Though we were busier than bees during Singapore Kane’s stay in L.A., we did sneak in some time at the 1982 release party, which featured some dope performances by Boston stalwarts Reks and Termanology. Enjoy.
Originators In Store. Los Angeles 10. 23.2010 [ L to R: Singapore Kane, Reks, Termanology, E Reece, Statik Selektah]
Sorry about the lack of zebra meat. We been busy, Singapore Kane is in L.A., as you can see, so are some other cats from the Bean.
Despite being the capital of the incredible and one of a kind state of California, Sacramento is a place that is rarely talked about unless the topic is government. The Kings have been on a downward spiral ever since Robert Horry’s miracle shot in 2002, and being that there isn’t any other sports teams, or major universities (besides Sac State), or any other national identity to the city, it just isn’t on most people’s radars. Even in California. The first time I went was when I was 22 years old, and I have been living in Ca my entire life, and specifically in the Bay for the vast majority of it. Pathetic on my part, I know.
Yet out of nowhere Macramento’s hip-hop scene has started to emerge on a national level. First the forgotten OG’s have been making a push for reemergence. Brotha Lynch Hung jumped back into the scene by getting signed to Tech N9ne’s Strange Music and releasing Dinner and a Movie, which was a pretty amazing yet dark and creepy piece of art that earned him his highest sales numbers since the mid-late 90’s. Additionally C-Bo has announced that he and Yukmouth are reuniting for another Thuglordz album which has surprisingly received more press than when they got together in the first place, which is lame because both aren’t what they once were on the mic. Yet Sac’s few familiar names are not the only ones making ripples in the music scene. Newcomer Bueno has teamed up with Grammy nominated producers Stereotypes and has been killing it with 808 and synth heavy trunk music (download his newest free mixtape Maloof Money 2 here, ), while another relatively unknown rapper, C Plus, has earned some internet love on sites like 2DopeBoyz, download his newest mixtape, All On Me, here.
Lee Bannon and Chuuwee - Need That f. C Plus
Yet while both Bueno and C Plus are undeniably grinding on their way to success, without a doubt the biggest new hip-hop artist out of Sac has got to be producer Lee Bannon. Not only has he provided tracks for MC’s from both coasts including Talib Kweli, Inspectah Deck, Consequence, Termanology, Skyzoo, Torae, The Jacka, UNI, and Strong Arm Steady, but he also produced the entirety of an 11 track EP with C Plus called The Smallest Giant (which is available for free here, and Never A Dull Moment with Michigan’s Wille The Kid which garnered a lot of hype, anticipation, and discussion on the net. While that would be enough for most people to cap off a quality 2010, Bannon released one more project for the internet to devour this month, this time pairing up with another Sacramento native named Chuuwee.
Lee Bannon and Chuuwee- 6 Feet Deep Part 1
To start things off Hot N Ready is free, so make sure to go grab it here. Next, if no one told you anything about this 11 song, 18 minute project, I would be amazed if you guessed that this came out of the West Coast or was made in 2010. That is as long as you forgot about the fact that theres a song named Sac, and Chuuwee mention’s their city on more than a few occasions. The point I’m trying to make is that Bannon’s production has a raw vintage quality that is more akin to experimental east coast hip-hop from the 90’s than anything recent out of California other than Madlib. The samples are chalk full of static, hissing and pops that come from old records, and they all have a dark and eery feel to them that is far from representative of the California sunshine. Chuuwee fits right in on these beats as well. His subject matter is rugged and street oriented, but it is expressed with a vast vocabulary of multisyllabic words that would make him fit in perfectly as a Wu affiliate. I also really like his desire to keep his tracks short and with much more time spent on verses than hooks. I’m impressed with Chuuwee and surprised because I feel like someone with hunger and bars like him would have more of a following than he does. Hopefully this project gets things moving in the right direction.
Lee Bannon and Chuuwee - Super Nigga 2010
1982 was a minute ago. I was about a year old, and Smurfs were the shit. It was also the birth year of Termanology and Statick Selectah. I think that’s why their new album is called 1982, I think. New track from the Beantown tandem featuring Masspike Miles and the legendary Bun B. One question though, where is the Singapore Kane feature? Seems like a no-brainer feature, but eh, what can you expect, dude’s name is Masspike Miles, all the simpletons appreciate those kind of puns over hot bars.
1982-You Should Go Home (Feat. Masspike Miles & Bun B)
A little pre-interview hype, I’ll be chatting Eternia & Moss up on Thursday. Stay tuned.
Click Cover to Download
Seriously is there anyone out there that puts out more dope content consistently than Falside? Oh yeah, and it’s almost always a free download! When this kid gets rich and famous, I’m going to try to stick near him, by that point he will be shitting out golden eggs for no cost. This upcoming mixtape, “Dollars Make Change“, features a killer line up, New England dominated to say the least. Check the lineup; Reef the Lost Cauze (Army of the Pharoahs), C-Rayz Walz, El Da Sensei (The Artifacts), Pacewon (The Outsidaz), Termanology, Slaine (La Coka Nostra / Special Teamz), Ill Bill (La Coka Nostra), Blaq Poet, Jaysaun (Special Teamz), Reks, Reason, C-Chan of Slow Suicide Stimulus, and more.
Absurd! Peep the promo video, and the track listing art is after the jump. Speaking of which, Falside does all his cover art, he’s a bit of a Photoshop wunderkind. Aight, I’m done sweating Fal. One.
I get great joy out of seeing the Red Sox out of the playoffs and the Patriots playing their least dominant football in years. Still, with the New York Hip-Hop scene in an inexplicable limbo, Boston has really stepped up for the East Coast. Pretty much anytime you see a rapper you’ve never heard of on a track featuring Edo G, Termanology, or Singapore Kane (and sometimes Masta Ace), you can expect a melodic, pensive beat, thoughtful lyrics, and an overall solid track.
That’s the case with the above track by SEEK, apparently 1/2 of the Boston group RADIx, with Edo G. The camera work could be more intersting by, I dunno, changing at all, but at least it fits in with the whole “Perspectives” idea. Boston’s been on point in the late double-Os, so if someone could tell GiftedUnlimitedRhymesUniversal to get his head out of his ass, I’d appreciate it.
A “Trojan Horse” has come to mean any trick that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place.
German production squad, Snowgoons, is set to release their 4th studio album, “The Trojan Horse” on October 27th. Following the tremendous success of their previous three projects, I’m pretty sure this won’t have the same effect that the Greeks had. The strength of the last 3 albums were manifested through the throwback beats and the artist selection. The roster for this album will not disappoint, in fact, it may be a flash point for so-called Indie rap. A moment where an extraordinary league of thought provoking MC’s squad up with an international champion sound of epic proportions.
Too much hype? You be the judge, peep the first track leak, “Hey Young World”. (below)
Oh yeah, the featured artists on this album include: the entire La Coka Nostra crew (Everlast, Danny Boy, ILL Bill & Slaine), Dilated Peoples, Defari, Termanology, Ruc (Heltah Skeltah), Torae, Skyzoo, Poison Pen, Outerspace, Krumb Snatcha, Buckshot (of Black Moon), Young De, Sabac Red (Non Phixion), Reef The Lost Cauze, Chief Kamachi, King Syze, Doap Nixon, El Da Sensai, Kaze, Block McCloud, Side Effect, Brainstorm, Virtuoso, Jaysaun, Edo G, Wise Intelligent, Tribecca, Nut Rageous, Viro The Virus, Savage Brothers, Lord Lhus….phew…. and more….
Snowgoons – “Hey Young World” ft La Coka Nostra & Heltah Skeltah
Spending my Sunday morning chatting up a 20 year old kid eating Cheerios in Providence, Rhode Island, what am I doing? Talking to Falside, that’s what son. The prodigy from Providence has been lacing beats for ZIF favorites for a minute, well, two years at least. Never heard of him? Shame on you! Redeem yourself immediately. Peep Falside’s blog. And the exclusive sit-down with ZIF (below).
Falside Speak On It!
Part 1. Greetings, Geography and Good Ol’ Internet
Part 2. Graduating high school, working with Reef & Vast Aire, thoughts on Beantown & Statik Selectah
Part 3. Dream Cut, Bugs In Ya Teef, Parting Shots
Time Machine (Hood Politics VI) drops September 22nd.
Produced by The Alchemist, directed by John Colombo.
Since Termanology is on this morbid note, how about the fact that Tupac tracks are still getting released. I was discussing this with Sammy G, the fact that mixtapes get a bad rap considering everyone ends up on them, dead or alive. The most recent Pac mixtape is titled “Immortal” and claims to be 17 unreleased Tupac cuts. Maybe it is, but there’s a good reason why they were unreleased, Pac didn’t like them, period? Perhaps Pac only didn’t like them enough for an LP, and had he been embedded in the NYC scene longer, it’s quite likely many of these tracks would have been released via mixtapes. So all you Pac loyalists out there, don’t hate on the mixtape genre, not if it takes a death of a legend for you to download one.
Been talking to a few of my Boston heads about the hip hop scene there and was confounded with the response; “there’s no one from Boston doing shit.” I took that as a research challenge and immediately Googled “Termanlogy” and “GangStarr” to see where that would take me. Honestly, I couldn’t find shit, a few references to Big Shug and not much else. Leave it to a New Yorker, producer-composer extraordinaire TakStar to educate me on the Boston scene by showing me a glimpse of Singapore. Singapore Kane is an MC who perfects the delicate balance of spitting “hard” but thought provoking lyrics, for me a quintessential Crackpack artist.
No doubt that the rise of Singapore Kane will put Beantown rap back on the map, or at least on Google….www.myspace.com/singaporekane
MPFREE: Singapore Kane ft. Big Shug and Termanology – My Boston
