When I was 14 years old in the winter of 1994, I had no idea what was going to hit me. I was in 8th grade and my life was consumed by Yo! MTV Raps and Rap City where I’d see all of the new music videos for singles that had dropped around that time. Most of the videos played were ones they kept in regular rotation but at times you’d get some new tunes coming on… That’s who I first heard The Artifacts.
Read moreTYLER, THE CREATOR "SIR BAUDELAIRE"
Tyler, The Creator and Westside Gunn
One of the best beats of the last few years was produced by Conductor Williams. It helped Westside Gunn break his writer’s block and then give Tyler the extra oomph he needed on the intro for his 2021 album, CALL ME WHEN U GET LOST. Griselda and Tyler are on top of the rap game. Conductor Williams stays knocking out beautiful instrumentals. Peep the story and let me know what you think!
Read moreMAC MILLER “JABRONI”
Mac Miller x Migos x Alchemist
Mac Miller featuring Migos over production from The Alchemist. Need I say more?
Read moreWIKI “REMARKABLY”
Wiki is a rapper who has always caught my ear. It was mostly because of his unique voice but the flow and the way he’d snap a beat would stick with me. He is one of those rappers where you know where he’s from right when he spits. Wiki takes me right to NYC with his music and when we head into Fall and the Winter seasons and the weather starts to turn, I usually go into a NY state of mind in my earbuds
Read moreABSTRACT TRIBE UNIQUE “A COAT OF PAINT (THE FINALE)”
A short article about street art murals and the track, “A Coat of Paint (The Finale)” by Abstract Rude.
Read moreHOMEBOY SANDMAN “GO HARD”
Homeboy Sandman has forever been an emcee that I hear a verse or a song from him and I just say, damn…. Yet I still haven’t gotten into his full discography because for some odd reason I feel like saving it in the stash for a rainy day. But hearing his new EP with Aesop Rock on the beats is too fresh to stray away from. I have an issue though. I’m stuck on the first song, “Go Hard.”
Read moreFRESHMAN WOES - THANK YOU RAP GODS
At my core I’m a west coast underground hip hop head because that was the movement that inspired me to be who I am today. I always envisioned myself somehow being involved in the hip hop scene in some capacity and this blog and my Spotify playlists have been my angle. While Hiero, Living Legends, Freestyle Fellowship, Solesides, Pharcyde, PUTS, Planet Asia, The Lootpack and so many other independent Cali legends are who I vibed to most, I haven’t stopped looking for new emcees out the west. I’m never one to sleep on somebody with bars or a producer who can knock out some nice boom bap beats. In the mid-2000’s a new west was forming including the TDE camp, Pac Div, U-N-I, Diz Gibran, and a rapper by the name of Blu.
Read moreMIGOS - CULTURE 3
Just caught wind that the new Migos album Culture III is dropping this week. The album couldn’t be timed any better as we’re all getting ready to hit summer hard. A quick look at the tracklisting makes me think that it’s going to be a Migos summer but time will tell. Here’s the tracklisting for Culture 3 if you didn’t catch it.
Read moreJ. COLE - THE OFF-SEASON
I’m a big J. Cole fan so when the news came out last week that he had a new album dropping, I just had to write a little something. My relationship with Cole’s music has had its up and downs but the run he’s been on has been undeniable. A lot of us have been waiting for Kendrick and Cole to drop new solo projects and it looks like Cole will be up first. But I’d like to go way back on this one and go through his discography in chronological order because I feel it shows the true growth of an emcee. So without further adieu, here we go!
Read moreCRIMEAPPLE "CARRINGTON EVENT"
I first heard CRIMEAPPLE about 3 weeks ago and it caught my attention the same way that Action Bronson did with his track “Shiraz” around 10 years ago. It was that video that told me right then and there that Bronson would be a star. That flow was on point and the beat had an ill flute loop like the Jurassic 5 track “Jayou” which is one of my favs. Always been a sucker for the flute samples. Yeah, I know…. That’s a questionable line right there but f*ck it, I’m rolling with it
Read moreBROTHA LYNCH HUNG - SEASON OF DA SICCNESS
Brotha Lynch made all of his own beats and also produced for his fellow label mates like X-Raided and Mr. Doctor. While Cali had Dr. Dre, Snoop, and Tha Dogg Pound in LA and E-40, Too $hort, and Mac Dre in the Bay, Sactown had the Black Market Records label full of talent with gangsta rap for days.
Read moreSWAVAY "SHOOTER"
But there is another rapper in Atlanta that I’m hearing some greatness in. I first heard SwaVay from Spotify’s algorithms hitting me with his track “YAYA” which dropped last June from the album, B4dalbum. This has a dope hook, a rapid fire flow with good lyrics, some great cadence, a fire beat, and everything else you look for in an ATL banger. Straight confidence out the gate with the opening bars too.
