stefanoneder Album

Curly Castro – Fidel (2013)

curlycastro-fidel

Artist: Curly Castro

Album: Fidel

Source: Artist Rep

Tracklisting:

1. Call Me Castro
2. Starch (ft. Has-Lo x Boogieman Dela)
3. Minefield
4. Coaine Blues
5. Winter Too
6. Coal
7. Mesrine (ft. Yung Yorrisey)
8. Fenster & McManus (ft. Zilla Rocca)
9. The Spook Who Sat
10. Colored Water Fountain
11. The Letter M
12. Kintro
13. Libertad (ft. Ari Lourdes)

Note:

I was working on this review before I had to take a brief hiatus and I am obligated and intent on finishing it.  This album is too good not to mention and it’s imperative you give it the time to listen to it.  I first heard of Castro from his affiliation with Zilla Rocca.  We had actually previewed several of his previous singles.  This is his first musical offering as a recent signee of Man Bites Dog Records.   And what an offering it is…

Continue reading “Curly Castro – Fidel (2013)” →

stefanoneder Album, EP, Mixtapes, Singles

Friday Feature: Jus Daze – 365 Daze (2012)

Jus Daze - 365 Daze - Back Cover

 

It’s just after the holidays and I got caught up with family, friends, and the end of the year posts and kind of left the ‘Friday Feature’ hang by the wayside, that is until I remembered this Friday.  I was just recently put on to Jus Daze and his style immediately meshed with what we are trying to do at Hip Hop Dependency.  He’s been on the battle circuit for a while, but what I am most impressed by is the amount of emotion he incorporates in his music.  It’s not just one-liners and battle lines.  While he can do those things, he’s more about telling a story and injecting feeling into his cuts.   The feeling I get is that he puts a good amount of himself in every verse.

With all that being said, and not being able to consult with Jus Daze before this feature, I  thought a great initial offering would be his entire body of work from 2012.  In this download you are going to get a variety of his singles, Bow II The Bow, Common Law, and The King Of Queens.  This will be a great way for new fans to get acquainted and old ones to make sure their collection is complete.

Stay tuned for a more biographical piece and more music next week….meanwhile DL this!

Download

stefanoneder Album, Album Reviews

PremRock – Mark’s Wild Years (2012)

2570570085-1

Aritst: PremRock

Album: Mark’s Wild Years

Source: Artist

Note:

Certain artists just push the thresholds as to what hip hop can do and speak about.  PremRock expounds upon many topics with his album, Mark’s Wild Years.  And it’s not just what he’s talking about, it’s how he’s talking about it.  The wordplay throughout this album is exceptional and the somber tones in PremRock’s voice offer up his thoughts with that much more potency.

Continue reading “PremRock – Mark’s Wild Years (2012)” →

stefanoneder Album, Album Reviews

Frank Ramz – Quite Frankly (2012)

Artist: Frank Ramz

Album: Quite Frankly

Source: 2Dopeboyz

Tracklisting:

1. Morning Blackout (prod. by Thelonious Martin)
2. Zone Out (prod. by Alex Goose)
3. Art Imitates Life (prod. by Thelonious Martin)
4. Gold Mine
5. I Be Damned
6. Individuality (prod. by Woody)
7. Kamo Gang (prod. by Blue Sky Black Death)
8. The Success Of Failure
9. Brief Intermission 2.0 (prod. by Woody)
10. Rather Be Alone  (prod. by Woody)
11. S.A.D. (ft. G.P.) (prod. by Blue Sky Black Death)
12. Holy Water & Devil Springs (prod. by Apollo Brown)
13. Time’s Of The Essence (prod. by Bad News Rap Dudes)
14. Backside (prod. by Daffy)
15. A Bronx Tale
16. Still Thinking Sober (prod. by Blue Sky Black Death)

Note:

I am familiar with Frank Ramz, but to be perfectly honest I can’t tell you that I was a big supporter, or that I was up on his skill level.  If I did say that, it would be disenegeous.  He was lost in the pack of my vast iTunes collection, until I heard Quite Frankly.   He made a believer out of me with this release.   Sure he has production from the likes of Blue Sky Black Death and Apollo Brown.  That might draw people to the album, but it’s Frank Ramz who puts on the show.

