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lyingaboutazaleas · 8 years ago

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Rap EOTY List 2017

HELL OF A YEAR RIGHT?!?

1) NBA Youngboy – Graffiti 2) Mostack – Let It Ring 3) Daboii – Mufasa 4) Mozzy – Stay Over There (ft. Koly P & YFN Lucci) 5) Young Dolph – But I'm Bulletproof 6) Cadell – No Chill 7) Nef the Pharaoh – Bling Blaow (ft. Slimmy B) 8) Playboi Carti – Magnolia 9) OMB Shawniebo – 4 Minutes All Me 10) Molly Brazy – Play For Keeps 11) Lil Uzi Vert – XO Tour Llif3 12) NSG – Palava (ft. Ekeno) 13) Kodak Black – Unexplainable 14) Creek Boyz – Wit My Team 15) Bandgang – Ms (ft. Shredgang Mone) 16) Que Almighty – Put That On Gang (ft. Jungle Muzik Larry & 70th Street Carlos) 17) SOB x RBE – Lane Changing 18) Young M.A – Walk 19) Loski – Teddy Bruckshot 20) Berner & Young Dolph – Knuckles (feat. Gucci Mane) 21) J Hus – Did You See 22) Harlem Spartans – Kennington Where It Started 23) Chief Keef – Told Y'all 24) Desiigner – Outlet 25) Lil Blood – Intro (Cold World) 26) Bali Baby – Pretty 27) Yung Bxne – Diamonds (ft. K-Trap) 28) Shredgang Boogz – Free Sweep 29) OMB Peezy – Try Sumthin (ft. Yhung T.O.) 30) Queen Key – My Way 31) My Slime Ass – Crosses 32) Skengdo & AM – Amsterdam 33) Open Mike Eagle – Dating Ghosts 34) CB – Take That Risk 35) Valee – Shell 36) Maine Musik – Soulja Slim Flow 37) 410 – Diligent 38) Young Nudy – From Back Den To Loaded Baked Potato 39) Tface – Who's Next 40) Shredgang Mone – Crime is Us (ft. Bandgang Masoe) 41) Mad Marvin – 54 Bounce 42) Bandgang Masoe (ft. Bandgang Paid Will & Bandgang Biggs) – Its Hot 43) 67 – #WAPS 44) Bandgang Lonnie Bands – Fuck A Cosign 45) Blay Vision – Skeen 46) Sada Baby – You Know It 47) 22Gz – Suburban 48) Yung LA – Main Bih 49) FMB DZ – Message (ft. Bandgang Masoe & Sada Baby) 50) Lil Baby – Sunshine (ft. Big Juno)

Honorable Mentions:

Atlanta:

Cash Out – Top Shotta

Jose Guapo – Jealous

Keydo Foolfunk – Woodstock

Migos – T-Shirt

Peewee Longway – Gelato (ft. Young Dolph), His Name Cassius (ft. Partynextdoor)

Ralo – I Know It

Trippie Redd – Bust Down, Love Scars, Woah Woah Woah (ft. Bali Baby)

YFN Lucci – Heartless

YFNBC – Going Dumb

Bay Area:

12 Gauge Shotie & Lil Blood – Mack

Dru Down – In My 501s

Iceeapher & Lil Perry – Friday

Lil Blood – Pusher Man

Lil Yase – Boom Boom, Streets Freestyle, Uber

Lil Yee – The Illest

Sleepy D – What's The Plan

Yatta - Muscle

Detroit:

Bandgang Paid Will – Hell Naw

Big Juno – Finesse Lord

Lil Blade - Homecoming

MDB Von - Cuttin Up (ft. DMB Mir)

Payroll Giovanni – Hustle Musik 3

Peezy – 64 Bars

Rocaine – CEO

YBS Skola & Big Juno – Choppa For You

Florida:

Bruno Mali – Monkey Suit (ft. Rick Ross), New Skool, Old Skool

Jackboy – Grimace, Bitch I'm Up, Finessed A Finesser

Kodak Black & Jackboy – G To The A (Remix)

Koly P – 06

Ski Mask The Slump God – Catch Me Outside

L.A:

Tyga – 100s (ft. Chief Keef)

Tyler, The Creator – Droppin' Seeds (ft. Lil' Wayne)

YG – Fuck It Up

Louisiana:

BTY Young'N – Whoever Who Want It

Tec – Lost Souls (ft. Maine Musik & BTY Young'n)

Tec & Maine – Aw Mne (ft. Tayda & BTY Young'n), Came with the Game (ft. BTY Young'n)

Yungeen Gang – Go To War

Zoe Realla – Ninja Turtle, One Time For The Money (ft. Snootie Wild, Maine Musik & Mouse On The Track)

Zoey Dollaz – Bad Tings (Remix ft. Future & Tory Lanez)

UK: Road Rap:

410 – Lotion, No Filter Remix, PM To Da AM

86 – ABC

Moscow 17 – Panic, Take 1

Mr AnythingGreenGetBun – Paid In Full

Silwood Nation – Crime Scene

Zone 2 – No Hook, Oh Shit

Other:

Drakk – KMT ft. Giggs

DRAM – Ill Nana (ft. Trippie Redd)

Elf Kid – Reload That

Fetty Wap – Aye

J Kaz – Neva Dat

KJ Balla – Cookin Up

Lor Riley x Dolce OK x President Davo - Certified

Not3s – Alladin

Preditah – Touch Road (ft. C4)

Sheff G & Corey Finesse – No Suburban (Remix)

Tate Kobang – North North

Tay-K – Murder She Wrote

Terentino – Can't See Me

Yung Cat – 2 Chopsticks, OG Stack a Dollar

Yungen – Bestie (ft. Yxng Bane)

Zmoney – 16z (ft. Valee)

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lyingaboutazaleas · 8 years ago

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RIP

IDK how much enthusiasm I’ll manage to keep for this because I’m just back from a work shift and it’s obviously emotional so here goes.

A lot of people right now are going to reflect on Chester Bennington’s life and talk about the tragedy of suicide, depression, mental illness and all the associated things within Linkin Park’s music that made it vital for it’s fans. Many of who found it when they were young (as did I) and needed a form of catharsis through all of the angst permeating in that music. Right now I do not know how to process that nor can I, but instead I’m settling on something my mind instantly gravitated to.

