The Musik Lounge

“Everyone’s talking about Hip Hop is gangster, I ain’t no gangster. It’s about being true to yourself.” -An emcee in the trailer to South Coast (If you aren’t up on that joint, check it !) Sabac has been on his grind for a minute. Making a name for himself as part of the much loved Non Phixion and then dropping his solo debut exclusively produced by Necro he has always delivered his own brand of political commentary. With the release of his long awaited follow up The Ritual now out we are invited to hear where he is today and what is on his mind in these uncertain times. “Americas A Business” Leaving his hometown several years ago for the Bay area, to work with the school systems, Sabac has gone through some heavy changes which come to light throughout the album. Sabac has always had the gift to come across as a genuine person, caring about what he is saying and concerned with using his art to give knowledge, if change is too much for one man to achieve? On “A Children’s Cry” he pulls...

Towards the beginning of the month I dropped a review for Termanology’s solo debut – all my Seattle folks be sure to come out next Wednesday (11/5) for the Meth & Red show , Term will be opening! That review was intended to kick off some features on some albums that, in my opinion, are helping bring back that classic sound the east coast is known for. One such crew would be Jedi Mind Tricks and their extended family the Army of Pharaohs, check out the two crew albums and I can recommend the first two JMT records, after that things get suspect. While my ears have given up on enjoying Paz’s rhymes (All I can say about Jus is that every recent verse I’ve heard is terrible) he put on his homies back in ’04 and I can say without a doubt that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every release from the duo known as Outerspace since. Unlike their frequent collaborator, Planetary and Crypt the Warchild are great emcees who can ride a beat to perfection. The Pharaohs crew has a strong team of beat make...

Remember how trendy it was to hate on NY and the East coast Hip Hop scene? People placed a lot of high hopes on the likes of Saigon, Papoose and Tru Life. Well none of them have yet to drop an official release, although they have some great unofficial work available. With them taking their time playing the major label games, I’m going to spend the next couple weeks looking at several loosely associated artists from around the East coast (who actually release music) and have taken the art into their hands and brought back the classic feel to their tunes that only their coast is known for. First up hailing from Massachusetts is the latest young gun to grace many a Primo banger. Termanology built his name up traveling to Boston and NY while releasing a series of great mixtapes - what you know about them Hood Politics ? Over the course of his grind he made some valuable connections and with the delivery of his debut album we are treated to the fruits of the hustle. With an old lead single ...