Continue reading “Frank Ramz – Quite Frankly (2012)” →

stefanoneder Album, Album Reviews

Locksmith – Labyrinth (2012)

Artist: Locksmith

Album: Labyrinth

Source: Artist

Tracklisting:

1. Life Is Beautiful
2. Outta Reach (ft. Ceek)
3. My Character (ft. GLC)
4. Smile
5. On My Own (ft. Allen Ritter)
6. The Pit
7. Halleluja
8. I Hate Rabbits
9. Little Bunny Rabbit
10. Gone Tomorrow (ft. Fallon)
11. Take Me Away (ft. Fallon)
12. A.D.D.
13. Slight Disgust
14. Illuminati
15. Labyrinth

Note:

There are a lot of artists scratching and clawing for recognition.  Many of these artists are gifted.  Many artists we cover on HHD possess some of the qualities that are important to being a great emcee.  Locksmith, however,  has all of those qualities.  He is the consummate lyricist.  He has total control of his delivery.  He can give it to you uptempo or down.  He can flip this or that beat.   It doesn’t matter.  He is intelligent.  As an emcee, there is not a chink in the armor.  But that alone does not make a great album.  We’ve all seen lyricists come and go and never really reach their musical potential.

Continue reading “Locksmith – Labyrinth (2012)” →

stefanoneder Album, Album Reviews

Of Mice And Musicians – Bottles & Bones (2012)

Artist: Of Mice And Musicians

Album: Bottles and Bones

Source: Artist

Track listing:

  1. Living Right
  2. Magic Johnson Swanson
  3. Black Key
  4. Sorry My Mom Called
  5. Chicken Legs And Deviled Eggs
  6. Faces
  7. Raw Shack
  8. Don’t Hate
  9. No Pen When I Write
  10. Logic and the Lion
  11. Sound of Falling Down
  12. Hello, Father
  13. Ain’t Done Yet

Note:

I became familiar with Benjamin Miles when he hit me off with his collaborative release with Eddie Logix last year, Play It Forward. I was really impressed with his skill and his sincerity. I felt a lot of emotion and introspection in his lyrics.

Continue reading “Of Mice And Musicians – Bottles & Bones (2012)” →

stefanoneder Album, Check The Discography, EP, Mixtapes

Check The Discography: Emilio Rojas

I haven’t done as many ‘check the discography’ segments as I would have liked and was thinking which emcee has put in a lot of work that people would like to get their hands on. I came up with the prolific, Emilio Rojas. The man has undergone a few name changes and a new crowd may not be up on his older material. I am a big fan of this NYC artist and thought some other people might feel the same way and like to check out some of his earlier work.  Unfortunately, the only way to here the album, For Good, is if you want to pay $40.00+ for the import CD at CD Universe. My apologies.

Emilio has another mixtape/street album, Breaking Point, dropping before the end of the year.  He has already released a few singles from that joint.  Also, he and producer M-Phazes have an album that dropped earlier this year under the name Phaze One.  Unfortunately that album is only available in Australia on Itunes.  Here is the link if you happen to be Australian.

(Last Updated:  September 25th, 2013)

Emilio_Rojas_No_Shame_No_Regrets-front-large

stefanoneder Album, Album Reviews

Rome Cee – Grey Area (2012)

Artist: Rome Cee

Album: Grey Area

Source: Artist

Tracklisting:

1. The Dual
2. Nightfall (ft. Jay Mastermind)
3. For The People
4. Black Ring
5. Double Think (ft. R.A.H.)
6. Illusion Love (ft. Wisdom and R.A.H.)
7. Bout To Blow (ft. Rickie Jacobs and Scarlette)
8. Makes Me High (ft. 810)
9. Moment To Sine (ft. Boy Blesst)
10. Virtue
11. Cold World
12. Something Beyond
13. Koole (ft. Pascal and Jay Mastermind)

Note:

Sometimes you just happen to wander into a gem.  And that’s really how I came across Rome Cee…by musically wandering.  I first caught wind of him on UllNevaNo’s project, The Color Brown Part II.  Then after that, I would see these videos pop up, after that I knew this artist was making the music that I like.  He is an intelligent lyricist, with a good turn of phrase, and he surrounded himself with some other very talented individuals.

Continue reading “Rome Cee – Grey Area (2012)” →

stefanoneder Album, Album Reviews, Mixtapes

Big O – The Delegation

Artist: Big O

Album: The Delegation

Source: Artist

Tracklisting:

1. Grand Entrance
2. Signal Your Team
3. I Rep Myself
4. AnyThing Goes
5. Love Ain’t The Same
6. Class By Myself
7. Let’s Go
8. Make Music 4
9. No Compassion
10. On My Mind
11. Gotta Keep At It
12. 24-7-365

Note:

The best part about running this blog is putting people on to new and under appreciated talent.  That segues perfectly into introducing you all (once again) to Big O.  He’s repping out of Cleveland, Ohio  and really giving the city a face for it’s contribution to the independent hip hop scene.

Continue reading “Big O – The Delegation” →