Only a day or two ago, I was in a debate with a friend about what ‘rock’ means in 2017. A boring topic but I mentioned their recent single “Heavy” with singer/songwriter/producer Kiiara. In a way, the single has little to do with the band that I’d discovered as I started to enter the teenage years, and in many ways beyond Chester’s vocal I couldn’t tell you if it wasn’t more than bandmate Mike Shinoda and Chester trying to adapt to a rapidly changing musical climate where not only are nu-metal bands like them and the acts who influenced them incredibly out of vogue, but rock bands in general. More and more, ‘indie’ leaning acts or even singer/songwriters who essentially focus closer to ‘pop stars’ rather than ‘rock artists’ seem to fill that space for younger fans. Of the younger bands who do become popular, it’s acts such as TwentyOne Pilots, Imagine Dragons, The 1975, Hey Violet and others whose names either escape me of I’ve yet to discover who work closer to the construction of rock in the style of the more popular genres such as EDM or the darker ‘Indie Pop’ sounds in order to make sense.

On the one hand, Linkin Park very much predated this approach. They were a popular rock band aimed for an adolescent fanbase who took influence from left-field electronic musics like glitch/turntabalism/IDM, rap, and Nu-Metal (itself not really ‘metal’ but an outgrowth of the more experimental tendencies of the metallic hardcore scene of the late 80s and early 90s). On the Grooves & Jams blog, I once joked that Linkin Park was spiritually closer to a band such as The Pop Group than they ever knew or would commonly be recognized but I think Mark Stewart would concede that Linkin Park reached more ears and perhaps challenged more people’s expectations of what music could sound like. In a time where music was still segregated by ‘who listened to what’, Linkin Park undoubtedly exposed listeners of one genre primarily to a whole different realm of possibility.

But on the other hand, Linkin Park in it’s recent days felt like a culmination of a peculiar trend. Their identity as a band had been shaved down further and further, members such as Rob, Brad, Joe & Dave had little in the way of recognizable contributions to the sound of the band as the initial formula that had defined them had fallen so out of vogue. As much as I was not a fan of their singles past Meteora as a teen and naturally would later become dismissive of them in my rush to become as ‘informed’ a music listener as possible, I can now recognize that they did so out of a necessity to keep up with the times while still being some form of Linkin Park. But by the very end, the band felt (and may continue to feel should the remaining members determine they want to proceed) like Linkin Park had become more of a familiar brand for radio placement. “Heavy” was to me, like Maroon 5 past a certain point or the recent Chainsmokers and Coldplay single, not an exercise in Linkin Park working to other’s definitions rather than their own.

This is not meant as some inappropriate attempt in the wake of this death to try and take shots at the creative decision of a band whom I hold a nostalgic appreciation for one specific era... It’s an attempt to try and memorialize this music in the right way. Because around the same time Linkin Park and other things in music made me start wanting to learn more, I also learned how ‘uncool’ this was in the music press, or among in-the-know musical fans. As far as critical consensus was concerned in the early 00s, cool Brooklyn Indie made by people with money or cultural capital was the Essential Art while nu-metal and it’s bizarre cousin & offspring, the ‘scenecore’ boom of metalcore/post-hardcore/emo or whatever you’d call it, was the music of Dumb Kids or white trash or just generally people with no taste. It didn’t matter that comparatively The Strokes made music that was regressive as far as experimentation with genre or redefining mediums/instrumentation... This was the way. And don’t get me started on the elitism of trad metal press who swore by their old Sabbath albums, or the snobbishness of the hardcore/metalcore experimental wing who found meaning in the instrumental rock of ISIS and Pelican.

In music fandom and the culture surrounding it in the press, or blogs, or what have you, we’ve often talked about the concepts of Rockism & Poptimism without acknowledging when we’re upholding those same principles. TwentyOne Pilots might be a rock band, but they do things musically that reflect a comprehension of modern musical vogues and also speak to a great many kids who want to relate to something musically. Compare that to the musical nostalgia/conservatism and elitist culture you can find of something so seemingly straight-forward and poppy as Carly Rae Jepsen’s fanbase, and I don’t think you’d see the rules are quite clearly as defined as some of us like to be. I personally find good and bad in both, so it’s not to say I have any stake in a direction. But as poptimism tries to find overdue justice for Britney, does that same olive branch occur for Linkin Park and bands of their ilk who at the time weren’t considered ‘real enough’ to satisfy the world of Rock Culture? Do the millions of teens who loved that band get the recognition they deserve for actually perhaps seeing something good?

Chester Bennington is gone, and while his musical legacy is tragically punctuated by this end as far as what he was able to do, I will miss him because I look back on my life and recognize that him and his music affected me in so many more ways than just liking an album could do. The choice of deciding I loved that band as a teen, and the subsequent reflection of what it could actually mean to be a ‘fan’ and affiliate myself with that music socially, affected how I look at the present, the future, and the past. He did more for me than I can begin to describe, and I’ll forever be grateful. I simply wish the gratitude I and so many felt at any given time could’ve been enough for him, and hope that perhaps not at the final moment, but in his life, he was able to take pride and comfort in that.

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lyingaboutazaleas · 9 years ago

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Rap End Of The Year 2016

1) French Montana – Lockjaw (ft. Kodak Black) 2) Nef The Pharaoh – No Masturbation 3) Cadet – Letter to Krept 4) Sir Spyro – Topper Than Top (ft. Teddy Bruckshot, Lady Chann & Killa P) / YGG – Side By Side Remix 5) Papi – Run With The Runners (ft. LD) 6) Bandgang Lonnie Bands – Ain't No Company (ft. Paidwill & Team Eastside Peezy) 7) Young Thug – Harambe 8) Ninj & Kraze – Half Jamo Half Ghana / NSG - No Jamo Full Ghana 9) Lil Yase – Bum Bitch (ft. KE) 10) Boosie Badazz – Forgive Me For Being Lost 11) Sherwood Flame & YNW$ BiLLi'D – Stack It To The Ceiling 12) Travis Scott – Pick Up The Phone (feat. Young Thug & Quavo) 13) Reekz MB – Nobody Talking Smoke 14) The Team – Can I? 15) Lil Uzi Vert – Ps & Qs 16) Amine – Caroline 17) Mostack – Liar Liar 18) Spodee – Don't Say My Name 19) 21 Savage – No Heart 20) Rocaine – Global 21) 86 – Formation (feat. LD) 22) Jimmy Wopo – Walking Bomb Pt. 2 23) NBA Youngboy – 38 Baby 24) Duke – Better Days 25) WNC Carlos, Jungle Musik Larry & Geaux Austin – Bang Out 26) Desiigner – Timmy Turner 27) Big Zuu – Kaleidoscope 28) YG – I Got A Question (ft. Lil Wayne) 29) Spitta – Out Da Window (ft. Maine Musik) 30) Cadell – Thug Riddim 31) Molly Brazy – More Facts 32) Que Almighty – Ripped Tht Bitch 5ive 33) Foxx – Too Old 34) YFN Lucci – Key To The Streets Remix (ft. Quavo, 2 Chainz & Lil' Wayne) 35) Slim 400 – Bruisin (ft. YG & Sad Boy Loko) 36) Moelogo – Penkele 37) Mez & PK – 10,000 Hours 38) P Money – 10/10 Remix (ft. AJ Tracey, Mez, Discarda, Jammz, Saf One, Capo Lee, PK) 39) The Bug – Iceman (ft. Riko Dan) 40) Migos – Cocoon 41) Cash Out – Flood The Streets 42) Mic Terror – I Don't Call The Cops 43) Kamaiyah – I'm On 44) Brill 4 The Thrill – How It Feels (ft. Playa Red) 45) Yxng Bane – Fine Wine (feat. Kojo Funds) 46) Swindle & D Double E – Lemon Trees 47) Yung Cat – You A Bitch 48) Mozzy – Round & Round (ft. Rich Homie Quan, Iamsu!, Lil Blood) 49) Kap G – Girlfriend 50) Kanye West – Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1 (ft. Kid Cudi)

