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Showing posts from February, 2008

Cobblestone Jazz delivers thought provoking music

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I listen to a lot of music and am always searching for something new. This search has recently led me to electronic music. Cobblestone Jazz, a trio of electronic musicians with traditional music education, improvises their music from machines both in the studio and live. With the release of their album 23 Seconds they have been in constant demand overseas, but recently found time to do a series of dates in the states. Late Saturday night they took the stage at Nectar. Slowly building their sound up they tweaked at mixing boards, stared at computer screens, banged on drum machines and one member plays the fender Rhodes while adding vocals processed through a vocorder. For me I enjoy the build up in their style of electronic music. It doesn’t just start out fast and up tempo, it climbs up the BPM ladder slowly, all the while they are quick to let the song breath introducing new elements and bringing in the spacey house feel. As the music grows you can see the guys in Cobblestone Jazz get

Amp Live + Radiohead = A dope remix album

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At a time when every producer is trying to make a new American Gangster , leave it to the forward thinking producer Amp Live of the duo Zion I to wreck the game with an eight track remix tribute to Radiohead’s much talked about In Rainbows . The story goes Amp Live has always been a huge fan of Radiohead and when he heard about their internet marketing plan with In Rainbows he was blown away. When he got his copy he sat down and recreated it. After chopping, looping and inviting some friends over, Rainydayz Remixes is here for all to enjoy. Amp Live pulled on his history with electronic music production here, something that can be seen heavily on the early Zion I releases but less on the newer albums. This style of production is dangerous, but he seems to balance it well with his Hip Hop sensibilities producing tracks such as “15 Stepz,” with it’s guitar heavy intro before flipping into a smooth acoustic guitar melody for Codany Holiday to sing over, paying perfect tribute to Thom Yo

Float into spring with "Megaphone"

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Underground Hip Hop gets a bad rap (pardon the pun) often times as to nerdy or to conscious, with people calling the fans “backpackers” in reference to the backpacks always found strapped to them, even if they are empty. But the one thing about the underground is it provides artists with freedom to make music exactly as they want. Enter Moe Pope & Headnodic as Megaphone. As former members of the much hyped Crown City Rockers this emcee and producer duo is taking it back to the essence of Hip Hop but with some nice twists to make it all their own for the two double 0 eight! Headnodic handles all the beats here and shows that he is certainly a well rounded producer and digger pulling samples from many albums and producing live instruments on tracks like “Firelude.” On top of delivering an album that would make the legends who have inspired Headnodic’s music proud the whole crew (Project Move) comes in for three “Homework” sessions where they break down the best producers paying tribu

It's Just My Thoughts... Vol. 3

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Another week past and more craziness going down! But before we get into all that I just want to send a big thank you out to Saigon, dude came to town and killed it! Then he spent an afternoon talkin with the people at Seattle Central. This guy is on some real uplifting Hip Hop music and he deserves his props! Now let’s get this thing started. Bun B is coming to town April 4th! Nuemo’s is about to be crackin! He was out here in November or December at the War Room but I couldn’t make it so I’m definitely trying to make it out to this show. RIP Pimp C. I have to once again give respect to hiphopdx.com for dropping another fresh interview. This week they sat down with Olu Dara. That’s right Nasir Jones pops! Check it out here . Any of y’all see the new site that popped up this week www.kingmathers.com ? What do you think? Is Em going to come back and wreck the game? My boy Mike says that him and Dre are back in the lab and Em is on his Slim Shady/Marshall Mathers type ish? Can Eminem ma

Kublakai steps forward

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If one song could explain how I feel about Hip Hop, I would probably have to give the award to “Love Story” from Kublakai. With a perfectly melancholy beat courtesy of Budo, he explains his infatuation with this music and why you can’t ever escape it. It is his love for this music that proves to be both the doing and undoing of this record. Where Kublakai succeeds in writing lyrics that are at times witty, insightful, and even show some depth, he fails to discover a delivery that consistently helps convey his message. When Kublakai steps out of the funny voiced persona he performs as on some of the record you see hints of the makings of an everlasting emcee. You can see his dedication to the art of rhyme writing and he has made sure that his flow matches the beat perfectly. The beat selection here is top notch from the harder edged opener “All Else Fails” with some nice piano chops and brilliant cuts courtesy of DJ Nphared to Grieves dark and moody production on “Torn Down Torch” and “

