stefanoneder Album Reviews

El Gant – Beast Academy (2014)

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Artist: El Gant

Album: Beast Academy

Tracklisting:

1. Intro
2. Truth Hurts (feat. Torae)
3. Three Amigos (feat. Chris Webby & Ill Bill)
4. Bases Loaded (feat. Infinity Gauntlet)
5. JOAT Interlude
6. Energy (feat. J. Blanc)
7. Goldie Hawn (feat. El Da Sensei)
8. Five One Eight (feat. GGDT)
9. Mr. Miyagi
10. Three Amigos (Remix)

Note:

I first heard about El Gant when I saw him in the super group, Infinity Gauntlet.  I hears his verse on the track Anti-Angelz and wrote his name down on a piece of paper so as not to forget.  I then caught him in the group KAMALA and those songs were incredible.   He released a mixtape, and now we have arrived at the time he drops his album, Beast Academy.

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

Kue The Vandal – The Snuff Tape (2014)

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Artist: Kue The Vandal

Album: The Snuff Tape

Tracklisting:

1. Eye For An Eye
2. My Brother’s Keeper
3. Filth
4. Runnin’
5. Affiliated (Ft. Cain & Sleep)
6. Pistolet
7. Black Mask
8. G.O.O.N

Note:

Kue The Vandal released his latest EP, The Snuff Tape, a couple of weeks ago and I have given it multiple listens not only for the purposes of this review, but also for my own personal enjoyment.   Kue The Vandal has that grimy delivery and he brings a certain tone of despair and depravity that is on display for all to see on this release.   But there’s also this sense that Kue, when his back is against the wall, is not going to just disappear quietly into the sunset.  He is more likely to come out with his guns blazing.

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

Shabaam Sahdeeq – Keepers Of The Lost Art (2014)

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Artist: Shabaam Sahdeeq

Album: Keepers Of The Lost Art

Tracklisting:

1. Keepers Of The Lost Art
2. Conceited Confidence
3. Playing Games
4. Speak Truth (ft. Reks & Kamala)
5. Walk With The Light
6. That Dope (ft. Wais P & Sha Stimuli)
7. Hardbody & Heavy (ft. Half A Brick & EastKoast)
8. Tranquilo
9. Grown Man Hustle (ft. Eric Rico)
10. The Come Back Kid (ft. Skyzoo & F.T.)
11. Seasons Change
12. City Of Fame (ft. Mic Handz)
13. He Who Dares (ft. Lewis Parker)
14. Fall In Line
15. O.G Certified (ft. Tragedy Khadafi)
16. Done It All (ft. Bekay)
17. Relax [Remix]
18. Energon 2 (ft. Spit Gemz)
19. Honor Me Now [Remix]
20. U Don’t Want None (ft. General DV)
21. Cut From A Different Cloth (ft. Hakim) [Bonus Track]
22. Do You [Bonus Track]
23. Motion Picture [Bonus Track]

 

Note:

This is the first review of an album that we have done for Shabaam Sahdeeq.    That’s odd because we have posted a ton of singles for various other projects, but this is really his first viable album in a long while.  He has stayed busy with a bunch of mixtapes and guest features, all the while creating and crafting his own album,  Keepers Of The Lost Art.   The album has actually been a long time in the making, as I first heard this album titled a couple of years ago.

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

Sleep – Branded (2014)

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Artist: Sleep (2-Man Cypher)

Album: Branded

Tracklisting:

1. Question 1
2. Question 2
3. Question 3
4. Question 4
5. Question 5
6. Question 6
7. Question 7
8. Question 8

Note:

Sleep from 2-Man Cypher has never fallen short on creativity.   He has done songs narrating from the perspectives of different individuals.  He has even done tracks from the outlook of the devil.    And with his latest EP, Branded, he takes creativity to a whole new level.

On this EP, Sleep, takes on the persona of the tragic story of Damon Winton.   The story is real, making this EP biographical in context.    Branded is the tale of a troubled youth that is abandoned by the system and family that was supposed to protect him.  Each song is introduced by a question from a reporter to the social worker in charge.  After the social worker answers the reporter’s question in dubious fashion, Sleep narrates a tale from the perspective of Damon.   It is incredibly powerful, because this is real life.   These are things that happen to children on a daily basis.

