Russ-Brain Dead

DIEMON member Russ Vitale drops his mixtape Brain Dead. The self-produced mixtape follows a strict rise and fall format. Switching between rap and a R&B/Reggae fuse. The slower songs are a refreshing break from the R&B standard today(Future, The Weeknd, Jhené Aiko). The production on the slower tracks have some reggae instrumentals and see Russ adding some soulful vocals. On the rap joints, his voice actually sounds pretty similar to Eminem but his flow is unique. It's choppy but it still works thanks to the insane amount of energy he brings. The lyrics are pretty LSD influenced, and while not quite at Acid Rap level they entertain over the wide range of beats, from Kanye-esque soul samples to keyboard heavy bars. The production is simple as it is on many self-produced mixtapes and I'd love to see what Russ could do over a veteran producer's work. Download Brain Dead today.

Best Tracks: "Lucy", "Murder Me", "Purple"

Summer 2014 Playlist

So yesterday I finally caught up on posting all of the music I had found but not put on the blog and I decided to celebrate. With the sun coming out and the temperature finally reaching 80º in Dallas, I felt it appropriate to compile a playlist for the Summer. This music is meant to be played in your car, windows down, driving around in warm weather. I'll be adding more tracks to it all throughout the season.

Lorde-Tennis Court (Flume Remix)

Fuck the haters, I may never get sick of Lorde remixes. Flume's remix of the New Zealand 17-year old's single "Tennis Court" is no exception. Flume keeps the dynamite verses in the song but greatly improves on the poor chorus, adding some really awesome drops that only Flume could create.

Logic-Alright (feat. Big Sean)

Maryland rapper Logic drops another new track from his upcoming album, date TBA. This time he teams up with Big Sean and producer Tae Beast and flexes his skills as a lyricist and a rapper with a deadly flow. But honestly, the thing that makes this song so great is Sean Don, who spits indisputably the best rap line of all time, "She doin tricks with her pussy, I guess she a vagician." Bravo, never change.

ZZZ-Honey

UK producer ZZZ releases their new track "Honey." The highly caffeinated joint shows ZZZ's incredible flexibility, using a ridiculous combination of synths and samples (Even a little bit of Smash Bros.). The jersey club music is an obvious influence on "Honey" but certainly a step-up from the previous standards of the genre.

Vacationer-The Wild Life

Vacationer is back with their new track "The Wild Life." As soon as you press play you'll begin to realize that summer is oh so close. The upbeat anthem uses all kinds of Caribbean vibes and instruments that's sure to have me blasting this obnoxiously throughout Dallas. "The Wild Life" will be featured on the Vacationer's next album Relief, out June 24.

Rvdical the Kid & MisterMack-Ethereal

Baltimore producer Rvdical the Kid may be a newcomer to producing but he's blowing up the game with his innovational songs. Rvdical teams with Maryland producer MisterMack on "Ethereal" and creates his best song yet, which may not be that meaningful of a statement since he only has two others but still it's really damn good. The duo uses some amazing snares, percussion, and tons of other incredible sounds that create a perfect harmony.