Akrobatik delivers the "Absolute Value" of Hip Hop

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Last month Akrobatik came to town as one third of the Perceptionists. While Mr. Lif is the most well known member of the crew Akrobatik has been an underground mainstay dating back to 1998 when he started dropping classic 12’s and repping Boston to the fullest. While always an amazing emcee his skill’s were, and still are, at a level many can’t mess with. This can prove to be a double edge sword as it provided Ak with much critical acclaim but little support from more than the hardest of heads. With the release of his sophomore album Absolute Value, Akrobatik has to be aiming for that mass appeal. Teaming with Fat Beats, he went for broke and pulled out all the stops. Absolute Value is filled with great guest spots and production from a who’s who in the Hip Hop underground. But the guests don’t take anything away from what it is Akro is trying to provide to the people and that is some classic Hip Hop for your listening pleasure. His greatest gift is his voice. It’s deep but not gruff;

Saigon has (finally) arrived!

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Ladies and gentleman Saigon is coming to Seattle! From his reoccurring role on HBO's "Entourage" to signing with Just Blaze and dropping a lead single with the one and only Hova, Saigon has steadily built his career without dropping a proper full length. "The Greatest Story Never Told" has been one of the most anticipated albums for several years now and no matter what happens it seems to stay heavily expected. Saigon has explained that he never had an official date and the album is just now being mastered, hopefully this proves to be true, but regardless of his album setbacks he will be at Nuemo's on Wednesday the 20th – will you? If you're nervous about how good the show will be your fears may be justified, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a chance. You're guaranteed to see two live sets from Seattle's own Cancer Rising and Dyme Def -- both of whom have proven themselves as energetic and fun acts. Then there is Saigon. While he may

The Hip Hop take on Pinback

Somehow I ended up at the Showbox Thursday night to watch about an hour of Pinback’s set, and I have to say that all my expectations were met. What were these expectations? Well lets just say I wasn’t optimistic about the performance and by the third song I was convinced that their was nothing this band could do to impress me. Then the drummer just had to go and lay down a ridiculous groove – of course after maybe four bars it was ruined by the addition of fairly lame and uninspired guitar playing. The bassist showed moments of some funk, but the ramblings of their lead “singer” killed any shreds of optimism I was still holding on to. I listen to soul music. Yeah I know I’m the resident Hip Hop head around Spi but you want to talk about singing I’m gonna hit you with that “Just As I Am” from Bill Withers or if you want something more modern “Words and Sounds Vol. 1” from Jill Scott. This summer I was obsessed with the one and only Isaac Hayes. This is the singing I’m used to and respec

It's Just My Thoughts... Vol. 2

I’m back at it again, I apologize for the absence last week sometimes things are unavoidable! For all you Devin fans out their he left Rap-A-Lot this week and if you want all the details straight from his own mouth check out this dope interview right here , he even mentions Seattle as his favorite city to hit! Check it out and if you’re not familiar with his style of country rap tunes do some homework… You won’t regret it. I must say I’m pretty bummed about the events that played out on Thursday (yes, Valentines Day) in Olympia on Evergreen’s campus. It seems during a dead prez show a fight broke out and things escalated, ending in a riot and the destruction of a police car! Check out the full story here . dead prez has always had a serious message and a lot of animosity towards authority figures and while I wasn’t there I have a feeling that they probably didn’t do much to help the situation stay calm – although I doubt the arrival of police in riot gear helped either! It will be in

Grynch lays claim to the crown

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As bad as this may sound some rappers just sound tight when you listen to them flow. Of course the problem with this is that a lot of times these rappers that “sound” good aren’t usually saying anything of substance. Grynch happens to have one of the nicest flows in Seattle and he always has something to say. What at first sounds like a project birthed out of any town in the states, My Second Wind is anything but formulaic by Seattle standards. With a wide arrangement of both producers and guest emcee’s along for the ride Grynch delivers a project that hits many emotions and expands an ever growing diverse local Hip Hop scene. Grynch’s best quality as an emcee is his ability to capture your attention as soon as his voice graces your speakers. He spits in a manner that sounds so effortless you would think that he has been at it for a lifetime. In truth however the young John Overlie has only just started, celebrating his 21st birthday last year. This hasn’t prevented him from enjoying l

Badu set to rock 2008!

