Gone Ice Fishin'

 

 

That's us...

Be back the first week of 2024, we decided to take the holiday season off! But don't worry, UGF is about as retired as Moka Only is when he says he's retired...

Dave Dub - Skywalking (2013)

 

 

I asked Trylemma what I should post and he said "some rare San Jose shit" to paraphrase. So here you go! A number of different versions of this exist with different B-sides. All are dope. Dave Dub really exemplifies why SJ puts out some of the most interesting hip hop in the Bay Area. Gritty, meaningful and experimental. Never boring, never easy, never expected. Enjoy Skywalking!

 

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Trylemma's Spooky Dooky Halloween Mixtape V2

 

It's that time of year again! 

TRACKLIST:

1. Onry Ozzborn - Intro

2. Wool See - Midsommar

3. The Mighty Underdogs - Monster

4. Awol One & Mascaria - Wolfman

5. Earlybirds - Walking Dead

6. Meyer Wolfsheim - Haunted Soiree

7. Duella Deville (Nebz Supreme) - Full Moon Rising

8. Signor Benedick The Moor - Halloween Song

9. Port Authority - Werewolves

10. Moe Pope & Rain - Gotham

11. Genghis Khan - Friday The 13th

12. Die Young & Deeskee - Vampire Hunter

13. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & Bukue One - Horror Slides

14. Circus - Jason Voorhees Wont Stop Dien

15. Debmaster - March Of The Monsters

16. Azrael The Silent Angel - Gothic Horror

17. Swamp Thing Feat. More or Les, Wordburglar & Jesse Dangerously - Monster Island

18. Cookbook & Uno Mas - Monster Mosh

19. Noah23 - Blood

20. Extra Kool - Haunted Hill

21. Free Daps Feat. E-Turn - Monster Movie Part 1

22. Time - Vampire Mask

23. Yes Men - Early Halloween

24. Gajah - A Werewolf In LA

25. Lexington & Whatevski Feat. Cam The Wizzard - Bride Of Frankenstein

26. Nocando - Anne Rice

27. Delinquent Monastery - Halloween Queen 

28. Ruben Steiner & Ira Lee - Andy Warhol Vampire 

29. Nedarb Nagrom - Halloween 

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New Music: Decuma - Feeding the World Serpent

 

I don't often do this, but it's been a really long time since I've personally done a review post and I'm finding myself especially excited about this one. Lately it's been difficult to find the time to really sit and absorb a solid hip hop album, hence the brevity of what I've been uploading and the lack of commentary on the music itself. But I wanted to go into Decuma's mind blowing trip that is Feeding the World Serpent because it really is that noteworthy, and full disclosure I haven't even finished it yet.

This album sounds nothing at all like anything else out there. It sort of straddles the line between spoken word and straight up hip hop, utilizing unconventional rhyme schemes,completely bonkers time signatures (no you won't be nodding to this anytime soon), impossible to predict composition and beatmaking, left field songwriting, cinematic orchestral sample choices crossed with Nine Inch Nails-esque discordant distortion and notably for such an abstract offering, very clever and moving lyrics.

I don't know how I originally stumbled onto this album or this artist, but I do know that weird (scratch that, EXTRAORDINARY) emcee and producer Th' Mole was kind enough to point us in Decuma's direction which gave me the impetus to actually give it a listen. He is just as stoked about it as I am, and I really wanted to spread the word as much as our humble little corner of the internet is capable of.

From the beginning this album sounds like a complete sonic clusterfuck. But be patient! The feeling of drowning in noise will ebb away as Decuma masterfully transitions the flow from field recording type spoken word pieces to straight up (well sort of) hip hop music in such a way that you won't even notice the change. That said, when they want you to notice it you will. I guess what I'm trying to say is the true genius of this album is how random and chaotic it seems right up until you realize how purposeful every note and line actually is. Take that odd percussive triangle in "An Empty Sky, a Bank of Fog". Oh wait, it's a bullet casing hitting the floor, and you're feeling it hard as you watch a young woman bleed to death as the crowd watches, indifferent.

Decuma has so much to say on topics like race, politics, growing up, spirituality... the only complaint I have, and it comes with a suggestion as well, is that it's often a struggle to make out the words. Plus I'm almost forty and my ears ain't the best anymore. Which also reminds me, this dude is 21 (!) years old and displays a mastery over music that some thirty year olds are falling short of. Anyway, for that reason and that the production is just so genius and subtle, I HIGHLY recommend this album be listened to on headphones, preferably with as little disruption from the outside world as possible. I only was able to do that a bit today, but it made all the difference.

This album is a difficult one, but another thing I find so great about it is how unashamedly art rap it is without ever seeming pretentious or deliberately unlistenable. I really think a lot of different folks could grow to like this with the proper time and effort. But that really remains to be seen. Just give it a shot, if nothing else you will agree, shit is one of a kind!

Just  be cool and listen to Feeding the World Serpent... please?

Awol One & DJ ESP - A Twisted Messiah (199?)

 

Apologies for the brief hiatus. Today enjoy an old gypsy rip of Awol One's and DJ ESP's "A Twisted Messiah." I know very little about this one beyond its 30 minutes of dope beats and rhymes (Mass Dog makes an appearance as well.) Enjoy!

A Twisted Messiah

Bleubird - Does Man's Short Life Span Make Sense? (Hoople) (2002)

 

Well, does it? A question for the ages and a cover for your nightmares. Figured this one was pretty rare, although I don't know what this guy's doing these days. Maybe making another Hurricane Party...? Fingers crossed.

Anyway you guys probably know Bleubird, crazy rapper from Florida who manages to blend comedy, art rap and mainstream style Dirty South and is even occasionally successful at it. Not gonna lie, when his music isn't good it's REALLY not good, but when it's good it's pretty damn good. He's got technical skill and a very weird sense of style. Not for everyone, but certainly a fossil worthy of our attention.

"Enjoy" Does Man's Short Life Span Make Any Sense (Hoople)!

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FTA - Rap, Buy: Products (1998)

 

Another one from the FTA crew today - Rap, Buy: Products from 1998! 

RAP, BUY: PRODUCTS

Be sure to peep Aloeight's and Eligh's new album today "Halo Boy." The guestlist is pretty diverse with features including Boldy James, Ceschi, Mickey Factz, Myka 9, King Los, Staplemouth - we even get a rare verse from Pterradacto! 

Declaime and Theory Hazit also dropped a new project today "Rocketman." 

The ever prolific Blu has teamed up with Real Bad Man to release a new album "Bad News."

