Dallas’ A.Dd+ released their new album When Pigs Fly for free yesterday.
The Texans have put the entire album up on their bandcamp which gives you the option to grab it for nothing or else pay $12 and get the physical copy of the record including a poster and your hand numbered card. There are only 30 odd left so get involved before it’s too late!
If you want a quick introduction, click the video below, it’s a banger. And like they said, if you ain’t ridin’ with us, get yo’ ass on the busssssss.
Opening for Raekwon can never be easy. Let’s face it, everyone is there for the main man and whilst there were plenty of people in the venue, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see the support acts find it difficult to get motivated infront of a crowd who only had the Wu member on their minds. However, as UK stalwart Verb T stepped to the stage with Fliptrix and Jam Baxter, along with their man behind the decks, DJ Madnice, the energy was top notch from the off. All three rappers gave their all, bouncing around, pumping fists and even bringing the crowd out of their slumber for some call and response – a sterling effort and proof the UK can still do it big.
Then it was time for the main event, though at almost 10.45, Rae had kept people waiting enough for his entrance. Still, all that yawning and feet aching was forgotten when C.R.E.A.M. blasted out over the speakers and the portly, beanie-clad MC appeared from the back to face his adoring fans. He ran through tracks from his recent albums, Cuban Linx 2 [Ten Bricks and House of Flying Daggers were stand-out] and his current release Shaolin v Wu Tang whilst interspersing with classic Wu Tang material, which, of course, got the biggest cheer from the crowd.
Slow to warm up, he was soon in his zone imploring the crowd to look after their mothers and grandmothers whilst telling his fans that he never thought he’d ever get the chance to play in London, let alone keep coming back and enjoying every second. In fact, he said, he was looking forward to going to the nearby Jamaican food spot because the owners love his big belly. A lot more charismatic than most people would think, the Chef then bigged up ODB and Nate Dogg before his DJ dropped a medley of classic old tracks that influenced him and Wu in the early days.
It wasn’t the greatest show ever, but clearly Raekwon is an MC to be admired and respected. Stopping a track after one verse was a bit tiresome but when you’ve got so many bangers, it’s hard to fit everything in. Overall, a good night was had and the amount of Ws in the air was testament to the popularity of the crew – Wu Tang never dies!
Long Beach rapper Nate Dogg passed away last night at the age of 41. Nathaniel Hale made his mark as a rapper on the West Coast scene amongst other stars such as Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Warren G and Dr Dre who recruited him to appear on his debut album, ‘The Chronic’.
Nat Dogg signed to Death Row Records in 1993 and then went on to work for Elektra Records after falling out with the Death Row crew. In 2007 he suffered a stroke and a year later, another that worsened his condition. As yet his cause of death is unknown.
Having released his debut album Lights Out Paris in 2005, it took a good while for Sims to bring out the follow-up but it was most definitely worth the wait. Bad Time Zoo is 14 track record full of cutting lyrics which range from the apathy of modern society to the simple fact that the MC loves his girlfried all layered over supremely powerful production from Lava Banger creator Lazerbeak.
Opening up as he means to go on, the Minneapolis rapper claiming that we “dropped the borders but we kept them walls” and being “so close I could almost see your breath / but so far I can’t hear your words” before lamenting the so-called “time of plenty” whilst all the while feeling like something is missing.
It’s a theme that runs through the album but never once falls into the preaching category, which is a testament to the ability of Sims’ lyrics, who despite all the problems we face implores us to “drop that cynicism” on Weight. Listening to these beats, that task doesn’t seem quite so difficult.
Relying more on his own talent than bringing in scores of guests, Sims does relent on Too Much by having P.O.S. giving his take on a near-disasterous road accident. Far from taking away from Sims, it simply goes to show how talent the Doomtree camp are as both mould their flows over the beat in their own inimitable style.
It’s impossible to pick a stand-out track on the record, such is the quality of the output – every time the play button is pressed, a new favourite presents itself. Suffice to say it’s worth multiple plays, so that every layer of the rap patchwork can get its time to shine, something it does brighter than ever.
The production is similarly tight all the way through the album from the horn led melody of Burn It Down to the dub-influenced, piano sampling LMG, the heavy drums of The Veldt and In My Sleep to the scratched vocal samples in Radio Opaque. Lazerbeak has one-upped himself once again, providing the perfect backdrop for his crew mate. The beats fit the rapper and the rapper’s flow fits the production, it’s rare that this happens over such a consistent period of time, yet that’s what you get on Bad Time Zoo.
Whether you’re into rap bangers or introspective backpack tunes, you need to check out this album. Doomtree just get better and better and with this latest release, Sims announces himself as a bonafide king. Absolutely brilliant.
See for yourself by listening [and then supporting great independent music by buying] here.
Turntablist extraordinaire Kid Koala is hitting London this month.
The Canadian DJ, who has wowed crowds across the globe with his quick hand skills and ability to turn anything into a coherent tune, will be playing Koko on March 12th. He will be ably supported by DJ Vadim, a live set by Polar Bear and Mr Thing, which is set to be a stellar night.
We’ll keep this one nice and simple – We love Yelawolf here at Crossfire, have done for ages. So we’re delighted he’s dropped a video for one of the best tracks from his Trunk Muzik mixtape.
Good To Go features legendary UGK rapper Bun B and proves exactly why many consider Yelawolf to be the most exciting and unique rappers to emerge in many years.
This one is huge, so crank it high and get good to go.
The man with the most memorable name in rap, Waka Flocka Flame, has a new single coming out in the UK.
No Hands, which features guest spots from Roscoe Dash and Wale, has already proved a huge hit in the States, selling over a million copies and will be released in the UK on April 18th. With an army of fans thanks to his Lex Luger produced anthem Hard In Da Paint, it’s only a matter of time before Waka is massive over here too.
DMC, who are known the world over as the legendary DJ Champs have opened a competition to any DJ across the world in their Online DJ Competition. The competition will get filmed footage online and the winner of the global vote will compete against the heavyweights in the World DJ Champs later this year.
The voting will begin on March 3rd and will see a vote every two weeks with the top 10 being decided who will in turn by judged by Champion DJs. Each winning DJ and the runner-up go through to the August final where all DJs will be required to upload their six minute filmed performance.
Once again the public will vote for their favourites, and the top 10 will then be judged by DMC World DJ Champions. On September 5th one DJ will be crowned the world’s first DMC Online DJ Champion.
The Odd Future rapper has been getting serious hype of late and this track, taken from his upcoming album Goblin, proves why. Lines like “threesomes with a fucking Triceratops” mean you need to listen, straight up. And with a video that includes eating a bug, throwing up and hanging yourself, there’s no way you can really ignore it is there?
Dallas’ A.Dd+ released their new album When Pigs Fly for free yesterday.
