Corina Corina "Come Again: The Eargasm Extended"

Expanding the Backpack, 5/15/13

New free EP of quality music from NY-based R&B singer Corina Corina.  "Come Again: The Eargasm Extended" is a solid collection of mostly extensions and remixes from Corina's last full length solo album "The Eargasm."  It serves as a nice companion piece to that album, but also functions well as an entry point for people who have yet to hear Corina's music.  Tracks like the remix of "Express Train" benefit from the inclusion of some great new guest verses, and it's awesome to hear fresh material from Corina with Angi3 on "Walk a Mile," but the EP's crowning achievements are the impressive remixes of the songs "O.D Love" and "Royalty."  With "O.D. Love,"  Connecticut producer Deto-22 transforms a previously mellow number into a dark electronic tour de force that seems constantly on the verge of leaning into drum n' bass territory, with exciting results.  Similarly, Willie Green's remix of "Royalty" completely abandons the quiet lounge atmosphere of the original in favor of some strong percussion and funky organ sounds, reworking the song into something entirely new.  Great EP all around, accompanied by some very tasteful cover art.  You can download "Come Again: The Eargasm Extended" for free over at Corina Corina's Bandcamp Page, or stream it under the tracklisting below:

1. Express Train (Remix) (feat. Roc Doogie)
2. O.D. Love (Deto-22 Remix)
3. Royalty (Willie Green Remix)
4. I'm Free (Francois Merryweather Remix)
5. Cost of Living (Remix) (feat. Julius Jones)
6. Walk a Mile (feat. Angi3)

Lone Wake Up Call

The Latest Greatest, 5/15/13

New album from Saskatoon's shining star Factor, entitled "Woke Up Alone," dropping July 23rd 2013 via Fake Four Inc.  Expectations have been shifting into high gear over at My Backpack is Bigger Than Yours HQ ever since this one was announced to the masses.  Factor's last full length solo album, "Lawson Graham," was such a high-caliber conceptual body of work that it's hard to think of a producer compilation style album that rivals it in its artistry.  "Lawson Graham" offered up a loving ode to Factor's grandfather through the unlikely wedding of hip hop and folk music, delivered in such a perfect way that you'd assume the genres had been married for years instead of being newlyweds.  With this new Factor project on the horizon, it's a pleasure to see that he hasn't slowed down on the ambitious conceptual side of things.  "Woke Up Alone" supposedly tells the tale of a grieving protagonist (played by rapper Kirby Dominant) who is trying to cope with the death of his wife.  This tale is split into 5 scenes meant to represent the different stages of mourning, with guest rappers guesting in roles that range from the protagonist's psychologist to the Devil himself.  Judging by the first leaked single off the album, the sound that Factor is aiming for on this album is something more dark and haunting than his usual fair, driven by dreary guitar jabs and creepy keys.  Looks like some exciting stuff for sure, check out the leaked single "Alive Tomorrow" featuring Nomad and the album trailer below:

Denial & Isolation (Scene 1)
1. Woke Up Alone
2. The Empire Has Fallen (feat. Paranoid Castle)
3. After the Service

Anger (Scene 2)
4. Raise the Dead (feat. Ceschi)
5. Alive Tomorrow (feat. Nomad)
6. Stone Cold (feat. Open Mike Eagle)

Bargaining (Scene 3)
7. Long Hallways
8. In Sickness & In Health (feat. Onry Ozzborn)
9. Don't Give Up (feat. Paranoid Castle & Jeans Boots)

Depression (Scene 4)
10. Denied (feat. Myka 9)
11. Devil's Call (feat. Evil Ebeneezer)
12. Carry Over (feat. Jeans Boots)

Acceptance (Scene 5)
13. Let It Go (feat. Astronautalis)
14. Give Up (feat. Gregory Pepper & Paranoid Castle)
15. The Grave Burial 

B.I.C. (Bitches Is Crazy) "Influence"

Expanding the Backpack, 4/19/13

 

