Review: Titans in the Flesh - Blu (@HerFavColor) & @NottzRaw; A Niles P. Joint

The best sequels are the ones that have the ability to function as standalone works.  Not gonna bury the lead here, this is what happens with Titans in the Flesh, the new EP from Blu & Nottz.  This is a sequel to their 2013 EP Gods in the Spirit.  Having not listened to that one, I was still able to enjoy the sequel.  Any time you can have one of the most prolific and best producers in the genre (Nottz) and a sometimes erratic but always talented underground legend (Blu) the result will always be good music at the end of the day.  While some fans bristled at the three year gap between projects, it was well worth the wait.

The dynamic duo hits the ground running with The Truth.  It’s apparent that Nottz’ signature church organs & basslines are a match made in heaven for Blu’s flow, especially with lines like “Jesús got some water, need some grape juice/ I bow my head and a crown fell out my slave roots.”  A soulful hook by Shateish brings it home.  The production on Heaven On Earth is among the most diverse with the previously mentioned organs, spacey synthesizers, a sampled hook, and snappy drums and shattering symbols.  Next up is a posse cut with an all star cast of guest emcees (Bishop Lamont, Torae, & Skyzoo.)  Each one takes turns teeing off on a beat that’s buoyed by sampled violins and cuts and scratches by DJ Revolution.  Everyone did well but Bishop Lamont impressed me the most (ironically he’s the emcee who I’m least familiar.)  

The album hits a snag in its tracklisting as they have two posse cuts in a row, which is a lot for a seven song EP.  This one is To The East and features Definite, TriState, Mickey Factz, & Johaz.  Let me be clear, everyone on the track has bars.  But this one’s guests are more obscure and oddly enough all sound like more established rappers.  Also puzzling is the fact that Blu isn’t even on this song.  The Man is better, as Blu returns with some bravado over guitars, cymbals, & a periodic trumpet.  Interestingly enough, he shares the mic with frequent production collaborators Exile & Nottz.  I didn't even know these producers rapped, but they do pretty well on the mic.  Atlantis is named after the mythical underwater continent and the production effectively has a bubbly and underwater vibe (I keep picturing one of those vintage sea monkey ads.)  The final track is a remix of the penultimate track by J57 that has more grandiose production with a matching chorus by vocalist Akie Bermiss.   Blu’s verses are the same and it’s a good remix, although I prefer the original.

EPs are tricky because at times they’ll give you a snack sized version of something you’d want more as an entree.  The greedy ass fan/consumer wishes that the dudes fleshed this out into an LP somehow.  It feels even shorter than its 26+ minute runtime by virtue of the back to back posse cuts and a remix following the original.  On a longer tracklist this could be spaced out a little more but here it feels more clogged with guests and whatnot.  Still, Nottz manages to bring out the best in Blu, who has occasionally been the target of the underground’s ire for whatever reason.  Titans in the Flesh is entertaining in spite of its issues and will give you something fun to listen to for the summer.  Just know that whenever Blu and Nottz decide to team up, the results will always be, well, titanic.

Rating: 4.1 out of 5.

Review: FLYGOD - @WESTSIDEGUNN; A Niles P. Joint

I’m not sure a rapper has had a rise quite as meteoric and important as Westside Gunn.  Hailing from Buffalo in upstate New York, he’s been one of the most prolific East Coast rappers in the past year or so.  Dude’s  appeared on a batch of records, either his own or via guest appearance.  They haven’t gone unnoticed by us at What’s The Movement; hell we have a hard time keeping up.  His aforementioned importance comes in his style.  He brings back a classic NYC feel in lyrics and beat selection despite not being from the five boroughs (or Mt. Vernon or Yonkers for that matter.)  The attention to detail and commitment to quality had me eagerly anticipating his recently-released solo debut LP FLYGOD via independent label Griselda Records.  Some questioned if he could cary a full album, and he responded with 18 tracks his first time out.  He brought a mob of guests, so naturally I’m going track by track for this review.  

