Tag Archives: austin

Blind Faith :: Curbside Jones Reflects On ‘The Glow’

Posted on February 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

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If I had to sum up the style of Curbside Jones succinctly, I’d have to say that I see him as a ‘fly philosopher’.  He is not only very in touch with his creative side, as his unfolding musical narrative, visual aesthetic, clothing designs and photography prove, but his art is bathed in a very humanist realm, with continued reflections on self and pinpoint application of these reflections onto a broader scale.  With The Glow, a collaboration with producer EyeLoveBrandon, Curbside Jones takes the upbeat track and uses it to bolster his message of staying focused and keeping your eye on the prize, despite the pitfalls that life continually puts in front of us.  To really help drive things home, Digsbot was called in to help animate the affair :

  Check it all out, leave likes and comments where you can, and share it all around so everyone can benefit.

-chief

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Self Motivated :: BlackLight And Mista Mozes Drop ‘Do What I Do’ Video

Posted on February 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

Questioning the drive and motivation of BlackLight is a fool’s errand.  Over the past year or so, BlackLight has gone from an Austin-based MC hustling for opportunities and rocking local shows to making high quality songs, videos and playing festival stages.  His latest track, Do What I Do, is an ode to this motivated nature, and specifically one that points out how those who want to see change must initiate it rather than depend on others to make ways for you.  Mista Mozes drops in to help further the message, and thanks to CR Spectrum, BlackLight has presented us with a stunning black and white video reminiscent of those seen in the 1990s and 2000s era of hip-hop, where the culture was firmly establishing itself as the dominant one to the masses, and on its own terms.  Check out the video, leave a like and a comment, and share it around so everyone can follow suit.

-chief

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Truth Work :: Click-Clack Drops A Banger With ‘Songs I Don’t Hate’

Posted on February 12, 2020 | Leave a comment

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When I first met Click-Clack, he was a machine with the beats and the rhymes… it was almost as if he was trying to have physical output in quantities that matched the fever pitch of ideas going on in his head.  Over the years, however, I’ve seen a shift from trying to harvest every idea into gold into taking the best of the best and morphing multiple ideas into impressively strong material.  The rapid nature of releases may have slowed down, but it really has just brought him closer to what us regular guys can manage to put together and release.  That being said, when he hit me up with a copy of Songs I Don’t Hate, it was instantly apparent that he’s hitting a happy medium between quality and his old creative nature, and as song after song rolled by, I could hear the maturity, immediacy and confidence from every lyric and beat.  Click-Clack has somehow managed to find a comfortable existence between today’s vibey, free-flowing music and the late-90’s, gold-school era of hip-hop where being unique was king and if your weapon wasn’t the sharpest in the war you were fading away.  This is must-listen material, for real, so find it on your favorite streaming service or digital storefront and get to it, and share it around so others can do the same.

-chief

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Get Lifted :: 5-D Drops ‘On It’ Single

Posted on February 7, 2020 | Leave a comment

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5-D (DoubleDeuceDuoDuplicateDeluxe) is my kind of crew.  HBZ and RuDi Devino, with the help of Solar Shield on the tracks, stays putting out high quality, lyrically supercharged songs about the finer things in life : burgers, basketball, and such (usually meant to disguise the celebration of vices we all love and partake in).  One topic you can always count on the guys to deliver gold from, however, is green.  With Shrubbery and High already in the catalog, the crew has dropped another gem with On It, an ode to being prepared to set off (and always down to partake in) a green session.  Solar Shield goes off in particular this go-round, keeping the crew’s signature high energy in his production, but reeling back on the BPMs and instead dropping a midrange speed track with tons of flourish and presence, but not so much that it drowns out the rhymes.  Definitely high quality work from a high quality crew, so leave a like and a comment, and share it around for everyone!

-chief

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Daily Operation :: Chuck Duze And Company Drop ‘Every Damn Day’ Video

Posted on February 5, 2020 | Leave a comment

Chuck Duze has been putting out music videos in a nearly clockwork fashion these days, dropping an average of a music video a month for the past 6 months or so.  Most all of them have been entertaining, but something about his latest, Every Damn Day, captures some infectious magic that comes with a combination of vision, talent and luck.  The track, a Kato on the Track beat featuring guest verses from You F. Oh, Elephant In The Room and DMT~Realist, is a posse cut with plenty of bounce showcasing punchlines, wordplay and a catchy hook that will get stuck in your head nearly immediately.  The video enhances all of the best points of the song, using digital zooms and stylistic loops the subliminally drive home the ‘day to day’ aspect of the song, while showcasing several ridiculous scenarios for the MCs to indulge in.  This one, despite being released so early in the year, is bound to stick around, so check it out now, leave a like and a comment if you dig it, and spread it around for others to do the same.

