Straight from New Orleans comes a nice collection of jazzy production from beatsmith Cam Smith. Dry Cereal seem to be explorations between breakbeats and jazz-influenced explorations of vibes, keys and synths. The interspersed vocal samples and radio interview footage provide just enough breathing room for this instrumental album to take you on a wonderful sonic journey. Dig it and dig it good.
-chief
Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now
Tagged brain food, cam smith, chief, new orleans, the doomsday device
If you have spent any amount of time in the central Texas social scene over the last few years, you have more than likely seen Christopher Paul Cardoza at work. His photography has helped him make a name for himself, and it has been a beautiful time capsule of an ever-evolving scene. Many musicians, fans and venues have come and gone, a handful remain, and Christopher Paul Cardoza is faithful to his mission of capturing as much of the action as he can. Cheers to you, sir.
-chief
Posted in Audio-Visuals, General Information, Spotlight
New Orleans-based wordsmith Jonathan Brown has always had a touch for the brutally honest. His punk-rock influenced hip-hop touches all the proper emotional influential buttons, rather than the purely aesthetic ones. On his latest project, The Risk It All EP, we find him as candid as ever about topics such as educational policy, government paranoia and life choices, among other things, all wonderfully encapsulated into slightly more than 10 minutes. Dig it and dig it good.
-chief
I’m glad I’ve given this album a little bit of time before posting about it. Sixo is always known to drop quality work, but seeing the concept and guest list for The Odds of Free Will had me rushing to biased positive judgement before I’d even heard the project. Granted, most everyone on the album I’ve either played multiple shows with or know personally, so that was going to sway my thoughts. So, I gave it a few listens, and I must say, this project really stands up in a year full of what’s been sure to be classic material. I’m excited for more production based projects from Sixo, more Alligator Food, and more of whatever he conjures up.
-chief
Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight
Tagged chief, sixo, the doomsday device, the odds of free will
Upon the recent release of her solo debut LP Worlds Within, Abuzayed The Free has found herself touring and telling people her story. In a bit of serendipitous timing, Arthur Shimko Jr. recently released Love Always Wins, an exploration and presentation of Abuzayed The Free‘s music and worldview. Shot over the spring of 2017, during her initial name making push and pre-release promotion for Worlds Within, the documentary catches an artist at a wonderful crossroads.. a crucial period of growth. Definitely worth your time, your shares and your likes.
-chief
The best forms of enlightenment tend to be the slow burns… quick aside, slight spoiler alerts on this one.
As I jumped on my morning to-do list (sorry for the lack of posts lately, real life needed tending to), one of the main things I had in mind was to check out the latest music video from (RAS) Riders Against the Storm. I know I can count on quality work from this duo, but MALI was a journey that I was not quite prepared for. The warehouse setting is beautiful, and I immediately was receptive to the juxtaposition of the slavery imagery and the flashy-cultural fashion that (RAS) is so well known for. What was obvious in hindsight, but lost upon me until pointed out in verse 2 by Qi Dada, was the Mali/Molly comparison the duo had cleverly woven into the lyrics (with a perfectly appropriated trap-esque production bed to present it on).
As the slaves ‘freed’ themselves from their traps and began to dance, and the fullness of the slavery vs. style worship metaphor revealed itself in the final imagery, the shared journey left me ready for the day ahead. Well done, (RAS), and here’s to nothing but great things in your future.
-chief
Austin Mic Exchange has literally been a factory of growth, productivity and exposure for a large handful of up and coming Austin based hip-hop artists, and for a select few, it has been the key factor to taking bigger steps and making moves. One of that select few is Scuare, a cat who came in day one with amazing skills. After collaborating with no1mportant to create the incomparable …&more…, Scuare has stepped back into the solo realm to drop a new project, Alphabet Soup. I expect nothing but thought-provoking rhymes, awe-inspiring performances and the want for more music almost immediately after diving into this one… hopefully the rest of you take the time to grab this project, share with others, and as always, support local.
-chief
The homie SymmaTree from Grid Squid has been on a mission to make 2017 one for the books. He and his crew have already begun the first of many road excursions in the name of spreading the word about Grid Squid, and now the Frozen Leaves EP is hitting our sound systems. This 5 song offering is full of solid, jazzy production, and the lyrics are on point, which we’ve come to expect from SymmaTree. Definitely cop this one, and throw him a few bones so that he doesn’t starve out there on the road.
-chief
Austin-based band Slop Musket is constantly on a dual journey of personal growth and deeper insight with their music, and each piece of art they drop shows that. With recording footage from Lava Studios, and live footage from Eyedea‘s Five Year Celebration at First Avenue in Minneapolis, the video for The Perfect Fifth is a rumination on love of creativity, and the drive it creates to reach further while getting ‘better’, whatever better may be. Stand, the band’s 3rd EP, is looking promising if this is an indicator of what’s to come. Let’s all stay tuned…
-chief
One of the true gems of the Austin hip-hop scene is the Austin Mic Exchange (AMX). It allows MCs of all styles and levels of experience to get together, build collaborations, and hone in on your skills while gaining inspirations from others. 2017 brings us volume two of the AMX Cypher, and this go round, we’ve got a killer line-up : Ben Buck on rhymes and production, and verses by Valor Alan, Aggie, N∆TE, Chuck Duze, You F. Oh and K-Sol. AMX godfather Protextor drops in to film, and props to Exploded Records for providing the proper backdrop. You know the drill… like it, share it, and support local!
-chief
Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice 