My boy Mr. Timberwolf (Compton if you’ve earned it) collabed on this minor joint recently. It’s funny because, I wanted to give him a shout out, seeing him surrounded by other talent. Sometimes you can watch a video and see who the linchpin of the sound is, and in this case he is it. There’s an almost sizzurpy flow coming off of him and the irregular gait of the rhymes combine with the rest of the video to make it just creepy enough to be appropriate for October. It’s a great effort from these two, and while I’m not sure I want to hang out with the dude that keeps asking for a blunt (he seems like he’d be a liability at parties), Timberwolf is definitely someone I’m going to be keeping and eye on. All you hip hop heads out in Colonial Williamsburg (yes, I’m gonna keep calling Bushwick that, deal with it) need to get up on this. He’s got an album out there called Jazz & Thuggery Vol. 1 that’s a premonition of things to come. Ballad of Anubis has crazy flow, and HPSTR may need to be the anthem for Brooklyn for a little while.
Tag Archives: hip hop
Match McKenzie Earns 122 Seconds Of Your Time.
A newly minted Gotham lawyer tipped me off to this kid. This is one of those “less than 100 likes” new to the game situations. The production choices are memorable, vintage & well selected, with the rhyming that smacks of competence. This is someone who has done his homework and knows the mark they’re trying to hit. The new wave led by Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino & dope lyricists that aren’t beholden to the world of glam or gangsta is giving us some great new sounds. This is one of them. Check their new tune (72hrs old, apologies) below.
Wu Tang Clan + Final Fantasy 3/6 = Lyrical Magicite Infused Hip Hop. [Free Download!]
I’m stunned, this is crazy delicious. Some clever fuck from Lexington, KY named 2 Mello combined two of my favorite things. Final Fantasy 6 (III in America) on SNES was a triumph of storytelling and massively creative gameplay, celebrating it’s 20th anniversary since release, yesterday. Enter The 36 Chambers, the debut album of the mighty Wu Tang Clan, is an album so critical to the global soundscape that if you don’t know what I’m talking about, EDUCATE THE MIND. The combination of the two is a mindfuck, but in one of the best ways I’ve heard in a while. Magic Ruins Everything Around Me fuses the introductory stage music with one of the most recognizable Wu tracks in history. The bass & pacing are perfect, and #2 on this album is a must listen. Figaro Kids (Track 4) shimmers with glory and continued excellent vocal usage & respect. R.E.C. The Opera works, impossibly, throwing together one of the most epic moments of all 8/16bit video gaming. However, the piece de resistance is Da Mystery of Shadow-Boxin’, without question. Chessboxin + the badass Shadow theme is something I really hope gets to the ears of one of the Wu. This one right below the words you’re reading, right here.
And what’s more, it costs zero dollars. Stream it above, or download it here. This dude did Chrono Jigga a while ago, which was dope, so give this a shot, you’ll thank me.
DVS Is Back. Rejoice & Be Glad.
Thankfully, DVS blessed Noisey & the wider intertrons with another track, one starting with what is now my favorite sample usage of all time. Can we get a compilation of tracks just with Who Framed Roger Rabbit quotes? I feel like Toon Town + DVS & his peeps like Lakutis, Big Baby Gandhi & Kool A.D. would officially win the rap game forever. Until then, check the positively irrepressible flow of DVS and hit up his royally hilarious Twitter. Trust. The dude can beat you with words both in rhyming and in under 144 characters. Recognize.
3 Rap Mashups You’ll Laugh At.
First up is Busta Rhymes vs. Thomas The Tank Engine. This works way more than I thought it would. Also, holy crap Busta raps fast. This gets out of hand, and it’s only 45 seconds long.
Slim Shady beats + Gas Pedal = An intense amount of win. Especially considering a whole lot of young listeners have no idea what this beat is. The end gets a little dumb but that just shows what happens when you turn your knobs all the way.
Last one is kind of shocking. Ludacris + Angry Birds works way too well. Like, I’m kind of shocked, though I really shouldn’t be. This + the Busta stuff proves that we should just make a cartoon with Luda, Busta, Marshall Mathers & Nas fighting the evil Chris Brown Empire. Along the way they learn the meaning of friendship, justice and learning, is this possible? Can we make this happen?
Peter $un Has Flow & Southern Style.
This new sound out of VA is definitely going to keep my attention. I’m liking the smooth, almost syrup’y sound that Chance The Rapper has helped make acceptable. There’s a slickness to his lyrical work (rhyming “Pokeballs” gets props from me) and his sample game is legit. The classic trumpet sample is something I think more hip hoppers need to be using, especially considering the history of Jazz being replaced by Hip Hop as the sound of counter culture in the United States.
