Contrary to popular belief, which may have been influenced
by my lack of recent postings, I do still exist and still think about improving
this blog. Hopefully this segment is an
improvement over our last one,
and as this continues to develop I will implement a creative (at least as
creative as I can be) rating scheme to allow for people to actually understand
what I am trying to say. Because I haven’t
thought of anything yet, you will be forced to suffer through my reviews at
least one more time.
Masta Ace – A Long Hot Summer (2004)
Ace has truly mastered the concept album. It plays like a movie and is pretty cohesive,
flowing from angry to laid back tracks seamlessly with the storyline. This provides the backdrop for Masta Ace to
shine, on classic tracks like Beautiful
and the pre-eMC Travelocity featuring
Punch N’ Words. If you are unfamiliar to
Ace or this album, smack yourself in the head several times, then go pick this
up.
Atmosphere – The Family Sign (2011)
Atmosphere has been Twin Cities music for over a decade,
drawing almost 20,000 fans for their set at SoundSet this year. Although their music has changed dramatically
as of late, they still flex their skills on this album. Only time will tell if anymore classics will
emerge from this album, but besides a few missteps (one of which occurs when
Slug attempts to croon) the album is solid if you are willing to adapt to their
changing sound.
Masterclass – Masterclass (compilation) [2011]
Wow. Pure beat tape
goodness that deserves to be on constant repeat. Definitely buy this if you can, but somehow
this insane ish can be gotten for free!
Visit bandcamp to delight your eardrums.
Hasaan Mackey – Soul For Sale (2011)
Some good, hardish raps with substance from the good folks at Mello Music Group. Nothing off the wall amazing upon first listen, but with the free price tag everyone should venture over to bandcamp for a listen. Listening to this as I write the brief review, and I would say that the previous lines don’t quite do justice to this project. It is quite good.
Kids These Days – Hard Times EP
Young, witty MC firing lines the wonderful tunes of a live
band. The track Summerscent definitely put a smile on my face. If my one line description peaks your
interest at all, hop on over to the wonderful Musical Schizophrenia for
a sample track and more.
M.E.R.C. & DJ A to the L – Daylight Marauders
A tribute album to the classic Midnight Marauders, this
effort does not embarrass the original ATCQ crew. Although I’m not incredibly well versed in ATCQ
albums (let the stream of angry comments from our one loyal reader [if you
actually exist] begin), this is an enjoyable listen and worth the time if you
are looking to listen to new artists.
Check the link for the free download.
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