Profoundly weird and exceptionally profane, Moor Gang foot soldier Steezie Nasa’s new album, Trap Alien, is a buzzing obelisk hovering over the Six. Steezie’s vocals are unabashedly auto-tuned, which makes for a cold sense of isolation throughout the record. That is, until the final track where he finally shouts out “My Dogs.”
Kevin Lavitt is a Seattle-based singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. His debut EP Planets will arrive shortly we’re told. “Night Is Over” is the first drop and it features frequent collaborator Sam Lachow. Kevin reminds me of ’90s R&B crooner Jon B — do with that assessment what you will. In any case, blue-eyed soul is here to stay.
The LACOSA camp’s JASN (formerly Mack-E) and D-Sea dropped this collaborative EP called Faded. The on trend production by Radical Kid is a sharp turn away from the duo’s typical backpack stylings (rolling high hats abound here) and the two rappers go in with a harder lyrical sensibility. Check the dope threats on “Forty7” (featuring 206UP favorite Language Arts) for a good sampling.
Episode 10 in Raz Simone’s lead-up to his Cognitive Dissonance: Part II release (due Wednesday, January 28) is “Shoes On,” a banger that draws parallels between your nine-to-five office job and the grind of a hustler. The lesson here? There is no additional glory in the street life other than the false romantic notions that get attached to it. It’s one shoe at a time for all of us, Raz says.
Something to shake your body to in the depths of the Seattle winter: Malice and Mario Sweet present the first single from their upcoming album SMS. “Superstar (Twenty9 Remix)” is the re-glossed version of the as-yet unreleased original which will (presumably) appear on SMS. Parisian DJ Twenty9 applied the synth touches and vocal swirls to this club gem.
206UP is a proud marketing sponsor of the EMP Museum’s Black History Month kickoff event: Through the Eyes of Art featuring The Value of Black Life artist showcase with appearances by Talib Kweli and Seattle hip-hop artist Draze. It’s going down on Saturday, February 7, 2015 and tickets can be purchased here. More details below via the EMP website.
The Brandkings and EMP Museum present Through the Eyes of Art, the kickoff event for EMP’s Black History Month celebration.
This year, Seattle’s premier Black History Month celebration brings together work from regional artists and photographers in The Value of Black Life art showcase.
The second annual Through the Eyes of Art will feature a keynote address from the former National Director of Youth Engagement at World Vision Derrick Wheeler-Smith, remarks from City of Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Seattle City Council Member Bruce Harrell, and a live performance by hip-hop heavyweights Talib Kweli and Draze.
206UP would like to extend a special thanks to Draze and The Brand Kings for bringing us on board!
Theoretics cooked up a mean beat for this month’s edition of their One-A-Month Series. “Exit Signs” features the dramatic vocals of Maiah Manser aimed for the after hours. Catch the band at Nectar on January 22 for the release of their new EP, Fugue State.
LakeHouse Entertainment’s main man BenadriLL has released, by far, his best project to date. The album is called Under The Table and it features the kind of low-key, everyman struggle bars and braggadocio that the rapper has always traded in. The beats shine here, too, with equal parts turnt party flair and G-Funk inspired riding music. Worth your time.
SneakGuapo, of Thraxxhouse and Moor Gang (they fight on the same side these days), dropped his Noah’s Ark mixtape late last year.
Episode nine of the Cognitive Dissonance: Part 2 roll-out is “My People,” an honorific response from Raz to his supporters.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 