New free full length album from New York hip hop crew Bitches Is Crazy, brought to you by NY's often underrated High Water Music label.  I have very little to share about these guys since they're a new name in my book and I can't find a bio listed anywhere, but from what I can piece together the group consists of a bunch of rapper types (Yesus 199, Pete, Ill Spills, Izzy OZ) and a couple frequent producers (VESA, MP the God, Chuk Le Garcon).  This "Influence" album of theirs earns them some strong points in the "classy hip hop street vibes" department, with their gruff voices complimenting the  soulful production nicely.  The album has a couple misses, and content-wise the constant raps about bitches and blunts do leave something to be desired, but overall this joint succeeds in my book off the strength of atmosphere that it evokes.  I really do feel immersed in the world of hip hop that B.I.C. lives in when I toss this on, and there's something to be said about hip hop that can convey that feeling to you even when you can't always relate.  Sucio Smash of High Water Music tends to be somewhat of a don when it comes to picking strong slept-on rap talent from New York (Homeboy Sandman, Fresh Daily, Senor Kaos, etc.), so it's always worth casting an ear to his picks of the litter.  You can download B.I.C.'s "Influence" free of charge over at the High Water Music Bandcamp Page, or stream it under the tracklisting below.  

1. Yinfluence 

2. NEVERCHILLIN 

3. This Money 

4. Shinin' 

5. WAVE 

6. Basic Bitch (Typaniggayou)

7. Ever Since 

8. Yo Soy Widdit 

9. What's Up (They Know) 

10. That's Right 

11. Groupie Love 

12. Taking Shorts 

13. Busty Love 

14. Food For Thought 

15. Wise Words 

16. DOPM 

17. Happy to be Here (Shoutro) 

18. Mechanism 

19. Split 

Ecid "Post Euphoria" EP

Expanding the Backpack, 3/31/13

Late on sharing this one, but I was under the impression that it was supposed to later in the month and the single that premiered on Rolling Stone's website (props!) threw things off.  I've actually been listening to Ecid's new freEP since around the beginning of March, and it's another strong showcase of his smarty pants rapping and beat-making expertise.  The EP kind of picks up where his 2012 masterpiece "Werewolf Hologram" left off, following a similar pattern of choppy production techniques and snide rap verses while adding more live instrumentation into the mix.  "Post Euphoria" is mostly lighthearted in tone but deals with a lot of dark subject matter, and Ecid keeps things clever and interesting for the course of its short duration.    I hear that a new full length "Pheromone Heavy" is in the works for 2013, so color me intrigued.  You can download the "Post Euphoria" EP free of charge via Ecid's Bandcamp Page, or stream it in full below.

1. Burn Everything
2. Dream Boat
3. Kum & Go (feat. Ashley Gold)
4. Insomniac by Choice
5. 2Pac Cobain (feat. Sean Anonymous & Rapper Hooks)
6. Akmude Sallam (2013 Version)

2K12's Most Slept On Hip Hop Gems

The Lowdown, 3/18/13

Well, 2012 is far behind us, and I swear that this will be my last post about hip hop from that year.  Instead of offering up one of those pointless top ten album lists, I figured that I'd highlight my picks for most criminally slept on gems of 2K12.  Some real great albums on this list, please give them a listen if you haven't already: 

   1)   Edison “Delayed Reaction Elements” (self-released) 

