Thursday, November 28, 2013

Two Lips-Joey Bada$$

Joey Bada$$, one of the most promising artists out of the Beast Coast Movement, drops a new song produced by J. Dilla.

Childish Gambino-Telegraph Ave

Childish drops some more new shit from because the internet.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Flume & Chet Faker-Lockjaw EP

Two of Australia's best up-and-coming producers released their EP Lockjaw today. The project contains 3 songs, "Drop The Game", "What About Us", and "This Song Is Not About A Girl." The superb album beautifully combines the talents of the two artists to create what sounds like an alternative album with a heavy focus on the beats, which are incredible. Definitely worth a listen.

Childish Gambino-Sweatpants (ft. Problem)

'Bino drops yet another solid track off his because the internet album dropping Dec. 10

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Hopsin-Knock Madness (Album Stream)

After discovering his album had leaked, Hopsin decided to stream it himself on Youtube. Knock Madness is the Los Angeles emcee's 3rd studio album and features 17 tracks. If you're hoping that Hopsin has turned a new leaf, you will be disappointed by this album, but if it ain't broke don't fix it. The lyrics themselves are pretty good, but they're not fresh. They're mostly about how he's sick of hip-hop and all the people involved in it, and it's laced with the signature Hopsin style, dark and aggressive with a bit of humor, similar to Eminem's old stuff. He eventually drops the bomb that this will be his last album on "I Need Help" and it doesn't come as much of shock considering he had a meltdown on Twitter just a few weeks before the album dropped. While I'm a bit sad, I think it's the right call. He's made a lot of music in his career and he's said what he wanted to say. However, I wish he would have made this album a little bit more distinguished from the last two, it being his last and all. The album has its stand out tracks, but also some pretty stale ones. Hopsin produces the whole thing like he usually does, and again, nothing new here. The beats aren't really dynamic, with the exception of "Rip Your Heart Out." Sometimes the repetitiveness isn't a problem as Hopsin can divert your attention with his bars, but sometimes it just gets boring. In my opinion, the album isn't really meant to be listened to as a whole, it's just a collection of songs that don't seem very related. It's a shame considering it took 3 years for the album to be released. If it really took him this long to make an album that is pretty much a replica of his last, it probably is time to retire. It's not that this album is bad, it's just not a departure from his old stuff, it seems his days of maturing as an artist are over. If you like Hopsin, give the album a listen, there are some great tracks on it and if you like Hopsin's style then you should definitely enjoy the album.

Best Songs: "Hop Is Back", "Rip Your Heart Out", "Hip Hop Sinister"

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Jonwayne-Rap Album One


I'm a rapper and producer who refuses to give up either one

        There wasn't really anything new in music today that I was interested in posting about (besides Busta's incredible announcement) so I thought I'd post about a promising artist people need to know about. Jonwayne dropped one of the most slept on albums of the year in October, Rap Album One. Jonwayne first came into the music industry when he released Bowser, an instrumental album. Then he he began to rap, got signed by Stone Throw Records, and released his 3 Cassette mixtapes.
        Believe it or not, his name isn't based on the actor John Wayne, but actually Jonwayne's ancestor, a player in the Revolutionary War, who was the inspiration for the actor John Wayne's screen name. The MC, as he has written on his Facebook page, is a rapper and producer and has great pride in both, as well he should. When he raps, he doesn't really change up his flow very often, but his voice has a great rhythm and his lyrics work really well with the production of the songs, keeping the songs simple yet fresh. However, the real talent of Jonwayne is his producing. If I had to compare him to anyone, I would probably say El-P, but not necessarily because of sound but because of the groundbreaking beats. Jonwayne is part of the new age era of beats, or the Flying Lotus era. The beats are psychedelic, yet soothing and they constantly demand your attention. Whether it be the eerie piano in "You Can Love Me When I'm Dead", the upbeat keyboard in "Find Me In The Future", or the awesome cut in "The Come Up Pt. 2", Rap Album One always stays fresh and exciting and leaves you begging for more.
        There is something else to be said about Jonwayne's skills as a producer, though. He's too skilled a producer for his own good. These beats, they truly are something new that could change the game but Jonwayne seems reluctant to share them. While his rap skills are far from bad, he can't compare to rappers with dynamic flows like Chance, Kendrick, or Drake. If Jonwayne could reach out to more skilled rappers, we could see some of the freshest hip-hop of the decade.

