Seattle producer Marcus D and Maryland rapper Substantial are Bop Alloy. Winter Breaks is the EP follow-up to their Kickstarter funded Another Day in the Life of… which dropped back in February. Marcus keeps a relatively low profile around the Town but his beats are accomplished pieces of boom-bap often with live instrumentation and a clear sense of composition. Winter Breaks is an inclusive celebration of (all) the Holidays.
Working creative and grad student Kublakai dropped the latest single from his Wheels Up EP (the deluxe package edition of which is available now with the digital version due February 2, 2014). “What It Is” is an artist’s statement of sorts featuring the vocals of Symmetry and the trumpet of Marcus Wheat. It all comes together like alchemy.
Lose yourself to dance over this celebration of the more unhinged among us. “U Crazy” is a new one-off from Seattle electro-pop trio The Flavr Blue. Vocalist Marc E. Bassy hops on the ride, too.
Malice Sweet — normally heard singing alongside real-life partner Mario Sweet as contributing vocalists to The Physics — goes for dolo here for the first time over a smooth Jake One track.
Dex Amora drops a (ahem) jewel in his new track with producer E. Grady. “amethyst.snatchers” (lowercase and misplaced period, theirs) is a downtempo, jazzy rumination. It’s worth your time, as is the MC’s Aura EP.
OTOW Gang’s Massiah let loose this track from his vault. “Crazy Asian Rapper Pt. 3” sounds like a Death Row B-side circa 1996. That’s a good thing. Mass has a new album coming “really soon.”
Cam The Mac’s new joint “Only A Man” is a moody, inward-looking lament on “the life.” From his upcoming Wise & Weeded, due sometime in 2015.
Raz Simone as you’ve never heard him. “Why Aren’t You Mine” is a R&B-infused love jam as informed by the street life. From the rapper’s forthcoming Cognitive Dissonance: Part 2.
Malcolm Rebel — possessor of direct blood ties to Vitamin D — channels his inner Curren$y on this smooth, smoked-out EP, Purse 1st Ass Last. Produced entirely by Desmond Harvey and mixed by Vita himself.
Gabriel Teodros and SoulChef dropped a new video for their song “Light Attracts Light & Everything Else Too,” from their soulful and uplifting Evidence Of Things Not Seen. GT has always seemed preternaturally aware of what the hip-hop community needs to hear in moments of crisis. This is yet another example. Check out the recent interview he did for Africa Speaks 4 Africa and also peep the video interview I co-produced with the 28Hundred team at the bottom of this post.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 