Last Friday saw Mac Miller release the video for his new album’s title track (of sorts). Hit the jump to check out SchoolBoy Q’s thoughts on the album, and check out my article on Mac for SoulCulture, here…

Continue reading “Mac Miller – Watching Movies (Video)” »

Whilst many had their attention focussed on major retail releases today, it would be a mistake to sleep on the latest release from Deniro Farrar, who unleashed the sequel to his The Patriarch project with production and features courtesy of Ryan Hemsworth, JMSN, The Kickdrums, KIRA and more.

Hit the jump for stream/ download…
Continue reading “Deniro Farrar – The Patriarch II (Album)” »

The Beast Coast trio let loose of our latest insight into what to expect when they finally drop their highly anticipated BetterOffDEAD project, which will hopefully be in the near future…

I recently had the chance to interviewed Mac Miller about his move to L.A. and how that effected his place in the hip-hop scene as well as the creation of his new album, Watching Movies With The Sound Off which is finally available everywhere today. The piece can be read at SoulCulture and is accompanies by photographs by Hayley Louisa Brown…

“I’d spent all of my time working with two of the most talented producers in the game, so there was never any reason for me to explore doing things for myself,” he explains. “When I moved I isolated myself, so it really could have been anywhere.” Ironically the isolation has allowed him to connect with a diverse line-up of hip-hop’s finest, including SchoolBoy Q, Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler The Creator, The Internet, Flying Lotus and Pharrell Williams, all of whom appear on his new album. And like everything Mac seems to do, nothing is forced or contrived. “It’s really organic. People just started coming over, and they like the vibe at the house,” he explains. “Me being out there has allowed us to become good friends and then the music has just followed. In Pittsburgh there was nobody really around to put on the album and stuff – other than the homies – so I had to do it myself.”

With every project thus far, Mac has captured a different vibe and has immersed listeners in those worlds. Undoubtedly his most adventurous effort yet, Watching Movies With The Sound Off is, in his own words, “More cerebral and surrealist, like Salvador Dali. There are a lot of layers to it,” he goes on “But I kind of just want people to listen to the music and take from it what they will.” The escapism, as well as the title, draws from his love of films, and bringing up the subject soon reveals that he is a film-buff who gets too involved in what he watches. “It’s an opportunity to temporarily escape your world and live in another. I cry at the sad bits, smile at the cheesy parts, scream at scary movies,” he admits. “As a kid I used to spend the next few hours after the movie playing pretend and imagining what is next for the characters.” He also recently portrayed himself in the 5th instalment of the ‘Scary Movie’ franchise alongside Snoop Dogg. The second half of the title comes from the studio ritual of playing muted films and drawing from them to create soundtracks which become original compositions. And this passion for the alternate realities of cinema is echoed throughout WMWTSO, whether in Fly Lo‘s Sci-Fi production and the Super-Hero Comedy visual for lead single “S.D.S,” or the fact that Mac employs battle rapper Loaded Lux to deliver a diss rap about him, in order to leave the haters with nothing more to say – which whether intentionally or not, draws comparisons to the final scenes of Eminem‘s semi-biographical 8 Mile.

Read the full article over at SoulCulture…

After the release of the very successful visual, Chicago up-and-comer Vic Mensa liberates the audio for his new ‘Orange Soda’ track, which will appear on his forthcoming project #INNANETAPE…

Another artist who is taking advantage of the impact of a Yeezus contribution is King Louie who – after a song stealing verse on ‘Send It Up’ – drops a new visual from his own March Madness mixtape…

To tie in with the release of Yeezus – on which a lot of his input is clearly present – Travi$ Scott releases the visual for his Owl Pharoah single…

I’ve haven’t been regularly updating the site over the past few days as I’ve been otherwise occupied working on some content that will be released soon. I’m sure nobody could have possibly slept on the announcement of Jay-Z’s new record Magna Carta Holy Grail which is set to drop July 4th, but I love the trailer they put together so I’m posting it anyway!

Chicago rapper Giftz teams up with one of my favourite current producers, Thelonius Martin, for a new track that comes from his upcoming Position of Power LP…

The MMG representative and Def Jam recording artist celebrates his show at the legendary SOBs tonight by unleashing his latest mixtape release, which is a short-but-sweet ten tracks in length and minimal on the features, and gives fans an idea of what to expect when he drops his debut studio album Living Legend later this year.

Hit the jump for stream and download…

Continue reading “Gunplay – Acquitted (Mixtape)” »