The Latest Greatest, 12/3/10
Well, this is a pleasant surprise. After an extended absence from the Chicago rap scene, I was worried that Vakill and the Molemen had just given it up altogether or had fallen victim to some bullshit industry politics. I remember this "Armor of God" album being announced shortly after Vakill's 2006 release "Worst Fears Confirmed," and then kind of gradually vanishing from sight as the years passed by. Great to see that the album is still in the works and slated for a 2011 release. Vakill is a really great rapper with razor-sharp wit, sick flows, versatile concepts, and the best punchlines of any modern rapper in my opinion. "The Darkest Cloud" and "Worst Fears Confirmed" were two of my favorite albums of their respective years, so I'm sure this one will continue that legacy of excellence. No idea how many modifications have been made since then, but here's a tentative tracklisting that dropped a few years back:
1 Intro
2 Armor of God (prod. by Jake One)
3 Beast Ballad f. Juice, Rhymefest, Nino Bless & Crooked I (prod. by Panik)
4 Sick Cinema (prod. by Panik)
5 Heavy (prod. by Panik)
6 Endless Road f. Vizion (prod. by MGI)
7 Armorgeddon (Shit On You) (prod. by Jake One)
8 I Came 4 U (prod. by Panik)
9 Wild Wild (prod. by Bluntologist)
10 The Apology (prod. by Joe Blow)
11 NWA (Nigga Wit Appetite) (prod. by Panik)
12 Lynch (prod. by Croup)
13 Mean Mug Muzik (prod. by Panik)
14 You Don’t Know (prod. by Panik)
15 Bi-Polar (prod. by Panik)
16 Proof (prod. by Jake One)
17 God Given f. Juice and Astonish (prod. by Panik)
Blog banner by Laura "Neila" Yang. http://www.iloveyeti.com
Friday, December 3, 2010
Emulsion > Emotion
The Latest Greatest, 12/3/10
The first official leak from Sims' upcoming Lazerbeak-produced behemoth "Bad Time Zoo" has dropped, and it's sounding extra dangerous indeed. Seems like I've been waiting a few years for this project to drop, since it's first inception as "The Veldt," and if this single's anything to go by then a lot of heads are going to roll come February 2011. I'm a fan of both Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak's albums that dropped this year, but think that "Bad Time Zoo" is going to bump Doomtree back to levels of jaw-dropping outstanding-ness not witnessed since Dessa's "Badly Broken Code" or Doomtree's self-titled album. I heard this track performed live when Doomtree passed through San Francisco on their "Wings & Teeth" tour, and couldn't be happier with how the official recorded version of it came out. Sims' "Bad Time Zoo" will be released 2/15/11 on Doomtree Records. Audio below, get excited.
The first official leak from Sims' upcoming Lazerbeak-produced behemoth "Bad Time Zoo" has dropped, and it's sounding extra dangerous indeed. Seems like I've been waiting a few years for this project to drop, since it's first inception as "The Veldt," and if this single's anything to go by then a lot of heads are going to roll come February 2011. I'm a fan of both Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak's albums that dropped this year, but think that "Bad Time Zoo" is going to bump Doomtree back to levels of jaw-dropping outstanding-ness not witnessed since Dessa's "Badly Broken Code" or Doomtree's self-titled album. I heard this track performed live when Doomtree passed through San Francisco on their "Wings & Teeth" tour, and couldn't be happier with how the official recorded version of it came out. Sims' "Bad Time Zoo" will be released 2/15/11 on Doomtree Records. Audio below, get excited.
Find more artists like SIMS at Myspace Music
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Fresh Fish Bear Fins
The Latest Greatest, 12/2/10
A new sampler from Baje One's record label Modern Shark, which has only made ripples thus far but which always has some dope music from NY's underground available for your listening pleasure. This new sampler features contributions from Cool Calm Pete, Baje One, Tone Tank & Scott Thorough, etc. You can stream it directly below, and you can stream volume 1 even further down if you missed it. P.S: if anyone has some info on this StarPower cat, I'd love to hear it. Dope verse from that guy!
