ReviewsI was fortunate enough to score a late ticket to the hyped up and sold out Odd Future show on Monday night and it could’ve been the most fortunate circumstance of my concert going career. My buddies had hyped them up to me a little bit before the show and since I didn’t have a ticket at the time, there was no need to immediately check them out. After learning of my late score on the ticket (thanks Anthony), I watched a couple of the members’ videos and was instantly disturbed. Let’s just say seeing 16-18 year old kids with blood spilling, vomiting and seizures aren’t high on my list of what I need to see (and that may be why I’m not a huge Jackass fan) but I was also intrigued. After a few years of rap trending away from the hardcore aspects it was destined to swing back the hardcore way eventually and these guys are leading the charge. Read more about the concert and see more videos below the break.
Tagged: concert, earl, earl the sweatshirt, french, mixtape, mixtapes, odd future, radical, review, tyler the creator
What started as a side project by Damon Albarn of Blur grew into something bigger and stranger than many would have predicted. Few bands from this century have been able to connect so well with such a broad variety of music fans as Gorillaz. The irony of it is that it took a band of demented and often bleak cartoon characters to prove that authentic, creative, and thought-provoking music could still be considered popular fare. Yet even their stand-by fans will find Plastic Beach to be oddly bold. This is not an album that can be fully appreciated on its first listen. By the end of the last track, you’re left feeling less satisfied and more curious than you thought you would. So what do you do? Give in to curiosity and take another stab at Plastic Beach – now that you’ve been more or less prepped, you can relish the experience this album has to offer. [continuation and final verdict after the jump] Last Saturday, DOOM and Mos Def kicked off their series of concerts in Chicago’s Congress Theater (they’ll be hitting Toronto and NY next). Although it’s questionable from the video if the DOOM at the Chicago show last night was an imposter (big ups to Fake Shore Drive for the video by the way), Mike G at waitingforthedj.blogspot.com made it clear as to what went on. The fake DOOM didn’t come as a shock to me, but reading about Mos Def’s 20 minute set after a 5 hour delay had me shaking my head in disappointment. Shouts though to the crowd who had to put up with bullshit on every level. As for those who got tickets for the NY and Toronto shows, it might be time to check the refund policy. Read the review here.
Let’s see, where do I even begin with this album? Since I do not do album reviews often I usually only do them on albums I like and I have been bumping this non-stop the past couple weeks. He single-handedly is attempting to bring back the Motown/oldies sound and is making it hot again. I really think Mayer Hawthorne will be that dude in the near future or is right now, you know the one everyone is talking about and if you haven’t heard of him you feel like you aren’t cool anymore because you have been missing out on the newest indie music. Read below for a track by track breakdown and assessment of the album.
OK so I overreacted a little with my last post in saying I will boycott this album because I probably won’t. I am angry that Gucci is on a song and the fact he is even considered really waters down the album, but that is just one man’s opinion. Anyways Mark Ronson played the whole album for a select few people and Rap-Up was lucky enough to get the invite and provided us with a preview of the album. Check below for a track by track breakdown of producer, features and the purpose of each song. Also note that, “Chillin’” will be on the album but they were just previewing unheard songs. UPDATE: According to the comments section and Wale’s Twitter page these aren’t ALL the songs that will be on the album. I’m glad to hear there are a few more gems to discover when we buy the album. According to the comments these aren’t all the songs. Glad to ehar it beacuse I was definitely hoping to hear more from a first album. I guess there are a few more gems to discover when you buy the album.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Well this will definitely be my easiest post of the day seeing as I have been listening to Passion Pit heavily the past several weeks. “Little Secrets” is one of those songs that has been my jam (just like “I’m the Ish”) recently and “To Kingdom Come” is the song that initially got me into them along with my friend Beefcake (and yeah that is actually what we call him). It is so easy to write about songs that you are into and have been listening to a lot, I am not saying anything about finding new songs because honestly that is my favorite thing in all of music, but when you are already into something you could ramble on for hours. “Little Secrets” is more of a party/pump you up song while “To Kingdom Come” is more mellow but they provide some very cool visuals in the video. Check the “To Kingdom Come” video below the break and if you don’t have their album Manners then you should pick it up here. “Are you ready for a music revolution? Are you ready for change and evolution?” is the opening lined rapped by Suede in “Love Eclipse” and I think that sums up this project. This is the final version for this, we gave you the visuals last week but this also has the audio and the visuals available for download and there are two bonus audio songs which brings the number of tracks up to seven. The concept is pretty next level and I feel like The Apple Juice Kid and Suede are really pushing the boundaries by telling their story through 5 separate tracks accompanied by 5 separate videos done as a 5 part series film. Both the music and visuals accompany each other nicely and if I had to describe in one word I would say psychedelic. If you’re looking for something you haven’t seen or heard before then look no further and definitely download the 2 new bonus tracks. Shouts to illRoots for the debut.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Let’s continue with our impromptu Cinco De Mayo Mixtape Fiesta with another one, and then there will be another one. I usually do not post mixtapes this frequently but these are all artists that I have been into so the good music has to be heard by everyone. The Kid Daytona gets Mick Boogie to assist him on this mixtape and comes with a much shorter project than the other two that are being posted today. The theme of the mixtape is with each song we are building more upon the machine that you can Come Fly With Me, well with him, since that is going to be the name of his album. Each producer took the sample from the intro track and chopped up to make an original beat and you can tell they are all “related” by listening to the bass groove in each song. He also was pretty original with concept of having each song with a title like “The Navigation” (the song above), “The Engine”, “The Body” etc. to go along with the album theme. The production is pretty nuts too, if I had to describe it I would say jazzy chaos on a spaceship. If you don’t get it then listen to the album because that’s all I got haha. Get the download after the break.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. There is no two ways around it, this album is great. I have been listening to Diamond District the most recently out of any other album/mixtape and I don’t have to skip any tracks. After posting the first two singles by the DMV trio, “I Mean Business” and “Who I Be”, and letting the lyrics of Oddisee, X.O. and Y.U. sink in I was fiending for more and knew this album had the potential to be great. I was trying to describe the album to a friend as “mid-nineties New York rap but modern day in the DMV” but I think Oddisee says it much better himself in the intro when he says “we formed this group to bring that raw East Coast boom bap hip-hop to the DMV” (and after looking at their site it also says something similar). Click the break for more on the album, tracklist and download link.
Outasight ft. 6th Sense – “Rollin Wit Me” (Prod. 6th Sense) Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Outasight ft. The Kid Daytona, 6th Sense & Harlem’s Cash – “2-0-0-9″ (Prod. 6th Sense) Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. I know I’m late to the party (ok really late by internet standards) but good music needs to be posted. The first time I saw a picture of Outasight I remember thinking “This kid is the rapper?” but I try not to let those things bother me and was determined to give him a fair listen. I was initially going to use this mixtape as my introduction to him and then post songs of his up after I determined if I liked him or not but I keep going back to this mixtape album prequel on my iTunes and was compelled to share with the masses. He can sing and rap and does it well without any apologies for not fitting the typical mold while staying true to himself and hip-hop. Click below to grab the link and the tracklist, you won’t regret it. |
