Throw on my canvas backpack at around 9:30pm for a walk across town the other day. Trekkin' from South D to West to meet my girlfriend at work. I've got one CD in my walkman and it's going to have to do me well for quite some time, this is a good hour or so of a walk.
Moka Only's Airport 5, the fifth installment of the series, was the perfect jam for this session. I'm walking down the street past sorority girls in their short skirts laughing alongside frat boys trying to act tough, people driving too fast and everybody a little bit drunk. It's Thursday night but it's the first day of the semester at the local college. Around me for much of my trek is a whirlwhind of people, on the sidewalk going from one party to another or on porches and lawns of frat houses playing beerpong or giving bro hugs.
None of it registers quite right.
The smooth flows of Moka O's rapping fill my ears, the CD player volume up high with the bass boost on blast. I can't hear the outside world, I'm too entangled in the incredibly relaxing and poetic world that is Airport 5. Listening to this album, everything outside was bathed in water. I've got a swagger in my step to the beat, the production kickin' back, making worldly problems feel so damn trivial. The trees seem to sway with me and everybody moves out of my way, though I'm not an intimidating guy. I appreciate the world around me, feeling like I'm viewing it through a secret lens and nobody can really see me.
HipHopDX.com called this album "high-flying doze-off rap," as an insult (they gave it 3.2 stars), but I think that describes it in a positively perfect way. It is doze-off rap, in a sense; the flow is so smooth is makes you wonder if Moka's mouth moves at all or if he just stands in front of a mic and they all just spill out into the pop filter, and the beats transition from one to the next with such excellent precision you don't even know it. I definitely didn't doze off, but I did listen to the album through twice before I finished my trek.
Incredibly smooth jams, I'd recommend this album for anybody who likes hip hop that's not slammin' in your face. Just chill out and enjoy it, it's damn good.
Vid of the Day: Buck65 - Gee Whiz (thanks to blogotheque)
I thought I'd share with you all the magic of Buck65, a poetic and beautiful man who's latest album 20 Odd Years is a collaborative work of genius. This video was released by Blogotheque, a French website that has some of the most amazing videos of musicians performing all over the world. Buck and his cohort perform Gee Whiz and nail it 100%. Expand the video and watch it in full HD, it is filmed wonderfully.
Buck 65 | Part 1 (Gee Whiz) | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.
VIDEO: Ghettosocks - Stolen Kicks (feat. PH)
So, a music video is finally out for Ghettosocks' Stolen Kicks, off of "Treat of the Day." Featuring PH, this is one of my favorite songs of the album and I'm glad to see it come to life. I stole the information at the bottom of this post from the YouTube page.
Video by: Lithium Studios Productions
Director: Darrell Faria
Producer: Mike MacMillan
DP: Daniel Grant
Editor: Luke Higginson
Post: Alchemy
PD: Martin Von Tours. copyright Ghettosocks 2009.
Video by: Lithium Studios Productions
Director: Darrell Faria
Producer: Mike MacMillan
DP: Daniel Grant
Editor: Luke Higginson
Post: Alchemy
PD: Martin Von Tours. copyright Ghettosocks 2009.
Noah23 & Krem "The Terminal Illness EP"
Released today, "The Terminal Illness EP," a collaboration between Guelph hip hop legend Noah23 and Utah producer Krem (aka Drone Jones) is a (disappointingly) appropriate title for one of Noah's final releases.
By the way, this release is completely badass.
You can purchase/listen to the release here: Listen HERE
On May 3rd, the rapper posted on his FaceBook account that he would be retiring at the end of the year. Though he still has a few more scheduled releases (OCCVLT TRXLL PART II and Crunk23's "Illegal Ideas Incorporated"), this means there may be no hope for a Weird Apples Volume II or a follow up album to his amazing album "Fry Cook on Venus," which came out earlier this year on Circle Into Square / Fake Four.
Will he actually retire? Hopefully not.
