Potholes In My Blog: Listen to Rome Fortune and Jacques Greene’s Ethereal New Song “Pure” |  |
- Listen to Rome Fortune and Jacques Greene’s Ethereal New Song “Pure”
- Potholes Premiere: Listen to Blockhead’s Stunning “Fire Is Warm”
- Listen: Gordy Michael Gives Us a Tour of His ‘Sketchbook’
- Ghostface Killah Announces New Concept Album, Streams Lead Single “Love Don’t Live Here No More”
- Potholes Premiere: BK Beats & Aaron Moreno Flip Kirby, Khia and More On New Track “Shine”
- R.I.P. Big Bank Hank of The Sugarhill Gang
- Potholes Premiere: Eric Lau Serves Up The Sonically Rich “Rise Up” Instrumental
- Listen: Eminem Enlists Danny Brown, Royce Da 5’9″, Big Sean & More For “Detroit Vs. Everybody”
- The Stuyvesants – Fine
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Posted: 11 Nov 2014 10:52 AM PST
  I still don’t know where I fall on the Rome Fortune fan spectrum. I’m aware of his work, but I’ve yet to find that one song that does it for me. In spite of that I can say one thing: Fortune has a great ear for beats. Jacques Greene laces him with an ethereal dream-pop soundscape that is the real star of the show on “Pure,” the latest cut from the ATL artist. Across the choice production, Rome spits personal bars like, “I appreciated the pain it makes me relevant.” Between the airy instrumental and Fortune’s gravel vocals, there’s a nice dichotomy to the whole affair. You can listen to “Pure” below.  |
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Potholes Premiere: Listen to Blockhead’s Stunning “Fire Is Warm”
Posted: 11 Nov 2014 09:13 AM PST
  So far, we’ve heard a few cuts from Blockhead‘s upcoming album, Bells and Whistles, in “Kaput!” and the awesomely named “On The Back Of A Golden Dolphin.” And if nothing else, they just further cement the fact that he’s one of the best and most important producers working today. Why? Because dude can churn out six-minute instrumental tracks that aren’t meandering, looping piles of nonsense. They go somewhere and bring you along for the ride, whether you know it or not. So that trip on the back of a golden dolphin Blockhead enjoyed? Yeah, you’re riding on a golden dolphin right alongside him.That sentiment remains true on “Fire Is Warm,” the latest single off Bells & Whistles. We’re proud to premiere it to y’all today, both as longtime fans of Blockhead and as lovers of instrumental music in general. In addition to featuring absolutely flooring drums, the track throws so many samples and sounds at you that it’s easy to get lost—in a good way, of course. There’s just so much to dig into here, from the opening folksy vocals to the growing layers of instruments and everything in between. And that’s not even including the stunning second half and its “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”-esque breakdown! You can listen to “Fire is Warm” below. You can pre-order Bells and Whistles here.  |
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Posted: 11 Nov 2014 09:10 AM PST
  If you’ve ever been an artist then you know the feeling of having a sketchbook. It’s a creatives most intimate possession. Whether you’re in class, sitting on the subway, or waiting for your food to be ready, a sketchbook becomes a refuge for the various ideas that pop into your mind throughout the day. Thankfully, beatsmith Gordy Michael has shared some of his ideas on sketchbook. This collection of beats range from half ideas to bursts of creativity, but they all have a distinct flair. These beats are bright, energetic, but still have a sense of weathered nostalgia to them. So far the standout for me is “Rhode Runner,” a 56-second fun trip of start and stop scratches, that is too short for its own good. If you’d like to hear more of Gordy Michael’s sketches make sure to peep the stream below. Cop it the project here. [ |
Posted: 11 Nov 2014 08:39 AM PST
Oh, you thought Ghostface Killah was only gonna drop a new project with BADBADNOTGOOD? Nah, son, never that. The Wu-Tang Clan rapper just announced a new solo album, 36 Seasons, that’s set to drop Dec. 9. Yes, it’s coming out exactly one week after the Wu release their reunion album, A Better Tomorrow.36 Seasons is apparently a concept album that finds GFK portraying “a Staten Island vigilante inspired by a quest for personal retribution and bent on saving his community from the grips of crooked authority and urban decay.” And he’ll do so with some help from the likes of AZ, Kool G. Rap, and Pharoahe Monch, among others. In addition to the music, the record will feature 20 pages of artwork from comic book artists, which was packaged by the same guy (Matthew Rosenberg) who worked on the art for GFK’s Twelve Reasons to Die.
You can hear the single and peep the 36 Seasons track list below. [via]
Track list:
- The Battlefield [ft. Kool G Rap, AZ, Tre Williams]
- Love Don't Live Here No More [ft. Kandace Springs]
- Here I Go Again [ft. AZ, Rell]
- Loyalty [ft. Kool G Rap, Nems]
- It's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate [ft. The Revelations]
- The Dog's of War [ft. Shawn Wigs, Kool G Rap]
- Emergency Procedure [ft. Pharoahe Monch]
- Double Cross [ft. AZ]
- Bamboo's Lament [ft. Kandace Springs]
- Pieces of the Puzzle [ft. AZ]
- Homicide [ft. Nems, Shawn Wigs]
- Blood in the Streets [ft. AZ]
- Call My Name
- I Love You For All Seasons [ft. The Revelations]
Posted: 11 Nov 2014 07:37 AM PST
Need an instant pick-me-up on this somewhat-dreary Tuesday? Good, because that’s just what we have here from Albuquerque, N.M. producers BK Beats and Aaron Moreno, who work with a bevy of clever samples on the aptly titled “Shine.” This shimmering collaboration is a thing of sample-flipping beauty, as it boasts bits from Young Thug, Fergie, Khia, and Kirby. Are you thinking what I am? Like, how the hell did they make those ridiculously different sources work? Well, that’s up for BK and Aaron to reveal at some point. For now, you should just keep “Shine” on repeat and reminisce on some of your favorite moments with the lovable pink weirdo—and the first time you ever heard “My Neck, My Back.”You can hear “Shine” below.
