STREAMING // (Video) Death Valley Girls – “(One Less Thing) Before I Die”
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Directed By : Kansas Bowling
Shot By : Kansas Bowling and Parker Love Bowling
Video Titles : Jack Sample
STREAMING // (Track) Alchemist – “Fork In The Pot” & “94 Ghost Shit”
Listen Here – Soundcloud/BandCamp/Youtube
SIDE A
1. “Fork In The Pot” feat Conway, Westside Gunn & Schoolboy Q
2. “Fork In The Pot” Instrumental
SIDE B
1. “94′ Ghost Shit” feat Conway & Westside Gunn
2. “94′ Ghost Shit” Instrumental
Produced by The Alchemist
Mixed by Eddie Sancho at Bass Trap Studios
Mastered by Joe Laporta at Sterling Sound
Artwork by Shk@artbyshk.com
Video Directed by Jason Goldwatch
Produced by The Alchemist
Mixed by Eddie Sancho at Bass Trap Studios
Mastered by Joe Laporta at Sterling Sound
Ω WEEK OF MAC MILLER – DAY THREE Ω
Dead Faces
Faces is the 11th mixtape coming from Most Dope General, Mac Miller. The First of his kind to initiate a global takeover in the music industry, capturing the number one spot on the Billboards with an independent album, being able to touch an entire world of people with his music, and ultimately inspire even more. Faces will make you cry, laugh, stunt on your ex, and sincerely make you miss one of your idols more than ever.
“Shoulda died already, I… shoulda died already” Miller opens Faces with an introspective look at his drug use, his missteps, and the most humanistic characteristics that he had. His downfalls are what made him approachable to anyone who had falling outs, his kindness took his music to a global level and saw collaborations unheard of, and his talent left some of the greatest music to ever be produced.
There is a female voice that becomes continually present throughout Faces and proceeds to lead the listener like a gentle shepherd. “Be without fear in the face of your enemies, be brave and upright that god may love thee. Speak the truth even if it leads to your death, safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. This is your oath…” as Miller then creates a Pittsburgh homecoming of jazz-influenced production on “Here We Go” that rivals with the uplifted, living better Miller. “Brand new home I think I made it, key to the city I keep to open the gates with. A briefcase with a million under the pavement, that’s just on some rainy day shit” Miller exclaims through this crafty, but still simplistic instrumental.
Even through the gorgeous nature of “Here We Go”, Faces is primarily a rush to show the ghosts and spirits that hold Miller down as well. As he moves on to the track “Friends”, Miller becomes this less rambunctious, more introverted rhymer and producer. “I really can’t explain it, shit. It’s just a little cocaine sniff, but the lines is longer than parades is…I know that planet Earth about to explode, kinda hope that no one save it, we only grow from anguish.” Still there are sections where Mac Miller does not fall entirely into the pits of despair, but he does take these stumbles where he explains these mantras to his drug use. “I know my father probably wish I would just smoke pot, my grandma probably slap me for the drugs I got. I’m a crackhead but I bought her diamonds, we love rocks” Miller describes in a less than cheerful veracity.
Faces relies on this constant changes to frequently keep the mood in a rising and falling action of both intrigue and despair. With tracks as “Angel Dust” or even “Happy Birthday” that put a positive sound on the drug abuse story, Miller’s production here is as packed as ever and showcases through his creativity a lighthouse within the mirage of foreboding seas. With other tracks of “Therapy”, “Diablo”, or the absolute powerhouse of “Insomniak”; Miller is a beast of free burden that rhymes over quicker, more upbeat tempo tracks that reflect some of his brightest and most chest-flexed moments in hip-hop.
“Insomniak” creates the Miller that fans adored from the beginning, but with all the glare and glam of a famous A-lister with a budget. With the female vocal sample that opens “Think for yourself and you’ll find out that a lot of those so-called authorities are bullshit.” Miller then takes the opportunity to create a flood of lyrics that include “I’m the motherfucking greatest, y’all don’t know that yet. I don’t need your money, you can hold that check. At the crib in some Polo sweats, I don’t need a hoe, that’s what the hoes don’t get.” To then moving into a verse that could make the listener transport into their ex’s house in a grand finale of bravado just to tell them they really aren’t shit, “Bought a brand new crib yeah I move that brick, I don’t want nothing with your doo-doo clique. Treat her like a dog how I do that bitch…” as he reaches a hook that works as a chorus to describe “I’m an insomniac, a motherfuckin’ insomniac.”
