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Tag Archives: Bay Area

Back Then, You Could Give a Knock a Rock for a Book of Food Stamps

06 Friday Oct 2017

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With all the crazy stuff going on out here in the world lately, sometimes it feels good to reminisce about a simpler, more carefree time, for example, by taking a trip down memory lane with Key Loom, who affably leads us on a guided tour of his hood in those golden days of youth where you could “give a knock a rock for a book of food stamps.”

Key Loom really sets the aesthetic in his dope 2016 song ‘Succa Free’; “Back then, orange juice with the old E, on the turf soaking game from the OG’s”. Everything from the picture he paints with the verses and the scene he sets to the infectious chorus are top notch; this song isn’t new but I’ve probably listened to it about 30 times this week.

Another notable moment is Key Loom staking his claim to being the “flyest gang bang nigga that you’ve ever seen.” In most of the videos I’ve seen, Key Loom seems to favor more of a sensible, utilitarian fashion such as Dickies and plain t shirts and perhaps a winter hat (not to mention the obligatory blue bandana),  as opposed to some of the more daring “fly” designer gear favored by many of the younger rappers, but hey I have no reason to dispute his claim to that title. For example, see below for a quintessential Key Loom look…

(*Side note, I feel like this is a pretty underrated album cover/artwork)

Image result for key loom when animals attack

There are a bunch of other standout lines like…

“From the era of the D-boys, with a closet full of Air Maxes, in the trap counting stacks on an air mattress”.

Before he throws an absolute haymaker with this strong verse towards the end…

“Burner glove* full of gun shot residue, stay ready what you bitch niggas better do, couple holes in my body but I’m still stepping, thank God every day that’s a real blessing. Still keep my eyes peeled ’cause I’m on shit, fuck them suckas if they throwing up the wrong set”.

*Note that burner gloves are another go-to staple of the Key Loom wardrobe

P.S. – Can we get a Berner/Key Loom collaboration album??

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Yhung T.O – Been Through

04 Monday Sep 2017

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Forget accolades like best up and coming young rappers or best Bay Area artists, Yhung T.O is up there as having one of the strongest 2017’s of any artist, period, regardless of region or age bracket. Between his output with SOB X RBE, some of the slaps on his debut project On My Momma like ‘Love the Way’ and his recent collaboration Try Sumthin with OMB Peezy, Yhung T.O just can’t miss right now. Even with all those jams under his belt, ‘Been Through’, off of his new Before the Fame EP, may be his best song to date.

You can really feel both the pain and triumph in his voice on the resilient ‘Been Through’:

“Feel like I deserve a trophy, ballin for my homies, gotta keep a 30 in my 40, cause you don’t know what I’ve been through,” croons T.O over an almost melancholy piano-driven beat, as he more sings than raps on most of this track.

“Lately, sh*t been drivin a nigga crazy, I gotta watch my back cause they hate me, so how could you blame me, for putting 50 in this drakie? I gotta make it home to my baby.”

A very compelling track by one of the most charismatic artists in the game. It’s early but I think ‘Been Through’ is going to join OMB Shawniebo’s ‘4 Minutes All Me‘ and Berner’s two new gems with Young Dolph ‘Win Big‘ and ‘Knuckles‘ as early candidates for my favorite couple of songs of 2017.

 

“Overkill Peezy”

29 Tuesday Aug 2017

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You guys thought I was done over here? Nah fam, I was just hibernating and bumping the new Berner & Dolph mixtape on repeat for the last week. In other news, OMB Peezy continues his streak of very solid releases with this menacing ode to those who dare cross him, ‘The Hard Way’. Nothing fancy here but the foreboding beat, great chorus, and good verses is a surefire and time-tested combo. Just another really good release in Peezy’s overall body of work, I don’t think he’s released a bad song yet. What’s more, Peezy shows a knack for tasteful wall art at his home and even more importantly that pillow he’s lounging on that makes its debut at around the 0:37 mark looks comfortable AF, almost like he’s chilling out on a fluffy white cloud. I’m also loving the self-appointed moniker ‘Overkill Peezy’. He’s also teasing another song on Instagram called ‘Pressure’ which should be dropping soon so I’m fully expecting his streak of hits to continue.