Dunks (feat. Conway) - It’s only right that he starts off his album with a collab with his blood brother Conway the Machine.  Over a pulsating instrumental with hints of mandolin (I think,) they trade verses and deliver a solid opener.

Gustavo (feat. Keisha Plum) - West delivers his first head head nodder/curveball simultaneously.  He finds a way to share a well constructed boom bap beat with poet Keisha Plum.  It’s one of the best on the album, but thankfully not the last heater.

Shower Shoe Lords (feat. Benny) - The piano in this song sounds like an Upper West Side penthouse apartment looks.  While I had never heard of guest star Benny, he holds his own.  The cut and scratched lyrics from Guru & Sean Price were a cool addition.

Vivian at the Art Basel (feat. Your Old Droog) - At first, I was kind of dismayed that there were two piano-driven songs back to back.  But the beauty of the album lies in the nuances in the music.  Based off the title alone, this piano paints a picture of waking up early in Miami after night one of Art Basel festivities and getting it together before you do it again.  Your Old Droog of course lays down a great verse but also polishes his hook making skills here.

Hall - This is one of Gunn’s rare solo songs.  To say he delivers is an understatement.  His flow is impeccable, especially over a beat that’s dominated by the sample, bass, and strings; drums are minimal here.  Wish it was longer but it gives way to an intro for the next song.

Free Chapo (feat. Conway) - Naturally a song referencing El Chapo & again featuring Conway would be on the album.  This instrumental is an inverse of the last.  Some guitar chords are present but the drums are most conspicuous.   It’s gritty and grimy and everything you’d want from the Buffalo brothers.

Over Gold (feat. Meyhem Lauren) - Scratch this one off of your list of dream collabs because it’s here and as good as you’d think.  Lauren drops off a raucous 16 and West closes it off.  Short and sweet, it has one of the project’s best instrumentals in a 60’s inspired infusion of horns and bells.  

Bodies on Fairfax (feat. Danny Brown) - This is another example of having two songs with similar musical hallmarks back to back without being repetitive.  The cascading bells & limited production make for a nice soundscape for the unlikely yet superb merger of Brown and Gunn.  Songs like this make the album unique.

Chine Gun - The thing that stands out here is the wailing saxophones that are best heard after 8pm, real nighttime vibe here.  I wish there was a second verse here but this seems to be more of a showcase for the horn than anything else.

King City (feat. Mach Hommy & DJ QBert) - More bells here but this time in conjunction with a faster tempo.  The change of pace suits West & Mach Hommy Well.  I hadn’t hear DJ QBert’s name in years but he reemerges to add crucial cuts and scratches to this song.

Omar Coming (feat. Roc Marciano & Conway) - The velocity slows back down as the Rex Ryan trio share the weeping guitar-soaked song.  This is Conway’s final appearance.  Good song, sounds like it could’ve come out of Scarface or any other 80’s drug related movie.

Mr. T - West shines solo once again over an airy yet assertive beat that sounds heavenly.  Sparse percussion lets the sample breathe.  You feel like you're floating listening to this one.  

50 in. Zenith (feat. Skyzoo) - Using an updated interpolation from Incarcerated Scarfaces, Statik Selektah gives West and Sky a light yet layered instrumental to work with that emphasizes harps & the snare.  Lyrically these two coordinate quite well.

Sly Green Skit - This is a (jailhouse?) interview with notorious Buffalo-based drug dealer Sly Green.  Instead of picking someone out of the litany of NYC street legends, the hometown antihero is featured.  Good choice.

55 & a Half - Westside Gunn’s flow is slow and deliberate on this one and it fits the dreamy sample and dirty drums.  He gives shoutouts towards the end.  Hell, it could've been the outro.

Albright Knox (feat. Chase) - The title references the famous Buffalo art gallery, keeping in theme with the album as art.  Chase is another rapper I wasn’t familiar with but he really takes control of the song.  The instrumental is bleak in a tragically beautiful way.  

Dudley Boyz (feat. Action Bronson) - I covered this when it came out and everything I said stands.  It’s an important piece to the overall puzzle of the album.  

