We know it, you know it, the world knows it – Yelawolf is great.
This past weekend a new video dropped featuring the Alabaman rapper with his guest spot on D12 member Bizarre’s album. Not sure why it’s a featured spot, seeing as he’s basically rapping 90% of the song but whatever, it’s great.
Have a watch of the video below and make sure you go see him when he plays XOYO on June 8th.
Jazz Cafe
13.04.11
The last time I saw Murs on these shores was when he bopped past us outside 93 Feet East in 2004 when we were talking to Eyedea and he decided to make an impromptu appearance to freestyle on stage with E&A, belting out lines about the Queen and football. Many years and many albums later and the man who makes up one half of Felt was back and headlining the Jazz Cafe.
Bouncing onto the stage to his classic You & I, the Living Legend member started as he meant to go on, pogo-ing around with a broad smile on his face, getting the crowd ready for an evening of entertainment. Essentially all you need to know going into a Murs show is that he likes girls. In fact, he loves them. With a set list that boasted the tracks Dirty Girl, Silly Girl and Dark Skinned White Girl, he wasn’t even being subtle about it, but he let all the ladies in the crowd know that he loved them and they should be proud of their, um, private parts.
Taking in tracks like Lookin’ Fly, which included the rapper doing plane impressions and The OJ Song, a song about “when you love someone so much and want to be with them all the time but also want to stab their back every minute of the day”, the set was a blast from start to finish. Whether rapping over 9th Wonder beats, Ant production or Wiz’ Black And Yellow beat, Murs was on top of his game.
Def Jux might be dead, but one of their top names most definitely isn’t.
Abjekt.
Sweet Talk EP
Mad Decent
Already having been picked up by Skream, Australian beat-maker Kito has forged a potent reputation for production even fairly early into her career with the sublime Cold and What If tracks released on the Disfigured Dubz label. Now she’s unleashing an EP with Reija Lee on vocals on Diplo’s Mad Decent label and the four track release doesn’t disappoint.
Where the Disfigured tracks were distinctly deep and bassy, the EP switches the styles up, allowing Kito to flourish under the spotlight and show off her ability to throw down the unexpected and come up smelling of roses. Opening track Sweet Talk drops immediately into fuzz with bouncy stabs twanging around Reija’s vocals, the two mixing perfectly from the word ‘go’.
Broken Hearts thuds a bassline out loud marching along its three minute lifespan and again shows another side to the producer’s skill and outlay. It’s the final two tracks of the EP that are the standouts however with On The Jam providing a stark intro underneath Lee’s singing before the swirling into incessant hi-hats and finally drawing for the next dimension in the final third of the track.
This City mixes its humming basslines with almost 8-bit like bleeps, closing out the EP with booty shaking intent, Lee’s vocals again rounding off the sonic landscape in excellent fashion. These two are quite a duo and if this short release is anything to go by, the world is theirs for the taking. Definitely one to keep an eye on.
Abjekt.
When Rhymesayers release something, we take notice.
So when this teaser trailer for the new Hail Mary Mallon release was dropped, signalling the signing of Aesop Rock, DJ Big Wiz and Rob Sonic’s project to the Minneapolis-based label, we sat up and pressed play over and over.
Check it out below, nuff said.
Snoop has announced a one-off London show at the Forum in May.
The Doggfather will hit the capital to celebrate the release of his new album Doggumentary with the promise of special guests in tow. The album itself features the likes of Jake One, Kanye, Lex Luger, Damon Albarn, David Banner and many more and has been getting rave reviews Stateside.
For more information including pre-sale tickets, hit up www.hmvforum.com – tickets are priced at £35.
Meantime, let’s remember what an OG he is…
Cave In have announced the release of a new album.
The album, set for release on May 24th on Hydra Head Records is called White Silence. It’s their first album since 2005 and you can check the tracklisting below:
1. White Silence
2. Serpents
3. Sing My Loves
4. Vicious Circles
5. Centered
6. Summit Fever
7. Heartbreaks, Earthquakes
8. Iron Decibels
9. Reanimation
It’s another video from those Minnesotans – Atmosphere have dropped some visuals for the track She’s Enough from their new album The Family Sign.
Not only is the tune a banger, but the video is excellent and reminds you of the days when all you had to do to get a girl was put chewing gum in her hair. Those were the days. Keep your eyes open for the cameo to end all cameos in the lunch hall.
Huge.
Mad Decent have uploaded the video for the new Kito and Reija Lee track On The Jam.
The track is taken from their Sweet Talk EP which is available to buy now and which features another three tracks, all of which are bangers. Click play on the video below and watch this space for a Buzz Chart review of the EP.
French hip hoppers Hocus Pocus have set a new video live.
The track, Equilibre, features fellow Frenchman Oxmo Puccino is taken from the group’s last album 16 Pieces which was released last year. With the sunny weather currently hitting our streets, it’s the perfect soundtrack to your day, so get to clicking the play button below and nod that head of yours.
You can also check out our live review from their sold out show at London’s Jazz Cafe here.
Jazz Cafe, London
09.04.11
When a well established French act come to town, it’s a pretty safe bet that there will be a large crowd, all of whom are ready to prove their Gallic credentials and support their countrymen. So when it was announced that hip hop act Hocus Pocus were hitting the capital, it was clear that the Jazz Cafe in Camden was going to be full to the brim, and that’s exactly what it was.
Bursting onto the stage with a keyboard player, drummer, guitarist, bassist, three piece horn section and DJ Grem on the decks, frontman 20syl took the show by the scruff of the neck immediately, huge smile on his face and ready to dance. For their part, the crowd threw their hands in the air and began cheering and whistling along to every song from the word go too.
Running through the fan-favourites Smile [with UK’s Omar hitting the stage for the chorus line], Mr Tout Le Monde and Hip Hop?, 20syl was the perfect focal point for a band so tight it was impossible to find any imperfections. Speaking in both his mother tongue and excellent English, the rapper got the crowd singing drum kicks, turn table scratches and had the crowd bouncing and freezing at his every whim, providing a masterclass in crowd participation.
The fun wasn’t all focussed on their album tracks either, with each member of the band providing short recordings of one sound, be it a hi-hat, kick, snare or chorus line and building up a beat through these layered levels before perfoming a track over said improvised beat – it was truly something to behold. Even if the band hadn’t spoken English at any point, the non-Francophiles in the crowd would still have had a great time. It was what hip hop shows are meant to be – fun.
By the time the group had left the stage, there wasn’t a single person left in the venue that had any energy left, a perfect way to end the night.
Abjekt.