Then as it comes to a crashing curtain draw, Faces takes the best of Mac Miller and divides the beauty into two reminiscent tracks that hold a final goodbye. “New Faces v2” uses Earl Sweatshirt and Da$H as the opening rhymers in collaboration before Miller disappears into the fireworks display of “Grand Finale.” With the most shocking line coming from “Grand Finale” that explains “And if by chance this my grand finale, bury me in Allegheny County… Even God will one day be forgotten… I’m a bit surprised that I’m even still alive, Mixin’ uppers and downers practically suicide.”
As the incredibly unfortunate and almost indescribable death of Mac Miller came so suddenly. Faces is more important than ever and delivers wholeheartedly on the fact that Mac Miller could transcend the early college hits, could surpass the drugged out depression, and realize that he is a relatable human that felt more like a big brother than just another artist.
Listen To Faces Here!!! – Soundcloud
Editors Notes: (AKA Matt’s Music Mine AKA Matthew Miramontes AKA Matty Ice AKA Machine Gun Salami AKA Lord Of The Game AKA Matty B Murder Business because I do everything on this site) – Mac Miller was more than just an artist to me as he was one of the first artists that I could ever relate to. The homies and I would gather around my shitty iPhone 5c (the white one) speakers just to hear when his newest tracks or leaks would come out and there aren’t many artists that hold that grasp on me. He was an eloquent artist through both music and the lyrics, even passed the fact that he never knew me as I knew him. It was a celebrity meeting that I had imagined more than a thousand times throughout my career as a journalist. The idea that Mac would just one day find my site and appreciate this. The fact that it takes someone I loved through a musical fascination to tell my friends and family that I love them for the first time in a long time. Miller would want the fans, the family, the people who knew him to not be crushed down after his death, but to instead show the world what he meant to us and live more like him. To capture love and distribute it throughout. I honestly have no idea what I am even saying anymore and truthfully, I did not like K.I.D.S. or even Macadelic, Blue Slide was a pass at times. It took Watching Movies With The Sound Off for me to realize just how intelligent Mac was and how much an artist he was within his music. Hearing “Watching Movies” on my dad’s speakers as he came home to laugh off my “rap phase” that would span a continuous 12 years and still presently. It was the beat production, the rhyming skills, and the way that I could finally jump into my dad’s 1998 Buick Century and blow the speakers out to “Birdcall.” Something I do now with my car, my events, my bedroom, my office, and even my poor iPhone speakers. Mac, I never knew you like your homies, but I wanted to. And I hope that your passing and music inspires my kids to one day stop making excuses, to push themselves more, and hope that I can one day change someone’s life like you did mine.
STREAMING // (Video) GodsConnect – “PRODIGY TRIBUTE X NICKELUS F”
Listen/Watch Here – Soundcloud/Youtube
Ω WEEK OF MAC MILLER – DAY TWO Ω
Lounge Act
From the Shadow Lounge in modern-day Pittsburgh, to the transformation into the smoke-filled dens of Paris, Larry Lovestein can deliver through it all. Mac Miller has these superpowers behind his creative outreach that covers the balance of smooth touches of saxophone, an ensemble that relies heavily on each others dynamic positioning, and a lyrical consistency coming from Lovestein’s smooth, gentle but giant voice.
Larry Lovestein is not alone on this venture however as he recruits the sensual Velvet Revival to create the backing from the REMember Music signed artists. The vocals and keyboards that come from Lovestein himself are then paired with the rumbling skins of Ralph Bubbletea. Shaking the background with Bob “Grumpy” Loveskins on the bass, with Dave Goodfinger on the tuba. Having a brass instrumentalist creates such a warm barrier that treads with the sound and holds the clarinet by Emmanuel Steinwitz, xylophone by George “Night Owl” Bamboo, congos by Gerry Tampico, Saxophone by Pierce “Gutter Ball” Fortenauté. This is all balanced by the strings of Patty “4” Fairchild, and finally snaps by Florida’s own Choo Jackson that becomes more important to creating the vintage sound that Miller was able to grasp.
From the opening approach of the vinyl sleeve that appears to be bruised and seen much use as the cover, You is an excellent step back into the corduroy and wood grain age that has that certain sense of pride behind it. There is a capturing of love that somehow invites to draw the listener in, letting them fall victim to this otherworldly experience of color and vibrancy within Lovestein’s journal. Rather than the horror escapade that made up Delusional Thomas, You is a much more approachable and more mature Miller that manages the multiple personalities under one roof.
With the splashes of stained pigments that blush and create shades of glorifying hues follow with the love stricken lyrics of “Love Affair” as Lovestein explains, “Let’s run away, sail through the Atlantic. Two of us, such a wonderful pair stuck inside this love affair.” He is cordial in the delivery which makes the following track of “Suspicions” feel even more personal with the peaceful production to wrap. “I hope my suspicions ain’t been right all along. You are all I know for so long. We both, agree we don’t know what’s going on. You my fantasy gone wrong” Lovestein describes through this hook that works in tandem along with the band.
