October 2K12 in Hip Hop Terms

The Lowdown, 1/4/13

More notable albums from the final months of 2012:

1) P.O.S "We Don't Even Live Here" (Rhymesayers) 

I must say, as much as I love Doomtree and P.O.S' music and everything that it stands for, I was worried that this album wouldn't deliver.  The Doomtree group album "No Kings" that preceded "We Don't Even Live Here" was an undeniably solid piece of work, but somehow I don't find myself revisiting it as much as some of Doomtree's other efforts.  Not really knocking the album, I do enjoy it, but I guess it's not my personal favorite sound of theirs.  More worrisome was the free album that Mike Mictlan dropped earlier this year, "SNAXXX," which I actually disliked to the point of not bothering to share it on this blog.  Those and Doomtree's super busy tour schedule both made me second-guess whether P.O.S would deliver on this joint, and boy do I feel foolish for even having a shadow of a doubt.  Not only does P.O.S deliver another outstanding earthshaker of an album, but he actually takes the electro beat styles that Mike Mictlan and Doomtree were working with and improves upon them tenfold.  Granted, the first two-thirds of the album play out like some traditional dark P.O.S shit, with Lazerbeak and Cecil Otter providing most of the ill instrumentation and P.O.S dropping his gruff verses and punk-influenced indie rock hooks.  Then, starting with the dance riot single "Get Down," the album takes a sharp turn into heavy electro club territory without skipping a beat.  Both sides of the album offer up some killer songs, with favorites including the bouncy Astronautalis collab "Wanted/Wasted," the dark mission statement "Lock-Picks, Knives, Bricks and Bats," and the aforementioned dance single "Get Down."  P.O.S also deserves major props for his lyrics, which are penned with a political punk aggression that avoids the cliches so often associated with political rap music.  On "All of Me," he barrels his way through Occupy protestors, spitting "I ain't invited to your protest/ they say I'm out of my damned mind/ Rather break glass then stand holding a 'Peace' sign."  Meanwhile, the song "Fuck Your Stuff" is an enormous anti-materialist anthem, with a live as hell hook and lyrics that include "how to make bombs with shit you find in your kitchen."  Raps laced with attitude, amazing beats, and excellent guest spots scattered throughout.  Another truly exceptional album from P.O.S.  Check out the crazy video for the equally crazy song "Get Down" below:



2) Blueprint "Deleted Scenes" (Weightless)

Speaking of albums that exceeded expectations, this new one from Printmatic succeeded in doing so in a major way.  This album was billed as a collection of songs that didn't make it onto Blueprint's last release "Adventures in Counter-Culture," and the title "Deleted Scenes" would lead one to believe that it's some random collection of B-sides, but that couldn't be further from the truth.   This really is a brand new full length Blueprint album, carefully crafted and unified in theme and focus, with excellent mastering and plenty of stand-out songs.  The album could be considered a continuation or companion piece for "Adventures in Counter-Culture," with songs cultivated and reworked from the sessions used to record that project, but the songs are so damn great that it really feels like a worthy follow-up to an album that was years in the making.  "Deleted Scenes" finds Blueprint once again flexing his creativity over his own unique electronic-influenced production, splitting his focus between straight-forward relatable rap verses and electronic indie pop.  Both are delivered under Blueprint's trademark voice and flow, and never is there a point where a song doesn't feel like it belongs on the album.  In fact, one of the most impressive things about this collection of songs is just how cohesively it plays out as an album, with a more distinctive sound and style than many hip hop long-players that dropped this year.  Dismissing this project as something that was quickly scrapped together would be a big mistake, so I hope that indie rap heads and especially fans of "Adventures in Counter-Culture" won't sleep on this one.  No music videos for this one alas, but you can listen to the song "Never Grow Old" below:



3) Robust "Fillin' in the Potholes" (Galapagos4)

