Nobody Famous is a dope artist who we've talked about
a bit earlier this summer.Well,
dude has been on his grind, and just released Volume 2 of his Mixtape series
entitled Order Up: Biscuits & Gravy.
I headed over a few days ago to the listening party at a
dope ass studio in Santa Monica to get an early listen before the wider
release.Well, I was not
disappointed.Matter of fact, I
was thoroughly impressed!This
Mixtape is great from start to finish, and Famous displays incredible
versatility as both a producer and an artist.
The kid is also from the South (Atlanta, GA), so he is very
familiar with the Waffle House- the things are on every corner down there... The
concept of the mixtape is evidence that homey really gets what is going on in
the music game today.In today's
single driven music market, the music is like fast food, according to
Famous.It tastes good for a bit,
will hold you over until you can grab a real meal, but in the end, it leaves
listeners unsatisfied and looking for the next thing to eat...Famous' music is like the food at
Waffle House, where the same 5 bucks you drop at McDonald's will get you more
food than you an eat- Vol 2 will leave you satisfied and I bet you will be
playing these tracks for a while to come...
Listen to the whole album below or go get it at Famous' website here...
Mickey Factz is a dope, new schooler out of NYC.He has been doing his thing for a
minute on the Mixtape scene and blogosphere, and I finally got my ass around to
listening to his stuff- I really dig some of the tracks!What that says to me is that dude has
the potential to be super hype, but he is still finding his voice.
Now, I admit that I am partial to those
soulful tracks with an old school sample sped up and some melody, so I could be
biased as Mickey's spit is versatile as hell...He gets on some real NYC shit from time to time, and that
just isn't totally my bag (even though I can't get enough of The Cool Kids).Basically, that sound IS The Cool Kids-
straight 80's break beats and ol school pit- but I'm not sure Mickey Factz has
totally found his sweet spot.
The
thing about this game is that a lot of dope cats never do...They never figure out that space within
Hip Hop that is their zone- where no motherfucker can touch them.I think that Mickey is closer to his
zone on track like Good Money and We
Ain't, but that could just be me...
Dude just dropped a Mixtape called The Leak: Volume 2:
The Inspiration and it is a dope
compilation that will give any listener a pretty good sense of dude's vibe and
will probably have you checking the web for more...Pick up the tape from whatever share site you want...Also, listen to some tracks below including a dope track that samples a Lauryn Hill live performance- Super dope!Also below is a video for the track Rockin n Rollin that features The Cool Kids...
Rockin N Rollin Video
We Ain't featuring Tanya Morgan
Good Money
Live Water featuring Lauryn Hill
Does Mickey have all of the Factz straight?What do y'all think?
So I was cruisin around MySpace this morning and noticed a
banner for a group that I am pretty familiar with on the front page of the
music section.One Block Radius is a three man hip hop group formed in late 2003 in LA and consists of Marty
James (lead vocals), Z-man (raps), and MDA (DJ & Vocals).These cats were on independent label
Avatar Records for a while and released their debut album, Long Story Short, under that imprint.The record did really well on the college radio/independent
circuit and these cats sort of quietly were blowing up on the indie scene.Differences with the label led to a
parting of ways, and Island Def Jam scooped the fellas up, where they are
today.
Their sound is really unique- laid back and melodic tracks
with great hooks.Z-man's spit is
dope and reminds me a bit of Q-Tip for some reason... But y'all go judge
for yourself...Peep the track Black
Mercedes from Long Story Short and the vid for new single You Got Me below...
Talk about fucking ubiquitous... Weezy, Lil' Weezy, Weezy F. Baby, whatever... dude is EVERYWHERE... It is well documented that the only television that Weezy watches is ESPN, so what is the obvious, or not so obvious, play? Well, ESPN just gave dude a blog and I'm sure they are hoping to make lifelong users out of young Hip Hoppers who can't get enough of the New Orleans Nightmare's content, in any form.... Peep the blog here...
I've been tellin y'all about all of the talented acts being pumped out of the Midwest of late: The Cool Kids, Kid Sister, Kid Cudi, etc, etc, etc...Well, if you aren't hip to him yet, add Hollywood Holt to that list.Dude is from the Southside of Chicago and has only been spitting for 5 years, according to his personal website.His style is similar to that of The Cool Kids- a ton of 80's influences, tracks with minimal melody and screwed up hooks, and heavy break beats.Mano does the majority of Hollywood's production, but he does work with other producers from time to time.His tone is okay, but his energy is insane and his spit is pretty serious...I personally enjoy the fact that this dude is a bit outside of the box (peep the pic below) and he "enjoys riding his moped with his moped crew Murder Club," according to his MySpace.
