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.
Showing posts with label album review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label album review. Show all posts
The Nothing -- Digital Villains
Review of,
The Nothing -- Digital Villains
by John James
Hip hop group The Nothing (not the San Franciscan, but rather from all the way out in Pennsylvania) hit me up with a copy of their newest album Digital Villains last week. Not knowing what to expect having not heard of them before, I threw on my headphones and dug into the album. Emcees Solomon Pade, Mar, and Teddy Holmes join together their vocal stylings to drop their third studio album since the group formed officially in 2005. Upon asking about how they originally got together, Solomon Pade had this to say:
"We all met in Gettysburg, Pa in high school....We were always walking around freestyling recording mixtapes since like 15...but formed The Nothing in '05...so we've been friends for years...which is why we have such good chemistry with one another"
... and that chemistry definitely shows! The tracks are woven together so smoothly with beats provided by Mar (under the production moniker Wally Peanuts), and lyrics provided by all three of the emcees. What surprised me was how solid the album is throughout. It's all catchy, it's mastered very nicely, and the verses are full of lyrics that don't leave you waiting for someone to get educated, if you know what I mean.
Hopefully I'll be seeing more of these guys and I'll be keeping track of their latest releases (and I'll let all of you in on what's up as well). This CD is very well put-together and I suggest it if you like that kind of gritty, definitely underground sound, with catchy choruses and enough talent to blow your mind several times over.
The album is definitely a keeper, and these guys don't seem to have a lot of exposure, at least not over here in California (add them on MySpace!). Unfortunatly there are only two songs available on their MySpace but they're both good, and if you check out the other link below you can pick up a copy of the album and pick up the magic. Don't miss out, this album is guaranteed FRESH!
Want to know more?
Random Art Projects -- Ignore Igrorance
Review of,
Random Art Projects -- Ignore Ignorance
by John James
Id Obelus and Tramaj Voyix joined forces after Id Obelus (Rick Haschel) and Matt Milo teamed up for a music session that resulted in the beginnings of the album's first epic track RandM. Matt summoned the rest of Tramaj Voyix and Random Art Projects (R.A.P.) was born. Unlike anything else I've heard, this electro-hip hop psych-rock project is a DEFINITE keeper, pushing hip hop to new boundaries. I'm certainly glad I got a copy of this album and you will be too.
Throwing on the album I got my first taste of R.A.P. through RandM, the first track on the CD which opens up with some unexpected and crazy vocal stylings and all sorts of odd and indescribable sounds coming at you left and right. There's something about the album as a whole that makes you both scared and excited, and is a hip hop album that makes me want to dance... and then hide somewhere. Dance hall tunes hit you like a disco ball bouncing strobe light waves and sounds that kind of linger and creep you out. Unlucky drops some of the danciest tunes ever and makes me want to get my groove on while I'm walking through the grocery store. The whole album is a masterpiece of musical fusion, a combination of hip hop and indie-dance grooves, woven into a must-hear musical tapestry. I can't get enough. The lyrics border on seriousness here and there with social commentary from Id Obelus, very notable in the track Tokyo, speaking about the world and all of it's failures.
If that's not your thing, don't let that hold you back because the album is also chock full of silly lyrics too, and the melodies they've put together (vocals included) are incredibly original and not worth skipping over.
Favorite Track:
Hatching! Hatching!! is my favorite track on the album because it's got a supremely dancey beat with some seriously wicked raps from Id Obelus and then the transition into the happy and satisfying chorus which gets stuck in your head like nothing else. There vibe of the production is almost like the instrumental of a Unicorns song, but the unique style of Tramij Voyix definitely shines through. The stuttering vocals 4.00 minutes into the song with the catchiest melody on the album on the keyboard keep the song fresh and catchy all the way through. In fact, I can't get enough of this song and I suggest buying the album even just for this track.
Want to learn more?
RANDOM ART PROJECTS OFFICIAL SITE
Want to buy it? It's fantastic, and available here for a mere ten bucks:
ALBUM PURCHASE
Seriously, though, this is a fantastic album.
Random Art Projects -- Ignore Ignorance
by John James
Id Obelus and Tramaj Voyix joined forces after Id Obelus (Rick Haschel) and Matt Milo teamed up for a music session that resulted in the beginnings of the album's first epic track RandM. Matt summoned the rest of Tramaj Voyix and Random Art Projects (R.A.P.) was born. Unlike anything else I've heard, this electro-hip hop psych-rock project is a DEFINITE keeper, pushing hip hop to new boundaries. I'm certainly glad I got a copy of this album and you will be too.
