As far as rap goes, Florida is mostly known for rappers like Rick Ross, Plies, Pitbull, T-Pain, Flo Rida and Trick Daddy, with DJ Khaled “holdin’ it down” with his three albums, on which he erases any doubt as to whether he and the rappers he collaborates with are the best, and as to whether or not they are global. Or if you want to back it up a bit, Florida is home to such acts as Vanilla Ice and 2 Live Crew. But while you may get some enjoyment out of a couple of these artists, this is far from the best group of rappers, and also far from the best representatives of Florida Hip-Hop.
On the other hand, Florida is home to various rappers and groups making unique, good music. Describing themselves as "somewhere between N.W.A and PE," Dead Prez is a duo made up of Stic.man and M-1. They're known for their debut album "Let's Get Free," featuring such gems as Happiness, Behind Enemy Lines, and, of course, Hip-Hop. The album is heavily political, dealing with afrocentrism and the oppression brought upon black people as a whole, speaking negatively of "the white man." While this may turn off some, the subject matter doesn't bother me (or most people), due in part to the duo being entertaining enough to keep you listening, regardless of whether you agree with their message or not. None of the beats really come out and grab you, but instead provide a fitting backdrop for Stic.man and M-1 to rhyme over. Since Let's Get Free, Dead Prez have released the three-part Turn Off The Radio series, with the latest of which being released just this summer. All three are very good, as is their sophomore album, RBG (Revolutionary But Gangsta).
Celph Titled is a no-bullshit, straight up battle rapper with some sick punchlines. A member of the Demigodz and Army of The Pharaohs, he's mostly known for his 4-disc mixtape The Gatalog: A Collection of Chaos. I haven't heard the whole thing, but the first disc is pure heat. It's a very feature-heavy mixtape, but all the guests hold their own, and Celph kills it repeatedly. He also has an album with Apathy, "No Place Like Chrome," a collection of unreleased songs from the two, and both come nice on it. He stands out on the Demigodz EP "The Godz Must Be Crazy," and holds his own on Army of The Pharaohs' The Torture Papers.
Representing Gainesville, we have Cyne. From this year comes the Japan-only release Water For Mars, a great album featuring what I believe to be the song of the year so far, Pretty Apollo. They also have good albums in Pretty Dark Things and Starship Utopia. However, their magnum opus is Evolution Fight, with its great production and solid rhyming. It's amazingly cohesive, one of those albums with no filler; every song belongs and serves its own purpose.
QuESt is a relatively new rapper, with three mixtapes out since December '08. Distant Travels Into Soul Theory is a unique tape, telling a story of a relationship through both song and spoken conversations. You should also check out Sol.illaquists of Sound - As If We Existed.
Florida Hip-Hop is much more than it appears to be at first glance. If you can get past the more popular rappers, you’ll find a nice variety of rappers and groups representing different styles; there’s something for everyone.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Third Unheard: Connecticut Hip Hop
When you first think of hip hop areas, what do you think of? New York? Cali? The ATL? Chi Town? You don't normally think of Connecticut. When you do, it's probably "Oh, yeah 50 Cent had a mansion there." Although Connecticut hasn't had success in manufacturing hip hop artists, it did get co-signed by several artists as Saigon, Jadakiss, and others. The only current, somewhat successful, rap artist that Connecticut possesses is Apathy. Hailing the eastern Connecticut town known as Willimantic, he has worked with artists such as Jedi Mind tricks, Celph Titled, and Demigodz. His 2006 album named "Eastern Philosophy" got solid reviews from hip hop megasite "HipHopDX" and another solid rating from "RapReviews." Other then Apathy, it's difficult to find hip hop related in Connecticut. Although a DVD has been released titled "Connecticut Against The World" showcasing underground rappers from various areas, freestyling, and even shown Saigon with some of them. Now if we looking a little further into the history of Connecticut hip hop we could see some more influentional artists.
Mr. Magic is by some called a rap pioneer, he was a hip hop DJ and radio host in the 70's and 80's. He became the very first New Englander to have a rap single with the hit "Rappin With Mr Magic." He also played a part in the fued between Marley Marl's Boogie Down Productions and the Juice Crew in "The Bridge Wars." The Juice Crew's name was acutally named after one of Mr. Magic's aliases. He influenced several artists such as Tupac, Nas, Blaq Poet, and mentioned on Biggie's biggest track of his career "Juicy."
