Singles, Albums, EPs, Mixtapes, and Videos that get the HHD thumbs up.
This is another great sampling of the Brown Bag AllStars musical prowess from 2012. I own most of these tracks already but I know I am exception to the rule, so make sure you get on DLing this and passing the link to a friend. There are so many dope jams on here, everyone is sure to find a favorite.
It’s a good week when we get tracks from both Spit Gemz and Shaz Illyork. The Opposition is in full effect. This track is off of Illyork’s upcoming project, Deadstock Revival. This song is certainly dope but we expect no less at this point. Golden Child is responsible for sounding the horns…
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!
Swerve is constantly cranking out new songs and he wants folks to get in on the action and pass the word on with his new “Pay Day” series. Every 1st and 15th (get the reference now?) Swerve and/or SYG will be dropping a gem on us as a prelude to their forthcoming album.
Here Swerve continues to rock over these smooth DJ Mentos beats. The duo have a very nostalgic vibe to them. It’s like they are making music right out of this black and white picture above.
Spit Gemz is at it again! He’s not resting on is laurels, he is bringing the heat for this new album he has dropping this year entitled, Fvck The Radio. That project will be dropping on February 25th and you best believe that I will be all over that when it drops. Spit Gemz enlists the soulful Carmen Indhira for the hook and his confederate Starvin B. They “put you on a pedestal just to knock you off it”. One Take on the beat!
Alpha Faktion and Shabaam Sahdeeq bringing you that ‘murk-you-in-you-sleep’ type rap. Vherbal laces the banger and our emcees embrace their opportunity whole heartedly. This track is destined for Alpha Faktion’s upcoming EP, Truth, Lies & Audiotape.
3913 has a sound that is reminiscent of De La Soul all the way from the rhymes to the rhythms and that is a good thing. The content of the lyricism involves the struggles most of us face…how to get the money we need to buy the things we want. But from the standpoint of the artist, how do you get paid making the music you like?
The group has an EP dropping soon entitled, One Way Ticket.
Here are my Top 5 Mixtapes from 2012. Click the pics to be taken to the appropriate download links.
If war came in your headphones, this is what it would sound like. Spit Gemz is the quintessential street poet of our generation. This man combines the highest level of intelligence and wordplay making this the best street album/mixtape this year.
Red Eye definitely has an argument for the best mixtape of 2012. This mixtape is tough. Really tough. The beats are big and the rhymes are raw. There are also tons of dope guest shots on this project as well. Lots of replay value on this joint.
Juan Deuce’s first project, No Sweat, is a winner. Juan Deuce is an artist all unto himself and can not be duplicated. This project is absolutely unique. And ‘unique’ in this instance means…fresh.
DMP offers the most traditional of mixtapes in this year’s awards. Lots of short but dope cuts on this project from a group of Virginia emcees back by Nottz behind the boards. Good music to saturate your eardrums in.
Do you want a mixtape to bang and knock in the whip? Our Sandpeople brethren brought you some ill music in 2012 and perhaps none more sick than OnlyOne’s Cult Classic.
This was a tough category. There were so many dope, short projects that were offered up this year that it was really hard to narrow it down to my favorites. I just kept the one ruling principle in mind as to who made the dopes music. With that being kept in mind there were some dope artists left off…most notably The Brown Bag AllStars. That crew put out a ton of dope EPs this year and surely some of them would have made a Top 10, just not the Top 5. I simply couldn’t let got of these joints.
The 17th gave us ‘FREE Music’ but not only that, he gave us some remarkable music. This EP is close to flawless as they come. You get eight tracks jam packed with flavor, great concept, flows, production, and delivery. Another remarkable aspect is that much of the EP is his from beginning to end. He of course is the lead emcee, but also the producer for the bulk of the tracks as well.
Serge Severe and Terminilllinked up for a superlative effort on Service Without A Smile. The two really played off of each other’s strengths and this proved to be one of the illest producer/emcee combos of 2012.
Speaking of ill producer/emcee combos, how about this one? Swiss-American hip-hop group, Nefew, Virginia emcee Shakes, and super producer Nottz link up for for this five track EP. You can’t go wrong with this joint!
MayDay has a sound all unto themselves. They have have great production to back them up on Thrift Store Halos and their melodies, rhymes, and guest shots throughout make this one a clear winner for 2012.
The Narcicyst comes back in 2012 with a lyrical fury from Dubai. Ok, a lyrical fury may be a bit extreme but his world observations set to rhythm set him apart from the pack this year.
A new joint from Son-Ray featuring label mates Livin Proof and Broadway Barrett. It’s dope all the way around. I love what Loyalty Digital has been doing to change the game. They continue to be a force heading in to 2013.
