Late Addition :: Sharing The ‘Phenomenal’ Scuare Album I Overlooked

Posted on September 1, 2021 | Leave a comment

Apparently, I completely missed the boat on an album that the homie Scuare released about six months ago.  Here’s the skinny on the project, straight from Exociety : 

“Scuare is a Brazilian-American bedroom rapper/beat maker based in Austin Texas.  His intricate flows and melodic tendencies have earned him a small but dedicated following as a member of the duo …&more… and internet rap collective Exociety.  In the years since Alphabet Soup, his first solo release, Scuare has steadily evolved a style that is unique to himself.

Phenomonal, almost entirely self-produced, recorded, mixed and mastered, is Scuare’s first solo LP since 2013.  Loosely playing off themes of the phenomenal and noumenal world, he illustrates the shift in his thought process; from obsessing over internal analysis towards considerations beyond his own frame of reference, to the world of motivations and perspectives that exists outside his own limited understanding, with the hopes of leading a more empathetic and positive lifestyle.  Joined by frequent collaborators no1mportant and Rav, as well as instrumental additions from FLOOG, BlkPwRngr, and Sow, this project marks a new chapter in Scuare’s discography.”

The work is definitely dope, so do the main things : stream the album, download the album and share it around.  Because the beautiful people at Exociety care about us as consumers, the album is a name your price download, so if you’ve got a few bucks to spare, make it happen!

-chief

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Soothing Sounds :: (iN)Sect Records Presents Usedtobe Self-Titled Release

Posted on August 31, 2021 | Leave a comment

A bit of information on Usedtobe, courtesy of our friends at (iN)Sect Records :

Chris McDowell; aka Solar Shield (Austin Boogie Crew) aka Very Rich (Growth In Decay); is now also known as Usedtobe,

Usedtobe came from long nights in art school in Georgia.  I had finally gotten the Mirage to actually read the floppy discs it came with, sitting on an endless pile of sampled drums from the internet, with the DX7 and Mopho and no plans outside the house.  I was digging deep into the question of ‘what counts’, with file names like isThisFunk? and maybeEnough.

His debut long-player consisting of Boom Bap 90s beats, modern funk sketches and soul flips clocking in at 36 songs and 50 minutes.  At 32, he’s been making music for over half his life under different monikers.  He also owns a synthesizer company called supersynthesis.com, a musical instrument design and manufacturing firm based in Austin, TX, where he was born and raised.  He plays drums, bass, guitar and is absolutely blessed on the keys.

For this record, the equipment he you used: Yamaha DX7, DSI Mopho, Ensoniq Mirage, Ableton Live, the web at large.

This one is money.  Check it out, support if you can, and share regardless!

-chief

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Analyze This :: Recent Video Drops From The World Of DOOMonFILM

Posted on August 30, 2021 | Leave a comment

Slowly but surely, I’ve been picking up momentum over at the DOOMonFILM YouTube channel.  Out of my last four videos, three in particular feel like I’m finding my voice… while my quick thought-share and starting five lineup video for Space Jam : A New Legacy was a bit of a throwaway vid, the other three hold important places in terms of my creative drive and ability.

My deep dive into Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a chance to explain why that film stands as my all-time favorite film, not to mention one that unveils new treasures with each viewing experience.  My analysis of Ratcatcher 2 from The Suicide Squad through the lens of the anti-villain not only stood as one of the pieces of analysis I am happiest with, but one of the quickest turnarounds in terms of film release to idea inception to production to release.  My most recent drop, a setup of The 400 Blows as direct (albeit subtle) inspiration for the films Capernaum and Juice, will probably not make my channel blow up, but it is an idea that I have been sitting on for a while, with the discovery of Capernaum helping me to flesh out the idea fully.

If you’ve not done so already, head over to the DOOMtubeATX YouTube channel and subscribe, like all the videos, and comment that you can from the blog page.  

-chief

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Hunger Games :: ATX Cypher And Nez Tha Villain Explore Their ‘Rap Appétit’

Posted on August 27, 2021 | Leave a comment

When Common spoke of the ‘hungry hip-hop junkie in the city’ way back when, I knew exactly what he was talking about, and after hearing Rap Appétit, it’s clear that ATX Cypher and Nez Tha Villain understand what that line is all about as well.  Thanks to an assist from Big&Little Productions and director Kevin Bocanegra Jr., we’ve been blessed with a video for Rap Appétit that captures all of the true-school essence the vocal duo put into the track… the boom bap and the self-affirming bars and backed up by a nice, vintage look and feel where two music fiends are exploring and embracing their love.  This video is super solid, so don’t sleep on it… you know what to do… like, comment and share!