Throwing on the album I got my first taste of R.A.P. through RandM, the first track on the CD which opens up with some unexpected and crazy vocal stylings and all sorts of odd and indescribable sounds coming at you left and right. There's something about the album as a whole that makes you both scared and excited, and is a hip hop album that makes me want to dance... and then hide somewhere. Dance hall tunes hit you like a disco ball bouncing strobe light waves and sounds that kind of linger and creep you out. Unlucky drops some of the danciest tunes ever and makes me want to get my groove on while I'm walking through the grocery store. The whole album is a masterpiece of musical fusion, a combination of hip hop and indie-dance grooves, woven into a must-hear musical tapestry. I can't get enough. The lyrics border on seriousness here and there with social commentary from Id Obelus, very notable in the track Tokyo, speaking about the world and all of it's failures.
If that's not your thing, don't let that hold you back because the album is also chock full of silly lyrics too, and the melodies they've put together (vocals included) are incredibly original and not worth skipping over.
Favorite Track:
Hatching! Hatching!! is my favorite track on the album because it's got a supremely dancey beat with some seriously wicked raps from Id Obelus and then the transition into the happy and satisfying chorus which gets stuck in your head like nothing else. There vibe of the production is almost like the instrumental of a Unicorns song, but the unique style of Tramij Voyix definitely shines through. The stuttering vocals 4.00 minutes into the song with the catchiest melody on the album on the keyboard keep the song fresh and catchy all the way through. In fact, I can't get enough of this song and I suggest buying the album even just for this track.
Want to learn more?
RANDOM ART PROJECTS OFFICIAL SITE
Want to buy it? It's fantastic, and available here for a mere ten bucks:
ALBUM PURCHASE
Seriously, though, this is a fantastic album.
Noah23 - Rock Paper Scissors
I've been listening nonstop to Noah23's epic album Rock Paper Scissors. I've had it for a while and been meaning to listen to it but I haven't been doing much other than working (way too much) recently and my ZUNE was on hiatus for a while. Actually, it was the cable that was on hiatus but that really translated directly into me not being able to use the device at all. So, I've been putting off listening to new albums until the other day when I threw on RPS and... it's indescribable.
The first thing that struck me was how much more I liked it than Upside Down Bluejay, which I thought had a pretty good vibe to it. If you don't know, RPS is a collaboration album, in that every track has a guest on it, and it's amazing all the way through. There are some guys that I can never get enough of (Wordburglar, Epic, Livestock, Demune, Gregory Pepper) and some new guys that I'm rapidly searching for music from now.
So... best track on the album?
Elephants March (feat. Fidget and Bleubird)
With more change-ups than a relief pitcher, this track switches styles constantly, mid-verse, and comes straight up with wicked rhymes from all three emcees right off the get-go. I can't stop listening to this, and in fact, I'm going to ask Noah if I can throw it on the premier FlipTape (new music article that's coming soon!) so that you can all hear it too. I'm not able to post it up because it's not a free album.
But seriously, there are components of this song (that I'll discuss in full later) that just make me excited to be a fan of real hip hop. Perfect. I'd say this is one of my favorite all-time hip hop songs now, and that's a hard list to get on.
Go show your support, and listen to Noah23's other projects too. I first heard the guy on Train Rawbers Volume 1 and I'll never stop, as long as he keeps putting out albums.
Noah23's Official MySpace
Rock Paper Scissors Album
Plague Language Official MySpace
The first thing that struck me was how much more I liked it than Upside Down Bluejay, which I thought had a pretty good vibe to it. If you don't know, RPS is a collaboration album, in that every track has a guest on it, and it's amazing all the way through. There are some guys that I can never get enough of (Wordburglar, Epic, Livestock, Demune, Gregory Pepper) and some new guys that I'm rapidly searching for music from now.
So... best track on the album?
Elephants March (feat. Fidget and Bleubird)
With more change-ups than a relief pitcher, this track switches styles constantly, mid-verse, and comes straight up with wicked rhymes from all three emcees right off the get-go. I can't stop listening to this, and in fact, I'm going to ask Noah if I can throw it on the premier FlipTape (new music article that's coming soon!) so that you can all hear it too. I'm not able to post it up because it's not a free album.
But seriously, there are components of this song (that I'll discuss in full later) that just make me excited to be a fan of real hip hop. Perfect. I'd say this is one of my favorite all-time hip hop songs now, and that's a hard list to get on.