Volume 1:
A new sampler from Baje One's record label Modern Shark, which has only made ripples thus far but which always has some dope music from NY's underground available for your listening pleasure. This new sampler features contributions from Cool Calm Pete, Baje One, Tone Tank & Scott Thorough, etc. You can stream it directly below, and you can stream volume 1 even further down if you missed it. P.S: if anyone has some info on this StarPower cat, I'd love to hear it. Dope verse from that guy!
Volume 1:
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Souls of Mischief, Candlespit Collective, Broken Complex & Uephoric at Slim's, SF
View From the Front Row, 11/27/10
The other night, I went and saw Souls of Mischief, Candlespit Collective, Broken Complex and Uephoric at Slim’s in San Francisco. My second show in a row at Slim’s after a long hiatus from going there, and it was worth the venture though a little pricey at 21 dollars a tick. Most of the crowd was there to see Bay area legends Souls of Mischief, who are very talented and worthy of their large following, but my main motive for going was to see Broken Complex, who put out one of the stronger debuts of 2010 and who I’d never seen live before. The BC crew rolls about 8 or 9 members deep, so I figured that passing on the opportunity to see them all kick it live would be missing out.
Slim's was not even halfway packed when Uephoric got on stage at 9:00 PM. One point I have to give in Slim's favor is that their shows always start at exactly the time they show on the flyer, though in Uephoric's case it meant performing for only a handful of people standing in the front row. I'd never heard of Uephoric, but he put on a pretty cool set and seemed to have his heart and head in the right places. When his laptop initially failed to start up, he kicked a fresh beatbox acapella about how he got started in hip hop, and was skilled enough to hold the small crowd's attention. As far as actual tracks go, his songs had a relaxing California type feel to them and his set breezed by pretty quickly. Nice opener.
Broken Complex, who somehow failed to be mentioned by either the host or Uephoric when
they asked people to make noise for the other acts, came out next to wreck shop. Their set was really great, but disappointing to me at the same time. On the up side, all of the MCs present ripped it with the stylistic energy and drive you'd expect after listening to their full length. Plus, they were all rowdy as hell and supportive of each other on stage. Mine+Us, Max Star, and Uncle D stood out particularly well for their personalities, live antics, and intense verses. They also performed "Stay High" and "This Life," which are two of my favorite songs off their album. On the down side, I was disappointed to find that two of Broken Complex's key members, Populus and Sirah, were absent. This left some gaping holes in tracks that would have otherwise been filled with 
some of the group's most impressive verses. I also noticed that many of the MCs subbed their regular verses on songs for whatever verses they felt like kicking, which was kind of clever but also frustrating when I wanted to hear a favorite verse on a certain song only to get something completely different (this happened with Cleen's verse on "Stay High," for example). Still, it was a damn good set that didn't quite get the audience appreciation it deserved, despite getting a better reception that Uephoric's performance. For the finale, Uncle D dropped into the crowd, put his arm around my shoulder, and jumped around with me to the song "Don't Hate on my 808." Fun shit for sure!
Candlespit Collective, who were responsible for the organization of the evening's events and who had quite a few friends in attendance, came out next and put on a solid set. The collective consisted of MCs JB Nimble and Livin' Poetry accompanied by producer/MC
Cyberclops, none of whom I'd heard before though Livin' Poetry I had heard of through his connections to a number of local MCs. Anyway, JB Nimble and Livin' Poetry were both very animated and enthusiastic on stage, with Cyberclops bringing an ill old school vibe to the beats and kicking an occasional guest verse. Out of the three of them, Livin' Poetry had the illest style, with a deep gravely tone that balanced out the higher pitches of the other MCs nicely. They added a few other entertaining elements to their set as well, with JB Nimble and Livin' Poetry getting into a mock argument rap exchange at one point and Cyberclops crafting and debuting a new beat over the course of the set. Good stuff, I picked up their album afterwards and it's well worth checking for.
The crowd started chanting "Heiro" in anticipation for Souls of Mischief as the DJ set up the
appropriate equipment, and when they came out they got a huge reception from the diehard fans. All four of the Souls were present and accounted for; Tajai, Opio, A-Plus and Phesto all did their thing and showed that they haven't lost it after all these years. Super live set that had half of the fans grooving it up and the other half lighting up some really serious weed - a deep whiff of that second-hand nearly knocked me out! Souls of Mischief performed a number of their classic tracks, a couple classic Heiro tracks, and a few solo songs for each individual member. Naturally, they topped things off with an ultra hype rendition of the all-time classic "93' Till Infinity" that had the whole crowd jumping, and even came out to perform an encore after that. Really good set that showed off the strong chemistry found between those four. Good show.