Edison’s latest album is a masterful display of beat-making skill that stands out as the best instrumental hip hop album of last year, as well as one of the top ten releases of 2012 period.  This album has been in the works for a minute, with many of the songs playing a major role in Edison’s amazing live beat show over the course of the last few years.  Edison is known as a master at rocking the Monome, a sophisticated piece of blinky button-based electronic equipment that’s used by some of the more brilliant IDM musicians out there.   While Daedelus will often use the Monome as a means of crafting new mixes at his live shows, Edison’s live set involves a different sort of improvisation.  He digs into his own Monome compositions and plays them live in an exciting and unpredictable fashion, harking back to familiar tunes but never playing them quite the same way twice.  “Delayed Reaction Elements” is everything that one could have hoped for from an Edison album after seeing his live show, with plenty of very detailed and intricate beat compositions that relay a lot of emotion while keeping folks’ heads nodding.  Too many stand-out songs to cover in a short review blurb, but some favorites include the chunky guitar based brilliance of “Bare Feet on Lego Bricks,” the creeping chords of “The Poetry of Public Transportation,” and the extra funky bassline kick of “There Is No Hand Too Left, No Cubicle Too Deadly.”  The whole album has a really interesting choppy rock sample vibe that gets one wondering whether Edison could have been a stadium rocker in another life, but the tone and sounds are diverse enough to keep you guessing from song to song.  This album was originally going to be released by Fieldwerk Recordings, a Chicago label at the forefront of the instrumental hip hop scene, but monetary issues ended up preventing it from happening and the album ended up getting released independently on Bandcamp with little to no publicity.  Anyone who’s had the chance to see Edison play in the Bay Area or open for Aesop Rock and Dark Time Sunshine on their last tour will know how much of a crime it would be to sleep on this one.  The album is available for sale via Edison’s Bandcamp Page and is worth every penny of the price.  Please invest in it so the man can press this thing up properly!  You can stream the album in full below if you’d care to test its quality:  

2)      Avatar “This Machine Has Gone Wrong…” (Dumptruck) 

Avatar has been putting some extra hard into the LA underground scene for some time now, and this fourth solo release of his is his strongest material to date.  “This Machine Has Gone Wrong…” is the darkest and grittiest Avatar album thus far, and the feel of the album works perfectly with his production aesthetic and style of rapping.  Av is often thought of as a Shapeshifters and Ex Vandalz affiliate, with many tracks produced for members of the Shifters and a dope album with Bleek under the group name Speak Easy.  My first impression when listening to this new album was that the sound harkened back to some of the older and iller Shapeshifters recordings, with tracks like "Passage" and "Invasion" really capturing the oddball futuristic styling generally associated with that crew.  But to paint this album as some sort of Shifters knock-off would be doing it a great disservice, as Avatar really delivers an original sound here that taps into his punk rock roots and dwells upon the wickedness of the world.   Avatar's verses are smart and wordy enough to measure up to your favorite nerd rapper, but there's a gruffness to his voice and a rugged quality to his words that reflects his rough upbringing and Inglewood home.  Tracks like "Shatterproof" find Avatar relentlessly barreling through his verses while numbers like "Cold Piece of Work" and "How Could You?" convey a more reflective and personal mood.  The beats that Av delivers throughout the album are exceptional and far better than the beats on any of his previous collabs, with a very sinister and raw sound that's easily distinguishable amongst the wealth of LA talent.  The stand-out jam "Propellers" is a great example of the quality of the production on here, pitting Avatar's catchy sung hook and chaotic verses over a noisy and immaculately layered track of marimbas and evil basslines.  The album's got lots of stand-outs, and features the likes of Awol One, 2Mex, Dumbfoundead, Xololanxinxo, K-the-I??? and Megabusive amongst others (hats off to Smile Oak for destroying his verse on "Passage").  Another album that got insanely slept on due to only being released on Bandcamp with zero promotion... I doubt the awful cover art helped in selling it either! Stream it below, and don't forget to drop some dollars on it over at Avatar's Bandcamp Page if you enjoy it. 


 

3)   Adeem & DJ MF Shalem "Made in New Hampshire" (self-released)

A completely unexpected new album from Adeem and Shalem, and a damn funky one at that!  I'll freely admit that I thought Adeem & DJ MF Shalem's first album as a duo "Transitions" was a complete mess and a total let-down, particularly in light of the far superior Glue material that was surfacing from Adeem at the time.  "Transitions" had a few classy songs like "Good Company" that stood out to me, but overall it felt like an album that had been worked on for too long and that had gone through too many transitions (ahem) before its completion.  "Made in New Hampshire," on the other hand, features such an effortless chemistry between Adeem and Shalem that one gets the sense that it could have been hammered out in a week's time.  Though if it really was crafted in that short a period, then the sheer amount of polish and cohesiveness would be worth singing praises over.  Both Adeem and Shalem are at their funkiest and most upbeat here, abandoning some of their more conceptual endeavors (see: Adeem's "Volume in the Ground") in a determined effort to bring some good old-fashioned happy hip hop tunes to the masses.  They might not be breaking any bricks with the approach, but the formula works extremely well.  Adeem's voice has a very confident and soulful quality to it now that goes well with the music at hand, and he kicks plenty of dope flows and hooks without skipping a beat.  DJ MF Shalem continues to build upon the excellent funk production he laid down for Grip Grand's "Rewinder" album, now incorporating lots of live instrumentation that conveys a truly charming old school hip hop feel.  Lots of groovy basslines and funky guitar licks to get your ass in gear too.  Definitely an ill album...  My understanding is that there was a limited rough version of this album pressed up on CD, but that they're already all gone and that Bandcamp's the only way to go.  So stream the album below, and check out Adeem and Shalem's page if you want to make a purchase: 



