Tag: underground rap

Compton Hype HOPE, Hawthorne Joins Nottz, Lotus RMXs Some Soul, Sumsun RMXs McClure

Compton's buzzing on HOPE

Quick blog bits from around the L.A. underground (and up). Share ’em.

  1. FEATURED: Is Rapper HOPE Compton’s Next Big Hype?*
  2. Mayer Hawthorne Hooks Up with Beat-Maker Nottz
  3. MP3: Soul Chanteuse Remixed by Flying Lotus, Mount Kimbie
  4. Beat-Waver Sumsun Remixes Alpha Pup’s Oscar McClure

(all stories via West Coast Sound, via L.A. Weekly)

* In the just-out music video for the new H.O.P.E. track, “Bliss,” our unlikely hero has his lights turned out as a result of insufficient funds. Still, he’s got the skills to pay the bills.

Mayer Hawthorne Hooks Up with Virginia Beat-Maker Nottz, Drops Etched 12-Inch for ‘I Need You’

Apocalyptic Urban Visions: E-40, Gil-Scott Heron

No words for this.

I had no words for this, but a second video tip-off from the Pedestrian, a.k.a. the good evangelist J.B. Best (check out the first two tracks on the Lala player, screen right), revealed a second gem in addition to the incredible new E-40 video. Eerily similar in its visual theme is the just-released clip from spoken word heavyweight Gil-Scott Heron. Two of the hip-hop’s biggest DNA-providers crossing paths in the night.

Listen: Brand New Madvillain Track Leaked!

Leaked!

DOOM… the notorious hip-hop villain pulled another bait-and-switch in late November, sending his goons to lip-sync in his stead for an advertised appearance at the Grand Star in Chinatown. But Stones Throw… may be making attempts at amends. In a recent DJ set for BBC 1Xtra, J.Rocc leaked a brand new song from the unreleased second Madvillain album.

Sole & Skyrider Shed Light On 9-11 and the Internets, Again Advocate Eugenics

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Sole‘s new album with the Skyrider band won’t be coming out on Anticon, but it will be brimming with all of the political ire, sarcastic self-deprecation and critic-baiting you’ve come to expect from that label’s founder. It’s good. Real good, and to celebrate Plastique‘s pending arrival on Fake Four, Sole’s spreading some knowledge. Check out the two vids below, and the first one here.

Sole And The Skyrider Band hit L.A. on October 15, at the Knitting Factory.

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INCHES001: Local revolutions w/ Mika Miko, Xasthur, Rx Bandits, Castledoor, Shafiq Husayn

I’m exceedingly proud to announce the debut of my new weekly vinyl column, “INCHES” on the LA Weekly music blog, West Coast Sound. The full title of the inaugural installment is “INCHES001: Local revolutions, pt.1 — five L.A. vinyl exclusives revealed and reviewed.”

This edition features five releases by L.A.-area artists on L.A.-area labels — Mika Miko (PPM), Xasthur (Hydra Head), RxBandits (Sargent House), Castledoor (Seven Inch Project), and Shafiq (Poo-Bah) — that either are not available on CD, or sport a drool-worthy design. A free MP3 accompanies each writeup, along with a photo of the package shot, for better or for worse, by yours truly.

Mika Mikos We Be Xuxa (PPM)

Mika Miko's We Be Xuxa (PPM)

Future installments will include up-to-date reviews of wax by L.A. artists and/or L.A. imprints, profiles on local vinyl shops and labels, cratedigger-curated selections, swap meet outings, and whatever else seems like a good idea at the time. If you haven’t clicked over there already, please do so here.

Cult Bit: Amoeba Gets Stoned (and Thrown)

As if any of us needed an excuse to spend Sunday afternoons at the nation’s greatest record store (as if that’s not what we do already), Amoeba Music and Stones Throw Records have teamed up for a series of premium Sunday DJ sessions throughout the month of August. Get the details and sample the wares here (via LA Weekly).