Showing posts with label nas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nas. Show all posts

The gunk and grime of 90’s East Coast will cake up on the edge of your speakers after only the first few seconds of rapper, P-Wize the Emcee’s, “Real Life”. Seasoned by almost-cathedral instrumentation, and sparkling, soul-sampled vocals, the gritty verse of out Asbury, New Jersey native splits the mix, announcing himself and that he has a “Story to tell.” Not long after that announcement, a series of snares snap through, before the roll of boom-bap drums and a muddy bassline immediately landslide the entire orchestration. And the emcee’s story beautifully commences. 
With a microphone stolen straight from the coffin of Golden Age Hip-Hop, P-Wize raps his heart onto his sleeve. It is not simply the sonics of the song that will blast you back to the 90s; but likewise, the messages within in the man’s lyrics. “You see the god inside of all of us—“ is just one of the myriad, knowledgable bars he unleashes, displaying that excellent Five-Percenter enlightenment so many others had, as well, in the previous century of rap. Armed with wordplay, lyricism and a filthy, yet passionate deliverance, P-Wize welcomes us all into his “Real Life”. If you love the spirit of 90’s Hip-Hop, its an event you won’t want to miss.


“REAL LIFE” Stream/Download: 


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Back in 2006, legendary New York emcee, Nas, declared that Hip-Hop was dead. The insurgence of autotune, melodies, and growing “pop” aesthetic in the music, made this declaration incredibly logical. Even modern day, where the culture is leaning further and further towards a commodity instead of artform; Golden Hip-Hop seems to have lost its place with the turn of the century. That’s what makes rap act, Lockness Carnival’s, recent release “Tickets To The Dope Show” such a blindsided sucker-punch; loud enough to throttle the graveyard, and awaken that Golden Age artistry from its deathly slumber. “Tickets To The Dope Show” is a seven-track resurrection of one of the most celebrated eras of rap; hearkening back to the 90s time period with a beautiful blend of lyricism and old-school production. The only exception to this is the second track, “Urban Litty” which features a more new-age, electronic beat. Everything else follows a strict, satisfying rubric; with which the emcee, Dark Angel, shines impeccably across his producer, Strange’s, instrumentation. Dark Angel has a powerful affinity with imagery and storytelling; and he uses such to paint the most polarizing portraits. There are strong horrorcore themes locked in the stories of “Margo Santana” and “Hector”, yet backed by Strange’s warm, vinyl-singed primeval production, this imagery becomes eerily gorgeous. Another great element of this duo is that they do not solely rely on music to tell their tales. In the middle of the project, there are skits and snippets that fit flawlessly between Angel’s own verses, giving his stories even greater dimensionality. “Tickets To The Dope Show” is an outstanding blast to the past from two amazing creatives. If Hip-Hop is dead, they’ll be of the few to thank for its revival.


 [Download/Stream]
“Tickets To The Dope Show”
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tickets-to-the-dope-show/1417721010


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In a game dominated by mumble rap, true lyricists are a diamond in the rough. Houston has a long historical imprint in Hip Hop from the Geto Boys in the 80's and 90's to the whole Houston movement in the early 2000's. Kweli(not to be confused with Talib Kweli) is next up to carry the torch for H-Town. His new EP 'B4' makes a good case if there were an argument. 

To simply describe the project, short and sweet. The 3 track, 8 minute tape is packed with hard hitting lyrics, gems for you ponder, and witty rhymes over billions mellow production that sounds out of the 1990s. B4 features the sounds from Emani, Lucid Sounds, and the legendary Organized Noize. Though only 3 tracks, Kweli's impressive skills remind me of hearing a young T.I. for the first time. I'm definitely anticipating what Kweli has in store, he's only going to be able to hold us over with B4, but so long.



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Life is a movie; and South Floridian emcee, Konchynce, displays that perfectly in the latest music video for his powerful single, “My Life”. This concept is cleanly crafted by the opening of the video, wherein a slideshow of pictures, featuring the rapper, are aired on an animated, TV screen. Eventually, these images grow beyond the confines of that television, and by the start of his verse, they are fitting the full screen we see them on. Then the video, and the music it incarnates, become mutually reflective. That is because “My Life” is exactly that: a bar-filled recount of Konchynce’s journey thus far. 

Strengthened by an electronic, 808-heavy, hip-hop beat, the Florida native drops myriad rhymes regarding hatred from others, politics in the industry, and chasing his dreams, overall. He also mentions something he’s been “blessed with—“; and juxtaposed to that statement is an image of him holding a newborn child. This superbly represents the duality of his narrative. Although there are a vast amount of struggles in life we all have to cope with; there are moments in this same life that make them undeniably worth it. The track is glued together by a melodic chorus, in which Konchynce colorfully croons "Welcome to my life—", emphasized by the equally colorful haze of his video. All in all, Konchynce is a wise, passionate, and insightful emcee; and this welcome into his life, through an amazing song and visual, is an invitation you won’t regret accepting.


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