New Music – Sequel Sequences
Usually when relating to films in Hollywood, a sequel is often times a step in the wrong direction with more hype and less ability to perform. Thankfully, when mixing with a master of production like Madlib and the gravely-voiced rhymer Freddie Gibbs, ascension is the only way up.
Their second collaborative effort inscribed Bandana is a continuation of this legendary team-up. The two are so concurrent in their careers and still have influence through just their merit alone. As the Carl Weathers and Arnold Schwarzenegger-esque performances begin to flex their muscle through their musical background, Bandana becomes a clear indication of how the chemistry between rhymer and producer is more essential than ever.
Madlib created one of the greatest records of all time with Madvillainy, then to see him harnessing different energies to fit the more rugged and cutthroat styles of Freddie Gibbs is incredible. He is an adaptable combatant that challenges Gibbs just as much as he lifts him up with his production. The beat switches are constant, creating different tempos that attack Gibbs and almost create a game of mental sparring.
Gibbs instead rides the beats as if he was a cowboy with two six-shooters and a heavy hand of iron. He stands tall against the dynamic music and is able to form a tight grasp that blasts bullet holes through the production. Each face-off here is a balance of talent and tension where tracks “Fake Names” or “Giannis” has a dynamite bass and boom-bap 
styles. Gibbs uses his modern vocal approach to formation, almost as if he was a rap chameleon that changes shapes and colors to fit better into Madlib’s production.
The features from Pusha T, Killer Mike, Black Thought, Yasiin Bey, and Anderson .Paak are all these necessary additions that sometimes can be as much as a sprawling verse or a simple hook or chorus. In Anderson .Paak’s performance, his feature sticks out as his vocal style mixes so well with “Giannis” production and is an absolute treasure on the track. His soulful voice conflicts with Gibbs and illustrates a real dichotomy in vocal stance.
Not many of the tracks on Bandana are going to turn the club up, instead, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib are these urban cowboys that create an emotional attachment to being an outlaw. Each track sculpts them higher and higher until they seem to be rhyming and creating on the clouds, no longer the gunslingers that started in the mud.
Listen To Bandana Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Classic Day – Touch Down in the States
Back from the grave in what seemed to be the death of character, David Bowie walked out of dreams and into reality with his 10th studio record, Station To Station. Directly before his career spanning trilogy known as the Berlin Trilogy, Bowie was shelving his spaceman outfit and picked up the Thin White Duke, the black and white god who marched along checkered linoleum.
As the train begins to pick up steam on the first track “Station to Station,” Bowie is a patient master that lets tension build within the track before finally making a vocal appearance. His performance is necessary as this structured animal that creates behind as a conductor. Not just through his own orchestra of sound, but as a locomotive with momentum behind him. Each instrument collects along as one drawn-out working piece of a machine that finally adorns a metallic face.
As the riff of “Golden Years” becomes more human and less of an expressionist piece, Bowie recruits an assortment of musicians to build a foundation around Station To Station. Watching The Thin White Duke move with his own formation of vocals, tenor and alto saxophone, guitar, a Mellotron (electro-mechanical tape keyboard), and finally a Minimoog (analog synthesizer) to organize his own ensemble. Coming off the last record Young Americans which was a step into the funk direction for Bowie, “Golden Years” sculpts a somewhat disco sound as he runs the spotlight on himself. Almost as if he was a phantom of the performance, Bowie is a beast of ferocity that clashes with the backing vocals where his shrieks and mumbles are two sides of a very golden coin.
Later on Station To Station, the track “Stay” invokes some sense of love in the air that comes from Bowie’s lyrical style. He describes “Life is so vague when it brings someone new. This time tomorrow I’ll know what to do, I know it’s happened to you,” behind this fog of being truly broken. He illustrates regret in his voice that continues until the track ends where the chorus repeats as Bowie howls “Stay this time, I really meant to so bad this time. Because you can never really tell when somebody, wants something or wants to.” He finishes the track by finally letting the instrumental rage off into the clouded smoke, dust settling around until there is no one left on stage.