In certain moments, You is some of Miller’s most beautiful works that stack alongside his mainstream solo works. He is able to prove that he is more than just a rapper or lyricist, Miller, or rather Lovestein holds a candle to the strongest of jazz winds without ever seeming to blow over or falter. The fantasy of love within the air and the different approach to creating a musical memento comes with welcoming arms and brings love to a whole new level.
Listen To You Here!!! – Larry Lovestein’s Download
Ω Week of Mac Miller – Day One Ω
Aiming For The Saints Heads
Stemming from the Heaven’s Gate instrumentals of cult leaders and sick tendencies, Delusional Thomas is the mixtape from Pittsburgh’s Mac Miller alter-ego. A twisted and demented horror show reaching from the darkest sections of Miller’s inner thoughts, Delusional Thomas is as shocking as it is engaging with a relatable, and unfortunate turn down the bitter path of instrumentation and rhyming schemes.
Miller was no stranger to experimentation, as he marches around with the parade of multi-instrumental self-directed pieces; there is no doubt that Miller was a genius in his own right. Delusional Thomas is the ugly dirt under the nails, it is the suicidal thoughts that attack from random moments, it is the cellar creature that lives within the dark corners of the mind. Thomas is not a separation of Miller, but is instead a connection to his true animalistic and dungeon horror-core flows that makes for a serial killer collection that is as fascinating as it is frightening.
With tracks “Halo” and “Vertigo”, two of the project’s openers; Delusional Thomas is quick to become shocking and rely heavily on the panic that is caused from lines about sadistic murder, exorcisms, and human vegetables. “He probably had some freaky sex, really I’m not worried. Already plan to kill myself when the clock hits 7:30… These serial killer fantasies, you mention something sick and twisted, everybody panicky” Miller describes behind the lumbering giant of an instrumental that holds this broken glass pieces on strings and a piano that dances around as a broken marionette. Miller then moves to describe “Ex and oh, semi loaded up bitch I’m surgical, your head explodes, your chest gets opened up like convertibles” on the following track “Vertigo”.
The glooming darkness actually shows some light on the production in a contradictory way. The instrumentals that come primarily from Larry Fisherman, another one of Miller’s pseudonyms. He is an excellent maestro behind the keys and acts as a conductor behind the madness that puts Delusional Thomas into these whirlwinds of overbearing weight. “Dr. Thomas” is the perfect example of creating a smooth transitional period where the instrumentation is cut so clean, but holds this grit behind the lyrics. “Dr. Thomas” shows Delusional Thomas’s best pieces. It is the pie that is held together tightly by a substantial layer of lyrical ability, and the way to connect through instrumental punches.
“You or me, who I’m gonna kill first?… Okay, my hearse is made of gold, the spirits take control. I paved the road with endangered souls” Thomas says as he dances wildly along the production in a menacing display of prowess. From the features of Mac Miller, Earl Sweatshirt, Bill Waves, or even Da$H. The final nail in the coffin of “Grandpa Used to Carry A Flask” holds the last moments of two personalities clashing. Mac Miller battles and shares the microphone with Delusional Thomas. Miller controls as he describes “So we close our eyes, hoping we forgot to die. Shit it must have slipped my mind, why?” as Thomas then comes shortly behind with “Having conversations with myself, getting into arguments. When I’m out in London I be posted at the parliament. Coke in the parliaments, chilling by some monuments. Ominous when I fill your body with godly hollow tips.” It is then the touching of the two where Miller and Thomas realize they are two of the same person as the two voices start to overlap and finish each others sentences before they finish stating together, “I’m just tryna play with my band on Fallon, I don’t got no talent.”
Delusional Thomas takes Mac Miller’s strange and abstract thoughts that work to form a blurred line that is difficult to walk. It feels as though you are watching the mind of a man fall into an identity crisis before realizing that all the broken and grisly thoughts are his own.
Listen To Delusional Thomas Here!!! – Soundcloud
STREAMING (Album) C. Scott – “Something Comes Over Us”
Listen Here – BandCamp
13 songs, loops, and grooves produced during Summer 2018.
art & arrangement- Charlie Scott
Miles Jackson provides opening and closing words.
to Richard, Mike, & Miles.
STREAMING // (Album) RAGANA X THOU – “LET OUR NAMES BE FORGOTTEN”
Listen Here – BandCamp
A complete split from Oakland, California death metal group RAGANA and Baton Rouge, Louisiana hardcore metal band Thou.