4)   Bi-Polar Bear "When Ledge is Home" (Modern Shark) 

This was one of the most mysterious slept-on hip hop albums of 2012 in my book.  I know very little about these guys, other than that they go by Ug Orwell and August, they live in Brooklyn, and they make some fine lo-fi rap musics.  Their recent connection to the NY-based Modern Shark label turned me on to their music, and I'm glad that I was since this new album of theirs is full of catchy melodic rapping and some very creative production.  Like many projects put out by Modern Shark, the album has a very likeable home-made feel to it that never detracts from the quality of the music at hand.  Stand-out songs include "The Days" with its warm keyboards and super catchy hook, "Fuck Her Pt. 2" which samples some kind of strange Japanese pop ballad, and "Ledge" which features production from Blue Sky Black Death and raps from Baje One of Junk Science (every bit as good as it sounds on paper).  The album has a good-natured goofiness to it in its choice of film samples and hooks, and you get the sense that these two have got a lot of heart in what they do.  Strong song-writing and production make "When Ledge Is Home" worth checking for in my book.  The album also gets extra props for being the only album on this list that's actually available for ordering on CD, and with hand-painted packaging no less!  Stream it for yourself below and then go order one over at the Modern Shark Store if you dig. 

Molotovs, Anyone?

The Latest Greatest, 3/14/13

New album from Prolyphic & Buddy Peace, "Working Man," dropping 4/30/13 on Strange Famous Records.  Curious to see how this one turns out.  I was a fan of Prolyphic's work with Robust back in the day, but had a slightly harder time listening to him rap through a full album on his own.  Then again, I still occasionally revisit songs from the "Ugly Truth" album that he put with Reanimator five years ago, and I've heard nothing but good things about Buddy Peace as a producer.  I think this project has potential, and the lead single "Business as Usual" is definitely a nod in the right direction.  I'll be checking for it come the 30th, tracklisting and song below:

1. Stale Bread Winner Part 1
2. Business As Usual
3. Unpopular Demand
4. Drug Dealer
5. Death of the Boombox (feat. Sage Francis & Metermaids)
6. Bad Influence
7. F*** Banks
8. Six Feet High
9. Midtro
10. Hand Grenade
11. Go Green
12. The Tunnel
13. Stale Bread Winner Part 2

Sapient & Evil Ebenezer at Sol Collective, Sacramento CA

View From the Front Row, 3/14/13

A little over a week ago, I had the privilege of seeing Sapient's new live show over in Sacramento CA at a little art gallery called Sol Collective. Those who've spoken to me about hip hop recently know that Sapient's new album "Slump" gets my vote for the strongest release of these early months of 2013, so I felt justified in driving the distance to see him after a busy day of work in Berkeley. Accompanying Sapient on this tour was Evil Ebineezer, whose music I also tend to enjoy, so the stage was set for an excellent hip hop gig.

