Over the past 24-26 months or so, the Gary, IN-based emcee Freddie Gibbs has joined a lengthy list of JOVM mainstays as I’ve written quite a bit about him. With the release of his 2009 compilation of […]
Category: hip-hop
New Video: Miami-based Production duo GTA Teams Up With Paul Wall and Clyde Carson
Comprised of Julio Mejia and Matt Toth, the Miami, FL-based production duo GTA have developed a reputation for a genre defying sound that caught the attention of renowned producers Laidback Luke, Diplo, and A-Trak. And […]
New Video: The Glitchy, VHS Styled Video for The Age of L.U.N.A.’s 90s Influenced “Boom”
The up-and-coming and extremely young London-based hip-hop collective The Age of L.U.N.A. have quickly developed an international profile with the release of an critically acclaimed mixtape earlier this year. And although they clearly possess an […]
New Video: Introducing The Old School Hip Hop-Inspired Sounds of Virginia’s Aspiring Acolytes of Rap Production
As I’ve mentioned countless times throughout the history of this site, I frequently receive quite a number of emails from artists, producers, publicists, labels, and band managers from all over the world. And of course, […]
F.Y.I,’s musical career began in the middle part of this past decade as the co-founder of Los Angeles-based rap act Those Chosen, with whom he recorded over 100 songs, a number of mixtapes and a critically praised EP, 5IVE, which was produced by Grammy winner IZ Avila best known for his work with Usher, Janet Jackson, and Gwen Stefani. And with the release of his debut solo effort, Yo! The Places You’ll Go, which featured a collaboration with Rass Kass and Ab-Soul, the Los Angeles-based emcee’s album landed at #1 on WPTS, which won an MTVu Woodie Award for Best College Radio Station. And as a result of sharing stages with renowned artists including The Game, B.O.B., Big Sean, Curren$y, Slick Rick, De La Soul, Pac Div, Dead Prez, Little Brother, Black Milk, Pete Rock and CL Smooth and Boot Camp Clik and playing at music festivals such as CMJ, A3C and the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, F.Y.I. has quietly developed a national reputation as an emcee to pay attention to.
The Los Angeles-based emcee’s debut sophomore effort, Age/Sex/Location was released earlier today and the EP’s latest single, EP opening track “One Thang” pairs F.Y.I.’s confident and dexterous flow, rhyming lyrics about looking bravely forward and striving and accomplishing your goals without fear and without doubt. And he does so over
over a glitchy and soulful production consisting of boom bap beats, distorted vocal samples, whirring electronics. It’s swaggering yet upbeat hip-hop which shows how influential Kanye West, Outkast and Common have been to contemporary hip-hop.
New Video: The Affecting and Empathetic, New Video for Koncept and J57’s “The Fuel” feat. Akie Bermiss
J57, Koncept and their sadly unheralded (and extremely prolific) crew of collaborators, Brown Bag All-Stars have mainstays on this site as I’ve written about J57, Koncept and several other members of crew throughout the years. And if you’ve been […]
New Video: Chris Rivers and Sheek Louch Team Up On “I Got It Made (Freestyle)”
Originally performing and recording under the moniker of Baby Pun, Chris Rivers decided that he desperately needed to avoid the constant comparisons to his legendary father, Big Pun — while following in his father’s footsteps […]
New Video: Shabaam Sahdeeq Considerers The Consequences of a Life of Crime in the New Video for “Get It”
Over the course of the five year history of this site, Brooklyn-based emcee Shabaam Sahdeeq has been a mainstay artist, as I’ve written about him a number of times over the years. What you may not know […]
New Audio: Rhythm Scholar’s 70s Jazz and Funk Reworking of Audio Two’s Classic “Top Billin'”
Although “Top Billin’” relegated Brooklyn-based duo Audio Two to one-hit wonder status, the song has managed to be one of hip-hop’s most beloved. most important, most sampled songs as a number of artists across both […]
Innocent? is a New York-based emcee, who first received attention across the blogosphere with the release of the Love It or Hate It double album. The New York-based emcee teamed up with Brooklyn-based Stan Da Man on Love It’s follow-up, Whip Appeal, which T.H.E.M. Recordings released last month.
