The Musik Lounge

Where to begin? In certain hiphop circles the name J Dilla rings out above all others. Upon his passing in 2006 there was an endless stream of knock offs looking to generate some hype off the man's steez and deliver lazy interpolations of his timeless sound. Of course these projects were so numerous in the end little of it stuck around - although a few are still doing their thing today and some have taken that initial inspiration to realms unimaginable at the time. Jay Dee was a savant with the MPC. His ability to capture loops, flip drums and bang out rhythms on a machine with the feel of a real drummer only begins to scratch the surface of what it was he cooked up. The beats were soulful, smooth, rugged, classic hiphop that could be touched by emcee’s and vocalists alike. His list of collaborators is lauded. His impact on music as a whole is unquestioned. Alas this isn’t about the man, as more words have been shed on him than ever needed to be. The music speaks for itself. Go li...

Creative outlets shine when the world burns. There is no doubt that whatever the new normal turns out to be (news flash: we are already living it), as a society we will look back on the art created AC (After COVID) as a transition into new realms. Genius minds paid to stay home and cook up whatever inspiration they could muster. If you have been able to walk through this wild ride and not entirely succumb to the detrimental effects that isolation, fear and chaos all around can have on the mind, an applause is warranted. These last eighteen months have been hard. But they also have been an opportunity to explore different paths, change careers, reinvest in spiritual practices and connect once more with what it means to be productive for yourself. If we flashback into time to look at the world post Y2K as the towers fell, war erupted and banks collapsed there was a distinct feeling in the air that times had changed. Out of that chaos musicians around the world were concocting evolved sou...

Starlito was fresh off the DJ Burn One collaboration Renaissance Gangster when he released Mental Warfare . Where the former was a country rap tune classic meant for riding and smoking in the haze of a late southern summer, the later was ‘Lito delivering a masterpiece of modern conceptual rap - taking the listener through the mind of a hustler and the psychological toll a life in the trap can take. The album is separated by individual moments of captured intimacy with ‘Lito. Speaking genuinely and from the heart he sheds light on the moves he has made in the past and how he is navigating life at the time. It paint’s a positive picture of mental clarity, but not without plenty of missteps and questionable choices rooted in loyalty and a devotion to a strict inner code not to be tampered with regardless the test. “Hope For Love” opens the album as strong letter to whoever might be listening. Throughout his career Starlito has delivered biographical tales with ease. This is no diffe...