If there is to be any overt or ulterior goal of bubbling-up rap crew Goth Money’s music, it’s a convoluted one; interviews of the six members frame their project as a form of positivity achieved through organic, artistic union, while the group’s material is most often somewhat a literal incarnation of their name. Either way, […]
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We usually shutter to ascertain authenticity in music, but Retch’s rap is such that his ability to seamlessly integrate his incriminating extra-curriculars into it makes it most tantalizing as a square outsider looking in. Among the preeminent rappers actively occupying the classically-oriented street narrative stratum, like the more popular Roc Marciano, Black Milk, and Meyhem Lauren, […]
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The precocious Chester Watson has seemingly remained out of the bounds of rap’s radar; a lack of attention that could be framed, in addition to his music’s pillaring features (a tongue-twisting low-key rhyme, impending, decrepit instrumentals), as an ode to the DOOM-ish alternative underground sphere from which he scarcely crawls out—as much as he, as […]
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While it’s unfortunate that we’ve had to wait four months for a new release from the Vancouver label ASL Singles Club, its founders Project Pablo and Heartbeat(s) made sure the wait was worth it. The label’s outstanding new EP resembles the quality to which we’ve held it since its inaugural single, but assembled with a rawer attitude. Perpetuating the quasi-less-is-more sonic […]
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Livening the discourse surrounding the health of New York hip-hop in recent years (and concurrently providing somewhat of a chew toy for salty genre purists), Ratking made their full-length debut a year ago on the XL offshoot Hot Charity. The tripartite of Wiki, Hak, and producer Sporting Life have sidestepped label mediation however, for a new surprise […]
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For what seems like forever, there’s been that vague notion of “future” promulgated around and applied to modify existing forms like garage and house, or used in tandem with the all-encompassing bass. Instead of denoting characteristics that are cutting-edge, its implication—of vocal sampling conventions or texture parameters—has turned redundant, disparaging for some. Brooklyn producer Seafloor […]
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As observers of American label cum curatorial servicer Apothecary Compositions, it’s not at all surprising how we once again are presented with work from a producer who inhabits a junction of disparate modes. While being a “jack of all trades” may or may not be a promising qualification for some artists in this day, and […]
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Perhaps a limitless agenda is more of a detriment than a virtue in some respects. Online statistics, an objective gauge of popularity in music for most, in this instance intimate to us that a good chunk of label B. YRSLF DIVISION’s output goes relatively unnoticed, which is a pity for a label that has at […]
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Since two weeks ago, and via the vast keenness of the people behind Ghostly International, we’ve had the pleasure of ruminating with a masterfully crafted debut LP, “A Constant Moth“. The LP comes by way of Chester Anand, who dons the Lord Raja pseudonym for only the second time. The full length arrives not exactly on the […]
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Now is the time to reset any expectations one could possibly form around a release on recent Truancy Volume contributor Slugabed’s label; there’s been a new signing to his London-based, perpetually left-of-center Activia Benz gang. The Good Of The Night comes from young newcomer Toby Gale, also out of London. His public curriculum vita is brief enough: […]
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Introductions to Curtis Cross have become infrequent and unnecessary in recent times. But if need be, Black Milk is a producer and MC from Detroit who, in light of a growing economy of critics and fans who credit the real and raw in their hip-hop fandom, remains drastically undersung in either capacity. Considering his contributions towards and collaborations with […]
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On October 12, we were presented with yet another sublime record from a young producer whose relatively meek recognition seems to not yet be totally commensurate with her solid product. The discerning Truants reader has been introduced to Avalon Emerson, the San Francisco transplant now living in Berlin, already through Truancy Volume 89, and her new […]
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