He just put out a Mixtape that is available for free download here at, so y'all should go pick that up.I personally enjoy the track Caked Up (see below), but all of his stuff is dope and Hollywood's music paints him as a youngster who is aware of hip hop's history, something that he honors while pushing forward through his music.Check his myspace at www.myspace.com/hollywoodholt and listen to the music...Also, here is a vid from a performance that kid did in a sneaker boutique at SXSW last year- Crazy energy and the dude is pretty charismatic...What's the word?
Sup Y'all,
If you know me, you know that I love Lil' Weezy more than you do... Plain and simple! You can't really tell me something about Wayne that I don't know. I was first turned on to this lil dude when Wayne and I were both 14 years old... The first time I heard this dude was on the way to one of my basketball games during my freshman year of High School. My boy and teammate, Talton McQuitter, handed me a cd to listen to- Get it How U Live. This is the first album by the group known as The Hot Boys (members were Weezy, Juvenile, BG, and Young Turk). He said, "Skip to track 6."
I dug the laid back track instantly, and the verses were straight. The hook really caught my ear and made me pay attention- whoever was spittin it had the craziest tone I had ever heard and this raspy growl that was cool as shit. Then Wayne went in on his verse...
"Now, tell me, what kinda, n*gga got diamonds that'll-bling- blind ya?
I'm only fourteen. I'm a Big Tymer..."
And so it goes (if you don't know the track give it a listen below)... After that, I couldn't get enough music that this KID has spit on. I was infected...
This dude has been killin it ever since and you are probably just getting into him, unless you are from the South- where the Hot Boys were doin it since back in the day... I was super hip to Wayne when it wasn't so cool to be hip to homey... Now, since it's cool, people are all over dude, talking about 'he's the best rapper in the game right now,' but us in the South, we've known that he was dope, and y'all are way, way, way behind....
But, Wayne might not make it much longer... I'm saying, y'all might not get too many new Wayne verses past the one's you've heard... and y'all probably know why- DRUGS...
Now, I an NOT the person to tell you to abstain from drugs... I have done my fair share of experimentation. I know all about what the white lady comes to the party with and I have eaten a lot of the psychedelics that you have read about on erowid.com... BUT, I DON'T HAVE A DEATH WISH... I am a firm believer that certain substances allow people to reach into the deep, dark places of the mind that you can't really find, and probably wouldn't even know to look for, sober. That is why some of the greatest artists of all time used drugs. Edgar Allan Poe was not sober when he wrote The Raven--go read it if you haven't and you will definitely agree with me. Van Gogh cut off his own ear. Yeah, he cut of HIS own ear- you think that is something that people do sober? Hemmingway, one of the greatest American authors of all time, was a raging alcoholic. On and on I could go, but y'all can dig it.
I'm not bringing up these examples to make a case for doing drugs. I think that anything (read again- ANYTHING) in excess is bad for a person, both physically and psychologically. However, I feel like you might have had a hard time getting Jimi Hendrix to write and record All Along the Watchtower if he had never taken an acid trip. I guess the big question is- Does the great art that these people produce justify the terrible things they do to their bodies and minds? Well, if you go ask Wayne, I bet he'll tell you that it is none of your fucking business. Then, if he has any patience at all for you, he will ask you, "What have you done lately?" The thing is, when Jim Morrison started getting too deep into Heroin, he stopped producing material at his normal level. The same goes for Kurt Cobain. I mean, drugs are fun- If they weren't, then the world would be free of a lot of problems, but we would also be without some of the most influential, thought-provoking pieces of art that history has ever known. The catch is that they can take over your life, and kill any aspirations, hopes, dreams, and all of the productivity that is necessary to achieve them. Well, that is not the case for Wayne- according to a relatively recent VIBE article, dude released something crazy- like over 200 songs- in 2007. Doesn't seem like much of a junkie to me...
As long as dude is putting out music at the insane pace that he has been for over 3 years, can you really say shit to him? He started recording mixtapes over popular tracks before Tha Carter (look for The Prequel, especially that track he did over Jay-Z's Best of Me (Remix) featuring Mya below).
My only thing is, I wanna keep hearing where Weezy is gonna take his music. Dude is supposed to do an R&B album with T Pain all on a vocoder. He's also gonna do a compilation album with Juelz Santana and who knows what else. The thing is that this dude just keeps pushing the limits of his music- insane word associations, spitting in French, putting on a Jamaican accent, etc, etc, etc- and I love every minute of it. That said, drugs have prematurely ended the lives of countless rock star's before Weezy, who is without a doubt an absolute rock STAR, and I don't want to see him join the Forever 27 club. I'm worried that this cat is gonna check himself out too early- he's about to be 26- and join Morrison, Joplin, Cobain, and Hendrix...
