STREAMING // (Video) Ari Lennox – “Shea Butter Baby”

Listen/Watch Here – Youtube

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Featuring: J. Cole

Misc. Day – East Atlanta Overlord

trap_01-1.jpgGucci Mane is a global phenomenon that has enough resources and power to release mixtapes and records from within confinement in prison. While he is not the only artist to release music from a cell, Gucci Mane is the first artist to release more than three albums from jail and one of the greatest mixtapes of his discography.

Trapology comes in the form of overgrown guerilla tactics that strike from all sides between trap house star, aggressive hip-hop, and tracks that are adaptable for the club. It is not surprising as this is going to be one of the 72 mixtapes and 13 studio albums (February 2019) that Gucci Mane has been the standing monument on. The first track “East Atlanta” is a breath of fire featuring Young Scooter who describes, “I’m pretty sure if you look up in the dictionary, next to the word trap nigga, trap house, trap anything nigga you gonna see a picture of my ass and my nigga Guwop.” He then lets Gucci Mane do what Gucci does best, rip apart a hook describing, “On the block eating noodles, I’m a rott you a poodle. In the club with a slug I’m a motherfucking shooter. In a drop top spider titties showing like Hooters, I’m the plug tryna serve all the cocaine users.”

There is something fascinating about the production which acts like a supercharged Dodge SRT Hellcat that squeals out into the midnight streets leaving nothing but mayhem and destruction in its wake. The real meaty verses are actually handled primarily by Young Scooter but the focus and spotlight is entirely on Gucci Mane as he struts to the microphone and engulfs the area in this trap symphony of sound.

gucci_01But it is not all violence here on Trapology, there are moments with features from Soulja Boy, Snoop Dogg, Jadakiss, and even Verse Simmonds that act as dance hits too. “Ass Everywhere” is not just catchy through the production and the build-up, but the track acts as a bridge from the ugliness of violence and drug work.

He still mentions death but under a different light, “Thou shall not kill and I know it’s god’s will, but that’s something I gotta take up with the lord. Song is a sword and I know that it’s a sword, but this 40 right here’ll shoot up your Accord.” Gucci Mane is somehow comedic behind all the brutality and rough-edges. While it might not be the love-making song of the century, it does the trick to move the feet and collect a quick two-step.

Somehow from Atlanta to the world, Gucci Mane invokes a feeling of ownership that not many can create. Hearing robbing and stealing might not fit for everyone, but Trapology does an amazing job of delivering immaculate production to support that fits everything Gucci Mane says. From one trap house to the next, Gucci Mane holds it down, brick by brick.

Listen To Trapology Here!!! – Youtube/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes

STREAMING // (Video) Juicy J – “Let Me See”

Listen/Watch Here – Youtube

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Featuring: Lil Skies, Kevin Gates

Directed by Joe Weil

Produced by Sam Canter & Christian Sutton

DP: Philips Shum

Editor: Neal Farmer

Production Designer: Nathan Castiel

Commissioner: Saul Levitz

Creative director: Tech Curry

A Psycho Films Production

New Music – Grand Illusions

sincerely_01Goodbyes are never easy, especially if you are talking about the long, slow goodbyes of final records that have a designated end. While breaking up is hard to do, People Under The Stairs do so in a way that feels more prideful and hopeful toward a reflection of outstanding hip-hop notoriety.

Their terminal record, Sincerely, The P is a callout to the fans, long nights, and unbelievable longevity within their sound. Taking a West Coast flair with rumbling bass lines, a boom-bap beat, and the way they run their sound from the LBC to highway 101. People Under The Stairs have an indefinite nostalgic factor to their music that makes them feel so approachable between the rhymes to the beats and production behind the voices. There is something that knocks the head around and creates a whirlwind of emotions between the conclusion disguised as a record.

Sincerely, The P displays a cover art that shows both artists, Thes One and Double K, acting as pieces of art to be observed behind a warm red velvet rope. From the first track “Encore” that pulls the curtain back on the record, embracing the personal touches that rely on sampling and authentic instruments to create a soundscape. Power is the main influence here as the depth behind the record-scratches, overdriven guitar, or quick punches of drum bass hits take the breath away.

There are moments where People Under The Stairs have been able to create a smooth flow, between the midnight hours of what would become piano keys over jazz beats, “The Effects of Climate Change on Densely Populated Areas” steps in to take over on the role of conscious but groovy. From the double entendres from being both hot in the Los Angeles area, and to the “heat” of illegal activity is creative coming from People Under The Stairs who emphasize a literal sound to their style.

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A Rolodex of ambiguity is important as a rhymer, and with two artists who rely more on wordplay than flashy instrumentation is vital as a dichotomy in music. Hearing those flashes that take the listener back to what would feel as the 90’s where all black attire was essential to move a message, when LA was harsh but the music was powerful and had a real edge to it.

Cutting samples, digging crates, sampling hip-hop show crowds all form to sculpt the world of People Under The Stairs. Masters of a relatively misunderstood craft, Sincerely, The P gives a last platform and near perfect send-off into the unknown void that is the future for the basement-dwellers.

Listen To Sincerely, The P Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes

 

STREAMING // (Album) Reviving Real – “VOL 5”

Listen Here – Soundcloud

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Featuring: Frank Hoody, Lyn Starr, Big CCR, Ahsé, Lights La Soul, JAYY BRAXX

Producers: DanSully, Jeremy Rosinger, Bossy, Bleach