Jay-Z (he put the hyphen back in, so you know it’s business time) recently dropped 4:44, the album that was partly conceived as a response to Lemonade and (possibly) partly because we hadn’t heard much from Jay aside from rando appearances in the last four years and he needed an exclusive release to get people to […]
Read moreNew SOTBMusic: @esoxosupreme – Life With Eso
A huge hat tip goes to the brother Anthony Rian/TOPE for introducing me to Eso’s work. Ever since then, I’ve been a fan. But in case you have no idea who Eso.Xo.Supreme is, he’s a Portland-based artist who’s been making some pretty major and pretty dope moves musically. His sound is kind of trapsoul-ish, but […]
Read moreNew SOTBMusic: @Donnynnon – ARORA
I got this one in my email saying “if you don’t like it, I’ll PayPal you a dollar for your time.” That’s a dope marketing strategy. But, if my ears are what I like to think they are, DONAVON won’t be giving much money out that way anytime soon. The track, “ARORA,” is a combination […]
Read moreNew SOTBMusic: @KiariTheStone – Wrong Reasons
This one immediately got my attention because of the horns, played by Fendi Sean (the production is handled otherwise by Freddie Gibbs contributor Blair Norf). From there, we’re taken on a track that discusses many of the “wrong reasons” people act the way they do. It’s a short, but chilling track mainly because of the […]
Read moreNew SOTBMusic: @DKakaWayneWatts – Life Ain’t Sweet
Tranquility mixing with harder lines about the growth and maturation of an artist. That’s what you’re getting in this new track from Wayne Watts. There’s a sense of hunger on this one that I haven’t seen from Watts in years, which is a dope move on his part. That’s not to say he doesn’t always […]
Read moreSOTBNerdy: Def Jam Fight for NY
Sorry for rambling in advance. I recently stumbled upon a piece by Baltimore-based writer Action Bastard about one of the greatest games of all-time (to me, anyway). I wish I was saying that hyperbolically because the term “GOAT” gets thrown out like candy to the point it doesn’t mean shit anymore. But, AB wrote about […]
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