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lyingaboutazaleas · 9 years ago

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Selected Rap Listening Sept. - Nov. ‘16

Ezale - Drug Funnie (2013)

Ezale & DJ Fresh - The Tonite Show With Ezale (2016)

Ezale might be one of the weirdest success stories that has emerged out of the Bay Area in the last few years. The rapper of Cambodian descent who typically favors 80s throwback production got himself signed to E-40′s Sic-Wid-It Records, but unfortunately little has come from that save for a run of the mill ratchet single until this year’s “Tonite Show” w/ DJ Fresh. As opposed to Drug Funnie, which was a lot of carefree punchlines and excessive hedonism, Tonite Show is most notable in the way that the breeziness holds echoes of weariness and somberness, echoing the Livewire axis’ more album-oriented work with DJ Fresh in appealing to a sense of depth. Its still a relatively small audience for him, especially when compared to fellow recent Sic-Wid-It signee Nef the Pharaoh, but it's growing and they finally have an ‘official’ project they can hold up as evidence to Ezale’s talents.

Reekz MB - Right And Wrong (2016)

#67 - Let’s Lurk (2016)

The South London brand of ‘road rap’ or “Brixton Drill” as it got nicknamed last year due to some overt Chief Keefisms from the #67 squad has really made strides to establish itself and gain momentum in London, and now is arguably one of the bigger threads of rap there. Its interesting to see that after so long of pioneering their own uniquely British forms of expression, London is really REALLY committing to emulating America, at least in this specific vein of rap (Grime straddles the lines between rap and elsewhere not quite as wobbily as it used to, whereas the merging of afro-beats and rap in the UK also remains fairly distinct). Still, 2016 was definitely the year that Road Rap became indeniable in the wake of Krept & Konan and Section Boyz becoming household names, Giggs making numerous festival appearances and many of the 674 affiliates (who include acts such as Reeko Smoke, the 86, Youngs Teflon, Papi, Scribzy Reekz MB and ofc. the 67 themselves) started to emerge as the leaders of the current sound.

The third mixtape, Lets Lurk is the most commercially resonant that the 67 have put out yet, but its also the weakest yet. After years of repeatedly running through road cliches and copping oblique Drake and Chief Keef references, a good deal of the crew appear to be phoning it in, and the further the production veers away from Carns Hill’s pronounced mastery of trap dynamics (arguably the first person since Mike Will or Young Chop to really make the sound feel unfulfilled) the more generic they appear. The unquestionable highlight has to be masked member LD’s solo cut “Church”, where him and Carns Hill’s undeniable chemistry hits a stunning peak of wickedness.

On the flipside, Right And Wrong, the debut mixtape by baclava-clad MC Reekz MB is a top contender for the best street mixtape in the English speaking world right now, never mind just Brixton. Production verges from the bombastic to the cerebral, guest verses from acts in grime and road rap all feel comfortable, and Reekz himself has incredible senses of imagery and lyricism that many of his peers have yet to grow into. If there is anyone in the South London scene who truly deserves to be an international rap icon, its that kid.

Terror Danjah - Gremlinz (The Instrumentals 2003-2009) (2009)

Around 2007-08, as Grime started reorganizing its efforts to compete with the likes of grime inspired urban pop acts like N-Dubz, or watch as several MCs took a commercial route via electro-house, the bloggers/labels who had initially tried to seize on grime decided instead to take a more conservative stance and start the trend of re-releasing older tunes and/or reviving critical interest in acts who they felt had fallen by the wayside which... From a commercial standpoint, was everyone not in Boy Betta Know or closely affiliated to them like Tinchy Stryder. One of the most easy cases for reappraisal was Terror Danjah who despite leading the charge in expanding grime into more pop territories as well as crafting a slew of experimental riddims and remixes, failed to reach a greater pop crossover at any point either as the brief replacement producer for N.A.S.T.Y. Crew or while leading his own Aftershock collective. Around 2009-2010 however, Terror Danjah raised his stock dramatically for a dance music crowd who wanted to properly canonize grime. Planet Mu, who’d released more left-field stuff by the likes of Virus Syndicate and Vex’d were as good a label as any for Terror to compile some of his ‘greatest hits’.

What makes Gremlinz really fascinating isn’t just the music here... Its watching a scene like grime which had been so forward thinking and self-reliant have to resell itself as ‘historical’. The early bangers such as Radar, his “Frontline” and “Poltergeist” remixes and other tunes aren’t any less jarring even now in 2016 for all the advancement grime’s tried to make. The static swaths and sudden holes of his “D.T.I.” remix is the kind of stuff that just as much as Wiley’s Devil Mixes inspired a whole slew of arty pretentious electronic noise tracks who pretend to tip their hat to ‘urban aesthetics’ *eyeroll* But if anything what makes Gremlinz so important isn’t the fact that its a showcase of one of grime’s properly recognized talents... Its also a sign of people determining how they’d like a genre to be interpreted and remembered, even if they weren’t there helping it get off the ground. There is a reason why its “the instrumentals” and the vocals are nowhere to be found probably.

