Yusef Afloat - Black Tapes (2018)

 

This past week, Jibbs over at This Is For The Hustlers, posted Yusef Afloat's "Hard Times" project and asked for his "Black Tapes" in the comments. I posted it in the comments over there, but figured I'd post it here as well. 

"Black Tapes" is a collection of OG tracks from the legendary Nonce rapper, Yusef Afloat. It was put out in 2018 by Diggers Vault Records, but the label seems to have taken it offline since. The project is deep at 23 tracks and really deserves to be heard, so I'm posting the full original Bandcamp rip here. If they ever bring it back to purchase, I'll of course remove it. 

Peep below and long live Yusef Afloat!!

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New Music: Avatar & Dynamo - Speak Truth To Power

 

Well, two weekends ago we were blessed by a surprise album drop from 2Mex, "Ghostwriting Songs for God," as well as a surprise album drop of the long awaited collabo from Myka 9 and Profound (RIP,) "Nine Clouds." Then, to continue the West Coast greatness, this past weekend we got a surprise drop from Avatar and Dynamo - "Speak Truth to Power." 

Avatar and Swedish producer Dynamo last teamed up in 2009 for the release "Chaos Theory." Apparently, however, they've been cooking up songs since then and finally chose to release the collection in form of a new album. For those who enjoy that gritty west coast alt sound - this is for you. Features include lots of familiar faces: Awol One, Xololanxinxo, Radioinactive, Neila, and Thesis Sahib!

Peep the new album HERE! 

Red Tide - Rogue MC's (1998)

 

 

Sorry! Wow I totally forgot it was Friday, hence the very late post right here. Oh well, luckily I made it before midnight at least, and I had this gem ready to go thanks to the homie Treidoiunu.

Red Tide was a group of rappers out of Florida active in the late 90's and early 00's. They released mostly singles and EP's along with a number of side projects and unofficial promo albums. Rogue MC's is their only official album and showcases what they're all about. Strictly B-Boy culture lyrical hip hop. Catchy, witty and DIY.

Enjoy!

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New Music: Thorts & Whatever Cecil - Long Distance

 

 

So, as I mentioned last time around Thorts, a personal favorite of mine and an artist who's been particularly friendly towards the work we do here at UGF dropped a new EP recently with Whatever Cecil of An Illustrated Mess. I literally just (Monday night) listened to this album from start to finish (around 20 minutes total) and I wanted to drop a quick note because it really is phenomenal.

Over mostly guitar driven melodic tracks Thorts is at his introspective best, honestly speaking about fatherhood, mental illness and music with his usual blend of cynical humor and touching sincerity. His work has always struck me as deeply personal and as a result it benefits from a vivid quality that makes Thorts a standout.

Whatever Cecil is also in top form and every single beat on this bite sized album is absolute gold, beautiful but not boring in any way. His use of guitar on almost every track is supplemented and enhanced with eclectic drums samples and creative effects to liven things up, moving away a bit from the dreamlike sleepy synths he made use of on the last Illustrated Mess record to, in my opinion improve on his evident talent and keep things surprising. I feel with time Cecil could be the next Factor, producing beats that bring out the completely unheard and unimagined qualities every guest rapper (Lawson Graham did that for me on every track).

Finally, this album is truly notable for the eclectic and unlikely cast of guest rappers. Every track has at least one guest and Thorts showcases a notable humility and lack of ego in letting so much of the album bearing his name showcase the talents of others. OneWerd is as always personable and deep, HeirMAX is weird and wonderful, Scatty Stormborn lives up to the rapidly growing hype and of course Prosodic of An Illustrated Mess totally blesses the opening track and shows that it's not just Cecil that's been building his skills since they last worked together.

Basically this album is a collection of fantastic voices working together over gorgeous production curated and cultivated by old soul rapper Thorts. If any of that sounds good to you get it right here. If not then I'm sure FM radio has some stuff that's more your speed. No judgement.