More of a fractured train ride than a blissful trip through the country, Station To Station is breathtaking but a timid record. Between Bowie’s frantic tone, the instrumental pieces that increase range, and the final moments of the Thin White Duke’s journey. Station To Station is one of the final stops at a dimly lit terminal, just before the break of daylight as it builds and creates this otherworldly arrangement of scenery.
Listen To Station To Station Here!!! – Youtube/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Misc. Day – Two Sided Die
The second part from the producer’s bag of tricks, THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME TWO is a continuation of the three-part series from Shawn Kemp, better known formally as Lil Ugly Mane. The part rapper, producer, engineer, and three-parts hydra from tha other side. Manipulating even more of his own sounds to fit this strange entrée of special blends and spices.
As the Richmond, Virginian native moves from chopped samples into guest verses, then into what can only be described as harsh noise with gentle overtones. The entire project of THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME TWO sparks emotion and floods frames from the first moments it is laid on the slab. With “2007” as the opening handshake that transforms the mood from broken glass to self-inflicted jabs; each step from Lil Ugly Mane is almost blind luck. The producer here has skill, as the moniker that he has released music under, Shawn Kemp is the closest thing to an underground, well, Shawn Kemp. The six-time NBA All-Star had no problem making the game his own, in a similar way that Lil Ugly Mane produces a unique vision from each track.
Even if that vision is scattered and switches every moment, there are ideas of complete thought. When tracks hit with SIDE 3, each piece on that side is concurrent and flows into each other. Hearing the fog settle with “COMPLIMENTS IN A GRAVEYARD” which then leads into “FLOSS THRU YA TOWN,” the smiles erupt. The production is outstanding a real staple of how creation within these mp3s is everlasting. Lil Ugly Mane manages to shatter backboards with 808 patterns and form an offensive style from producing. He can play the background but is better as a centerfold star of his own sound that both punches and kicks the way to the middle of the paint.
As an active shooter on “BELT WATER” which is instantly a motivating drive as the repeating chimes decay under this sample that describes, “Shawn Kemp can make us better.” While other samples protrude to illustrate different sides, “Shawn’s got a lot of issues” that tap into this psychosis where mind games are the key factor here. Each sample builds up Lil Ugly Mane’s work until it hits a boiling point and the rapid-fire snare cracks feed the ball right back into the 808s. Each movement here is less chaotic and more as if it was a machine built to destroy on the track.
While it is a “Collection of unreleased songs and instrumentals from the past couple few years,” Lil Ugly Mane still even nearly six-years after the initial release can break through that wall of sound. Each passing on THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME TWO makes for more and more appreciative works that eventually leads into one final moment of desperation. With THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME THREE closer than ever now, each step felt functional and necessary beyond natural ability.
Listen To THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME TWO Here!!! – BandCamp
New Music – All Caps Funeral
Known for his intoxicating ability to envision warlock powers over hip-hop beats; Future is the Atlantean King, riding his own wave that spawned numerous lyricists following in his path. As he moves from the turn-up to the broken drug addicted messenger, SAVE ME is a cry for help that is familiar.
Future has been in this place before; he has shown vulnerability that impacted listeners through previous releases but never captured the broken emotions quite like this. His first piece “XanaX Damage” is a rendition of how captured he is to this “entity” within his life. Whether a female partner or addiction embodied through his lyrics, he is passionate and describes, “Baby if I want you then I know there’s something wrong. I don’t mean to ruin all the times we had alone. But I’m not my best with you, I’m so depressed with you. But it’s so hard, I don’t think I can exist without you.” He is broken on SAVE ME and not his usual braggadocious-self and instead adopts this troubled delivery.