Go show your support, and listen to Noah23's other projects too. I first heard the guy on Train Rawbers Volume 1 and I'll never stop, as long as he keeps putting out albums.
Noah23's Official MySpace
Rock Paper Scissors Album
Plague Language Official MySpace
Review: Ame One and Nomar Slevik - Stonehenge Diaries
It opens with Salisbury Plains, introducing Ame One and Nomar Slevik, along with DJ Bizkid, geneva.b, Id Obelus, and Raystar, the guests scattered throughout the album. Haunting melodies hook you in immediately with some Lauence of Arabia-style vocals from an unknown female vocalist. The first track after the intro, produced again by DJ Bizkid, opens with an homage to The Notorious B.I.G., with Nomar singing, "I don't wanna live no more // Sometimes I hear death knockin' at my front door." and what follows are a couple of fantastic verses and a very catch hook (I'm a whole country // I'm a hundred thousand people...).From here it's only uphill. The tracks progress with some wicked beats, chilling out and relaxing here and there and pumping it up, too. What I like about this album is the way the artists are laid out on it. There are different people on every track. Aside from the fact that it is a collaboration album, it really is a collaboration album. Ame One and Nomar Slevik don't even appear on every track together, sometimes it's just one of them, but every track has some other guest on it as well.
I think the production is wicked throughout. I'm not a huge fan of the production on one of the tracks (Home) but... every other track is nuts. The first verse on What's Happening is wicked, and I can't stop replaying it. Suntory probably has the best production on the album, alongside the introductory track. Id Obelus really kills it on this track. The sounds on this album are incredible.
Megaliths, the last track before the remixes of Slow Down and Second Chances, which bring both of the tracks into a new light, is an awesome showcase of styles, with Nomar, Ame, Id Obelus, and Raystar on the track, with DJ Bizkid credited for mastering the track. The Nomar Slevik Remix of Second Chances is even better than the original and is exactly the type of production I would like to hear with this vocal track.
Overall, this album is a superb mix of artists coming together through Nomar Slevik and Ame One to create a soundscape that is perfect for taking a weekend of traveling through. Stonehenge Diaries is a fantastic album, and if you want it, there's a few places you can get it, so go get it!
Purchase the album through iTunes, eMusic, SIQ Records and other musical outlets. Support these artists, they really deserve it. And it's only $6.00, so don't you go getting cheap on me, here. It doesn't get better than this. I feel this album will be on rotation for some time to come, certainly, and look out for Nomar's new album Welcome To Fuckland, coming out soon through dis.eased wrekkids!
(Due to some miscommunication issues, partially my fault for not clarifying things before posting, there is some incorrect information in this article, and for some reason I'm having trouble working through it again, so I'm going to post the correct information, as pointed out to me by Mr. Nomar Slevik:
"I mixed and mastered the whole album except for Slow Down 1 which was mixed by Ame One and Slow Down 2 which was mixed by Raystar.
I produced Track 1-Salisbury Plains with Cuts by DJ Bizkid
Ame One produced Track 2-Stonehenge Days with vocals by me and cuts by DJ Bizkid
Ame One produced Track 3-Slow Down with vocals by Raystar and geneva.b
I produced Track 4-Second Chances with vocals by Id Obelus
Ame One produced Track 5-Home with vocals by me
I produced Track 6-Whats Happening with vocals by Raystar
Ame One produced Track 7-Dumb Dee with vocals by Id Obelus
Ame One & I both produced Track 8-Megaliths with vocals by me, Raystar and Id Obelus and cuts by DJ Bizkid
And lastly I produced the Second Chances remix as well."
Sorry about that. Do enjoy the album!)
Stonehenge Diaries @ SIQ Records
Nomar Slevik
Ame One
Review: Lexington and Whatevski -- Customer Appreciation Day
Lexington and Whatevksi's Customer Appreciation Day is one of the best albums I picked up in 2008, and because it was a free album, well... that only made it better. In fact, this is such a solid piece of work I find it almost unfair that I didn't pay for it. Released on Hand'Solo Records, the album first caught my eye because of the provocative cover, which displays the title of the album sharpied onto a woman's bare chest. I figured, Canadian Hip Hop has been treating me well, why not give it a try. I like what Hand'Solo's been putting out and I was desperate for some new music on my Zune so I downloaded it.