Anyways, I'm not even entirely sure what point I'm trying to make here. I want Weezy to keep being Weezy for as long as it makes sense. But, at the same time, is he still the same Weezy without that styrofoam cup full of "inspiration?" More importantly, cats are weighing in on this dude's drug use and focusing on the potential loss of music. Well, dude is a person, or a Martian according to Weezy himself, and that is what really matters. This MAN is hurting himself, threatening to leave his 9 year old daughter fatherless, and all the people around him aren't saying shit while we're speculating on his health because of his music? How fucked up is that? It's an interesting debate and I'm sure people will have very strong opinions about Lil' Wayne's drug use. But, when you really get down to it, the only opinion that matters is that of the man himself because... "What have you done that's as great as what (he's) doin?"
Here is another group that is only making me more sure that the West is best positioned to be the next movement in Hip Hop: meet U-N-I... These two cats, named Thurzday and Y-O, are reppin Inglewood, and reppin it pretty fucking hard! Thurzday is a native of Southern California, born and bred in Inglewood, while Y-O made his way to Inglewood by way of Seattle, Washington. The dudes met in high school in "The Wood" where their daily lunchtime battles drew pretty significant crowds. They realized they would be more potent as a duo, got together, and have been hustling their way up the ladder and were recently named "Best Breakout LA Artist" by MTV2...
The music that you will hear from U-N-I is nothing like the gangsta rap that made LA famous in the 90's. While these dudes definitely weren't born with silver spoons in their respective mouths, they also don't see a point to speaking about a lifestyle that they don't live. According to Y-O, "It's not gangsta rap. It's fresh, new Hip Hop music from 2007 and beyond." I really dig the tracks Soul Hop and Beautiful Day (peep the video below) and I definitely think that the style of this music represents a new generation. The song Fat Girl is absolutely hilarious and very relevant- I know I have fallen victim to a plus sized chick... They need love too!!! These dudes aren't out killing people and selling drugs. They have been living life like a lot of other kids their age and are making music that represents that- I think that there will be a lot of youngsters (white, black, yellow, purple, and green) that will relate...
There are a shit load of dope stuff that has come about as a result of the advent of the internet- music can be free, video is ubiquitous, keeping in touch has never been easier, etc, etc, etc.But, one thing that sort of fucks me up is that with distance now a virtual non-factor for communicating, people don't talk anymore.It's all text messages, MySpace and Facebook messages, Twitter, and all the other bullshit.I talk my ass off, and will go crazy if I have to be without anyone to talk to for any extended period of time.That said, I love a music act with a dope name, and even though I have this trend of abbreviating everything, these dudes' name is super fitting and actually pretty cool.Lmfao is a group comprised of two cats, Redfoo and SkyBlu,who are super hip, fun-loving, easy-going, and really, really talented.
Their music serves to reinforce my theory of musical convergence, and while it is hip hop in essence, it features elements from genres including techno, trance, house, electronica, and pop all rolled into one.The dudes are pretty sick lyrically and are really funny.The songs are about the relatively standard shit- girls, parties, etc- but the way these dudes use samples (peep Girl Can't Help It) is really unique and their respective deliveries are tight.They have a unique take on the hipster movement and actually have an ode to all of the lil ladies running around in vintage dresses and super tight jeans- check out Lil' Hipster Girl.My favorite of the tracks I have heard thus far from them is definitely La La La- I always really dig tracks that remind me of kickin it at the roller rink as a young teenager.I'm not sure why, but that is where this song takes me, and I am very fond of this place...Seems like people are really diggin the track I'm in Miami, Bitch, but I'm not really feeling it (which kills me, as I am from South Fla-especially since they did a remix with Pitbull)Take a listen and judge for yourself...
Also, check out the remix of Kanye's Love Lockdown. FYI, you can pick up their Party Rock EP on iTunes now...
Hip Hop is in need of a new direction- The Southern shit was, and has been, blowing up for a while now, and it will continue to pop as long as Weezy is carrying the torch and production teams like The Runners, The Justice League, and Cool & Dre keep putting out fire ass beats.However, I think that this niche has grown a bit stale, and as much as I love the dude (especially cuz he is from where I was born), I don't know how much more I can take of every new emcee's first single featuring T Pain.Enter Pacific Division...
Also known as Pac Div, these three cats from LA are fly as hell, really intelligent, and all exhibit some super dope spit...The group consists of Mibbs, Like, and Be Young, who all went to high school together and have collectively set out on a mission to revive the West Coast... actually, to revive Hip Hop, altogether.I think that these cats, in addition to some of the other acts I have highlighted like The Cool Kids, The Kidz in the Hall, and Kid Cudi to name a few, are about to take hip hop in a new direction.There seems to be an increasing reversion back to the essence of the genre.The sounds of this new generation of emcee's pays absolute homage to the history of hip hop and the genre's forefathers all the while injecting new flavors and styles.I think there is definitely something here, and I will revisit this when I have some more time to think on it, but pay attention yall cuz I swear that yall will see this happening if you pay close enough attention.