Connecticut isn't known for mainstream artists or such but has played a small part in the growth of hip hop due to Mr. Magic being apart from the Juice Crew. It also has Apathy, a somewhat known underground rapper from eastern Connecticut. Another album to check out if your interested in hip hop from Connecticut is The Third Unheard: Connecticut Hip Hop 1979–1983. Showcases some of the artists from Connecticut in the late 70's and early 80's. Also features Mr. Magic's hit single. Will there ever be a mainstream artist to hail from Connecticut? Who knows, time will tell.
Mr. Magic is by some called a rap pioneer, he was a hip hop DJ and radio host in the 70's and 80's. He became the very first New Englander to have a rap single with the hit "Rappin With Mr Magic." He also played a part in the fued between Marley Marl's Boogie Down Productions and the Juice Crew in "The Bridge Wars." The Juice Crew's name was acutally named after one of Mr. Magic's aliases. He influenced several artists such as Tupac, Nas, Blaq Poet, and mentioned on Biggie's biggest track of his career "Juicy."
Connecticut isn't known for mainstream artists or such but has played a small part in the growth of hip hop due to Mr. Magic being apart from the Juice Crew. It also has Apathy, a somewhat known underground rapper from eastern Connecticut. Another album to check out if your interested in hip hop from Connecticut is The Third Unheard: Connecticut Hip Hop 1979–1983. Showcases some of the artists from Connecticut in the late 70's and early 80's. Also features Mr. Magic's hit single. Will there ever be a mainstream artist to hail from Connecticut? Who knows, time will tell.
What's Burning? Volume 1 - The Genesis
So, you want to know who Cremat0r is? The first thing you should know - I'm not much like your average hip-hop fan. I grew up in a nice area. I don't dress in the urban style. I'm not even black. But in spite of those things, I became enthralled with the genre anyway. How?
In its beats, I found soothing melody that sparked imagination. Who would've thought "Human Nature" could become It Ain't Hard to Tell, or that Frank Sinatra would mesh with the Notorious B.I.G? I became enthralled with the unique sounds of each track, each album. It was as if each were a living entity with a special identity. I couldn't wait to meet them all.
In its lyrics, I found masterful command of the English language. Every MC pushed the envelope of self expression, reinventing language to fit their needs, from slant rhymes to multisyllabic rhymes to outright inventing their own words. I became entranced by how diverse the lyrics became - stories, punchlines, conscious messages, boasts, all stemming from the soul.
In its delivery, I found incredible passion and emotion, bleeding out in every bar. "Ante Up" never fails to get me hyped. "You Never Know" still makes my heart ache. Those are feelings that are universal, that cross racial boundaries. Even "Stan" still raises the hairs on my neck.
Ask yourself now. How could I not love everything about hip-hop?
I was supposed to write about my local hip-hop scene. To be honest, I don't listen to much from the Bay Area. A few years back we reached the national scene with hyphy, but I wasn't quite into that movement. In fact, most artists on the West Coast don't appeal to me. While it's hard for me to say that any one part of hip-hop is my favorite, I feel that the West has something missing to me. Maybe it's their laid back swagger, or how no one of value has blown up the last few years (Sorry, Game!). Maybe it's the different lyrical style. Regardless, I've always fallen in love with the East Coast artists first. Even the West Coast artists I love (Murs, Crooked I, Blu) have an East Coast twinge and flavor. I wish I knew why. I suppose when I can answer that question, I will know myself better than I ever have.
So, you wanted to know who Cremat0r is? To put it simply, I am a 17 year old Asian nerd attending UC Berkeley, trying to find his way through life, with hip-hop as his theme music. I have alot of diverse interests, from cuisine to cinema, sports to sleep, all of which I'll try to meld together in my columns and infuse with my eccentricity. You'll hear me sound off on a variety of topics - like, what the spirit of hip-hop truly is, the " freshmen class", current things happening, all through a different, less urban perspective. In short, every thing that is "burning." I sincerely hope that this is my first post of many on this site, and that you enjoy my columns in the future.