Broken Complex:
The other night, I went and saw Souls of Mischief, Candlespit Collective, Broken Complex and Uephoric at Slim’s in San Francisco. My second show in a row at Slim’s after a long hiatus from going there, and it was worth the venture though a little pricey at 21 dollars a tick. Most of the crowd was there to see Bay area legends Souls of Mischief, who are very talented and worthy of their large following, but my main motive for going was to see Broken Complex, who put out one of the stronger debuts of 2010 and who I’d never seen live before. The BC crew rolls about 8 or 9 members deep, so I figured that passing on the opportunity to see them all kick it live would be missing out.
Slim's was not even halfway packed when Uephoric got on stage at 9:00 PM. One point I have to give in Slim's favor is that their shows always start at exactly the time they show on the flyer, though in Uephoric's case it meant performing for only a handful of people standing in the front row. I'd never heard of Uephoric, but he put on a pretty cool set and seemed to have his heart and head in the right places. When his laptop initially failed to start up, he kicked a fresh beatbox acapella about how he got started in hip hop, and was skilled enough to hold the small crowd's attention. As far as actual tracks go, his songs had a relaxing California type feel to them and his set breezed by pretty quickly. Nice opener.Broken Complex, who somehow failed to be mentioned by either the host or Uephoric when
they asked people to make noise for the other acts, came out next to wreck shop. Their set was really great, but disappointing to me at the same time. On the up side, all of the MCs present ripped it with the stylistic energy and drive you'd expect after listening to their full length. Plus, they were all rowdy as hell and supportive of each other on stage. Mine+Us, Max Star, and Uncle D stood out particularly well for their personalities, live antics, and intense verses. They also performed "Stay High" and "This Life," which are two of my favorite songs off their album. On the down side, I was disappointed to find that two of Broken Complex's key members, Populus and Sirah, were absent. This left some gaping holes in tracks that would have otherwise been filled with 
some of the group's most impressive verses. I also noticed that many of the MCs subbed their regular verses on songs for whatever verses they felt like kicking, which was kind of clever but also frustrating when I wanted to hear a favorite verse on a certain song only to get something completely different (this happened with Cleen's verse on "Stay High," for example). Still, it was a damn good set that didn't quite get the audience appreciation it deserved, despite getting a better reception that Uephoric's performance. For the finale, Uncle D dropped into the crowd, put his arm around my shoulder, and jumped around with me to the song "Don't Hate on my 808." Fun shit for sure!Candlespit Collective, who were responsible for the organization of the evening's events and who had quite a few friends in attendance, came out next and put on a solid set. The collective consisted of MCs JB Nimble and Livin' Poetry accompanied by producer/MC
Cyberclops, none of whom I'd heard before though Livin' Poetry I had heard of through his connections to a number of local MCs. Anyway, JB Nimble and Livin' Poetry were both very animated and enthusiastic on stage, with Cyberclops bringing an ill old school vibe to the beats and kicking an occasional guest verse. Out of the three of them, Livin' Poetry had the illest style, with a deep gravely tone that balanced out the higher pitches of the other MCs nicely. They added a few other entertaining elements to their set as well, with JB Nimble and Livin' Poetry getting into a mock argument rap exchange at one point and Cyberclops crafting and debuting a new beat over the course of the set. Good stuff, I picked up their album afterwards and it's well worth checking for.The crowd started chanting "Heiro" in anticipation for Souls of Mischief as the DJ set up the
appropriate equipment, and when they came out they got a huge reception from the diehard fans. All four of the Souls were present and accounted for; Tajai, Opio, A-Plus and Phesto all did their thing and showed that they haven't lost it after all these years. Super live set that had half of the fans grooving it up and the other half lighting up some really serious weed - a deep whiff of that second-hand nearly knocked me out! Souls of Mischief performed a number of their classic tracks, a couple classic Heiro tracks, and a few solo songs for each individual member. Naturally, they topped things off with an ultra hype rendition of the all-time classic "93' Till Infinity" that had the whole crowd jumping, and even came out to perform an encore after that. Really good set that showed off the strong chemistry found between those four. Good show.Broken Complex:
Monday, November 22, 2010
Complex Ways to Break Your Neck
The Lowdown, 11/22/10
Broken Complex's self-titled album isn't broken, unless you count the necks that will snap while listening to the complex stylings featured on this impressive debut.
