New Hip Hop for the Gobble Gobble Holiday
Happy Thanksgiving Eve fellow 88ers. I owed you this bag last Friday, but I was in Los Angeles for the weekend (Give Thanks) opening for XP the Marksman & Termanology at the DO IT FOR MUSIC FESTIVAL (Give Thanks), and prepping for multiple Blog Interviews, including a special Mic Sessions Freestyle Filming with the great people at UGHHBLOG.COM (Give Thanks). I apologize for the delay in dropping the article, especially to all the artists who are trying to promote their new projects, but you know I wasn’t going to release a half ass “Bag”. That’s not how WVCC Rolls (Give Big Thanks). So without further ado, here is the Thanksgiving Week Bag, full to the brim with dope music for you to enjoy during your Family Feast and Shopping Madness Holiday. Enjoy the bag and share it with someone who complains hip hop is dead. They need this in their life.
STALEY x APOLLO BROWN – BLACKLIGHT
APOLLO BROWN has a knack for taking great Emcees and creating legendary albums with them. CHE NOIR’s: AS GOD INTENDED & JOEL ORTIZ’s: MONA LISA are well documented as being 2 of my favorite albums of the last 3 years. Now APOLLO is back with the Impala Pimp STALLEY, who drops bars, street knowledge and raw honesty on BLACKLIGHT. The album deals with the idea of betrayal and fake people and is a litmus test for “real heads” like if you don’t feel LOVE ME LOVE ME NOT feat SKYZOO, you ain’t real enough for my taste. Beats and Bars this cold, you can’t help but ride out to this. I had the pleasure of taking this whole album for a spin through the mountains of California driving into Los Angeles this week and tracks like OUTSIDE, NO MONSTERS, HIDDEN, HUMBLE WINS & BOBBY BONILLA Feat label mate JOELL ORTIZ made it a magical ride into the city of Angeles.
Support the Album and Artist Directly – https://apollobrown360.bandcamp.com/album/blacklight?label=2373690148&tab=music
EKYM1536 – BRICOLAGE
New Mexico’s EKYM1536 has been heating up for the past 2 years. With the launching of his Production Company DOJIMOTO PRODUCTIONS and behind the scenes Engineering work on 8ch2Owens: THE SPILLAGE, A WATERPROOF CHRISTMAS IN MIAMI, 8ch2Owens & DJ Proof: THE WATERPROOF, and last month’s NATIVE SLANG: NATIVE SLANGUAGE, Ek Rec has been putting in those 10K Hours and then some. He doesn’t need anyone to tell you he is also an Apt Emcee, he is down to show you at a drop of a dime. You can find him rocking shows up and down New Mexico, either Dolo or with his crew PO.10.CEE, recently opening up for PAWZ ONE, & ETERNAL of the WU KILLER BEES, and spearheading the New Mexico chapter of CIPHER IN THE CIRCLE in Downtown Alberquerque on Art Walk Saturdays. Ekym doesn’t tell anyone he rhymes, he shows them, and on his new Solo LP BRICOLAGE, which is leaking a track a day exclusively on Bandcamp, he shows us what he has been collecting in his arsenal for the past 10 years. Produced almost entirely by PO.10.CEE Emcee/Producer, LiSton aka BEEZY, except for the final 2 cuts on the album where Chicago’s AZARIAS takes the wheel. All through the album you can find EKYM1536 at his most candid, and vulnerable as he gives you an inside look at all the wins and losses, struggles and successes, bridges built and burnt, on the way to creating BRICOLAGE. This word describes a method of making art with whatever is available to you, and EKYM has taken the Lemons life has rained on him throughout his years, and made a slamming Lemon Merengue Pie full of the funk and finesse Mr.1536 is becoming known for. Get the album in its entirety today on Bandcamp at
https://ekym1536.bandcamp.com/album/bricolage
IG: @Ekym1536
Rasheed Chappell & XP The Marxman – RX (Album)