Read moreBLACK MOON "I GOT CHA OPIN (REMIX)"
We don’t get much of a winter here in San Diego but when it turns to hoodie and beanie season it also means something else for me. It means it’s 90’s east coast hip hop time. And when most think 90’s NY hip hop they immediately go to Biggie, Jigga, Nas, Gang Starr, and Wu and they should. All of those emcees are legends and they have some classic albums in their catalogs. But 90’s east coast hip hop to me always goes a level deeper than the Mt. Rushmore of NY hip hop. I like my 90’s hip hop a little grimier so when winter comes around it means it’s Boot Camp Clik time. If you made it to this article through Google search, I don’t need to tell you who Boot Camp is but for anybody sleeping, here is a breakdown.
Read moreKID CUDI FEATURING KING CHIP "JUST WHAT I AM"
Cudi was speaking to me with “Soundtrack 2 My Life” and I know I’m not alone on that. His lyrics specifically were what caught me. “But they all didn’t see, the little big of sadness of me…. Scotty.” And then the chorus comes in and Scott Mescudi is truly baring his soul. I believe this to be one of the songs that inspired the whole Emo Rap movement in the late 2010’s. Cudi is a legend to all of those young rappers for his personal lyrical content and willingness to peel away the typical rapper braggadocio swagger and instead just be a normal human being who lives with deep rooted issues like the rest of us.
Read moreSEAFOOD SAM "RAMSEY"
Lately I’ve been on the hunt for some good rap music I’ve never heard before. This often means I’m going deep down hip hop rabbit holes on Spotify and YouTube listening to clips of songs and then quickly onto the next. It’s not a fair way to listen to music but this is how we absorb music now. Sure there are the purists out there who claim to only listen to albums but music is in a TikTok state of attention span right now. Kind of sad right? But here’s the way I look at it…. When I actually find a song I’m really vibing too I will bump that song over and over again. And I will share it in my IG stories in hopes that it resonates with you too. I’ve found some dope tracks lately. And one of the freshest tracks I’ve heard is from an emcee named Seafood Sam. I heard his song “Ramsey” off of the Du-Rag album and was hooked. Dope song… Dope emcee… I needed to listen to more of his music.
Read moreMAC MILLER, EARL SWEATSHIRT AND VINCE STAPLES
Mac, Earl, and Vince
In Los Angeles between the years of 2012 - 2014 you had rappers like Mac Miller, Earl Sweatshirt, and Vince Staples linking up in the studio to create magic. The rap music these guys created with each other are timeless hip hop classics. During this era you also had the rise of Odd Future and TDE putting LA hip hop back on the map. In this article I walk through some of my favorite Mac, Earl, and Vince songs that they collaborated on. A trio that I always wished could have formed a supergroup. RIP Mac.
Read moreDANNY BROWN "30"
A story about a recent walk with my baby in his stroller and the songs that came up on my Shopify shuffle while we cruised around. I no longer have hours each day to listen to rap music so I must maximize the time I have. In a one hour stroll I came across some hip hop heaters from Action Bronson, A$AP Rocky, ScHoolboy Q, and Danny Brown so I wanted to touch on each in this story.
Read moreONRA "BYE BYE"
Back in 2018 I first heard the producer named Onra and his style was very unique. He was taking dusty old samples from the 60’s and 70’s and making beats that sounded like they were straight off the Enter the Dragon soundtrack. The vinyl hiss and that throwback sound was right up my alley so I did what I do… I went down the Spotify and YouTube rabbit holes to find what all I had been missing!
Read moreFELT "STICKS AND STONES"
Last week, Felt dropped their surprise album, Felt 4 U on all daily streaming platforms. If you don’t know who Felt is, they’re a duo that consists of two emcees named Slug and Murs. Slug is from Minnesota and Murs is from Cali and their vibe just works over west coast type beats. This is Felt’s 4th album together and their first in 11 years so this drop out of nowhere is big one for underground hip hop fans like myself.
Read moreCOOKIN SOUL - CARIBBEAN BITES
Cookin Soul is a Grammy award winning hip hop producer out of Spain that makes fire instrumentals while producing for the who’s who of rap. He’s made beats for rappers like Curren$y, MF DOOM, Mac Miller, Wiz Khalifa, Nipsey Hussle, YG, Action Bronson, and many more. For me, when I see Cookin Soul’s name on a track, mixtape, or project I don’t even hesitate. I’m all in. His audio visual game is on point too with the trippy effects, sports highlights, video game clips, old school cartoons, and the 80’s and 90’s vibes throughout it all.
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