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

Curly Castro – Brody (2014)

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Artist: Curly Castro

Album: Brody EP

Tracklisting:

1. Going Back To London
2. All Bets Are Off (ft. Zilla Rocca and Has-Lo)
3. Livery (ft. Castle)
4. David Rodigan (ft. Hubbs and Armand Hammer)
5. A Wake
6. Daisy Swallowed A Diamond

Note:

Curly Castro offers the world a little something different with his latest release, Brody.   The EP is short and succinct but proves the point that just because the project is short on run time doesn’t mean that it runs short on character.   Now, I will say that if you are not familiar with the movie, Snatch, you may have to watch that first before you start indulging in this release.  The creativity for Brody stems from Castro and company using the characters and storyline  from Snatch in the story of this EP.  So being able to truly appreciate this EP requires a little study in film.  That’s not to say that you can’t just appreciate the music for music’s sake but you will miss some of the creativity.   I digress.

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

AWKWORD – World View (2014)

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Artist: AWKWORD

Album: World View

Tracklisting:

1. Gas Land (Frack Off) ft. Chaundon [prod. by Numonics] | World View Intro 04:31
2. Throw Away The Key [prod. by L.Ment (Canada)] 05:44
3. Bars & Hooks ft. Sean Price, The Kid Daytona & The Incomparable Shakespeare [prod. by Harry Fraud] 04:48
4. Penny [prod. by Dismas (Romania)] 02:55
5. The People’s Champions ft. Shabaam Sahdeeq, Punchline & Beretta 9 (of Killarmy) [prod. by Harry Fraud] 04:55
6. Got Class? [prod. by Fresh Nerd] 02:16
7. Notorious ft. Wordsmith, Jasiri X, Jus Daze & Capital X [prod. by Amin PaYnE (Australia)] 05:18
8. Doctor Doctor ft. GuessWho? [prod. by MajoR R.E. (Malaysia)] 04:34
9. Requiem ft. SoulStice, Ess Vee & CuzOH! Black [prod. by ATG] [add. vox by Jay Daniels (Australia) & Mark Deez] 04:40
10. Melting Pot (Made In America) ft. Chaundon [prod. by Numonics] 03:57
11. Rape [prod. by Fafu] 02:53
12. Rap Genius ft. Perseverance & Chino XL [prod. by The White Shadow (Norway)] 03:51
13. It’s Not Possible [prod. by Recluse Crew (Finland)] 01:42
14. #AaronSwartz ft. L*A*W [prod. by Steel Tipped Dove] 03:28
15. The World Is Yours ft. Sha Stimuli & Viro The Virus [prod. by Dominant1 (Malawi)] 03:53
16. Imperialism ft. C-Rayz Walz & Reks [prod. by Jonny Lupo (Moldova)] 04:08
17. Radio 2.0 ft. KRS-One, Dug Infinite, Brimstone127 & Mista Lawnge (of Black Sheep) [prod. by Vice Souletric] 04:51
18. Metal Music ft. El Gant, ILL BILL, Tenacity & Blame One [prod. by Tranzformer] 05:09
19. Go! ft. Joell Ortiz, Slug (of Atmosphere) & Maya Azucena [prod. by Domingo] 03:25

Note:

This review for AWKWORD’s World View has been a long time coming.   It’s a long time coming for two reasons:  1) AWKWORD has been working on his magnum opus for well over three years 2)  I took another two months to digest the project in between other releases.  But here we are at the moment of reckoning to determine what makes World View special, or if it’s indeed special at all.

 

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

Matt Maddox – Righteous Fury (2014)

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Artist: Matt Maddox

Album: Righteous Fury (Amazon, iTunes)

Tracklisting:

1. No Country For Old Men produced by Engineer
2. Interlude produced by Sultan Mir
3. Sick & Tired cuts by TMB produced by Sultan Mir
4. BARbarians ft Godilla, UG & Born Unique produced by Hellzwind
5. Work ft Mina Fedora produced by Skammadix
6. El Mariachi produced by Nemesis
7. The Get Back ft King Magnetic produced by Skammadix
8. Comedy Pt 1 produced by Skammadix
9. Murder Weapons ft Swann Cuts by TMB produced by C Lance (of Jedi Mind Tricks)
10. Spider Man ft Adlib & Reef The Lost Cauze produced by Vanderslice
11. Mjolnir ft Burke the Jurke Cuts by TMB produced by C Lance (of Jedi Mind Tricks)
12. King Killer produced by Sicknature (of Germany’s Snowgoons)
13. Olympus Has Fallen Cuts by TMB produced by Hellzwind
14. Upon A Pale Horse ft Edd Bundy Cuts by TMB produced by the UK’s Edd Bundy
15. Comedy Pt 2 produced by Skammadix
16. A Time To Kill Cuts by TMB produced by Hellzwind
17. Street Art ft Tragedy Khadafi Cuts by TMB produced by Skammadix
18. Reality’s a Bitch produced by Skammadix
19. Show Must Go On produced by Nemesis