Nolto, and his partner Tamara Hinz, dropped a new maxi single with production from Noblonski, Dren, Chadio, Trill Monroe, and Grainbin - "TikTok Make-Up Tutorial Song." 

Sahtyre and OF's Left Brian dropped a new album "Gone to Japan." 

Roughneck Jihad and Senz Beats cooked up a new album "Lobespierre." 

Epic's classic "Aging Is What Friends Do Together" is finally getting a vinyl treatment from Hand'Solo Records. Pre-Order it HERE. 

As a musical companion to his latest digital artbook, Sully dropped "ZOMBEATS: My Stupid, Little Beat Tape." 

Check out Skizza's latest album as well with AK Productions "Champion Season 2." 

Sacred Hoop - Hoopleg (2003)

 

 I think this one qualifies as a fossil. Classic PA hip hop all day, Luke Sick's humble origins in all it's glory. Includes an improv folk song. No shit.

Enjoy Hoopleg!

Oh yeah thanks Trylemma for the last minute cover last week. Hope I wasn't missed too much.

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FTA - New Master (1998)

 

Dimxsk is busy this week, so just popping by to post this request: FTA's "New Master" tape from 1998. Enjoy!

New Master

RIP Avatar

 

RIP to West Coast great and multi-faceted Hip Hop artist Avatar. Very shocking news, hoping the best for his friends and family right now. Tremendous loss. 

Battle of the Bay X Sampler Compilation

 

This weekend (August 11-13,) GTX is throwing a mega battle rap event in Battle of the Bay X. The tenth installment, spread across the three days, of the epic Battle of the Bay series will consist of nearly 30 battles. 

There's some obvious big name match-ups involved - Dizaster vs Eazy The Block Captain will headline Day 1 and Hollow Da Don vs The Saurus will headline Day 2. What I'm personally most excited about, however, is the return of some old favorites that we haven't seen battle in a while. This list includes Loe Pesci (who will be battling B Magic,) Dirtbag Dan (who will be battling Carter Deems,) Alpha MC (who will be battling Jess The Facts,) Everybody Knows (who will be battling Pedro,) Lyraflip (who will be battling Hipnosis,) and ATM (who will be battling O Solo.) We also get the long awaited return of Sahtyre and Dumbfoundead as a duo (who will be battling DNA and Charlie Clips) and a rematch between QP and Soul Khan. 

The event kicks off today with "Day Zero" and continues through Sunday. The venue is in Oakland, CA at the Continental Club, but you can buy PPV tickets for the entire event for only $50.00 HERE. In honor of the event, I threw together a little BOTBX Sampler Compilation consisting of some tracks from some of the battlers who will be at the event. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

1. Dumbfoundead - Freeloaders

2. Sahtyre - Summer In The City

3. The Saurus - One Way Road

4. Passwurdz - Thoughts Of A Wandering Mind

5. Frak - Asthma

6. Loe Pesci - Space Jam Monsters

7. Soul Khan - Hold On

8. Carter Deems w/ Ersatz Splynter and Esem - Three Ninjas

9. Dirtbag Dan - I Can't Forget

10. Reverse Live - Stand Alone Complex

11. Fredo Algebra - Outta Nowhere

12. Alpha MC - Out Of The Question

13. Ness Lee - Different Typa Rapper

14. Frank Stacks w/ Madness - Next To The Stage

15. Everybody Knows - Dysphoric Eggo

16. Bigg K w/ Illmaculate - Know My Name

17. Lyraflip - Driving Drunk With Warrants

BOTBX Sampler Compilation 

Serengeti w/ Kenautis Smith feat. Christie Montaba & Lemon Yellow - Thunder Valley (2006)

 

 

This is an album. It has the Geti stamp of approval. It has a lot of credited artists on it. I must've downloaded this around 2010, it used to be pretty easy to find along with it's counterpart Race Trading. I like Serengeti, especially the stuff he did before the frankly, IMHO unamusing and kind of boring Kenny Dennis works. He does surrealist, poetic, beautifully moving music when he wants to, I'd much rather hear that then him grunting about non-alcoholic beer and that Workaholics dude.

That's my personal opinion I guess. Anyway this is a decent Serengeti album that showcases some of his weirdness without going too deep into the characters. If you like Geti you need this one, and if you need something you know UGF got you!

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Mascaria and Knuckles Knuclear - Ill Spore Promo Mix (2012)

 

Today's post is an obscure little mix from Mascaria and Knuckles Knuclear - "Ill Spore Promo Mix" from 2012.

This is another one I don't know too much about. From what I can tell, "Ill Spore" was a record label/production company ran by Mascaria (it may have just been Mascaria.) Discogs says that the label's only release was Mascaria's 2009 "Flesh of the Godz." 

This promo mix seems to have been made in order to promote Mascaria's production. The mix consists of beats and songs crafted by Mascaria and features some familiar track from the likes of 2Mex, Existereo, Awol One, Abstract Rude, and Luckyiam. While I'm guessing Mascaria curated the track selections, it's Knuckles Knclear on the actual mix. 

Peep it below!

Ill Spore Promo Mix

Notes:

- Congrats to everyone (Sole, Rove, Chaps, Nolto, Gumshoe Strut, Yy, Noblonski, Parab Poet...) who participated in Summer Fling this past weekend. Sounds like it was a success. Pen Thief Record's "Summer Collection" will be a tribute compilation to the event. Cop it HERE. 

- If you didn't already, be sure to peep Noah23's "Tank Girl", Avatar's "Clear Blue Skies",  and Noblonski's and Capaciti's "Learning To Walk In The Dark" which all dropped recently. 

- Both Dimxsk and I were late to this, but earlier this month Ceschi's Codefendants dropped a 10" single for "Sell Me Youth," which also includes an acoustic version of the track and an exclusive track to the vinyl (not available anywhere digitally/streaming - I've checked lol) entitled "Cinematic." And there's copies still left - I'm guessing because the promo was light on this one (likely because the guys are on tour!) But considering the fact that all the other Codefendants vinyl releases have been long sold out - I'd jump on this one quick. Cop it HERE. 

Dreadnots - Holy M Blue P (200?)

 

 

Request from Denis for this Dreadnots beat tape. Those dudes have always had a deft hand with the sampling and a tangible love for the art you can feel with every song, and this collection is no exception. Thanks a ton from "you know who you are" for sending this our way and letting us share the love.

Enjoy Holy M Blue P!