It's rare that a crew of so many lesser-known rappers stands out as being unique, but that's precisely what Broken Complex have accomplished with this labor of love. Consisting of producer DJ Hoppa and MCs Mine+Us, Populus, Sirah, Max Star, Cleen, Laz, and Uncle D, the entire collective comes with their A-game and delivers a memorable album full of great beats, great cuts, and really great rapping. More often than not, crews crowded with lesser-known MCs end up sounding largely generic on the rapping front, but the seven rappers of Broken Complex all stand out with their own distinctive styles and personalities. Mine+Us & DJ Hoppa have been on the grind for a minute now, as have Sirah and Cleen, and their excellent performances here mark some of their best work to date. I don't know who the hell Max Star is, but he murders every verse on this album with a crazy amount of swagger and confidence in his vocals. Laz and Uncle D are probably the weakest links of the crew in my book, but they're never wack and have a couple of key stand-out moments, like Laz's punk rocker gone hip hop verse on "Don't Hate on my 808" or Uncle D's affirmation of birth on "One Minute." Perhaps the biggest surprise of the album is Populus, who I'd previously dismissed as not being my style but who is arguably the star player on this full length, kicking the largest number of memorable verses. DJ Hoppa offers up a super solid gang of simple, jazzy boom bap beats for all of the rapper types to kill it over, and it works wonders. There are a few questionable hooks and a weak guest verse from Copywrite (though he does offer up a great hook), but overall this is a great album with a fun "friendly competition" sort of vibe running throughout it.
One of the best hip hop debuts of 2010. These guys are touring the left coast currently, and will be opening for Souls of Mischief in San Francisco at Slim's on November 24th. 90% sure I'll be attending. :)
Broken Complex's self-titled album isn't broken, unless you count the necks that will snap while listening to the complex stylings featured on this impressive debut.
It's rare that a crew of so many lesser-known rappers stands out as being unique, but that's precisely what Broken Complex have accomplished with this labor of love. Consisting of producer DJ Hoppa and MCs Mine+Us, Populus, Sirah, Max Star, Cleen, Laz, and Uncle D, the entire collective comes with their A-game and delivers a memorable album full of great beats, great cuts, and really great rapping. More often than not, crews crowded with lesser-known MCs end up sounding largely generic on the rapping front, but the seven rappers of Broken Complex all stand out with their own distinctive styles and personalities. Mine+Us & DJ Hoppa have been on the grind for a minute now, as have Sirah and Cleen, and their excellent performances here mark some of their best work to date. I don't know who the hell Max Star is, but he murders every verse on this album with a crazy amount of swagger and confidence in his vocals. Laz and Uncle D are probably the weakest links of the crew in my book, but they're never wack and have a couple of key stand-out moments, like Laz's punk rocker gone hip hop verse on "Don't Hate on my 808" or Uncle D's affirmation of birth on "One Minute." Perhaps the biggest surprise of the album is Populus, who I'd previously dismissed as not being my style but who is arguably the star player on this full length, kicking the largest number of memorable verses. DJ Hoppa offers up a super solid gang of simple, jazzy boom bap beats for all of the rapper types to kill it over, and it works wonders. There are a few questionable hooks and a weak guest verse from Copywrite (though he does offer up a great hook), but overall this is a great album with a fun "friendly competition" sort of vibe running throughout it.