By the time I was flying out to the West Coast on Thursday midday, RX, the latest album by Brooklyn’s RASHEED CHAPPEL & Los Angeles’s XP THE MARKSMAN, was already over 20K Streams on Spotify in just over 12 hours. It was evident, the two solo artists had struck gold by combining their work ethic, individual skill sets, and personal stories of success out of struggle. One of my favorite moments of my trip to L.A. was being able to kick it with XP the Marksman after his set and talk about his amazing new project. He explained to me how before ever meeting RASHEED CHAPPEL of TRUST GANG, he got a DM from the brother at a time when XP’s Mother was going through health issues. RASHEED had seen XP post about his mothers failing health and wanted to share some words of encouragement with his peer, being that RASHEED had gone down a similar road with his Mom’s health. That simple random act of kindness, led to the two forming a friendship which led to XP flying out to NY once his mom’s health had improved and staying for a month to work on the RX Project which is quickly being considered a classic. This ended up being one of the hardest months of XP‘s life as his mother’s health took a turn for the worst and she passed away back on the West Coast while he was gone. It was heartbreaking to see XP mourning the loss of his Ma online after rocking a show in Brooklyn where he asked the entire crowd to send a Love Bomb to Mom back in Cali. Out of pain comes beauty tho, and Ma always found beauty in the rugged art her son created. XP shared an old post from his Mom’s social media page today which drives the message home perfectly.
This post brings both tears to my eyes and a painful joy to my heart. Knowing our boy has lost his biggest cheerleader in life, who brought him into this world to become something great and supported and encouraged him every step of the difficult road, that breaks my heart. But knowing that he has messages like this from his Mom, written 6 years ago, to bring him comfort and strength on a day like today, the eve of probably the hardest Thanksgiving his family has ever experienced. Reminding him that even if people are just starting to find out who he is, she has always known, and has always believed in him. She Still Does…HIP HOP MOM FOREVER. R.I.P. Mama XP.
JEDI MIND TRICKS – THE FUNERAL AND THE RAVEN
The Following album synopsis found on FatBeats.com: Vinnie Paz and Stoupe are back with their tenth Jedi Mind Tricks studio album. Guest features include ILL BILL, Recognize Ali, Yes Alexander, CRIMEAPPLE, DJ 7L (of CZARFACE) and more. Vinne continues to deliver raw sounds over Stoupe production while bringing along some old friends as well as some of the new voices making noise in Hip Hop.
https://www.fatbeats.com/products/jedi-mind-tricks-the-funeral-the-raven-cd
Tali Rodriguez x Hometeam Records – Devoid of Orbit V3
KNUCKLE DRAGGUZ Producer, Emcee, and Engineer TALI RODRIGUEZ is back with the nail in the coffin to his DEVOID OF ORBIT series. A 3 tape series which he kicked off in March of 2021, DEVOID OF ORBIT 1 – 3 has been a close look at TALI ROD the mic burner, rather than the producer who rocketed onto our radar with the releases of DEVIL AT THE PULPIT by J FLIZ & NO SAFETY by G FAM BLACK, both produced by RODRIGUEZ and featuring him on only 1 song each, teasing the audience of his abilities on the apparatus. After covering several releases by TALI ROD and his KNUCK DRAGGUZ Crew, I also had the pleasure of working with him on some singles and got to know the Emcee/ Beat Maker a bit better. He comes off as a guy who never takes himself too seriously as a “Rapper” or “Producer”, but when you hear his beats and bars, you know the man puts his whole soul into his art. On DEVOID OF ORBIT 3, produced by “THE HOME TEAM” (Production Team made up of CHUCK CHAN, ONAJE JORDAN, & PROPHA C), TALI starts off “In Search Of” on THE NERVE, and seems to find his stride quickly. He shows off his “Ball Handling Skills” on THE COURT, or at least he flexes the basketball based metaphor for life and the rap game. The HOME TEAM then delivers a lunge kick to THE MIDSECTION via a banger of an intermission beat. RODRIGUEZ gets back to work trying to help us out of THE TRAP of the “densly packed matrix” over a dark synth loop flip by CHUCK CHAN, which TALI uses to teach us “the only way to truly be free is to be happy being yourself”. An important message for a Hip Hop Audience to often plagued by the stresses of “Keeping It Real”. THE CONFLICT, produced by Beat Beast ONAJE JORDAN, has RODRIGUEZ spewing out his dangerous thoughts and expressing his mission of taking over the globe if someone doesn’t slow him down, and in