Artist:Real J Dubbs
Track: U Can’t Sample
Production:
Rating 3.5/5
Straight Outta Oakland, J Dubbs comes with a nice flow talking about a the joys of the Soul Flower, I’m feeling the vocals more than the music, thats not say the music is bad, it’s good but I think I prefer the vocals, cause I like the sound of his voice.
Musically it’s got that West Coast Flavour so fans of E40, Digital Underground & Luniz will be feeling this.
Artist:Eastern Sunz
Track: Many Shades Of Green
Production:
Rating: 3.5/5
Eastern Sunz come with a competent rhyme about the environment, I’m feeling the production which is backed up by an old school sounding loop, the track has samples of Al Gore talking about saving the planet.
This makes a pleasent change to all the gangsta, battling and run of the mill hip hop themes.
check their myspace outEastern Sunz
Artist Ice Water featuring Busta Rhymes
Track: Do It Big
Production:DREADY
Rating: 4/5
For those that don’t know Ice Water is Raekwons brain child, the band members are Raekwon, Polite, Stomikk, P.C. (Paulie Caskets) and D.C. (Donnie Cash). The track produced by Dready is a stripped down heavy bass affair, simple but effective.
Busta rips up the hook, and as always doesn’t fail to deliver, Ice Water hold their own to, and Raekwon tops it off with a real laid back flow.
It’s good to see the concept of a group is still relevant in these days and times where the solo artist seems to get all the shine.
Go Check these cats out.
Artist: Canibus
Track: Lycan Vs Nosferatu
Production:
Rating: 4.5/5
Canibus has historically been one of the best Technical MCs to grace the microphone. I must admit I’ve fell out of touch with what he’s been doing over the last couple of years, but managed to get hold of Lycan, which shows he still can rip the shit out of the track, which is tight as 5 virgins in a Volkswagen. Chopped up Apache sample and I don’t know how how the producer pulled it of but it actually works using an interpoleration of Phil Collins “In The Air Tonight” and Disco classic Native New Yorker, a less talented producer would have made it sound corny but it works.
Artist: Reks
Track: Prey For Me
Production: Statik Seletah
Rating: 4.5
Rek comes off hard on this track, Letting people know where Commercial Hip Hop has gone wrong, not many people are left off the hook, I wouldn’t say this is a diss track, more like a concerned parent pulling his child to the side and letting him/her know where they are fucking up. He’s basically talking about the lack of creativity in todays hip hop scene, and his desire to see New York hip hop back on the top of the throne. Basically saying what anybody who has grown up on hip hop has been thinking since the start of the Ice Age.
Production is sic too, which is provided by Statik Seletah, hard beats, haunting choir sample, Jay Z hook cut up, one of the best things I’ve heard in a while.
Artist: Large Professor
Track: Cheer
Production: Dela
Rating: 4.5/5
I can’t front on Xtra P, In my opinion he is one of the few true triple threats in the game, by that I mean dope Producer, MC & Dee Jay. And after all the years in the game, Large Pro can still do damage on the mic. LP handed production on this track to French Producer Dela who steps up to the plate effortlessly with a laidback track with nice horn samples, wah wah sound effects and a lovely warm bass line. The track actually sounds like Large did it himself and would have fit nicely on his own long player “1st Class”.
If your a fan of real hip hop and your not feeling this then your not a fan of real hip hop.
Artist: Verb T
Track: Soul Survives
Production:
Rating 4.5/5
Nice production and spoken word sample at the start of the track. Anybody who follows UK Hip Hop will be aware of Verb T, I personally have been a fan since I bought his album with Kashmere. His flow is sic, beats are sic, love the bassline and the incidental sounds that add a nice atmosphere to the track.
For those not aware of Verb T if your from the States, or been in a coma for the last 5 years, go and check him out NOW!!!.
