Astro King Phoenix is a striving young rapper from the Town whose Prequel To The Glory can be a fairly engaging listen. Sci-fi philosophy and indirect pillow talk filter through producer Ike Watson’s polished, modern sounds. In fact, often it’s Watson who leaves the biggest impression: “Lost” and “Poison Ivy” have nicely-executed sample flips and Astro’s flow becomes secondary to the hazy, R&B-tinged beats.
Listening to Bolo Nef’s new Sol Invictus reminded me of taking one of those long, solo road trips. When the fatigue of navigating an endless stretch of highway in the dark gives way to your brain wandering off to those shadowy, Cimmerian mind states. When you find yourself contemplating the implications of, say, absolute nothingness, and all that stares back at you from the road is the yawning, silent void.
Bolo’s team of creative minions, Underworld Dust Funk (or UDF), specializes in this type of isolationist theory. Theirs is the chant of the alienated and nihilistic; the ethos of the creatures that live and move in the shadows — literally and figuratively — of Seattle’s sunnier hip hop side.
Bolo took me to task on Twitter the other day for reaching snap judgements of his UDF counterpart Caz Greez’s album Misfit. I called that record “cloud trap, promethazine slumber rap”. Fair enough, Bolo. Misfit is definitely more than that. I would contend, however, that Sol Invictus does a superior job of conveying UDF’s prime philosophies. Maybe that’s due to Bolo’s turnt down lyrical style — Caz’s three appearances lend a welcome dose of animation to SI.
Yes, Bolo documents Percocet and pill popping here also, but it scans heavily as self-medication rather than recreational use. Sol Invictus slumbers, half-sober, amid the sounds of a mother’s cries, muted sirens and the waning ping of a heart monitor. While some other ma’fuckas do it to death on world tours, UDF has enough issues just avoiding death around the next corner. It’s probably time to wake up to Bolo’s un-merry crew of illicit prescription revelers. The problem is, sometimes waking up is the scariest part.
Tacoma’s The Breaklites with a new album, I ♥ America. There’s been a growing buzz around this crew of party-focused South Sound rappers and it’s all deserved.
The Good Sin and guest Sean Carson party by the pool with a host of inanimate objects. And no I’m not talking about rap video models. These are actual inanimate objects. Been a minute since we’ve heard from Sinseer; nice to have him back in the mix. Download “Living Dreams”, here.
OC Notes let fly this massive collection (over 100!) of Rap Loops yesterday for your ears’ enjoyment. Practice your bar structure before that open mic night.
Oft under-appreciated Mack E with a new track, “Glass”, produced by Trae Beats. Possessor of lyrical miracles out of the L.A.C.O.S.A. camp, this one’s turned down and introspective.
Malice and Mario Sweet dropped their new single “Celebration” on New Year’s Eve. I was too busy standing in line in the freezing outdoors for the opportunity to buy watered down drinks for $15 each. NYE in NYC is so glamorous.
Anyway… “Celebration” found its release on the most celebrated — okay, arguable — day of the year in America, but it also commemorated M&M’s five-year wedding anniversary. Congratulations to them! As someone who will be taking the plunge into nuptials (that sounds weird) this May, mad respect to Seattle’s favorite real-life R&B couple for reaching the half decade benchmark.
In advance of their show with Fly Moon Royalty tonight at Neumos, Fresh Espresso dropped this new track. “On!” swirls around like an electronic dust storm. It’ll sound great live, go see.
Well now that 206UP’s Best Seattle Hip Hop Albums of 2013 have made the rounds, we can get back to the regularly scheduled programming. If you missed my holier-than-thou lists and write-ups, scroll down for that shit or click here.
Hello, 2014. Nice to make your acquaintance. Here’s to another slew of quality Seattle rap over the next 363 days, beginning with Nacho Picasso’s new tape Trances With Wolves. I don’t know what this sounds like yet, but I’m hoping it features some Kevin Costner ad-libs ripped straight from the eponymous (not quite) movie. NP staying active even in the newborn belly of vingt-14.
Seattle rap fans are blessed with the greatest Christmas-themed hip hop album in history. Bold statement, but I defy you to find another! The Sta-Hi Brothers (Vitamin D and Maine) released their Chrismas Trees EP two years ago but it deserves revisiting every December 25th. You’ll never listen to the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack the same again.
Download Chrismas Trees for free here, but don’t play it while grandma’s around.
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