Categories
Reviews

Action Bronson – SAAAB Stories EP Review

Just as his name suggests, Action Bronson’s persona is more than a straight hip-hop artist. He is a movie character conveyed through rhyming. The act lends itself to Bronson’s heavy use of storytelling in his music and narrative style to his less structured songs. He tows the line between a successful flashy gangster and low-class street urchin. The rich/poor dynamics of style add to the creativity of his raps and make for an entertaining listening experience. SAAAB Stories is no exception to the rule as Bronson gives another glimpse into a day in the life. With only seven songs clocking in under a half an hour, SAAAB is a concentrated dose of Action. His past releases have never been very long but the brevity of the EP is almost criminal considering the quality of sound.

He hits us with various subjects in a short time and creates some real gems. ‘No Time’ is a feel good song about living the high life in the here in now. ‘Strictly 4 My Jeeps’ hits hard and fast with Bronson rhyming along with the quick-paced instrumental. The biggest surprise comes from ‘Alligator’ which starts off as a typical trap song but flips into an account of a neighborhood good-girl-gone-bad. Bronson’s ability to move seamlessly through these different themes all while maintaining his signature flow and sound is noteworthy and much appreciated in a genre of music dominated by one-dimensional artists.

Besides his unique style and sound, Action Bronson is also known to collaborate with quality producers (see Blue Chips with Party Supplies and Rare Chandeliers with Alchemist). This project is handled by Harry Fraud, a young producer who is continually impressing listeners with his creative samples and smooth beats. He brings some of his best to the table with all seven songs of this EP sounding good. The instrumentation for ‘The Rockers’ in my opinion stands above the rest although anyone can make a solid argument for the other six. Another notable beat is found on ‘Strictly 4 My Jeeps’. The fast driving boom-bap of the drums lends itself well to the aggressive rhymes of Bronson mentioned above.

Even with such a small amount of music, Bronson manages to fit in some quality features. Big Body Bes does his usual hype work on the first track, ’72 Virgins’. Wiz Khalifa lays down some nice bars in ‘The Rockers’ while Prodigy and Raekwon add clout and bravado to ‘Seven Series Stories’. It should be said that all of these features complement Action Bronson’s efforts rather than overshadow them (which often the case for projects from less talented artists).

Fans of Action Bronson will love SAAAB Stories as it serves as a quick fix for well-crafted music until another official release comes. For those new to Bronson, this EP is a great sampler for what the man has to offer. With great rhyming over great beats, the only notable flaw is that Stories ends before listeners are ready for the ride to be over.

Categories
Press Releases

Action Bronson & The XXL Freshman Class By The Numbers by Noisey

Enjoy Drew Millard’s breakdown of the cover for Noisey.

READ THE XXL FRESHMAN CLASS BY THE NUMBERS ON NOISEY
Rappers on the Cover: 11
Rappers I Personally Enjoy on the Cover: 6
Rappers I Personally Have Never Heard of on the Cover: 1 (Logic)
Female Rappers on the Cover: 1 (Angel Haze)
Average Age of Rappers on the Cover: 22.727272727272727272727272
Rappers with Radio Hits on the Cover: 4
Rappers in TDE on the Cover: 2
Rappers on the Cover Who are Just Represented by a Disembodied Head: 1 (Chief Keef)
Bucket Hats on the Cover: 2
Rappers Wearing Camo on the Cover: 5
Rappers Wearing Camo Cargo Pants on the Cover: 3
Rappers with Dollar $ign$ in their Name$ on the Cover: 3
Leather Jackets on the Cover: 2
Jacket-No-Shirts on the Cover: 1
Rappers Wearing Visible Chains on the Cover: 5
Rappers with Visible Tattoos on the Cover: 5
Rappers Wearing Their Own Merchandise on the Cover: 1 (Dizzy Wright)

Categories
Press Releases

Bonnaroo 2013 Festival Scheduled Line-up

Definitely favouring a more urban feel than previous years, Bonnaroo 2013 is definitely seeming to be one of the year’s most appealing festivals. Manchester, Tennessee is now used to putting on the prestigious festival event, with the White Castle in Murfreesboro being amongst the best staff to advice you about the various precautions to take in planning your trip. Buy your tickets today when they’re first released to the public, as I’d be extremely surprised if they didn’t sell out.

Click here to purchase Bonnaroo 2013 tickets.

Some of the Hip Hop/Electronica highlights at the 2013 Bonnaroo include:

Wu-Tang Clan, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, R. Kelly, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, A$AP Rocky, Porter Robinson, A-Trak, Earl Sweatshirt, Big K.R.I.T., AraabMUZIK, Action Bronson

And lets not ignore the other performers of other genres, hardly to be sneezed at:

Paul McCartney,
Mumford & Sons,
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers,
Björk,
Wilco,
Pretty Lights,
Daniel Tosh,
The National,
The Lumineers,
David Byrne & St. Vincent,
Passion Pit,
The xx,
Grizzly Bear,
Animal Collective,
Of Monsters and Men,
ZZ Top,
Beach House,
Cat Power,
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes,
Jim James,
“Weird Al” Yankovic,
Tame Impala,
SUPERJAMS:
Soul SuperJam ft. Jim James with John Oates, Zigaboo Modeliste (of the Meters), Preservation Hall Jazz Band and more TBA!,
Ed Helms Bluegrass Situation Superjam with special guests
Boys Noize,
Glen Hansard,
Gov’t Mule,
Gaslight Anthem,
Portugal. The Man,
Wolfgang Gartner,
Billy Idol,
Sam Bush & Del McCoury,
Dwight Yoakam,
Foals,
Local Natives,
Matt & Kim,
Dirty Projectors,
Trombone Shorty,
John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension,
Noam Pikelny & Friends,
Amadou & Mariam,
Alt-J,
Father John Misty,
Baroness,
The Tallest Man On Earth,
Walk The Moon,
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
The Vaccines,
Paper Diamond,
Holy Ghost!,
Divine Fits,
Mike Birbiglia,
Purity Ring,
Swans,
Frank Turner,
Allen Stone,
Cults,
Lee Fields & The Expressions,
Fatoumata Diawara,
Two Gallants,
The Sheepdogs,
Four Tet,
Calexico,
Japandroids,
Death Grips,
Conspirator,
Wild Nothing,
John Fullbright,
Django Django,
HAIM,
Killer Mike,
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti,
Clockwork,
twenty | one | pilots,
Reptar,
DIIV,
Milo Greene,
Lord Huron,
Futurebirds,
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit,
Charli XCX,
JEFF The Brotherhood,
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors,
Sea Wolf,
JD McPherson,
Trixie Whitley,
Deap Vally,
Patrick Watson,
Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers,
The Stepkids,
Aoife O’Donovan,
Bombino,
Bernhoft,
Matthew E. White

Categories
Videos

Large Professor – M.A.R.S. video featuring feat. Cormega, Action Bronson, Roc Marciano, Saigon

Large Professor – M.A.R.S. video featuring feat. Cormega, Action Bronson, Roc Marciano, Saigon

Directed by Chris Krook & Large Professor.