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Berner ft. Young Dolph, Gucci Mane – ‘Knuckles’

11 Friday Aug 2017

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Ohhhhhhh yeah. Stop the presses, stop the presses! We interrupt this broadcast to bring you good tidings and news of Berner’s new collaboration with Young Dolph and Gucci Mane, ‘Knuckles’. Seriously could there be any better news for an erstwhile, newly out of the closet Berner fan such as myself than news that not only does he have a new song with The King of Memphis and Wop, but that he has a whole EP coming out with Dolph? (Berner is carving out quite the niche market for himself with these ‘collaboration’ albums/mixtapes he’s got projects out with everyone from Cam’ron to The Jacka, including his most recent ‘Vibes’ project with Styles P which was a very solid release). I feel like Big Bern’s stock is at an all-time high right now. Ask the rap gods for new Berner material and ye shall receive. Honestly at this point I may need to make a new category on this blog for Just Berner. At this point it’s too early to say but Knuckles may be my favorite Berner song, and you’re talking to a man who listened to a good 4 Berner albums on a long drive last night.

According to Dirty Glove Bastard, the upcoming project with Young Dolph, entitled ‘Tracking Numbers,’ will have features from Gucci Mane, Peewee Longway, OJ Da Juiceman, Juicy J, Philthy Rich, and more. I can’t wait to hear the one with Project Pat. I loved DGB’s tepid/noncommital reaction to news of the Berner/Dolph project – “Berner & Young Dolph were probably the last 2 people you’d expect to collab for an entire project, but here we are.” You’ve got to love the ‘But here we are’ as the way to end your thoughts on something that you’re just not sure what to make of. Also, are the ‘Tracking Numbers’ referred to in the title referring to shipments from the Cookies clothing line that this hard-working fashion entrepeneur is senidng out to his customers, or to ‘cookies’ of a more illicit nature? Only time will tell when the album comes out.

I was excited enough just to see an unexpected collaboration between these 3, but the beat by TraxxFDR (who has collaborated with Berner previously  and whipped up some magic with him on my previous favorite Berner song) is absolutely delicious and takes this song to a whole different level. I’m curious who made it and what the sample is from. It has me feeling like I’m at a roller rink in the 70s with Berner, Dolph and the crew just casually skating around, smoking some cookie, chatting up the roller girls. If I do a ‘beats of the year’ type article at the end of the year this one has staked a strong claim to the top of the list.

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Ryan Hemsworth, Yakki, E40 – Hunnid

04 Friday Aug 2017

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File this one under unlikelist of trios I would have expected to link up and make a song together. Not only do these guys join forces, but unlike some other unexpected combinations where the actual track underwhelms and is less interesting than the combination of names itself, these tres amigos bring the fire on Hunnid.

Yakki (nee Yakki Divoshi) absolutely manhandles the chorus on this one as he gleefully booms out ‘I can make a hundred in a daayyyyyy’ and between Hemsworth’s bouncy, summery beat and Yakki’s catchy chorus this song really should get big and be one of the songs of the summer. I feel like Yakki should start blowing up to and start getting even more buzz than he already has, with a couple of bangers under his name now like ‘Trust Issues’ with PNB Rock and the Lil Uzi-assisted ‘Xans’ from his recent album ‘Yakkistick’ which was a pretty enjoyable project. “Every night I’m eating steak and shrimp ’cause I ain’t going back to Church’s”, howls Big Yak at the end of his verse about grinding day and night and then ungrateful people wanting things from you.

