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...

Announcement: Regular Visitors Please Read

 

 

 Hey guys. Just a little check in for today, and a bit of information going forward. Trylemma is taking some personal time from the blog for reasons that are his own. I'm pretty sure he's on the run from the law though, so we'll go with that and wish him a safe trip and a Uruguayan passport. Hasta luego amigo!

In the meantime I will be handling the posting until he is apprehended or whatever and can access a computer again without fear. For that reason I am going to change a few things.

 Firstly, posting will be once a week until he's back to authoring. I will be dropping something every Friday morning as normal. However, instead of posting strictly downloads on Friday I will mix it up and if there is a review I'm moved to do I will do it (I got something planned for the near future already, a friend of the blog who knows who they are) otherwise expect downloads probably 70% of the time. Don't worry you will still get plenty of my incorrigible personality and you'll be rewarded for tolerating it with a free fossilized album.

I will not be doing any of the above this week. I am taking a vacation. So following this post, the next one will be dropping 5 am on Friday the 8th. Until then, for those of you in the States enjoy your Fourth (although if you're anything like me this year is going to have quite the bitter taste considering the insanity that occurred last week) and the rest of you have a great Summer!

In seriousness let's all send happy thoughts to Trylemma wherever he is. The impetus to create this blog was his, the motivation to make it what it is today is his, and it would never have lasted the years it has without his incredible hip hop collection and store of knowledge. Get back soon homie!

News - R.I.P. Gajah / Acid Reign - Not Your Average Mixtape (2005)

 

 

This one hit me hard.  I had a few very brief interactions with this cat online and I can only say that he was a humble and kind individual with a gentle soul that shone through in every rhyme he wrote. What really struck me about him was how, given the insane level of technical skill he displayed on the mic, he still seemed so thrilled to hear when someone loved his work. One of a few people I've really gotten this vibe from. I don't know the details of his death but 42 is a ridiculous age to lose anyone. Such a fucking tragedy.

I've read a few very touching tributes to Gajah since his untimely passing was announced. This one from Uncommon Nasa was great. Personally when I needed to listen to some dope skills with a positive message and tripped out production it was hard not to immediately jump on this dudes music. The idea that he won't be around making more music, touching new fans and being a father is hard to accept. That's the best I can do on the subject, I didn't know him personally beyond a few messages on FB.

So how about we celebrate his legacy with a nice mixtape of Acid Reign tracks, some exclusive? I'm actually not sure why I never shared this before.

 

 

Enjoy Not Your Average Mixtape and take some time to think about how short life can be. Much love from myself and Trylemma to Gajah and the Navarrete family.

DOWNLOAD

 

 

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.

DOWNLOAD

 

 

Yet Another UGF PSA?

No cute photo or anything today, or a music post either. Just a tip of the hat to the people sharing stories about our previous, former, no longer, Midwest (mostly) heroes. It's on their timeline and not on ours.

When stories about sexual assault come out, people can, and have, absolutely historically, lied - on both sides. When you're talking about legal criminal (and some civil) proceedings, I think it's critical to demand the highest level of evidence. When you're talking about your own thoughts and interpersonal connections, no such barriers need exist. Ask who would benefit, and to what extent, from a lie. The Prof, Dem Atlas, and Astronautalis stories don't come across as lies. I'm guessing I'll say the same thing about P.o.S., Grieves, and whosever truth drops tomorrow.

And it does hit closer to home as well. Remembering Busdriver's shit as well.

Friendly Neighborhood UGF PSA Pt. 2

Sorry guys, but Trylemma and I decided that we’re gonna take a break from sharing a download this week to speak on the murder of George Floyd and so many others. Trylemma spoke from the heart for you yesterday, and I stand by everything he said. Call that UGF’s mission statement. Fuck racists. We don't want to imply that we’re not staying informed or worse that we don't care by not making that crystal clear.

I also want to say I didn't hear about Blackout Tuesday because I don't use social media, so I apologize for not canceling my post a few days ago. I had scheduled it to go live Tuesday over the weekend, and didn't find out about the protest until I got home that evening. It wasn't that I knew about the protest and didn't care, just that I didn't know about it at all. So that was unfortunate, but this isn't about me.

Trylemma spoke with passion about racism as it relates to underground hip hop. He’s been keeping me in the loop about some truly appalling (and damn confusing, how can you not like Black people but claim to like rap?) statements being made by fans of some artists. We don’t tolerate that shit here. Black people are so often left voiceless, and one of their most creative and informative outlets, music, is being poisoned from within by artists who don’t want to alienate fan bases that basically consist of uninformed, spoiled and arrogant children.

I don’t want to just repeat what Trylemma said yesterday so know that we are of one mind in this. What I want to post really quick is just a show of extreme support and admiration for anyone on the front lines of this issue. The people getting pepper sprayed for having the gall to congregate and stand together peacefully, getting slandered by our orange president for exercising their right to peaceably assemble, a right “guaranteed” by our constitution. We are a country that claims basic human rights for every person including life and we are proving ourselves patently unworthy of that claim.

So what can we do? We can support black musicians and other creatives, as I’m sure you all already do. We can show support for our Black friends and neighbors, if it seems appropriate maybe we can ask them how they've been affected by racism. I believe the polar opposite of racism is empathy, maybe that's one way to help develop it. We can congregate peacefully and make sure we are heard. We can continue to film the police and hold them accountable, history has shown nobody else is willing to do this. We can donate money to organizations that are in the position to do more than we are as individuals. Currently a good use of funds is for bailing out protesters, for those in the US this is a list of places to do that by location. We can re-post, tweet, whatever posts that are valuable and share information, not just optics. What we can’t do is continue to expect this issue to disappear, or make cheap statements online without any actual action behind them.

If you came online today hoping for a download link, I urge you to consider donating to bail funds that free protesters who were imprisoned fighting on the front lines instead. Take advantage of Bandcamp’s donation days (like today, support some Black musicians), they were designed for Covid relief but a number of artists are donating the proceeds to causes relating to the BLM movement and ending police brutality. If you aren’t working, or are able after work, find a place to meet with like minded supporters ("plot, plan, strategize, organize and mobilize" like Killer Mike said). And do everything to remember that, as Trylemma said yesterday while for many of us this is an issue we don’t deal with every day, Black men and women are raised to fear the police because they believe police, who literally WORK FOR every American, are going to kill them. We need to show empathy for our fellow human beings, imagine what that must be like, and make this our issue as well.

Oh and as useless as it seems sometimes, when three million voices are simply ignored because they live somewhere with too many people who agree with them (for those of you outside the states, this is a simplified explanation of the Electoral College and the reason why Trump is occupying the Oval Office when he lost the actual vote by millions), this November DO NOT forget to vote. Our president is a racist, alleged (but let's be real, I'll eat a bag of sh*t if he's innocent) rapist dirtbag who uses weapons against civilians for a photo-op and calls peacefully assembled protesters “lowlife scum” and "terrorists". America will not survive another 4 years of Donnie the Disease. Sorry, but if you disagree then frankly you are encouraged to never visit us again.

Thank you for reading, just one last note. I am a white American, and I admit that I benefit from that. What some people don't understand is that I'm not necessarily expected to accept blame or be ashamed of myself for that alone, I was born who I am and didn't chose it. However, I know I need to understand the reality of white privilege to have compassion and understanding for those without it. That is something the self righteous Caucasian in America often doesn't understand. Nobody (reasonable) blames us simply for being white, but if we deny we benefit from it then we are part of the problem. One more time, empathy is so important, and I guess that's the message I most want to convey with this post.

RIP all people of color murdered by the police.

Friendly Neighborhood UGF PSA

Hey folks, just a friendly reminder that I don't fuck with racists to any degree. This is not limited to cops murdering black people in American streets either. Both Dimxsk and I live in large cities on the U.S. West Coast so we (he probably more than I) are in tune with that issue, but I realize that for many people, the issue is just a headline. The fact is, lowkey racism is alive and well in Hip Hop, particularly underground Hip Hop. Many people like to use Hip Hop as some "but I'm not racist" shelter that they can take solace in - but that's not it. I'm talking about the white fan whose Top 10 mysteriously includes 7 Caucasian rappers + 2 Latinos thrown in. Or the white fan who likes throwing around terms like "lyrical Hip Hop" or "intelligent Hip Hop" or "real Hip Hop." Or the white fan who likes mocking gangsta rap or mainstream party rap. Or the white fan who literally sits there and counts how many unique words Aesop Rock uses. Fuck all that shit.