Posted: 11 Nov 2014 07:30 AM PST
We have some sad news to share today, as it’s being reported that Big Bank Hank of the Sugarhill Gang has passed away. He was 57. Born Henry Jackson in New York City, he went on to become one third of seminal hip-hop trio the Sugarhill Gang, who had the first big rap hit in “Rapper’s Delight.” While no official news has been released on the cause of his death, some are saying that he passed away following a bout with cancer. We’ll be sure to update this post with more information as it becomes available.Below, you can hear “Rapper’s Delight” and watch some videos of the Sugarhill Gang. R.I.P. Big Bank Hank.
Posted: 11 Nov 2014 06:30 AM PST
If you heard Eric Lau‘s latest full-length, One of Many, then you already know that the producer had some pretty damn notable help in crafting that project. We’re talking artists like Georgia Anne Muldrow, Fatima, Tawiah, and Oddisee, the last of whom appeared on standout “Rise Up” with frequent collaborator Olivier St. Louis. Today, we’re proud to bring you the premiere of the instrumental version of “Rise Up,” which is sonically rich and outfitted with a killer bassline, serious drums, and slick touches of synths, keys, and organs. As much as I dig the original, hearing this cut in its raw form is just as delectable. And that goes for the remainder of One of Many, which is now available in its instrumental form only through the folks at HHV.You can hear the instrumental below and buy the album here.
Posted: 11 Nov 2014 05:50 AM PST
After spitting verses alongside his Shady Records family yesterday evening, Eminem returns with another preview of his upcoming Shady XV compilation. And if you caught the track listing for the project, chances are you were anticipating “Detroit Vs. Everybody” more than anything else on the project because it features Em, Royce Da 5’9″, Big Sean, Danny Brown, Dej Loaf, and Trick Trick on the same song. As much as I want to break down what works and what doesn’t on here, I… screw it, here’s a quick wrap-up : Sean’s verse ain’t bad at all; Danny brings it, per usual, as does Royce; Dej Loaf can’t sing at all; Trick Trick only provides a quick outro; and Em raps well but has a stupid Adrian Peterson-related punchline. Yeah, that about sums it up. Oh, and the beat is pretty lackluster.You can hear “Detroit Vs. Everybody” below and pre-order Shady XV here.
Posted: 11 Nov 2014 04:15 AM PST
The Stuyvesants – Fine
Self-released: 2014
The Stuyvesants deserve more recognition. Ripped off by Jaden Smith's track "The Coolest" without attribution for their beat, they responded gracefully with a simple request for credit. Surrounded by industry figures using their stacks of cash as bragging rights, they made each album free to stream on their website. Living in a world where musical genres constantly accelerate forward at the speed of sound, they found their niche and therein settled snugly.
The fact that Fine draws its title from past Stuyvesants projects The Finer Things and Refined demonstrates this duo's tendency to stick to their guns. In this case, those pistols entail instrumental hip-hop constructed from carefully selected samples, the only vocals present being the chopped singing from performers of the past. There are no guest features, autotuned ballads, explosive verses, or other modern trappings of hip-hop to be found here. This record is dedicated exclusively to the smooth, simple sound of soulful beats made from a reverence for the past. Listen to the title track, "Ice Breaker," or "Come To Me," and you'll know exactly where these guys are coming from.
An adherence to their own tradition also finds the Stuyvesants satiating Fine with a fat selection of lean cuts. Only two of the 20 tracks on Fine go past two minutes and thirty seconds, and even those stay well away from the three-minute mark. This less-is-more approach to pacing is one of the album's greatest strengths; if a particular beat isn't giving you the fever, it won't be long before it's escorted away and replaced with the next offering. It also helps that many of these songs rely on loops that would become excessively tedious if stretched for too long. Structuring behest the duo’s vision, rather than conforming to standard song lengths, kept most all these records as fresh as green produce.
Still, despite the snappy cadence, Fine can feel a little stale if you're listening for the long haul. The Stuyvesants have made significant progress over previous efforts in their sample selection techniques, but the core tenants of their music remain largely the same. If you've heard either volume of The Finer Things or Refined, you probably possess a reasonable idea of what you're in for. Sample-based hip-hop that consistently draws from a particular era has a tendency to stick to some familiar sonic textures, to the point in which you could probably sneakily place songs from Remixes or Brooklyn's Finest in this record's tracklist and successfully convince someone they belong there. To some, that familiarity may be the album's saving grace, a nostalgic trip down the memory lane of hip-hop's roots. To others, it may project a feeling of complacency, a lazy rehash of past ideas that fail to push the genre forward in any interesting ways. I stand in the center of these two extremes; these beats feel like classics down to their very core, but a larger presence of defining elements like the chugging percussion in "Shakers & Movers" would have gone a long way in making each track memorable.
The phenomenon of fantastic beats losing their appeal when played back-to-back-to-back isn't exclusive to Fine, however, and the proof of its quality can be found in the way each song sounds divine in isolation. "Synthetica" sulks along the lit path of a smoky groove, "Come To Me" sounds like the echoes of a night long gone, and "Sounds Like The Sun" closes out the proceedings with an ear-meltingly gorgeous groove. The Stuveysants might not have an abundance of new ideas, but the ideas they're using still work just as fine as they need to.
4 out of 5
You can purchase Fine here.
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