Approaching 50, E-40 has shown an amazing knack for longevity and staying relevant in the rap game. I’d imagine life is pretty good for the Sik Wid It CEO right now, with his young bols on the label like OMB Peezy and Nef the Pharaoh making a ton of noise over the past year, but on ‘Hunnid’, like a grizzled player-coach that can still step off the bench and hit a few 3’s in a pinch, E-40 shows that he’s still got it. I’m feeling the Backwoods hoodie E-40 is rocking here too; as one of rap’s elder statesmen he’s not out here rocking skinny moto jeans or some  designer shirt with sparkles and rhinestones on it, he’s just keeping it simple and relaxed wearing a comfortable hoodie and winter hat with shades, which is more befitting of a legend of his stature at this point. Shout out to E-40 for the casual, self-aware swagger.

I don’t know much about this dude Hemsworth aside from the fact that he’s from Canada, he produced this sick beat, and apparently he’s one of Yakki’s coworkers at the autobody in the video. From the looks of it this song is from his own album that he’s working on. It looks like he does work both inside and outside the rap genre, which I actually think is a good thing because it gives artists different types of beats to work with and brings in some different perspectives, and between this and working with Adamn Killa on his other recent rap foray ‘Commas’ I’ve definitely got to give the guy credit for having good taste in rappers.

I also like the choice of the yellow Firebird for the car in the video; an underrated American icon in my humble opinion, and the Nef the Pharaoh cameo rocking out with the Sik Wid It chain. I wish they added in a verse from Nef at the end since he was there anyway, but I guess we can’t get TOO greedy since it was already a great song.

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Berner Deep Cuts Vol. 2 – ‘Gone’ aka Berner Links Up with Mozzy; the Jacka

01 Tuesday Aug 2017

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You thought we were done with the Berner exploration journey over here? Nah bruh we stay on this Berner grind all summer long, can’t stop won’t stop. I’m not sure if I should thank or blame The Martorialist for inspiring me to go down this treacherous but also sometimes rewarding path. About 10 Berner albums deep, imagine my surprise and pleasure when I saw that his 2015 album ‘Harvest Season’ featured not one but two separate tracks featuring both The Jacka (RIP) and Mozzy on each, along with two other songs featuring the Jacka and one more with Mozzy. Say what you want about this affable Urban Farmer, but the man has an undeniable talent for getting great rappers to work with him and join his projects, as well as getting great verses out of them.  I didn’t even know who Mozzy was in 2015 showing that as usual, Berner was ahead of his time.

‘Gone’ has the added bonus of not only featuring the Jacka and Mozzy but also one of my favorite Nor Cal artists who I had gotten into for a while and completely forgotten about, Lil Rue, so it was good to hear him again as well. (Push It and Self Made were both in heavy rotation five or six winters ago I remember bumping them on a New Year’s Eve).

Mozzy raps a bit slower on this track and seems like he has a little bit of a different flow, and it sounds great over the triumphant, battle-ready beat. It actually might be one of my favorite two or three Mozzy verses to date, he absolutely bodies this one…

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OMB Peezy ft. Yhung T.O – Try Sumthin

28 Friday Jul 2017

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Image result for omb peezy yhung t.o

There are few greater pleasures in life than two of your favorite up and coming rappers unexpectedly coming together to link up for a new track (OK, I can think of a few, but you know what I mean). OMB Peezy has quietly become arguably the king of the blogosphere this year and Yhung T.O has been making plenty of noise of his own both as a part of SOB X RBE and increasingly as a solo artist. His solo debut On My Momma from May was a pretty dope project. Sometimes when two artists you like link up for a track the end result doesn’t live up to the sum of its parts, but ‘Try Sumthin’ is an exception as it’s definitely a slap.