Additionally, and I'm only speaking for myself here, I'm not a "let's all have a civil discussion on the issue" type person either. People who are calling for "calm" "peaceful" "civil discussions" do so because they control the means and manner in which those discussions occur as well as the very paradigm in which the terms are defined. They also like "civil discussions" because it risks them nothing, they are able to revert back to the default status quo once the discussion is over. On top of that, "civil discussions" have been going on for decades and the only result has been black deaths. So if "civil discussion" is your answer, I can only assume you want the same result. Finally, there isn't really much to be "discussed" at this point in time. The evidence is all right there. If you need to "discuss" it, you might as well be rejecting it. So here's a friendly fuck off to cops murdering black people, lowkey racist rap fans, and people who want everyone to come together and peacefully come to some conclusion about the pros and cons of treating black people like shit. 

Prairie Rap Ultimate Box Set (+ Help Out Factor!)

Today I'd like to share a list/playlist made by an RYM buddy of mine, BrothermanTrill. The list tracks the history and current state of so-called Canadian "Prairie Rap," a movement best known for giving us the likes of Side Road Records, Peanuts and Corn Records, and Clothes Horse Records. BrothermanTrill identifies key releases, provides historical context via interviews and reviews, and provides a Youtube playlist consisting of songs from the projects he covers (the playlist includes some rare tracks!) If you're at all interested in the sub-genre, be sure to give it a peep HERE.

In related Prairie Rap news, the great Factor Chandelier recently had his basement flood, causing him to lose a portion of his equipment. Consider helping him out by copping some of his music on the Fake Four or Factor Chandelier Bandcamp pages. Fake Four put together a great package bundle consisting of, at least, 12 Factor-produced CDs for only 50 bucks. Check it HERE. 

Come back Friday for a Prairie Rap upload too! 

Bandcamp: Go Buy Some Music

Some of you may have heard, but today, March 20th, Bandcamp is waiving its revenue shares in an effort to help support artists during the Coronavirus pandemic. Tour ticket sales and merch sales make up a lot of an indie artist's income, and this virus has basically put a big halt to all of that.  As such, no normal Friday post today. Instead, go buy some damn music on Bandcamp! You can read more about the Bandcamp waiver HERE. 

If you're looking for something new to cop, here's a few suggestions that drop today on Bandcamp:

1. Time - These Songs Kill Fascists

"This is an album made as an ode to people who fought and who are fighting fascists and fascism internally and externally." HERE. 

2. Royal-T, Daze, & Big Bear - The Broken Plan

HERE. 

3. Free The Robots - Malinao 

"I am currently locked down on the island with no plans or way to make it back home until the situation settles. Until then all we can do is remain creative and positive as possible. The world is on pause, so no matter where you are; we're all in this together. Be safe everyone. Hope you enjoy this EP recorded over the past couple weeks. Much Love from the Island." HERE.

4. An Illustrated Mess - Last Night, and All Of Our Glorious Mishaps (Digital Deluxe)

"Although it wasn't our original intention, this album turned out very Navajo. With this album we did our best to illustrate an Indigenous perspective of living in a border town. The narrative tells a story of a character over the course of a weekend, while the songs themselves deal with topics such as love, depression, alcoholism, and suicide with moments of hope sprinkled in between. This album was made over the course of a year. Throughout that year we faced many obstacles, personal losses, moments of weakness, and self reflection, but in the end with the help of our family and friends we were able to make what we consider our debut album." HERE. 

