hip hop
Droppin’ Knowledge: 03CAS, Hip Hop’s Monet, Creates Painterly, Impressionistic Music That Defies Easy Categorization
When the musician and experimental hip hop iconoclast 03CAS emigrated from South Africa to the United Kingdom, he landed at London’s Heathrow Airport with little more than the clothes on his back. “It was the first time I was on a plane,” recalled the artist, born Caleb Mateus, as he recently recounted his early days …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Behind The Boards With Baltimore’s Zen Master Of Sound, Shine
And we back…nah, nah, nah… Veteran Baltimore, Maryland producer Shine recently released his new album, As The Beauty Became, a lovely and luxuriant collection of mostly instrumental hip hop that pulses and hums with an organic vitality. This contemplative set of nine tracks also includes two sterling guest cuts, one with Brooklyn’s Nappy Nina, and …
EP Review: RedHook release the explosive and very therapeutic EP ‘Bad Decisions’ and announce tour
It is hard to classify Sydney band RedHook – there is an electronic buzzsaw blitz with thundering percussion and at times a blistering wall of noise, all wrapped up in a sparkling pop mantle, with hip hop shades and choruses. It’s heavy metal psycho pop. But, throughout their new EP ‘Bad Decisions’, there is a …
Boston MC Billy Dean Thomas Reminds Us That “Hope Is A Song In A Weary Throat”
Last year seemed like the year that Billy Dean Thomas would finally break through. The Boston-based hip hop artist, poet and writer had accumulated a steady list of accomplishments. Thomas had performed on The View, was nominated for a number of music awards, including a Grammy, and had won grants that enabled Thomas to worry …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Behind The Boards with Boston’s Musical Polymath, Rilla Force
And we back… Boston music scene stalwart Rilla Force is a musical polymath and a man with a distinct sound and vibe to his art. He is equally at home both behind and in front of the boards. Force, who raps, produces, mixes, masters, engineers, DJs and manages other artists, is adept at helping musicians …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Despite Life’s Ups & Downs, Virginia MC Chuck Dolo Is Doing “Aight”
Late last year, the rap artist Chuck Dolo released his first official music, the single “Late Nights,” and the EP Amnesia. Both are atmospheric slices of hip hop, with trauma and recovery as their abiding themes, the music cathartic and clear-eyed, with a story teller’s attention to the small details of every day life. Dolo’s …
NEWS: EUGENIUS’ “MIDLIFE” ISSUED ON CASSETTE.
I’ve admittedly slept on Ohio experimental hip-hop artist Eugenius when his album, Midlife, dropped in late 2020. Which is criminal given my appreciation of Death Grips, the sorely missed MF Doom and Danny Brown’s Atrocity Exhibition. Midlife by Eugenius Originally released in October, Eugenius’ fifth album “combines elements of hip hop, industrial, pop, noise and …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Jay Cinema & WilfMerson Know “What You Need Ain’t What You Want!” – Album Review & Interview
A trans-Atlantic collaboration between the Harlem-based rapper and London producer WilfMerson yields an album of depth and beauty. The Internet and the portability of sound files can open up the world for anyone who wants to find like-minded artists across the globe with which to collaborate. Social media allows musicians to find each other on …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Jiyu Purp Creates Spiritual, Life Affirming Hip Hop on His Album Earth is Ours – Interview & Review
Last month, Dallas, Texas based hip hop artist Jiyu Purp released his first long player, Earth is Ours, an album suffused with spirituality and positivity, but one that hits hard, too. The rapper was born in Texarkana, Texas, a small city that abuts the border of Texas and Arkansas, and shares a metropolitan area with …
New Music: The Silhouettes Project – Various Artists
Low slung beats and wistful melodies bring a ray of warm sunlight in times that have cast cold dark shadows over all of us. Lyrics of pure poetry flow, expressing the emotions of a generation finding their way through love, life and the world today. While musically the foundations on the compilation are predominantly Hip …