Cadell - 3 Is The New 6 (2016)

Grime’s new generation have been offering up a lot of promise and singles, but the hyping process hasn’t properly resulted in more than a few EPs or group mixtapes. Cadell, best known for being Wiley’s younger stepbrother to those who don’t follow him, was not necessarily someone I expected to be the first to get a proper album out, but he did manage it, and it proved that despite not being a popular blog/fan favorite, nor gaining much of a radio presence, he’ll be one of the ones to look out for. Production here by the likes of Zomby, Splurt Diablo, Maniac, Visionist, Wiley and Tre Mission, straddles the boundaries between trap and hi-fi grime. Hard-hitting, thugged out, takes no prisoners (and sends more than a few shots at the likes of Novelist and Stormzy). Supposedly he’s already got another album on the way in 2017, and with such a relatively light output from this new wave of MCs, such a prolific workrate suggests that he’s going to be somebody everyone has to keep an eye out for.

Danny Brown - The Atrocity Exhibition (2016)

There’s going to be at least a dozen reviews mistaking the many weaknesses of this album as Danny Brown’s strengths, which I find both remarkable and sad. On XXX, would rap about the kinds of paintings on the walls of the dealers who helped further his downward spiral and talk about the systematic poverty draining his neighborhood. Now he’ll just settle for saying his life’s a downward spiral like Trent Reznor. People are going to be saying how he’s worked to make a whole album full of bold, inhospitable production meanwhile he’s done that as early as his Hot Soup album. Most of the rapping rarely leaves a squawking cadence to inform you that his dick is long as a fire hose, and he snorts ket off of white hoes. Its redundant and exasperatingly useless from a rapper who used to do so much. Critical EOTY List fave for a bunch, I’m sure.

Twice - Zachary (Double It Up 2) (2016)

One of the members of Young Thug’s YSL Crew, a group who the more and more Thug becomes a conversation topic for lofty concepts such as his post-rap vocal delivery or his gender-thwarting visual statements, the friends he has who just rap like aspiring rappers from Atlanta are cast-aside too easily. Its an obnoxious bit of ‘erasure’ by the media who wants to work at hyping rather than give people a bit of exposure. Anyway, Twice spends a majority of his tape wandering in a confessional street rap style, typically favoring remixes and re-interpolations; opening your mixtape with someone doing a heartbroken Adele cover in the background while you spit is a pretty surefire way to convince people you have a lot to say. Right now Twice’s lyricism is fairly plainspoken and personal, implying intimacy but not necessarily working well at convincing the uninitiated. That said, his and Thug’s remix of Controlla “No Wendys” is enough of a lure for the uninitiated to give him a try.

AJ Tracey - Alex Moran EP (2015)

Grime gets itself a J. Cole. Incredibly adequate and covers all bases, to a slightly boring degree. Arguably the highlight is the surging strings and collaborative energy on “AAA”. The definite low-point has to be hearing Merky Ace’s voice, as it's always been in grime.

D.R.A.M - Big Baby D.R.A.M. (2016)

Spoke at length about this album for cash. Its been interesting as 2016 seems to indicate from records like this, “Black Beatles”, and Fetty Wap the year before that rap is moving more into such a strictly pop oriented direction. More or less it still feels like the echoes of moves already done by the likes of Young Thug and the whole Futuristic movement, but whereas those found themselves submerged by trap and had to turn aggro in order to thrive in rap once they reached maturation, so many of their progeny thrive in being so divorced from rap. There are points on this album where the boundaries between this and alt-rock boys who affected rap-like mannerisms like Rivers Cuomo are hard to make out. Its so confusing that I’m not entirely sure if rap in the next few years will be tolerating anything short of pure pop mentality, outside of a few select pockets.

#Ezale #Reekz MB #Terror Danjah #DJ Fresh #67 #Cadell #AJ Tracey #D.R.A.M.#Mixtapes #Albums #reviews

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lyingaboutazaleas · 9 years ago

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Selected Rap Listening Aug. ‘16

Paper Pabs - Panama Papers EP (2016)

Given that the last year or so has seen North London’s Bloodline crew take wins (projects out by 9 Milli Major and President T) and loses (Big H’s Lord of the Mics debacle), one can’t help the feeling that their initial momentum has peaked. Whereas once their newfound road rap/trap influence gave a bit of vitality to a genre that was churning out desperate electro-pop crossovers by the month along with their fracticious shots at a tiresome status hegemony of East Londoners now these MCs seem somewhat redundant in the wake of so much new talent who hold the ability to straddle rap and grime with relative ease. Paper Pabs Panama Papers EP isn’t really helping matters either, because the man who was arguably the most road rap leaning of the team, in a time where that genre’s distinction from grime has begun to dissolve, is providing a somewhat uninspired project. Once you get past the intro, “Cash In On Dreams” forces an awkward hook to a dreamy glistening beat, and it only gets more dreary from there. Definitely an indicator that maybe Bloodline’s rise to prominence will dim the same as all whom they challenged.

Saint P - Sainthood EP (2014)

Saint P is one of the members of the grime group YGG hailing from Camden. With their recent exposure and work towards making singles, its been mostly member PK with his high-pitched, roller-coaster flowing performances who’s managed to score him outside collaborations while members Saint P and Lyrical Strally have remained less significant breakouts. For what its worth, all three of the MCs have only appeared to be recording tracks within the last three or four years, so with their recognition and stylistic development so relatively recent, its still an open game as to whom could become a valued solo act; after all, Novelist was the supposed ‘star’ of the Lewisham-based The Square crew, and yet it was Elf Kid’s “Golden Boy” which became the biggest commercial hit out of the crew.

Saint P’s Sainthood EP appears to be an unofficial fan compilation of recordings made at some point in the last 5 years, more than a few featuring PK and at least one credited to YGG. In opposition to the much more Overt sounds of most grime revival tracks, a lot of these could easily be lesser mixtape filler from 2005-06, and I mean that in the best way possible. Most of P’s work here at crafting songs are really rudimentary, but his bars already show off a talent in the making, albeit not without a unique voice. From the cheeky “Weatherman” to the garage-throwback “Worth The Wait”, its a good indicator both of how much progress the members of YGG have been making over the last few years and a hint of what P himself is capable of without the support of his comrades.

Dot Rotten - R.I.P. Young Dot (2008) & Zeph Ellis - This Side Of Grime Vol. 2 (2015)

Joseph Ellis-Stevenson AKA Dot Rotten AKA Young Dot AKA Zeph Ellis is without a doubt one of the biggest visionaries to emerge from Grime. Out of the third generation of MCs in the scene (among I’d include Chip, Ice Kid, P Money, and many others who offered much promise towards the end of the decade) he was a multi-talented artist who sang hooks, produced, and spat with surprising capability.