But, for now, back to Pac Div.Dudes are all over the net with tons of press from various hip hop publications and a ton of video, so I think it is safe to assume that they understand the biz... at least a lil bit... My early favorite track is definitely Women Problems... I mean, who can't relate to that?But, all of the tracks that I have heard thus far have been dope- check out FAT Boys '08, Paper, All I Want, Women Problems, Taste, and Gorgeous below...Let me know what you think...
So, I have been hitting myspace pretty hard of late (but, then again, when am I not...), and I came across this cat who I had never heard of. Kayo, born Benjamin Priest, is an emcee out of Indianapolis, Indiana- or at least that is what I can gather from the limited info available about dude on the interweb... Dude's spit is actually really dope, and I couldn't really tell that he was white the first time I heard him- which doesn't mean shit anymore, but is still worth pointing out. All of the 5 songs on his myspace are available for free download, so go check out his music at www.myspace.com/kayomc
The songs have to be free downloads because all of the tracks are uncleared (unless dude is cool with Phil Collins and no one knows it), but they are definitely worth grabbing. Kayo is so under the radar right now that I had to download the tracks and upload them to imeem in order to embed them for yall, so give the tracks a listen below to make me feel better... But, seriously, I think this cat is definitely on to something here- it is sort of the same angle that Shwayze, who dude is apparently cool with (peep the photo), is taking in that the tracks are more adult alternative or rock 'n roll, but homey lays his smooth flow over the top and the shit fucking works!!! One super fly thing homey did is approach Bad Boy, and Diddy, to spit a verse on the remix for the Cassie joint, Long Way to Go. I can't find the track anywhere, but I think that it does exist because of this... My favorite of his current tracks is I Know, where he talks about the pain he causes his loved ones by pursuing his career as a rapper...
"Bein the mother of a rapper, that's unsigned, is every parent's disaster. But, instead of hopin it avoids you, you can't wait till they ask you what your boy do."
Now, maybe that shit just strikes a chord with me because I grew up the oldest of three boys to a single mom, but this is what music is about- recounting experiences in such a way that people can FEEL your music. Anyways, I am going to keep my ear on this cat (did yall catch that lil play on words?- damn I wish I could spit- haha) so I will let you know if he makes any major moves, but from the looks of his myspace page, he is gonna hit Belgium to perform live. Kayo is definitely on his grind, an international grind at that, so I am sure you and I will be hearing more from him really soon.
I Know
One Too Many Drinks
Now this track seems to be the fan favorite, and it is definitely pretty fucking dope- got a lil Jimmy Buffet vibe and dude is talking about drinking too much. Who doesn't love that?
I can't really call it... I can't figure out which box it should go in- I also think that is a pretty fucking good thing. Specific to the music that makes it into the mainstream, I think that most of the shit is so blatantly classifiable that popular music, especially commercial hip hop, has grown really fucking stale- I'm talking someone-left-the-bread-out-stale...
Haters Make the World Go 'Round- Marc Payne
I went to peep this open mic set at Ground Zero on USC's campus one night during the spring.Ground Zero is dope- a completely student-run coffee house that hosts open mic poetry nights and up-and-coming music acts...So, I roll through to check out the show to see a band that my boy's lil bro manages.They were really dope, but then I hung around to see this emcee that all of the undergrads were whispering about...Marc Paynekinda shut the place down (the crowd wasn't really prime for a hip hop act, but he did a superb job with what he was presented with).So, dude's music is really pretty commercial sounding- a ton of sped up samples, synth, etc- but his spit is actually pretty damn fly.His tone is dope and he varies his flow enough to keep me interested.The subject matter is standard shit (bitches, dollars, buds, etc), but homey's delivery is damn thorough.He is insanely cocky, which I totally dig, but not stupid about it.Dude claims that he is the "West Kept Secret," a clever lil play on words, but definitely a big statement.Except for The Game, there hasn't been a west coast emcee to really blow up lately, so I respect dude for attempting to fill that void- now, whether or not he can remains to be seen.Like I said, his style is not strictly "West Coast" perse, but dude is reppin Cali pretty fucking hard...
So, even though it is really commercial, club rap, I think Marc Payne might be onto something.And dude definitely is on his hustle- He is in the music industry program at The Thorton School of Music at USC, and is already involved in the apparel game with some other SC heads.Check out www.crapeyewear.com to see the line...Plus, dude is pretty tight with another LA area hip hop artist who is on the come-up as well- Def Sound.I wrote a bit about Def a while back, but will revisit him shortly as he released a debut album since my post...Marc's debut, The Two Sides of Payne, was supposed to be released in July, but has since been pushed back...He did, however, release a Mixtape that you can hear here
I'm really diggin the tracks Your Eyes (Devil in Angel's Wings) and Me, Myself, and I... Dude also hits the spoken word poetry tip as well- peep the vid... Check em out and hit me back...
