‘Been a minute since I felt like plopping this one. I was all prepped to do this in 2018 but had some emo issues of my own flare up. In the heat of the 2020 Texas Summer, and Coronavirus election year shenanigans I bring you this…something to make it simultaneously worse and better (haha). A continuation of the first volume, maybe trading some tender love for some of the other themes, a mixtape nonetheless. There is still Summer left. Ride with me.’
If home is where the heart is, then MC Homeless seemingly exists to contort that concept wholly and totally. For the ironically titled Home, MC Homeless uses that familiarity as a way to explore the idea of facing your fears with an unflinching approach. Over an eerie track produced by Tron Jovi of Guerrilla Ghost, and with an assist by guest vocalist Katana da Don, listeners find themselves being pulled into the sonic dark pit created by MC Homeless and company, and with the level of stimuli and engagement presented, they deep dive willingly. For those that dig dark, alternative hip-hop, Home is a bit like Christmas in July, so don’t sleep on this one.
My man Cory Kendrix stays in the booth. Personally, I’d find myself distracted by all the party favors in Colorado, but Cory has managed to not only find his voice as an MC and an artist, but he continues to grow in terms of confidence and range with each new song and project. For July 18th Freestyle, Cory whipped up a deceptively simple monster of a track and hollered at his homie Sloesip to jump on board for some braggadocio bars. Cory Kendrix even put the artwork together for this one, showing that he sees the bigger picture and is not limited to traditional rapper roles. This one sounds like it’ll find itself comfortably within someone’s mixtape with its all business approach, so don’t sleep on it.
With so much uncertainty in the air in regards to what live performance will look like moving forward, and a temporary halt on the traditional methods, artists have been forced to be creative in order to establish some sense of normalcy. Recently, the Austin-based punk outfit Pleasure Venom paid a visit to Wolfshied Ranch to document a 4-song power-packed set. The set is split between the single Hive, the album cut I Can’t Find My Black Lipstick, and two previously unreleased tracks : White Lie and Fascist. The visual style is old school in the most delightfully entertaining ways, and if you’re not paying direct attention, you’d think you were listening to studio recordings with how tight the band’s performance is. Dig the full session or one of the individual videos, leave a like and a comment if you feel it, and share it around so everyone can do the same.
The almighty force that is HateWaker recently found themselves guests to The Noiz Factory Recording Studios for their performance series known as The Noiz Sessions. Over the course of a couple of weeks, The Noiz Factory has released Left Hand Path, Invoke Blasphemy and Black Sheep as independent videos, with a full performance still slated to come. For fans of heavy metal, emotion-infused music and raw talent, this is for you. Check out the videos, like and comment on what moves you, and share it all around!
Two Austin icons teaming up for some real talk about the current (and seemingly never-ending) hard times that minorities are facing? You don’t have to tell me twice… and that’s exactly what we’re getting here. Kydd Jones has dropped a number of socially-aware tracks over the past month, and the streak continues with Rubber Bullets, a collaboration with Ben Buck and producer Wiardon. What really hits me about this song are the two parallel perspectives, which are different yet like-minded : Kydd talks about achieving dreams while hoping your light isn’t snuffed out early, while Ben Buck speaks a bit on privilege, being a proper ally to the cause, and the clear-cut difference in approach that Police bring to the table, depending on whom they are dealing with. This track is another notch in the belt of positivity for Austin hip-hop, so don’t sleep on it.
Mirage the Gr8 and myself have had a several year working relationship, and an even longer friendship. The music video commissions he sends my way have made me a better editor and creator, in my opinion. As the previous decade was coming to a close and 2020 was on the horizon, I envisioned myself making a documentary project of some kind, so when Mirage proposed his idea for The Rhythm Still Plays, a documentary celebrating the 20-year anniversary of his Good Vibe Records release Life Is A Rhythm (L.I.A.R.), I was all in. I knew that it would be an important reflection of a big moment in the careers of he and Tee Double, but I had no idea that it would turn out to be a solid reflection of the era in Austin hip-hop that was the most inspirational for me as a young man. Sit back, enjoy, leave a like and a comment if you dig it, and share it around for everyone to see!
One wonderful bonus of having a talented network of friends and peers is that everything dope and creative ends up on your radar. With the homie poolboi blu out carving a major name for himself in the Central Texas area, I make sure that I stay attentive to his posts and support them when I can, so when he posted that he’d produced nearly half of the recent Benji Alx release It’s Not Your Boy, I had to check it out on general principle. I’d always been a fan of Benji Alx‘s way of mixing his laid back nature with an aggressive edge, but I was in no way, shape or form prepared for the lyrical and stylistic onslaught he brought to the table for this one. I could sprinkle praiseworthy adjectives on this project all day, but it’s best to go ahead and check this one out for yourself, and then reserve it a spot on your local year-end lists, as it’s almost certainly guaranteed to appear on a few. It’s Not Your Boy is streaming and available for purchase in all the places, so go cop that asap.
With no signs of shelter-in-place slowing down anytime soon, many artists have been forced to make wild adaptations to their lifestyle. Feral the Earthworm, the Austin original known for being a man on the road, has recently found himself parked back in the weird city once again, and after a bit of an adjustment period, it appears that he was snapped right back into action by the extra-volatile nature of current day social media. With items like The Confederate Flag being used as bargaining chips against the main issue, it is important to recognize their inflammatory history without allowing them to be a distraction from the primary goals, and with an educated wordsmith like Feral the Earthworm scoping the landscape, gems like Heritage come to life. Dig how he addresses the flag’s significance, symbolism, the brief time period it represents, how it came to be a monument of an overly-glorified period of time, and much more, all in a brief but powerful two minutes and change. Feral the Earthworm never ceases to amaze me, hence my sharing with you, so you already know what to do… like and comment if you feel what he’s putting down, and share it around for all to see and hear.
After several years of collaborating on music video projects, Mirage the Gr8 and myself decided that 2020 was the year we would step our game up. The year also coincided with the 20-year anniversary of Mirage‘s first label release, Life Is A Rhythm (L.I.A.R.) on Good Vibe Records. Based on the importance of this anniversary and the release of that record at the time, it was decided that a documentary should be created to commemorate the release. With interviews from NickNack, DJ Mike Swing, Brotha K., DJ Crash and key figure Tee-Double, plus the candid story of the album from Mirage himself, this is definitely a project of great importance in regards to Austin hip-hop history. Check out the trailer, and stay tuned for the release of the full documentary in early July!
Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice 