Thursday, 28 December 2017

Dylan James x Blurry Logic - Dreamz Don't Die Vol​.​2 (Album) (2017)

Sadida x Chrisu Beats - Blessed To Be Cursed (Album) (2017)

Tuesday, 19 December 2017

Snake versus Crane x Doktor Dogma - HimmelFahrtsKommando (EP) (2017)

Thursday, 7 December 2017

Synonym, Si-Klon, Sub-con5cience - Atom Complex (EP) (2017)

Tuesday, 5 December 2017

Chi Money - Rage & Riot (EP) (2017)

Wednesday, 15 November 2017

Saturday, 11 November 2017

Monday, 30 October 2017

Rated R - Cataclysm (Album) (2017)

Thursday, 26 October 2017

Eskr-One - War Journal (Prod. Bruklin)

PrimePhace - Serrated (Bounce) (Prod. Kollectiv)

Tuesday, 17 October 2017

Stu Simons - Raw Deal (Album) (2017)

Tuesday, 26 September 2017

Tha Soloist x Illah Dutch - Ralph Level (2017)

Skinny Bonez Tha Godfatha - Transcendental Harmony: Reloaded (EP) (2017)

Monday, 18 September 2017

Chi Money - Know I Ain't Living Right

Tuesday, 22 August 2017

Dirt Merchants - Merchants Row (2017)

Thursday, 17 August 2017

Eskr One x Donny G - CUTTHROATZ 3

Friday, 28 July 2017

Skinny Bonez Tha Godfatha - Transcendental Harmony (Instrumental EP)

Tuesday, 11 July 2017

Rated R - Conceptual Deathism (Produced by Cotardz)

Saturday, 13 May 2017

ILLtemper - Happily Miserable (2017)

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Chi Money - Used and Abused

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

T-N-T (THUN & TYRONE) - Fine Tuning Senses (My Music Is Like​.​.​.​) Ft. Killah Priest (Prod. Jordan River Banks)

Sunday, 30 April 2017

Interview with Mercy Gang (Pauly Bagz, Main the Medicine, DJ Merc & Hefty Metal (R.I.P.) )

What is your artist name? 
Our group is called mercy gang. Members are pauly bagz, maine the medicine, dj merc, and hefty metal  (r.i.p ).

Where are you from?
Pauly from Scranton pa, maine is originally from ny but lives in pa, and merc is from Allentown pa.

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?
Pauly and myself are mcs, and our dj is dj merc.

Do you have a crew?
Yeah we're part of battleaxe warriors Ecw which means east coast warriors. We are also affiliated with marmel from Canada and 610nly of Allentown pa.

How old are you?
I'm the old head of the group I'm 39, merc is 33, and pauly is 30.

What kind of music do you make?
Hiphop, with elements of rock infused in at times.

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?
For me it's nas, Redman, wu, tribe, the roots. For pauly icp, twiztid, em, tech 9, snoop. For Merc DJ Premier, dj am , dj muggs, the wu, cypress hill, aotp, to name a few. Also a big inspiration for us is our brother hefty metal who unfortunately passed away in 2015 a week after we dropped our debut album.

How long have you been making music?
As mercy gang over 5 years. Pauly around 10 years, merc 12 years, and the old man around 25 years.

Is music your job or just a hobby?
It's definitely a job for us. At times our music trumps our regular jobs.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?
We have an album slated for July right now called M.E.R.C.Y the album. M.E.R.C.Y stands for murder every rapper coming at you. Along with this album we are dropping a bonus project for our fans for being so loyal and patient.

Can you name some artists you want to work with?
We had the honor to work with alot of legends on our first album animal rap, like tragedy khadafi, blaq poet, madchild, and shabaam saadeeq. This album we have records with ug of the legendary Cella Dwella, Ren Thomas, Ffc and Elz Sinatra of Dead Rabbits to name a few. But in the future we would love to work with Nas, Redman, twiztid, tech 9, mayday, diabolic, smif n Wesson it's so many to name.

Thanks for the interview. 
Thank you and it was great working with you on this project brother respect. R.i.p Hefty metal.

Sub-con5cience, Tekneek & Mr. G - CliniKill Method

FatMateria-word play (Prod.Stail Mic) Videoclip

Interview with Earleybird

What is your artist name?
Earleybird

Where are you from?
Northern Virginia, USA

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?
I rap and I do my own production as well.  I have been doing both for over twenty years and I consider myself prolific in each art.

Do you have a crew?
I had a crew but they all gave up making music after one album didn’t propel them to whatever level they were expecting it to propel them too.  I have some day ones who still make music, and good friends who make music, but I am a primarily a solo artist, basically out of necessity, not desire.  I wish I had a crew, but I am always the odd man out.

How old are you?
Old enough to have come up during hip-hop’s “golden age”, not old enough to retire yet.

What kind of music do you make?
Meditative, introspective music about thoughtful topics.  Topics like love, mental illness, feminism, lust, war, masculinity, privilege, God, race relations, poverty, perseverance & family

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?
My favorite artists are Sam Cooke and Billie Holiday. I own all the music Sam Cooke recorded as a secular artist and as a gospel artist.  I have over 24 hours of Billie Holiday music on my computer.  Other influences are Stevie Wonder, Prince, Marvin Gaye and Daniel Johnston.  As far as hip-hop, my major influences would be Special Ed, (for the way he enunciates and pauses between lines), Show And A.G., Hiero, WuTang, Project Blowed, Gangstarr and Dungeon Family.

How long have you been making music?
I started making music as soon as I heard hip-hop.  I got a Young MC tape for Christmas in ’89 when I was a little kid, and I went home and transcribed the lyrics.  I have been writing and performing since 6th grade.  I made my first mixtape in 1997, on a dual cassette tape machine with one turntable.  Three years later I got a computer and started collaging sounds on a wav editing program called Soundedit.  Now I use Garageband primarily. Since 2005 I have released 16 official albums.

Is music your job or just a hobby?
This question kind of bothers me.  I’m not here to “sell” my music.  I hate capitalism.  Prince tried to control and limit how his music was handled and released, and that all went to hell once he died.  It is a gift to the world, from an artist to other artists.  The main goal is communicating, so why do I concern myself with making money off of it, when that would limit who could hear it?  My main concern is making the music, not the industry of selling it.   No, music isn’t my sole source of income, but we live in a capitalistic society that doesn’t value music or musicians and the ones they do value tend to be watered down and easily exploited by the smoke and mirrors of the industry.

I wouldn’t call it a “hobby” because that cheapens what I do.  It is more of a compulsion or an obsession.  I look at it the way graffiti writers look at graffiti.  I have an addiction to making songs, the way a graf artist is addicted to getting their name up.  I don’t know how to cure myself, it is therapy and it is helpful to my well-being.  I don’t care who listens or how many people listen, I’m compelled to do it. It would be cool to have a large following, but then again the trappings of fame seem lame.  I don’t care about a record deal or getting signed, I just do this because I am compelled to.  I used to run with a lot of graffiti artists when I lived in Brooklyn, so I appreciate their DIY aesthetic of just doing it.  The art of getting up.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?
I just released the “Earworms” album last month, the “Earth Day” album drops next year on Earth Day and I have commissioned Gregg Deal, who is a really cool artist, to do the cover for the “Earth Day” album.  I’m also currently working on a project called “Content” and working on some experimental songs for an EP titled “Lambo Calrizzian”.  You can check out my music at www.getthatworm.com or you can download all 16 of my previous albums at www.audiomack.com/artist/earleybird

Can you name some artists you want to work with?
I already work with the artists I want to work with.  I have a lot of friends, like Substantial who I have known for twenty years, who I work with occasionally.   I’m more interested in working with cover artists than rappers right now.  I commissioned a great piece by DJ J Scrilla, I mentioned Gregg Deal and I have been waiting on a cover from Ibrahim Baaith for about four years now, lol.  I’ve been trying to get Ron Wimberly to do a cover, I’ve known him for twenty years, but he doesn’t seem interested when I ask him.


When I made my album “Things Are Not What They Seem” I enlisted The Witchdoctor and Myka Nyne to be on the album.  I am past the point of trying to get other artists who already have followings on my records.  That is the only time I enlisted artists who I never knew personally and paid them to be features.  I still look up to them and I enjoyed working with them, and I love the songs we cut, but as far as artists I want to work with, I would have to meet them and would want to work with them without paying them an appearance fee.  I would want it to be a natural situation where they are just as excited to be on my project as I am to get them on mine.  That being said, I am down to work with just about anyone who has the time to devote to making music.  I work primarily with artists I know personally and have become friends with, such as Silentmind, who I hadn’t met until we finished the “Spirit Ciphers” album, but now I consider him a good friend of mine and you can tell because we have continued to make music together.  But I don’t really want to work with any big name artists unless they want to work with me first. That being said, if anyone wants to collab, feel free to reach out to me on my website.

Thank you for this interview!

Friday, 28 April 2017

Interview with Julius Sleazer

What is your artist name? 
The ultra immortal, unstoppable mega force, JULIUS muthafuckin SLEAZER.

Where are you from?
I'm from the rugged northern terrain of the nasty Nickel City, Sudbury Ontario.

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?
Super duper rhymetard extraordinaire.

Do you have a crew?
DEAD RABBITS

How old are you?
33 years on planet Earth, almost 34. I heard a certain dope ass Dutch producer shares the same b-day as me

What kind of music do you make?
Kick you in the teeth hip hop music

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?
ACDC, The Beatles, Motörhead, NOFX, Rancid, and Ixion Form. Super dap slap to big Ix

How long have you been making music?
I first started as a bass player in a punk rock band called Guilty By Association, when I was 15 years old.

Is music your job or just a hobby?
It's my job to keep hip hop raw as fuck.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?
I have 3 projects nearing completion for 2017. An E.P. a full length, and a group effort.

Can you name some artists you want to work with?
Would love to do an album with Ixion Form, also could probably get bizzy with my man Vas from Philly.

Thanks for the interview.
Remember kids... Always support DEAD RABBITS! VALHALLA!

Interview with Klive Kraven

What is your artist name? 
Klive Kraven is my artist name formerly known as IQ among several other aliases.

Where are you from?
Born in Baltimore, Maryland. Raised in Pasadena, Maryland now residing in East New Market, Maryland.

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?
I am a emcee and producer. I have been emceeing/writing since I was a mere 6 years old. As for production I picked that up a little later in 2001 at the young age of 13. I have stuck with both since and continued to hone my craft on the microphone and on the boards. There is always something new to learn if you dig deep enough!

Do you have a crew?
Yes, Goldminded Records is my team. We were established way back in 2001. We have evolved quite a bit over the years. Different artists, different logos, different staff. Things definitely change in time. The evolution of Goldminded Records is actually quite intruiging. So much has happened over the last couple decades.

How old are you?
Currently I am 29 year old. I will see the big 3-0 in February of 2018. I suppose I am getting old hahaha.

What kind of music do you make?
I make grimey hardcore Hip-Hop overall but I delve into many sub-genres of Hip-Hop as well. I feel I have a unique blend of sounds in my array. From the "Mountain Man" series which is a spaghetti Western vibe. To "Hobo With A Shotgun" which is a more funkadelic vibe. All the way to my "Death Comes..." series which is a more Horror vibed sound. Each of these vibes have a specific and certified sound.

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?
Over the years many artists have inspired my from my production to my lyrics. To mention a few: Big Pun, Canibus, Eminem, R.A. The Rugged Man, Ill Bill, Necro, Havoc, Rza, Premeir, Large Pro, Muggs and more. Those are specficially just Hip-Hop influences. Outside of the genre there are many as well, but to name a few: The Beatles, John Carpenter, Rick Wakeman, Tiny Tim, Frankie Laine, Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer, Frank Sinatra, John Harrison, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, John Carpenter and more.
How long have you been making music?

Is music your job or just a hobby?
I think it is am a mix of both to be honest. I do have a 9-5 because the business can be hard to keep STEADY money coming in. But I do have contracts with some companies that purchase production from me in bulk. Also there is always a fan/artist who wants to build so verse/beat/studio services net nice side cash. Additionally, merch and digital sales help as well. But always nice to havea back up plan. I am actually working on getting my second college degree because of that very same reason haha.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?
100% you will see a TON of new music from myself and Goldminded records. I am getting ready to unveil something never seen before in music period. I am quite proud of this and details will soon follow. I can however announce, that a FOURTH Mountain Man album is happening. "The Resurrection of Mountain Man" will drop in 2017. I am also working on "Unique Universe" as well. My "Detox" if you will, haha.

Can you name some artists you want to work with?
Some heads that I would like to rock with would be: Action Bronson, R.A. The Rugged Man, Ill Bill, Necro, Chris Rios, Snowgoons, Apathy and Premier. I could go on for days though haha.

How can fans check you out and get your merch/material?
Our official website is about to launch and likely will be up by the time this goes public, check us out at: www.GoldmindedRecords.net. You can find us on all major social medias including: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, Pinterest and more. Just search for Goldminded Records or GMDRecords. Finally, you can find us on all major streaming/digital services such as: Pandora, Spotify, Itunes, Amazon, Googleplay, Napster, Emusic, Bandcamp and more.

Thanks for the interview.
Thank you for taking the time for ask the questions and helping keep the culture alive by supporting independant recording artists. The opportunity is greatly appreciated. Respect and salute.


M-Dot - Reliant (Official Music Video) Cuts By DJ 7L

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

Broken Drum Brigade - High Roads (Instrumental EP)

Saturday, 28 January 2017

Father Focus Confucius - The Focus Group Vol​.​1 (Enter: The Alchemist)

Monday, 16 January 2017

Review: Nosa - Novi


Tracklist:
01. 70’s Kill
02. Papa (feat. Duvel)
03. Flex Fotto
04. Push Kick
05. Blauwtjes (feat. Jacky)
06. Post
07. Guilty Pleasure
08. Fuck Rap
09. Novi Nove (feat. Roscovitsch)
10. De tijd/het Tij (feat. Rosa Ana)
11. Ill Chambers
12. Zomer/loungin outro

Review:
Eigenlijk was mijn doel om per track een review te maken, maar het is 2017.. mensen zijn lui en ze lezen niet graag, dus bij deze een korte review van Novi, het nieuwe album van Nosa, wat volledig geproduceerd is door Nikes. De lyrics van Nosa op deze plaat zijn zeer on point. Je kan de ervaring van de Nijmeegse MC hier goed horen op de dope beats van Nikes. De plaat heeft nummers erop  staan zoals 70's Kill, de track die je meeneemt naar het grimmige gangster verleden van Nijmegen, maar ook nummers zoals Blauwtjes, wat gaat over.. tsja je kan het misschien al wel raden: blauwtjes lopen! 

Voor de liefhebber van dope lyrics is er qua onderwerpen van tekst veel variatie: van nummers over liefde voor de skatecultuur (Push Kick) naar nummers over de hedendaagse rapscene en Nosa's blik daarop (Fuck Rap en Guilty Pleasure). Alle nummers hebben naar mijn mening een nostalgische vibe. De featured artists zijn ook zeker goed uitgekozen. Duvel, Jacky, Roscovitsch en Rosa Ana waren naar mijn mening allemaal on point en voegde ook echt waarde aan de track toe. 

Als producer zijnde MOET ik uiteraard ook even over de productie van de plaat schrijven. De beats zijn keihard! Ik heb genoten van de combinatie van Nosa op de mic en Nikes op de productie! De beats hebben allemaal een boom bap sound, maar variëren van smooth boom bap beats naar rauwe beats met hier en daar wat grimmige dubstep sounds erin. Dus ook voor de liefhebber van rauwe boom bap beats kan ik deze plaat zeker aanraden. De beats nemen mij echt mee naar de jaren 90 vibe en dat is wat ik persoonlijk altijd zoek in een boom bap sound.

Favoriete track:
Ill Chambers, geen twijfel over mogelijk. Ik heb van iedere track genoten, maar Ill Chambers is toch echt mijn favoriet. De referenties naar Illmatic van Nas en Enter The 36 Chambers van Wu Tang Clan zijn heel erg sterk en zoals elke track op de plaat worden de vocalen van Nosa goed versterkt door een dikke beat van Nikes! 

Om een lang verhaal kort te maken:
 Ik ben heel erg blij dat Nosa en Nikes dit album gemaakt hebben.  Nosa was ook al eerder te horen op het laatste album van producer Christov, dus ik zat al te hopen dat er iets aan zou komen in samenwerking met Nikes. De heren hebben bewezen dat ze nog steeds goed in vorm zijn!


Review door Leon aka Skinny Bonez Tha Godfatha (voor Crypt Keepers of Hip Hop)

Skinny Bonez Tha Godfatha - Supreme Zen