When I first heard the lead single “Honey” from the new Badu album a couple months ago I wasn’t into. In fact if I remember correctly I turned it off after only about thirty seconds. Erykah Badu has been gone for a minute but supposedly she has 3 (yes three) projects in the works for this year. With the Madlib collaborative project leaking out slowly (check out Gilles Peterson’s ‘Worldwide’ radio show here ) I’m fairly confident it will see the light of day at some point and with the release of a video for “Honey” it seems that this project will also be out at some point sooner rather than later (although in this always unstable music industry who ever knows what’s gonna happen!?!). As for the third project I don’t know anything about it and don’t really want to worry about it either. We have tracks from two projects, both of which are sounding better and better with every listen and new track that leaks (Yeah my mind has been changed since that first initial listen!). On top of that

Mike B. and some different rap tunes

I just upped these tracks in order to get them to Mike B. and figured why not toss em up here for the people to hear and talk about? Mike is the homie from school and last quarter we found ourselves in the studio at least once a week and in about 6 weeks we had thirteen finished tracks and one callabo that I haven’t finished mixing yet. The beats are all jacked for now and my only role was as “engineer” however that is hardly what I am, I just know how to work pro tools. Anyway these are the last 3 tracks that we made and possibly some of the best tracks we have done. I’m not claiming this is the hottest new shit on the net – far from it, but it is something a little different from an emcee that has no desire to actually be an emcee. Mike just likes to rhyme and doesn’t take it to seriously… & neither should you! Let me know what you think, peace. “White Noise” http://www.zshare.net/audio/7256443e8efd62/ “Come With Me” http://www.zshare.net/audio/72565054d52cf6/ “Instrumental Narco

The new “Vote or Die” campaign?

“Vote or Die.” That was the slogan made popular by Diddy four years ago. This election year is even more important and I was beginning to question the seriousness of Diddy’s intention to try and inspire young voters. Maybe it was just another ploy to push whatever product he had on the shelf at the time, I thought. But then, just in time for Super Tuesday the man himself addressed his fans and the public via his DiddyTV channel on You Tube to once again try and convince young voters to get out a make their voice heard. Check it out below and let me know what ya’ll think about Hip Hop’s involvement in the election, peace! -- Originally posted here Feburary 5, 2008.

Four Star Friday might be worth 5 Stars

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Sportn' Life can throw a party – let's just get that out of the way. Shows in Seattle that are thrown by a local act or label tend to have one guarantee: the heads will be out and it's likely to get a little rowdy, and the night billed as "Four Star Friday" was no different - but ain't that what makes a good Hip Hop show? With several Sportn' Life acts opening up the show the real start was with the arrival of Action Buddy – a group that not only was playing jams that any producer would be crazy not to want to chop up but also a group that is making it's return after twenty years away from the industry. Action Buddy merges elements from punk, reggae, funk, rock, Hip Hop and soul into an amazing performance that was filled with energy and most importantly just made you want to dance! While it would be hard for anyone to follow up the energy packed performance that was Action Buddy, the Physics stepped up and did their best. With their names ringing out

The Troublemakers intend to resurrect Hip Hop

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What makes a record stand out? Usually it's the beats or rhymes that the producer and emcee respectively created, but sometimes a producer and emcee combine together and deliver an album, the type of record rappers are rarely known for. Perhaps it's because rappers don't do entire albums with one beat maker or maybe it's just because rap today has become a land of club singles and ring tones. Whatever it is, Breez Evahflowin and Dirt E. Dutch have combined to form Troublemakers and if their self-titled first effort is any indication, they intend to cause even more problems for an industry that is already in trouble. Knowing little about producer Dirt E. Dutch, his style is reminiscent of an era of classic producers utilizing drums that knock and samples that any good crate digger would be remiss not to add to his list of records to look for. The rhyming half of Troublemakers, Breez Evahflowin, has been a staple of the NY underground for years as both a solo emcee and me

It's just my thoughts...

So where did Blueprint 3 come from? I mean I realize that most people aren't trying to listen to a new remix of American Gangster everyday but for real? Jay leaves the presidency after dropping one of his best records and then 2 months later he is back at it with a Timbo produced banger? It doesn't sound like what BP3 should be, and we all know that Jay has a great record of delivering a hot and then not so hot album so I guess we will just have to wait and see…although I think the talk that "Ain't I" is a Shock Value leftover is probably the truth and Clue just wanted to get people talking – is Clue even still down with the Roc? Check out the song here and let me know what you think. On the topic of new albums call me crazy but I think that the new Snoop album might be fire?! If you can get over the clowin video for the lead single "Sexual Eruption" you know that Snoop rhymes solid and the new track is a smooth west coast banger that continues to show

Talib & Hi-Tek runite?

