“To All My Friends” originally debuted at Soundset 2010, but was officially released today to kick off Atmosphere’s To All My Friends tour.
The song has a laid-back vibe reminiscent of the group’s latest album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. Leave it to Slug to lay down some sentimental goodness. He talks about his earlier years, wanting to be an artist: painting & drawing, but dropped it after he fell in love with the turntable. Somehow he’s stayed humble through it all and sure shows it through his lyrics.
The tour runs through September into October mostly covering the West and Midwest areas. Hopefully, I can hit up the Chicago set, there isn’t anything in Minnesota this time around (I guess we have it good enough).
On a side note, what do you all think of FELT I can’t seem to get into ’em like I do with Slug’s & Murs’s other projects…
[audio:To-All-My-Friends.mp3|titles=To All My Friends]
What the hell’s a Doomtree anyway My guess is it’s got something to do with the Tree of Life, maybe its arch enemy!… maybe not. Doomtree is a collective consisting of a mix of MC’s and DJ/producers from Minneapolis, including Paper Tiger. I’ve been following Doomtree ever since I heard “Flex” – check it, guaranteed like. And now for the second time, one of the group members has created a solo project – Paper Tiger’s Made Like Us.
My first thoughts after listening to Made Like Us was that it’s got some killer beats and vocals, namely Dessa, but why not include some of the MC’s I’ve come to love with Paper Tiger’s beats A recent interview with Paper Tiger at Sunset in the Rearview brought up this very question. Apparently he wanted to go solo on this one and make it all his own. Now the question is if he pulled it off… (I’d say so)
Question: On the last track of the album, “Cigana” has about half a minute of silence in the middle – why is it that on some albums the last track has a silent part towards the middle or at the end The first person who can answer this for me will get entered into the contest we’re holding next month- I really want to know!
[audio:2ndDayBack.mp3,Cigana.mp3|titles=2nd Day Back,Cigana](Download Link in Full Article)
Came across Binary Star while testing out a three-day trial of MOG. I’m not so sure about MOG’s fees – can’t justify $10 a month to use on the iPhone, but it’s got some promising features.
Anyway, I was pretty impressed by Binary Star’s “Honest Expression”, so I decided to check out the rest of their album, Masters of the Universe. It’s got a few standout tracks, and the rest of the album is better than most of the shit I’ve heard lately.
What I love about these guys is their witty lines laid out throughout the album. Although some aren’t so politically correct, “Rodney King ain’t never felt a beat like this”, it’s refreshing to hear some uncensored music.
What I don’t love is their obvious hate of mainstream, money hungry rappers. I’ve come across a few different talented MC’s who spend too much time hatin’ on the mainstream. Although I completely agree with ’em, it’s not something I really give a shit about. Leave a track for that and move on, they’re many more pressing issues to cover.
Other than that these guys have got something and hopefully will ignite another album soon. Though it’s been 10 years since their last LP, so I wouldn’t count on it. But I’ll make sure y’all are the first to know, just follow me on Twitter… or Facebook… or my RSS Feed… ;D
[audio:HonestExpressionIntro.mp3,HonestExpression.mp3,RealityCheck.mp3,KGB.mp3|titles=Honest Expression (Intro),Honest Expression,Reality Check,The KGB](Download Link in Full Article)
I was “tumbling” around when I came upon this beauty at a scribe., a Tumbler blog. I swear when you’re looking real hard for something you never come up with shit, but when you least expect it you fall into something you love – Illogic being a prime example. It’s hard to find rappers that go beyond the lyrics to weave their rhymes into the beat. I find many flow to a rich & intricate beat, yet their rap is stale and often boring. Illogic may not be the most expressive, dynamic MC, but he knows his way around a beat, especially “Celestial Clockwork”. So far I haven’t been too impressed with the rest of his album, but I’ll definitely have another go around soon. I can tell this guy’s got something…
[audio:CelestialClockwork.mp3|titles=Celestial Clockwork](Download Link in Full Article)
I wanted to feature a song from Panacea‘s new album, 12 Step Program, which also released this week, but unfortunately none of the songs hit the spot (yet). Panacea usually takes sometime to really feel the sound, so hopefully I’ll feature something soon off the album.
But we’re here for a little Bone Thugs, featuring a song off their new album, Uni5: The World’s Enemy. I was a little skeptical of Bone’s new album, I usually am after a group has been around so long. I rarely see a group that can last this long and still produce a quality album. I find most either try something new that just doesn’t work right or just keep on producing the same old shit. Well, to be honest, the album is worthwhile for a listen through, but it’s in no wear near their best work, which I think most would agree on. However, the album has a good classic Bone Thugs sound, and some of the singles just hit it right, specifically “My Life”.
“My Life” is a good example of why Bone has been so successful. The group mixes up rap with some backup vocals to create a full range sound. I find with a lot of hip hop that most discount what a good ol’ R&B singer, for example, can bring. I know a good amount of people who don’t enjoy, appreciate and/or understand rap, so mixing in some vocals can go along way for these people, and to be honest, myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love rap – as you should know by now – but the more variables a song brings (obviously done in the right way) the better a song can be. But obviously this is just my humble opinion. What do y’all think How do you prefer your hip hop
[audio:MyLife.mp3|titles=My Life](Download Link in Full Article)
Way back in ’08 I was obsessed with a little known group from Minneapolis called Doomtree. I was just getting over my fixation with Flex, a song from their False Hopes album, when I heard news of an upcoming release. “Drumsticks” premiered on the group’s site a couple weeks later, and the beat blew me away. Its natural sounds with a heavy kick bass made the hairs on my neck stand up. I couldn’t wait for the release, and when it rolled around I was in for a surpise… unfortunately, not a good one. The album didn’t come close to that of False Hopes, and although, it packed in a few noticeable tracks, the album as a whole was nothing praiseworthy. I still love this track, though, and I know you will too.