5. TXTMS (OneWerd & Dan Dillinger) - TXTMS 

"Hailing from the SF Bay Area, and Brooklyn, NY, OneWerd and Dan Dillinger spent the better part of their early 20's developing an ear for all things underground. An affinity for heavy drum programing, layered bass tones, and distorted fuzz hammered out a unified vision for their debut project. Joined by underground stalwarts Gajah and Megabusive, and IronBar Collective mainstays Emcee Graffiti and Dephyant, the project's lenses encompass social decay, and the shifting foundations of cultural and artistic consumption. That same lens also draws tightly inward, capturing the mental collapse and aggression borne of these environmental factors. Though it may have taken its time incubating, these songs are initial carvings into material that promises to be mined even further." HERE.

Crowdfunding Love

Today I wanna quickly cover 3 exclusive (as in not available elsewhere) projects that you can get right now for a mere $1.00 (or more) on crowdfunding sources. 

The first is the "Offerings" EP from Gift of Gab via GoFundMe. Gift of Gab is currently raising funds for his kidney transplant and has offered up a new project to support the effort. Sucks to see so many rappers in the scene going through health issues right now. Shouts out to 2Mex and Fat Jack as well. Check the project HERE. 

Next up is Illmac's "Pay Tree" EP via Patreon (get it?) The EP is six tracks that you won't be able to hear elsewhere, fully produced by Chase Moore. Peep it HERE. 

Last up is Gepetto's "Shadows" EP via Patreon. Gepetto just jumped on the crowdfunding train this month and this exclusive EP, which revolves around the concept of, wait for it, shadows, is his welcome to the game. Check it HERE. 

Who are ya'll following on Patreon or elsewhere? 

Top Anticipated NAMED Projects Dropping In 2020

Here's 10 projects set to release this year that I'm highly anticipating. I'm only including projects with a set name as everyone (and their mother) is working on "some new shit." 

1. Gregory Pepper - I Know Now Why You Cry: I've been needing a new Peps album, even after his very successful 52+ song Patreon run. I am so mad I missed out on copping one of the 3 test presses of this (or else I'd be bumping it now!) Drops Feb. 14th

2. Death Dealers Anonymous - DDA Vol. 3: DDA has been dropping some absolute slappers this year. I don't expect the third installment to be any different. Drops Jan. 25th.

3. Toussaint Morrison - Social Science Club: Toussaint's "debut" solo project was great though not as good as his mixtapes. Hopefully this will change things. It was slated to drop this past Fall but got pushed to ?

4. R.A.P. Ferreira - Bob's Son: Rap Ferreira feels free and funky as fuck. This debut should be good. Not sure when it's dropping.

5. Awol One - Tony The Walrus: This officially drops Jan. 31st but we've got an early review coming out for it soon. Be on the look out (spoilers: it's good.) 

6. Filthy Fingers United - Vol. 1: Filthy Fingers has been dropping amazing NW beat-tape compilations for years and, this year, they're finally entering the physical realm with their first vinyl! Drops Jan. 20. 

7. Syndel - Forbidden Love: It's been nearly 15 years since Syndel dropped her solo release. Bout time for some new new! No release date as of yet.

8. Kay The Aquanaut & Maki - The Nautical Blue: Kay and Maki have been on a rampage lately, and this project, based around 200,000 Leagues, could be their best yet. Drops Jan. 21st. (Maki has also been releasing instrumental versions of his Kay collabos on Bandcamp - check those!) 

9. On Tilt - Koba Dera: The QM and Luke Sick saga continues... Drops Jan. 23rd.

10. Hives Inquiry Squad - Open Mind Sessions: New stuff from Lucas Dix and the late Gavin Theory. I know a lot of heart is going into this one. Set to drop in the spring. 

What are ya'll looking forward to? 

RIP Juice Wrld

I'm guessing that Juice doesn't have a lot of admirers amongst the visitors of this page, but I (Trylemma) was a big fan and he was, in my opinion, the best artist to have debuted this decade. The kid (dead at 21) made thousands of tracks on his own, had freestyled for hours on screen off the dome, came up with lots of fresh schemes, cadences, and melodies, and really had a career in front of him. Truth is, Juice was probably a harder worker with more left-field ideas than a lot of "indie" rappers. Sucks to lose another one. RIP. 

RIP Wake Self

Such a talented artist. Check out his amazing album "Malala" (via Name Your Price) below. RIP Wake Self. 

