Another single from Apathy’s forthcoming project, Weekend At The Cape. New England Royalty has a little bit of soul integrated with a heavy dosage of boom bap. The production switches up in the middle of the track and Apathy’s flow gets a little more malicious.
Apathy’s longevity and his ability to continuously make dope music is a testament to his talent. There are not many in his class. The aforementioned project, along with another, The Black Lodge, are dropping on June 30th.
Disclaimer: It is hard and challenging to pick 50 tracks from the thousands upon thousands that dropped this year. It is merely an attempt to list my favorite cuts of 2012. Click the links to listen to the song! I think it’s a great list. There were a lot of great songs crafted this year and I know I left off some good ones. I listened to 5,000+ tracks from 2012 alone this year, so as an artist, if you made this list you know you are on the forefront of my iTunes!
1. Said Before – Goldini Bagwell
2. Rhyme Of The Year – Nino Bless
4. Outlive, Outshine – Theo3
More than any year previous, I have toiled and contemplated this list. In particular, deciding on a pecking order proved to be most difficult but this is what I have come up with. Feel free to disagree. The list was assembled based upon the usual criteria of production, lyricism, flow, song arrangement, and the ever popular, but lost ingredient…CREATIVITY.
1. Tenacity x Fratello Beatz – ABnormal Deciding on the number one album of the year was really difficult but ABnormal kept on coming up in the discussion and I could not diminish it’s value. This album oozes creativity and is loaded with great tracks. Tenacity’s lyricism and songwriting ability prove to be impeccable, while Fratello Beatz creates the perfect soundscape. Review.
2. Stryfe x Marc Byrd – The Last Resorts Producer Marc Byrd really outdid himself on this album. The rock infused production made this album knock. Stryfe continues to make a name for himself with his sharp lyricism and witty wordplay. There are a grip of tracks that absolutely bang. The fact that I didn’t give this a full review was a big mistake. Awesome album.
3. Jermiside x Danny Diggs – Quiet As Kept Jermiside and Diggs personify smooth introspection with this release. It is simultaneously laid back and engaging. Review.
4. The Aztext – Four The Aztext keep a record of making great music and they consistently make these end of the year lists. Four is a remarkable album for it’s creative concepts and flavor. These guys just get it. And if you give this album a listen, you too may here it. Review.
5. Demigodz – KiLLmatic This is the one album on the list that made it for it’s pure ‘knockability’. When I first heard this album, I was blown away with Apathy’s production. I think it’s one of the best produced albums of the year. There are too many dope tracks on this album to ignore. Review.
6. One Dae – Daes & Times This was just released last month but I have given it enough listens to consider it one of this year’s best releases. One Dae has a lost of microphone charisma and the production on the album is vastly superior to a far number of albums released this year. Review.
7. Mayday – Believers Many people have a hard time categorizing (or pigeon holing) Mayday. Sometimes they wear that ominous tag of ‘alternative hip hop’. Bull shit. This album is hip hop heavy that is layered in soul and funk elements with a dash of rock. But it’s still hip hop to me and really good hip hop. I wore out the front half of this album it was so good (not to detract from the latter half).
8. Natti – Still Motion Here’s another album that I never gave it’s due. Natti’s Still Motion is comprised of some really good music. It is heavily produced by Deacon The Villain and KNO of Cunninlynguists and those guys know how to make albums. After I heard track #2, Another Galaxy, I was sold. Great album!
9. Swollen Members – Beautiful Death Machine Go ahead and remain incredulous, but this is the best Swollen Members’ album since Balance. And nobody can turn a phrase like Previal and Madchild. They are on their own shit. The production is on point and unlike many of their previous albums, there is a certain level of focus in the tracks and arrangement. There was no deviation. I appreciated that. Review.
10. Jus Daze – Walk Twice As Hard Jus Daze is the most introspective artist on the list. Walk Twice As Hard is a not only a musical journey, but also an extremely personal one. You can really appreciate the care that Daze took in creating the album. Review.
Video single off of Esoteric and Stu Bangas’ forthcoming album, Machete Mode. Part of the AOTP gang joins Esoteric on the cut in the form of Vinnie Paz, Celph Titled, and Apathy. It incorporates a favorite Walter White turn of phrase from the now officially ended TV show, Breaking Bad. Check it!
The video has some nice effects but it’s the music that is going to move you here. Apathy once again shows that he has elite skill when in comes to production. He showed it on the Demigodz album, KILLmatic, and he once again blesses us with a strong effort. His adaptation of The World Is A Vampire from The Smashing Pumpkins is nothing less than stellar. Motive and Apathy then proceed to blister the mic in their verses with line after ill line. This is the first single from Motive’s upcoming project, The DNA.
“Old school…got my Raider’s cap…” That’s the anthem on this cut from the Demigodz impressive KILLmatic album. We’ve talked about it before in the album review, but this track is produced by Apathy, and he did a hella of a job on this joint. The video is also a little old school that features a cameo from Xzibit. Cop this album if you have not already and peep the review.
Artist: Demigodz
Album: KILLmatic
Source: I Knew This Was Coming!
Tracklisting:
1. Intro (Giants On The Earth) (produced by Apathy)
2. Demigodz Is Back (produced by Apathy)
3. Dumb High ft. Open Mic (produced by Apathy)
4. Never Take Me Out ft. Termanology (produced by Teddy Roxpin)
5. Just Can’t Quit ft. Scoop Deville (produced by Apathy)
6. Worst Nightmare (produced by DJ Premier)
7. Can’t Fool Me ft. Eternia (produced by Apathy)
8. DGZ x NYGz ft. Panchi of NYG’z & DJ Premier (produced by Chumzilla)
9. Dead In The Middle (produced by Apathy)
10. The Gospel According To… ft. Planetary of Outerspace (produced by Skammadix)
11. Raiders Cap (produced by Apathy)
12. The Fallen Angels (produced by Apathy)
13. The Summer Of Sam (produced by The Snowgoons)
14. Tomax & Xamot (produced by Will C.)
15. Captain Caveman ft. RA The Rugged Man (produced by Teddy Roxpin)
16. Audi 5000 (produced by Marco Polo)
Note:
I was modestly excited about this project. I say modestly because usually when a collective like this comes together for an album the expectations far exceed the product. With that being said, that is not the case with this album. This album is incredibly refined with proper production and scintillating rhyme schemes. KILLmatic is a complete project.
Not since MF Doom has this Scooby Doo sample been used so effectively. If you couple that with the Big Pun sample and the dope flows of The Demigodz, you have a sure shot. The album KILLmatic drops March 5th.
Hip Hop Dependency 