Outro (feat. Bro A.A. Rashid) - Over a lounge piano and singer, Bro A.A. Rashid gives an impromptu monologue about real vs. fake, and art vs. bullshit in hip hop.  If you pay attention, you get a lot of gems from him.  

This was an album that I was most looking forward to in the young year.  West showed his ability to hold shit down for a full album after a few shorter projects.  His ear for beats is one of the best in the game as he’s able to get the most illustrious & exquisite instrumentals.  As I mentioned before, the ability to both discover and rhyme over beats with little to no percussion is a skill most can’t pull off.  Gunn’s flow allows it though.  The only issue I can really think of is his reliance on guest appearances.  On 16 songs (not counting the skit and outro) Gunn only has four solo songs, all of which contain one verse.  He has the charisma and ability to carry a full song on his own, but instead has an “everybody eats” mentality and brings in a cavalcade of guests.  Fortunately, none of them are wack and the album doesn’t suffer.  Westside Gunn sought out to make an album that could be considered art and at the end of the day, he did.  I usually hate comparisons, but it’s like the spiritual offspring of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.  FLYGOD is one of the best albums in a still-young year and seems to have the staying power & replay value to be a contender for Album of the Year.  Stay tuned.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5.

Purchase FLYGOD by Westside Gunn here

#InCaseYouMissedItMonday: Music For My Friends - @Skyzoo; A Niles P. Joint

I slept on Skyzoo for way too long, even when I had every reason not to.  Dude had an appearance on Sean Price’s second album, put out countless critically acclaimed albums and mixtapes, dropped a dope ass song I discovered on SoundCloud (Spike Lee Was My Hero featuring Talib Kweli,) and formed the Barrel Brothers with Torae and put out a great album last year.  Every time I got put on to any of the aforementioned, I always told myself “This Skyzoo cat is type nice, I gotta check out more of his stuff.”  And every time due to my own procrastinating ways, I stupidly put him on the back burner.  I almost did the same this summer when he dropped Music for My Friends.  But I stopped screwing around and finally give the Brooklyn emcee a good listen.  My intuition was rewarded because he dropped something quite remarkable.

This album is a concept record of sorts inasmuch as it shows how Skyzoo viewed the world in his younger years when he was coming up with his friends, hence the title.  There are interludes given by his childhood pals between songs that really add to the ambiance.  Instead of going as a straight up storytelling project, it instead aspires to capture moods and feelings of the time.  Suicide Doors sets the tone as Sky spits complex raps over crashing percussion and a jazz trumpet.  Jazz is a common stylistic theme as Sky is a jazz aficionado and uses live instrumentation in his songs.  Everything’s For Sale effectively uses a Jay-Z interpolation in the chorus to create the framework for a song about youthful aspirations.  These turn into slightly dark considerations on See a Key (Ki’) by way of thoughts of the drug game.  A guest verse by Jadakiss is well-placed.  

Money Makes Us Happy is my favorite song on the album.  It’s impossibly swanky yet doesn’t skimp on substance as he ponders the prevalence of money and it’s correlation to happiness.  Bilal provides a smooth ass hook and Black Thought slays yet another guest appearance without overshadowing the host.  Asking Bodie for a Package features Skarr Akbar and takes its theme from a vocal sample from The Wire without making it into a novelty song.  Things I Should've Told My Friends is more somber fare than anything else on here but it’s necessary for the climax of the album.  Apollo Brown laces the beat as Skyzoo gets introspective on the state of his friendships.  As a finale, Falling out the Sky is a triumph.  It sounds like it was recorded with a live band and I can picture it being performed as such.  It ends the album on a positive note without straying from the theme and is one of the best feel-good songs of the year easily.

Born in Crown Heights and raised in Bed Stuy, Skyzoo portrays the everyman around the way.  He’s not overly sappy yet doesn’t try to go a hardcore route.  He portrays himself as a regular neighborhood guy which makes his music very accessible.  His wordplay requires a few listens and rewinds but the theme of youthful dreams and aspirations is something everyone can relate to.  While the previously listed songs are only the standout tracks after a dozen listens, they could be interchangeable as the album maintains an even keel thematically and musically.  There are no bad songs on this project.  Having mostly all of the beats slathered in jazz gives each track a very home-y feeling when you listen.  There’s a warmth here you don’t get with many releases this year.  Overall I’m glad Music For My Friends was my first introduction to a full Skyzoo project.  The quality and tone ensures that I won’t sleep on his music again.  You’ll feel the same way once you listen.

