LISTED REVIEWS
Grip Grand leaves us with a raw and bitter soundtrack to Brokeland, a hip-hop record that ain’t your usual hip-hop record, craving deeper, and stylistically wrapped up in a progressive, versatile soundscape, keeping it funky-fresh besides all of the melancholia, following in the footsteps of genre heroes such as Atmosphere and Sage Francis.
POSTED 05|31|2008
The LA-based trio of Maanumental, Chikaramanga and Newman aka Giant Panda is back with their sophomore effort 'Electric Laser', combining uplifting funk (trademark Tres Records of course) with the sound of Han Solo's laser sword into a delicious blend of mid school and future school hip-hop.
POSTED 05|19|2008
While already the author of many great projects, The Grouch has managed to take it to the next level. A most refreshing, well-rounded project with a charachter that’s harder and lyrics that are sharper and smarter than most albums out now, made by an unconventional type of rapper, a father, who promotes family life.
POSTED 04|30|2008
Two third of Detroit’s BR Gunna, aka the group mostly known for their 'Dirty District vol 2' album and productions on Slum Village’s 'Detroit Deli' or – and their solo names will ring a bigger bell by now- Fat Ray and Black Milk, are releasing this 11-track EP on Milk’s own Music House, which makes Black Milk one of the busiest artists of the year.
POSTED 03|27|2008
Underground heroes One Be Lo (on 'Lettin You Know') and Mac Lethal (on 'My Kingdom') are compatible to the sound of the album, and while their debut release from 2006 'Haven’t You heard?' remains mostly negatively answered (literally, in sales, and figuratively, as in an answer to the question in the album title), 'The Sacred Document' is your and their chance to get acquainted with each other.
POSTED 03|18|2008
'It Is What It Is' is a sober view on life, critical and sharp, with a soulful undertone, an album that confirms our earlier suspicion that these musicians (now in particular Sophistic but his former crew members DVS One and Elokwent also appear on the album) would build up a rep in the LA underground and beyond or even above. Our suggestion: don’t have second thoughts about buying this album.
POSTED 03|05|2008
A thousand years after the Norsemen conquered Europe, Norway's White Shadow is on a quest to do the same anno 2008. And not only Europe, because with a guest list composed of some of the US's most respectable rappers in the underground community, he's ready to pull the same trick on American soil too.
POSTED 02|24|2008
Take the humour, take the smoothness, take the consistency and throw it all in a pot full of soul-and funk-blended beats, with samples played back, distorted noises, showing a cartoonesque character, and you’ll have a combination that’ll take the listener on a trip, direction: sky, destination: heaven. There’s obviously more than three seats between underground and heaven, but with this record dumhi makes us forget that gap for a while.
POSTED 11|29|2007
Far from being unoriginal, far from being monotonous and far from soundin too Oxnard, this album is a refreshing piece from the Left Coast, reviving the most honoured hedonistic sounds the West is and was known for, theme-and skit-wise, while delivering consciousness at the same time. 'Phar from Home' ain’t breaking no barriers but it’s breaking a leg or ten, get down to it!
POSTED 11|01|2007
Minnesota Slicks aka Musab is better known as Beyond, formerly a member of the Headshots crew (with the early Atmosphere) and founder of the Rhymesayers label on which he issued his first album. Record number two symbolizes a turn, leaving the nest, now being signed to Hiero Imperium.
POSTED 10|18|2007from the vaults