New Music – Ambient Nights
Emma Ruth Rundle holds a midnight rider full of mystery and environmental elements to her sound. She is entirely free in her newest work, On Dark Horses which captures a spiteful reflection of impactful instrumentation and her vocals that open the doors to a truly unbroken style.
Unique in the way that she can flow through the near majestic darkness to the progressions; Rundle is devastating on her opening track “Fever Dreams.” She is still a casual adventure of daunting relaxation, but her beginning focus is moved to become a slightly different mantra. “a life spent uneasy, in pieces always in pieces here. A life rent completely, release me away from fever dreams” Rundle describes as the thumping performance grasps the listener and pushes them off the cliff to see if they could fly. It is a controlled chaos on “Fever Dreams” that feels well-developed and seems as a fitting contradiction to the frantic lyrics of being trapped under the ice of a nightmare.
With the following tracks, “Races” is a piece that follows Rundle’s more lumbering, atmosphere heavy working. Her past work with Marked For Death showed true promise and made her a strong blip on the radar after an impressive display of cohesiveness behind the production and lyrical ability. With On Dark Horses, Rundle is similar in the way that she can be recognized throughout releases and forms her own identity.
With On Dark Horses, the tracks continually dive into each other in a transitional period that manages to keep the listener’s attention and hold some truth behind her style. She continues to impress with the daunting pieces but can also start to dive behind the triumphant, more paced tracks of the record. She however does the best job when her sound is animalistic, almost similar to a tribe and collective of a cave-dwelling people that move in unison. Her sound is incredibly tight here on On Dark Horses and for a good reason. She uses Dylan Naydon, Evan Patterson, and Todd Cook as her backup instrumentalists that provide a solid foundation for her wildest horses to run.
While her sound becomes similar throughout the record, Emma Ruth Rundle is constantly a treat that develops a methodology behind the madness. She can use effects and instruments in a way that is intriguing and engaging to the listener. Without fail, Rundle is prolific with On Dark Horses and continues to be impressive after each release.
Listen To On Dark Horses Here!!! – BandCamp/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Classic Day – One Love
The theory of music that follows A Tribe Called Quest is deeply rooted in the way that the production can be easily manipulated into any situation. Whether being played for the car speakers on a highway drive, or at a wedding, to the oldest of music lovers; nearly everyone on the planet can attain some sort of factor that makes Midnight Marauders a substantial monument in music history.
With Jive Records focusing and hunkering down on the idea of creating a more mainstream vein for A Tribe Called Quest to follow, they were successful in the game of creating a hit on every track. Midnight Marauders is that story that creates a wild chemistry and influential flow to Tribe’s discography. With an opening the record up like a story tale, “Hello, this is your Midnight Marauder program. I am on the front of your cover, I will be enhancing your cassettes and CD’s with certain facts that you may find beneficial.” With this dedicated and synthetic-esque voice, it takes the listener by the hand and turns them over into the wild sea of Midnight Marauders. “Rude boy composer, step to me you’re over. Brothers wanna flex, you’re not Mad Cobra” describes Phife Dawg through a charismatic level of an unoppressed, flying instrumental.
The magic then continues to construct with “Award Tour” that contains a sudden feature from De La Soul’s Trugoy the Dove. “You can be a black man and lose all your soul, you can be white and groove but don’t crap the roll; see my shit is universal if you got knowledge of dolo” features Q-Tip holding the microphone with an iron will as the cheerful, roller skate instrumental clambers along. There is some beauty behind the instrumental of “Award Tour” as it shot A Tribe Called Quest to the lead single spot off of Midnight Marauders. It contains these feelings of childlike wonder that combine with the “DC-20 aircraft” flying through the sky.
Midnight Marauders also take the jazz routine and start to convert the fusion into one seamless transition. The iconic line behind the gentle chords comes from Phife Dawg, “I like ‘em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian, name is Phife Dawg from the Zulu Nation.” The childish, but still memorable lines flood into the second set of verses where Q-Tip then describes “Keep it on the down, yo we keep it discreet. See, I’m not the type of kid to have my biz in the streets.” It is a rhyme scheme pattern that moves between both Phife Dawg and Q-Tip in a tag-team effort that transfers one of the greatest love-making tracks in 90’s history.
Through Midnight Marauders, A Tribe Called Quest is a fully realized vision that was able to create a sound that become replicated for years to come. In what seems like an effort to push creativity to a personal level, A Tribe Called Quest was able to also break into the mainstream and create some truly powerful tracks in the process.
Listen To Midnight Marauders Here!!! – 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
(Click Here)
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
(Click Here)