For Those Who Can't Sleep On Hip Hop

A Tribe Called TES- A Must Listen!!! by C73

August 20, 2011

TES UNO- A TRIBE CALLED TES: MIXTAPE

Words can’t even begin to explain how much I love this release! This coming months before the recent documentary of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Beats, Rhymes and Life”, I forgot that I had this sitting on my comp waiting to be reviewed (my apologies to TES for the delay). For those out of the loop, TES has been around for a minute releasing a deep discography of ill music. I’ve been following TES since his first EP “Take Home TES” in 2000. Since then he’s released 2 full lengths (one being a freestyle collage CD) along with a gang of singles and cameos. You HAVE to hear this dude!

Anyway, ATCT is more than a homage towards the Native Tongues alumni, but a testament to TES’ skill as an artist. Basically take the illest Tribe beats selected by TES and the flawless DJ Teddy King (also supplying the cuts), and add some introspective lyrics and personal reflection by TES and you have a classic on your hands. I wish other artists had the balls to do this and remind everyone in this Hip Hop community there’s plenty room for expansion in this art.

This 12 track mix-tape starts with an intro to the manifesto by the father of TES in the form of “Pop A Top.” After that, you’re off on a musical journey of dope beats and supreme lyrics. Audible bliss is what I call it. Some of the topics covered are, issues within the music industry, spoiled trust fund kids and PIZZA!!! One of my faves is a track named “Payola” which covers the history of the term and a main problem that has and continues to saturate the music industry today. Back in the day, DJ’s were allowed to play whatever they wanted as long as they did not favor one particular artist. Apparently, one DJ named Alan Freed started the epidemic we know to exist now in the music industry where record labels pay DJ’s to play certain artists music. This track is supremely dope and informative. Hopefully what you’ve read so far has piqued your interest enough to give this a chance. If not, it’s your loss. Please support TES by hitting up http://atribecalledtes.com/. This is a must listen!!! Bless C73

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The Saga continues with Time Pieces: Part 2 by C73ETERNAL

August 20, 2011

B.C.- TIME PIECES PART 2: SURFACE PERIPHERAL RECORDS

“I thought I had returned home, but it seemed I am destined to be tossed back and forth at the whim of time. Falling asleep in Pop World, but all too often, waking up here with the cries of the surface dwellers and the sounds of sirens still in my head. Which one is the dream? I’ve recorded every voice on each side of my slumber in hopes someone will heed them. I can’t tell if living in the cause or the aftermath is more maddening or, just the deaf ears in between. But if you’ll listen, I’ll tell you the story of the surface…”

These lines permeate the insert of B.C.’s second solo release Time Pieces Part 2: Surface. It’s a short glimpse into the 11 track continuation of the Time Pieces series. While rappers are trying to make the most hardcore gangsta music, the catchiest commercial music, or the deepest or most different underground music, B.C. is simply trying to be himself. Time Pieces Part 2: Surface is like a throwback to the early 1990′s only in the sense that at the time, hip-hop had not become the divided and over-classified genre of music it is now. Had “TP: P2″ been released then, it would have been called a hip-hop album, with no unnecessary sub-classification.

Time Pieces Part 2: Surface as an album reflects and captures the essence of what hip-hop was and always will be: a voice for the World’s inner city. Just like rap’s pioneers, B.C. maintains a perfect balance between flexing lyrical muscle and addressing both the good and the bad of his respective topics. But there’s still more! B.C. does sample heavy music, dense music, with a lot of change ups in the details. An exhibition of this emcee just showcasing his enormous amounts of skills is “G Thang”, which really lives off of different flows and some change ups in the beats. Let us not forget that B.C. is a poet too, and makes that clear throughout the album through both word and sound, his obvious expertise with the former often mirrored by a subtle and intelligent touch when manipulating the latter. The presentation of B.C. as a lyricist ranges from being as abstract as Saul Williams (an artist he collaborated with on Part 1) to as direct as KRS ONE.