This Organic Veggies demo not only has the best genre tag I’ve seen on Soundcloud in months (LSD on Sunday), but it does everything right. The flow is exactly as fast as it needs to be, you get introduced to the sound without being rushed or aggressively fronted on. I hope this gets scooped up immediately, because this is an MC that could open for James Blake or something. Lots of potential and you heard it here first.
Ryan Higa Shows You How TO Be A Rapper
Ryan Higa continues to kill it on YouTube with this hilarious tip-filled video on how to make it in “the rap game” (as the kids call it these days). Higa’s got a surprisingly large spectrum of jokes, and I’m not going to lie, the Pokemon/2 Chainz joke is gold. He’s easily one of the biggest internet celebrities you’ve never heard of if you’re over the age of 18. But he’s speaking directly to the teens & pre-teens growing up with the wacky hip hop. Just imagine, if you were in HS and instead of NWA or Public Enemy or Wu-Tang, you had Drake, Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz. It’s a weird time to be alive. (via Laughing Squid) If you’ve not heard of Ryan Higa, check out his excellent YouTube channel.
DVS Has A Mixtape Out. Our World Just Got Significantly Better.
Moonsault opens the ridiculously fantastic joint with two of my favorite things. Classic wrestling and sick flow. This solo track really gets at why I’ve been tracking this kid ever since he was cooler than me in High School (Real Talk). To be clear, DVS has a larger vocabulary than you, and also rhymes faster than you. No seriously. I don’t know you, but he does. Editgod has DVS bringing up the rear, getting support from Bill Ding & Laku. The murky deliciousness is proper “will scare the suburbs” hip hop.
Death Adders is an orgy of talent and hardness. DVS again shining brightly 60% into the tune. The bass addition at 4:24 is a STUPID GOOD choice. I cannot overstate how much I enjoyed that drop. Big Baby Gandhi both takes the award for best MC name and if they’re responsible for the beats, best usage of chip under legit rhymes I’ve ever heard. 56k uses the soundtrack to millennial social networking to allow a giant posse of heads to push lyrics out one after the other.
Rap Genius has the greatest description of any track I’ve ever heard when his Mixtape dropped on Noisey (yea that’s right, he’s on that VICE too). I’ll just put it here and move on to the next track:
I had just got a G-Pen the day this got done. I was all “prolly I should hit it like 500 times to make sure it works.” I spent most of the rest of the day blinking. But then this song happened also? Not extra sure how. But so, that’s a full day I feel like.
Oh My God with Majesty is a master class on modern rap. All y’all wanna be MC’s, take notes. Literally. Listen to this every day and write things that strike you about the track. Multiple times, while sober and otherwise. DVS & Majesty pick excellent tracks and DVS gets infinite props for rhyming Twilight. This is a banger if ever I’ve heard one. Black Swann comes out of nowhere with some aggressive beats, as Lakutis comes out swinging. This is definitely up there with Editgod on “oh snap, they might rob me” end of rap. This is something we don’t really hear much anymore, so props.
No Stoppin Us Now has some excellent production behind it. I love hip hop beats with vintage & classical chords while talented people make it happen. Glad to see DVS moving into the realm of production, can’t wait to see what comes next. True Blood brings back BBG & Lakutis for a shimmering cipher that I’m going to have to listen to about a dozen times to even make sure I heard everything right. Much Imagery, many words, wow.
Swann Gangg continues to showcase the good work Lakutis & DVS can do even without a Legion of Doom. Man, I totally forgot that Clarissa’s dad was an architect. “Fuck your favorite anything” is a profound verse, just saying. Daytona 900 rounds out the mixtape with every cool person you probably should’ve heard of by now. A 9 minute hip hop track is not to be fucked with. Put it into your face and smile, knowing that you’ve ingested some quality music from the streets. Yes, actual streets.
Midnight Music: Burial – Feral Witchchild [Burial Dubplate]
I am super pleased to bring you this ridiculously obscure gem from Burial. I have no idea when it was released or if it’s an official edit or not. It could just be something a fan recorded off of a dj set or a podcast, or an original dubplate, as is reported where I found it. This is vintage Burial, that mix of UK garage, being dumped by your ex , dubstep and soft hip hop beats.
Midnight Music: Mayo – Rock With You [House-Infused R&B]
I don’t know who got on this idea, but they need to stay on it. The infusion of uptempo house beats to some of the smooth lyrical work that I’ve not found anywhere. It either comes off trappy or kitch. This gets away with fantastic audio modulation because the beat doesn’t quit and the lyrics are mature and on point. I’m looking forward to this blend of R&B, hip hop and house come together as production costs come down. A few beat makers, a vocalist & one engineer with a laptop and you’ve got your self a new clan.
Terry Gotham 