I actually wanted to show y’all the video of “Drumsticks” that made “the hairs on my neck stand up”, but all I could come up with was something they did after the release (found here). I gotta say the video isn’t all that impressive; partly because of the “bicycle gang” (not my thing), but mostly due to the shotty camera work and poor video editing. So instead I put up a video from another song off the album, “Game Over”, which is not only a good listen but highly entertaining, and also has some nice shots of the city.
Enjoy it all, and make sure you share your thoughts. I can’t tell y’all enough how much I love to hear your opinions, it helps me determine what and what not to post up on here!
[audio:Drumsticks.mp3|titles=Drumsticks](Download Link in Full Article)
Originally, “If I Could Teach the World” was gonna be my first feature from Bone Thugs, but “Ghetto Cowboy” is what got me into the group, so I had to put that out first. I’ve been listening to Bone Thugs since middle school, but not by choice – my friends loved ’em, but I did not. Actually, I didn’t even start appreciating hip-hop until my late high school/college years, and didn’t get into Bone Thugs until I heard Ghetto Cowboy a few years later.
“If I Could Teach the World” is my more recent favorite of Bone Thug’s. It may be the only song, wait, the only thing on earth that could make me feel like a thugsta. And if you ask anyone who knows me, they’d probably say that I’m the farthest thing from a thugsta there could be. Just me saying thugsta right now, sounds completely foolish in my head. …But all kidding aside, the song is a passionate, soul-searching piece that everyone should give a listen to, even us not-so-thugstas.
[audio:IfICouldTeachtheWorld.mp3|titles=If I Could Teach the World](Download Link in Full Article)
Mel Gibson and the Pants is one of the groups I love to show off to others; (1) because anyone outside of Minnesota doesn’t know about ’em, (2) the instrumentals are a complete mashup of a few different genres, unlike anything I’ve ever heard before, and (3) Harold Sander’s (MC for the group) voice is sexy as hell. They’ll actually be my most featured group on here after this is released (other features of MGP include w/ Guitar, as well as a single from the album, Beat it Loose). The group may not be the most prolific in quality hits, but when they hit it, they hit it right, and Paper Shaper Shifter hits it right…
Paper Shaper Shifter is one of the first songs I really got into with MGP. It’s a little different from their usual drum & bass, electro-rock beat, but still shows their unique style of music. As always, Harold Sander’s comes up with some interesting lryics, voiced in a stylish & saucy way. I was actually going to name this site after some of the lyrics off this song, “my biorhythm is awesome” (the site was originally going to be BiorhythmAwesome.com, among others), but I liked Silence Nogood best.
[audio:PaperShaperShifter.mp3|titles=Paper Shaper Shifter](Download Link in Full Article)
A friend of mine from Chicago told me about Diverse and a few others from Illinois. Been listening to ’em all lately, and although Diverse wasn’t my overall favorite, Jus Biz has been one of my favorite singles so far. Diverse just hasn’t put enough out yet for me to really grasp his sound. My first thought of him was that he sounded a hell of a lot like RA Scion from Common Market. It may not be as apparent in this song as in others, but their voices are damn near close. Other than that I really like Diverse’s rap style, he’s got real character. He often collaborates with RJD2, Prefuse 73 & Madlib, so you know his beats are gonna be quality, definitely including this one. Tell me what ya think, and check me out on twitter ’cause I need more followers! :D
[audio:JusBiz.mp3|titles=Jus Biz](Download Link in Full Article)
This was probably the most trouble I’ve had trying to pick out a song from a certain artist… ever! Atmosphere is one of the most prolific rap groups out there (good prolific, not bad). So, I decided to feature two songs off his album, You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having… lucky for you! ;) Atmosphere may not be my favorite hip-hop group, but they’re definitely one of the most respected. They’ve been consistently good, with every single album bringing something new & different. The group actually came out with a free album online, Strictly Leakage, which I featured a song from, called Crewed Up, about two months back. Not only that, the two started a record label, Rhymesayers Entertainment, back in ’95 that sports some of the best underground acts i’ve seen in a while.
Sean Daley (MC for the group) is a true character, and is an all around genuine act (for good or bad). Every time I see him online he’s reppin’ Minnesota, praising how much he loves it. Though, I can’t really blame him, grew up there myself, and it’s a beautiful & unique place. But back to Atmo, Daley might be the driving force of the group, but Anthony Davis (DJ, Producer) is the backbone with beats that seemed destined for Daley’s rhymes. Check out The Arrival & Musical Chairs to get a glimpse of what these guys can do! I will definitely be featuring more of this talented group, so subscribe to my RSS feed, so you’re well informed… and so I feel more liked :)
[audio:TheArrival.mp3,MusicalChairs.mp3|titles=The Arrival,Musical Chairs](Download Link in Full Article)