-chief

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Straight Spittin’ :: S.U.A.V.E. Squad Drops ‘Metahuman’

Posted on February 4, 2020 | Leave a comment

 

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After a recent opening spot for Blackalicious, I had the pleasure of meeting RobbieSEE and TCtheMC, better known collectively as S.U.A.V.E. Squad.  It’d been a while since I’d met heads with the passion, respect and skill these two had, and after a few cyphers between my set and the Blackalicious set, TCtheMC and myself decided to stay in touch.  A day or so ago, after a handful of conversations about hip-hop (local and otherwise), Metahuman hit my inbox, and it crystalized everything the duo had been communicating to me perfectly.  Much like myself, the duo embraces their southern heritage, but the versatility found in the project screams die-hard hip-hop fans.  Every beat on this project is fire, and like the blog entry title says, I’m hard pressed to think of a pair of MCs I wasn’t already aware of spitting at this level.  The rhymes, wordplay and topics and intricate, expertly delivered and clearly from the heart, and they resonated immediately with me.  I highly recommend checking this one out, and sharing it around for others to do the same.

-chief

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Name Building :: Ben Buck Drops ‘KILROY’

Posted on January 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

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One of the blessings of having been on the Austin hip-hop scene for so many years has been watching new artists pop up generation after generation and hold down the city.  Over the past few years, one of the artists that has been impossible to ignore is the homie Ben Buck, a young, hungry MC with a penchant for intricate and elaborate beatboxing.  After a flurry of singles over the past 6 months or so, Buck closed out 2019 with the release of KILROY, a proper collection of work that represents Buck‘s skill level and vision.  The project is a collection of singles, live band demos, and even a live show snippet, with a vast collection of collaborators.  On the production side, Ruler Why, Flobama, Wiardon, UGGO, Jarv, BRKCHK and even Ben Buck himself drop beats, and on the lyrical side, prolific MCs like Myka 9, AFRO, Jamar Equality, Chi Clopz, Flobama and Jarv all drop high quality guest bars.  Don’t front on a legend in the making… check out the project on your favorite streaming service or storefront, and support your local creatives!

-chief

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Swag Surfin’ :: Norman BA$E Talks Game On ‘FREE MAX B’

Posted on January 28, 2020 | Leave a comment

The homie Norman BA$E stays not only creating, but showing love, via his music and events.  His catalog is full of tracks he’s dropped over the years with storyteller vibes, beats that sit in the grey area between different shades of hip-hop, and creative videos to accompany many of the tracks, and FREE MAX B is no exception to that.  The track (and video) tell the story of BA$E taking an opportunity that many of us would not pass on, and the seemingly South Park-esque video is a good accompaniment to the track.  Check it out, leave a like and a comment if you dig it, and share it around for all to see.

-chief

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Instant Classic :: The Vapor Caves Drop Amazing Video For ‘Bitch To The Boys’

Posted on January 17, 2020 | Leave a comment

The Vapor Caves appear to have no intention of slowing down their upward trajectory as they head into 2020.  After a year full of successful buzzwork and a brilliant debut album, the duo is hitting the ground running with an instantly iconic video for Bitch to the Boys, one of my personal favorite cuts from a dynamite-filled project.  The video takes things to the extreme, with 80s style oozing throughout the wardrobe, vehicles, props and demeanor of all involved.  Thanks to the work of Side Label, the visual direction of Andrew Baird, dance choreography by Misa Soliz, visual effects from Orion Garcia and costuming from Mysidia and Never Over Vintage, plus a handful of cameos from some Austin familiar faces, us viewers have been blessed with what is almost guaranteed to be a viral success.  Dig it and dig it good, leave a like and a comment, and share it around for everyone to enjoy!

-chief

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Stacking Chips :: ‘Dirty Money’ Coming Courtesy Of Dominican Jay, $.Dot And Sertified

Posted on January 16, 2020 | Leave a comment

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While not necessarily known for a high crime rate, Austin most definitely has its fair share of cats who can both talk that talk and walk that walk when it comes to hood moves.  When it comes to my personal preferences, no crew is representing that sound for Austin better than the League of Extraordinary G’z, and lately, the homie Dominican Jay has been putting out banger track after banger track.  The latest is another collaboration with $.Dot (who is quickly becoming another one of my favorite local MCs), and with the vocal assist from Sertified and a monster of a track from Ball Team, Dirty Money is another Austin anthem in the making.  Check this one out, as it’s most certainly worth your time and efforts, and if you dig it, leave a like and a comment, and share it around for others!

-chief

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