A couple of notes and thoughts on this one…

  • The ‘Sick Wid It Records’ chain with the pig greedily eating money out of a trough is one of the coldest chains in the rap game (also as a side note, how much momentum does Sick Wid It have right now, with OMB Peezy AND Nef the Pharaoh? They’re like the rap game Golden State Warriors with E40 in the background as like a wizened player-coach.)
  • The abandoned gas station setting for the video looks so dystopian and sick
  • The bouncy, melodic beat for this one slaps so hard
  • Alright Peezy I see you in those Jordan 13’s
  • I love the red and gold box Chevy (Wow we’re only 19 seconds into the video and already 5 things that I liked)
  • I have no idea what that sweatshirt with the cat on it that Yhung T.O is wearing is but I’m kind of feeling it (This site is really starting to inadvertently feel like a rap fashion blog these days!)
  • OMB Peezy – “F*ck all of that typing/twitter beefing b*tch I’m pulling up, playa sh*t, eating steak and shrimp it got me full as f*ck” hell yeah
  • I like the way Yhung T.O’s voice/flow kind of changes the vibe a bit, his voice goes well with the beat
  • Yhung T.O – “Ain’t no sympathy for no opps nigga, glock .23 with air holes for a hot nigga” this song is hard af
  • Cameo from Da Boii from SOB X RBE!

These guys just keep getting better and better and are already two of the best artists out right now

 

 

OMB Shawniebo – I’m Gr8: The return of wolf mask

28 Friday Jul 2017

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After chilling out listening to ‘4 Minutes All Me’ all week I decided to check out some more aggressive OMB Shawniebo cuts before I turned into some sort of happy lazy walrus or sloth or some other lazy animal. His newest track, ‘I’m Gr8’ certainly fit the bill.

Shawniebo’s Mozzy-esque voice is perfect for an aggressive track like this. A couple of highlights and quick notes here…

  1. THE RETURN OF WOLF MASK! This guy is quickly becoming my favorite rap video cameo
  2. I’m feeling the Arizona Diamondbacks hat that Shawnie is rocking
  3. Great chorus/hook. You are Gr8 Shawniebo don’t let anyone tell you differently.
  4. Anyone know what the deal with the lanyard with what looks like laminated photos on it is that Shawnie is rocking around his neck? I noticed he was also wearing these in the ‘4 Minutes All Me’ video. I’m speculating that it could be photos of fallen friends and he’s wearing it like a chain as a tribute to them?

One minor quibble I had here is that I wish he got rid of that producer tag that you hear numerous times in the video; I checked out his full project ‘Problem Child’ today too and it was a pretty hard mixtape overall but for some reason a lot of the tracks on it had that same tag over and over again.

In any case, good new song from OMB Shawniebo as he builds on his recent momentum and continues to quickly move up the power rankings of bay area rappers.

OMB Shawniebo – 4 Minutes All Me

26 Wednesday Jul 2017

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This is just too smooth for me to even handle right now. Saw this on the sisilafami Tumblr and have just been just basking in its hazy lushness all week. I feel like I’m in heaven.

I’ve been listening to a lot of OMB Peezy this year but I have to start checking out OMB Shawniebo’s output more because it seems like he’s a force to be reckoned with in his own right, and that’s probably an understatement. I like his sort of guttural flow the way he spits out each word in a sort of a Mozzy-esque manner but is still doing his own thing.

The beat (by Ant Beatz) is so perfect that the first time you listen to the song you almost might overlook how raw and heartfelt the subject matter is; just as one example that stands out “Call from the bros and it’s cracking I’m coming bout action, heart full of passion that they broke when they killed my daddy” or “They don’t really want it, b*tch they only pop for a moment, crazy how I gave my brother money and he feel like he owe me.” “I used to watch my pops whip it up in a pot, then KO’d every shot he had up under the couch. I don’t think they really want to play. I pray to God I live another day. Damn, stupid niggas f*cking up the stilo, get it, that’s how the game go, run up bust it and reload.” Also, I couldn’t get the exact lyric down and didn’t want to misquote him, but the part about wanting to give his younger brother good advice but knowing that he isn’t living right himself hit hard. Shawniebo goes so hard on this one you can really just feel what he’s saying.

