Maryland-born, VA-residing artist–and one of my DAR brothers–Jeff Axel, better known as BLACK AX, has been making music for over ten years. The twenty-six-year-old “energy gawd” has always been unique in his approach, mixing crunchy southern instrumentation, soulful vocalization, and enough sauce, percolation, and verbiage to make E-40 do a double take. Coolin in AXELWorld is […]
Read moreSOTBMusic: An Interview with Nighlawn
Over two years ago, I came in contact with Virginia’s Nighlawn and her Purple Elixir project. It was, to put it mildly, one of my favorite projects of 2016. Over the next few years, I heard rumblings about the follow-up and other moves she had coming down the pipeline. As with anything, you can’t rush […]
Read moreSOTBMusic: An Interview with NoFace, Rapper
Since NoFace, Rapper first appeared on SpeedontheBeat.com about two years ago with his Wintercoat EP, we’ve been trying to get an interview going. His mix of lyricism and storytelling drew me in and made me want to hear more from him, outside of music. Life sometimes got in the way, and it always kept being […]
Read moreSOTBMusic: An Interview with Charlie Too Much
I’ve followed Charlie Too Much for the better part of the last three years. From a chance meeting at College Park through the ups and downs of dealing with life and its stressors, I’ve come to value Charlie as an artist, but also as a friend. That said, things have been a bit quieter on […]
Read moreNew SOTBMusic: The Fury MCs Want First Blood Against Con in New Diss Track
The NOVA indie scene has been abuzz with the burgeoning “smoke” between rapper Con and pretty much the entire NOVA scene. This was all sparked by the fact that Con said that he’s coming for everyone’s neck. Between that and me checking out today’s track, he managed to call out The Fury MCs for reasons […]
Read moreNew SOTBMusic: Super Nike Nando Drops His HEEM Album
If you follow Super Nike Nando, you’ll know that he makes music you can feel. His Twitter account even says that he “make[s] music/art for overcoming anxiety, no matter your race, background or sexual preference.” With that in mind, it’s no surprise that HEEM (an album named after an “enhancement word” used to put emphasis on […]
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