Graves33 and Diogenes — practiced executors of subterranean rap, par excellence — engineered a slamming six-track entry right underneath your feet. Life On Other Planets is worthy of all the invariable head-nods given by approving headphone critics the 2-0-6 over. It matches this gray overcast more than that global warming shit we had back in July.
Ronnie Dylan’s new track “Suite Life” documents the hustle-hard philosophy of a young rapper on the come-up over a spacious, radio-ready beat. Producer Jake Crocker adds a dramatic vocal touch.
La emerges from an extended musical absence to drop The Golden Gun EP, produced entirely by Pacific Northwest native, turned Tokyo-based label head Marcus D. The lean, polished, sample-based production suits La’s visceral street-oriented boasts and trademark strings of ill metaphors. “Killin’ n-ggas with shit I wrote in oh-ten,” is probably the most apt declaration La makes here, as his writing often feels like it could outlast any rapper in the Town. Golden Gun is only five songs long and begs for a sequel.
Dynamic and currently thriving in the Seattle hip-hop scene, One Above Below None dropped this four-song EP treat in advance of their Bumbershoot debut this Saturday, 9/5/15, at 1:45 PM on the Rhapsody Stage. The four man crew stands out from many of their Town peers in that they’ve prioritized their live stage presentation, folding expert live instrumentation into their tight, engaging performances. OABN can be counted among the new wave of Seattle acts poised to define the city’s current rap movement.
Cold and calculated, Raz Simone reveals a new album project called Trap Spirituals with a new track, “Massa Sir.” Heads are rolling and people are talking. I have a feeling he likes it that way.
Ladies love him, men want to be him — or, at the very least, are jealous of him. We’re talking of course about Ryan Caraveo, he of the perfectly coiffed pop-rap persona and a new(ish) EP, Happy Now. In a Town not big enough for egos to breathe, is there enough love to go around? Ryan’s on a mission to get his. We see you, bro.
Good humored, good natured and always down to have a good time (especially in their live presentation), the Bad Tenants have a fresh new EP called Mostly Human, produced entirely by IG88. Mixing live instrumentation with deft rap breaks and scratches, the record takes itself seriously as a piece of music but with a self-deprecating wink and a smile.
We here at the 206UP office figured we should pull ourselves away from Compton long enough to throw you some new Shabazz Palaces. “The Mystery of Lonnie The Døn” is from the Adult Swim Singles series. “Mystery” is dark, brooding, electronic, and mysterious, everything you’d expect from the SP royalty.
A glistening boom-bap track from the NYC-based Inner City Kids clique which features Seattle’s own Aaron Cohen. “Rap Money” pushes along like a 4-5 Infinit on the FDR.
Cam the Mac intrudes your regularly scheduled programming with the boisterous, profane Chef Killa mixtape, in which the Moor Gang infantryman goes in on your style, your girl and your whole fucking crew over a collection of beats both new and pre-owned.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 