Listen: Get Down - @Torae (produced by @PeteRock); A Niles P. Joint

I first took notice of Torae as half of the duo Barrel Brothers (the other half being fellow BK emcee Skyzoo, more on him next Monday).

Now he’s back and prepping his Kickstarter-funded album Entitled. The Coney Island native continues his longstanding tradition of getting beats from legendary producers. This time he’s laced by Money Earnin’ Mt. Vernon’s favorite son Pete Rock on Get Down. The lyrics are a celebration of the eminent return of quality NY rap while Torae reminds everyone that he’s been spitting flames even while many others hopped on whichever trend was fashionable. Torae stayed consistent and is now reaping the benefits in this East Coast resurrection while subpar rappers have disappeared as their gimmick ran out. Check out Get Down after the break and check for my review of Entitled next month.

Review: Grandeur - @ApolloBrown; A Niles P. Joint

Think of producers in Hip Hop as offensive coordinators in football. You have to run an offense that scores as much as possible. In doing so, do you stick with what you're comfortable with and what works? Or do you employ a new trendy scheme for the sake of keeping up with the joneses? These questions arise for all producers, including Apollo Brown. He’s put out a lot of quality music in a short period of time and is back with Grandeur. A litany of underground emcees make guest appearances, jumping at the chance to drop bars over Apollo Brown beats. As per usual with a producer album, you the reader will be treated to a track by track review.

Finally - The title to this intro makes sense to me, as I finally get to hear an album I’ve been waiting on.  You literally hear the needle drop and a round of applause.

Neva Eva (feat. Barrel Brothers) - Skyzoo a& Torae get things started.  They build well around a vocal sample on a head nodding track.  Pay attention, as this becomes a theme on the album.  

What You Were Lookin’ For (feat. Oddisee) - This song floats from the speakers into your ears by way of some lovely strings.  Oddisee was a rapper that i wasn’t familiar with before now but he shows and proves.

Detonate (feat. M.O.P.) - The lead single is still as fresh and sinister as it was when I first heard it in August.  Might be the toughest song on the album.

Brass Tracks (feat. Chino XL & Finale) - Chino XL was one of my favorite rappers when I was a kid so it’s cool hearing his witty and nasally bars again.  Finale provides the thunder to XL’s lightning (who takes shots at modern rap culture on the hook) over violins and snapping percussion.

There’s Always Radio (feat. Evidence) - I’ve admittedly never been a fan of the Dilated Peoples’ frontman’s brand of monotone.  All that aside, he’s spitting over a beat that has similar violins and percussion as the last one.  The former is better than the latter, as this is one of the few missteps on the album.  The beat switch during the outro is cool though.

Still Standin’ (feat. Rasheed Campbell) - Violins appear again here but they're more fully layered.  Rasheed Campbell introduces himself well and gives a lyrical backstory.  He bares vocal resemblance to Q-Tip but is different enough that he will be one to watch for.

The Hard Way (feat. Saga & Ty Farris) - Two emcees who I honestly hadn’t heard of prove their mettle and make an attempt to school the young fuckin’ jerks of the world.  It can be a futile attempt but these guys sound damn good trying.  The trumpets on the hook are almost announcing their arrival to your musical conscious.

Gettin’ By (feat. Rapper Big Pooh & Dynasty) - Brown does an amazing job in chopping samples and it shows here, although I wish I knew the origin of the lovely one used here.  Pooh’s aggressiveness is counterbalanced by Dynasty baring her soul.  This is a dream collaboration between an old and new emcees whose work I love.  Appropriately enough the beat gives off a ethereal aura.