This one didn't really grab me as hard as P.O.S or Blueprint's albums, but it definitely grew on me with repeated listens.  I think I might be one of those dudes that Robust is referring to on his song "Northern Soul" when he spits "dropped 'Potholes' but my fans don't think I'm hot no more."  Robust's first album "Potholes in My Molecules" really impressed me and was one of my favorites of that year, but since then I've felt like he's been on a gradual decline with his recordings.  I had high expectations for "Fillin in the Potholes" since it's the first time in a while that Robust has been paired with an all-star cast of Chicago producers (Meaty Ogre, Maker, PNS, Void Pedal, etc.), plus the album is billed as somewhat of a return to form for Ro and is graced by Albane's always dope artwork.  The beats are terrific throughout and it's definitely the strongest recorded stuff from Robust in a long while, but there's still something about his flow and voice that makes his verses not stand out to me as much anymore. Still, he does more or less hold this thing down, and there are some bright moments with his rhyming like the affirmative statements of "What's Your World" or the simple run-down of "Soloist."  Some raw soulful Chicago rap shit, check out the video for the Void Pedal produced song "High Road" below:

Tommy V "Mockingbird"

Expanding the Backpack, 12/31/12

New free EP of extra fun music from Tommy V, "Mockingbird," out now via Fake Four Inc.  It's been ages since I last heard a solo album from Tommy V, and I'd kind of assumed that he'd quit making new music at this point, so when the Fake Four guys announced that this was dropping for free in December my curiosity was piqued.  It's been some 12 odd years since his last solo project "Quarter Life Crisis" dropped and garnered a cult following amongst LA underground heads, and I have a major soft spot for the Convenience Store album he put out with evs and Neila in 2007, so it's great to hear him back in full form here!  Tommy has always had a very fun and creative vibe to his music, and this EP shows off both of those attributes with great humor and sincerity.  Not one track in, and the man is already picking grey hairs from his nutsack and hologramming himself to avoid bottles being thrown at him!  Great upbeat jazzy music with fun melodic rap styles and memorable lyrics (check out his critique of hipster cafe's on "Cafecíto Orgánico" or his funny second-hand story "Pawn Shop").  I guarantee that you Pigeon John fans out there will go absolutely crazy for this shit.  One of the best free hip hop albums 2012 has to offer, so don't you dare sleep on it.  Download Tommy V's "Mockingbird" on Fake Four's Bandcamp Page or stream it below:

1. Cepillín Intro
2. Remember Me?
3. Son of a Gun
4. Disillusioned
5. Cafecíto Orgánico
6. Dollar Bin Delectables
7. I Hate Music
8. Useless Labels (feat. David Ramos)
9. How's Cali (feat. Ceschi)
10. Pawn Shop
11. Seu Amor
12. Always Heal
13. For Infinity
14. Can You Hear Me?

Mixed Blood on Our Hands

The Latest Greatest, 12/31/12

Peeking at 2013, the first release that I will be dropping my money on without the slightest bit of hesitation is this new self-titled album from the group Mixed Blood Majority, which they'll be self-releasing on 1/22/13.  Mixed Blood Majority is another of those outstanding Minnesota hip hop groups that have been cropping up lately, and consists of Crescent Moon (of Oddjobs and Kill the Vultures) and Joe Horton (of No Bird Sing) on the raps while Lazerbeak handles all of the beat work.  Aside from the excitement of having another fully Lazerbeak produced rap album on our hands, I'm stoked to hear this project for the contributions from Crescent Moon, who I've been a fan of since his early days in the Oddjobs.  Not as familiar with Joe Horton or No Bird Sing, but you can only expect so much from a non-Minnesota native and I gotta say that he sounds fresh next to Crescent Moon on the leaked single "Fine Print."  The album also features Toki Wright, Kristoff Krane, and Cecil Otter, who all tend to be winners when it comes to the raps.  Listen to leaked single "Fine Print" below, and prepare to get bloody:

1. Fine Print
2. Product of My Company
3. Still Standing Still
4. Dead Weight
5. Story to Tell (feat. Toki Wright)
6. Ritual (feat. Kristoff Krane)
7. The Ballad of Cedric Ceballos
8. Free Up (feat. Cecil Otter)
9. Hallucination Music
10. The Runaround

September 2K12 in Hip Hop Terms

Way behind here, but still wanna wrap up these last months of 2K12.  Some major picks for the month of September.  October and (eventually) November to follow in 2K13:

1) Typical Cats "3" (Galapagos4)

