Tag Archives: click-clack

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

Vibey Season :: BORn.88 Drops ‘Late Bloomer’

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When the homie Click-Clack throws out a recommendation, I listen.  Austin has such a deep well of talented creators, and it’s hard to keep track of all of them, so you’ve gotta use the names you trust as a gateway source for more quality material.  With one listen of BORn.88‘s understated banger Late Bloomer, it’s easy to see why Click-Clack sings his praises.  BORn.88 uses familiar sounds for his production, but the way he lets his tracks breathe is very refreshing.  It also provides the perfect foundation for reflective lyrics infused with just the right amount of auto-tune to sound more like an instrument than a performer looking for clout via his on-record performance.  This one is definitely going into the personal rotation, and some of these tracks may find their way into my future mixes.  Check this one out for certain, give your favorite track a like, drop some comments, and be sure to share it around so that everyone can benefit from these good tunes.

-chief

Strange Love :: Click-Clack And Ballteam Keep It Coming With ‘Skranger Things’

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On a national scale, the music scene may be anticipating Pusha T‘s Surgical Summer, but Ballteam and Click-Clack are looking to turn the Austin hip-hop scene into Ballteam Season for the summer.  The collective keeps dropping banger after banger at a breakneck pace, the latest being Skranger Things.  The song is infectious as hell, with it’s synthesizer loop-based and 808 heavy track (the synthesizer I’m sure was an influence on the track name).  Click-Clack part raps, part sings his way through a persistent statement of letting the girl at the focus of the song know that he can make whatever she wants happen more so than other guys can, but she has to make it known.  Props on the Lucas artwork for the cover.  You know the drill… share this around so that the numbers on the track can reflect the dopeness.

-chief

Chasing Greatness :: Click-Clack Makes A Statement With ‘Jarden’

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You can’t sleep on Click-Clack.  That being said, I have dropped the ball just a bit in terms of keeping folks up to date with what he’s been doing, but trust… Click-Clack and Ballteam have been putting in major work while building up to the next batch of releases.  Click-Clack‘s confidence has been growing astronomically the last couple of years, and he’s really come into his own in terms of building the culture and legacy that will surround his sound and his bars.  Much of that swag is on full display for Jarden, and that beat goes hard, making it a double-down on the dopeness.  I’m still a firm believer that, with the right exposure, Click-Clack could have his time to shine on a larger scale… if you believe the same thing, support by liking, commenting , sharing and all that.

-chief

Mister Manners :: Click-Clack And Ballteam Drop ‘Pretty Please’ Single

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Once again, you gotta give it up for Click-Clack… ever since he and his collaborative team of producers unleashed their Ballteam branding, the already stellar music has taken an even higher jump in terms of quality and heart.  Pretty Please is an abstract, open-hearted testimonial of a track set to a beat that will get your body moving.  Click-Clack has been running the singles game for a couple of years now… I’m definitely ready to see what he has in store for upcoming albums, and where (if) some of these singles will find eventual placement.

-chief

Standard Issue :: Kilmatik Keeps The Culture Going With ‘Regular 2’

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Kilmatik continues his efforts to push left of center into the norm.  Regular 2 finds our host spitting the same off-kilter on-point bars that he’s known for, and this time, he’s brought a wrecking crew of collaborators to the table.  With guest verses from Click-ClackEmcee EatsRobbie AnalogMad OneTone of the CosmosCooley FlyApasoRuler Why and Norman Ba$e, it’s no surprise that the album holds the listener from track to track in terms of variety and wordplay.  Production assistance is provided from Markie TeeHADES, and White Jamal (plus a Kilmatik track for good measure).  This is definitely more moves in the right directions from a man continuing to make a name for himself.

-chief

Exploring Styles :: Click-Clack Drops ‘Sleep No More II’ EP

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Anyone following this blog knows that Click-Clack is one of my favorite Austin-based artists.  He stays working, stays pushing his creative boundaries forward, and on projects like Sleep No More II, he finds ways to take what’s hot now and transform it into something unique to his style and delivery.  Click-Clack is a gifted producer in his own right, but for this project he curated production from Cop BoyBoy Arthurshyguy and levitating man X chango.  Shout out to Ballteam for breathing some fresh air into the culture, and putting some artistic integrity into the vibes.

-chief

Spirits Moving :: Dowrong And White Jamal Connect On ‘Dowrong’s Prayer’

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As Joe Budden and Charlamagne tha God recently stated in their year-end wrap-up, lyricism is back in a big way these days.  That sentiment is definitely true in regards to the Austin hip-hop scene as well.  For anyone doubting, exhibit A comes in the form of the latest single from Dowrong of DSR/ALVMNI/LOEG’z.  Seasoned producer White Jamal flexes over a classic drumbreak to provide a nostalgia-inducing beat that perfectly suits the testimonial given by Dowrong about his life and ambitions.  This is definite mixtape fire right here.  Share this one around, and help boost those listen numbers, because tracks like Dowrong’s Prayer deserve to shine.

-chief

Standup Man :: Trae Crane + Lyrical Lemonade Drop ‘On My Own’ Video

My main man Click-Clack is constantly on point when it comes to knowing who is who and what’s what in the Austin hip-hop scene.  He recently threw out props to Austin-native Trae Crane‘s recent video for On My Own, and I instantly knew it was getting posted to the blog.  The song is catchy af, and the video (produced by Cole Bennett) is a standout without being overly flashy.  Chicago-based Lyrical Lemonade has gotten behind this piece, and the numbers show it… quality music, pushed properly, can make an impact.  Share it, like it, and keep supporting our scene(s)!

-chief

Realest Estate :: Retr05pect And Friends Go In On ‘The Real Estate Sessions’

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With so much talent in the Austin hip-hop scene, it’s amazing that we don’t see more producer-led projects featuring the best of their MC affiliates from track to track.  Ruler Why comes to mind, and I’m sure I’m forgetting others, but the numbers aren’t as high as they potentially could be.  Retr05pect, however, looks as if he’s attempting to skew that data with the release of the rock solid project The Real Estate Sessions, a project rooted in the discovery of a 45″ record collection at an estate sale.  The production throughout this project is top notch, as one would expect Retr05pect production to be.. it’s paced well, the skits provide just enough breathing room between song groupings, and the choices for MCs were right on the money.  You’ll find some of my favorite people on these tracks : Click-ClackMuggzy FlowzScuareno1mportantRudi DeVino, and Black DaVinci all spit quality bars and concepts.  I’m looking forward to keeping this one heavy in my DJ rotations.

-chief