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Sandpeople - Sandpeople Present... (2006)

 

This week's post comes courtesy of a great request from Dimxsk - Sandpeople's "Present" compilation from 2006. 

"Present" is a Japanese released compilation from the NW Sandpeople collective that served as a sampler of the group's output up until that point (in addition to some tracks from upcoming projects.) The project has tracks from the group's previous crew albums as well as tracks from solo/offshoot projects. Notably, the project also contains some radio edits up front in addition to three tracks that you can only find on this release.

One of the exclusive tracks is called "Out of My Head" and is a solo Gold joint, likely meant for a solo Gold album that was intended to drop much sooner than his actual solo album debut from 2011. The other two tracks, "Chunky Salsa" and "Def Shepard," are tracks from an offshoot collabo duo between Al-One and Jon The Baptist known as "Soul Shepards." The Soul Shepards had a planned album (the inner notes to this CD promote it as upcoming,) but it unfortunately never dropped. Jon The Baptist ultimately got kicked from the group which may have added to the issue (and years later Al-One found himself in hot water with the crew too.) I'm not sure how much of the planned album actually got recorded but if there's any more tracks out there, I hope we get them someday. We got a complete unreleased McJameson album out of the blue earlier this year - so who knows?! 

Various members of the Sandpeople have said that another crew album is not gonna happen. Mo-B and Ethic retired. Gold, Sapient, Al, and Only have all been very quiet in recent years. Spark lives in Hawaii now I believe. $imple has made a pretty prolific comeback in recent years with some great music (though it's not typically what you'd think of as Sandpeople.) Iame moved across the country and has been steadily releasing music (vocal and instrumental) as Wool See. Illmaculate, now in LA I think, is of course the biggest name amongst the crew and has been doing bigger battles, writing for commercials, and putting out solo music of his own. Hopefully one day we can see the SP unite one more time. 

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Notes: 

- Saskatoon and Side Road member Rove drops his new album "Poke The Bear" today. The feature list is ridiculous and includes Ceschi, Myka 9, AJ Suede, Mickey Avalon, Sole, 2Mex, Awol One, Giovanni Marks, Mestizo, Moka Only, Thesis Sahib, Noah23, Gel Roc, Staplemouth, MC Homeless, Jihad the Roughneck MC and more. 

- Earlier this week, Epic dropped his first official single in a long while entitled "Lawson." The single is produced by Maki and features the B-Side track, "It Is What It Is" featuring Gregory Pepper and produced by Aries. The songs are part of a vinyl release set to drop later this year on El Gran E Records. 

Onry Ozzborn - Duotvpe Revamped (2016)

 

 

Premier and Guru.  Lateef and Lyrics Born. Ceschi and Factor. Mike and Jamie. Peanut butter and jelly. Grape jelly. And Dimxsk and Trylemma. Yeah it's about to be one of those posts.

Anyway what was that? You're probably thinking I clicked here to download this dope Onry Ozzborn remix album and now I gotta read more nonsensical shit from Dimxsk. But this particular download has a history.

Flash back to 2016. I had just recently acquired the means to rip analog albums onto digital files and was loving it. Like many of you I have built quite a collection of free lathes, exclusive physical only tapes and OOP vinyl just to have it without the means to easily listen to it.

So I was stoked about my newfound ability to share rare shit, and this album was my very first rip and very first share. I went onto a C-Box somewhere and basically asked who wanted it, and one of those folks was Trylemma.

So essentially this album is what led to the collaborative effort that is UGF, with T mainly handling the acquisition side of things and myself handling the ripping. I think it's led to some very exciting media being preserved and allowed to circulate freely to those of us who were too young to appreciate it when it dropped and then vanished forever, or those of us who just want to listen to super indie rare music on an iPhone.

Seeing it up here finally is pretty cool. I've been holding it back because a) it's really cool b) and I wasn't too sure how Fake Four Inc. might feel about it being out there. If they'd prefer just let us know and we'll take it down.

But this album is pretty damn awesome. The remix of "Flee the Colony" in particular is IMO IIRC even better than the original, and the exclusive Ceschi track is one of his dream pop masterpieces.

There's tons of good stuff on here, including the original tape hiss in 320 kbps glory! Enjoy friends and thanks for continuing to follow us on this journey.

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Delinquent Monastery - Brain Frees Creative

 

Today's post is from Bay Area trio Delinquent Monastery and their 2004 release "Brain Frees Creative." 

Delinquent Monastery, aka DelMon Crew, consisted (consists?) of Oakland rappers Lush One, Plex Rock, and Ajaxx. They had deep connects to both the hyphy scene and the Living Legends-esque backpack scene, in addition to the wider underground overall. They, particularly Lush One, rose to prominence with the rise of battle rap and Grind Time (which recently made a return.) Lush still makes music on his own and with various collectives and is still close friends with Plex and Ajaxx, but I'm not sure if the trio has any plans to make music together in the future. 

I know next to nothing about "Brain Frees Creative." It looks like a potential sampler or mixtape, but I can't seem to find much info on it. The music itself is dope though!

Brain Frees Creative

Notes:

- Hopefully some of you were able to check out Claud Six's (of Jellyfish Brigade) and Jayrad's "Lake Lovers" and Noah23's "Twenty Threezus" that dropped last week.

- This week we got a double dose of Sandpeople drops with Wool See's "Invisibility Cloak" and $imple's "Jail Bars" albums. 

- Also peep LXVNDR's and Tachichi's "Found Money," "Luke Sick's "Tacked Out In The Gamma Light," and Sully's "Dance Music For Wallflowers" projects that dropped today! 

Gestalt Collective - Scrimmage 1 (2009)

 

 

Some rare Canadian hip hop tunes on this one, thanks to Trylemma for the hook. Not sure where it comes from but Ira Lee, Moka O and Royal-T make appearances.

Enjoy, and I'm out!

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Super Happy Wax Records - The North West Compilation One (2006)

 

This week's late post comes from one of my favorite piles of things to collect - northwest compilations. And this one, from 2006, has a pretty fitting title: "The North West Compilation One" from Super Happy Wax Records.

Super Happy Wax was a Portland label/store from the mid-late 2000's that seemed to have really got going once Northwest Order started slowing down. They put out some records from Smoke, Nite Owls (Mr. Hill and Barfly from Oldominion,) and Clockwerk (Iame/Goldini Bagwell from The Sandpeople.) I perhaps remember them most for their online store and message board from back in the day where you could cop some now NW gems and interact with other NW Hip Hop junkies. 

