much dance energy near the end of the night, this was a very good show and further proof that you don't need a million people to have a good time at a concert. It actually ended up being one of the better shows I went to in LALA Land, though whether that's a statement about intimate shows being better or about LA not coming through with any other good shows this season is up for debate. It's too bad there weren't more people at this one, I'm sure they would have enjoyed it.
Backtracking a bit with the View From the Front Rows due to the volume of shows I've been attending recently, but I felt that this one from a week or so ago was definitely worth documenting. Last Tuesday, I forfeited the opportunity to see Prof in order to support the Gurp City homies at their "Panama Jack" Tour Jump-Off/Release Party in San Francisco. There was an all-ages Grieves show at Bottom of the Hill a short distance away, which had a packed crowd and a huge line around the block for it, so I was worried that the turn-out for Fist Fam and them would not be spectacular. Fortunately, the Elbo Room ended up getting fairly crowded with awesome people, including lots of true heads and longtime Gurp City supporters, and the show ended up being a grand old time in typical Rec League fashion. Hell, I even convinced some of my Understudies homies at the Grieves show to pass on the jailbait for a few minutes and check this show out.
BPos were the first group to perform, and they kicked their brand of traditional Cali boom bap well. They started things off by dedicating their set to Occupy Oakland, as the OPD had just broken up the encampments with tear gas and rubber bullets, and BPos' conscious lyrics seemed to speak to the movement well. D-Wiz, Goodword and Johnny Venetti were not as rowdy a live show as some of the other acts on the bill, but they had their verses down flat and barreled through their tracks with a very polished and energetic set. They started fashionably late and didn't have a very large crowd watching them, but it didn't seem to affect the quality of their performance any. Nice opening set.
There were a number of technical difficulties related the functioning of laptops and Serato before Grand Invincible came on, and though the wait was annoying the delay was ultimately worthwhile since the crowd grew substantially during the downtime. When Grand Invincible got the sound working right and were ready to play, they completely nailed it with my favorite set of the night. I'd seen Luke Sick and DJ Eons perform before at a Rec League & Lodeck show a while back and thought that their set was pretty good, but this time around everything just felt way more on point. Luke Sick's gruff vocals and confident laid back delivery felt effortless compared to a lot of the evening's MCs, and the simple loop-based beats complimented his style perfectly. Grand Invincible killed it on songs like "Crucifixion of Your Self" and "The Way We Revolt," but some of the best moments of their set came with unreleased joints that I hadn't heard before, which sounded like some serious heat. A really great performance that showed off Luke Sick's original style and that got me fiending for the new projects from Sacred Hoop and Rhyme Force Most Illin'!
Speaking of Rhyme Force, Rec League were the next to get up on stage and do their thing, all sunglassed out with 3D Star Wars shirts and shit. The details get a little blurry around this point (proof that this was, in fact, a Rec League set), but I do remember it being a damn good time. Some highlights included the always awesome "One More Shot," the Maclane-produced "What's Good," QM's drinking anthem "Party Hard," and the crazy hot bars of Richie Cunning's "1906." Surprisingly, this was one of the only Rec League shows I can remember where Rob Rush didn't perform his crazy shirtless "go time" dance routine, though I do remember one or two Rhyme Force Most Illin' verses. I'm guessing the dance song had to be cut due to time running super short near the end of their set, otherwise a petition needs to be started to bring it back cus' that song tends to be an awesome spectacle to see live! Typical illness from these guys, still one of the funnest shows you're likely to see from any Bay Area hip hop act.