Going back to his debut mixtape under the “Dot Rotten” alias, its still striking how few projects can compare to this day. The robotic clusters of autotuned harmonies on “I’m a Leader”, the industrial tension of “I’m a Professional”, the dark ambience of “Rotten & Voltage” show astonishing maturity as a producer for the likes of a then 17 (!) year old, while his lyrics already worked with a complexity many of his elders hadn’t even touched at. In the recent binge of grime nostalgia, it seems striking that so uncompromising a project is not heralded on the same level as the “Boy In Da Corners” before him. Already a decade approaches, and he’s still accomplished more than the majority of grime with this album.

After a disastrous bid for commercial success with a lot (and I mean a *sigh* lot) of work with Ed Sheeran, Joseph disappeared only to re-emerge as Zeph Ellis. In interviews he’s stated that he’s mostly interested in working strictly as a producer, though he’s teased a return to the mic as well. Its been an incredibly productive return, with his “ACXD BXMB” instrumental getting vocaled by AJ Tracey for his “Naila” to great fanfare. A brief skim over one of his many This Side Of Grime projects shows a number of serviceable bangers waiting to become future hits, whether for their creator or artists of his choosing. Its incidental for audiences beyond core grime fanatics, but a sigh of relief for those who thought they’d lost one of the scene’s biggest talents.

Wiley - DJ Furious Presents: The Eski Sound (2010)

Released on Wiley’s Eskibeat Recordings circa his infamous leak of intended crossover album The Elusive alongside a hoarde of tracks meant for the album as well as for his (rightfully) forgotten A-List supergroup and work with other artists. With nostalgia for grime’s supposed peak (02-06) at such a fashionable high, many journalist/bloggers are failing to acknowledge the huge gap between then and now. One cannot simply say Grime fell out of favor, or lost credibility instantaneous; one simply needs to look at the writing of John Prancehall in Vice and Fader in their earlier (and far less desperate) incarnations, or Martin Clark’s column in Pitchfork where he chronicled shifts in both grime and its nemesis dubstep. It always held a presence on Rinse.FM, and groups such as Boy Better Know, OG’z and Newham Generals were able to tour across the UK, while labels such as Butterz, No Hats No Hoodies, Keysound, Planet Mu, and Hyperdub kept giving grime a chance. At the same time, no matter how dire the quality of the music was becoming, for some of them it was the height of their successes. Roll Deep’s album in 2010 was a critical failure and appears to have been a reluctant swansong for the collective; yet it STILL managed to have two Number One hits!

So what makes The Eski Sound interesting is that it serves as one of the earliest attempts by Wiley to address his legacy. A recording artist for by that point roughly a decade, it would be laughable to pretend it wasn’t the instrumentals and vocal tracks from the beginning of the millenia that hadn’t made him such an important figure for UK Garage’s transition into Grime. To this day, Wiley seems to struggle with the tension between commerciality and ‘underground’, unable to settle with moving in one direction happily. This compilation tape featuring classics from the beginnings of grime that made Wiley’s name, spanning all the way back to the Pay As U Go Kartel era, appears to be the Wiley reconciling the value of his legacy and trying to determine its worth.

PartyNextDoor - PartyNextDoor3/P3 & Tory Lanez - I Told You (2016)

Not going to go too into detail because I already got paid for both of these.

Its interesting enough that after a good 6 years of Drakk Supremacy now here to stay, we got past the point of obvious Drake rip-offs to an unquestionable influence and presence in rap, complete with disciples; some in his camp, others outside who pay x amount of lip service. As a result though, you have people going in the directions he doesn’t always go, especially given the fact that his last project wasn’t expanding his sound by any personal attempts, but more an attempt to bring new flavors such as dancehall, afrobeats or grime/road rap into his playpen.

Its going to be very interesting going forward to see if this ‘sound’, whatever you want to call it, continues to become a larger focus point for aspiring rappers. No doubt possibly hundreds of Diet Drakes are in existence, and the likes of Abel Tesfaye and Bryson Tiller being able to forge wholly independent career paths of Drake with their own takes shows you can do more (or less), with or without his blessing. So with Drake trying to fill the limited dimensionality of his sound with tricks from everywhere else in music, it says a lot for the people who do make more deliberate turns to push those borders further like Lanez or PND have done (and they have).

Kanye West - The Life of Pablo (2016)

I DON’T EVEN WANNA TALK ABOUT IT, I DON’T EVEN WANNA TALK ABOUT IT, I DON’T EVEN WANNA SAY NOTHING. EVERBODY GONNA SAY SOMETHING. I’D BE WORRIED IF THEY SAID NOTHING.

Young Thug - No, My Name Is Jeffrey (2016)

In a continuing phenomenon, Thug’s career trajectory continues to remain at a seeming standstill. Despite the notion that reuniting with former collaborator TM88 and Barter 6 standout Wheezy might lead to a much more focused project after dissenting opinions on I’m Up and the final installments of the Slime Season series, there are no standout radio singles or bids for the pop-stardom he so easily deserves. Not for nothing, contributions by TM88 lack the severity they once held, whereas the Wheezy beats are pleasant albeit more of what we’ve heard routinely since Barter 6. Thug’s rapping is still breathtaking, and his penchant for using his voice as an instrument in a way few rappers manage is still superb. That’s what makes this really frustrating; that a guy who’s so incredible at what he does is content to prove it to himself rather than let the world know it.

#Paper Pabs #Saint P #Dot Rotten #Zeph Ellis #Wiley #Partynextdoor #Tory Lanez #Kanye West #Young Thug

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lyingaboutazaleas · 9 years ago

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Selected Rap Listening July ‘16

Shut Up And Dance - Black Men United (1995)

The production/MC duo of PJ & Smiley, known under their artist alias as “Shut Up And Dance” (first person to make a Walk the Moon joke gets skipped like a stone) are best known as guys who, in their attempts to sound like a UK version of Public Enemy, while also taking their hi-speed breakbeat cues from the English rave scene, became for-bearers for jungle, or drum & bass. That said, they’ve never not identified themselves as a hip-hop team, so it makes sense to treat them as such. Their 1990 debut “DANCE... Before The Police Come!!!” is full of tunes that straddle the lines of rave and late 80s rap successfully and had one of the best covers of its’ day. And for what its worth, while most UK Rap prior to Giggs had the most limited of life-spans, SUAD managed to have tunes that are still treated with adoration, albeit not within their own genre so much.