Not only does it not disappoint, Time Pieces Part 2, also manages to surprise with many twists on the abstract experimentalist’s template of analogue mayhem and lyrical filibustering. Given the depth of B.C’s discussion on relevant material, the heavy weight of the beats supplied by the likes of Miles Harris, Lazy, Aetoms and mostly Mudd Buddha, and the quality recording and mastering of the product; the total package presents an ambitious attempt to expand underground hip-hop while at the same time recapturing the more conscious aspects of the art. If you sleep you’ll miss the sickness of cuts like “ Bomb Shelter”, “Riot”, “Time to Make the Donuts” and the personal “I Prefer Whiskey”. Overall, the beats are awesome and the rhymes are off the chain. But this review cannot do justice to the emotion B.C. and the various producers conjure at the more gripping parts. Any talented emcee can flow, but it takes a whole other kind of talent to do it like B.C. Please support B.C. by checking out http://thepopworld.com/. Bless C73

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Sean Doegh reps with “Jade Dreams” by CyPhEr777

August 17, 2011

Sean Doegh-Jade Dreams

This is the newest offering from one of the members of the renowned Official crew out of Boston, Mass. Sean Doegh obviously has some strong creative ideas. Jade Dreams will please those who are hungry for tight lyrics and rhymes, as this 14-track album (few interludes!) is packed with a lot of them. The content within each verse show us it is possible to combine complex lyricism with accessibility. In other words, it’s good enough for the underground, but it’s also ready for the masses.

While this type of intensity could easily fade as the album goes on, Sean Doegh holds it up firmly right until the end. His flows are as modern as some of the top MC’s today, and regardless of Doegh’s age there is still an old school mentality that shows he’s been doing his homework. This is just one more side of the talent that continues to come from Massachusetts, and Sean Doegh has a gift that is difficult to pass up. He’s a deep thinker with an equally deep vocabulary and isn’t afraid to challenge listeners to absorb and review his rhymes. It’s as if he is testing them to see if they’re worthy of peeping his knowledge, a task that takes multiple listens to accomplish. Once listeners pass the test, they’ll see those verbal puzzles as evidence of his passion for lyricism and hip-hop in general.

He displays his passion for the culture on tracks like “The Entrance,” “Adamantium” featuring Frizwill and the raw “Seanplex.” [click to continue…]

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Bill Adler’s book on Def Jam’s history provides an inside look into the iconic record label’s legacy

August 14, 2011

From the book: Beastie Boys, Nelson George, and Rick Rubin backstage after opening for Madonna on the "Like A Virgin Tour." (Image courtesy of Rizzoli Publications.)

Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label tells the inside story of the first quarter century of the iconic record label’s existence. The book’s coauthor Bill Adler, Def Jam’s original publicist who also worked along side Russell Simmons before he paired with Rick Rubin to form the record label, does a phenomenal job of chronicling this amazing story. The book’s other author, Dan Charnas, recently made waves with his title The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip Hop. (Read his interview with Insomniac Magazine here.) The authors conducted interviews featuring many of the original label players, including Simmons, Rubin, The Beastie Boys and Run DMC, just to name a few. These insightful stories are paired with a significant amount of amazing pictures. This wonderful book is certainly worthy of displaying on the coffee table of any true lover of music and its history.

During a recent talk with Insomniac Magazine, Adler shared his thoughts on the value of physical books in the current era of digital media dominance.

“…the future of books, per se, is very much in question. Having said that, I believe that there’s something to be said for an actual physical book and an image that is twelve inches square and is beautifully reproduced. I don’t think computer screens compete… If it’s a novel, go ahead to your ebook. If the story to be told requires beautiful pictures as well, then make an art book in the way that Rizzoli does and glory in that. It’s still the best medium for stories like that.”

The book’s shape and size is the same as the classic records that helped make the label a success. As the resurgence of vinyl has shown, people still crave physical media if it provides a significant amount of quality and helps to enhance the consumption experience. This book, which was designed by Cey Adams Def Jam’s original art director that was responsible for many of the classic images that have helped to make the label’s albums just as memorable as the music, is as visually impressive as the amazing story it tells. Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label will be released in October and is published by Rizzoli.
by Israel Vasquetelle

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Maff Test brings skills and energy on the new single “Made Of”

August 11, 2011

Sponsored Review


Maff Test aka Young Harvey delivers a synth fueled monster of a track with an infectious hook that shouldn’t take much of an effort to pack the dance floor. The new single entitled “Made Of” features bumping and rolling electro juiced beats and of course the slick rapper flossing his rhyme skills with a little help from R&B crooner and producer Jon Wain who provides the smooth vocals on the chorus. This track has booth street sensibility and a melodic crossover vibe that should appeal to a wide array of urban music listeners.

The rapper and Lockout Records’ CEO initially hails from Harvey, Illinois- hence his alias, Young Harvey- and currently resides in the ATL. Maff is tested and proven- previously sharing center stage on the mixtape entitled “Big Bizness: Volume 1″ with dirty south royalty DJ Khaled . To learn more about Maff Test check him out on his website. As well, you can hear more on his YouTube channel.

This review was sponsored by Lockout Records.

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