New Music: Monk Sunstruck - Arsonism

 

 

Hey all! Been a long time. In fact, in the history of UGF it has never been this long between posts. It feels weird to me. But it was a nice break and I hope the rest of you have been enjoying your Summer (or Winter, depending where you live of course). As I said before it's just me, your boy Dimxsk at the moment posting once a week on Friday's, usually a fossil hookup but occasionally a post on some new music in the works. Oh and thank you all for the kind words two weeks ago. For some reason I can't reply individually to comments lately (no idea why, if any of you have suggestions let me know) but know that I see and appreciate your encouragement!

Today is a release post. Some of you may remember a fossil a while back from Thee Anomalous and Able Rock. Thee Anomalous is a huge fan of hip hop going way back, and as such he stumbled onto this blog and we chopped it up a bit. Hailing from Woodland, CA he comes with a sound reminiscent of folks from coastal California (think Maleko, Caustic, JKC etc.) rapping conscious lyricism with a touch of spirituality and a very solid love and respect for the culture. I would recommend following the link above and starting with that for more information.

Arsonism is the second of two releases he's done under the name Monk Sunstruck. I don't know much about them (during my vacation I was working a ton and didn't have the chance to pick his brain before writing this, I wish I did), just that this is his triumphant return to the art form. I will say I like this, it's got maturity and a professionalism missing from his earlier work (although his earlier work was very very dope), along with some interesting song writing and deeply personal content like the touching tribute to a fallen family member "Hey Little Brother".

This is a humble offering. It doesn't try to transcend any genre boundaries, it doesn't trip over it's own feet in an attempt to be something groundbreaking. Like I said before this is the rap of a man who loves the music we do, lives the life we do, and took the time to translate that into six little songs. Not incredible, but difficult not to like.

Check out Arsonism here and consider downloading For the Sake of Planets, Vibe right here at UGF as well because that one is fire! See you next Friday!

Thee Anomalous & Able Rock - For the Sake of Planets, Vibe

 

 

Our readers may remember a few weeks ago I posted up an album here by Woodland, CA based rappers Dream Capsules. You may also remember me shouting out the guy I discovered them through. You can probably still see his comment in he C-Box because there we only usually get Illogic requesting totally random stuff, Denis dropping completely unknown stuff I usually like and one guy under multiple names obsessed with Planet of the Shapes Vol. 2 (in digital quality rendering only!). Just kidding folks.

But anyway, that dude raps and makes beats. And he's pretty fucking good. He told me his masterpiece is probably this collaboration with emcee Able Rock, over mostly his own beats. So here we have For the Sake of Planets, Vibe. The album art is seriously ill.

Basically the project was originally conceived in 2003 and took years of building, from late in high school to 2009. Lots of revisions, lots of perfectionism and second guessing. Lots of evolving production and lyrics. Lots of fun and lots of disappointment (he tells me about finding a copy on the ground after they distributed a bunch at a festival). Anyway, Thee Anomalous tells me not to quote him directly.... but this little section sums up everything perfectly and I really like it so I just have to ask forgiveness instead of permission ;-)

"About 7 years of work all culminating in 200 or so odd copies being given out for free. A labor of love. I like to call it my "hip hop thesis" as I truly feel like I learned a lot about the art form (writing, beatmaking, overall production, and recording) in the time of making it. I also dropped out of college during those years but continued crafting the album which would net me absolutely $0. Do it for the love!

Much love for listening to it man. That's all I ever wanted - for it to be listened to.

RIP Zumbi."

 

-Thee Anomalous

 

I've had the chance to skim through this, and it took roughly thirty seconds for me to consider it worthy of being posted here. It's easily as good as a lot of the stuff we all listen to, and I think the number one selling point I can name for T.A.'s work is that he's a true hip hop head just like us.

So for the album you might make yourself with the talent, time and desire... enjoy For the Sake of Planets, Vibe.

 

 

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