Part of the problem is given up to the MCing. PJ and Smiley are the purest of Chuck D clones, doing their best to be commanding and stern, and telling noble tales. But as writers, its hard to say either have the sense of weird humor (Yes kids, at one point Chuck D allowed a Clinton-like sense of humor to pervade in his thoughts) of P.E. Its not that they were particularly bad at it, just that by 1995 rap had moved so far in technique and delivery from this style that they were so antiquated. That said, in an interesting decision, SUAD’s sophomore album is loaded with Gospel Choirs and vocal soloists, as well as PJ & Smiley’s raps; perhaps an influence from their growing success in dance music, while not quite being the biggest success story in hip-hop, we have weird blends of gospel singing over jump-up ragga-tinged breakbeat, booming raps over breezy Duran Duran samples, essentially a lot of peculiar experiments in what sort of different musical styles could compliment each other. Not necessarily an ideal way to legitimize UK Rap for skeptics, but an interesting demonstration of how hip-hop’s identity was molded by England’s particular musical make-up, which would inevitably give birth to Grime.

Kraze - Fire & Brimstone EP (2016)

Kraze AKA *oddly high-pitched nasal voice* KRAZE KRAZE! is a former member of Younger Slew Dem, the youth division of the East London-based Slew Dem grime crew, of whom Tempa T remains their biggest breakout star. The history of Slew Dem is an interesting one, initially they were the Dancehall Mafia crew, consisting of future N.A.S.T.Y./Movement grime superstar Ghetto/Ghetts, Chronik, Stanaman (cousin of Bashy AKA actor ___, and now a significant presence in the road rap scene as ‘Stana’), and Rage. Later, they joined with the Slew Dem Crew who additionally featured the late Esco, G-Man, Tempa T, Lexx Mandaya, Shorty Smalls (arguably one of my least favorite grime MCs ever), MC/Singer Majical, DJ/Producer Spooky and Producers Waifer, Top Dolla & JT The Goon. If you want to imagine what Slew Dem sounds like, just imagine gunshots, heavy Jamaican-influenced bass tracks, and dudes screaming about shooting you and smoking over those bass tracks at the top of their lungs. Its a niche product.

Out of Slew Dem’s whole roster, Kraze was an immediate standout, because his voice was impossibly high. Grime’s often been argued by some to be a genre that fails to hold up against rap because equally important as flow, technique, lyrics and charisma is having a voice that can remain distinctive, having started as a pirate radio-based genre. Listen to old rips of Slew Dem on Rinse or Deja, and whereas most people sound like “Anonymous man from Maryland ready to drive a shank into your chest cavity” all rasp and bark, Kraze is piercingly obnoxious. Its an instrumental capability that’s been lost in grime of late, as much as I like plenty of the newer younger talents, you could listen to most of the MCs crowding hi-tech studios like Radar, NTS or Rinse’s current set-up, and few voices are as distinctive as the era of Bruza, D Double E, Bearman etc. Of course, why Kraze had become a forgotten talent as opposed to a underground favorite was that after a hot run a decade or so ago, he dropped off the face of the earth. Reasons are unknown to me right now, but I presume that the combination of grime’s capital value going down after saturation, and the combined pitfalls of Chronik’s incarceration and Esco’s murder would make Grime as a career path seem a lot less exciting.

Thankfully, an increased demand for Slew Dem pre-Grime’s nostalgia boom led to MCs like Rage and Chronik garnering interest in a Slew Dem Reunion (though tragically it seems there’s difficulty in getting Tempa, who remains one of their greatest talents, to appear on sets/tunes with them these days), and so Kraze returned for a cipher over the “On Da Block” riddim he’d vocaled a decade before last year. That led to his remergance on sets, and now his Fire & Brimstone EP. Given Kraze’s output has only existed in the barest of glimpses via Slew Dem’s decade old Non-Stop Working mixtape or the few youtube harvestings of solo tracks, the stakes are low considering he’s never proved himself as a solo artist. Yet somehow, we have a nice serving of aggressive bangers in his crew’s style, and Kraze has a grown man’s temperament and stoicism. Production is solid, features by Rage and Scrufizzer compliment Kraze fully, and while the last track really could’ve been left behind, its good to finally have a statement to Kraze’s artistic capabilities.

YFN Lucci - Wish Me Well 2 (2016)

Last year, one of the most surprisingly underdiscussed mixtapes in rap belonged to one YFN Lucci, a cousin to Skooly of Rich Kidz and an artist with the Think It’s A Game label responsible for putting out the initial offerings of Trinidad James and Rich Homie Quan. Thankfully Lucci’s output skews closer to the latter than the former; Wish Me Well was loaded with a series of melancholy street anthems with a definitive melodic sense, occupying the post-Futuristic school of his former label mate, while having the self-seriousness of a Kevin Gates. A brief scan of his IG account shows Lucci consistently touring across the south to sold out clubs with whole audience singing along earnestly to every bar, and yet this Atlanta mainstay lacks the internet visibility of a Lil’ Yachty or a D.R.A.M. which is further indicative of the growing economic/class division in Atlanta Rap audiences. Some guys get to be memes and have Fader/Vice/Complex features, some guys get to rely on a traditional core southern rap audience.

On his second outing unfortunately, YFN Lucci is not quite ready to win any newer fans. Wish Me Well 2 suffers in many cases from a lack of standout production save for a surprisingly pop-leaning effort from TM88 (formerly of the 808 Mafia production team) for the lead single “YFN”. Elsewhere, you get the sense that Lucci hasn’t had the sense to take great pains in selecting good beats, nor do his current hooks have the same immediacy as he was able to depend on last year. An interesting development however is his newfound celebrity Rolodex given his increased fame. Atlanta mainstays like Trouble, Migos and Johnny Cinco provide additional support and dynamic to keep the mixtape from falling too deeply into monotony. Still, given the earlier heights of Lucci’s output, there’s no reason to think he’s plateaued so early in his career.

V/A - DJ Lil Keem Presents: Smokers’ Choice Vol. 3 & 4 (2015 & 2016)

Compilation tapes are kind of a ‘lost-art’ in so much that DJ Khaled started pushing the idea that DJs should be using their artist connections to make A&R’ed compilations of summer bangers. Sometimes you get someone who can effectively transition out of the traditional mixtape format into this formula with some success such as DJ Drama, but effectively this leads to a gap between such obviously constructed attempts for success and the more amateur efforts that simply compile hot records of the moment. Earlier in the decade these tapes often would find the biggest acts of their point in time, and some of the more obscure faces who may or may not go on to greater success (for example the “Space Invaders” series administrated by DJs Spinz & Pretty Boy Tank). Nowadays, fewer rappers seem to even be working with the traditional mixtape model, preferring to charge for projects or even forgo them altogether until proper albums can be released.

