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.
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.
Tacoma’s FanoBee talks some shit and generally behaves badly over this collection of self-produced tracks. We dig the processed, wind tunnel minimalism of the beats on Before the Haze but can do without the date rape reference on “Sun Valley.” Rappers should know that lowest common denominator-type shit is no way to earn fans. C’mon now.
Shelton Harris and Tyler Dopps are going for a big sound to match their similarly sized aspirations. The title, “Glory,” basically says it all here.
Dave B‘s Doughnuts, the promised follow-up to the rapper’s full-bodied Coffee EP, has since gone the way of the dodo. No matter. Last year saw the MC collaborate most effectively with The Physics’ main man Justo on School Daze, a pristine set of in-the-wind boom bap overlaid by Dave’s insightful, whirling nostalgia.
Loosies is merely two joints long but bills itself as a tasting menu for a promised full-length due sometime in the new calendar year. Here’s hoping that happens.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 