A decade ago the hip hop scene was littered with beefs, disagreement and animosity between artists. Fast forward to the present and the hip hop world seems to be coming together in harmony with more and more duo albums and collaborations coming out. Detroit producer Apollo Brown and Brooklyn rapper O.C., have come together in unison and put out the joint album Trophies. Trophies is sixteen tracks of straight hip hop with no chaser. “Prove Me Wrong” provides vintage bass [...]
“Show and A! Before we give you the album, Mug Shot Music, we gonna give you the free album. Like my man Show would say, the free album before the album, and the title is called Pre-loaded…” [On Mug Shot Music: Preloaded, rapper AG (Andre the Giant) and producer Showbiz (the guy that produced KRS-One's “Sound of da Police”) team up for the second time since 1998. The two released a few albums together in the mid-90s but then focused on solo [...]
Working with the respected likes of Dr. Dre and Eminem, Obie Trice is on his third studio album, Bottoms Up. The album has been under wraps for nearly six years, and it’s easy to see why; it’s loaded with 17 tracks that sound all too similar, uncreative, and old. Bare in mind his skilled lyricism, and solid production is still what propels the album forward and makes the album a worthwhile listen. Perhaps if the album was released four years [...]
If hip hop is dead then Killer Mike’s R.A.P Music is the undead zombie that has come to remind us all what is used to be and what it could be. R.A.P Music has all of the ingredients of a classic album. It manages to mash the old with the new with such ease that everyone should be looking to this guy to see how to do it right. “This album was created entirely by Jaime and Mike,” explains the [...]
The long awaited follow up to The Underground Tapes is finally here. The title, indicative of the fresh start that Saukrates has taken to the project is letting his old and new fans know it’s game time. Season One, full of soul and style is expressive of new beginnings with a familiar flavor. The messages being delivered are clearly rooted in Soxx’s appreciation of sports growing up in Toronto. At times over seasoned, with the all too expected sports analogies [...]
With the release of his self titled album, Mickey Avalon garnered himself to be one of America’s most controversial underground hip hop cacophonies in the music market. Fast forward six years and Mickey Avalon is at it again with his angst ridden nuances in his second album, Loaded. Standing at 18 tracks, the musical work is not a far outcry from his previous album as he continues to excessively rap about his nostalgic pastimes of prostitution and addiction. The album Loaded, [...]
Justice live at the PNE Forum, Vancouver, BC – April 26th, 2012 Electronic music has progressed immensely over the past decade, with acts becoming staples of festival circuits and standardized as soundtracks to more exhilarating film and television. The stereotypical DJ set up has also evolved, from your once upon a time DJ just with his turntables to MPC’s, decks, elaborate visual stage arrangements and considerably more. France’s Jus†ice (scheduled to begin at 9:30) started bang on time, wowing their [...]
To Be Nicki? Or to be Roman? That is the question. Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded comes across like an artist conflicted. While Nicki Minaj has played around with her sound in the past, the result has always maintained an air of Hip-Hop. However, this time around it seems as though Nicki has created Roman to deal with the rap side of things because she herself has set her sights on a new focus: Pop. The aim of Pink Friday: Roman [...]
He’s Original But Does He Show It? I was reluctant to listen to Tyga’s album. Because I know he is signed to Young Money, I expected his music to be similar to the more popular artists of the label like Lil Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj. I am not bashing the label or the artists signed to it, but the last thing the music scene needs is another imitation of an already existing artist. Surprisingly, Tyga is not that at [...]
Yesterday, amidst a crowd of 15,000 fans, two of the biggest names in hip-hop took the stage for a two-hour and forty minute marathon of rhymes and beats. As Ye and Jay rose above the crowd on fourteen foot platform covered in LEDs, you could tell this show would be one for the ages. Spitting their verses on “H.A.M.” from their respective “thrones,” and moving right into “Who Gon Stop Me” without a pause. And then joining each other on [...]