Even with the following piece “St. Lucia,” he never proceeds to become this aggressor on the track. He is sheltered almost and mixes up his flows to become in recovery through SAVE ME where all else is crumbling around him. He begins to slowly rise in this cockiness factor and eventually returns to his old self in “Please Tell Me” which instantly 
erupts in flames. Watching the progression in beat selection is important as well as it coincides with how Future operates to tell a story. “XanaX Damage” begins with a heartfelt and personal attachment to addiction, then as he reaches the third track, he sculpts his ego once again.
It is a welcome return but will continue to fluctuate on SAVE ME until the final moments where the dust settles around Future and he is left alone once again. His most famous performances come from when he is his most impressionable and here on SAVE ME he works in the personal factor more than anything. The way that he can make heartbreak a relatable and somehow energetic turning point is beyond comprehension. As Future moves between murky waters, his apex-predator status continues through the dusk into a brighter and more hopeful day.
Listen To SAVE ME Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Classic Day – Make Me Come
The technical debut studio record from hardcore outfit Black Flag started the first wave with Damaged. The record that held some of the first punches from the punk community coming directly from Henry Rollins replacing the first singers of Keith Morris (OFF!, Circle Jerks), Ron Reyes (PIGGY), and Dez Cadena (Misfits) which came after a quick two year period. Finally, after finding what had seemed to be a permanent singer, Dez Cadena stayed in Black Flag alongside Greg Ginn on guitar. Chuck Dukowski was on the bass which left Julio Roberto “Robo” Valverde Valencia on the percussion.
The band was fully formed and all provided the backing vocals for one of the largest influencers in punk rock history. Black Flag has this importance about them even when they first struck the scene in 1979 with Nervous Breakdown on SST Records. Also, the first release on SST Records, Nervous Breakdown held angst in these formative guitar rocks that shook foundation but never captured the mainstream attention that Black Flag would eventually go on to control.
Damaged was going to help with the shattered mirror covered primarily by the strong arm of frontman Rollins, the near 35-minutes of tempo changing punk rock was a heaven-sent revolution. The first track “Rise Above” is a Molotov cocktail instantly recognizable from the simple drum pattern that appears before the guitars crash in. The chorus of “We…are tired… of your… abuse” captures almost every teenager’s angst-ridden pushback against oppression in any way. The message behind the music is equally expressive and highlights exactly just how to spark a movement through sound.
The real standout of Damaged however was “TV Party” which was a bender influenced track that was introspective on the monster within your home. As Rollins explains, We got nothing better to do, than watch TV and have a couple of brews. Don’t talk about anything else, we don’t wanna know. We’re dedicated to our favorite shows.” Somehow, without becoming moronic, Black Flag can be upbeat and catchy with comedic undertones in a similar fashion. The vein of the writing on Damaged is one of the first and last records of Black Flag’s that held this style of sound. Rollins would then take over the writing and become more and more paranoid and deranged through the storytelling which quickly gave Black Flag their iconic edge to music.
Gone was the “TV Party” and the “Spray Paint” tracks, which ushered in tracks like “Depression” and “Padded Cell” which were still written before Rollins was in the band, but had different emotions behind them. The days only got darker as time progressed and soon Black Flag became the frantic animal in a cage that was ready to bust loose at any second.
Listen To Damaged Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Misc. Day – Cheetah Print Guts
Something about the prosperity of music through the internet is fascinating, the way that artists can connect ideas from entirely different parts of the world and form these stages that were once thought impossible. To see Richmond, Virginia which would have never been on the map as a Pittsburgh native, now as an underground staple of hip-hop that shined along with the likes of heavyweights. With Lil Ugly Mane, he created a saga that even still amazes but also confuses on the spectrum of sound.
THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME ONE is the introductory handshake into the strange pouring faucets of internet rap where finding musical gold was better than the physical treasure. Stumbling upon Lil Ugly Mane’s BandCamp page back in high school was almost as if the gates of metaphorical heaven had opened. The layout, the strange allusions to texts, and the rhyme schemes; it was all there from Lil Ugly Mane’s inner thoughts. The allure has now disappeared and there is a face to Ugly Mane, having shot his concerts, met him, seen his Instagram, and now finally reached the point where other artists are crossing over into his stratosphere of sound. There is not that big real mystery behind Lil Ugly Mane like there was in 2012, but that does not mean that the fun of discovering his music has gone away.
With THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME ONE, each replay takes it back to blaring the record on a burned CD from my dad’s computer in the 1998 Buick Century. Days that are long gone, but somehow hold sentiment into who I am now. From the flashy work of “forever i b stangin(*polo right first version)” where the 808 claps paired up with the shiny production still snaps back like a fully loaded choppa. As Lil Ugly Mane describes, “If ya see me in ya hood, I’m up to no good. Got the SK bangin’ ya I wish a hater would” which then quickly transitions into track seven “can sex me(tru freek bmore edition)” where Ugly Mane has no vocal appearance over a trancing beat.
That is why these three chapters of the THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUMES are such vital pieces of music history. They directly hold this essence of creativity to music where making something that resembles the artist was more important than money ever was. THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME ONE is the perfect driving record, the perfect piece for a Sunday morning that holds as much veracity as it needs to be considered rap by some, but more of a masterpiece by more.
This is the enigma of an artist that holds themselves up in a room for months but emerges anew, establishing direct flow of consciousness within that room. It was a star room where nothing but the cerebrum and medium flows, creating flops in some, or musical gold in others.
Listen To THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME ONE Here!!! – BandCamp
New Music – Hell’s Angels
A pounding force can be heard in the hills of power violence, a burning black that sweeps the often dense and mysterious land. Evil, twisted, but unrelenting, Full Of Hell swings like a bat full of lead with their 2019 release Weeping Choir. A punishing, but substantial addition to their noisy discography full of shattered bone and ritualistic separation.
“Burning Myrrh” starts Weeping Choir off as one of the singles and first videos that came from Full Of Hell. The first blast beats on the percussion as the following instruments whirl behind is an insightful look to how the rest of the record will follow. Weeping Choir is a burnt and fragmented frame of a once beautiful landscape that has now become destroyed beyond recognition. Full Of Hell has always come with brawn behind their sound, an ability to shatter bedrock into a fine powder. As they continue with “Burning Myrrh” and this overarching style, they march deeper and deeper into despair.
The transitions from “Burning Myrrh” to “Haunted Arches” is sudden and with little in form of a reprieve. Instead, Full Of Hell opts for a full-frontal hammer that smashes down against an anvil as the backdrop. Two hard places which crush simultaneously creating a splash of lightning that continues into “Thundering Hammers” which is controlled chaos. Those first rips on the guitar are invoking to create movement, stage diving right into a crowd of disorder and commotion before rising above the waves of bodies. As “Thundering Hammers” continues on, the entire band falls into this frenzy where blood is in the water and sound becomes the weapon.
Also present on Weeping Choir are the noise-based backing tracks where “Rainbow Coil” is this haunting and also sporadic display of ghoulish hell. The radio feedback strikes confusion where the random outbursts of percussion and oni screams are onyx against this white noise background. Everything about the track spells fear as “Rainbow Coil” is an intermission for the senses. It rests back on the ears and instead teases the mind before falling back into the driver seat of machine gun fire that obliterates speakers and eardrums.
Most of the tracks on Weeping Choir fall under the three-minute mark which leaves the track “Amory of Obsidian Glass” to become a standout. It outliers the rest with a near seven-minute long ballad that has these peaks and valleys. It is one of the true performances on Weeping Choir that takes time to rejuvenate while staying deep underground. As the melodic vocal ensemble sways within the wind, the often daunting and rushed work of Full Of Hell becomes a slug to the gut. Less of a rapid-fire volley of fists and more of a swing of the axe.
