REMIXXX: BUGG'N VS. BACKSEAT FREESTYLE

What happens when you mash together one of the best instrumental hip-hop tracks with one of the best rap cuts of the year?  You get this:

http://soundcloud.com/evoandflash/backseat-buggn-kendrick-lamar

Nick Oliveri Working With Queens of the Stone Age Again

    The howling bassist of Kyuss and early Queens of the Stone Age is now working with Queens of the Stone Age once more after being kicked out for allegedly assaulting lead singer Josh Homme's girlfriend over 5 years ago.  Oliveri's band Mondo Generator leaked the news:

"Nick has re-joined Kyuss, and has recently recorded his vocals on the new Queens of the Stone Age song!  Stay tuned."

Nick Oliveri is famous for his piercing screams and thick bass lines on what are widely considered the best Queen's albums, Rated R and Songs for the Deaf.  As a huge fan of Rated R and a lover of Oliveri's style I personally couldn't be more excited to hear this new track.  Check out "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar But I Feel Like a Millionaire"

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Karriem Riggins- Alone Together Album Review



Artist: Karriem Riggins
Album: Alone Together
Genre: Instrumental Hip-hop/Turntabilism

7.2/10




I'm writing this review like how Karriem Riggins wrote this album...

Intro: big horn hits, frantic vocal sample

Round the Outside: repeated synth lines

From Detroit/Belle Isle: slow down, shoutout, scat singing, bass suddenly increases

Moogy Foog It: fond of this wonky bass tone, guero,

Ooooaaaa: chorus, repetitive synth

Stadium Rock: large tom sounds, scary vocal samples, latin-hip-hop drum beat, echoey, flute sample, very J dilla

Alto Flute: fast-paced bass line, drops out, very choppy with a low octave flute

Orbitz: repeated vocal sample, with banging triangle

Up: all over the place bass synth, creeping in on the as and the 32^nd note pickups

Forward Motion: cool sample of a r&b tune

Esperanza: Peruvian influence, tight strings,

Africa: overblown snare and bass, the African influence is there but not as explicit as the song name implies

Harpsichord session: what do you think it is?

Water: spoken word about jazz over jazz-hop, intro into Double Trouble

Double Trouble: very cool, little flute lines and bells brighten it up

A7 Mix: exciting yet smooth

Ding Dong Bells: nice, spoken word break, kind of intelligible

Belle Isle Reprise: faster, a bit messier

Daooooh!!: latin pattern on the triangle, a wee bit repetitive

Tom Toms: quieter, warmer, soulful, jazzy

Because: choppy soul sample combined with funky synth groove, guitar solo

F_rd Jingle: wah guitar, return of flute, cut time funk, fade out into acappela gospel bullshit

Boy Is Doin’ It Right: darker, creepy quiet vocal sample,

Summer madness S.A.: latin, cool weird vocals

Back in Brazil: wonky, minimal

Live at Bert’s: great drumming, hand drums, guitar, supposed to simulate a live experience I guess.

No Way: a litte more fliying lotus-y

6-4: a break and a continuation of the themes in No Way

I Need Love: I NEED YO LOOOOVOIIIIN, fade out into cool guitar line

K. Riffins: sexy guitar lead, techno out of nowhere, interview with inventor of Moog, “let’s hear it”

Voyager/5000: wonkiness returns, bass tones act as chords behind the riff

Bring that Beat Back: trip-hop influence

Matador: chill as well

J Dilla the Greatest: great drums, cool lines

Fave Tracks: Moogy Foog It, Water, Double Trouble, Live at Bert's, J Dilla the Greatest

Earl Sweatshirt: Chum Track Review

Earl Sweatshirt has been viewed as the Boy Wonder of Odd Future.  With the release of the mixtape EARL, Earl Sweatshirt set a new standard for "horrorcore".  In fact his mixtape was the best thing to ever come out of OFWGTKA.  Now Earl is back with a brand new track and a statement.  Those looking for themes of rape, murder, drugs and death will be thoroughly disappointed with this track and the upcoming album.  On "Chum" a low distorted bass tone pulsates alongside a choppy snare pattern introduced by a subdued yelp, while Earl uncovers a harrowing and honest introspection on his father: "It's probably been 12 years since my father left/Left me fatherless/And I just used to say "I hate him" in dishonest jest/When honestly I miss this nigga, like when i was six", his life in OF: "We were the pottymouth posse crash the party and dip/With all belongings then toss 'em out to the audience" and finally just on growing up: "Someting sinister to it/Pendulum swinging slower, degenerate moving/Through the city with criminal stealth, welcome to enemy turf".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG1q1fBLNG0

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis: The Heist Review

"Shit it was only 99 cents!"

Artist: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Album: The Heist
Genre: Northwest/Conscious Hip-hop

7.1/10

     

    Macklemore (Mackleh-more?  Mackel-more?) is a conscious rapper, and a man who wants his message to be heard loud and clear.  Ryan Lewis is a producer fond of live instrumentation and a certain percussion instrument with 88 keys.  Together they have crafted one of the cleanest hip-hop records this year, but the question is: is it TOO clean?

     The record starts with a bang.  The beat echoes and acts as a pedestal for Macklemore to confidently and heroically belt out his verses, and the chorus reverberates as Macklemore “welcomes us to The Heist”.  “Can’t Hold Us” kicks up the fun another notch, with piano chords banging, quarter note snare hits pushing, and brass wailing.  “Thrift Shop”, already establishing itself with a hilarious video, incorporates an extremely catchy chorus with a fun and inventive sax line and Macklemore’s rants about getting laid in a dollar store outfit.  “Thin Line” brings it down to tell a failure-tinged love story; it’s most interesting aspect being the use of a dial tone as a chord.  Buffalo Madonna’s loud-mouthed bridge did not match the tone of the song, however.  The next track, “Same Love”, was another track that was well known.  With it’s strong advocacy of gay marriage and support for the LGBTQ community, “Same Love” proved to be a very important song.  It’s a subject that is usually avoided in the rap world, and such vehement support from such a popular rapper could have much more of an effect that people might think.  It helps that the song is fantastic as well.  The mournful piano and airy timbre combined with an extremely well-sung hook raised this simple ballad-rap to new heights.  But after “Same Love”, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis seem to run out of fresh ideas.  Ryan’s piano fetish permeates the remaining songs, and Macklemore incorporates a similar rhythm for many of his verses.  What salvages this, however, are the guest spots.  Ab-soul and Schoolboy Q especially bring a flair that injects the latter half of the album with life.

    It’s key to note that this album has two distinct artists: Ryan Lewis and Macklemore.  This is not just Macklemore’s album.  Macklemore devotes his attention to his lyrics, letting Ryan handle the production.  The problem that arises, however, is that sometimes it’s just a bit too divisive.  Ryan’s instrumental track “Bombom”, while a decent track, doesn’t fit with the album.  Lyrically, Macklemore’s writing style lacks diversity, opting for emotional strength with the occasional fun line.  The track “Gold” was the only truly bad song on the record.  He uses the word “gold” around 40 times over the course of 4 minutes.  It was kind of really annoying.

     Overall, this is not a bad effort at all.  The first half of this album charms with some awesome poppy catchy hooks, conscious lyrics, and fresh production.  The tactics used do get a bit stale, but they’re still decent-to-good through the rest of the album.  Far worse things have debuted at the number 2 spot on the Billboard 200.  7.1 heists pulled off out of 10.

FAVE TRACKS: Ten Thousand Hours, Thrift Shop, Same Love, White Walls