Now here's an album that lived up to some lofty expectations and earned itself a secure spot amongst my favorites of 2012.  This third group effort from Typical Cats plays out like a blueprint for the art of MCing, with Qwel, Qwazaar, and Denizen Kane all impressing in some very major ways on the rapping tip.  Qwel's relentless flows and rhyme patterns are in tact, but his styles feel looser and more daring on this project, which makes for some extra bright moments on tracks like "My Watch" and "Mathematics."  Qwazaar stays killing it with his amazing voice and cadence, whether he's dropping a super hard show-stealing verse on "On My Square" or channeling some mellower introspective vibes on "Reflections From the Porch."  The very underrated Denizen Kane also impresses big time throughout the album, switching his styles between straight MCing ("Gil Say They Don't Knock"), spoken word ("Denizen Walks Away"), and melodic reggae vibes (the stand-out cut "Blank Stone").  I see a lot of reviews online pointing a finger at Denizen and labeling him the weakest link of the group, but I'm just gonna have to beg to differ here since he more than holds his own next to Qwel and Qwazaar in my book.  Of course, all of this awesome rapping is gone to waste without a proper set of beats, and DJ Natural delivers a great collection of soul and jazz influenced hip hop production for these fools to rap over.  DJ Natural was the weakest part of the group to me on past albums, but on "3" he definitely gets his formula right and carries a special vibe throughout the album with the help of his partner Kid Knish.  I love the way the album's mastered, as it sounds as if it could have been recorded a long time ago while still remaining timeless, and the little instrumental interludes and segues make the album flow perfectly.  Hell, this album even has a skit on it that I don't completely hate, which is close to a first (though still the weakest part of the album, overall).  Anyway, I can't recommend this one highly enough to my hip hop traditionalists out there.  Prime cut grade A rapping over 20 cuts, need I say more?  Check out the video for the song "The Crown" below:




2) The Gaslamp Killer "Breakthrough" (Brainfeeder) 

While I haven't been the hugest fan of all of Brainfeeder's releases as of late, Gaslamp Killer's grand debut solo LP on the label is my favorite release of theirs and my favorite electronic album in quite some time.  Took a minute for me to draw an opinion on this guy as a musician since up until now he was mostly known for his mixes, but after hearing this album I think it's safe to say that dude makes some nasty beats. The music on "Breakthrough" demands the listener's attention and insists on offering up new challenges with every song, which makes for an exciting ride that veers off in all sorts of crazy directions.  The relentless pounding of "Flange Face" and ominous drones of "Seven Years of Bad Luck For Fun" are balanced by the quieter elegance of songs like "Nissim," but never are you drawn too far from the jarring noise.  One really impressive thing about this album is the way that Gaslamp Killer ropes tons of talented guest musicians into the mix without losing the cohesion of the album.  Each guest artist leaves their distinct mark on the songs they grace, and the styles differ, yet nothing feels out of place.  Gonjasufi's off-kilter singing feels right over Gaslamp Killer's strange cinematic arrangements, and Daedelus and Samiyam both serve up their distinct versions of button mashing to add to the cacophonous symphony.  Great stuff, check out the creepy video for the song "Seven Years of Bad Luck for Fun" featuring Dimlite below:



3) Carnage the Executioner "Respect the Name" (Fill in the Breaks)

Carnage's official follow-up to his "unofficial" (but super good) album "Worth the Wait" is another tough pill to swallow, but repeated listens reveal a very strong lyrical album with plenty of unconventional styles to study and personal anecdotes to relate to.  Carnage's chaotic style and erratic flow are in full effect over a series of raw old school sounding beats, which are provided by a number of lesser known producers from Minnesota alongside a couple of mainstays like Medium Zach.  The album is a lot cleaner than "Worth the Wait," with a polished sound more similar to the aesthetic of the Typical Cats "3" album, and it features Carnage at his most personal and subdued.  He's simmered down from the all-out rampage of "Worth the Wait" to deliver a more thoughtful and introspective piece of work, with songs like "Nigger-tivity," "Addict" and "M.T.W Story" offering a refreshingly vulnerable side of the stylistic beast.  Those who want to hear Carnage go on a rapping warpath need not fear, since songs like "Soul Snatcher" and "C.3XL" still show off his trademark ruthlessness as an MC.  A bit too much braggadocio in the first half of the album perhaps, but all in all this is an excellent album and the strongest offering to date from one of the respected rappers of the Minnesota hip hop scene.  Peep the video for the title track "Respect the Name" below.  Not a strong video, but definitely a strong song:



4) Cars & Trains "We Are All Fire" (Fake Four Inc)

Maybe it's just because of the copious amount of gritty rap music I listened to in September (Typical Cats, Carnage, and Blu & Exile's dope "Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them" joint to name a few), but Tom Filepp's new album as Cars & Trains was one that I came back to and revisited quite a bit.  The previous album from Cars & Trains, "The Roots, the Leaves," had some impressive moments on it but didn't really move me as a whole.  This new album, on the other hand, is a very quiet and mature body of work that speaks to me on many levels.  The album feels more fragile and intimate than any of Tom's previous recordings, and while it never quite jumps out at you, it gently settles into your soul and soothes you for its 35 minute duration.  The folky electronic instrumentation of the album is gorgeous, and Tom's delicate voice compliments the warmth of the album well.  His lyrics are very perceptive and touch upon the concept of family in a genuine way, which adds to the beauty of the project.  Another clear winner in Fake Four's non-hip hop output this year, this is an album that fits certain moods like a glove and will be listened to for some time to come.  Check out the video for the title track "We Are All Fire" below:

Rocketing Out the Slump

The Latest Greatest, 11/7/12

Sapient's long-rumored alt rock project, "Slump," will be dropping via Camobear Records on February 19th, 2013.  Very curious to see how this one turns out.  Sapient has a very solid work ethic, both as a solo artist and as a member of the well-respected Sandpeople collective out of Portland.  Considering the amount of beats he produces and the number of albums he drops on a yearly basis, it's kind of surprising how many of them turn out to be solid.  This new album drops his traditional rapping in favor of a more melodic rock approach to his songs, which is not actually a huge jump from his past work considering his tendency to end each of his albums with some poppy hip hop rock joint.  Still, it'll be interesting to hear this style of music for an entire album for a change.  It could either result in the most essential Sapient project to date, or in a complete trainwreck of a concept album.  Sapient does tend to lean towards the side of quality with his releases, so I'm confident that "Slump" will offer at least a couple of key catchy tunes to bring a smile to your respective slumps.  Tracklisting and debut single video below:

1. Slow Up
2. Pieces of Paper
3. When
4. Shotgun in my Spaceship
5. Roman Candle
6. The Dapper Mob
7. Notroh
8. Seeking New Skin
9. Went Like This
10. Opera Pigs
11. Ello
12. Monsters Eat Bricks
13. I Was Wrong
14. Gladys
15. Anaphylaxis
16. Out From Under

Busdriver, Nocando, and Open Mike Eagle at The New Parish, Oakland

View From the Front Row, 10/25/12

About two weeks ago, I went and checked out the Arguments With Dreams Tour starring Busdriver, Nocando, and Open Mike Eagle at the New Parish in Oakland CA.  This was the first show of the tour and it had the misfortune of landing on an unexpected Game 5 for the Oakland A's, which probably drew a bit of the sports fanatic Busdriver fans away from the venue.  Still, the show got a pretty good turn out of top notch people, including a bunch of fans from Nappa Valley who I ended up grabbing a beer with before the show.  Later met up with a few awesome friends of mine at the venue, and happened to bump into Doseone, who distributed hugs in the midst of buying a round of drinks for the performers.  I've seen all of the acts on this tour play many times before (hell, I've seen Open Mike Eagle and Busdriver play a couple of times this year alone), but this particular show felt special since it was my first time seeing these three LA rap talents on a proper tour together.  Given their numerous collaborations and similar approaches to hip hop, the sets that these Hellfyre Club MCs offered up had a special chemistry that made for a really dope show.

Open Mike Eagle kicked things off with some smooth melodic styles that quickly roped the crowd in and won them over by the third song.  After an odd electronic intro rap from "4NML HSPTL," he got into the full swing of things with his track "The Processional," where his skillful musical flows and clever lyrics had folks' undivided attention in no time.  I've seen Open Mike Eagle play tiny dive bars like Johnny V's and huge concert halls like the Fillmore, and he always kills it with his unique soft-spoken style and finds charming ways to banter with the crowd.  Highlights of this recent set at the New Parish included "Neighbor" and his verse off of "Why Pianos Break," though he cut his song "I Rock" cruelly short when he realized that it wasn't really speaking to him that night.  Mike Eagle had the crowd do some proper stretching exercises before throwing down some beat manipulation and dropping the track "Free-Writing Exercise," where Nocando joined him on stage to exchange some heated verses.  The two friends I was with had never seen Open Mike Eagle live, and the Nappa Valley kids had never even heard of him before the set at this show.  All of them left converted fans and told me how much they loved Mike's set.  Dope show for sure.