Enemies With Benefits (feat. Ras Kass) - More evidence of Apollo Brown’s production genius can be found here as he takes a Lenny Williams sample that’s been used before (Twista’s Overnight Celebrity by Kanye West amongst others) and freaks it an entirely new way.  He manages to give it a West Coast flavor for regional legend Ras Kass, who’s another childhood favorite of mine that is fresh off a 2014 collaboration album with Brown.  The magic continues.

Walk With Me (feat. Vinnie Paz & Blacastan) - Brown somehow makes a song about relationship adversity (prime material for tenderness) into a head nodding joint.   Vinnie Paz and Blacastan take a gruff approach to what would be a sensitive subject for others.  Everyone involved makes it work.

Not That Guy (feat. Your Old Droog) - This is a somber change of pace song that serves as a cautionary tale.  The snapping snares are still present but the beat’s framework is more melancholy and suitable for the subject.  Droog still has undertones of Nas in his voice and flow but he does a great job speaking on the perils of drugs.

Money (feat. Masta Ace & Wordsworth) - Money is the root of all evil but here it’s the topic of this excellent song which stands out the more I hear it.  The crashing piano keys provide a marvelous playground for the lyrics of the veterans of Juice Crew & Lyricist Lounge respectively.

Who’s That (feat. Maffew Ragazino & Freddie Gibbs) - Brownsville and Gary (Indiana) collide on a malicious track that sounds like it should be played in a dive bar in a dark alley most would be afraid to walk down.  The vocal sample in the chorus ties it all together although take note of the piano as well.  Apollo Brown makes keys the focus of two consecutive tracks but is able to use them two completely different ways.  That’s talent.

In The Moment (feat. O.C.) - This song reunites Brown with O.C. three years after they collaborated on the sublime joint LP Trophies.  They pick up where they left off, as O.C. drops more jewels over a harpsichord-laden beat.  The chemistry is still there and will make you pine for a sequel LP.

Triple Beams (feat. Westside Gunn & Planet Asia) - Apollo Brown takes a popular Wendy Rene sample (previously used by Alicia Keys, Dynasty, and most famously Wu Tang Clan) and chops and flips it into a gritty playing field for this New York and California musical alliance.  He shows a real knack for repurposing samples in order to create gems.

Each Other (feat. Eternia) - We had an article about relationship issues, this one is about straight up breakup.  Eternia tries to answer the question “Why Did He Leave Me?” posed in the sample within the hook.  She looks to provide an excellent alternative to a certain Australian that’s been in the public eye.

Yesman Shit (feat. Sean Price & REKS) - DAMN.  Those blaring horns are some of the hardest I’ve heard in awhile.  They’re perfect for the late great Sean Price, who completes the trilogy of Brownsville guest appearances and spits with his usual tenacity.  He’ll be missed.  REKS holds his own rhyming opposite a legend and will have you open and wanting to hear more from him.  The track overall is a banger and one of the best on a great project.

Checkered Flag (feat. Ugly Heroes) - This is another continuation of sorts, only this time with the indie supergroup Brown is a part of along with Verbal Kent and Red Pill.  Even with a self titled LP and EP this makes you want more.  Mellow yet head nod inducing.  Great way to end the album.

Getting back to the football offensive coordinator metaphor, you see how Apollo Brown gets down.  He sticks with his offensive system no matter what is going on around him.  But the thing is you can’t chastise him for being too stuck in his ways because it works extremely well.  Musically many of these songs are sample heavy seem to be in the same tempo.  But he can take this concept and to it umpteen different ways, and with a plethora of different emcees to boot.  His use of this scheme makes him a kingmaker because he can make anyone shine when they're on his production.  Even better, he makes you want to hear more from a rapper that may have been unknown to you previously because they sounded so good under his beats.  He put me on to a bunch of people that just might be featured on this blog in the coming months.  The only real misstep on this album was the 5th and 6th tracks sounding inordinately similar, which is a tough sell when they're back to back.  But this isn't uncommon on producer albums for whatever reason and therefore can’t be too much of a deterrent.  Grandeur wedges itself into the conversation for best album of the year and further cements Apollo Brown’s status as one of the most exceptional beatsmiths in Hip Hop.

Rating: 4.8 out of 5.