Best Songs: "The Come Up Pt. 1", "The Come Up Pt. 2", "Find Me In The Future", "You Can Love Me When I'm Dead"

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

The Man From Somewhere Else & AOI-One Friend feat. GDP & Shape

Emcee The Man From Somewhere Else and producer AOI release their first single from their upcoming EP project, slated for January 2014.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Rhyson Jones-Current

Fuck the words they want that bass

Rhyson Jones expresses his disgust with the growing focus on beats and the lack of substantial lyrics in rap.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Schoolboy Q-Man of The Year

Schoolboy releases his song off the NBA Live 14 soundtrack and is now rumored to set a release date to his debut album Oxymoron next week

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Bad Suns-Cardiac Arrest

Don't be surprised that you haven't heard of these guys, they released their debut song on Nov. 11, but they sound like veterans to the music industry. The So-Cal band is quickly gaining attention with "Cardiac Arrest" and have slated their EP Transpose for February.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Hopsin-Rip Your Heart Out (ft. Tech N9ne)

The latest leak from Hopsin's upcoming Knock Madness features a sick verse from Tech N9ne. Hopsin not only spits ridiculously on this track, but also produces it.

The Weeknd-Devil May Cry

The Weeknd releases his single from the Catching Fire soundtrack. The awesome beat is produced by Rick Rubin.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Passafire-Vines (Stream)


The four-man reggae-rock group out of Georgia released their album on Soundcloud today. Their 5th studio album Vines comes out iTunes this Tuesday.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Isaiah Rashad Freestyle

Everyone's eyes have been on Isaiah Rashad got signed by TDE. For those that don't know, TDE is the rap label that signed Kendrick, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock. Recently, they picked up Rashad from Chattanooga, Tennessee even though he's never released a project. However, that is set to change in December, as he announced his debut mixtape Cilvia yesterday. He stopped by Sway in The Morning yesterday and freestyled over a few beats. He may have stumbled a few times, but it's obvious why TDE signed this guy.

Hopsin-Have You Seen Me?

Yesterday, Hopsin had a twitter meltdown. He began with discussing his disgust for the rap game and then leaked the tracklist to Knock Madness and continued to say he'd probably just leak the album himself. Hopsin's been through some tough times, having never really achieved the success he deserves. He released this track just to vent more about this, but it won't be on the album, out Nov. 26.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Passafire-Earthquake

Passafire was one of the first bands I found when I started getting into the reggae-rock scene and still one of the most promising bands right now. The group was formed in 2003 at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where all of them attended. Their 5th album Vines comes out on Nov. 11 and I definitely recommend looking into their older stuff.

Busta Rhymes ft. Q-Tip, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne-THANK YOU

I'll be honest, I never thought I'd post a song with Weezy on my blog, but luckily he doesn't actually have a verse, he just says a few words for the intro. The real reason I posted this is Q-Tip. Busta Rhymes spits pretty well in "THANK YOU", but the Tribe Called Quest veteran indisputably makes this song.

Jr. Hi ft. The Weeknd-Secrets

The Weeknd lends his voices to Jr. Hi for his debut single

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The Weeknd

School has pretty much occupied 100% of my time this week cause it's the end of the trimester, so I don't really have any new music to post or time to write a super long article. However, I thought I'd post about The Weeknd considering I've been listening to him all week. If you haven't already, download his mixtape House of Balloons, do it now, it's incredible.

Sunday, November 3, 2013