-chief

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Youth Explosion :: Weird Rap Discussion Gang Studies The Timeline Of Kid Rappers

Posted on August 26, 2021 | Leave a comment

Be it the gimmicky New Jack Swing mimicry of the early 1990s, the edgier rebellious juvenile rap of the late 1990s, the party-pop sound of the new millennium, or the modern day mini-versions of adults, hip-hop has a long history of child acts with varying degrees of success.  In true Weird Rap Discussion Gang fashion, the crew of Th’Mole, Beverly Fre$h and myself took a trip down memory lane and discussed how we feel about the growth of kid rap.  This one was a little different than usual, but like always, it was a ton of fun and relatively insightful, so definitely set aside some time to check it out!  If you like what you see, leave a like and a comment, and if you find yourself thirsting for more Weird Rap content, subscribe to the channel and check out the official website, weirdrap.com.

-chief

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Death Blow :: Ciggy Burns X Luca Brasi Story Comes To A Close With ‘Back From The Dead’

Posted on August 24, 2021 | Leave a comment

Evolve and Chef Mike are back at it again!  Dig the lore wrap-up straight from the Common and Normal camp : 

“After what can only be described as a horrific final stand, Ciggy Burns‘ life was cut short, however he’s managed to find his way back to the land of the living, vowing to collect debts owed and despite his gruesome appearance, win over the hearts and asses of soccer moms everywhere.  This is the continuation of Ciggy‘s tale as spoken by Ciggy himself with background noise provided by undead gangster turned producer, Luc Brazi.”

Back From the Dead is a short but effective power-punch of a project, so definitely check it out, share it around, and if you’ve got a few bucks to spare, throw it these cats’ way!

-chief

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United Front :: The Brain Drops ‘World Full Of Pain’ Single Featuring Doogie McDuff

Posted on August 18, 2021 | Leave a comment

Yesterday marked the birthday of The Brain, member of Austin hip-hop collective SubKulture Patriots and an extremely forward-thinking MC in his own right.  Although a day late, I wanted to make sure to give him props for World Full of Pain, a collaboration with Doogie McDuff full of introspective views on global suffering, optimistic self-affirmations and clever wordplay.  You can catch the track on the major streaming services, so go give it a few spins and playlist it up to help out The Brain!

-chief

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Taking Flight :: Andwan Zonez Taps Maikéru For ‘Jets & Planes’

Posted on August 17, 2021 | Leave a comment

Over the past couple of weeks, Maikéru has been doing major promo for Jets & Planes, a single and video he featured on with Andwan Zonez.  The hype that he built up for it was major, and like everything else that he’s pushed recently, the quality stood up to the promise.  The track is a well-produced mixture of R&B, hip-hop and club energy, and thanks to the well-known talents of videographer, director and editor extraordinaire Dan2TheL, the video looks as high quality as the track sounds with its vivid color displays and late 1990s/early 2000s aesthetic.  In all honesty, not following Maikéru at this point is taking a social media L, as he continues to get himself involved in interesting and top notch content.  Check out the video, leave a like and a comment if you dig it, and share it around to run the numbers up!

-chief

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Divine Dissonance :: Tunnel Vision Drops ‘TV1’ On SoundCloud

Posted on August 12, 2021 | Leave a comment

Tunstle, the producer and half of the lyrical powerhouse duo Homeroom, recently hit me up with notification that he and producer Mero were collaborating on Tunnel Vision, a new production-based project.  It took me a while to get around to checking TV1 out, as my docket has been solidly packed for a minute now, but I’ll definitely be putting this trippy journey through dusty and distorted head nodders into heavy rotation moving forward.  If you find yourself enjoying those YouTube streams where producers pump out nearly identical sounding SP404 beats, then give this one a listen so that you can educate your sensibilities and reward your sonic palette with something that has a bit more edge and adventure to it.  If you dig the track, like it and leave a comment, and share it with those folks that love to get lost in-between the headphones as well.

-chief

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Bustin’ Loose :: Jsun The Prophesor And Levi Deadman Combine Forces For ‘Hektek’

Posted on August 11, 2021 | Leave a comment

We are definitely living in tense times nowadays, especially here in Texas on the eve of Constitutional Carry implementation.  Jsun the Prophesor, one of the driving forces behind the Austin hip-hop supercollective CHHK (College of Hip-Hop Knowledge), seems to clearly understand how normal and performative this collective madness is, and lucky for us, so does Levi Deadman.  With the help of South Side Hippie on production, the result of these ruminations is Hektek, the second single and video off of Jsun‘s upcoming album 9th Symphony.  Definitely check out the single and video, leave a like and a comment if you’re feeling it, and share it around so everyone can get hip!

-chief

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