The EP’s latest single “Old Souls” is a bonus track off Love It and it features Innocent? and the legendary Sadat X rhyming about how things were done back in the day and how today, it’s a much more phony, superficial and distrustful hip-hop industry and scene for artists — and even fans. And they manage to do so over a sample consisting of boom-bap beats and a looped, bluesy guitar that gives the song an old school, stomping, shuffling swagger. It’s yet another example of real hip-hop — of talented emcees spitting fire over dope beats.
New Video: Up-and-Coming Emcee ARoc and The Visuals For His Latest Single “The Future”
Just the other day, I received a Soundcloud link from an up-and-coming emcee from Inglewood, CA, ARoc. The Inglewood-based emcee started rhyming when he turned 16 and by 2004 he eventually linked up with Neiman Johnson of YFS and 300 Entertainment, […]
ARoc is an up-and-coming emcee from Inglewood, CA, who started rhyming at 16 before he eventually linked up with Neiman Johnson of YFS and 300 Entertainment in 2004. ARoc spent the next few years developing his sound and voice — but 2015 may be the year he explodes into the national hip-hop map as he’s been featured on guest spots on Eric Bellinger‘s “Turn Down For You” and “Gina” and a collaboration with up-and-coming singer/songwriter/emcee Jhene Aiko “Team Us.”
I recently received a Soundcloud link of ARoc freestyling on his latest single “The Future” and admittedly, I was impressed by his flow complete with a ridiculous amount of braggadocio and playful wordplay over a variety of beats.
Long Island-born, Brooklyn-based DJ/producer/emcee J57 is probably best known among hip-hop heads as a member of the Brown Bag All-Stars, one of the more prolific and underrated crews in contemporary hip-hop. And over the last couple of years in particular, J57 has received attention and critical praise for a production style that channels the sound of hip-hop’s golden age — i.e., big, boom bap beats, heavy synth-based orchestration paired with ridiculously tight, catchy hooks. As a result of being mentored by the legendary DJ Premier, the Brooklyn-based producer, DJ and emcee has assisted Premier on production work with the likes of Nas, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith. And naturally, those contributions have directly led to collaborations with Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, Method Man, Raekwon, Mack Wilds, The Roots and others; in fact, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past few months, you’d likely remember that J57 produced “The Purple Tape” off Method Man’s recently released The Meth Lab.
Also, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years you’d also be familiar with local emcee Koncept, who like the aforementioned J57 is a member of Brown Bag All-Stars. Over the past few years, there have been few emcees who have been as productive, prolific and consistent as Koncept, who has released a number of impressive singles and albums. Of course because of their connection in Brown Bag All-Stars, it shouldn’t be surprising that J57 and Koncept have been frequent collaborators, including for Koncept’s forthcoming EP The Fuel, slated for a November 20 release.
EP title track “The Fuel” featuring guest vocals by Akie Bermiss features Koncept dexterously rhyming about having the desire and determination to succeed in even the most difficult of situations, including desperate, hand-to-mouth poverty, working soul-crushing jobs with you dignity and sense of self intact. And he does so over a soulful production that features soaring organ chords, Akie Bermiss’s earnest vocals, and boom-bap drums. It’s conscious and thoughtful hip-hop based around deeply personal experiences and hard-fought wisdom — and it clearly draws from hip-hop’s glory days, when a song like “The Fuel” would dominate even mainstream radio. But no worry, real hip-hop featuring emcees actually saying something important over dope production is still alive and well; sadly, we all have to make more of a concerted effort to find it and support it.
2015 has been a busy year for Detroit‘s Guilty Simpson as Stones Throw Records released his latest full-length effort Detroit’s Son earlier this year, and he’s released a couple of incredible, non-album singles featuring collaborations with a number of internationally-based producers. Simpson’s latest single “Greatness” is a collaboration with London-based producer Stone Tone, and it’s comprised of Simpson’s gruff baritone rhyming about being determined to succeed in the face of all odds, haters, duplicitous snakes and others over a production featuring a looped, twisting and turning piano sample, soaring synths and strings, which give the song an inspirational feel, while being bolstered by boom-bap drums. Simply put, the track is real hip-hop and not that bullshit you’d hear on your conglomerate mainstream hip-hop radio station, as the song features an incredibly talented emcee actually saying something relevant and meaningful over dope beats. Certainly, after playing the song you should feel as though you could (and should) go out and there and achieve your own dreams — right this very second.