Government Names

2012-02-10T15:43:00.000-05:00

Tonight I'm going to be a guest on Strictly Hip Hop for the first installment of a 2-part panel discussion about the greatest MCs of all time. If you're in the Baltimore area, tune in to 88.9 FM between midnight and 5am, or listen online.

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

I wrote about Baltimore rapper Caddy Da Don's new version of his single "Cookamonga" with Atlanta rapper Future for the City Paper Noise blog.

2012-01-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

I wrote about a couple new DJ Class songs for the Baltimore City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-12-28T09:44:00.001-05:00

I contributed to the Baltimore City Paper's annual Top Ten issue as usual this year. In The Year In Music I wrote blurbs for Mullyman, White Life and Celebration. I was also one of the many voters for The Year In Music, although I wrote no blurbs and the only album I voted for that made the top 10 was Beyonce (my ballot as submitted on the CP site is slightly different from the 'final' top albums of the year list I finished posting on my blog a couple weeks later, since I'm always making last minute changes to those things).

2011-12-18T10:30:00.000-05:00

My birthday is on January 6th, and I rarely have a big birthday party, I think largely because everyone, including myself, tends to be kind of partied out after the holidays and New Year's Eve. But I'm turning 30 this time around, so the weekend of my birthday, on Saturday, January 7th, 2012, I will be having a big old birthday bash at one of my favorite clubs in Baltimore, The Windup Space. There will be music from two great Baltimore acts, the hip hop band Soul Cannon and the instrumental duo The Water, and perhaps some more surprises.

I made a Facebook event page for the show, and have invited some folks on there, but really it's open for anyone who wants to come, whether they know me well or not at all. I just want to hang out and drink and hear some great music and be around people I love. It is a concert, so admission is $5, so you can consider paying that your birthday gift to me, if you like. But whatever, it's gonna be fun, if you're in Baltimore that night I hope you stop by. Doors open at 9pm and music starts at 10pm.

2011-12-10T13:41:00.000-05:00

Last Monday when DatPiff.com premiered the new Los mixtape The Crown Ain't Safe, hosted by DJ Ill Will and DJ Drama, I was one of the first to listen to the mixtape and liveblogged my reactions for the Baltimore City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-10-20T23:00:00.001-04:00

I wrote about Rome Cee's new single "Black Ring" on the City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-10-17T21:10:00.001-04:00

This weekend the American Studies Association will be hosting the 2011 ASA conference in Baltimore on October 20-23. I've been invited to speak about Baltimore club music, and on Saturday at 10am at the Baltimore Hilton, I'll be giving a presentation with the first public airing of some of the research and interview material from the book I'm writing, Tough Breaks: The Story of Baltimore club Music.

2011-10-11T17:37:00.001-04:00

I wrote a post for the City Paper's Noise blog about Baltimore's Reina Williams appearing on TV's "The X-Factor" last week, including a video of her segment on the show.

2011-10-05T14:06:00.000-04:00

Respect Magazine recently interviewed me about the book I'm writing, Tough Breaks: The Story of Baltimore Club Music.

2011-10-04T13:21:00.000-04:00

I wrote about Skarr Akbar and DJ Jabril's The Beautiful Mind: Block Work Bootleg for the City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-09-20T21:04:00.001-04:00

The City Paper's 2011 Best of Baltimore issue is out this week, and as usual I helped write a little of the issue.

(photo by Christopher Myers)

2011-09-15T07:27:00.001-04:00

2011-09-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

This week in the City Paper, I profiled the two Baltimore-based co-founders of the Riot Folk collective, Ryan Harvey and Mark Gunnery (who also records hip hop under the name Aryeh Gonif).

(photo by Christopher Myers)

2011-08-30T21:55:00.000-04:00

Tayland Promotions is putting on a benefit show at Sonar this Thursday for the family of Baltimore rapper Yuk, and I wrote a post on the City Paper's Noise blog about the show and the unfortunate circumstances of Yuk and his family that the benefit is being held because of. Yuk, Comp, KG and others will be performing at the show, go check it out if you can.

2011-07-26T22:17:00.000-04:00

I wrote a feature on Caddy Da Don in this week's Baltimore City Paper.

(photo by Rarah)

2011-07-19T19:57:00.000-04:00

Three years ago this Thursday, the Club Queen K-Swift passed away, and since people in Baltimore think about her every day and some are still writing songs about her, I wrote a post on the City Paper Noise blog about three recent tribute tracks by Isaac Stalk, EJ and Comp. K-Swift forever!

2011-07-12T20:37:00.000-04:00

This week the Baltimore City Paper publishes its annual Big Music Issue, and my story in it, Knights of the Round Robin, is about the 5th annual All Rap Round Robin that will be taking place on August 19th at Floristree. I attended the show the last two years and am really excited about the additions to this year's lineup, could be their best yet. For the story I spoke to Height, OOH, Jones, Mickey Free, The Plural MC, King Rhythm and members of Soul Cannon, Mania Music Group, Disturbed Individuals and AK Slaughter (and the concert will also feature PT Burnem, Rapdragons and Secret Weapon Dave).

(photo by Frank Hamilton)

2011-07-02T20:33:00.003-04:00

I reviewed Soul Cannon's new album The Mixed Ape for the July issue of Urbanite Magazine.

2011-06-22T17:00:00.001-04:00

I wrote a post on the City Paper's Noise blog about the exciting lineup that was just announced for the 5th Annual All Rap Round Robin happening in Baltimore in August.

2011-06-18T20:28:00.000-04:00

This Monday there's going to be a town hall meeting for the Baltimore hip-hop community at 5 Seasons, and I wrote a brief announcement about the event on the City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-06-10T21:32:00.000-04:00

I wrote a post on he Noise blog about King of Pops, the new solo mixtape by OOH from Brown F.I.S.H., as a little follow-up to my feature on him that ran in the City Paper a few weeks ago.

2011-06-02T10:13:00.000-04:00

I wrote a post on the City Paper's Noise blog about Stop The Violence Baltimore's "Self Destruction 2011," which features appearances by Only, The Unstoppable Nuklehidz, Jade Fox, Ab Rock, Shy Lady Heroin, and many more.

2011-05-16T12:40:00.000-04:00

I wrote about Ellis's "Bmore Boys/Oh Lord" video on City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-05-04T14:49:00.000-04:00

2011-05-03T14:00:00.002-04:00

I wrote a post on the City Paper's Noise blog about the new song featuring Nas by CJ Hilton, who I profiled in the paper last year.

2011-04-30T13:00:00.000-04:00

I wrote about The Black Sunn & 810's video for "DMV (Everyone Knows)" for the City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-04-21T09:10:00.001-04:00

I have an interview with The Bow-Legged Gorilla over on Splice Today.

2011-04-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

I wrote an article in the Baltimore City Paper this week about OOH from the group Brown F.I.S.H. and his upcoming solo record and the great work he's doing with Baltimore public schools and non-profits.

(photo by Rarah)

2011-04-14T19:53:00.000-04:00

2011-04-13T17:45:00.001-04:00

Mullyman - Mullyman Vs. The Machine (DJ Whoo Kid/Shadyville/Major League Unlimited)

This blog's definitely been too dormant lately and there've been a lot of good mixtapes I need to catch up on and cover here, but first off I should definitely touch on Mully's latest mixtape, which was hosted by DJ Whoo Kid and has really gotten his buzz up to a new level it's never been at before. Cool thing about this is that it's not even a freestyle mixtape, lot of original beats by DJ Booman and MBAHlievable, with only one or two songs recycled from previous releases, so it's almost like a whole new album less than a year after Harder Than Baltimore. You can download it at Mullyman.com.

Mullyman - "Star Wars" (mp3)
This one really jumped out at me as a favorite right away, along with "Greatness" and "Show Da World."

2011-04-12T17:14:00.002-04:00

I wrote post on the City Paper's Noise blog about Skarr Akbar's new video for "Jackpot."

2011-03-29T12:47:00.001-04:00

I wrote about Tonio: From Da Top's single "Suicide" on the City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-03-21T09:42:00.000-04:00

2011-03-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

I wrote a post on the City Paper Noise blog about "Crystal Meth," the new video by Born King aka Killa Fifth, produced by Singodsuperior.

2011-03-18T14:24:00.000-04:00

Sean Armstrong and E Major - LOUDER! (Under Sound Music)

This is an EP that came out last month featuring two artists from Under Sound Music paying tribute to J Dilla by rapping over a few of his beats. I know it's kind of sacrilege to not totally worship Dilla these days but he was always just a good producer among many to me, nothing more, nothing less, so I like the way this is kind of a small, straightforward project with guys just grabbing beats they like and flowing over them. You can download it on the Under Sound band camp page.

E Major and Sean Armstrong - "Aquarius" (mp3)
Good choice of a beat here that was originally used on a Common track.

2011-03-16T16:32:00.002-04:00

Here's the video for "Velvet Limousine" by DDm, which is short for Dappa-Dirty Money or Diddy-Dan Midas or something, off his upcoming album American Graffiti.

2011-03-15T16:15:00.001-04:00

This morning WYPR aired their latest segment featuring me talking about Baltimore club music along with DJ Equalizer, and you can stream the entire segment, plus some web exclusives, on the Maryland Morning site.

2011-03-10T23:44:00.000-05:00

I wrote about Rome Cee signing to Under Sound Music and releasing his new track "Rap Messiah Freestyle" on the City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-03-09T23:30:00.004-05:00

2011-03-08T22:34:00.000-05:00

Last year I began doing some segments with the Maryland Morning program on WYPR, Baltimore's NPR station, including some pieces about Baltimore club music to tie in with my upcoming book, Tough Breaks: The Story Of Baltimore Club Music. The latest segment in that series features DJ Equalizer, and will air on the morning of next Tuesday, March 15th, and the interview turned out great and I think will be really entertaining and illuminating for people who don't know about early Baltimore club and the role Equalizer played in it. It should stream on the Maryland Morning site at some point, too, so I'll try and link that when it goes up if you can't listen to the show when it airs.

2011-03-05T18:27:00.000-05:00

I posted Billo's new video "Off My Mind" and wrote a bit about it on the City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-03-03T17:38:00.001-05:00

Here's Mickey Free's new video for "Dollar Bill" off last year's Last of the Tight Wiggers album.

2011-03-02T17:13:00.000-05:00

I wrote a post on the Noise blog about "Hometown," the great new Dukeyman-produced single by OOH from Brown F.I.S.H., from his upcoming solo EP The Big 7.

2011-03-01T16:00:00.003-05:00

The March issue of Urbanite Magazine hit Baltimore newsstands today, and the theme of the issue is change, with features on six Baltimore 'change makers.' One of them is my article about Shodekeh, the human beatbox who's been performing with the BSO and doing countless other interesting projects that change the perception and parameters of his artform. I also spoke to another beatboxer, The Bow-Legged Gorilla, and High Zero Foundation member Shelly Blake-Plock about Shodekeh for the article.

In the same issue, I also wrote a review of Celebration's new album, Hello Paradise.

2011-02-27T13:23:00.000-05:00

2011-02-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

I've been invited to speak on a panel at Cornell University next month, for a conference called Social Media & Electro Diasporas: a panel on (post-)regional dance musics and their transformation through the internet on Saturday, March 12th. I'll of course be there to discuss Baltimore club music but there'll be other experts on other scenes like New Orleans and Detroit and Chicago, should be pretty interesting. I'm gonna try and make a weekend trip of it, really my first time away from the family since my son was born, and maybe spend time in NYC while I'm up in the area, if anyone wants to hang or has any recommendations on what to do or where to stay.

2011-02-24T11:30:00.002-05:00

I interviewed Height on the City Paper's Noise blog about the Height With Friends tour that's kicking off at the Golden West on Friday.

2011-02-23T11:11:00.001-05:00

I wrote a post on the City Paper's Noise blog about Street Scott's new single, "Rocket Man."

2011-02-22T10:46:00.001-05:00

This week I'm going to be one of the guests in a panel discussion about hip hop on the radio program Politic With Permiss on WBOL. The show is this Thursday at 5P.M., and you can tune into the station at 1010 on the AM dial in the Baltimore area, or you can stream the show online at the WBOL website.

2011-02-20T17:31:00.000-05:00

Kane Mayfield f/ Jahiti - "F.I.S.H. Bowl (live at Mobtown Studios)" (mp3)
My friends at Mobtown Studios have been doing monthly 'microshows' for the past couple years where they have a local artist come into the studio and perform a special set for a small audience, and the studio records the performance and makes it available for free online. The latest one was the Kane Mayfield Microshow, for which the Mania Music Group rapper assembled a live band and did new arrangements of a whole bunch of his songs. The performance culminates in an epic rendition of Brown F.I.S.H.'s "F.I.S.H. Bowl" with Jahiti himself sitting in with the band, which I thought was really cool since last summer when I wrote an article for the City Paper about Baltimore summer jams, that was the song Kane picked to talk about.

2011-02-17T21:22:00.000-05:00

I brought back my Baltimore club column on the City Paper's noise blog from a yearlong hiatus this week for The Club Beat with DJ Kenny K and DJ Mike Crosby, who are throwing their annual Aquarius & Pisces Birthday Bash this weekend.

2011-02-12T10:27:00.000-05:00

Minlus & McCracken - BeLIEve (Dichter 2 Productions)

I liked Minlus & McCracken’s last album, Rock And A Hard Place, but I feel like I didn’t really get into the best songs or appreciate the group’s whole vibe and sense of humor until I saw them live a couple times later on. I was a little skeptical of the whole new album being done with a German producer and label, but it works, just some nice old-fashioned boom bap type beats, and the group just sounds like they're in a good comfort zone and know exactly what they wanna do and do it well. I kinda wish I'd gotten around to listening to this earlier, it totally would've been in my list of the top Baltimore hip hop releases of 2010. The title's a little lame, though, parodies of the Baltimore Believe campaign were played out like 5 years ago and I don't think the city even uses that slogan anymore. You can buy BeLIEve on CDBaby.com.

Minlus & McCracken - “Stayed In 2Nite” (mp3)
This song is about having a bad night on Valentine’s Day so it seemed right to post it now.

2011-02-10T09:02:00.000-05:00

2011-02-08T20:36:00.001-05:00

I wrote a post on the City Paper Noise blog about the "Don't Shoot" video by Shark Tank, the new rap group featuring Baltimore's Height and Mickey Free, Pittsburgh's Lord Grunge of Grand Buffet, and Canada's Brendan Richmond, who goes by B.Rich but obviously has nothing to do with the Baltimore B.Rich. Their album release party is at the Windup Space this Friday.

2011-02-07T18:51:00.000-05:00

2011-02-06T11:42:00.000-05:00

I wrote a post on the City Paper's Noise blog about Ckrisis's "Tore Up," a Baltimore club-ish local rap single that I first posted on Gov't Names way back in 2007 that Ckrisis recently got a digital distribution deal with Interscope to re-release.

The Top 20 Baltimore Hip Hop Releases of 2010

2011-01-31T16:45:00.021-05:00

It's been an annual tradition that at every December, I do a post here listing my favorite Baltimore hip hop albums and mixtapes of the year. But I never got around to it before the end of 2010, and here we are at the end of January and I feel bad about slacking and just want to get it out there, better late than never. I'll be posting each entry one at a time, and you can follow me on Twitter for updates when I add a new one:

1. Dirt Platoon - Deeper Than Dirt (Brake Fast Records)
So many underground rappers, especially in Baltimore, talk a good game about real hip hop, keeping it grimy, bringing the ‘90s back, all that shit, but when you really listen to their music they’re as eager to keep up with trends or be on some pop shit as anybody they’re complaining about. So that’s why it’s so refreshing to hear Dirt Platoon just not fuck around at all and make some nasty gritty old fashioned hip hop, but still have enough production values, attention to detail and content in their lyrics that it all holds together as a real dope album.
purchase Deeper Than Dirt on Band Camp
Dirt Platoon - "D.P. Shit" (mp3)

2. Los - Shooter (After Platinum/DJ Ill Will/DJ Rockstar)
As a pure MC Los is one of the rare people in Baltimore who I can sincerely say has inspired awe in me at times, just how fast his mind works and how the words pour out of him. I don’t love every creative decision he makes on this, really his first album-style project of all original production, but it’s a consistently engaging listen and probably the only record on this list I’ve seen on any year-end lists outside of Baltimore, even XXL’s, so I’m really happy that dude is kind of becoming a breakout star around here.
download Shooter on DatPiff
Los - "Freedom Of Speech" (mp3)

3. Rome Cee - Tunnel Vision (FreEP)
This may be billed as a “FreEP,” but at just under 40 minutes with barely a second wasted, it’s closer to what rap albums used to be like and probably should still aspire to. Rome Cee was easily the best new Baltimore MC (or new to me, anyway) to grab my attention in 2010 with such a concise, no-nonsense record.
download Tunnel Vision on Band Camp
Rome Cee f/ Kneel Knaris - "Rock My Style (mp3)

4. Backland - Block Work: None Better (DJ Jabril/Block Boy Music)
Backland’s been on the scene forever, and has always been one of the most talented rappers in Baltimore, but his projects have been fewer and further between since an accident and resulting health problems put him on the sidelines for a while. So every new mixtape is an event, especially this one, which he kept trickling out dope songs from throughout 2010 before finally dropping the whole thing on us.
download Block Work: None Better on AllBmoreHipHop.com
Backland - "Goin' In" (mp3)

5. Mickey Free - Last Of The Tight Wiggers
Sometimes white rappers give me some bullshit about how I'm biased against them, but really I just wish more of them were as dope as Mickey Free or were able to navigate their way through hip hop with the same kind of wit and creativity, letting race factor into his identity but not dictate it, playing with white rapper archetypes while transcending them. Last Of The Tight Wiggers is a fun, funny record with some great rapping and the kind of goofy-ass skits people don't make anymore.
purchase Last Of The Tight Wiggers on Band Camp
Mickey Free - "The Unnies" (mp3)

6. Mania Music Group - Welcome To The Audience (Mania Music Group)
I'm a big fan of Mania and have always enjoyed their plethora of free online releases, although no single one of them completely lived up to the crew's overall potential. And that extended to their first official retail album, but they got close enough with a nice collection of jams where all 4 of the group's MCs got a good solo showcase or a standout verse on a posse cut.
purchase Welcome To The Audience on Band Camp
Mania Music Group f/ Dappa!!! Dan Midas - "U Might Think" (mp3)

7. Mullyman - Harder Than Baltimore (Major League Unlimited)
Mully's second album was a total improvement over 2005's Mullymania and really found him tightening his circle up to 2 great producers that both cover a lot of territory, DJ Booman and MBAHlievable, and just focusing on collecting the best of his various singles and leaks over the past year or two plus some dope new songs.
download Harder Than Baltimore on DatPiff
Mullyman - "MULLY!" (mp3)

8. Greenspan - Got Green 2 (Federal Reserve/IllVibes-DMV.com/DJBooth.net)
Greenspan is one of the few rappers in Baltimore that seems to make every move carefully and thoughtfully, his rhymes are always well written, his tracks are always crisp, his live show is always entertaining, just an all-around solid artist.
download Got Green 2 on DJBooth.net
Greenspan - "Never Done" (mp3)

9. Skarr Akbar - The Pursuit Of Happyness (Akbar Enterprize)
Skarr Akbar is one of those artists that keeps dropping new mixtapes year in, year out, and always makes this list, usually somewhere lower, because honestly although he's a huge talent and every record has some dope songs, a lot of times they end up feeling like just another mixtape. But The Pursuit Of Happyness and to a lesser extent its sequel really broke that pattern and felt like cohesive album statements.
download The Pursuit Of Happyness on AllBmoreHipHop.com
Skarr Akbar - “Unbreakable” (mp3)

10. Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore (Ltd Comp)
I'm really kind of jealous of Rapdragons that they got the brilliant idea to build an entire rap album out of samples from Baltimore rock and indie bands and that they executed it so well.
download Featuring Baltimore on Ltd Comp
Rapdragons - “Come Harvest” (mp3)

11. The Boy Blesst - Show-N-Prove (Reign Music)
I was a huge fan of Blesst's 2009 album Charmicidal, and while this one doesn't have as many memorable songs to keep me coming back, it's still another solid record from one of Baltimore's most underrated rappers, who just has a completely unique voice, an interesting lyrical perspective and a great ear for beats.
download Show-N-Prove on AllBmoreHipHop.com
The Boy Blesst f/ Barnes - “Homeboy” (mp3)

12. Al Great - The Take
After a few freestyle-heavy mixtapes that didn't particularly grab me, Al Great came hard with a couple of records full of original production in 2010, The Heist and a few months later this great follow-up, The Take.
download The Take on DatPiff
Al Great f/ Jet Noise Cardi - “Blinders” (mp3)

13. Si-Notes - Cash On Delivery (Gritty Gang/ARS Productions)
There were other female MCs from Baltimore that made a lot more noise in 2010, but Si-Notes made a mixtape I can really bump front to back last year and they didn't, so I'm still pretty happy with having given her the Best of Baltimore award.
download Cash On Delivery on AllBmoreHipHop.com.
Si-Notes f/ Hunnit Proof - “C’mon Baby” (mp3)

14. Rickie Jacobs - Air Jacobs (BuckMarleyXXX.com/The Good Life Reviews)
After a couple years of enjoying the tracks I'd heard from Rickie Jacobs here and there, it was cool to finally hear a full-length project from him. His voice and his presence on the mic are still a little lacking, in my opinion, but I like where his head's at and what he's trying to say with his music.
download Air Jacobs on Tha Good Life
Rickie Jacobs - “The End” (mp3)

15. Spita - The Fire
This is one of those kinds of odd records that isn't on anybody else's radar that ended up in my e-mail inbox that I really dug, exists very far outside current trends while still being kind of contemporary and radio-friendly, unique voice and some great production.
purchase The Fire on iTunes
Spita - “Spita” (mp3)

16. Bossman - The Re-Up (1Up Entertainment)
Almost immediately after this album was released, Bossman began a campaign of desperate publicity stunts like "Fuck Radio" song and the one-sided Wale 'beef' that, to be honest, were just bizarre and sad to me, and really made me wonder if the dude has just lost his way completely and isn't worth paying any attention to anymore. But the best part of his uneven 2nd official album at least affirmed that he's still got some of that spark that made the Law & Order album so great way back in 2004.
purchase The Re-UP on Amazon MP3
Bossman - “Pain” (mp3)

17. NOE - Gone Till Noevember (DJ 4Five / G14)
NOE has more of a 'biter' stigma than anyone else in Baltimore, but honestly at this point most of the comparisons to Jay-Z is purely from the voice he was born with and he's really got his own rhyme style and ear for beats that doesn't feel especially derivative of anyone in particular.
download Gone Till Noevember on AllBmoreHipHop.com
NOE f/ Jim Jones - "Tangerine Fisker" (mp3)

18. TestMe - In A Lane By Myself (Power Hitter Records)
TestMe is still copping Lil Wayne's rhyme style, delivery and vocal mannerisms so much that the title In A Lane By Myself is pretty inaccurate, but he's still one of the most talented biters in Baltimore and has gotten better and better at putting together consistent mixtapes.
download In A Lane By Myself on AllBmoreHipHop.com
TestMe - "No Hooks" (mp3)

19. Height With Friends - Bed Of Seeds (Friends Records)
Height is kind of the de facto ringleader of a weird, mostly white crew of rappers in Baltimore that gets overlooked or ignored in most conversations about Baltimore hip hop, and the Height With Friends records in particular go a little beyond hip hop with rock instrumentation and vocals that are sometimes more chanted than rapped. But they're in a great groove right now with the records they've been doing and really making a case for why their eccentric vision of rap is exciting and valid.
purchase Bed Of Seeds on Band Camp
Height With Friends - “Link Wray” (mp3)

20. Ogun - In My Spare Time (Architects Studio/Real On Purpose)
There's so much passion and honesty in Ogun's music at his very best that sometimes I just get a little disinterested when emphasizes swag more and kinda lets go of that earnestness that defined his early albums. And the fact that this mixtape is called In My Spare Time only kind of reminds me how much I'd rather him go hard on making the best possible album he can, but there's still some joints on here.
download In My Spare Time on AllBmoreHipHop.com
Ogun f/ Goon - “Why You Acting” (mp3)

2011-01-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

2011-01-23T17:26:00.000-05:00

2011-01-23T09:48:00.001-05:00

I wrote a post about Greenspan's live video for "Gone" with Amber Mimz and Soul Adrenaline for the City Paper's Noise blog.

2011-01-09T21:12:00.001-05:00

2011-01-08T11:28:00.000-05:00

On my other blog, Narrowcast, I posted a list of The Top 25 Concerts I Saw In 2010, and it included 3 very different Baltimore hip hop shows that I reviewed for the Baltimore City Paper's Noise blog in the top 10:

* Bossman, Mullyman, Skarr Akbar, 100 Grandman, TestMe & Smash @ the Black Hole Rock Club, March 17
* Soul Cannon, Mania Music Group & The Get Em Mamis @ the Windup Space, July 3
* Rap Round Robin with Mickey Free, PT Burnem, Rapdragons, Height With Friends & AK Slaughter @ Floristree, August 7

I'm way late on finishing my list of favorite Baltimore hip hop albums & mixtapes of 2010, but hopefully I'll get that up in another week or two.

2011-01-07T11:50:00.000-05:00

2011-01-05T17:29:00.000-05:00

2011-01-03T17:33:00.000-05:00

2010-12-29T12:59:00.000-05:00

Here's Billy Lyve's video for "If You Ain't Happy," featuring Street Scott and produced by Imahj.

2010-12-24T09:17:00.000-05:00

Here's the video for Wombat55's "Baltimore," directed by Keston De Coteau and featuring a cameo from Pork Chop. Not a bad song, but we don't need anyone still sampling the Nina Simone joint 5 years after Mullyman did it first.

2010-12-21T17:20:00.000-05:00

2010-12-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

Here's the new Dirt Platoon video for "Almighty," my favorite track off of their album on Brake Fast Records, Deeper Than Dirt.

2010-12-16T15:40:00.001-05:00

Backland - Block Work: None Better (DJ Jabril/Block Boy Music)

I’ve posted so many songs and videos hyping up this project since it was announced way way back around January, so when Backland’s contribution to DJ Jabril and AllBmoreHipHop’s Block Work series finally dropped last month I wasn’t even in a huge rush to cop it since I felt like I’d already heard so much of it. Like a lot of folks in Baltimore, I will forever check for Backland just off the strength of how classic his 106 & Park Freestyle Friday rhymes were, but I definitely have enjoyed his last couple mixtapes too. Like a lot of successful battle rappers, he’s probably not trying to let that reputation cage him in, so sometimes you get a little less of that humor and cleverness and a little more kind of standard mixtape rapper bravado, but he carries it well and the beats are pretty solid. I do hate the song "Who Da Fuck Are U" where it sounds like Backland is doing an OJ Da Juiceman impression, though. DJ Jabril hosts it, Skarr Akbar did the artwork, and 100 Grandman, Hunit Stackz, Caddy Da Don, Comp and B.O.M.B. drop verses on it.

Backland - “Do You” (mp3)
This was already my favorite song on the mixtape when DJ Jabril came in at the end and shouted out "Al Shipley, Government Names." I love when shit like that happens.

2010-12-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

Here's E Major's latest video for "Feature Presentation" featuring Cynthia Hawkes, off The Major Major Mixtape on Under Sound Music.

2010-12-14T09:38:00.000-05:00

PenDragon - DRAG Vs. LMS (Team Arson MSX/GRP)

LMS was a hip hop group in Baltimore in the mid-’90s that I’ve mentioned on here a couple times this year, first when DJ Booman picked their song “Pure Necessities” for my summer jam piece in the City Paper, and then when reviewing a new mixtape by former LMS member Forbidden. And apparently the prolific PenDragon, who’s put out several kind of small experimental projects in the last year or two, like a mixtape created in 24 hours and a EP of remixes of the indie band Sleigh Bells, was a fan of LMS back in the day, and got ahold of the instrumentals for a couple of their old songs and decided to put his own stamp on them. I think it’s a pretty cool way for him to show his appreciation for Baltimore hip hop’s older generation, dude is clearly just a music fan to the core. There are four tracks on here, two each based on “Pure Necessities” and “Harm City Slaughter.” Drag rapped on the instrumental of each, and then put the vocals from the original over his own recreations of the beats.

PenDragon - “It’s A Slaughter” (mp3)
This is Drag’s rap over the “Harm City Slaughter” beat, I kinda dig the verse that goes “I’m a foreign author, like Kafka, like Chaucer, but I’m harder.”

2010-12-12T07:50:00.000-05:00

2010-12-09T18:09:00.002-05:00

This week the Baltimore City Paper ran its annual Top Ten Issue and as usual I submitted a ballot for The Year In Music and The Year In Local Music lists. Nothing from my ballot made it onto the former list, but four local albums I voted for got onto the latter, and I wrote the blurbs for three of them: Dirt Platoon’s Deeper Than Dirt, Los’s Shooter and The Art Department’s Paperwork/Birdwork. I’m also happy to see Labtekwon, J Roddy Walston and the Business, and Dustin Wong on the list. Later this month I’ll be posting my full year-end albums list on Narrowcast and my Baltimore hip hop year-end list on Government Names.

2010-12-08T17:40:00.002-05:00

Ogun - In My Spare Time (Architects Studio/Real On Purpose)

Recently AllBmoreHipHop.com did kind of a clever promotion to hype up the release of this Ogun mixtape and Skarr Akbar’s The Pursuit Of Happyness 2, dropping them the same day, contrasting their very different images and personalities by casting Ogun as ‘the hero’ and Skarr as ‘the villain’ and asking fans to pick their favorite of the 2 releases. Obviously they’re friends and peers, and Skarr even did the artwork for this tape, but it’s kind of a friendly competition thing. I thought that was a real smart idea, although to be honest I’m not even sure which one I like more -- they’re solid releases from both artist but not the best I’ve heard from either.

Ogun’s been doing his thing for a long time but where Skarr’s kind of always been a ‘mixtape artist’ and has kind of stayed in a particular lane for a long time, Ogun started out his career making a couple of really cohesive albums with a specific viewpoint and persona, and in the last few years he’s turned more to mixtapes and has kind of toyed with his delivery and his subject matter more. I’m not totally in the camp that thinks Ogun’s old stuff was more ‘real’ or ‘conscious’ or that his new stuff is too commercial or anything, but sometimes it does feel like he’s reaching outside his comfort zone, and not necessarily in a good way. Like his flow on “Get It How You Live” is just too different, almost sounds like he’s doing an impression of Smash and it’s just awkward.

Ogun f/ Sonny Reddz - “Real Life” (mp3)
Dope introspective song produced by Traum that uses the same sample as one of my favorite introspective Jay-Z songs, “You Must Love Me.”

2010-12-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

Here's Los's great video for "Freedom of Speech" and "The Next Black President," the two kind of ambitious, political songs that close the Shooter mixtape.

2010-12-06T16:36:00.000-05:00

Singodsuperior - “Bulk Mail” (mp3)
I've long followed the work of Born King aka Killa Fifth and his younger brother, producer Singodsuperior, and got to interview them both for the City Paper over the summer. Recently Singodsuperior sent me an e-mail giving me a heads up that their label, Mad Thinkah Productions, will be re-releasing Born King's back catalog as well as releasing new music in the coming months, and some of it's already up on the label's new Band Camp page. Singodsuperior has some mostly instrumental stuff on there now that's pretty far out, like the "Bugs Bunny & Coronas" single and the Ballad Of A Skinny Man 4-track EP, but I think what I like best so far is "Bulk Mail," which he kinda raps on but is just as weird as the other stuff.

2010-12-01T14:46:00.000-05:00

2010-11-30T14:07:00.000-05:00

2010-11-29T10:52:00.000-05:00

Los - Shooter (After Platinum/DJ Ill Will/DJ Rockstar)

It's been a long time, almost 4 years, since I interviewed Los for the City Paper, and back then his talent was really undeniable, but he really didn't have much music out at all at that time. So it's been nice over the past couple years to see him really step up on the mixtape circuit and drop music consistently, to the point that it seemed right to give him a Best of Baltimore award this year. I was especially looking forward to Shooter because as great as he can be on other people's beats, it was exciting to finally get a full project of all original production. I wouldn't say this is a front to back classic, there's a few songs that get on my nerves, but for the most part this lives up to my expectations, just a solid tape. It's got the track with Midas that I posted a while back, production and cover art by Skarr Akbar, and a lot of big features like Raheem DeVaughn, Rick Ross and Cory Gunz.

Los - "Shooter Intro" (mp3)
I love when rappers treat intros as a chance to just start the record on a good tip and rap their asses off, and that's totally what this is, produced by 21.

2010-11-27T10:05:00.000-05:00

2010-11-23T11:20:00.000-05:00

Here’s Wordsmith’s video for “Show Me The Money” and “Touch Backdown,” two songs off his new ‘EPixtape’ (ugh really? that's what we're calling these things now?), Buzz Bangers Vol. 1.

2010-11-22T10:54:00.000-05:00

Jade Fox - JFK MIxtape Vol. 1: Eternal Flame

Recently I was going through some old magazines I’d had stuff published in, and found the late 2006 issue of Mic Life Magazine in which I had an article on Jade Fox. That was the first time I met her and heard an advance version of her album, Ashes Of Another Life, which was eventually released in 2007. And it just kinda blew my mind to realize that was 4 years ago, because Jade Fox has stayed pretty active since then, playing a lot of shows and keeping up her presence online and occasionally leaking new tracks, but this new record she just released is her first new full-length project in all that time. It's got mostly original production, but it definitely has a mixtape feel in the sense that it's longer and has a lot of guests, including Kane Mayfield, the Unstoppable Nuklehidz and Chyna Doll. I do miss the cohesive feel of Ashes, which had no guest rappers and pretty much the same production team for the whole album, but hopefully it won't take another 4 years for her to drop another proper album. Jade Fox's release party for the mixtape is this Friday at Sonar.

Jade Fox f/ Naomi - “Vision” (mp3)
This track features a sample of Jeff Buckley’s “Dream Brother” and is produced by Tytanium, who produced another track on the album that samples Bjork, so I’m guessing Tytanium was an angsty teenager in the ‘90s (as was I, which is why I recognize the samples).

2010-11-20T11:43:00.000-05:00

Scholarman is dropping a new album called ExiSTANCE in January, and this is the video for the first single "Lyrical Baptism."

2010-11-19T10:20:00.001-05:00

Skarr Akbar - Pursuit of Happyness 2: The Introduction of Stephen Tatum (Akbar Enterprize)

This is a classic example of why I get frustrated with the laziness of mixtape titles -- Skarr Akbar is one of the most tirelessly creative rappers and producer in Baltimore, but when it came to put a name on one of his best mixtape albums earlier this year, he just nicked the title from a random Will Smith movie. And since it turned out to be pretty popular, now he’s made a sequel, which means that one of Skarr’s most anticipated projects to date is dropping with a generic title like Pursuit of Happyness 2 that just makes it sound like a random workaday mixtape. Then you add the subtitle The Introduction of Stephen Tatum, which doesn't even make sense with a sequel, and man, that's just terrible. The music on the CD itself is good, I'm just saying, dude shouldn't have a song called "Amazing Imagination" and then come with such an unimaginative album title.

In any event, this is a solid follow-up to the first Pursuit of Happyness, lot of good original beats by Skarr and others, really some of his most emotional and honest music to date. I think dude is realizing that people respond to those times when he really vents about his personal life and kinda lets you into his head, so he's really letting it all out here. I like that some of the tracks are only 2-3 minutes long but still feel like complete songs, Skarr doesn't overdo it and make them any longer than they need to be, you get 15 songs in under an hour, which is pretty economical by rap standards. There are guest spots by Jahiti of Brown F.I.S.H., Smash and 100 Grandman, and you can download it at AllBmoreHipHop.com.

Skarr Akbar - “Sumtymez” (mp3)
This is one of my favorite songs on the record, although it presents some disturbing evidence that Skarr might be catching the "what else" syndrome from Comp.

2010-11-17T11:33:00.000-05:00

2010-11-16T10:08:00.001-05:00

Dappa!!! Dan Midas - "Jump" (mp3)
Kane Mayfield - "Poor Georgie" (mp3)
In the last few months since Mania Music Group dropped their first official album, Welcome To The Audience, the crew's been back to work on the first round of full-length solo albums from the label's four MCs, and it's looking like in 2011 Kane's coming with his album first, with Midas up next with his album American Graffiti. Kane's lead single is actually one of his solo cuts from Welcome To The Audience that I guess he wants more people to hear or take a second look at, and Midas just recently leaked out his first new song, "Jump," which is real high energy and vaguely familiar, I think he might've performed it last time I saw Mania live.

2010-11-11T20:09:00.001-05:00

2010-11-10T19:45:00.002-05:00

various artists - Baltimore Beat Bangers, Vol. 1 (Wisdom Court Ent.)

I was very interested to hear about this project, basically an all-star instrumental mixtape full of beats from some of Baltimore's best rap producers, because it's just kind of unprecedented in this scene. Obviously producers are always passing around CDs of beats looking to work with MCs, but other than a couple instrumental albums I've gotten from Ron Rico and Me'Aze Millioni they don't seem very commonplace, certainly not a compilation full of beats by different producers like Imahj put together for different projects. As the host, Ambush, says on teh intro, “we bringin’ beat tapes back.” There's some unfamiliar names on here as well as some producers you've probably heard of like Banga Bill, Ms. Tris Beats and Heist, as well as some rappers who produce a lot of their own stuff like Skarr Akbar, PenDragon, Sean Toure and Street Scott aka Street Heat. And everyone gave their tracks titles, so it's a little easier to visualize them as becoming songs or already being songs when they have evocative names like "Ice In My Veins" or "Devilish." The “you are now listening to the sounds of Baltimore Beat Bangers” tag all over every track gets a little annoying, but I understand if that’s the way producers gotta protect their tracks from getting jacked and used without getting paid for first. It'll be interesting to see how many of the beats on this CD get turned into songs by rappers in the next year or so. You can download Baltimore Beat Bangers at AllBmoreHipHop.com and the release party is at Club Reality this week.

Ms. Tris - “Get With This” (mp3)
Ms. Tris is such a versatile producer, this one stood out to me as soon as I heard it but I wouldn’t have guessed it was her,has a very contemporary radio-friendly sound but still really detailed and unique.

2010-11-09T18:52:00.000-05:00

Here's "1st Hand," the latest video from Dirt Platoon's excellent new album on Brake Fast Records, Deeper Than Dirt.

2010-11-08T15:07:00.002-05:00

Young Crip - “Get Your Bread Up” (mp3)
You probably remember Young Crip from Smash’s big single “Bit Too Much For Me” a couple years ago, but this is the first time I’ve heard a solo track from him, and it’s pretty dope, from the soundtrack of Diamond K’s upcoming movie Who Shot Ya. The track’s produced by Dukeyman, who’s always had a knack for taking a sample that you might not think would make a dope rap song and going hard with it.

2010-11-07T06:47:00.001-05:00

2010-11-06T16:00:00.001-04:00

Last year Government Names was nominated for the Mobbies, the Baltimore Sun's local blog awards. I didn't win then, but I'm nominated again this year, which I feel a little weird about since I've actually done some freelance work for the Sun in the last few months, but I checked and apparently it's OK that I'm in the running. So vote for me between now and November 12th, if you want.

2010-11-04T22:06:00.000-04:00

Rome Cee - "By Your Side" (mp3)
Rome Cee might be the Baltimore rapper I first heard this year that I'm most excited about, so I was very happy to hear that he's got a new album called Children Of Stars dropping in January. Here's one of the singles, produced by E-Hill.

2010-11-03T18:51:00.000-04:00

This is “Secret Lover” by P-Tactics. I’m not real into the song but the production values on the video, directed by Meech, are pretty impressive.

2010-11-02T16:58:00.003-04:00

Smash and Caddy Da Don - Best Of Both Sides (DJ Reddz)

It's funny, obviously there are a lot of crews in Baltimore hip hop and a lot of collaborations happening, but I don't feel like people around here have really embraced the concept of duos and projects with 2 artists working together enough, that's always one of my favorite types of projects in rap. I think I particularly like this because Smash and Caddy Da Don are two artists that I have to admit I don't particularly love hearing a whole solo project from, they're alright but don't really hold my attention, but hearing them kinda work together on the same wavelength, they end up with something that's somehow more than the sum of its parts. They really went in and got some good producers on the project, too, with beats by D. Banks and E Watts and Spielberg, guest spots by Comp, cover art by Skarr Akbar, mixed by DJ Reddz. You can download it at AllBmoreHipHop.com.

Smash and Caddy Da Don f/ Street Scott - "The Way I Get It" (mp3)
This track was produced by and features the rapper/producer formerly known as Street Heat, who runs with PenDragon's Team Arson crew and has done tracks for Dipset, and he recently changed his handle to Street Scott. That kinda freaks me out because one of my best friends in high school, really one of the people that got me heavy into hip hop, is named Scott Street.

2010-10-31T11:08:00.000-04:00

2010-10-30T13:26:00.000-04:00

Here's "Kush," a video by NOE's new supergroup the Baltimore Bangahz, which also includes Huli Shallone, Lano, Rico, D'Nero, Ryda Rook and Big Chuck da Hustla.

2010-10-29T12:10:00.000-04:00