Noah's got hip hop in his blood, he'll be back.
In the meantime, enjoy this release!
By the way, this release is completely badass.
You can purchase/listen to the release here: Listen HERE
On May 3rd, the rapper posted on his FaceBook account that he would be retiring at the end of the year. Though he still has a few more scheduled releases (OCCVLT TRXLL PART II and Crunk23's "Illegal Ideas Incorporated"), this means there may be no hope for a Weird Apples Volume II or a follow up album to his amazing album "Fry Cook on Venus," which came out earlier this year on Circle Into Square / Fake Four.
Will he actually retire? Hopefully not.
Noah's got hip hop in his blood, he'll be back.
In the meantime, enjoy this release!
I work at a restaurant
It's 2:00pm and I'm sweaty, tired, furiously working, and supposed to be at a 50th wedding anniversary in one hour. I've been at work since 8:00pm and we've had a slow day, but regardless, every Sunday shift ends with a long bout of cleaning as we get the kitchen spotless. Every inch of stainless steel surface needs to be scrubbed with kitchen cleaner and wiped down with a clean towel, of which there are very few by Sunday.
I run out to my car through the front door, forgetting to take off my apron over my chef's jacket, and I probably look like I've killed something because I rubbed pork juice all over it when I was prepping. I reach into my center console and grab the first CD that I think will pump me up for the end-of-shift cleaning spree.
Common Grackle is in my hands, then in the stereo. Their album, The Great Depression, is a work of genius that came out about a year ago, a collaboration between Canadian pop musician Gregory Pepper and prolific producer Factor.
The first song on the album, Thank God it's Monday, featuring the legendary Kool Keith, pumps through the room, bouncing off the walls and into everybody's ears. If there are still customers out there, I'm too busy to care, I've gotta be out of here in half an hour and this music has blasted me into work mode.
I scrub furiously, the perfect marriage of hip hop production, post-pop guitar riffs and superbly layered vocals allowing me to not care that sweat is dripping off the end of my nose and I'm going to be late no matter what I do at this point. Common Grackle keeps me going.
The music is a stroke of genius. We in the back of the house thank you guys for making music we can tune into. The kind of music that allows us to tune out the endless drone of the hood pulling air out of the kitchen, the clatter of dishes being flung around the scullery, the wait staff in and out of the swinging doors bringing the french presses and teapots and whatnot to the back. It puts me in the zone, in a mood to work quickly and efficiently. Who cares if I'm late, for now I'm groovin' through the motions.
And damn, this album is fresh.
I run out to my car through the front door, forgetting to take off my apron over my chef's jacket, and I probably look like I've killed something because I rubbed pork juice all over it when I was prepping. I reach into my center console and grab the first CD that I think will pump me up for the end-of-shift cleaning spree.
Common Grackle is in my hands, then in the stereo. Their album, The Great Depression, is a work of genius that came out about a year ago, a collaboration between Canadian pop musician Gregory Pepper and prolific producer Factor.
The first song on the album, Thank God it's Monday, featuring the legendary Kool Keith, pumps through the room, bouncing off the walls and into everybody's ears. If there are still customers out there, I'm too busy to care, I've gotta be out of here in half an hour and this music has blasted me into work mode.
I scrub furiously, the perfect marriage of hip hop production, post-pop guitar riffs and superbly layered vocals allowing me to not care that sweat is dripping off the end of my nose and I'm going to be late no matter what I do at this point. Common Grackle keeps me going.
The music is a stroke of genius. We in the back of the house thank you guys for making music we can tune into. The kind of music that allows us to tune out the endless drone of the hood pulling air out of the kitchen, the clatter of dishes being flung around the scullery, the wait staff in and out of the swinging doors bringing the french presses and teapots and whatnot to the back. It puts me in the zone, in a mood to work quickly and efficiently. Who cares if I'm late, for now I'm groovin' through the motions.
And damn, this album is fresh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)