I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a Raw Poetic track. This may not be surprising if you’re listening to “Streamline,” but I rarely ever like every song of someone’s. (knock on wood)
For “Streamline,” Damu & Raw P team up to dish out some fine jazz rap. Weren’t these two suppose to be working on something else… ah yea, that new Panacea album. Well, I don’t know if Damu’s in on that, but I can already tell this is going to be a very Raw Poetic year.
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Yes, I know this is a little dated, but that “Colorful Storms” remix caught my attention and had to give it more play. I checked out the full album by Damu, Spare Time, and found a few more gems to add.
I’ve been following Damu’s work with Panacea & Y-Society for a while now, but haven’t swooped up his solo shit till now. Half of Spare Time is a bunch of instrumental electro-jazz, but where it really comes to shine is when Damu mixes in a few well versed MC’s. Raw Poetic, Kev Brown, Insight & even a little Guru sample in these four tracks – and shows again why rap was made for jazz (or is it the other way around).
[audio:Colorful-Storms-Remix.mp3|titles=Colorful Storms (Damu Remix)]
Caught this thanks to K-Murdock who’s worked with Damu on Panacea in the past and I’m sure the future (big fan).
I’ve followed Damu the Fudgemunk’s works for a few years now, but as for the other two, Grap Luva & Joc Max, I’ve only heard ’em through word of mouth, although I’m sure I’ve run into their work before. But strictly speaking, “Work it Out” is one hell of a smooth & soulful hip-hop track. Lately, I’ve been seeing a lack of soul in a lot of hip-hop (not all), and it’s good to see something soulfully fresh.
Grap Luva is reportedly releasing a 7-track EP later this year and “Work it Out” is a good glimpse in what’s to come. I’m lovin’ Grap’s tone against the instrumentals the other two whipped up. He’s best advised to keep Damu & Joc Max on the beats for his upcoming EP. Shit will kill.
[audio:Work-It-Out.mp3|titles=Work it Out](Download Link in Full Article)
I finally made up my (indecisive) mind and picked a song from Panacea’s 12 Step Program. I first narrowed it down to three that I liked, all for different reasons, and finally came up with “Blue Oceanwave” because of Raw Poetic’s catchy flows and memorable lyrics. Although, lyrics tend to alter each time I play ’em back in my head, so eventually the lyrics started to repeat as something completely different (I tend to do this a lot with music).
The reason I was so hesitant on featuring this one was because of the rave-sounding fire alarms played throughout the chorus. It’s not that they are that bothersome to the beat, I just think the song would do better without ’em. Actually, play it back and tell me what you think I wanna know if this is just me or if others feel the same way.
By the way, the two other songs that came close were “Collard-Fried Grey Sky”, which has a hypnotically beautiful beat, typical of K-Murdock; and “Black Coffee”, the first 30 seconds are pure funkadelic fresh(nass). You can check ’em both out at BandCamp.
[audio:BlueOceanwave.mp3|titles=Blue Oceanwave](Download Link in Full Article)
You may recognize this sound, but under a different group, namely Restoring Poetry in Music (RPM). Both Jason Moore (Raw Poetic) and Kyle Murdock (K-Murdock) started out in RPM, and created a side project, Panacea; but the two groups have some slight variations. RPM is a band consisting of five instrumentalists (or so), where as Panacea consists of K-Murdock on turntables, a sampler, and maybe a few other devices with the help of Damu the Fudgemunk. Both groups have Raw Poetic as the front Emcee, and gee golly gosh is he good… did I really just say that : The difference in sound between the two may seem slight at first, but once you immerse yourself in ’em, you notice the contrasts in style. Raw Poetic’s style is relatively similar throughout the groups, but K-Murdock switches it up, bringing a more progressive, experimental sound to Panacea.
I had quite a few songs I wanted to feature from Panacea’s four LP’s, but I decided to go with Ecosphere from Ink is My Drink. K-Murdock creates a stunningly poignant beat, and features Patrick Fritz (P-Fritz) from RPM, who has an amazing voice, and I mean amazing! Though, this song doesn’t do him justice, so go to one of RPM’s features (here or here) to really capture his stunning vocals. You won’t be disappointed!… I mean, the guy is so good I kinda have a man-crush on him. ;) Anyways, compare this song to RPM’s, and tell me what differences you find… if you’re up to the challenge!
Lastly, I know I’ve mentioned this too many times already, but you really need to check out RPM. They’re one of my favorite hip-hop groups, and I know you will enjoy ’em… maybe even more than Panacea!
[audio:Ecosphere.mp3|titles=Ecosphere](Download Link in Full Article)