First, a word or two about my impressions of the venue and the picture of the Sacramento hip hop scene that this show painted. On the plus side, the small art space got a surprisingly good turn out of hip hop fans, despite the lack of alcohol or snacks or any of the luxuries typically associated with these sorts of shows. Hell, even the bathroom was a tricky thing to reach, as it was located behind the stage with a narrow window of space to maneuver through if you wanted to get there without disturbing the performers. The art exhibit on display was not particularly good, and the diverse crowd of fans turned out to mostly be friends of the various performing artists, which brings me to the real negative side of this show. There were about seven local Sacramento hip hop acts who were not listed on the bill that ended up performing before Sapient and Evil, and each and every one of them was mediocre at best. I'm not gonna list their names here since I ain't trying to get on the Sacramento scene's shit-list or anything, but sitting through every one of them was a chore and I found myself bored and lounging on a couch in the back, which is not something I typically do at rap shows. One thing that stood out to me beyond the mediocrity of it all was the lack of excitement or passion in what a lot of these openers were doing. It was like they'd just gotten up for work and didn't really want to be there playing a show. Strange, since just the other week I saw a Sacramento based hip hop duo Mad1ne absolutely kill shit live to the point of stealing a show in Berkeley. Guess they just chose the wrong dudes to open for this one. It's all politics when it comes to booking these sorts of events anyway.

Once Evil Ebenezer got up to play, the crowd had dwindled to a much smaller pool of hip hop heads. But like the DJ Abilities and Sadistik show the night before, the fans remaining made up for the lack of a large audience with their genuine enthusiasm and appreciation for the music. I reclaimed my rightful place in the front row before Evil kicked off his first tune, and was pleased with the immediate positive reactions of the crowd, which felt a lot more genuine than the half-hearted applause that the Sacramento openers got. This was my first time seeing Evil play live, and he breezed through a good selection of songs from his "Call Me Evil," "Birds," and "Evil Eye" albums that emphasized his cool rap voice and penchant for poppy hooks and songwriting. There have been points in Evil's recent recordings where his sound has gotten a little too poppy for my tastes, but it seems like he avoided playing any of those tunes in favor of highlights from his various albums. Some stand-outs included "Take Me With You," "Scarecrow, "Wonder Years" and "Liquor Store," which somehow managed to work despite the sobriety of the venue. "Wake Up" was also an excellent mellow way to end the set, and Evil got a good deal of call and response from the crowd for most of his songs that had him in a good mood the entire time. He encouraged people to come visit him at the merch booth after the show even if they didn't want to buy anything just to say what's up. Nice set.

Sapient was up next, and he put on a very engaging and impressive show that really demonstrated how he's grown as a musician. He and his keyboard player/touring partner AED set up various instruments and props on stage, and then Sapient kicked things off with an instrumental set that showcased his production talents live. He churned out some hype synthy sounds with his beat equipment in an unexpected intro to his set, which worked well. Once he'd finished showing off the beats, Sapient picked up his guitar and took to the mic while AED held things down on the keyboards and drum machines for the "Slump" part of the show. This segment of Sapient's set was the highlight of the night to me, as it was awesome to see him and AED translate the sounds of Sapient's new album to a live setting. I wasn't sure if Sapient would be as convincing a singer live as he was on record, but he managed it just fine at Sol Collective. This was only the second or third night of Sapient and AED road-testing the new "Slump" material and there were a few hiccups here and there in the syncopation of the music, but for the most part the songs were played flawlessly and had their own original sound live. "When" and "Monsters Eat Bricks" were stand-outs to me, but "Ello" was definitely a crowd favorite and got a lot of love from folks. After covering about 8 or 9 songs from "Slump," Sapient dropped the instruments, picked the mic up off the stand, and ran through some of his older rap numbers for the hungry fans. He played mostly songs from "Gunwings" and "Barrels for Feathers" and did them justice, though he took it back further to "My Grind is Tech" and "Letterhead" for the encores. Sapient's rapping sounds good live and he gets pretty animated on stage, but the third part of the show was probably the weakest of the three. I really liked the format of the set overall, though, and think that Sapient should stick to incorporating all three of these elements in order to cover the bases and give the crowd a sense of his diversity. If I weren't familiar with Sapient's recordings, I definitely would have looked into them after watching his set. Very interesting and creative performance that lived up to expectations.

Overall, this was a good show despite the questionable string of openers (Sapient even made note during his set that it was like "a little festival"). I recommend checking out this guy's new live show for yourself if you get a chance.