"The North West Compilation One" was a label sampler that Super Happy Wax would give away with online orders (I think you could buy it separately for like a buck.) The act list includes Cool Nutz, Grayskul, DJ Wicked, Abadawn, Santotzin, Cancer Rising, Mo-B, OnlyOne, Soul Plasma, and many more. Unfortunately, future installments of the compilation series never came to be. Thanks to the legendary FTD scene group for the rip! 

The North West Compilation One

NOTES:

- Check out the new Gumshoe Strut EP that dropped today, "NT2D," HERE. MC Homeless, Nolto, and Chaps make appearances. 

- Some deep Project Blowed heads may be familiar with Naj Ahead (formerly N/A of Tha Lepht.) Guy has been dropping some really good instrumental and remix projects in the last handful of years on his Bandcamp and last week he dropped "Random Rap Remixes Vol 2" HERE. Check it. 

- And speaking of the Blowed, Abstract Rude just dropped his latest installment in his "Trax" series with "Making Indie Traxx: Dusty Pointy Fingers" HERE. He usually ends up printing CDs of these down the road for those who want to wait for the physical. 

- Also don't sleep on Bloomcycle's and Old Grape God's "I Turn the Room to a Lava Lamp," Riddlore's and Debmaster's "Unreleased Tracks," Nickel Hawkeye's "Becoming Unbroken," and El Gran E Record's (who is putting out a new Epic record this year) "Sampler (2020-2023)" which all dropped earlier this month. 

Kublakai - The Change (2006)

 

 

I can't believe we've never posted this one before but it looks like we haven't. The Change is Kublakai, a NW cat who in my opinion distinguished himself with a fairly solid songwriting ability and singing chops on his work the The Let Go rapping over some familiar beats. At least one is VERY familiar.

Enjoy!

 

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Pigsty - Wondering If Theo Got Bad Grades... (2008)

 

This is another one of those gems that I don't know much about - Pigsty's 2008 release "Wondering If Theo Got Bad Grades..."

Pigsty is a Canadian rapper from Vancouver. He gained recognition for being a pretty prolific KOTD battle rapper about a decade ago. He never really reached the top tiers, but he did become involved with Avocado's Ruin Your Day brand, though I haven't really heard from him recently in any capacity.

"Wondering If Theo Got Bad Grades" is a 2008 album/mixtape and is the only release I have from Pigsty. I have no recollection where I got it from and I have no idea what the roll out for this was. It definitely has a late 2000s underground West Coast vibe to it which is fun. Some cheap but bouncy beats with some short verses that rarely outstay their welcome. 

DL below and let me know if you have any information about the project (or Pigsty currently in general!) 

Wondering If Theo Got Bad Grades...

NOTES:

Be sure to check out Factor Chandelier's new album that dropped today, "Moving Like A Planet."

Not sure if you've been following RAP Ferreira (fka milo) recently, but the man has dropped two projects in the last couple of weeks. One, "Lilac Diesel," is a tape that Ferreira recorded in the back of his record store. The other, "KEF 33," is an early version of Ferreira's "Purple Moonlight Projects." What's unique about these releases is that they're only available via Ferreira's site and are supposedly never hitting streaming. The vinyl pre-orders for both are sold out and what's also unique is that Ferreira has set a limited amount of digital copies (1000) available (though it's obviously not too hard to track them down elsewhere if you try.) "Lilac Diesel" sold out digitally and "KEF 33" is getting close, so if you want to support, head Ferreira's way HERE.

On a Ruby Yacht related note, Pink Navel and Kenny Segal recently announced an upcoming collabo album entitled "How To Capture Playful." The release date and tracklist has yet to be revealed, but check for it soon. Segal is coming off some big hype after his most recent Billy Woods, so hopefully this can continue the train. 

The guy Open Mike Eagle is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of his album, "Rappers Will Die Of Natural Causes," with a vinyl re-release of the project complete with new artwork and two bonus tracks. This is a bit strange since the album came out in 2011 - so we're a little late on the anniversary haha. Signed copies sold out on OME's Bandcamp, but I believe normal copies of the re-release are available in most online stores today. (Dessa is also re-releasing her "Parts of Speech" on vinyl for the album's more timely 10th anniversary.) 

After a comeback in the new decade, label favorite Ooohh! That's Heavy is finally on Bandcamp and apparently operating more as an entity of its own (apart from Audio Recon, despite the two still being partners.) Today they dropped a vinyl release of Glenn Porter's 2008 album "Blessed By A Young Death." Check it out HERE. 

This week, $imple (aka THNDTHF) of The Sandpeople decided to throw up a fully unreleased album from McJameson (fka Clockwerk - Iame and Goldini Bagwell of The Sandpeople.) A McJameson album was teased a lot back in the day, but things never came to fruition and I didn't even know that the project was essentially done. Thank you to $imple for bringing this to light. Cop the new album "Barrel Aged" HERE. 

Finally, one week from today we're getting a new album from none other than SmokeM2D6 from Oldominion. This is Smoke's first solo album in over 16 years and not only did he produce it but he's back to rapping on it as well! For those NW junkies, you'll appreciate the guestlist which includes Iame, Claud Six, JFK, Bishop I, and others! Cop a vinyl of the project via K-Recs HERE. 

Breaking Ground: Enve - Autobiography (2011)

 

 

Wow, can't believe it's my turn to do this again. Time sure is flying lately what with the stress and the stress and also the stress, who knows by the time you read this the politicians might have managed to manufacture a global financial meltdown. But that's when we need music the most, am I right?

Trylemma actually gave me this one before, which was fortunate because it gave me the opportunity to listen to it two times separated by a few years and I think I've got some intelligent type thingys to say about Enve's music. The album, Autobiography is really a fascinating piece of work for several reasons which I will go into in a bit. It is also really pretty damn good. I enjoyed it a ton both times around, and both times around was motivated to seek out more from this guy and his crew "Groove Movement" as in "got the new blueprint" to paraphrase. And both times around I recovered nothing. Looks like he retired following Autobiography (with the exception of some stuff he sent to T later on that apparently wasn't the same and never dropped) and this is it.

The dude in question is claiming on Bandcamp to be from Minneapolis, but also mentions a home in Eugene on "The First Chapter" (excellent track) and has features from NW dudes. I will say right off the bat if you liked Atmosphere (or still do, maybe because your doctor needs to lower your trazodone) and related you will like this. Enve clearly draws influence from that pseudo-emo, sad sexual scene that gave us Slug, Sage, Sadistik and stuff. He's got a number of songs on here about relationships, mental health struggles, music, etc. Nothing especially groundbreaking. So let's do some specifics.

