Pac Div – Bank
I remember I first got really into Pac Div after hearing the track “Knuckleheadz” off their Church League Champions mixtape. It was a combination of flow and fun that really hooked me with these guys. Then they sort of fell into that weird middle category of super-talented acts that everyone was waiting to blow up. It never happened. I’m not really sure why, but I’m keeping the hope alive that these guys will eventually get the respect and notoriety they deserve. On the mixtape track they just released “Gimme What You Got,” Pac Div uses the same sample as Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s“Take You There” to create this quasi-romantic scenario of taking girls back to the crib. Then they drop off “Bank,” and it’s like whoa. “Man, what’s it gonna take? Always making groundbreaking shit that don’t break,” is the question that opens this Scoop Deville-produced track. The song then unfolds into some options for success – one of which is releasing a corny track for fame (i.e. “Gimme What You Got” in my humble opinion). They’re asking the same question fans have been asking for years: “Why haven’t they blown up yet?” Perhaps will get the answer in October, when GMB drops. – Kathy Iandoli (@kath3000)
AD LOADING...
Copywrite featuring Tage Future – “Got To Make It”
This song is one of my personal favorites from God Save The King, which this month re-released in its “Proper English Version.” As a fan of Copywrite (and Tage) since the early days of MHz, this speaks to both the evolution and consistency of the Columbus, Ohio Hip Hop pioneer. The artist, fighting for sobriety and clarity (as seen in the D.U.I. arrest footage inter-cut within the video) isn’t just about punchlines and shots at his Rap peers. Here, you can understand the nearly two decades the emcee has dedicated to his craft, and why he’s got to make it. It is also poignant to see Tage Future alongside, as both still spit precise bars with a flow that’s a real testament to ‘Bustown’s role in the Midwest. Stu Bangas supplies one of his best soundscapes, which helps pull Copy’s abilities away from the sound in which they were known a decade ago, and maintains the dopeness. This song is inspirational, and still bangs. – Jake Paine (@Citizen__Paine)
Evil Nine featuring Danny Brown – “Black Brad Pitt “
When UK Breakbeat / Electro duo Evil Nine brought in Aesop Rock to help open their 2004 debut album with the track “Crooked,” it was solid enough to make me appreciate the talents and respect the versatility of all the three artists but didn’t leave me with any desire to hear another collab. Fast forward to this week’s “Black Brad Pitt” which once again sees Evil Nine paired up with a Hip Hop artist who pushes the genre’s boundaries – along with the buttons of many of its fans who prefer a curveball-free – a/k/a tired – nuts and bolts approach to their rhyming. While Danny Brown launches into some of his rawest rhymes to date, updating us that lately he’s been doing a lot of dreaming namely about “a million bitches screaming, begging for the semen from the demon with no tooth,” it’s clear that Evil Nine’s compositions have come light years in their precision – while going completely dark in atmosphere – from the days of “Crooked.” What starts as a basic 808 sounding beat, taking on one more new component wih each bar, “Black Brad Pitt” finally blasts off during the second chorus into full-on gltichy ethereal madness. Not only does this track make want to hear a full album from Danny Brown and the pair of artists ballsy enough to add The Clash to their FabricLive deejay set, but I’d use it as an introduction for anyone who has never heard of Evil Nine and / or Danny Brown. Because like Danny says when his dick is in your mouth, hearing his songs will make you feel a lot less scared. – Michael Sheehan
AD LOADING...