One of the best hip hop debuts of 2010. These guys are touring the left coast currently, and will be opening for Souls of Mischief in San Francisco at Slim's on November 24th. 90% sure I'll be attending. :)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Doomtree & Rec League at Slims, SF
View From the Front Row, 11/16/10
Last Friday, I drove out to San Francisco with a friend to check out Doomtree and Rec League at Slim's. Doomtree has been my favorite indie rap group for a minute now, with outstanding releases from every member and stellar work as a group, not to mention a reputation for putting on great shows. I've seen them individually and in groups many times at this point, but this "Wings + Teeth" tour is the first nation-wide tour to feature every member of the group in the same spot, which was some cause for excitement in my book. Rec League have also torn down the spot wherever they've performed and are one of the Bay Area's finer live acts in my experience, so things were looking extra strong in the line-up department for this gig.
It had been a while since I'd been to Slim's, and generally my experiences there haven't been the most favorable. The place was packed and the crowd was difficult to maneuver through, but the stage was less high than I remember it being and the sound was good. Rec League came out as the opener and killed it, as they tend to do in concert, though the Doomtree-centric crowd seemed to need a couple of songs before they were convinced. Rec League's party anthems did end up catching 
people's attention once the dance vibes got going, and folks who weren't having fun yet were driven to cheer along when Rob Rush did his shirtless solo track/dance-off routine. Haji P, who I hadn't seen live before, was also in attendance repping Rec League and did some really fun tracks of his own. It felt different watching them in the throng of such a packed crowd, but I was glad to see other people in attendance enjoying the performance. Rec League handed out a gang of free CDs to all the lucky folks hanging around the front row as well, which certainly went appreciated.
Doomtree kicked off their set as a collective with solo performances from their heavy-hitting producers Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak, both of whom put out pretty strong solo albums this year. Their warm-up act was the weakest link of the evening's performances, as the bass was cranked a little too high to do justice to Paper Tiger's solo numbers and Lazerbeak's warbly indie rock vocals seemed a little off in a live setting. Things were quickly remedied by the appearance of the rest of the Doomtree squad, however, at which point things started getting really live. Out of the collective, P.O.S and Dessa have the strongest and most devoted followings at this point - P.O.S from constant touring and skill, Dessa from 
widespread critical acclaim and talent. There was a not a point in the evening when people weren't fiercely cheering for these two, though all of the MCs were very well received and had the crowd going nuts. Mike Mictlan was definitely a live wire on stage, though in my experiences seeing him live his abundant energy and drive are sometimes poured so hard into a single song that he can lose steam quickly. Fortunately, the pacing of the evening and the way that the MCs alternated from song to song prevented this from happening, and Mike's performances of "Oh My God" and "Slow Burn" were amazing. Cecil Otter also did his thing and has perhaps the most interesting fanbase to watch out of any of the Doomtree crew - a following smaller than that of Dessa or P.O.S, but one in which all the fans chant along to almost every line of his songs (myself included). He didn't do "Black Rose," which is my favorite 
track of his to see live, but he did kick "Traveling Dunk Tank" with P.O.S as well as a new song from his upcoming album that sounded incredible. Out of all the Doomtree MCs, Sims was one of my favorite performers at this particular show. He really brought his A-game in terms of energy and style, and kicked mostly new songs from his upcoming Lazerbeak-produced album "Bad Time Zoo" that sounded amazing. Dessa and P.O.S were both on point, of course, with Dessa's awesome spoken word fast-rap love verse and Hallelujah song wowing the crowd as usual. There was also a moment where she let her hair loose where you could just hear all the male indie rap fans heart collectively skipping a beat, haha! P.O.S played some favorites like "Drumroll" and a number of crew songs, including the awesome "Low Light Low Life" with Dessa and Sims as an encore.
Another great show from Doomtree all around. Here is some footage from the front of new songs by Cecil Otter and Sims, both of which sound amazing:
Cecil Otter:
Sims:
Last Friday, I drove out to San Francisco with a friend to check out Doomtree and Rec League at Slim's. Doomtree has been my favorite indie rap group for a minute now, with outstanding releases from every member and stellar work as a group, not to mention a reputation for putting on great shows. I've seen them individually and in groups many times at this point, but this "Wings + Teeth" tour is the first nation-wide tour to feature every member of the group in the same spot, which was some cause for excitement in my book. Rec League have also torn down the spot wherever they've performed and are one of the Bay Area's finer live acts in my experience, so things were looking extra strong in the line-up department for this gig.
