Girl Talk Review

I reviewed Girl Talk's All Day on RapReviews last week. I think what he does is interesting, but 12 tracks of it is about eleven too many.

Looks like he's fun live, tho.

The Aztext Review

I reviewed the Aztexts new EP this week on RapReviews. They are a Vermont hip hop group that is releasing their new album one EP at a time. They may not be from a hip hop mecca, but they do a pretty convincing take on new old school.

Here's a video of them performing live. Which seems to be the rarest of things: a good live hip hop show.


The Aztext (Live) from Paul Varricchione on Vimeo.

KingHellBastard Review

I reviewed KingHellBastard's Remember the Name last week on RapReviews.
They are a Milwaukee crew doing new old school, my new name for retro rap. Which I also coined.

Here's them doing "It's the Crew Again" with Sadat X.

GFX Review

I reviewed the album by Buffalo hip hop duo GFX this week on RapReviews. The group is producer Cufx and rapper G-wza, dropping moody beats and introspective rhymes.

I've been listening to Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey lately. I've had the album for a year, but I've been revisiting it. It's 70s African funk, which is a genre I love. It's funky, polyrhythmic, and wicked as hell. 

What I've Been Listening too

I downloaded Aloe Blacc's "Good Things" today. It's neo-soul on Stones Throw. I really like a couple songs, but some of it is a little cheesy for my tastes. We'll see if it grows on me. The first single is "I Need A Dollar."



I also downloaded Zion I's "Atomic Clock" last week. They are conscious hip hop from the Bay Area. Amp Live, the producer, has an electronica edge to him that I like. Sort of a combo of old school boom bap and electronica.

I've also been listening to Mikey Dread's "Dread at the Controls." He worked with the Clash in the early 80s, and I love his odd voice and the full sound he gets. It's prime studying music.



Finally, I've been listening to Gonjasufi a lot. It's stoney, tripped out psychedelic eletronica. I got the album early this year, but only really listened to it now. It's perfect late night listening.


I also got the new Sufjan Stevens, "Age of Adz," for the wife, but she hates it. Instead of doing mellow orchestral folk, he's doing arty electronic weirdness. It's interesting, but I'm not looking to marry it.

OFF!

I'm excited about OFF!, a new punk band featuring Keith Morris of the Circle Jerks and a bunch of dudes from other bands. They sound like 82-era Circle Jerks. It may be scthick, but I'm loving it. Raymond Pettibone, the guy who did most of the early SST artwork (Black Flag, Minutemen, etc), did their artwork. I think I'm gonna get it.



And here's Keith singing the same kind of song, thirty years earlier.

Alexipharmic Review

I reviewed Alexipharmic's "Good Side of Bad Vol. 3" EP a few weeks ago on Rapreviews.com. I wasn't sold on his delivery, but I liked his beats and his message. His label, Elephant Memories, donates half their profits to charity, and his one-sheet included information about the aid work he had done in Kenya. Where Obama was born, if you are a die-hard conspiracy theorist who thinks birth certificates are a load of rubbish.

Here's a video for "America."