Sonny admits all of his faults on “I Know,” the latest track to get the video treatment from last year’s Phonephreak, the abbreviated version of which you can download for free at this location. His Atlanta homie Playboy Tre on the guest bars and Chris Le behind the lens.
DOWNLOAD: They’ve Got My Number Down at the Post Office – Art Vandelay
Click album cover to D/L at Bandcamp.
Ricky Pharoe gets up on the weird side of the bed for this one. Re-monikered as Art Vandelay, They’ve Got My Number Down at the Post Office finds the MC and producer Mark Formway making antithetical rap music in the grand/odd tradition of their anti-establishmentarianist (is that a word?) brethren Black Lab Productions.
Formway builds thick, layered compositions from distorted low end, electric guitar riffs, muted high-hats, and idiosyncratic vocal samples from the likes of Ghostface Killah, Louis Armstrong and, of course, characters from Seinfeld. The producer often lets his beats build, setting the sonic tone for Pharoe’s cynical realism. The rapper is anti-record label, anti-financial institution, anti-justice system, pretty much anti-everything, really, which in the end amounts to…what exactly?
The MC’s bleak nihilism can be a bit of a downer, but it’s his wicked sense of humor and expert social observations that make They’ve Got My Number one of the most refreshing 206 releases of the year. I’m an eternal optimist, that’s just my nature; but there’s something to be said for allowing the morose to run through your brain synapses from time to time. It keeps us glass-half-full types honest, really.
DOWNLOAD: The Found Tapes – Nas
Click album cover to D/L at Datpiff.
Experiencing a high number of ho-hum reactions to new material from Mr. Nasir Jones? Send a handwritten “Thank You” note to DJ Rhude for compiling this set of rarities. The Found Tapes is the closest thing to a hip-hop time machine you’ll find right now.
DOWNLOAD: “Money Mouf” – Xperience (prod. by BeanOne)
The best rapper to ever come out of our capital city? Oldominion affiliate Xperience goes in here. X has never sounded more dexterous. BeanOne drops more of that no-frills, stripped-down drum and bass sh-t he’s been on lately. It all adds up to something nice for your weekend.
THE TRACKMEET: 9.23.11
CLICK :: LISTEN :: VOTE
TrackMeet back again. For the uninitiated: this semi-regular feature is a song competition in which three up-and-coming Seattle-area artists are pitted against each for ULTIMATE RAP SUPREMACY! Or something.
Voting is left to you, the readers, to decide who has the freshest track. Polls stay open for exactly one week and each winning song (see past editions here) will be featured on an upcoming mixtape from 206UP.COM. If you’re an artist interested in submitting a song for competition, get at me with the mp3 and a press photo at 206upblog@gmail.com.
Three new artists, three new tracks. You know what it is.
LANE 1: “The Fly” – Don’t Mind The Kid (DTK)
LANE 2: “My Own Shit” – COMN GRND
LANE 3: “Bop It” – The U Crew
VIDEO: “The King’s new clothes were made by his own hands (Remix)” – Shabazz Palaces
This is how the magic happens.
VIDEO: “Are We There Yet” – Dumbfoundead
More #OutOfTownMovement for your TGIF’ed ears. Some heavier sh-t from LA-sian MC Dumbfoundead. Get hip to this Project Blowed affiliate if you haven’t yet.
(I can say “LA-sian” because I’m Asian. If you’re not Asian, you can’t say it. That’s just how it works.)
VIDEO: “Reset” – DLRN (feat. Prometheus Brown & Illecism)
DLRN (as in “Delorean”) is Sacramento duo 5th Ave (MC) and Jon Reyes (beats). The 206UP.COM staff has been checking for them for a minute now and you should too. “Reset” is the duo’s latest video and it features Prometheus Brown rocking familiar Seattle snapback.
VIDEO: “212” – Azealia Banks
#OutOfTownMovement. Viewed for the first time at Out For Stardom. I don’t know who Azealia Banks is (that’s either because her thing is brand spankin’ new or because I am not nearly as cool as I think I am), but this track caught my ear. She raps, she sings, she smiles real cute, and she’s from Harlem, USA. The 212 is where I lay my head. The 206 is where I’m from. Something about this joint feels so right. Hence the post.
VIDEO: “Pass You By” – Scribes
From Scribes’ most recent LP, What Was Lost, which you can grab for free here. Jon Jon gets behind the lens again on this clip.
WWL might go down as one of the most overlooked SEA rap albums of the year, so make sure to be cooler than your other friends and check it out.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 