It had been a while since I'd been to Slim's, and generally my experiences there haven't been the most favorable. The place was packed and the crowd was difficult to maneuver through, but the stage was less high than I remember it being and the sound was good. Rec League came out as the opener and killed it, as they tend to do in concert, though the Doomtree-centric crowd seemed to need a couple of songs before they were convinced. Rec League's party anthems did end up catching 
people's attention once the dance vibes got going, and folks who weren't having fun yet were driven to cheer along when Rob Rush did his shirtless solo track/dance-off routine. Haji P, who I hadn't seen live before, was also in attendance repping Rec League and did some really fun tracks of his own. It felt different watching them in the throng of such a packed crowd, but I was glad to see other people in attendance enjoying the performance. Rec League handed out a gang of free CDs to all the lucky folks hanging around the front row as well, which certainly went appreciated.
Doomtree kicked off their set as a collective with solo performances from their heavy-hitting producers Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak, both of whom put out pretty strong solo albums this year. Their warm-up act was the weakest link of the evening's performances, as the bass was cranked a little too high to do justice to Paper Tiger's solo numbers and Lazerbeak's warbly indie rock vocals seemed a little off in a live setting. Things were quickly remedied by the appearance of the rest of the Doomtree squad, however, at which point things started getting really live. Out of the collective, P.O.S and Dessa have the strongest and most devoted followings at this point - P.O.S from constant touring and skill, Dessa from 
widespread critical acclaim and talent. There was a not a point in the evening when people weren't fiercely cheering for these two, though all of the MCs were very well received and had the crowd going nuts. Mike Mictlan was definitely a live wire on stage, though in my experiences seeing him live his abundant energy and drive are sometimes poured so hard into a single song that he can lose steam quickly. Fortunately, the pacing of the evening and the way that the MCs alternated from song to song prevented this from happening, and Mike's performances of "Oh My God" and "Slow Burn" were amazing. Cecil Otter also did his thing and has perhaps the most interesting fanbase to watch out of any of the Doomtree crew - a following smaller than that of Dessa or P.O.S, but one in which all the fans chant along to almost every line of his songs (myself included). He didn't do "Black Rose," which is my favorite 
track of his to see live, but he did kick "Traveling Dunk Tank" with P.O.S as well as a new song from his upcoming album that sounded incredible. Out of all the Doomtree MCs, Sims was one of my favorite performers at this particular show. He really brought his A-game in terms of energy and style, and kicked mostly new songs from his upcoming Lazerbeak-produced album "Bad Time Zoo" that sounded amazing. Dessa and P.O.S were both on point, of course, with Dessa's awesome spoken word fast-rap love verse and Hallelujah song wowing the crowd as usual. There was also a moment where she let her hair loose where you could just hear all the male indie rap fans heart collectively skipping a beat, haha! P.O.S played some favorites like "Drumroll" and a number of crew songs, including the awesome "Low Light Low Life" with Dessa and Sims as an encore.Another great show from Doomtree all around. Here is some footage from the front of new songs by Cecil Otter and Sims, both of which sound amazing:
Cecil Otter:
Sims:
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Artsy After Parties with Open Mike
The Latest Greatest, 11/13/10
Much to the dismay of art rap naysayers worldwide, Open Mike Eagle will be dropping a follow-up EP to his album "Unapologetic Art Rap" via Mush Records on 12/21/2010. Appropriately titled "Art Rap After Party," the 5 track EP features more progressive stylings from one of the more interesting voices of Project Blowed's Swim Team/Thirsty Fish collective. Included is the track "Haircut," which I've seen him perform several times live and which always makes for an entertaining song in concert. The entire EP is stream-able for your listening pleasure on the Mush Records website.
Much to the dismay of art rap naysayers worldwide, Open Mike Eagle will be dropping a follow-up EP to his album "Unapologetic Art Rap" via Mush Records on 12/21/2010. Appropriately titled "Art Rap After Party," the 5 track EP features more progressive stylings from one of the more interesting voices of Project Blowed's Swim Team/Thirsty Fish collective. Included is the track "Haircut," which I've seen him perform several times live and which always makes for an entertaining song in concert. The entire EP is stream-able for your listening pleasure on the Mush Records website.
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