So I jump out to Hip Hop DX today and what do I see? Talib Kweli saying their will be a Reflection Eternal reunion album by the end of 2008?! Check the article out here . I remember first hearing Train of Thought. It was brilliant in its own way. No, I'm not trying to be cryptic I just think that what Tek was doing with the beats at the time was on such a different level – this was him pre Dre. Today he still cooks up hot beats but they have that perfected sound quality and sometimes it's fun to just listen to a grimey tape! Even though I have problems with Kweli's flow, when he is combined with Hi-Tek it's smooth. I know everyone will say that it won't happen and yeah it's probably as likely to drop as Detox, but with the rumors that Def Jam will drop Nas if he doesn't change his album title I just want something to look forward to this year and a Reflection Eternal album would be the perfect summation to this new era of Hip Hop. On that note lets take a t

Wow... Is anyone else feelin' this?

Ok... Colin Monrue is a Canadian singer whose music leans more towards the indie rock variety than that of the rap tunes Kanye West hooks up, but together I think it's something special. What do you think? Check out the video for his remix to Kanye's "Flashing Lights" and tell me your not hooked! -- Originally posted here on January 23rd, 2008

Hip Hop needs more of this!

I need my late pass! Straight up Rhymefest, El Che, whatever you call yourself if you're willing to step up and show the world that you can go into the studio with Just Blaze, mess up all your rhymes and still walk out with your head held high you earned my respect. Check out this dope video that shows the struggle it is to get every element of a rap song to work just right - it's not as easy as it looks...and sometimes you just gotta know who to invite to the studio! --- Originally posted here on January 21st, 2008

Finally something new for 2008

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There is a side to rap that people never see. It is the never ending party that is life on the road. Yak Ballz is one of those rappers. Slowly building a fan base one show at a time, but still finding time to step into a vocal booth Yak has delivered to us his sophomore album Scifentology II. Far from its predecessor's mixtape-style track list, Scifentology II is a completely original work full of Yak at his best – delivering rhymes to the people over pulsating beats. These beats are provided by a range of producers including fellow Weathermen Aesop Rock and Camu Tao. But the real shine should go to Mondee & Chapter 7 who hold down the majority of the album. Mondee shows off his skill with the rock tinged tracks "War in My Head" and "A Billion Ways," incorporating a haunting piano melody in the latter that only adds effect to Peter Toh's hook. Utilizing a nicely chopped guitar sample along with some well-played live chords Chapter 7 delivers a monster b

edIT delivers "Certified Air Raid Material"

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Welcome to Certified Air Raid Material, the sophomore release from edIT. He has been active in the LA underground for awhile but with this album he is aiming for the clubs worldwide. With a style all his own edIT and his crew, the Glitch Mob, have been steady "slaying" crowds with their elaborate cutups and electronic madness. From the start of the record you are blown away by amazing synth programming mixed with bass lines and drums that will get any dance floor moving. But edIT doesn't stop there, as he adds countless vocal samples, organ and piano segments, and sometimes even lays down a guitar lick or two just for your listening pleasure The production throughout the record is perfectly executed and edIT even shows on several tracks that he can cater his "glitch-hop" style to some of LA's best emcees. Grouch, of the Living Legends, makes two appearances first calling out those people who claim they are "artists" but all they ever do is try and

Welcome...

Hello- Welcome to The Musik Lounge. My name is Will Johnsen, I have been studying journalism at Seattle University for the last four years and in June I will be graduating. In my time at SU I have ran the Hip Hop department of our school radio station, KSUB , and ran my own radio show as well. This is where the title of my blog comes from. My plan for this blog is to have an archieve of the articles I write for different publications. Currently I'm interning at the Seattle PI for their online magazine Spi . I also randomly contribute to Kitty Sneezes , a website started by a co-worker of mine. Another hope is that eventually I will be hosting podcasts of my radio show, or perhaps turn my radio show into a podcast. Basically I want to write and spread the word about good music and this seems like the logical next step. If your an artist who is interested in being reviewed, interviewed, or trying to get spins on my show email me.