the same verse admitting he is “taking his place as a cog in this God Awful Slot Machine” on his quest to tear it down from the inside. He closes the album with THE DEFLATION, a heartbreakingly honest depiction of how “the game” slowly sucks the wind out of your sails, not only for creatives but for anyone chasing “A Passion” or “Life Dream”. TALI has been there before tho, he went through his period of doubt which led to a Hiatus, and he came out the other side even more inspired and has produced and released some of his best work since. Moral of the story; this life is full of Peaks and Valleys. You just got to keep your eye on the prize and keep working towards your personal goal, even if you have to take a break every once in a while. Don’t measure yourself by others’ accomplishments, but rather work hard so you can look back on what you have personally accomplished with pride and peace of mind. Take TALI ROD for example, he has been working on his craft for 20+ years, and is finally getting to see some of the fruits of his labor. From the looks of it, He is not stopping any time soon. Support the New Project here – https://talirod79.bandcamp.com/album/devoid-of-orbit-v3
Sam R I & Hilokalon – 9 Tenths (EP)
From the moment you press play you can smell the violence in the air. I know it’s only music, but these 2 shooters are spitting hot enough to make you duck and run. SAM RI & HILOKALON bring us the 9 TENTHS EP. 7 tracks of no gloves, bare-knuckle bar sparring, and these young bulls are both talented pugilists. Peep SAM R I on POINT BLANK PERIOD (which he also produced) as he “sells shoes” to haters saying he got “No Soul”, and proving them wrong with bars like “Quarter under my Pillow like I just lost a Tooth”, “Put your whole Crew in Boxes like a Zoom Call”, and still the envious “kick dirt on his name with the same shoes he gave them”. SAM R I & TRUST ONE hold down the Production on the album and keep the whole tape sizzling. Joints like AIRPORT DOPE, with its opening line “No atheists in the foxhole, I roll with Drug Dealing Apostoles.” sets off a whole vibe. Or how about the M.O.P. inspired OVEN MITZ, where SAM sparks it with a vicious thread of lines “Leave That Ass Blue & Black / Moving Packs / Spewing Facts / I grew up at where people high on Glue and Crack / and Shooting Gats / Students never Hooka Pass / Too Busy with them Budha Packs / Chasing all that juicy ass / Homies turn to Hooka Ash/ shot the liq for my conglomerates I swear that’s obvious / I feel like doing soccer kicks on bowling balls in moccasins/ . SAM R I, the homie HILOKALON (Sounds like Hallow Callin), and producer TRUST ONE are all part of the San Diego crew and Label M25 who are hustling to make sure you all become familiar with the name. Once you hear this tape, you’ll 9/Tenths of the way to becoming a fan. Check their growing discography on BandCamp at the link below and make sure to follow SAM R I and the crew on IG.
https://m25music.bandcamp.com/album/9-tenths
@samrihiphop
@hilokalon
@theformulaisabstract
@m25music
G Fam Black & Mello Dee – Paint It Black (EP)
This here is a dark masterpiece displayed in an abandoned art gallery, under black lights. The Black Mask of Murder Mass, G FAM BLACK has returned with PAINT IT BLACK, yet another ferocious album, this time produced by HEDDSHOTS Producer MELLO DEE. The Knuckle Draggin Silver Back paints everything black on this album as he splatters blood on the furniture, walls, appliances, carpets, and ceiling. When the lights are off, blood can look as black as tar, and G FAM + MELLO DEE blackout all over the album. Battling each other to see who comes harder, lyrics or beats. A few dope features from fellow DRAGGUH, P-RO on ST IDES, and LATEB & BLAQ POET on the 1st single for the album, CHECKMATE, which has had us looking forward to this stain on the wall for a hot minute. However, its G FAM BLACK who owns the Dark Spot Light on this album. Going blow for blow with MELLO DEE’s ultraviolent production and causing so much blood spill that the whole underground scene looks a bit darker than usual. Play close attention to the intro and see if you catch your boi’s cameo on the album. Salute G!!.
