stefanoneder Singles

Single You Out: Jesse Abraham – Spiderman On Vitamins

Jesse Abraham had shot this over to me a few days ago and it took me a while to get to the message and listen to the track but I definitely find it noteworthy.  I am loving the Middle Easternish production.  Sitars make everything all good in my book.   I did a write up on Jesse Abraham’s EP from 2010, Bars & NoBull.   I found him to be an extremely refreshing artist.  His rhymes are playful and not overbearing.

Spiderman On Vitamins is an extension of his last effort and a prelude to his upcoming EP, One Day, releasing on March 1st.    The song is the type of track that can be played in almost any setting.  The production gets the adrenaline flowing, yet the lyrics have your attention so you can catch what’s going on in the wordplay.

Jesse Abraham truly is a unique talent.  Now if I can just get Jesse Abraham and Homeboy Sandman to do an EP together.  Flippin’ fantastic!

 

stefanoneder Check The Discography

Check The Discography: Cyrano aka Cy Yung

This is a new series that I am launching.   With all of these free downloads (no one is complaining) being offered from so many dope artists sometime releases get lost in the shuffle.  I can think of several artists off the top of my head that would fit in this category.

(Disclaimer) Check The Discography is not meant to be a comprehensive look at an artists’ breadth of work.  It is meant to give you an idea, and level of appreciation for what these artists have done and allow new fans to get in contact with older material.  I can not look for every single track forever this category will represent available and downloadable Mixtapes/EPs/LPs

I find it fitting that our first entry be Cyrano aka Cy Yung.  He just released The Bayou Blue project a couple of weeks ago but overall it seems like the man is relentless.  He continuously puts out dope music.  I need to give a shout out to Khal over at the Rock The Dub for putting me on to this artist.  I am an avid reader of  Rock The Dub and thusly I am now an avid listener of Cyrano.  Most of these albums/mixtapes can be found over at Rock The Dub but I have compiled them in one post for your listening pleasure.  If you are asking me my favorite.  Soul Train Dancer:  A Tribute To Rosie Perez.  Just click the artwork to download that particular release and enjoy.


stefanoneder Singles

Single You Out: Curly Castro – Eulogy To L b/w You And Who’s Army

The man, Zilla Rocca, hit me off with these singles from Curly Castro’s forthcoming album, Winston’s Appeal.  That should be dropping later this week, on January 28th I believe.  You can keep your eyes peeled on his Bandcamp site.  It should be uploaded there.

Eulogy To L is a “tribute” to the way LL Cool J used to represent on the microphone and  Castro’s lament to what he has become.  Zilla Rocca is responsible for the production, crafting his own rendition of the Booming System.  It’s dope in concept and in realization.

The B-Side is a classic posse cut.  Any time you get 15 emcees together on a track, you are taking a chance, but these men (and lady) kill their bars.  Some rhymes and  flows are better than others, but there are indefinitely some ill quo tables and nobody detracts from the track.  The beat by LastWord is a classic banger.  It’s definitely ill, and something I can see bumping for a long time to come.

Just click the pic and you can listen and download if you so choose!

 

stefanoneder EP

IMAKEMADBEATS ft. MidaZ The Beast – The Nightlight EP (2010)

Artist: Imakemadbeats x MidaZ The Beast

Album: The Nighlight EP

Source: Bandcamp

Tracklisting:

  1. Nighlight Sunset
  2. Flyers
  3. Freedom (ft. TzariZM)
  4. Subliminal Diss
  5. Word Of Mouth (ft. TzariZM and MURDOC)
  6. The Response
  7. 7 Years
  8. Nighlight Sunset

Note:

This project was released in conjunction with the sister project, The Daylight EP, that featured Butta Verses.   Both of the projects are a prelude to IMAKEMADBEATS’ self-titled album which is dropping, next week on January 18th.   I didn’t comment on the Daylight project mostly because I was involved in the end of the year business but I also must say that I prefer the darker side of things.

The beats on this project are grimey and MidaZ is the perfect emcee to rip over these tracks.    He has the voice, flow, and delivery to turn these dope instrumentals into hip hop gold.

Continue reading “IMAKEMADBEATS ft. MidaZ The Beast – The Nightlight EP (2010)” →

stefanoneder Album Reviews

Laelo Hood – Fuck The World (2011)

Artist: Laelo Hood

Album: Fuck The World

Source: Inner Loop Uncut

Tracklisting:

  1. Fuck The World (prod. by DJ Soundtrax)
  2. Nah Joe (prod. by Hec Dolo)
  3. Where I Belong (ft. XO and Alison Carney) (prod. by Coldboy and Grussle)
  4. Hooked On You (ft. Mamouna Youssef) (prod. by Decompose)
  5. Fooling Myself (prod.  Bad Abbot)
  6. Trust Nobody (ft. Muggsy Malone) (prod. by Bad Abbot)
  7. Where’d I Go Wrong (ft. K-Beta)  (prod. by Coldboy)
  8. Family Ties (ft. Midian) (prod. by J-$crilla)
  9. I.L.S.O. (ft. T.E.F.L.O.N. and Sketch) (prod. by Grussle)
  10. The Crucible (ft. The Package and Kokayi) (prod. by Theory)
  11. Concrete Jungle (ft. Draus and K-Beta) (prod. by Theory)
  12. Assasin (ft. Akir and Mr. Hakwins) (prod. by Decompose)
  13. Blood On The Walls (prod. by Soulful)
  14. Take A Hit (ft. Bear Witnez) (prod. by Kobayashi)
  15. High (ft. Jai Blazin and Claudette Monet) (prod. by Terry B)

Note:

I first came across Laelo Hood when he leaked the cut, Trust Nobody, for this very project.  When I heard that joint, I hit repeat at least three times and then determined that I had to get in touch with Laelo Hood and get some more information on this man’s music.  He told me that in a few weeks that he would be releasing, Fuck The World.  I am about a week late in copping, but better late than never.