This isn’t a fashion blog but I also have to commend Shawniebo on the sharp black Adidas tracksuit with the ‘Three stripes’ wording on the piping. Not to mention his boy in the Gap sweatshirt, which I can get behind because unlike a YSL jacket it’s something a rapper is wearing that I can actually afford, and I like the ice blue with the dark blue color combo. Last but certainly not least the guy in the wolf mask is also firing on all cylinders with the sweater that looks like the bastard child of a Coogi and a drug rug, a nice silver chain and watch, NOT TO MENTION THAT HE’S WALKING AROUND RICHMOND IN A WOLF MASK.

I really hope 4 Minutes All Me blows up because he definitely deserves it. There are a lot of songs that come out that you get hyped about and bump for a few weeks and then they inevitably fade into the sunset but this song is just so well-made, so real, and so epic between the beat and rapping that I honestly can picture myself still bumping this in my regular rotation 10 years from now, it just has that kind of classic staying power.

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Top 10 Songs July 2017

22 Saturday Jul 2017

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Top 10 Songs July 2017

It’s been a long, hot July out here, but we’re still hanging in there and I finished my top 10 songs in a bit more of a timely fashion this month. This month took me down a lot of interesting paths as I stayed on my Lil Chicken/Milwaukee grind that started last month via Rap Music Hysteria, then a post from the Martorialist on Berner had me go down a huge Berner rabbit hole and after studying his back catalogue as if I was writing a dissertation on him, made me realize that this husky Bay Area renaissance man actually has quite a few jams, then from there I was bumping another large white rapper Jelly Roll for a couple of days to see what he’s been up to lately, checked out the new projects from A-Wax, Meek Mill, and 21 Savage before getting really into Mac J and having him take over the end of the month.

Lil Chicken – No Grease 

This song is from the end of 2016 but Lil Chicken wins the award for hardest first verse of 2017 and maybe hardest song in general with ‘No Grease’ – “See the pain in my eyes this sh*t gettin tiring, eyes get bug as hell when I hear them sirens. Money, diamonds, gold, we a bunch of pirates, watching out for narcs trapping out a hybrid. Fiend keep nodding off man he can’t fight it, this dog biting nigga’s ears punching like Tyson.” I’m not sure what I like better the very apt pirate comparison or the image of him trapping out of a Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius. I also love the weary, almost strained voice that Big Chicken P raps in on this one; the trap has been good to him but he’s also growing tired of the unwanted complications that come with it.

“All these motherf*cking grits I feel like Rich Porter, b*tch we ain’t no small fries we taking big orders, these niggas b*tches I’m finna change my hustle to extortion, phones slapping back to back they sound like walkie talkies.” Lil Chicken just goes too hard on this one.

Berner – Float 

As I said in my mea culpa on Berner, “In a more just world, with this type of chorus and vibes, Berner would be making royalty money off of Sandals or Atlantis or one of those other Caribbean all-inclusive resorts using his song in their newest commercial.” After a long journey into this affable weed/fashion entrepeneur’s catalogue,  I have to admit the man certainly has some gems I’ve missed over the years; the highlight of which would be the airy and enjoyable ‘Float’ from his 2016 Packs album.

Mac J – Differences 

I don’t know much about Mac J and only heard about him after reading about him on Rey’s Cafe a couple weeks ago but he certainly has some absolute bangers in his catalogue, my favorite of which thus far is ‘Differences’.  The beat for this one is ridiculous too. Based on the Mac J playlist Rey’s Cafe put together I definitely want to start listening to more of this north Sacramento artist and check out the rest of his output, including his new mixtape ‘Local Celebrity‘.

Lil Chicken – Pitty Pat

“I’ve got it all on me riding round in the foreign, Ballys on, white folks staring at me, make me feel important”

““Me and Max posted up in the stash house playing Pitty Pat, I feel like Chris Brown all these junkies hollering gimme that. Spanish ho like Dora that b*tch pulled up with a mac, said he want 44 watch me pull up with them racks.”

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