Note:

Some albums ease a listener into the moment, while others grab you by the throat and demand your attention.  Righteous Fury, the most recent album from Matt Maddox, is going to fall in the latter category.  From the instant you hear the first cut. you are both engaged and threatened by what you hear.   You are threatened because, from the jump, you find out that Maddox is not going to be mincing words and he will name names of those siting on the pedestals.  He has thrown ‘today’s hip hop’ on it’s head and as a listener you can not remove the headphones, you become obligated to listen to this release from start to finish.

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

The AbSoulJah – Dim The Light (2014)

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Artist: The AbSoulJah

Album: Dim The Light

Tracklisting:

1. Fork in the Road (Beat by JFX Productions)
2. World Don’t Love ft. Streets Goon & HalfaBrick (Beat by Shaolin Beatmaker)
3. In Motion (Beat by DJ Simsima)
4. Lost in a Moment (Prod. by I.N.C.H)
5. Nighttime Dwelling ft. Spicco (Prod. by DJ Low Cut)
6. The Real Type (Prod. by Soulslicers)
7. No Plans (Beat by NoyZ)
8. Stand Strong (Prod. by Machine Gun Funk)
9. Grand Goon (Beat by H.Lava)
10. The Marriage (Beat by Keko Beats)
11. In My Element
12. Next Life
13. No Serenity (Beat by Keko Beats)
14. How It Is ft. Angry Man (Beat by Manu Beats)
15. Get Well Soon (Beat by Ugly Tony)

Note:

I have been waiting and waiting for Ab to drop this album (and I took forever to do the review so I can’t talk much).  I will say I have been checking for this release for about two years.  I got an unofficial listen last year sometime, and after a lot of prodding I thought the project was just going to be shelved.  Needless to say, I am glad that it saw the light of day.  In discussing the album with some heads a couple of weeks ago, someone made the comment that they wished this was the type of music that Mobb Deep still made.   I concur.   The AbSoulJah has made a career of dropping that street realism with wordplay that keeps things continuously interesting.   He never gets monotonous and keeps the listener engaged constantly.

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

L*Roneous x 2Bers – Utopian Blues (2014)

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Artist: L*Roneous x 2bers

Album: Utopian Blues

Tracklisting:

1. Modify
2. Soul Clap
3. Second Sun
4. Wishing Well
5. Small Town
6. Tech
7. Espionage
8. Zombie Fingers
9. Help Me

Note:

L*Roneous had told me that he had some new music coming soon and to my pleasant surprise Bandcamp sent me an email a couple of weeks ago that one of my favorites had dropped another project.  This time the project, Utopian Blues, is a collaborative effort between L*ron and 2bers. I was skeptical at first because sometimes these pairings can go terribly wrong.  L*Roneous is a high level emcee and not knowing who 2Bers was left me a little incredulous.  So many times you get a high caliber artist who reaches below his skill level in a collaboration.  That’s really not the case here.  This is more of a blending of strengths rather than a disparity in talent.   It’s actually one of the most melodic releases I have heard in a while.

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stefanoneder Album Reviews

One Dae – Daes & Times (2013)

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Artist: One Dae

Album: Daes & Times

Tracklisting:

1. Welcome Sinners
2. Bang This
3. Style
4. Play By Play (ft. Evidence)
5. It’s Everywhere
6. A Long Way (ft. Statik Selektah)
7. Daes & Times (ft. C-Rayz Walz)
8. BK All Dae
9. Walk In My Shoes (ft. Dana Diaz-Tutaan)
10. Abu Ghraib (ft. Sean Price)
11. Earth Child (ft. Tsi La Brev)
12. Take A Look Around
13. End of the World

Note:

I really want to close out 2013, but I can not do so without cranking out one more review for a very dope album.  The first thing heads will notice about the album Daes & Times is the production credits.  There are some heavyweight names creating beats for One Dae.  When listeners see names like Statik Selektah, Marco Polo, Analogic, Domingo, and M-Phazes, they are bound to pay attention.  But as the man, Mike Zoot once said “a wack rhymer can kill a raw beat”.  In this case the opposite is true: One Dae accentuates what these beatsmiths provide making this album memorable.

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