Napoleon Da Legend & Amerigo Gazaway – The World Changed (Album)
Excerpt from Bandcamp Album Info – Support the whole Project at https://napoleondalegend.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-changed
Producer Amerigo Gazaway and Napoleon Da Legend flex their creative chemistry on a new collaborative project, “The World Changed”.
Connecting on the outset of the Covid pandemic, the duo’s rapper-producer formula showcases NDL’s introspective lyricism while highlighting Gazaway’s growth and evolution as a beatsmith.
“Amerigo and I connected in a time of great turmoil and change both on a planetary scale but also on a personal scale in both our lives. His ear for highlighting the “soul” of a sample really gave me the space to dial into the many emotions I was sorting through during that period.” – Napoleon Da Legend
Working in tandem to keep the cohesion heard throughout the album’s 16 song tracklist, NDL finds his pocket on a range of emotions over versatile beats composed with Gazaway’s signature nuances, scratch hooks and interview soundbites.
“This is an album about survival…it’s about navigating and adapting to an ever-changing world while struggling to maintain one’s sanity and peace of mind. Napoleon is a true master of his craft as a poet/storyteller and I think that’s something that really shines through on this record.” – Amerigo Gazaway
With assists from vocalist La Bruja, Brooklyn’s Skyzoo, and three appearances from rapper Awon, ‘The World Changed’ delivers focused bars rooted in boom-bap and soul.
#CyphLyfe #SingleFiles
Oski & DJ Heron – Happy Sanghi
#SoFlow #SouthFloridaHipHop Triple O.G.’s OSKI & DJ HERON are sliding down chimneys, wiggling through gated windows, and ducking in through Doggy Doors to get you an early present for the Holidays. If you are from Miami, and down with the #SoFlowHipHop Scene you know these two brothers are responsible for some of the biggest Live Music Events and Concerts in Miami. The fact they are both veteran Musicians and Performers does not make them greedy with the spotlight. Many in this city have gotten their start on an OSKI Stage or opening up for a Big Artist HERON brought down through his Addictive Affairs Promotion Company. The two are not running short on generosity this year. Press Play and unwrap what they left for you in the Weekend Bag. Allow them to take you on a tour of one of the most magical places in Miami during the holidays, SANTA’S ENCHANTED FORREST, now at its New Hialeah location (Ok Ok Hialeah…You got us on that one). OSKI‘s laid back vocals are OSKI FOUNDATION classic and vintage as ever and give the beat produced by DJ HERON a warm comforting audio egg nog vibe. Catch DJ HERON and his million-dollar smile chopping it up on “the Congas”? Yup…You know it ain’t a Latin Holiday Season Party without the percussion section on deck. “HAPPY SANGHI” & “Medi Crima” is how our 1st Generation Cuban Parents, Abuelos and Abuelas say Happy Thanksgiving, And its what we wish you from WVCC Radio and the #SoFlow Family….Happy Sanghi, Buen Aprovecho!!! “A Comer se ha dicho!!!”