For one thing, it is SO easy to dismiss this guy and his music based on several superficial things that are immediately evident. First we've got this name, Enve. So another dude with a misspelled name that's a random word and probably has no real connection to his music. It's like putting a "The" in front of some plural noun (The Protractors, The Spoons, The Noodles) as a band in the aughts. Fucking stop it. Alternate spelling was edgy and made a statement when most of us were in diapers, and now its just more of the same. Then we've got this album title. Wow. How DID he come up with that?! It's the most original title since Latyrx gave us The Album. Also the artwork I would be willing to bet was scrounged up somewhere and appropriated for the album. I could be wrong, but it looks pretty damn generic to me.

The good news is though that if you overlook that stuff you find a serious diamond in the rough. Enve has a fantastic voice that he makes great use of, giving us both solid head nodding bangers and emotional, melody driven songs that are catchy, fun, powerful and just damn dope. Imagine if Demune could sing, slowed it down a bit and did a bunch of songs in the vein of Atmosphere and you might have some idea of what he's about purely from a sonic level.

Another thing that makes this a winner is the production. Man these beats are the type of fire I was always aiming for during my short lived career as a rap artist. We've got a lot of acoustic guitar and strings coupled with atypical percussion made use of in clever ways (pretty sure that's glass breaking on "The First Chapter" where more logically a cymbal crash might have gone, and that muted snare that drives "Without a Map" is serious ear crack. Whoever did these beats (and we get one or two names, some relative unknown calling himself Sapient?) was a true music fan and it shows in sample choice and the way they are compiled and reshuffled.

Finally, it is truly notable how dynamic and all encompassing this album is. In thirteen tracks we've got posse cuts, love songs, travel songs, depression songs, music songs, all featuring different lyrical stylings, different BPMs, wildly different song structures, different genres (not quite folk rap but definitely flirting with it in places). Autobiography is a truly ambitious, lovingly crafted, genuinely felt and meticulously crafted (if unfortunately named lol) album that pays homage to indie rap and all it can do while still managing to make truly listenable songs with replay value even a decade later.

Thanks for this one Trylemma, and Enve sorry for clowning on the name and album title, this shit is solid as all hell.

Download Insert better name here right here for free, and see you next time!

 

Breaking Ground: Quote - Self Effacer (2013)

 

There's no shortage of artists out there, both past and present, whose music combines the sounds of Hip Hop and more folksy guitar driven sounds. There seems to be some strong connection that ties the roots of Hip Hop and Folk together. Perhaps it's the histories of personal story-telling that both genres share, or the importance traditionally placed by both genres on lyricism (above other aspects of the music.) Whatever it is, a lot of it works for me and I think the same goes for Dimxsk - Ceschi, for example, is a key name for the both of us. This week, Dimxsk passed me an album that fits into this tradition: Quote's "Self Effacer" from 2013. 

Quote is a rapper, producer, and singer from Victoria, Canada, though I am told he now resides in South Korea. Quote wrote and produced the entirety of "Self Effacer," an album which appears to be his debut. The project is a solemn dark recording of Quote's struggles with alcoholism and how such struggles played out in his personal life and relationships. 

The album, which consists of ten tracks, is formatted in an interesting way. Half of the tracks are fairly standard Hip Hop cuts with rapping and half of the tracks are more bluegrassy folk songs with singing. The album begins with a rap track, then follows up with a Folk tune, then another rap track and so forth. The project as a whole leans much more towards the folky side, however, as the majority of the rap tracks are very acoustic guitar driven. Without yet getting into the details, this basic format threw me off a bit. I think the root cause of this is my feeling that Quote doesn't really tie the two sounds together very well. On the rap tracks, he is very much in rap mode and on the singing tracks, he's very much in that mode. By simply having odd number tracks be Hip Hop songs and even number tracks be Folk songs - it brings light to this divide (as if this was the only way Quote knew how to mesh the sounds) but nothing sonically really combines well or blends smoothly. On the one track where these sounds do meet face to face, on the nearly seven minute "Autumn," Quote essentially just performs a long Folk ballad and then seemingly tacks on a sped up rap verse for the last minute. In terms of just general style, things feel a bit disjointed. 

The individual rap and Folk sounds themselves are not bad, however. Though, I can't say I am extremely impressed by either. In terms of rapping, Quote has a pretty straight-forward flow and chosen cadence that he reuses throughout the rap tracks. Vocally, he sounds a lot like Buck 65 with a dash of Jonny 5 of the Flobots. Quote unfortunately, however, lacks the more complex and engaging rap styles of the former artists. It definitely seems like a lot of his raps may have begun as ideas for non-rap songs but were tinkered and put to a basic rap flow. The rap beats leave a bit to be desired too. Often, it seems like there was a rough guitar driven track and then a drum machine was thrown behind it with some electronic clicks and clacks here and there. 

On the Folk and singing side of things, I like Quote a bit more. He has a pretty good voice and while the melodies don't always hit, when they do, they hit hard. While I'm not very familiar with the genre, I do enjoy the sound of Quote's bluegrass takes. I do think there was some room for some more experimentation sonically, however, on these tracks (most of the "eclectic" sounds come on the Hip Hop tracks.) There's a really nice electronic break after the hook on "Man Down The Road," that might be the best sounding thing on the track. But it isn't given much life. 

The standout Hip Hop track and the standout Folk track are actually back to back near the end of the album. On "Calculated Sacrifice," Quote deviates slightly from his standard rap delivery and goes a bit off-kilter with his cadences which is nice. This is accompanied by some airy synths and jittery drums that give some unique flavor to the song. Then, on "The Killer," Quote sings us a haunting death country tune with a beautiful ethereal hook comprised of just "Whoas." I would have loved to hear more things that followed the formulas of these two respective songs.

While the sounds and formatting of the album may not entirely work for me, I am very impressed by Quote's brute lyricism. The album's opener, "On The Breakwater," sets the stage of Quote's reflection on his life of alcoholism and the day to day, sometimes second to second, tribulations that it has brought him ("It's the silent screaming halogens burning in traffic lights/It's the alcohol fevers and purges that warm the night.") 

What's particularly engaging about Quote's story here is that, from what I can tell, it isn't necessarily one of redemption, optimism, or even necessarily hope. On "Burdensome" and "Man Down The Road," Quote expresses some hope that things will be better in the future once some recovery milestone(s) is reached, but he also acknowledges that such milestones are unrealistic and/or that such milestones won't actually bring him what he is looking for ("I'll make a record once I graduate that's a long shot/I'll be happy once I'm done, that's a nice thought" on "Burdensome.") Instead of such hopefulness, we're given a very bleak and intimate look into Quote's reality - one of anxiety ("On The Breakwater,") painful monotony ("Break Don't Bend,") isolation ("At A Distance,") and lost passions ("Burdensome.") Powerful moments are found on "Call Me Out," where Quote expresses that he's content with even the pity from those he was once close to, and "The Killer," a great story-telling track where Quote is put on trial as both the victim and perpetrator of a crime. 

Despite the darkness here, there is some true basic beauty to be found in Quote's lyrics, perhaps just in the mere honesty of reflection that he shares. There is some acceptance in his words, but it's not necessarily the acceptance you might treat as a "first step" towards some recovery (though it may very well be that as well,) but rather the acceptance that helps briefly mute the chaos of the world - which may be sufficient for Quote. 

As noted, I believe "Self Effacer" is Quote's debut project (or at the very least an early release from him.) Bandcamp shows that he has made at least two other projects since this release. While "Self Effacer" doesn't quite work for me overall, I am interested to hear where Quote takes his sounds (hopefully finding a better way to combine them and build on them) and his overall story. Peep the album, and download it for free, below!

Self Effacer

The Yesmen - No (2013)

 

Gotta do a quick one this week, I got myself some kittens recently and they want attention and they're funnier and more adorable than my computer so I'm gonna give it to them.

But for now, here's an offering from Royal-T and Nevamind. They did another album for Hand'Solo Records a while back, which wasn't bad (this also includes a better background on the group than I would ever write). This one is, however, in my opinion better with more variety in sound and better production.

Royal-T was a fantastic rapper and I have it on good authority he was a good dude too. For those of you who weren't aware he passed away in 2016 leaving behind a crew full of folks who loved him and the rare but devoted fans who did as well. This album was released before that when he was at the peak of his creativity and clearly enjoying making music with the homies.

I hadn't posted this up until now because it was available on the Deepcave blog, but it looks like it got taken down and replaced with a bit of a devotional page to T and his talents and interests. Worth a look so here.

Enjoy No!

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Barfly of Oldominion - I've Been Worse (2007) [+ Notes Section]

 

Today's post is a filler from a request I got on Discogs from Vims: Barfly's "I've Been Worse" album from 2007. (We'll also now occasionally be having a little "Notes Section" at the end of posts whenever seen fit to drop miscellaneous things.)

Barfly is one of the most productive members from the Oldominion crew. He's a core member in groups Candy's.22, Saturday Knights, Big Kids Run, and Leather Tuscadero. He's released projects with Onry Ozzborn, Graves33, and Mr. Hill. He produces under the moniker Floods, and he's even dropped a full length novel (in addition to various zines and poems.) Even so, 2007's "I've Been Worse" is really his only official solo album yet. A quick look around the net revealed that it no longer seems to be available to buy anywhere online, so I figured it could be documented here. 

I've always loved Barfly's sound. His punk rock background, side of the mouth sarcastic delivery, and penchant for great complementary production makes him one of the most unique artists out of the PacNW - and this album really puts that on display. Features include Onry Ozzborn, Snafu, and NyQwil. 

And for those who want to keep up to date, Barfly has dropped a new EP this year entitled "A Light In The Dark" which is currently for sale exclusively on Concuss Creations HERE.

I've Been Worse

Notes:  

Today is once again Bandcamp Friday (it looks like Epic hasn't ruined things yet?) so be sure to support the artists that have them. I'm personally looking forward to today's new releases from Awol One/Id Obelus/Rove ("Fresh Air EP,") Jade River/Beond of Acid Reign ("Conquest Part 3,") Billy Woods/Kenny Segal ("Maps,") Five Fingers of Funk ("Portland Say It Again,") and Buck 65 ("Super Dope,") You can also head over to Fake Four's Bandcamp and pre-order Factor Chandelier's new album "Moving Like A Planet." 

RIP to HelloLA records - they put out some of the best looking cassettes and overall artwork over the years. Bertrand is now working with Adeem in a new label called "Echo Finch." They recently dropped a new album from Rain entitled "The And // Chapter 2," with features from Open Mike Eagle, Onry Ozzborn, John Robinson, Moe Pope, Latrell James and more HERE. 

If you were a high tier member in the Fake Fouragers program last year, be sure to check that you got the new vinyl fossil from Ceschi - an exclusive 12" record filled with new music exclusively for subscribers. Word is, his final Ceschi project, "Bring Me The Head of Francisco False" will also be released exclusively on vinyl for those who pre-ordered the Ceschi/Factor trilogy. 

Anyone else miss the blogs of yesteryear? Shout out to Beetbak, This Is For The Hustlers, Record Science, Ludz, Thirdman, and obviously the great GhettoTyylit! Hoping for a new Til Infinity post soon! 

Breaking Ground: Sorority Noise - You're Not as (blank) as You Think (2017) / An Unexpected Discussion of Problematic Behaviors in Music

 

 

 Well I think there's no shame in admitting that I just don't have a Trylemma album dissection in me at the moment, if I ever did. Sometimes folks appreciate what I write and express that and I appreciate that myself, but for the most part I just don't have that background knowledge to draw on, and that's just to start with. All that's to say two things: this will not be up to the caliber of the excellent Gold Midas Breaking Ground we got last week (super thrilled Trylemma enjoyed it and I hope you guys will as well, to me it's got what I love about Kid Cudi and Serengeti wrapped up in one amazing package, over some of the more interesting sample based beatmaking I've heard in a minute), and also I really wish I'd done more things around this music than get high and listen to it and occasionally make it (don't ask lol).

However! Getting high and making it gave me some insights into instrumentation and songwriting, if fairly humble ones. So this week's Breaking Ground, a Ceschi-esque (not rap at all, but neither is Gregory Pepper and we cover him) indie shoegaze thing called Sorority Noise is a good one for me to dive into seeing as it is chock full of good examples of both.

That's how I planned to start this post. Then I googled these folks and looks like there was an allegation made against the frontman, Cameron Boucher. Neither I nor Trylemma knew about it. So I'm torn between writing the post I'd planned and scrapping it and starting over. I'm thinking there's some room here to do two things, one is to examine the music as a band and not as the project of the single frontman and the other is to talk about what it means to be in the spotlight, and how we should react when artists we may admire do things we may not. This will be a very delicate process and I want to state first and foremost that I'm challenging myself and my intention is NOT to trigger anyone. So please feel free to shred anything I say in the comments or C-Box. Okay here I go.

First off, the music. I really DID enjoy this album. It strikes a very delicate balance between moments of softness and moments of intensity, dealing with extremely heavy subject matter in an intelligent and articulate fashion. The lyrics are, although VERY emo, also clever and well written (speaking sarcastically of the act of IV drug use as letting out the Holy Spirit in someone's veins) and deal mostly with the death of a friend and the survivors guilt and depression that ensues. This hit close to home for me as I've lost more than one friend to fentanyl and other drugs recently. It's clear the singer is using this music to exorcise some demons.

Anyway the music is really what I enjoyed. It has a shoegazy Otem Rellik sound, with fast paced percussion and palm muted clean guitars keeping even the most depressing of the songs fairly lively, not to mention when things unexpectedly ramp up and grimy distortion and frenetic percussion never fail to surprise and elevate the tone to something new.

I don't want to sell it to much so I will stop now. I want to go into more detail about what I found and how it has changed my attitude towards this music. It sounds like after being confronted online about an encounter the front man had that the woman involved had deemed rape, he reached out to the victim and was able, supposedly, to reach an understanding. At least that seems to be the tone of the statements being released. Who's to say what really happened, both around the assault itself and the alleged closure taking place?

My conclusion, hopefully unsurprisingly, is to not buy or listen to this album. It IS a shame when good music gets ruined by the behaviors of one party involved in it's creation (although I would rather lose faith in every single one of my musical heroes than experience an assault of course), but the fact is in this world music and the artists behind it cannot be separated like some people like to wish. When we listen to music that comes from a problematic personality, we diminish the perceived seriousness of what was done by them in the eyes of people around us. And the fact is there is so much good music out these days from artists who don't have these dark clouds around their personal lives.

It is my firm belief that, even if sometimes these allegations seem a bit unfair, people in the public eye in the types of careers that cultivate heroes like music, sports and film have a responsibility to behave in a way that is unimpeachable. We no longer live in the era of rockstars exploiting young women as perks of the job. We need to take things like this extremely seriously no matter how much we may enjoy these musicians. And I have had trouble with this in the past. I loved Astronautalis' music, and I enjoyed Isaiah Toothtaker also, although quite a bit less lol. But we can hold these people accountable for their crimes by withholding our dollars and 'listens'.

Now finally, can we ever forgive these people? I can't say and if I tried I'd be in the wrong because it's not my place to do so. That's for the victims to decide. I will say that I think it is probably more useful to see alleged abusers making public gestures of apology, contrition, and attempting to fix whatever is broken inside them than to cancel them forever. But I don't think they should ever be allowed to be held as heroes by anyone, and that, somewhat sadly, means they really shouldn't be making music anymore. It seems Cameron Boucher has done this as I'm reading he's doing social work and not making music or touring anymore.

This may seem obvious or painfully clear already. I don't know. I just know I saw an opportunity to discuss something complicated and do a post a bit more useful than my usual bad jokes and I took it.

What do you guys think??

Breaking Ground: Gold Midas - The Search Party Is Over (2020)

 

One of my favorite eras/movements in Hip Hop history is what might be best classified as the 2009 XXL Freshmen period. The Hip Hop publication had chosen 10 really interesting and engaging artists to grace its Freshmen cover, and while the artists themselves (of which included Wale, Asher Roth, now crazy man B.o.B, Curren$y, and now underground hero Blu) were diverse sonically, they all seemed to be united around a general sense of creativity, marijuana use, and a fun preppy nonchalance. Ultimately, none of them reached the heights that other global superstar XXL Freshmen did (like Future, Lil Yachty, or Kendrick Lamar,) but their general sound definitely lasted and was carried into even today by bigger names like Lupe Fiasco and ultimately Kanye West. As such, I was pleasantly surprised that today's Breaking Ground artist, Gold Midas, sounds like he could fit perfectly in with that sound. 

Midas is a rapper and producer from Broward County, Florida. I had never heard of him before Dimxsk sent me the rec. The album covered today is 2020's "The Search Party Is Over," on which Midas handles the raps and the production. The project is ultimately a spacey diary of Midas' general struggles, overcoming of said struggles, and reflection on where he is now - all over some super solid synthy production. Spoiler alert: This one is definitely a keeper.

My personal two favorites of the 2009 Freshmen are Kid Cudi and Charles Hamilton - and Midas definitely has heavy shades of both of them. This is perhaps nowhere clearer than on the album's opener, "Hey Sunshine." I love this as an opening track because, while Midas has vocals all over it, you really get the feel that the instrumental is the star. The heavy ethereal synths and trippy breaks give you a good sense of the tone of the album and the overall mood. Midas' constant humming and "whoaaing" sound like a Kid Cudi demo track! Lyrically, Midas bemoans his losing track of his "sunshine" and declares that he's found his last straw on the edge and that, "The sky is all I have left/Countin' down my last breath." It's perhaps fitting that the lowest point on the album comes first and is best conveyed instrumentally.

Not to be classified solely as a producer, however, the album follows things up with "RAMPAGE!" Over a heavy vocal sample loop, Midas gives perhaps his most "aggressive" (which still isn't very aggressive) rappity rap performance. He tackles racism and militarized police, and contemplates how debt and low paying jobs can be just as detrimental. This all leads to his paranoia and general depression setting in. "We ain't stoppin' til them kids out the cages/White man wanna se us burnin' in the flames/Til he realize he got a billion of us to erase!" 

From here, Midas sets out on a journey to find some sort of meaning amongst the political/social chaos and his own personal confusion. On "Full Circle," over some jazzy samples and melodic synths (and a great hook,) the man embraces the nightlife and smoking lifestyle, sensing that it can help him get closer to whatever he's searching for ("I ain't never comin' down no way/I'm too busy comin' up all day...Sun goes down, that's when I go up.") The Wiz Khalifa vibes (without the total corniness) works their way into things around this point of the project. On "Dancing Man," which features probably the most "traditional" and toned down Hip Hop beat on the project, Midas points out, "I was searching for faith/Every angel I met had a smirk on his face." Perhaps marijuana is ultimately a better spiritual filler for Midas than traditional religion?