Thankfully, Hoodrich Keem is one of the few DJs who works this sort of model, albeit with a twist. He still does administrative mixtape DJ work, often in conjunction with DJ Drama affiliate DJ Scream. But additionally his Smoker’s Choice series serve as ‘snapshots’ of the current rap climates. Occasionally he buoys these with some more ‘bait’ choices (Vol. 3 features Kanye West’s “All Day”, as well as selections from a then recently released Barter 6, which are questionable in their sense of ‘exclusivity’) but provides a diverse range of rappers, usually with a greater emphasis on the scene out of his residence of Atlanta.

While both are chock full of obscure gems from artists of varying statures, there is a definite shift in the content provided; Smoker’s Choice Vol. 3 features a lot of greater industry product such as ASAP Rocky and Drake, artists who tend to flirt with their interest in Atlanta but rarely maintain solid relationships in the area beyond a sense of the direction of rap is going. By Vol. 4 however, many of those presences have been phased out in favor of the new faces of the rap internet such as 21 Savage, Lil’ Uzi Vert and Lil’ Yachty. Given that their aesthetic coincides with Keem’s own tastes (left-leaning street rap), its not too vast a switch. A more interesting theme are whom stay as reoccurring acts on these tapes: the QC/300 affiliates such as Skippa Da Flippa, Johnny Cinco and Jose Guapo and also the former Nashville-based Starlito (who recently migrated to Houston). The ATLiens make sense, its Keem’s continued championing of Starlito, an underground rap icon traditionally more recognized by bloggers, that’s a particular interest. As far as artists of no name who appear to be affiliated with Keem himself such as RayG, time will tell if they earn their keep for the constant features, but by no means are they a detriment to the tapes.

Keem’s Smoker’s Choice series are important simply because as the rap internet seems to be retracting its will/interest to cover outside of the industry product they’re expected/requested to cover, more and more these ‘mid-level’ rappers who maintain a considerable regional presence or suffer from not being marketable to a commercial (suburban/internet) audience need their best outlets. And inadvertantly, Keem is working subtly to keep the playing field somewhat level.

Choice - By Choice Not Force (2015)

Choice, or formerly Royce The Choice, is another new artist of DJ Mustard, best introduced to audiences on Mustard’s Ketchup mixtape years ago. Originally based out of Washington, Choice lacks the close relationship to the Pushaz Inc. team that fellow Mustard artist RJ held, so whereas RJ has maintained productive visibility among his friends and his own efforts, Choice had prior to this tape simply appeared on a duet tape with RJ, as well as both their respective features on Mustard’s 10 Summers album. Choice’s best quality is a combination of technique and a rather off the wall sense of humor, making him feel a potential Young Dro for the ‘ratchet’ generation.

By Choice Not Force is pretty much a solid solo effort for Choice. Right from the jump he’s playful, inventive and holds a solid commercial effort. Doesn’t hurt that he gets access to Mustard and understudies like DJ Official for production. However, given so little to investigate to sell Choice, one would hope for a lot more than 7 tracks. Furthermore, quality dips impressively in mixing and hooks after 4 or so tracks, and worse yet, Mustard’s other artist Drakeo is just... Not endurable. All in all a good appetizer, but still not quite indicative of whether or not Choice will be as enjoyable an artist as we could hope for.

#Shut Up And Dance #Kraze #YFN Lucci #Choice #DJ Lil Keem #Reviews #Albums #Mixtapes

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lyingaboutazaleas · 9 years ago

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Selected Rap Listening June ‘16

Kamaiyah - A Good Night In The Ghetto (2016)

Late but obvious. Kamaiyah’s rise is emblematic of a pretty safe and secure return to prominence to the Bay Area, after a great majority of the CFOPA/HBK axis’ promise of new talent seemingly died out after putting many of their eggs in the Iamsu! basket. E-40 has done relatively well in boosting the profile of Nef the Pharaoh (though Ezale has not done nearly as well), San Fransisco’s Lil’ Yase has managed a rising profile, and distant Livewire associate Mozzy now becoming one of THE most popular street rappers in the country not getting massive radio play. Out of all these faces, Kamaiyah is the most eager to bear herself, casually referring to family problems, relationship issues, adolescent sexuality and the like. Its a real solid selection of party records, that suggest Kamaiyah might turn out to be a great future talent if she continues.

K Camp - You Welcome (2015)

This was something I wanted to give a shot, considering how I'd argue K Camp's got a decent playlist worth of material between his official album and EP/Mixtapes. There's a boring narrative that's continued with the Futuristic Rap realm that Future dictates all the trends, and everyone else follows. Sure everyone's getting influenced by someone who has a consistent career of hot tapes and records, but in a scene as huge as REAL Atlanta (as opposed to the internet version being pushed by the general content aggregation nexus), I don't see how you can ignore those who are grappling with different influences in different ways b/c the more drunken autotune wigged out moments of Jose Guapo don't sound like Rich Kidz take on pop-rap, Young Mazi's attempts to marry Kevin Gates goth drawls vocalizing doesn't sound like WHAT-THE-HELL-EVER it is Johnny Cinco does. And K Camp's done a lot of great work at crafting hits. Unfortunately he decided to mostly reward his fans with a bunch of freestyles over hits like "Don't", "Jumpman" or "Where Ya At" about 'making it', 'remembering the come up' and sounding really dour about nothing (fittingly, a lot of this material sounds like lesser Drakk). Very little here stands out, and the few original tracks just feel like leftovers.

RJ - Takin N***as Beats (2014)

On the flipside, THIS is a great collection of random freestyles from RJ, member of the Pushaz Ink crew associated with YG and DJ Mustard. RJ is someone who can rap his ass off, if you've heard him on Mustard's "Ketchup" tape or his own "OMMIO" mixtape series you already know. YG and Pushaz are not classical writerly rappers that make rap nerds excited, instead focusing on flows and energy, which was why most of YG's coverage until "My Krazy Life" focused on Mustard and his chemistry; not to say that wasn't a huge part of making that album or the preceding mixtapes great, but let's be honest, a lot of rap writers are so obsessed with words that they aren't really thinking about the approaches outside of that. RJ on the other hand is a man who once said on his first mixtape "LAZER SIGHTS GOT ME NOCTURNAL", or that his career's a "LONG SHOT, BUT THERE'S A SCOPE ON THE RIFLE".

