June 2009

I really don’t know where to start with this one. Raashan Ahmad, while moving back and forth between Boston and various West Coast destinations, worked as a member of Crown City Rockers – and presumably will still in the future (the group recently released a few digital tracks…cop it). But with the ever ballooning ability of any artist to record and properly release music, Ahmad has seen fit to head out on his own for the second time. Soul Power is the follow up to last year’s The Push. And while that first full length foray slipped past me, this one didn’t. Initially, though, I’ll say that I didn’t recognize the name, however, upon figuring all of this out, I’m glad I took the time. Read more

afsdaWhenever Eminem first started getting a lot of radio airplay – late ‘90s or so – I had a friend called ‘Earfytones.’ He wore browns, dark greens, grey and the like, but nothing brighter than that under any circumstance. Unfortunate for Earfy, or not, he bore a vague resemblance, physically and vocally, to Mr. Mathers. We thought that was pretty funny. And it was. But during that time, these were the only thoughts of Eminem penetrating the thick skulls of myself and my meager cohort. Instead, rap wise, what we focused upon were Lyricist Lounge and Company Flow. Of course, both that compilation and El-P have had an enormous impact on rap – in an underground sense at least. But this was the time that my opinion of Detroit’s shadiest character was cemented. Read more

The inclusion of some higher power in music is realistically the basis of all American styles of song. From field hollerers thinking about a promised land to blues, soul and Bob Dylan’s ill advised flirtations with being born again, religion is an omnipresent force in beats, rhymes and life. Even those trumped up award shows feature ‘thank you’ speeches that include some mention of G-d, even if it’s coming from the most unlikely of sources.

Hip hop isn’t any different. And while most folks couldn’t readily name a host of performers that are explicit in regards to their worshiping habits in song, Mars Ill comes to mind pretty easily. In that, though, a lot of those songs only include vague mentions – at least the ones that I’m familiar with – of that supposed, powerful source. Considering the talent inherent in that crew, it doesn’t matter, though. Read more

Being signed to Duckdown…er…Ruckdown, the Kidz in the Hall seemed to have a certain amount of respect just due to who ran and or runs that label. And somehow, the duo that comprises the group, Naledge and Double O, received a decent amount of air time for an independent act over the last year or so. I, as dumb as it sounds, never got hip to it. But after coming across the Naledge mix tape due out at the end of the month, I went back and did a bit of reading. And the story as to how the duo met is almost as good as Chicago Picasso. Read more