Category Archives: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Album reviews.

Vice Principles :: MC Homeless Drops Fake Four Debut In The Form Of ‘Sex And Death’ EP

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When I caught wind of the fact that MC Homeless had a handful of Moodie Black-produced beats and was working on an EP, I knew that we were all in for something memorable.  Over the past year, MC Homeless was showcasing tracks off the project, but there’s something about finally getting to experience a fully realized creation that not even the arresting nature of live performance can capture.  Sex and Death is part examination, part celebration of the trappings that come with the creative spirits.  Sex, depression, drugs and death form the four corners of the framework for Sex and Death, and the instantly iconic artwork is pitch perfect.  Definitely download and share this one around, and if you can, get a hold of the limited edition vinyl, which is equally dope.  Props to Fake Four for putting this one out.

-chief

Manifesto Music :: T$O Releases Video For ‘Only The Trill’

Reality rap is the closest thing to a documentary in the world of music, in my opinion, and Austin is a city that thrives on that aesthetic.  Recently, Austin-based MC $.dot and producer Eric Dingus joined forces for the T$O (Trill $hit Only) project, and their whole vibe is all about the realness.  In their video for lead single Only The Trill$.dot talks about the pedigree of people he has in his corner and has aligned himself with, all over a Mobb Deep-esque beat by Eric Dingus.  The video looks like a million bucks thanks to the expertise of Super Thing Productions, with smooth tracking shots and artistically framed setups meant to further the written messages.  This one is definitely worth your time, so definitely check it out, leave a like and a comment, and share it around.

-chief

Dark Arts :: Evolve And Crew Combine With Moodie Black On ‘SHANKS AND CHANDELIERS’

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Collective efforts can add momentum and weight to a project that solo ventures rarely possess.  Recently, Evolve secured a group of Moodie Black produced beats, called up a crew of folks with bars, and the result is the brief put powerful Valley Winter Chasing Fire by SHANKS AND CHANDELIERS.  The collective is made up of MCs PHreddy Lou Saint LaurelRORSCHACH THE ANTI HERO, CARMEN CASTILLO A.K.A CARMEN FRIA and MELTER SKELTER, with additional guitars by SERGE DE LEON.  There’s a lot to sift through and work with on this one, so definitely take a dive in, share it around, and support monetarily if you can.

-chief

Blown Away :: More Eaze Debuts Unreleased Project ‘#1 Fan’

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The way that some experience the world is so unique that those confined to the standard experience may never fully comprehend the difference.  It seems that Austin-based producer more eaze, for example, is one of those kind of people that hears music outside of the realm of instruments.  Be it the sounds of nature, the sounds of machinery, the sounds of humans inhabiting space, or in the case of #1 Fan, the sound of multiple portable fans arranged into a composition, more eaze is able to arrange his experience into recordings that can open up our minds to new ways of perceiving our surroundings.  This particular recording, due to its avant-garde nature, ended up being shelved for six years before more eaze finally decided to give it a run in the public sphere.  If you’re in to ASMR or the experimental, this one is oddly soothing, even when the machinery gets dissonant at times.

-chief

Mock Trial :: TrumpCard Looks At The State Of The Nation With ‘Use Your Collusion’

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Music, especially punk rock, has always had a way of commenting on what’s going on with real life,  specifically the realms of the absurd and the politically corrupt.  Both of those boxes were recently checked during the election of President Trump, so it was only natural that a band like TrumpCard would rise to fulfill the role of commentators.  After a solid run of live performances, the band took to the studio to record Use Your Collussion, permanently solidifying their stance of calling out the President‘s contradictions, backsliding and overall immature nature.  The music is forceful and immediate, and the lyrics put aside the notion of jabs in favor of throwing comical (yet thought-provoking) haymakers.  This music will offend some, especially while all of us are in the thick of this, but over time, I believe this album will become a signal point in the war to win back rationality.

-chief

Domestic Terror :: BLXPLTN’s New ‘NO ENGLISH’ Video

BLXPLTN has never been afraid to be as poignant as they are confrontational with their observations on the truth and he state of the nation.  NO ENGLISH, their latest video and the first single off their upcoming sophomore release Children of the Foreign, is a bold statement on how the so called ‘tired and huddled masses’ that America claimed they wanted are now literal fodder at the hands of our political machine.  A system of rule that was set up to protect Americans of all colors and creeds is doing all that it can to keep us at odds with one another as it tears us apart us a nation.  BLXPLTN displays their feelings on the matter via a video dominated by two parallel states : a rousing and emotional performance versus ICE agents chasing members of the band through the woods.  If this is a taste of what’s to come with Children of the Foreign, I’m ready for a major dose of their reality.

