Avatar Darko, UGLYFRANK and Dolce Drako behaving badly over a Black Lagoon beat. It’s whatever.
Category: Audio
NEW MUSIC: Critical Summer – Bolo Nef (aka Critical Sun)
LSD and a hotter-than-average summer in Seattle led Underworld Dust Funk general Bolo Nef to a new moniker (Critical Sun) and this Critical Summer EP. If it’s too deep for you, that’s probably ‘cuz you’re not high.
NEW MUSIC: “Turn Up” – Caz Greez (feat. Bolo Nef & Nacho Picasso)
Caz Greez and Bolo Nef, friends from the Underworld Dust Funk collective, exact a plot to destroy the “Turn Up,” by getting decidedly turnt down in this new track featuring Nacho Picasso. We’re running this in the morning, but it sounds like these cats never went to sleep.
NEW MUSIC: Live From The Soufside – Romaro Franceswa
Romaro Franceswa is one of the illest young MCs around Town. Hailing from just south of Seattle and representing BeanOne’s Yukmob label, his new Live From The Soufside is a document of the rapper’s life and times in Federal Way; think a sort of good kid m.A.A.d city for “that town you have to drive through to get to Tacoma.” Preview the moody, bumping EP below and check out his video for “The Big Payback,” which was released back in April and appears on Romaro’s debut LP, Black King.
NEW MUSIC: “Blame It On My Youth” – Brothers From Another (prod. by Nima Skeemz)
“Born in ’92” is the new “In this economy.” You can get away with anything if your generation’s right.
NEW MUSIC: “Sunsets” – Theoretics (feat. Grynch & Afrok)
From their “One A Month” release series, Theoretics recently dropped this soulful, introspective cut featuring Grynch and Olympia’s Afrok. Worth a spin.
NEW MUSIC: Huckleberry – Sam Lachow
Sam Lachow sounds like a kid in a candy store when he raps. His new album, Huckleberry, dropped today and it’s a delight, probably the feel-good album of the Seattle summer — maybe the year. Upon first glance, Sam slides comfortably into the dreaded “frat rap” category, but to qualify him as such would be a major disservice. Undoubtedly, general amusement derived from social and chemical excess is on his mind, but the indulgences are tempered with a wary sense of contrition; the ghosts of hangovers past seem to haunt every new outing.
The other thing that sets Sam apart from his peers are his musical chops. “The Idea” and “Action Figures” are blowout party jams, for sure, but there’s rare musicianship and craft behind those tracks. Sam writes, produces, directs videos, and does the graphic design on all of his shit, so it’s no wonder dude needs to blow off a little steam.
Huckleberry also does much to shine light on the rapper’s musical squad. Frequent collaborator, and fellow Black Umbrella mastermind, Raz Simone shows up twice, as do familiar names like Ariana DeBoo, B Skeez and Sky Blaow. The third entry in Sam’s “Young Seattle” series continues to show how deep the hip-hop talent pool runs in this modestly-sized Town.
Huckleberry grabs for wide appeal with the same type of precocious energy as its namesake. When things slow down, however, like on the innocence-lost tearjerker “Stolen Bikes,” the man behind the curtain is exposed and Sam Lachow’s raps and boisterousness are reduced to something far darker. It’s a solemn but vital reminder that in order for there to be celebration, we must first understand despair.
Check out Sam’s new video for “ThisThat” (featuring Ryan Rotoro) below:
NEW MUSIC: Fundamentals – Porter Ray
Young padawan Porter Ray, freak of rap nature (and, as of two hours ago, Sub Pop Record’s newest signee) with a new collection of songs for your head piece. Fundamentals picks up where RSE GLD and WHT GLD left off: Our young g rising in the music game, seeking redemption from the streets, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, and a couple shorties’ worth of math to text in the after hours. Porter’s Twitter handle is @porterbeplayin but this young man is decidedly not.
Aesthetically, Fundamentals is cleaner around the edges as compared to the MCs trio of 2013 EPs. The sample-based, jazz and boom-bap has been tightened up and the mix is far cleaner. This is where I say something about artistic growth and bigger budgets, and blah blah blah, and all of it would be true. But it still feels like Porter is finding his footing, which might be the most exciting part of his narrative thus far. Lyrically, you would be hard pressed to find a Seattle rapper with a better handle on words; his level of articulation falls somewhere categorically Nas-like.
Porter triangulates wizened block business (“Dice Game Diagrams”), matters of friends and family (“Ruthie Dean,” “On The Slick”), and several doses of horny defamation (“Fatal Attractions,” “French Kiss”) into a singular worldview considerably more sumptuous and unstable than yours or mine. If this is a lifestyle actually being lived, it’s hard to imagine finding any peace, which is what Porter Ray seeks at the conclusion of Fundamentals. The three songs that close out the album — “Searching,” “Sunrise” and “Meditate” — find him asking for some type of spiritual blessing, which is just fine. He’s been the one doing all of the blessing to this point, anyway.
NEW MUSIC: “Half Past Twelve” – Sam Lachow (feat. Magik)
Sam Lachow’s sophomore LP, Huckleberry, drops tomorrow and something tells me the infamous party starter will be “half past gone” just like his latest drop says. Magik on the hook, Sam on the Jameson.
NEW MUSIC: “No Worries” – Dark Time Sunshine
Dark Time Sunshine kicks off their West Coast / Southwest / Midwest tour tonight at the Vera Project in Seattle. Submit yourselves to the duo’s heady brand of Sennheiser rap; it will make for a disorienting Friday work day, the way all Friday work days should be. Their 2012 record, ANX, remains one of the most engaging listens of the last five years. Oh, and they dropped this loosie a few days ago called “No Worries.”
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