Unfortunately, a few good mixtapes hasn't translated into buzz beyond the West Coast thanks to saturation of the Ratchet sound by pop-rappers. Hearing RJ bounce effortlessly between older West Coast by Mack 10 and Suga Free and hits of those years by the like of Drake, Future, Meek Mill and coincidentally K Camp (who appears on a remix of his single "Ride Wit Me" alongside YG and Nipsey Hussle), you get a sense for the kind of diversity in approach that he might aspire to should a hit single and a proper major label deal manifest itself. Its a great starting point as any if you haven't checked this kid, not entirely pop-oriented but perfectly uncompromising.

Haka Beats - Man On The Moon (2015)

Haka Beats is a South London based hip-hop producer who last year put out an EP with some notable names from grime (Durrty Goodz, L Dot Man, So Solid Crew) and road rap (Youngs Teflon, Kyza, Cadet) vocaling his production. A lot of it involves drifting synthwork and moody drifts, not too distant from the kind of work Clams Casino was being praised for way back when. Despite being essentially a producer showcase, there’s some stellar work, with So Solid tackling trap-inspired gloom with surprising ease and comfort (suggesting a possible guideline should they attempt a new LP in the future) as well as Teflon engaging in typical worldly imagery and command. A good representation of a standout producer in a genre that doesn’t get enough credit for the progress on the instrumental side.

YG - Still Brazy (2016)

This is obviously a v. pro-YG blog, so anyone surprised that I’d be a huge fan of this next evolution for YG is sadly mistaken. Admittedly, with the loss of Mustard in addition to some questionable lead-off singles (”Why You Hatin’” works better in the context of an album to buoy it, but as an attempted hit is rather dubious, and “FDT” has Nipsey Hussle rapping on it) discussion of Brazy was pessimistic, and following first week sales that register around roughly a quarter of his debut “My Krazy Life” and scattered reactions, there’s an unfortunate amount of doubt as to whether YG is an artist worth investing further attention in from some. Considering Still Brazy is just as strong as MKL, except now the focus has been removed from presenting YG as the artist who can make complete albums that support singles, and allow him to ‘write’. Its a tense affair, with YG rambling about police, mistrust and betrayal, full of great appearances by most of the guests, and solid production by collaborators Terrace Martin and Mustard associate DJ Swish. Personally, I wish the collabs with Mozzy and his “Goapele Freestyle” with Slim 400 from last year had made it onto the album, but its a great additional chapter that suggests continuous growth.

Papi – Free Lines (2016)

Presented by Carns Hill, producer for the likes of Youngs Teflon and the 6.7 crew out in Brixton, Papi came onto the scene with “Run With The Runners”, which is itself a huge sort of left-field move in road rap. For the most part, detractors from the UK-based movement have often criticized the music for sounding too American compared to the unmistakably British voice of Grime. Exceptions in the past few years have emerged, but 6.7 have been hugely guilty of this, peppering their songs with Chief Keef and Drake references all throughout their rapping. Papi, however, appears to be using his ragged voice and applying it to the same sort of drunken/slurry autotune associated with Future and Johnny Cinco, as well as plays on the same sort of syllable-chopping Atlanta was being associated with for a good year. That, combined with the increasing weightlessness in Carns Hill's production leaves for a loose, shifting approach to a scene admittedly struggling with monotony. A solid tape, Papi might yet turn out to be a potential star in the UK Rap Scene now that its begun to really take hold, despite an identity that's heavily indebted to sounds from the States.

Dutch-N-Spade – Best Of... Vol 2 (2008?) / Color Changin Click - Ace Ventura (2001)

Recently in the rap internet, there's been a lot of bickering over canon, whether or not critics are obligated to engage or enjoy rap's past, who made the 'important' records, and a lot of hurt feelings. However, as much as say some cheap troll statements about De La Soul or Jay-Z's catalog highlights value are to some extent, a good way to discuss their significance, few people talk about the 00s with a lot of depth. Sure, the highlights and significance of Eminem, Lil' Wayne, or whomever serve as good subjects, but how many people bring up the outliers anymore the same way 90s rap experts can give you deep cuts compilations of a relatively insignificant 90s figure like AZ (who grows more and more diminished in stature the more so-called 'real hip-hop' writers don't call out Joey BadA$$ for lazily biting his flow for years and years, but I digress).

These two tapes are symbolic of a few holes in rap internet's memory of late. For one, Dutch & Spade were two of the heavy hitters in Philly rap supergroup Major Figgas, now best remembered thanks to Gillie da Kid's numerous Worldstar beefs, Ab-Liva's dalliances with the Clipse camp (transitioning into a ghostwriting credit on Yeezus), and Spade's friction with the majority of the State Property crew. CCC are Chamillionaire and Paul Wall's group, before both their dissolution after their debut LP Get Your Mind Correct and their both elevated profile following the newfound commercial interest of Houston rap following the success of "Still Tippin'", resulting in their own respective hit singles. They represent a time when regional spins on rap were much more pronounced (to a current day rap listener, perhaps the difference in Philly Rap’s more combative and brash off-the-dome style with the punchine-heavy and rehearsed style that’d dominated NYC in that time might go unnoticed, but no doubt the laconic funk of Houston rappers at such slowed tempos have to become more visible in contrast to the more stiff flows of Atlanta), and a time when the ‘underground’ of commercial rap (not to be confused with the burgeoning ‘commercial underground’ provided by the likes of Mos Def who rode a backpack bubble to just as many records sold as say, his more ‘sell-out’ peers) was a massively vast playing field of talent.

Additionally, these both serve as examples of mixtapes long before our now newly developed expectation of mixtapes to serve as 'street albums', be they compilations arranged by DJs and/or Producers (such as ones by Hoodrich Keem or DJ Spinz) or artists providing a range of new songs for either the core audience to enjoy, or maybe even garner interest in a future single. Rather, "Best Of..." is literally a collection of radio freestyes, unreleased tracks (including a pretty great song with what must've been a pre-Interscope 50 Cent), and verses from their Major Figgas days. "Ace Ventura" likewise is comprised of Chopped & Screwed mixes of hits from the era by Jay-Z, Missy Elliot, Juvenile and such with some scattered freestyles by the CCC. Its striking to hear both these tapes and consume them after having become so used to the newer definition of mixtape that came from the likes of Gangsta Grillz. Furthermore its a reminder of a time of a lot of solid rapping by guys who didn't last long as figures of note for the greater rap audience, but still hold value for those willing to give it a shot.

#Reviews #Mixtapes #Albums #YG #Haka Beats #Dutch-N-Spade #Major Figgas #Color Changin' Click #Paul Wall #Chamillionaire #Papi #RJ #K Camp #Kamaiyah

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