Little did I know this album would change my perception of hip hop. Honestly, I haven't heard anything like this before and it really blew me away. From the opening track's intro with a man crying out for "spange" for a Lexington + Whatevski show to the closing ad for their full-length album Preggers Can't Be Choosers, it was perfect. These guys do to hip hop what Bird did to basketball... they took something that everybody can take a shot at and kinged their pawns. That is to say, they not only did something different, but they raised the bar doing it.
The album progresses with some of the best beats I've ever heard, dirty and dark, a stinky carnival full of drunks kind of sound, mixed with some hard-hitting drums. I'm dying to hear an instrumental version of this album if they ever release that, actually. The production is some of my favorite I've ever heard and I can only describe it as a magical experience. Wherever they're digging up samples from... well, I wish I had access to what they're listening to and the skill to arrange in such a way. Every chorus is catchy, and the layering of sounds is almost too intense, though never overwhelming... if that makes sense.
Lyrically, Lex and Evski kill it. From serious tracks like Back When to hilarious tracks like Dick in Ya Drink, it's all over the place. Vulgarity aside, the lyrics are fantastic. It's a great balance between philosophical and comical, and all the flow is solid throughout.
Speaking of the flow, the album is littered with guest rappers who absolutely rip it up. Planit, Touch, Hollohan aka G.O.D., B-Money, Ryan Crack the Dirt Dogg, and Mr. Grim make appearances, and all of them do justice. Aside from the extreme weirdness of the first half of Planit's verse on Dead and Famous. It's all solid, though, and Planit's verse has grown on me. I guess I was just weirded out about that kind of flow when I first heard it.
All in all, I give this album a 10 out of 10 because since I've downloaded it, I've listened to it all the way through at least once a week and still it surprises me. Most of the tracks have made it onto my bicycling/traveling playlist, almost every track is fantastic, and I am left in awe at how well-done this all is, especially for a free release.
Lexington and Whatevski are without a doubt in my top 10 favorite hip hop artists/groups, and solely because this album is so perfect. If you don't download it, you're a damned fool, it's a fantastic album all the way through and goddammit, it's free!
Best track? I can't even name one. Good People and Back When are probably my favorites. Don't forget to check back for the release of Preggers Can't Be Choosers, their new album. You can find more information at the following locations.
Hand'Solo Records Page
Lexington and Whatevski Official Website
Little did I know this album would change my perception of hip hop. Honestly, I haven't heard anything like this before and it really blew me away. From the opening track's intro with a man crying out for "spange" for a Lexington + Whatevski show to the closing ad for their full-length album Preggers Can't Be Choosers, it was perfect. These guys do to hip hop what Bird did to basketball... they took something that everybody can take a shot at and kinged their pawns. That is to say, they not only did something different, but they raised the bar doing it.The album progresses with some of the best beats I've ever heard, dirty and dark, a stinky carnival full of drunks kind of sound, mixed with some hard-hitting drums. I'm dying to hear an instrumental version of this album if they ever release that, actually. The production is some of my favorite I've ever heard and I can only describe it as a magical experience. Wherever they're digging up samples from... well, I wish I had access to what they're listening to and the skill to arrange in such a way. Every chorus is catchy, and the layering of sounds is almost too intense, though never overwhelming... if that makes sense.
Lyrically, Lex and Evski kill it. From serious tracks like Back When to hilarious tracks like Dick in Ya Drink, it's all over the place. Vulgarity aside, the lyrics are fantastic. It's a great balance between philosophical and comical, and all the flow is solid throughout.
Speaking of the flow, the album is littered with guest rappers who absolutely rip it up. Planit, Touch, Hollohan aka G.O.D., B-Money, Ryan Crack the Dirt Dogg, and Mr. Grim make appearances, and all of them do justice. Aside from the extreme weirdness of the first half of Planit's verse on Dead and Famous. It's all solid, though, and Planit's verse has grown on me. I guess I was just weirded out about that kind of flow when I first heard it.
All in all, I give this album a 10 out of 10 because since I've downloaded it, I've listened to it all the way through at least once a week and still it surprises me. Most of the tracks have made it onto my bicycling/traveling playlist, almost every track is fantastic, and I am left in awe at how well-done this all is, especially for a free release.
Lexington and Whatevski are without a doubt in my top 10 favorite hip hop artists/groups, and solely because this album is so perfect. If you don't download it, you're a damned fool, it's a fantastic album all the way through and goddammit, it's free!
Best track? I can't even name one. Good People and Back When are probably my favorites. Don't forget to check back for the release of Preggers Can't Be Choosers, their new album. You can find more information at the following locations.
Hand'Solo Records Page
Lexington and Whatevski Official Website
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