It’s that critical moment that every music journalist ventures into. It happens when we get an artist worth digging. We slide our hand underneath the desk to whip out that hideous facial mask of a straight-faced, grade school teacher with red ink in hand ready to carve our music reviews into someone’s membrane. Taking the time to ride the Voyeur voyage was a pleasant treat as it suited perfectly with the rain Gods deciding to pour down some cleansing wash on good music and his Texas land, of course. The music produced by Childish Major with the vocals to match under Rome Fortune’s belt creates an upcoming groove that falls closely to acts like DJ Shadow and Danny Breaks rave crave. The electric boogie definitely comes to light with the duo along with a hint of Atlanta’s rap recipe, but the two are truly doing something astray from other artists emerging in the mix.
Growing up in New York City’s emerging uptown neighborhood of Washington Heights to Dominican immigrant parents, M. Tony Peralta was seemingly born a child of the hip-hop generation. As a teenager, his eye shifted to graffiti and the work of New York downtown artist Keith Haring. At age 17, Peralta transferred his own artwork onto t-shirts, which he sold in his neighborhood. Years later, the 35-year-old artist/graphic designer is still pushing t-shirts but to a broader audience.
I’ve been bumping Kosha Dillz‘s “Sweatpants Song” since he sent it to us a month ago. The Shuko and Fonty produced track is off his EP, Gina and The Garage Sale now on iTunes. Directed by Robbie Barclay, the video finds Kosha celebrating every lazy person’s favorite garment. This is fresher than a piece of paper bearing his name.
There’s that “aha” moment after some time of listening to tracks, watching videos, going to shows, reading interviews, following an artist on Twitter, Facebook and whatever social network that suits your fancy where you start to “get” them. I caught glimpses of this feeling while watching the Los Angeles based emcee Def Sound breeze through his charismatic verse on the standout track “Quicksand” from J*DaVeY’s recent mixtape “Evil Christian Cop: The Great Mistapes.” Rapping lines like “paintbrush lust…yeah we paint pictures,” paired with allusions to Salvador Dali and Picasso turn the dance floor at The Masquerade in Atlanta to Art History 101. And I can’t be mad a bit.
After up and coming artist Micah Freeman served fans with a tasty appetizer which consisted of a three track preview of his upcoming debut album The Timepiece. The main dish is almost done and ready to be served soon enough. There is a saying that goes “Good things come to those who wait” and after the wait Micah does not disappoint with the album.
Whatever it was that N.E.R.D. was in search of: Lupe Fiasco found with his 2007 release The Cool. What is Cool? Cool is a living contradiction. Lupe doesn’t avoid the nature of Cool – he clutches to it like an insomniac to the other side of the pillow. This album lives The Cool through and through.
Joshua Paul Davis emerged from the blackout – heroically from the shadows – to redefine an art form, resurrect a genre, and reflect the essence of a culture with his debut album, Endtroducing. The 1996 release told the tale that in 2010 portrays modern hip-hop’s epic poem on record. DJ Shadow laid the foundation for hip-hop from the ground up, producing the first album entirely constructed from samples. As he creates the aural masterpiece, he allows the past to dictate the future – grabbing clips from vintage movie reels, and television shows, blending them with layered instrumentals from aged vinyl recordings – and in doing so introduces the world to his own sound, but more so the identity of an urban creative class on the cusp of social impact.
I caught The FountNHead when they performed at a show at The Masquerade in Atlanta this past summer. The trio caught my attention instantly. Maybe it was the brash political message they exuded. They performed with a doll of Barack Obama onstage by the way. It could have possibly been the angst that I picked up in their tone. The same youthful angst that is propelling Tyler the Creator and the Odd Future movement. That same angst the propelled Nirvana in the 90′s and Linkin Park in the 2000s. All that said, it most likely it was the music.
“I Feel” is the first leak from Corinne Stevie’s upcoming EP “Amalgam Nation,” scheduled for a October 27 Release.
I don’t know about you but I for one couldn’t wait for the sophomore album from Speak Easy aka visual artist Sean Fahie. The new album, Coronas, Condoms & Cigarettes: The Musical Guide to Awesome Living is the follow up album from last years album Words Have Power and it continues where the last album left off, giving you that easy living feeling and powerful yet subtle messages that will inspire you throughout your day no matter what walk of life you come from.
14. Nicki Minaj–The Masquerade de Maîtresse
Nicki Minaj is the pre-eminent female MC of Generation Now. She’s a massive attack on the senses; scorching eardrums with fire-breathing vocals, and blinding corneas with neon-shine vestments – and it’s all at once. She’s so pink you can taste it – a Blow Pop, scattered, chopped, and cooked up by a local street vendor on the Brooklyn block: pank; young culture’s saccharin-infused quarter water: Pank pop. Hype, hair, and hyperimmediacy with hood-pass in hand – she is the pop face of urban misses.
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