Singles, Albums, EPs, Mixtapes, and Videos that get the HHD thumbs up.
Virginia has some talent people! And emcee Poe Mack and producer Van Gunz are among those gifted individuals. I am not sure where this track is off of, or if it’s a loosie but it stands alone as being dope. Van Gunz laces a beautiful production for Poe Mack to shed some pretty poignant and dope insight over.
Everywhere building opponents I can’t see yet / Try to quarterback the future without a deep threat
Well we have to acknowledge (like every other blog) that this might be the most anticipated project of 2024. Evidence and Blu unite to give us a taste of California with impending album, Los Angeles. And on the video single, Wild Wild West, we get a sampling of the beauty that is to behold. Man, Evidence crafts such a beautiful soundscape for Blu to paint those vivid tapestries that are his stories in LA. This is a win for everyone, and is definitely living up to the hype.
Am I biased? Probably. But Natural Elements to me embodies all that is good in hip hop. And this may be another favorite joint of mine from the trio. First and foremost, I am a traditionalist so hearing our emcees rock over some godly Charlemagne production just sounds like everyone is where they should be. It’s natural. The way Charlemagne carries this Andre wind instrumentation through the track is just beautiful. He was the original producer for the group back from the jump and I loved how seamless everything sounded. It’s that special polish that brings an extremely talented group of lyricists together. Love this joint.
The Umbrella has been doing big things in the last several years. But one of the lesser known quantities of the unit (at least for me) was Big Trip. Well, as they say, if you didn’t know then, you know now. Big Trip comes out guns blazing with this Jamil Honesty infused heat rock. This joint knocks, and Trip can see death around the corner.
New project, Honestly Filthy, is completely produced by Honesty, and he does a really amazing job behind the boards, and Trip really impresses. I can’t get enough of this release.
Starvin B material is an auto post here on HHD. He has been from the jump. He’s always delivered high level lyricism but now it seems he is producing joints, and maybe he has been all this time but I can’t recall. Lyrically there is an intermingling of love for his dog, and just life references in general. But all in all this joint is dope as you would come to expect from Starvin.
Ty Farris is a name that we should be accustomed to seeing on Hip Hop Dependency. The talented Detroit representative, has a new album out, Enigma WIth An Attitude, and VIllain With A Smile is yet another dope single off of that project, produced by Brooks XY. This song has exemplary word play.
Killing shit, Jason Vorhees with your door keys / Rappers begging for features but they all got sore knees…
Skeezo and Whip Beats are cooking again and bring you another grimy banger from their upcoming album, Bad Things Never Happen At A Good Time. Just more boom bap flavor to your face. Dro Pesci and D.R.E Colombian Raw join forces with Skeezo on the mic and deliver heavy hitting pen game.
It’s that hardbody hip hop coming from a couple of the heaviest hitters in the Virginia hip hop scene. Born Unique and Pete Twist have been honing their craft and bring you that raw for years as the Grime Lords. Hard hitting drums, and a piano riff lead the way for Unique and west coast powerhouse Supreme Cerebral to lick shots over. This is a tough track and I would expect nothing less.
I absolutely love songs that express the human experience. To me there are fewer things more beautiful in hip hop or music in general. Someone who takes their craft, explores their past in their present, and shares that exploration with others. And Heems hits home, and hits home hard with sharing his family’s story as the video in his words “is an exploration of the inherited trauma stemming from the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan”. You can see the contemplation and perhaps the pain and then the corresponding hope, making this a captivating moment in 2024.
New album Veena coming in a little over a month.
Two of the hardest working artists in the game come together for a new project called Good Times, Bad Times. With Body Bag Ben behind the boards, and the XP The Marxman on the mic the duo unleash a salvo of that raw hardcore hip hop in the form of Science Spoken. The beat is a banger that leads with a strong piano sample, and lyrically shots are fired at the competition, so suckas and doubters better keep ducking. Raw.
Album out now!
Hip Hop Dependency 