New visuals for a track that dropped a while back. Muneshine has always been a favorite of mine as both an emcee and a producer and I think if more people had heard his music they too would be fans. The song also co-stars D-Sisive and Fundament.
The Perfect Formula: The Goodness EP
Artist: The Perfect Formula (Marion Write + DJ Finyl)
Album: The Goodness EP
Guests: Nique, Verbal E, Fame, The Remede
Production: DJ Finyl
Best Tracks: Love/Hate, Higher
Recommendation: Recommend
Note: Refined Hype is becoming one of my favorite places to scope out new hip hop, so many props to them. The Perfect Formula has a short but sweet EP that I think heads need to pay attention to. The first thing that you will notice when you listen to The Goodness EP is the fire that Marion Write brings to the mic. That type of spit game is inspiring. When emcees flow with the kind of refinement and energy as he does on Love/Hate, it just gives the listener goosebumps. He is part of the newly formed “super-group” called Flo Deep, which caused some major noise on Refined Hype’s compilation that was already covered here.
Also to be noted is DJ Finyl’s skill behind the boards. He drops some slickness on my favorite joint Love/Hate. He incorporates subtlety in his mastery of the music. He uses strings to fuse into piano and then uses what I will call an “operatic” sample to finish the track off. There is dopeness in simplicity as he never overpowers the emcee. It is flawless fusion. On the track, Higher, he is able to craft a more high octane production for Marion Write and his cohort, Nique. The horns blaze through the track and you can’t help but bump this track. It gets the adrenaline pumping.
Overall, this is a good taste of what the artists can do and we look forward to hearing more of their music.
Various Artists: Refined Hype 1st Anniversary Edition
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Refined Hype 1 Year Anniverrsay Edition
Guests: Marion Write, Radio Ramone, Wordsmith, Harmony Muzik, Jason James, Concise Kilgore, Mike Schpitz, King Mez, Rapsody & Sundown, 810, The Black Sunn, K. Sparks, Fresh Cut Collective, Dominique Larue, K-Beta, Sketch, Quantum Suicide, M-Dot, EMS
Producers: Certified, Mydus, MizfitSoundz, IlL Meel, Gajos
Best Tracks: Monster Music, Out Of My Mind, One Thing, Never Over
Recommendation: Highly Recommend
Note: This is arguably one of the best compilations this year. So many compilations and mixtapes get released from the blogs/websites that it gets hard to distinguish one from the other. I think that Refined Hype did a great job with it’s selection of emcees. There was a number of strong joints on the album and nothing that I could even call average. It seemed that everyone who appeared, made a mark.
Monster Music was the show stopper in my mind. The beat was remarkable with it’s intensity and the emcees were brutal (in a good way) with their wordplay. Wordsmith definitely impressed me with his bars on Out Of My Mind. His delivery seems way ahead of the pack. His ability to flip verses just seems so fluid. There really is so much to like with this mixtape. You will have your choice of dope cuts to listen to and you can run through the whole thing without a skip.
Moe Green – Top Turnbuckle Lifestyle (Video)
I was caught off guard by Moe Green. I heard him on a compilation and I had to hear more. I just found this video for a cut off of his album, Rocky Maivia Non Title Match. I haven’t caught the album but I am all over it right now. If it’s as good as the couple of songs I have heard it will be up here shortly with a little review. It’s great to discover an artist with this much talent.
Curtiss King – Scumbags ft. Ab-Soul and Stevie Crooks (Video)
This joint comes off of Curtiss King’s album, Jetpack On E, which can be found at DJ Booth’s spot. I have yet to listen to the whole thing but I have dabbled and this track is hot. I will post the whole thing once I can give it a fair listen.