As those reigning strings can be heard with the final siren song from Full Of Hell, Weeping Choir finds peace somehow through the turmoil and pain. Often, the drilling work can be overwhelming but Weeping Choir finds a symbiotic balance that relies on the mental and physical game to achieve a perfect example of orchestrated and planned violence.
Listen To Weeping Choir Here!!! – BandCamp/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Classic Day – Penitentiary Chances
How can one woman’s monumental career and influence be summed up in one single album review, the way that Erykah Badu shook the music industry and created her own fame within her own sound was inspiring even generations later. Watching Mama’s Gun which is close to being 20-years-old still have this banging instrumentation, social message, and voice of silk as a trifecta for funk.
“Penitentiary Philosophy” is the first introduction of Ms. Badu on Mama’s Gun where every little thing falls into place to create an uplifting sound on a broken message. Socially, Mama’s Gun rattles and attacks by creating methods that were prominent in the mid-2000s. Each record that came from a social poet like Badu would not only have impeccable instrumentation but truthfully a message that would stay clear and true even years later.
She may be fun to dance to and share love, but Erykah Badu also can move a crowd like no other artist. She is gentle on the microphone and her iconic vocal structure through the fluctuation is deadly. She works like a slithering python that can constrict and contain the listener easily. Through the hour-long adventure through Mama’s Gun’s mind, the vivid personality from Badu is necessary to carry the true weight of the record. Then when combined with the instrumentation of her band, all these methods hold merit and create unmeasurable sensibility.
She wears a crown but instead protrudes some of the power to her band that works to be more of a centerfold rather than just simply working in the background. Her piece “…& On” is familiar and works as a continuation of one of the most iconic tracks ever spawned from an artist. She politely reinforces her own vocals without missing a step. 
The planes fly overhead and Badu is direct with matching the authenticity behind her sound. Truly the percussion is one of the most important factors where the drums are the foundation for the sound on some of these records. Moving into “Cleva” where the keys and percussion work in tandem to not only adapt and create a schematic but then when Badu’s vocals finally start to reign through, she is simply marvelous.
Mama’s Gun is the perfect record for love-making or crying alone, in any aspect of the word, Badu is an original that can never be replicated or crushed. It is apparent through her career that music and meaning behind that sound is more powerful than any war could ever be.
Listen To Mama’s Gun Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Misc. Day – Clockwork Orange
Coming hot off the heels of misery and desert anthems, Queens of the Stone Age holds an inevitable attraction to their music. Whether it is the writing from frontman Josh Homme, the aura of their presence, or just simply hitting the right notes; their 2013 release …Like Clockwork is a broken cage of conquered potential.
The first track “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” has this incredible ability to build tension in the first 18-seconds where only glass breaking can be heard. It is the elimination of this glass ceiling as …Like Clockwork is much darker, with subtlety but a dawned cloak behind its victims. This vampiric apparition is more deadly as it creeps along through the bass lines of “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” before reaching the first strikes. Hearing those descending chords illustrates this shroud of mystery with bloodstained masks and a sleeping sun.
On …Like Clockwork, Queens of the Stone Age is almost unrecognizable at first glance. Their approach to writing and the production of the record is seemingly perfect as they shapeshift and manipulate the listener. Around the fourth track “If I Had A Tail” do they begin to show signs of a familiar monster. With each pass through the record even six-years later, there is something that always lays in discovery as …Like Clockwork is an adaptive album. It is the record that will be present even after Queens of the Stone Age returns back to the desert ashes from which they once came.
And truly the emotional attachment and wounded filter is vital to making …Like Clockwork stand out in the field. Often, Queens of the Stone Age is an overconfident and simply risky materialization but everything changes here. …Like Clockwork shows some personality that would never be imagined, it shows desperation as if it was a wounded animal. The strikes from the artwork which contrast the overbearing reds and blues with the strict black lines seem formal but still damaged.
