Back from the 416 and in a Toronto state of mind…
The Weeknd’s hazy, diffuse, electro-R&B sounds like The-Dream on mescaline. The trio’s erotic, thugged-out, borderline sociopathic lyrics are a combination of R. Kelly’s perverted machismo and Odd Future’s depraved sex fantasies. Still interested? If so, click here to download the group’s free EP, House of Balloons.
Comparing the music of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All to that of its hip-hop forebears has become quite fashionable. At this point in the group’s existence, critics have deconstructed the music in terms of rap sub-genre (“It’s horrorcore!”), hip-hop artists that have covered similar lyrical ground (“They’re like Eminem!”), and even through alignment with other genres that may not share rap’s musical aesthetic but find commonality in anarchic spirit (“A new version of punk!”). Comparatives are part and parcel of music journalism, but when they’re relied upon so heavily, as has been the case with Odd Future, the dreaded final analysis is usually that the subject is so derivative that nothing original can possibly be said.
Click album cover for D/L link.
Let this be said: ELmatic, Elzhi’s re-interpretation of Nas’ classic Illmatic, is good. In fact, it’s excellent (covers head for fear of the Rap Gods’ wrath). In hip-hop, the line between imitation as the sincerest form of flattery and straight-up biting is a hazy one. Is ELmatic an example of Elzhi’s hubris run amok, or a true honorific attempt at adulation? Whatever it is, we shouldn’t let the young ‘uns decide. The only worry hip-hop should have over this remake is that kids under the age of 18 will think it’s all original. Parents, educate your children.
Click here to read more of my ELmatic thoughts on SSG Music.
Seattle hip-hop says goodbye to one if its very best this Saturday at Chop Suey. Watch D.Black deliver a personal statement on his official outro below and click here to read SSG Music‘s excellent feature article on Black and his now former label, Sportn’ Life Records.
Vast Aire, the MC with one of the illest slow flows in the game, is back with a new LP, Can Ox 2010: A Street Odyssey, set to drop May 31. When acclimating non-hiphop heads to the genre’s intimidating breadth, Cannibal Ox’s 2001 masterpiece, The Cold Vein, is required listening. Behind the strength of El-P’s frigid industrial production and the left-of-center vocal interplay between Vast Aire and fellow group member Vordul Mega, Vein was the definitive (ahem) Definitive Jux album, embodying everything that was unique about the now-defunct label’s streetwise mentality.
Click image for D/L link.
You’ve never heard State Of The Artist (SOTA) quite like this before. The second leak from the group’s upcoming EP, Altered State (scheduled for a May 10 release), “Alive” finds Young TH, Hyphen8d and Parker Joe spitting rap-life lessons learned over heavily processed industrialized hip-hop. Shaprece Renee lends impassioned vocals on the anthemic hook. This is grand arena rap, more suited for venues like the Key than the Showbox.
(Click here to continue reading at SSG Music.)
Click album cover to continue reading at SSG Music.
Dear Lasers: Who are you and what have you done with the real Lupe Fiasco?
Many listeners unfamiliar with the major label drama that has swirled around the Chicago emcee (like the eponymous winds the city is nicknamed for) may pose this exact missive to the man born Wasalu Muhammed Jaco. And it would be a fair question. Fans who have devotedly tracked the ascent of Lupe Fiasco from his early success as a small (but well-connected) fish in a big pond to the quasi-underground rap savior who would single-handedly save commercial rap from itself will find themselves puzzled as they listen to Lasers.
2011 has been a great year so far for hip-hop videos. Here’s another excellent one from the underground’s favorite, Pharoahe Monch. I’ll have more commentary via SSG Music, coming soon.
Read my commentary on Pharoahe Monch’s new video, “Clap (One Day)” at SSG Music:
The impending release of Pharoahe Monch’s third full-length solo album, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), is cause for great excitement in hip-hop’s subterranean recesses. Show me a rap head who says he or she doesn’t feel Pharoahe’s unique style and I’ll show you a hip-hop tourist carrying a fake passport. The emcee’s extremely limited run of solo work over the last twelve years has crafted a reputation for him as a sort of reclusive hip-hop vintner, whose product is served in limited-edition releases only and in few locations.
Click album cover for D/L link.
Hometown rap hero Grynch dropped his new EP, Timeless, today. And, as the title suggests, dude rhymes about many things in hip-hop that are indeed timeless. Those things include:
a) Shaking off haters (“So Long”)
b) The party life (“All I Wanna Do” featuring Sol)
c) Shorties (“Out of Sight, on My Mind”)
and of course the age-old favorite, d) Hustling to get respect and one’s due shine in the rap game (“Randy The Ram”).
A (#LatePass) New Year’s gift from the wily Sonny Bonoho. Hit the linked image above for a pared-down version of Sonny’s 2010 LP, Phonephreak. Click here to read what I had to say about it back in April on SSG Music. And if you missed the hyper-creative video for “Zig Zag” (feat. Money B [!!!]), peep that below.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 