-chief

Innocence Lost :: Click-Clack Reemerges With ‘Blue Eyed Black Boy’

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Click-Clack, as anyone who follows this blog knows, is an artist that I respect on both a creative and a personal level.  His drive and skill level are inspirational, and his natural talent and charisma are undeniable.  Like all artists (myself included), however, we deal with the soul-crushing valleys just as wholeheartedly as we do with the soul-lifting peaks that come with being an artist.  For a while, it seemed like Click-Clack was considering a hiatus, if not a full retirement, from the creative side of things, with the occasional single drop or livestream snippet of work serving as both a bittersweet teaser and a signal for hope of new material to come.  Most of us in the peer group knew he was working on new music, and whatever it was would more than likely be dope, but honestly, I was not prepared for the jump in skill level that is Blue Eyed Black Boy.  Produced almost entirely by Ballteam, with a beat by Drae Da Skimask being the outlier, the project serves as the perfect canvas for Click-Clack to not only go off on a plethora of styles, but get extremely personal and reflective with the bars as well.  Add in to the mixture a pitch-perfect cover illustration, in terms of tone, by @ultrashook, and we’ve got a strong contender for an Album of the Year situation here.  Songs like LyorTalmboutPush To Start and Wager are certified bangers, but there really isn’t a dull or slow moment on this album in all honesty.  Usually, I give a suggestion to support, but in this case, I’d say you’d be dumb not to support work of this quality and caliber, so get on it!

-chief

Party Lines :: Dem Beach Boys Strike Again With ‘Down With GOP’

It’s been about a year since Dem Beach Boys, the self proclaimed ‘only conservative hip-hop group in America‘, dropped GOP Ain’t Nuthing to F’ With.  In that time, they’ve been working hard on their debut mixtape, Dem Pet Sounds, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t ready to strike when the time is appropriate.  As Early Voting came to a close, the crew dropped another banger in the form of Down With GOP, an incredibly smart and well-crafted satiric look at polarizing thought that tends to separate us rather than unite us as citizens in the America experiment.  The crew use both style and interpolation-esque references to several classic hip-hop songs, and they even manage to stick a skit in the middle that is (sadly) a bit too relevant in terms of its truth.  There’s nothing to be sad about, though, as this track (and video) not only make you laugh, but think as well.  Go vote, give this video a like and a comment, and share it around so that everyone on your timeline can get all worked up and offended, because that’s the way of things today.

-chief

Political Discourse :: Moodie Black And Ceschi Connect For ‘Ye Death’

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Moodie Black, a standout group from the Fake Four roster full of massive talent, has always been observant of what other boundary-pushing artists are doing, especially polarizing artists like Kanye West.  has always envisioned her band being as relevant as Ye, while offering a balancing set of opinions, ambitions and skill sets to offset that of the Chicago-based ‘mad genius’.  You can imagine, then, that Ye‘s embracing of MAGADonald Trump and the Right in general has been fuel for the Moodie Black creative fire.  Add to the fact that Fake Four label head (and incredible artist in his own right) Ceschi stopped by the studio to commit a hook to the inspiration, and the result is Ye Death, an observation on living in the madness we do now and feeling like a kite off the string, which is probably very much how Ye feels now (in light of recent reports that he feels ‘used’ by the same political machine he wholeheartedly embraced, and all within the span of about 2 months).  and company always have something deeply introspective and relevant to say about what’s rocking the societal boat, and this is just another notch in the belt.  Definitely check it out.

-chief

Halloween Havoc :: Bitforce And Joshua Lopez Combine Forces For ‘Descendants Of Belmont’

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With the expansive nature of video games, taken in part with the insane skill level of Bitforce, you can pretty much guarantee that these guys have a song that can cover most any holiday or occasion.  For Halloween, the guys went the extra mile by teaming up with guest guitarist Joshua Lopez of Sonic Boom for Descendants of Belmont, a medley of songs from the canon of Castlevania games.  In fact, the guys took that extra mile and went an additional extra mile on top of that by dropping a music video, just in time for all you spooky boys and girls to enjoy during the fright night!

Getting a double-down like this is like finding that house that gives out full size candy bars, or finding a group of unsuspecting kids to shoot roman candles at without fear of getting caught… it’s like the best of both worlds.  Grab the track if you can, and definitely like, comment on and share the video, and most importantly, be safe out there this Halloween night!

-chief