With the oxygen tanks seeming to keep the record alive on “Kalopsia”, Queens of The Stone Age ditches the cowboy style and adopts to become a recovering patient from this coma-like state. Every track on …Like Clockwork often has these build-ups in the tension or in the air where everything seems to fall apart at once. “Kalopsia” is one of the few tracks that uses a build-up but finds more beauty in the layered, but simple production of whirling keys that form along with the systematic breathing of machines.
Turning far from the shore, Queens of the Stone Age can somehow manage a recovery that saves the psyche of the record from becoming completely broken. …Like Clockwork is definitely one of the stronger releases under their belt, which is held up by some of the best records to ever come out in rock n’ roll. The way that the band works as a systematic vampire to suck life out of the living and redistribute power is frightening, but attractive in the same vein.
Listen To …Like Clockwork Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
STREAMING // (Video) Skepta – “No Sleep | A COLORS SHOW”
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
STREAMING // (Track) Sierra Sellers – “Cookout”
Listen Here – Soundcloud/Spotify/iTunes
Produced By: Charlie Scott and Nice Rec
Written By: Sierra Sellers
STREAMING // (Video) Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – “FCK Boy!”
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Directed By: David Sakolsky
Produced By: Gusto Gold Productions
Song Produced By: GRiMM Doza
Makeup By: Cirsty Burton
New Music – Self-Titled Destruction
For the Australian punk band Amyl and The Sniffers, a blitzkrieg of sound is no surprise. From the unbreakable lyrical style that the four members combine to congregate to, the lead singer who uses her sharp narration to tell a dystopian story, and the instrumentation that could rattle Rome.
Their self-titled record Amyl and The Sniffers is a quick 30-minute mix of cultural handshakes between Amyl’s rugged home of Australia and the audience around the world that is slowly realizing how they can shape a revitalization of punk rock. From their gigs online or even breaking into the festival scene, Amyl and The Sniffers contain this time bomb of unfiltered chaos that continues to show through on their self-titled.
As they begin the 11-track journey with “Starfire 500” where the instrumentation is actually the driving force for the first near two minutes before any lyrics hit the scene. The performance on the strings is dirty and feel almost as if they were a step backward into the past where mullets and combat boots raged alongside each other. Then as Amyl and The Sniffers introduce lyrics, the band becomes this unison marching machine that takes little in the wake of creating a regiment and instead begins their own four-man wrecking crew.
Suddenly “GFY” is a firecracker in a black powder factory that crackles and then immediately flies off the deep end where the vocals are almost unrecognizable behind this layer of fuzz and grime. Amyl and The Sniffers have an attitude about them that is irreplaceable and on their self-titled, they are more susceptible to adapting that original k9 bite. Each movement seems to progress in the way of becoming more and more belligerent as pieces of the puzzle are crushed beyond repair. Between the rampant and valiant efforts of the band that tries to break out the harsh vocals, or even the way that each track segues. There is nothing but tough love here on Amyl and The Sniffers.
The Aussie kings and queens march their way to the throne, Amyl and The Sniffers would rather crash land on the crown snapping all the meaning behind it. They are a group of nomad destroyers that travel on conquest through sound and ability rather than rules and jurisdiction.
Listen To Amyl and The Sniffers Here!!! – BandCamp/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
THIS IS A LIST OF THE MOST RECENT STREAMS...
The complete list of all past streams can be accessed here as well
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MATT'S MUSIC MINE - MERCH FOR SALE
VIDEO REEL 2
LIVE PHOTOGRAPHY – JESUS PIECE AT BABY’S ALL RIGHT, DECEMBER 6TH, 2022
SUNDAY SAMPLER // (Playlist) “12/04/2022″
(Track) Jake Mason Trio – “Rib Eye”
(Video) Lightning Bolt – “Dead Cowboy @ TAICOCLUB 2014”
(Video) The Velvet Underground – “After Hours”
(Video) Mac Miller – “10 Years Of You”
(Video) A$AP Rocky – “Same Problems”
The complete list of all past streams can be accessed here as well
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