MALALA

R.I.P. - Jerald “Darkside” Amaya / New Music: Bakus feat. Darkside - Darkside, Dare Iz A

While I had planned to use this post to both review an artist's release whom I admire and promote a good cause, unfortunately now it’s going to serve as a small tribute to Jerald Amaya, aka Darkside. Bakus put together the single Darkside, Dare Iz A (a couple tracks of older, unmastered work with the rapper) originally to help cover expenses during Darkside’s battle with cancer, but tragically Darkside passed away of a heart attack Father’s Day morning. He was 42 years old.

From my emails with Bakus, I understood Darkside as one of those genuinely good men, a father and musician who improved the lives of those around him. Browsing his Facebook I was extremely touched by the number of heartfelt messages both from within the hip hop community and beyond. This world doesn’t have enough people who's presence improves it, and sadly now it has one less. Bakus had this to say about Jerald "Darkside" Amaya:

"I first met Darkside in the early aughts at Urban Underground, a weekly hip hop show at the Airliner in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles. Urban Underground was a hive of young, hungry and hustling, backpack rappers in the vein of The Living Legends, Def Jux and Rhymesayers, owing much to The Goodlife family tree and the Project Blowed community like Freestyle Fellowship. Darkside was always an aggressive but thoughtful emcee and I liked him immediately. Later I would see him walking with his kids down Figueroa Ave., down York Blvd., down Aldama St., down any sidewalk in Highland Park, a neighborhood in Northeast Los Angeles that was headquarters for many in the underground hip hop scene at the time.

I jokingly coined Darkside, "The King of Highland Park," and would honk and wave if I was in a hurry, or pull over and holler for a bit if I had the time. He always had time. I came to know Darkside, Jerald Amaya, as a towering example of what it meant to be a man, a father, and a person who would do anything to help his family and friends. As a fellow educator, Jerald cultivated young minds and helped many a young emcee get his first studio time. He is considered a mentor by many. As a father, there are no lengths that Jerald would not go to protect and provide for his kids. Hearing that Darkside was battling cancer shook me. Not only because we are the same age and came up in the same community, but also because this kind of thing shouldn't happen to good people, and Darkside is nothing but good people.

Hearing that he passed so suddenly, within days of sharing his diagnosis, and so young, is a fucking gut punch. I’m in tears. Hug your people today. The neighborhood loved you, Darkside. And we miss you already."

I had originally planned to offer a review of the album, but I think in the wake of Darkside’s passing I’m going to let Bakus’ words, as someone who knew him, be the main focus for this post. I will say that the two tracks are very moving in the context of his untimely death (especially "Life Moves Fast"). The rough mixing only gives the very strong impression that the two voices heard are real people, and friends, doing what they love and value simply because they love and value it. There’s really nothing more you could ask for in music.

Get the single here. All proceeds from the sale will go to help Darkside's family and friends with funeral expenses. Also, for those (like myself) who weren't familiar with the music of Darkside, check here for his Bandcamp. He worked with all sorts of artists from P.U.T.S to Murs and both produced and rapped with competence and heart...

Also, Bakus has informed me that the family is conducting a GoFundMe campaign as well, which can be found here. Featured on that page is a music video as well, another way for people to get to know Darkside.


To the friends and family of Jerald “Darkside” Amaya: you have UGF's respectful condolences.

Go V-Girl!

Sorry for the late post this week, we have been deliberating over what we wanted to share today. As many of you probably know already, Onry Ozzborn's young daughter Violet was diagnosed with cancer recently. Onry has reached out to his many fans and friends via a GoFundMe campaign, to ensure he and his family are taken care of during these uncertain times. We urge any of his fans who read this to contribute (if you haven't already). He may already have reached his goal but cancer can be unpredictable, and nobody deserves to wind up broke for trying to save a loved ones life.

Trylemma and I are huge fans of Onry's work. We feel that he is peerless in his sincerity, creativity and heart. His music is beautiful, and I can say personally that Vessel kept me going during difficult times.

Violet, we don't know each other personally, but UGF wishes you a quick recovery.

We'll be back on Friday with another fossil. Peace!