 

Negatv & Panama Red - No Chance (2007)

Well, I was made aware that my initial upload for today was already upped by Dimxsk in the past (product of having done this for a while lol,) so the replacement is 2007's "No Chance" from Negatv and Panama Red! 

Negatv and Panama Red are two Portland, OR emcees/producers who were affiliated with Metro League, the label most known for being associated with Serge Severe. The two had a handful of credits during the 2000s amongst local projects, though both seem to have gone pretty quiet in the past decade. Panama Red had a couple production credits on Serge Severe's 2019's "Dream Under Fire," but not much more beyond that. Negatv seems to have retired (I know he split with the Metro League crew over internal issues.)

"No Chance" is the duo's sole album that I am aware of. The sound is pretty standard NW boom bap of the time and at 16 tracks deep, things can get monotonous in places. In smaller doses, however, there's a lot here to appreciate, particularly the vivid northwest descriptions in a lot of the rhymes. Features include Serge Severe, Diction Uno, and Yamio263 among others. The CD itself is actually not too rare here in the Northwest if you're digging in the local shops, but it seems to be much rarer online and I couldn't find any digital version of it online at all. Peep below and enjoy! 

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New Music: Pink Navel & Won Pound - Pink Pound

 

Be sure to check out this latest mixtape from Ruby Yacht's Pink Navel and producer Won Pound - "Pink Pound." The tape is short and sweet (9 tracks, all less than 2 minutes) but filled with some quirky beats and great rhymes. You also get the instrumentals and acapellas if you cop it on Bandcamp.

Check it HERE! 

Escape Artists - Gudder Tracks (2001)

 

 For today's post I was trying to dexczide if I wanted to do a review for you (Thorts has something really cool out here on Fang Over Fist...) or my usual download, but I haven't listened to anything yet that I feel like highlighting, and this here is something really excziting that was probably in my top 5 of most wanted albums so why not. Aamir had told me they'd eventually release this on their Bandcamp, but as of now they haven't (if they do this will be taken down and the link will be forwarded to their site).

If you don't know Escape Artists chances are they're not your style. They do dark art rap, dense and melodic while still very dope and emphasixczing both intricate lyrixczism and creative production to create a seriously unique listen that plays in the mind like a very strange film. A changing lineup also keeps them interesting with the core members being Aamir and Xczircles, but at the time this was put out they also had the incredibly fresh Ahmuse, and I think she made a very nixcze addition to their sound.

Gudder Tracks is I think a rarities release and not an official album, but it's the rarest of their releases that I can verify is official (something called Trexicana I can't quite figure out) and it was the first entry in my Discogs wantlist for years, so I figured I'd save you the search and throw it out there.

Enjoy!

 

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RIP Double K / People Under the Stairs - Redheaded Stepfather: The Fake Leak (2006)

 

 

I just got the news (Sunday afternoon as I write this post)... RIP Double K. Some of the most amazing production ever heard in hip hop was the result of this man's amazing talent and willingness to forge ahead without mainstream recognition. Back when indie rap was something only the most hardcore heads cared at all about People Under the Stairs were doing it better than so many others who's songs you couldn't escape from, and doing it for the love and allowing everyone this blog was built to speak about the chance to contribute music showcasing their own love and admiration for the art.

I will just say that the first time I heard "San Francisco Knights" was one of the moments when I really started to understand how genius sampling could really be. It basically prompted me to collect everything these guys had ever done, and at a time (I think I was 17?) when I was determined to take my love for music way to seriously to be healthy it also convinced me that great hip hop didn't have to consist of weird or irritating sounds and incomprehensible lyrics, so basically these guys saved me from a lifetime of probable douchebaggery.

Speaking of not taking things too seriously, P.U.T.S. has always been about good times and fun, and while this news is terrible it's given me the opportunity to look back on probably the most important album ever released in rap. Redheaded Stepfather:The Fake Leak is so good it's practically mind blowing, and if you haven't heard it before you really need to cancel your plans and listen. It's that groundbreaking and insane.

So RIP Double K, thank you for capturing the good times with your music and making every track resonate life and love.

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