JFliz x T The Human x Vic Monroe – Each Time
In the now immortal words of Aes Rock, “Wubba Wubba Wubba”…what do we have here. The latest single by JFLIZ & T THE HUMAN is a welcomed surprise banger. From the jump the beat by T THE HUMAN and VIC MONROE‘s laid-back intro welcomes you into a gem of a single that feels like a fully loaded Thanksgiving Table, surrounded by family and friends. If you have followed the WEEKEND BAG at all this year, you are probably familiar with JFLIZ as he has been one of the most productive Indie Artists in the past 2 years, and has released a slew of singles which we have had the pleasure of covering. He gets busy over T THE HUMAN‘s chopped up Horn Samples on the 2nd verse of EACH TIME. FLIZ expounds on his mission to make the most out of “every grain of sand in the hourglass”, a mission he has stuck to for the past 2 years, and now has his name and voice ringing bells through out the U.S. and overseas. He makes it clear the only time he puts down the mic is for his family. You can be sure once he is done with Giving Thanks and the Turkey Dinner, he will be right back at it getting ready for his latest LP release, “THE POWERS THAT BE”, produced entirely by Allentown PA’s T THE HUMAN and featuring a crazy line up of features. Make sure you follow JFLIZ on Bandcamp so that you are notified when the album drops on 11/26/21. Bandcamp: https://jfliz.bandcamp.com
SHOTTIE x TeV95 – KENDALL DRIVE pt 1
SHOTTIE has to be Top 3 Active Emcees out of #SoFlow in 2021. Not only did he release MOSKVITCH 1 & 2 this year (Hopefully we get the 3rd installment of the 3 EP Series by December), he also released close to 8 Videos and had several features on some heavy singles including KING TETRUS‘s UNDEFEATED, & JOEY DE SILVA & MONEY MOGLY‘s DEAD RABBITS which got worldwide play in the underground circuit. Now the Moskvitch Brothers are back with KENDALL DRIVE, the ever-growing backstory of SHOTTIE‘S Childhood Hood which many of us claim with pride as the rawest Hip Hop Hood in Miami. For all our out of town readers, just know that KENDALL is a Miami Suburb where a large wave of folks from the innercity where able to move to due to Section 8 Housing and public assistance. This created a pocket of Hood apartment complexes in the middle of the middle-class home communities. The kids & Teenagers of these families would eventually be some of the illest B-Boys, Writers, DJ’s and Emcees to come out of Miami, with a list of local legends too long to get into. SHOTTIE talks all about it on KENDAL DRIVE 1 and 2 (part 2 features Kendal Hip Hop Legends GARCIA & B DOPE). Check the latest visuals for KENDAL DR pt 1 and enjoy a stroll through one of our most famous Kendal Landmarks, the Town and Country Mall Bridge, as SHOTTIE gives you a look into the past that made him the hired gun he is today.
#BotttomOfTheBag #MustBump
Wavy Da Ghawd – Ghawds Eden (Album)
An original member of NO EMOTION & THE GODZ, WAVY DA GHAWD has been making major moves and raising his stock value these last 2 years. Producing banging projects and singles for Eddie Kane, Planet Asia, Rome Streetz, and now releasing his Compilation Record GHAWD’S EDEN, featuring some of the best in the subterrain. Press play and take a stroll through this garden of audio perfection.
N.R.F.S. (Neak, Rashid Hadee, F.A.B.L.E. & Since9ine6ix) – N.R.F.S.
This Tape is BAAAAAAAAANGING!!! Chicago’s Colaborative crew N.R.F.S ( which stands for Neak, Rashid Hadee, F.A.B.L.E. & Since9ine6ix, the 4 emcees who make up the squad), bring back a Soul Bap that is much missed and relished in modern era Hip Hop. Give it one play, and I guarantee you will give it a 2nd and 3rd listen. This shit is addictive. Looking forward to hearing more from these dudes in 2022.
DJ GLIBSTYLES – INFAMOUS BOOM BAP SOUL Vol 130
You know the BAG ain’t complete without the latest mix by DJ GLIBSTYLES. Here is The Infamous Boom Bap Soul Mix Vol 130, which would be spinning on Friday Morning on WVCC Radio if not for the Holiday Weekend. I’ll be out of town this weekend (still gotta work remotely though, the grind don’t stop), so No Friday Morning #BreakfastBarBuffet, but here it is for your enjoyment. This mix is piping hot and features some fire #SOFLOW artists including AGONY, SHOTTIE & TEV95, & PRINCE DIVINE. If you need more DJ GLIBSTYLES in your life, make sure you follow him on Twitch.tv/dj_glibstyles and check out his weekly live streams. He is sure to be providing some dope vibes over the holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving GLIBSTYLES. WVCC Radio and your homie 8ch are Thankful God brought you into our lives this year.
