New sh-t from the biggest names in Seattle rap, circa 2011. Mack and RL will be doing just this, in fact, on their fall tour which you can find out more about here.
VIDEO & DOWNLOAD: “#106” – The Physics
Click track artwork to D/L.
The dude Nam, in collaboration with The Physics crew, are responsible for the track “#106” and accompanying video and t-shirt.
Nam pretty much said everything over at his blog so I won’t say much more here other than after living in New York City for the last four years I understand the value of public transportation so much better now. It’s a humble yet socially responsible endeavor that I unfortunately never engaged in when living in Seattle, mostly due to the nature of my work.
The daily pilgrimage becomes mundane after a while, but there’s also something oddly romantic and meditative about having those bus or train routes become so familiar to you. Hopefully someday I’ll get to experience that in my Northwest home.
Grab the track here: “#106” – The Physics
VIDEO: “Miles on the Dash” – Logics
Vegas native turned Seattle spitter Logics rides for his hometown on “Miles on the Dash,” off the Problematic EP available for free here. (Spotted today at Northwest State of Mind.)
VIDEO: “Up Up Down Down Left Left” – GMK
Seattle really lost one when GMK, South End MC and producer of all things “brilly,” up and moved to California a couple of years ago. Local rap cats who make a big go of it in other towns should not be behooved, however — you know what they say about rolling stones…
Peep GMK’s video for “Up Up Down Down Left Left.” Having an extra 30 rap lives is one sure way to guarantee some amount of success.
[UPDATE 9.20.11, 3:10pm: I now have it on good authority that the homie GMK has been back in Town for a few months now. In any case, you can take the rapper out of The Six, but you can never take The Six out of the rapper. Or something.]
DOWNLOAD: “High In The Air” – State Of The Artist (feat. Sol)
Click on track artwork to D/L.
Been a minute since we’ve heard from State Of The Artist. Courtesy the good folks at Members Only, stream and download SOTA’s latest single, “High In The Air” (featuring Sol). A smoothed-out love jam to cure your end of Summer blues.
VIDEO: “Boogie Man” – Grieves & Budo
New clip from (sometime) hometown heroes Grieves and Budo. From their most recent, Together/Apart.
REVIEW: NoYork! – Blu
As far as underground rappers go, Blu represents near perfection. Ever since Below The Heavens, his 2007 collaboration with producer Exile, West Coast kids rocking Jansports and Vans have used the MC’s albums like warm blankets, Golden Era-type soundscapes perfect for draping over themselves during chilly winter nights on the Pacific Ocean. Blu has been at the center of the next wave of the underground Cali rap tradition, the same one that celebrated crews like The Pharcyde and Hieroglyphics have carried since the early 1990s…
VIDEO: “Shoot for the Stars” – John Crown
In advance of this month’s forthcoming Coffee and Beats, 253 MC John Crown releases his very first video for “Shoot for the Stars.” Thanks to Thadeacon at Slacks Kids ‘n Beats.
VIDEO & REVIEW: SEALAB 2012 – La
Click album cover for Bandcamp link.
Check the preview video for SEALAB 2012 (officially dropping tomorrow). This album marks La’s third time out with his third different producer. Jester gets behind the boards for a full 12 tracks this time, lacing the MC with sample-heavy joints that are less aggressive than Roll With the Winners but more contemporary than Gravity. The title of the album references the eponymous cartoon series from the early 1970’s and the Adult Swim redux from 2000.
La is still a problem on the mic, his metaphors and boasts sticking to the beats like darts on corkboard, but LAB is definitely the weakest of his three LP’s. It’s become clear that La can outpace the majority of Town rappers and it’s this blogger’s belief that dude can rhyme about anything and make it sound interesting. For the duration of LAB, however, La concerns himself mostly with two things: weed and sex. And, while this may have been the point, it doesn’t mean it’s as engaging as his previous albums.
The other issue is with Jester’s production. What made Winners such a dynamic listen was the jab-hook-uppercut combination of La’s all-out rhyming-like-his-life-depended-on-it steez and Blu-Ray’s throwback sample slap. Jester’s beats often lack the same authority. Not to say there aren’t highlights: “Dutches” and “Magnums” feature heady, hazy synth and both tracks refreshingly stand apart from anything found in La’s back catalog. And “Goods” is the most radio-ready the MC has ever sounded with a track that pops along in the same mode as Biggie’s “Juicy.”
The other notable aspect of LAB is the presence of some fairly heavy-hitting cameos. I won’t ruin the surprise in advance of the album’s release, but I will say “Diamonds” is a triumphant posse cut that features two of La’s prominent brothers in both rhyme and ethnicity. It’s dope to see accomplished MC’s co-sign for La on his own album, but the greater testament is the fact that their presence isn’t (and never was) necessary to affirm his skills. On his way to local rap stardom, La has held his own consistently. With a few adjustments on the next go-round, his star will grow even brighter.
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