Continue reading “Laelo Hood – Fuck The World (2011)” →

stefanoneder EP

Zero Star – The Ink Pen Method EP (2011)

Artist: Zero Star

Album: The Ink Pen Method

Source: Kevin Nottingham

Tracklisting:

  1. Hanging Out
  2. Not Enough
  3. Testing

Note:

Obviously this is a very short project that is a prelude for greater things to come but I still thought it bore mentioning.  Zero Star has that uncanny ability to flow over any beat.  He sounds good over them all.  He is very intelligent without flying over people’s heads.  The best example of his ability can be found on the track, Testing.   The beat is really dope.  Unfortunately I can not supply you with production credits yet but I hope to update that shortly.  The track features a nice piano riff that Zero Star effortlessly flows over.    That’s actually the best word to describe Zero Star’s talents:  His flow feels effortless and never pressed. At any rate, it is most definitely an ill cut.

Check it out below!

stefanoneder Interviews

Hip Hop Dependency Artist Of The Year: K. Sparks

This is my first time putting thought into creating an Artist Of The Year accolade.  As I went through an enormous list of emcees it became apparent that a few names would rise to the top.  Ultimately, I believe there is one person who was able to separate themselves from the rest of the compestion: K. Sparks.

K. Sparks is the consummate professional. Along with being a supremely talented artist.  His ability on microphones goes unquestioned.  He has demonstrated hundreds of times this year alone his gift to rock mics.  But there are lots of talented emcees and talent alone may not merit this accolade.  What does separate K. Sparks from the rest of the pack is his committment to his craft.

K. Sparks defines what it means to be “prolific”.   He has released so many projects in the last few years and in this case increased quantity does not diminish quality  by any stretch of the imagination.  Each of K. Sparks’ projects have illustrated an incredible display of dopenesss.

I strongly encourage you to check out a few if not all of K. Sparks albums or mixtapes.  He has so much to choose from.  You can download and purchase music from his website.   I would recommend checking out the album A Day In The Life as that is a personal favorite.

Also be sure to seek the man out on Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube.

Below you will find that K.Sparks took time out of his busy schedule to answer some of our questions.   I found his responses very thoughtful and insightful.  I had no idea how organized the man is in his business.  It was actually quite inspiring.  Check It.

Continue reading “Hip Hop Dependency Artist Of The Year: K. Sparks” →

stefanoneder Mixtapes

No. 1 Reks – In Between The Lines Vol. 2 Mixtape (2010)

Artist: Reks

Album: In Between The Lines Vol. 2

Source: DJ Booth

Tracklisting:

  1. Intro / Once Again (prod. by ATG)
  2. Legacy (prod. by J. Lee)
  3. Represent (2010) (Freestyle)
  4. This Or That (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  5. My Word (ft. Dynas and Jon Hope) (prod. by Rain)
  6. What It Is (Freestyle)
  7. Successful Girl (ft. BK Cyph)  (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  8. Feel It Baby (prod. by Soul Theory)
  9. Different Breed (prod. by OhNo)
  10. Pray For U (Homicide Note) (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  11. Outta Control (Egos) (ft. Strong Arm Steady) (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  12. Money & Power (ft. Sonic and Termanology) (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  13. Eff You (prod. by Nottz)
  14. Get Rowdy (ft. Sha Stimuli and Reef The Lost Cause) (prod. by Bassheadz)
  15. No Hooks (ft. Lucky Dice and Chi Knox) (prod. by Nottz)
  16. In My Lane (ft. Ras Kass and Ekko) (prod. by Hazardis Soundz)
  17. Getting Ugly (prod. by Frank Dukes)
  18. Eat Or Starve (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  19. 6AM (ft. Slaine, JFK, and Steven King) (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  20. Setting It Off (ft. Slaine. JFK, Jaysaun, and Steven King) (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  21. Window Pane (prod. by Blaze P and Bing)
  22. The ETC (ft. Kali) (prod. by Statik Selektah)
  23. Night Sky (ft. S.O.L.) (prod. by Dom Dirtee)
  24. Hooked On Whateva (ft. Blaze P and J Tronious) (prod. by Blaze P)
  25. Lighter (ft. Ea$y Money and Sonic) (prod by Scotty B)
  26. Hndu Kush (GHOST) (ft. Lucky Dice and Steis)  (prod. by The Lion)
  27. Rapanomics (ft. Termanology and Sha Stimuli) (prod. by Rain)
  28. Strays (ft. Saheed) (prod. by Hazardis Soundz)
  29. Brainstorm (prod. by ATG)
  30. My Dark Skin (Willie Lynch Theory) (prod. by Soul Theory)

Continue reading “No. 1 Reks – In Between The Lines Vol. 2 Mixtape (2010)” →