Until next time, Stay Gettin It In. - Cremat0r
In its beats, I found soothing melody that sparked imagination. Who would've thought "Human Nature" could become It Ain't Hard to Tell, or that Frank Sinatra would mesh with the Notorious B.I.G? I became enthralled with the unique sounds of each track, each album. It was as if each were a living entity with a special identity. I couldn't wait to meet them all.
In its lyrics, I found masterful command of the English language. Every MC pushed the envelope of self expression, reinventing language to fit their needs, from slant rhymes to multisyllabic rhymes to outright inventing their own words. I became entranced by how diverse the lyrics became - stories, punchlines, conscious messages, boasts, all stemming from the soul.
In its delivery, I found incredible passion and emotion, bleeding out in every bar. "Ante Up" never fails to get me hyped. "You Never Know" still makes my heart ache. Those are feelings that are universal, that cross racial boundaries. Even "Stan" still raises the hairs on my neck.
Ask yourself now. How could I not love everything about hip-hop?
I was supposed to write about my local hip-hop scene. To be honest, I don't listen to much from the Bay Area. A few years back we reached the national scene with hyphy, but I wasn't quite into that movement. In fact, most artists on the West Coast don't appeal to me. While it's hard for me to say that any one part of hip-hop is my favorite, I feel that the West has something missing to me. Maybe it's their laid back swagger, or how no one of value has blown up the last few years (Sorry, Game!). Maybe it's the different lyrical style. Regardless, I've always fallen in love with the East Coast artists first. Even the West Coast artists I love (Murs, Crooked I, Blu) have an East Coast twinge and flavor. I wish I knew why. I suppose when I can answer that question, I will know myself better than I ever have.
So, you wanted to know who Cremat0r is? To put it simply, I am a 17 year old Asian nerd attending UC Berkeley, trying to find his way through life, with hip-hop as his theme music. I have alot of diverse interests, from cuisine to cinema, sports to sleep, all of which I'll try to meld together in my columns and infuse with my eccentricity. You'll hear me sound off on a variety of topics - like, what the spirit of hip-hop truly is, the " freshmen class", current things happening, all through a different, less urban perspective. In short, every thing that is "burning." I sincerely hope that this is my first post of many on this site, and that you enjoy my columns in the future.
Until next time, Stay Gettin It In. - Cremat0r
Monday, July 6, 2009
Welcome
This undertaking is a joint venture by I, Arsenik, and Cremator. We are both from the IGN Hip Hop Boards, where recent discussion has lead to this blog's occurence. We will be debuting the site publically Friday, July 10th (Time TBD). I am very excited at this opportunity because of the apparent support from others on the boards and a willingness to contribute to this blog.
To those who want to contribute (funds or their opinions) email me at arsenik@mic-check.org
You will notice a few labels off to the right (if not yet then they will be there once the posts start rolling in).
They will be:
Board Talk--General Discussion of the IGN Boards.
Album Reviews--Once we have established a user base, these will start turning up either by me, or any of the contributors.
Artist/Album History/Overview--Not wanting to rehash old reviews that have been done hundreds of times, posts labeled with this will take a retroactive look at albums/artists from our past that deserve a second look. Polls will go out every few weeks on what the next one might be, so keep your eye out.
General Talk--Posts labeled this will be just general talk, maybe about a news item from that day, or anything that we feel needs to be discussed. Sports, movies, etc.
Mixtapes--I will try and get some of the more popular new mixtapes up (and hell, maybe even a few older ones depending on demand). Expect tracklistings and coverart.
IGN Artists--Are you an IGN Rapper or have something that you created that you feel is good enough to be shared with the general public, then send me an email (found above) and I will see what we can do about getting it posted up. Songs/Singles/Mixtapes/Albums.
You will notice that comment sections are posted on the main site and under each post that is made, please leave feedback for our writers/admins. We WANT to hear from you!
Again, my name is Arsenik, and I speak for Cremator as well when I say, Welcome to Mic Check, enjoy your stay and please re-visit for our latest updates
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