Fel Sweetenberg – The Sophomore Jinx
Artist: Fel Sweetenberg
Album: The Sophmore Jinx
Guests: Aul Purpis, Dave Ghetto, Baby Blak, Ethel Cee, Tanzania Lateef
Production: Fel Sweetenberg
Best Tracks: Look Into The Eyes Of Fel, Save Ya Life, Code Of Silence, Skyz Fallin
Recommendation: Must Have
Note: When mentioning the best tracks, I should really just mention every song from the album. They are all that good. I was wondering why it was taking so long for him to get his sophomore album released, but in listening to the final product that no longer matters. What you get from The Sophomore Jinx is a complete album in every facet. Everything from the production to the lyrics seems flawless to me. This is an album that hip hop purists crave. The album is very polished in terms of it’s mixing and mastering. It harkens back to the mid 1990s in it’s content but with elevated lyricism and wordplay. There is nothing not to like in this album. If you love hip hop then you simply must cop this. No excuses, because this may be a release people start using the word “classic” to describe a few years from now.
Roc C – Scapegoat
Artist: Roc C
Album: Scapegoat
Features: Lyric James, Illa J, Oh No, Chino XL, Prime One, Chali 2na, Fredro Starr, Glasses Malone
Production: Valentino, DJ Khalil, Oh No, Evidence, Mr. Porter, 3AM, Slopfunkdust, Imakemadbeats, The Alchemist, DJ Romes
Best Tracks: Stay On My Grind, Hustle 101, I’m Ready, OX
Recommendation: Take It Or Leave It
Note: There are some hot tracks on here but there are some definite ‘ho-hum’ tracks as well. It is a decent album, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t think there was anything groundbreaking taking place. The production tends to be a bit stale at times as do some of the rhymes. It’s decent but I don’t see this one getting a ton of replay value.
If I am in the mood I will definitely play some Roc C in spots but a whole album ( I own all three by the way.) seems a little redundant. His voice was destined for rhyming, however the flow seems very deliberate and the rhyme schemes seem overly simplistic when you compare him to a Planet Asia for instance. He has the street bravado but the skill level is not in same class. On tracks like Stay On My Grind and Hustle 101, Roc C goes hard. The upbeat temp really suits him. There’s just not enough of that throughout the album. If you like Roc C and have dug his past work then you will probably like this album as well. If you are unfamiliar make sure your stream the album.
Rasheed Chappell: Building 8 (Video)
Ooooh….this song is deep and dope at the same time. Be sure to check for Rasheed Chappell. This is a voice that needs to be heard in hip hop.
Koncept – Playing Life EP
Artist: Koncept
Album: Playing Life
Guests: Sene, Silent Knight
Production: The Audible Doctor, J57, Maticulous, DJ Brace, DJ Dyllemma
Best Tracks: Keeping On, First Time, Old Man Winters
Recommendation: Highly Recommend
Note: The BBAS has never given you reason to doubt the skill that lies within. Koncept’s release is no different. Playing Life is short and excellent. I always was impressed by Soul Khan from BBAS but this EP gave me an opportunity to really see what his compadre Koncept could do on the microphone. He does not disappoint. He is not a punchline rapper but rather relies on a great flow and emotion to rock a track. When you listen to him you really feel the music.
The production is also incredibly solid. Ever since I heard the Undeniable Remix by The Audible Doctor I was an instant fan. He laces three tracks for the EP and all of them are on point. He has great command of his production. It just seems so effortless. But the banger on the album has to be Keeping On which was laced by maticulous. The song just knocks.
In conclusion, I feel that this EP deserves a spot on your Ipod. It’s just too nice not too. While to call it an “instant classic” is a reach, it still differentiates itself from the rest of the pack to make it one of the better releases in 2010.
Black Milk – Deadly Medley ft. Royce Da 5’9″ and Elzhi (Video)
Black Milk’s, Album Of The Year, is one of the most anticipated of 2010. This song just goes to prove that point. The Matrix from 2008 was a heater that featured Sean Price and Pharaoh Monch and Deadly Medley has the same effect but this time it features lyrical heavyweights Elzhi and Royce da 5’9″. Enjoy and get ready.
Hip Hop Dependency 