"Stigmata" - Ab-Soul

If there's one thing Black Hippy does right every time, it's image. Their videos are always Hollywood caliber, momentously slick productions, and this puppy is no exception. That's a business lesson unto itself: there are no exceptions. This is a big part of why their formula works. Consistency.

Ab-Soul is beyond critique. That's not a compliment, really, just a factual observation: the man is a legitimately unhinged force of nature, the product of more life experience prior to age 21 than most Americans see in a lifetime of wage slavery. He operates with an endearingly flagrant disregard for any of the technical standards or cultural conventions that rappers take for granted in 2014. So maybe it is a compliment after all: my opinion about Ab-Soul's ascension is every bit as irrelevant as yours. It's already a foregone conclusion.

"Lucid Dream" - Nocando x Dam Funk

We fucking love psychedelic rap videos and this right here is a doozy. Not that dude is necessarily into psychedelics -- as he puts it, "I just love life so much my wife gets jealous." We also love Dam Funk and this jamalam is straight from the hands of the grandmaster. Big props to Ryan Calvano for an exceptional piece of work, the visual here are gorgeously demented.

"F Wit THIS" - Chris Clarke ft. Opto

Stanley Clarke's kid is a rapper? I won't lie, that hook is what got me. I had to find out, right?

The beat starts off at the blander end of the Low End Theory spectrum but starts moving around quite a bit, settling for a hugely improved stomp/head-bang pocket. This Opto cat has a perfectly pitched set of pipes for catchy hooks, but cannot write lyrics for shit. Fortunately, Chris Clarke is a way more entertaining & interesting rapper, stealing the show with a followup verse.

This was worth investigating. We'll probably have more from this mammal in the future.

Also: WEST COAST.

"Come Back" - Write Brothers

You're riding with the Write Brothers, first in flight. A second single from the increasingly impressive cross-coast collaboration featuring Learic (BTV) and Dante DaVinci (LAX). Tablas, firebomb synth chops, and a damn catchy hook drive the point home: this will almost definitely be the best rap project coming out of Vermont this year.



Learic honed his chops battling in Washington, DC years before he came to Vermont, but he's probably best known for his work with The Aztext, the Green Mountain State's most successful import. They've delivered four ambitious & straightforward rap albums, so Write Brothers is a sharp left turn for him sonically, with Dante DaVinci's dub reggae x Low End Theory EDM thump. It really works, too. "Come Back" has him flexing in the space between Kool G Rap and Gift of Gab, and there's some perfectly cut bars on display here.

"When the pens in my hand, your attention span tends to expand." Fuck yeah.

"Good as Gone" - Dilated Peoples

Well, hot damn.



In a year that has seen a lot of 90's vintage underground acts resurfacing with great music, Dilated Peoples announces a new album and tour, and they're doing it on Rhymesayers. The big surprise here is Rakaa coming through and stealing the show with a sharply cut verse that shows off his considerable growth in the years since Dilated Peoples was working the summer festival circuit. If you've never checked out his 2010 solo joint Crown of Thorns it is a rewarding listen -- not a lost classic, but definitely an awesome detour.

Their new album is called Directors of Photography, but the cinema here is courtesy of Andrew Melby. The video is crisp, clever, and gorgeously framed work. Rhymesayers stays winning, and this is good for us all.

"No One Can Do It Better" - The D.O.C.

Title track off a classic album, and definitely some of the jazziest shit we'll ever hear out of Dr. Dre.

The D.O.C. has always been a horror story to me: right as this album was blowing up and he was becoming a national name, his life took a Twilight Zone twist when he got into a car accident that injured his vocal chords. When I first found out about that in high school, it inspired me to write and record more so I wouldn't leave behind undocumented material. (The results were worthless, but what matters is I was inspired, you cynical assholes.)

Still, if you've never heard of The D.O.C. don't waltz off thinking his life was nothing but suffering...he did have a kid with Erykah Badu, after all. Raise a glass to the man either way. Contemplate a West Coast where this cat was going platinum every year from 1989-1996.

"The actual name “Death Row” came from me. I actually wanted to call the label “Def Row,” ‘cause in my mind Dre was what Russell Simmons was to the east …. That’s how important he was. And then one of the other artists, a female named Jewell, she was like, “Wow, that’s cool, Death Row.” I was like, “Nah, Def Row.” And Dre was like, “Nah, nigga, Death Row ….” And then with all these thug-minded-ass muthafuckas around…it didn’t take long before that’s just what that was." - via HipHopDX

"DieNasty" - KNife

Well, fuck yeah. Great and rare is the weekend morning where my inbox leaves me impressed rather than depressed. This cat can definitely f'ing Rap Good, and the beat is a woozy stomp straight out a Low End Theory night. This video is definitely weird, simple and powerful. We will definitely be checking for this KNife character in the future.

This is an encouraging artifact; further proof of concept that quality material does indeed sell itself when properly packaged. This was an easy video to make, largely the fruit of hard work and human capital vs. big budgets and obligatory Professional™ sheen.

Just focus on The Work, daug.

#CLASSIC: "Juicin' Dranks" - Blu & Exile ft. Taarach

Effortless funk mastery. This is a gem, daug.

Milo Takes Baths

This wins on many fronts: innovative beats, original and intricate lyrics, and creative but creepy cover art, too. Full package art rap, we dig it. Thanks to Lesson 6 for the heads-up on this cat.

Notes to Self: "Nobody" ft Evidence

The best part about being a real deal sleeping-ass hater? I'm always surprised by dope shit. No shocker that the track itself rocks -- we've covered Notes to Self already and Evidence is a legitimate legend -- but this video? This video right here? Holy shit, yo. This is ninja grade rap nerdery with an autistic devotion to detail. Facemelter status.

These cats are definitely one of the best crews to show up in the past few. Hopefully they don't release anything else for 3 years like Tool or Pink Floyd instead of getting caught up in the zombie hype cycle that passes for "success" in 2012. #CHEERS to dope art from dope artists.

Busdriver ft. Aesop Rock? Nuff Said.

Busdriver is hit or miss for me -- but he's been hitting non-stop for at least a full year, so maybe I'm just a fan now. Time will tell. Meanwhile, this shit goes. New Aesop is always welcome, especially this post-None Shall Pass incarnation with the tight raps.