Sequestrians - Get the Benjamins (2005)

 

First off, thanks for bearing with us and respecting the new Code of Chatbox. You guys are cool. Enough of that though.

Here's the album that turned me on to how amazing Backburner could really be. Over dope beats Timbuktu and Chokeules are flawless on Get the Benjamins. Not sure what prompted the release of this album as their group with Selfhelp and Psybo known as Toolshed was really taking off at this point. But in a way this LP had to happen, it sort of gives you a more straight up boom bap offering than the usual nerd / hardcore weirdness that was pre-2005 Toolshed, and it's truly impressive what these guys can put out when they focus on pure skills over concepts.

Anyway I'm tired so I'll leave it at that. Unfortunately this rip is only 192 kbps. I actually own this album and will rerip and repost it asap, but for now I wanted to share it with the imminent Swamp Thing coming soon. It's fun to do a little now vs. then type deal with these long time indie rappers.

Enjoy!

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Cauzndefx - The Marriage Contract Between a Deer & Headlights (2013)

 

 

 Happy Friday once again! First a few notes:

 I wanted to give a huge shout out to our friend Monk Sunstruck for helping to track down the cover art for Joe Rath's He Meant Well. This dude has been a solid presence on this blog for a while now and his contributions are much appreciated. Thanks Nick!

Secondly, I've noticed that our CBox is being used to promote other ventures besides our blog relating to hip hop music and I wanted to state UGF's position on this and set a few basic ground rules (obviously I can't enforce them but I pretty much think you guys are good folks and will respect them. Nothing too onerous).

UGF believes that all hip hop music, recorded and distributed publicly at any point will always deserve to be heard by those who are looking for it. We are always happy to provide whatever releases we can and I will not stand in the way of anyone who agrees with that principle helping others locate what they seek. So basically we (me I guess, I assume Trylemma agrees) are fine with you promoting your blog, your XM station, your militant hip hop commune, um your podcast (trying to keep this general lol). But please do not do any of the following on our CBox:

1. Advertise or offer services that are not free.

2. Provide music for free download that is still readily available from, and profitable for, the artist. This one is something UGF has always tried to respect and we really hope everyone else will do the same.

3. "Tease" albums. What I mean by that is, say someone on UGF requests a release. You then say, "oh I have that but to get it you need to go here". If you have it and you feel compelled to speak up about that, then please just post the link on our blog. You can then say "more great music over here" but just be a friend and help the needy!

So from this day forth, please follow the Code of Chatbox!

Okay, that's out of the way.

 

This next one is a great release from a rapper I found through the combination of boredom and Bandcamp. He has a huge volume of content that isn't available anymore, including this gem here. I hope he doesn't mind my sharing this because it certainly deserves the attention.

Basically we have here adult emo rap with touching lyrics, hard hitting delivery and dreamy, dusty breaks and jazz samples. But to simplify it to that degree does it a disservice. Cauzndefx is a very talented poet, and this album is particularly noteworthy for it's combination of unashamed DIY quality sound and that in your face lyrical talent. It makes it stick with you long after it ends, clearly a labor of love and the product of blood, sweat and tears.

Pretty much I wore myself out writing that CBox stuff. Just download it and listen to it, and then make sure to pick up his new shit here!

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New Music: Mood Patrol - Mood Patrol

 

 

Well looks like pictures are working. Unfortunately I like my Chakra poem description of Neila's cover so it's staying up.

Today I have something new and exciting to get the word out on. Meet the Mood Patrol EP. The Southwest's Fang Over Fist Records, another amazing find from Fake Four Inc.'s amazing Freecember deal is proud to release a brand new collaboration between the phenomenal Cecil Tsoh (formerly Whatever Cecil, nka Tsoh Tso), B.Moore on the raps and Lady Quasar on the singing tip.

I was only familiar with Mr. Tsoh at the time of my first listen, but I have to say I really enjoyed this EP (for the record in case you haven't noticed, I basically don't review anything I can't give a fairly positive review on. And if I don't absolutely like something I've agreed to review, I will try very hard to paint it in a positive light without lying or exaggerating. I like to think of these New Music posts as promos as opposed to real 'reviews'. That said, that is not the case here this shit is dope.) and I think you will too. It's easy in this day and age, with the huge volume of random collaborations between hungry indie hip hoppers to dismiss an album when you don't recognize all of the names, but there truly is something magical at work here in the interplay between the singer, the rapper and the producer.

The beats here are simply beautiful. Tsoh Tso has been making noteworthy music ever since popping up circa 2010 with An Illustrated Mess and he has steadily improved. At this point with his sample based production such as we find here, he has perfected his own style of chopping and rearranging songs to form collages of true beauty and substance. These beats exemplify the best kind of sample based production, making use of layering, effects and unorthodox percussion ("New to What's Been Orbiting") to entirely own every note. In fact, I would say these beats are my favorite type of production and were what initially attracted me to hip hop. Hitting hard enough to keep the head nodding while retaining subtlety and mood. If you miss Dark Time Sunshine Vessel era, you're gonna love this.

Lady Quasar is a great choice to keep these songs fresh and unique as well. Again, there are SO many rappers out these days, making so many albums and EPs with their peers. Choosing to recruit a vocalist to provide melodies on every song, especially when the production is so heavily melody driven was an excellent decision. And she is by no means a gimmick or just a pretty voice. Her vocal style is slightly Squalloscope slightly Dilly Dilly, toeing the line between rapping and singing and generally crafting the vibe we hear throughtout the album. Her participation is absolutely necessary for this to work.

Lastly we have B.Moore the rapper. I need to either see a lyric sheet or listen more to this EP to fully grasp the story to each of these songs, but I can tell you B.Moore writes with a good sense of drama, unusual wordplay and a penchant for dark imagery. With repeated listens I am reminded again and again of DTS in their prime with this album, especially because of B.Moore's relentless and fantastical lyrical style. I plan to dive into this more deeply as soon as possible.

Once again Fang Over Fist kills it. My only complaint? Too short! This collaboration is gold, and I think it really would have been great to build up a larger volume of songs before releasing the album. I truly hope, guys, if you read this that you're inspired to flesh this out. Beautiful work!

Get the EP right here, today and forever more!

Neila - Marked for Breath (2012)

 

Well pictures aren't working so... Let me paint a picture for you.

A Buddha statue

with some keyholes in it, plus a few flying keys.

The statues chest is open and you can see a

shining heart that looks a bit like a strawberry.

The sky is kinda cloudy and sort of green.

At the bottom of the painting are

some leaves and roses. And

the name of the album

which is of course Marked for Breath.

    Sometimes I really hate the internet. Anyway today's upload is the aforementioned rarities collection by Hawaii's incredibly talented and amazing Neila. Marked for Breath was I believe available by request on Facebook before disappearing and is as far as I know extinct except for when people like myself are nice enough to upload it.

    Both Trylemma and myself have extensively (if I remember right) written on the dopeness of this rapper, so I can dispense with that and just give you some music.

That's all, enjoy!

 

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