Things then move into "Heaven Gotta Wait," where Midas spits a bit about finding his soulmate. Things quickly turn to that (or a) relationship not working out on "Sorry World," however, where Midas addresses having to deal with rejection - romantically and socially due to his criminal record acting as a hindrance in society. Even so, over the soulful sample, Midas begins to find worth in himself. Autotune pops in here and works wonderfully in my opinion as does the distorted Kanye-esque outro. The heavy "Gone For Days" mirrors this general sentiment of finally coming out on the other side of reflection and introspection.

As things get better for Midas, celebration begins to enter the picture on "Search Party." Over a funk-filled beat this time, Midas notes, "All I ever wanted was a piece/Now I'm en route for the whole thing...you can have anything you want here /All that I ask - have no fear." In addition to some added in "Ooohs" that again sound like Kid Cudi exited the mental hospital and the wording fit for one of Charles Hamilton's 2000 mixtapes, Midas toasts to a life of a struggling, but still successful, artist - and notes how this has helped him overcome his issues. On "Burden Club," he points out the role that smoking has helped in letting his demons go and pushing forward in life (this one has a real earworm of a melody too!) 

On the closing tracks, Midas tells about how far he's come emotionally and where he currently is at in his life. "Post Peak Rain" finds him discussing how his self-worth was partially found via others, "And to think that I was worthless all to myself/Until I find that I am helpful on someone else's time." "Second Chances," which features almost a chiptune based synth on production, has him pointing out the importance of patience in the whole process of growing. Finally, on the album's closer, "The Trip That Never Ends," Midas declares, "I think I'm okay now" and thanks those who have helped him succeed, while also noting that growing and reflection is a never ending process. 

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the listening of this one. The production is heavy and staticy, but also emotional, driven, and progressive (it builds up the story just as much as the lyrics.) Vocally, Midas is really gifted. The tracks here often fall into a three part phase - a really catchy sung hook, a more melodic chanting verse, and then a more straight forward rapping verse. Midas is great at all three, which is super impressive. In terms of the straight rapping, Midas has various cadences and flows and while the rhymes themselves aren't super intricate, the multis and word choice do more than enough to get the job done (e.g. "stars align"/"saw the light"/"hard to find"/"heart to fight" scheme on "Heaven Gotta Wait.") Midas is also really good at really painting the picture of what he's trying to convey - e.g. "Hell came down, well it was featherweight/Moodswinging just as fast as the weather change...find a diamond in the rough til it got swept away/I still feel it in my chest like it was yesterday." 

Things aren't perfect, of course. First off, if you don't like Cudi or Hamilton or Kanye (for reasons other than him being a Nazi lunatic) or that whole sound...you should probably pass. If you do like them, but hate anyone else who follows that style or sounds too similar...you should probably pass. Second, while Midas absolutely tells an effective story here - he never really gets too personal or too specific. That's not really an issue for me as this is the first I've heard from him - and it hooked me without me having to worry about getting drug down in particulars. With that said, as I go into his back catalog (and the things he's done after this,) I hope to hear more overall about who he is and what he can do. Third, a couple of the longer tracks end up running a bit too long production-wise (and in terms of vocal sample play.) I'm all for letting a vibey album just blend and live a little - but I think that feeling could have remained in addition to everything hitting harder had some of the tracks been trimmed. 

"The Search Party Is Over" is a great all around album, lyrically and musically. For those stuck in the underground, I'd suggest this if you like, say, a Cities Aviv mixed with a Fredo Algebra. Props to Gold Midas for making it and props to Dimxsk for the rec. You can download the entire thing for free via Gold Midas' Bandcamp linked below. Next week I'm switching things way up and having Dimxsk listen to a contemporary indie emo pop record. Now excuse me as I begin to delve deeper into this guy's discography! 

The Search Party Is Over

A small underground rap request note: Napkins asked in the chat about a 2002 project called "Spirals" from NW Undergrowth (a project/collective made up by Mo-B of the Sandpeople.) I added the entry on Discogs and the photo in the picture is mine. Myself and a fellow collector friend Renee (Bballchic on Discogs) are the only two people I know of who have copies. Unfortunately, neither of them play or are even readable to any degree. At first, we thought it might be a bootleg or some fan-made compilation - but such songs do not appear elsewhere. Renee asked Onry if he remembered recording it and he said no. I asked Toni and she said she thinks she does remember it. Someone who was featured on the "A Drink Of Air" album from Undergrowth reached out and said he remembered the album. Finally, Iame said he remembered the project from back in the day - so it is a legit album. As to why neither copy plays? No idea. Both copies were free of scratches. It might be simple rot from the CDR type or the disc's sticker cover rotted it (as seems to be the case with one of the JFK "Anchor Head Chronicles" cdrs I found and several other older cdrs with the sticker label.) Anyhow, if anyone has a working copy of this (physical or digital) let me know! 

PSeudo - Be Here Now (2002)

 

 

Wow, feels like it's been a while since I've sat down to do one of these. Crazy busy. Sessed lay vye.  Wait that's not how it's pronounced...?

So as usual when I'm just trying to push one of these out there (he he didn't mean that at all) I just post something from an artist I've covered more exhaustively earlier on and add a tag to that post. So here's something from PSeudo, one of my favorite JKC members who makes introspective conscious rap that has some flaws common to twenty year old indie but who cares it's good stuff.

Enjoy Be Here Now!

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By the way, Breaking Ground is not broken up, it's just a rumor.

DJ Neoteric - Indie-Cent Exposure: Part 3 - 3 The Hard Way (2005)

 

And here we are with the third and (final?) installment in the Indie-Cent Exposure series from Canadian DJ Neoteric. 

Neoteric saved the best for last in my opinion with this one. Nearly every track on here is by a Canadian act and everything really flows and blends together nicely. On top of that, Neoteric blesses us with the most exclusives he's given us yet - with specialized verses from the likes of Def3, Governor Bolts, Pip Skid, Cam The Wizzard, Josh Martinez, John Smith, Yy, Gumshoe Strut and many more! 

Enjoy (thanks to UGDN for the scene rip!) 

Indie-Cent Exposure: Part 3 - 3 The Hard Way

Fourth World - Powerhouse (2006)

 

 

 Canadian's answer to CVE Fourth World Occupants released one full length official album on CD I know of and that's Powerhouse. If you're a fan of that early 2000's hardcore hip hop flavor with chill grooves, clever lyrics and descriptions of good times with the homies then this one's for you. Brought to you by Emotionz, Deps Pneumonik, Big Rowd, and Lace with production from House One.

This one is starting to look it's age but for those of us who still remember a time when rappers had more face than tat it sure ain't bad. And who knows maybe some under 20s will find they like it. Probably not though lol.

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