Nocando was next to rock the mic, and he delivered a more loud and aggressive set of songs that worked nicely on the crowd.  Oakland is one of the two places that Nocando claims as home, and he was clearly the touring artist that felt most at home at the New Parish that night.  The way that Nocando pointed out his friends in the crowd and rocked a beat from an iPod that someone handed him in the front row, he may as well have been killing it in his own backyard.  Still, club-oriented joints like "Where's the Money?" and "All Over a Bitch" (which Nocando openly apologized to the ladies for) got folks rowdy in the front row and made the place feel like a proper dancehall.  He also kicked some of the freestyling he's known so well for, and brought Busdriver out for their collaborative number "Two Track Mind."  This was one of Nocando's first shows back in the states after spending some time in Japan, so it was great to see him vibing so well off of Oakland's energy.  Very good set.

Busdriver stepped up as the evening's headliner, and proceeded to show off his zany styles of rapping to the fullest.  He started things off with a series of solo tracks that spanned his body of work, with a particular emphasis on songs that have impressed people live.  Some stand-outs included "Me-Time," "Casting Agent & Cowgirls," "Avantcore" and "Bon Bon Fire," though just about every song he played was solid.  While this part of Busdriver's performance was great, the highlight of the evening was definitely when Nocando joined him on stage to perform a set of songs as Flash Bang Grenada, where the crazy music took on a new life.  Busdriver and Nocando were having a great time playing together, frequently laughing or bugging out over each others flows and lyrics, and the good vibes translated well to the music and to the crowd.  Tracks like "Beat My Bitch" and "Good Cop, Bad Cop" sounded plenty live through the New Parish speakers, and Open Mike Eagle joined the two of them on stage for a rowdy rendition of their excellent track "In a Perfect World."  My friends and I were dancing so hard that at one point my glasses flew off and somehow found their way onto the stage, where Busdriver stumbled upon them and handed them back to me in the front.  Great set that ended a great show.

Fun times for all involved, my friends and I left smiling and sweaty.  Peep the video footage for "In a Perfect World" live below, and please excuse the less than stellar sound quality.  Now, if I could just start a petition here to get Open Mike Eagle to start performing "Haircut" again in his sets, we could round these shows out to perfection.  Not the best song in his catalog or anything, but that track has been great the few times I've seen him play it live!

Soul Reigns Supreme

The Latest Greatest, 10/17/12

I know my serious hip hop head buddies have been fiending for this one.  Myka 9 & Factor's new collaborative album, "Sovereign Soul," will be dropping this November 13th via Fake Four Inc.  Myka is an incredible rapper with one of the most musical approaches to rapping you're likely to hear anywhere, and his last full length with Factor "1969" was one of his strongest projects to date.  I'm left with no choice but to assume that this new album of theirs will end up being amazing, and the tracklisting definitely piques my curiosity. Can't say I was expecting to see Astronautalis or ERULE up in the mix, those should be some epic collabos for the books!  Track I'm most looking forward to hearing is probably that "5 Mikes" one, fun concept already and I haven't listened to a single bar from it.  For now, you can listen to the all-too-short leaked song "You Are Free" below:

1. Sovereign Soul
2. You Are Free
3. Bask In These Rays (feat. Ceschi & Astronautalis)
4. Hard Hit
5. Ode to Cosmosis (feat. Abstract Rude, Freewill & Moka Only)
6. Mind Heights
7. Sexy To The Beat
8. Heaven Up (feat. Johanna Phraze & JNatural)
9. Bless Me Out (feat. Jah Orah)
10. Zo Oh Owe Ning (feat. Charli Rose)
11. 5 Mikes (feat. Open Mike Eagle, Mykill Miers, Mic King & Myk Mansun)
12. Indigenous Areas (feat. ERULE)
13. In So Far As We Know

   Myka 9 and Factor "You Are Free" by Fake Four, Inc.