Fist Fam were the last act to perform, and they brought their rowdy Southern twist to the evening's Gurped out sounds. Unfortunately, there were a lot of major technical difficulties during their set, which detracted from a couple numbers and made for a slightly less crazy show than usual, but overall it was still a good performance. These guys are one of the largest groups out of the Gurp City collective, boasting at least 6 regular members to their name, so the stage tends to get crowded with MCs eager to rip the mic when they play. Their songs were mostly fun and dance-able with some awesome Southern style hooks, with stand-outs including "How Can I Miss You?" and the hometown friendly sing-along anthem "S.F. Bay." Sadly, their strongest song "Screamin' Out the Grave" ended up skipping and they had to pass it over... listen out for that one next time you see them live, cus' it tends to be nuts. Equipto of Bored Stiff and one other dope Bay area MC showed up as unexpected guests and stepped on stage to kick some freestyles once Fist Fam's set was a wrap. They played for about ten minutes before the venue shut the sound off at 2 in the morning.
All in all, this was a super fun show. The best I've seen from the Gurp City guys since their epic 111 Minna art gallery performance with Z-Man and DJ Quest, which still stands out in my memory as a really amazing time. Check out the video of one of the more recent Grand Invincible numbers that impressed me below:
Not 100% sure if this album officially dropped in December or if it was more like November (or earlier in Europe), but it definitely deserves a mention as one of 2011's sleeper albums and got more rotation than any other album I picked up during the holiday season. Moka Only puts out an awful lot of music and not much of it manages to grab my attention, but with the help of Chief he's delivered what is arguably the strongest album of his prolific career. Moka handles himself very well over the course of the album, with his relaxed stream-of-conscious flow and pop-driven hooks doing each song justice. But Chief is definitely the star of the show here. From the perfectly layered pianos of "For Always" and "If You Want It" to the mellow guitar loops of "Relief," Chief's intricate psychedelic jazz production makes this project sound downright amazing. I remember being a fan of some of Chief's past albums, but he's never quite impressed me to this degree and the pairing with Moka Only provides some good chemistry. The whole album has a really nice open jazz vibe to it, with both Moka's vocals and Chief's beats moving in interesting free-flowing directions. The little instrumental interludes between songs are a very nice touch and really add to the atmosphere as well. Unfortunately, the CD of "Crickets" is only available as an import and tends to run in the 18-plus dollar range regardless of who you buy it from, but it's well worth the extra money spent. Stream the album in full below, and see for yourself:
How lucky are we to be blessed with two full-length Open Mike Eagle projects in one year? To be fair, Open Mike Eagle only represents one-third of the group Thirsty Fish, which also boasts the likes of new school Project Blowdians Dumbfoundead and Psychosiz. This album was released digitally back in May, but finally got the proper CD treatment in December... still counting it in this list since I waited on the CD before giving it a proper listen. The sounds of "Watergate" are quite crazy, and by crazy I mean off-the-deep-end insane. These dudes are going all-out on the bizarre styles tip, repping their Los Angeles heritage to the fullest with some truly weird flows and creative concepts. The beats are largely challenging electronic affairs provided by an assembly of ultra talented beat-makers, including Daedelus, Tokimonsta and Exile. Lots of great moments abound, but some stand-out songs include the style-by-the-dozen marathon of "Antique Blowed Show" and the drunken Busdriver cameo-laced "Grind It Out." My personal favorite track, "Ducks Fail," offers up a reinterpretation of the "Duck Tales" theme song along with some very clever mallard-intensive lyrics. Lots of points for originality with these three, peep the song "Working the Numbers" below:
2011 saw the expansion of Damu the Fudgemunk's awesome Redefinition Records label, which reached beyond Damu's beats to tap into the catalogs of some very talented and underrated hip hop producers. While Kaimbr & Kev Brown's "Al Green Project" and Grap Luva's "Neva Done" got a decent amount of attention, it seems like K-Def's recent album quietly slipped under people's radars... appropriate given the night motif of the cover and the title I suppose. Sleeping should be highly discouraged, however, since this album is damn fine collection of jazzy mood-driven beats that blend live instrumentation seamlessly with sampling. The entire album sounds like music that could be played through the wee hours of the morning, and the nocturnal vibes blend together into a very cohesive body of work. Nice little instro joint with a few chill vocal contributions and an obscure old school LL Cool J number thrown in as a bonus cut. Check out the track "Supa Heath" below:
