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Friday, November 11, 2011
Tampa has a host of talented individuals and crews that bless its Hip Hop scene, but few that have the unique blend of sounds that The Rukus brings to the table.
Artist(s): The Rukus
Mixtape: The Patience Project (2011)
Overall Rating: 
Tampa has a host of talented individuals and crews that bless its Hip Hop scene, but few that have the unique blend of sounds that The Rukus brings to the table. Made up of KeithElite, Rude and DJ Blenda; this trio has released their latest project titled, THE PATIENCE PROJECT; which featured a blend of original production, DJ cuts and features from some notable artists.
Starting off the project, they definitely show a lot of love and get all the shouts out of the way in track one. Many of Tampa's artists, DJ's and promoters will find their names on that long list of shout outs and then off to the music it goes.
With a strong message on "The Break's Over," The Rukus expresses their feelings about the current state of artistry today, and their current contribution to lyricism and substance in music. While the mix is not what it probably should have been, the production and lyrics definitely make up for it. This resonates throughout the project, but there were definitely some tracks worth a serious recommendation.
Tracks like "Days Fly By," featuring Geno and Sen-C give a great nostalgic feel with relevant content on how life moves so quickly by. "The Banger," featuring Mike Mass and Dynasty is by far one of the best tracks on the project. It is worth some mention that Mike Mass' verse was probably one of the strongest on this track and contributed to its feel in a considerable way.
One of their single tracks currently being pushed, "A Song for the People" could best be described as pure quality music. This track definitely epitomized the concept of making music and not just Rap. The feel of this song is inspiring and moving at the same time. "Amazin'" was by far the best track on the whole project, featuring the strong content of Jinx and E-Digga; it could possibly snap the rewind button and make a few listeners make use of their warranty services.
Just like every project, there were some down sides to this project as well. Overall, the mixes on the tracks are what hurt the ratings a bit. Tracks like "Where We At Now" and "Hands High" could have used a bit more balancing between vocal and beat frequencies on the EQ. "Too Easy," though picking up after the first verse did not begin strong enough. Additionally, the closing track, "Show's Over" was actually a great track, but probably was not the strongest end to the project even though it was intended for this very purpose.
Overall, this album is a must have for those individuals who enjoy something different, but VERY MUCH culture music. The features are strong, the production definitely exemplifies quality - but the mixes will need to be better on the next project. If they can make that happen; there's no denying this team will push ahead in the coming years with some epic music.
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Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Y'all have heard of Watchmen by now, so you should know the emcee they call PRO. His lyrical ability is undeniable, much like the rest of the crew, and he has now released a new album called, I NEED THERAPY.
Artist(s): PRO
Album Name: I Need Therapy
Year of Release: 2011
Y'all have heard of Watchmen by now, so you should know the emcee they call PRO. His lyrical ability is undeniable, much like the rest of the crew, and he has now released a new album called, I NEED THERAPY; which for the most part feeds that inner-lyrical person that enjoyed the sounds of Rakim, Wu and the like. This album, though not as strong as I had hoped for was indeed a good listen.
The intro titled, "Dark Passenger" lives up to its name with the creepy intro; and when PRO begins rhyming, you almost feel like your listening to 90's Rakim. That is not to say it's a bad thing because lyrically, the talent is most definitely there.
One thing that was very clear is that PRO was attempting to paint a lot of stories throughout this album, and he does very well with tracks like "Where" and "Sunshine" that includes singing vocals. Most of the feel for these tracks is deep and soul-ish. It was definitely NOT what I expected to hear, but I kind of enjoyed the fact that it was different, and I appreciated the range of music he implemented into the production. Tracks like "The Truth", "GO" and "Dangerous" were definitely REWIND WORTHY tracks, so be sure not to miss listening to those on the album.
Overall, the Mix on this album was pretty good. Tracks like "The Truth" had some smooth lows, and overall the blends of frequencies were very clean. You can hear a VERY GOOD separation of sounds in the track called "Where".
There weren't a lot of downers in this album, but a few key points to work on that dropped the score a little. "Encontramos" was a good track to bring the bilingual hook, but the delivery could have been a bit smoother on this one to match with the beat. His delivery was great for what it was, but this track needed something with a little less attach on the delivery. "I Will" was not as impressive as it could have been with a better mix on the higher end frequencies.
For those who like LYRICS, this is a GREAT ALBUM and serves its purpose well. For those who are looking for something a little out of the box, it may be a hit and miss for you.
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Friday, March 4, 2011
So, if you are from the bay area, you have probably heard ABOUT or heard Gemstar DIRECTLY. His talent is undeniable, and the young emcee hailing from Long Island; now residing in Florida, has definitely shown his ability to push past the common music of radio.
Artist(s): Gemstar
Album Name: Lessons of Life, The Mixtape
Year of Release: 2011
So, if you are from the bay area, you have probably heard ABOUT or heard Gemstar DIRECTLY. His talent is undeniable, and the young emcee hailing from Long Island; now residing in Florida, has definitely shown his ability to push past the common music of radio. In this latest release, LESSONS OF LIFE, THE MIXTAPE; Gem attempts to portray some "Real Life" content into his music, which actually makes his music extremely relevant to most everyday people.
The opening to the mixtape starts off well with an upbeat tempo that works perfect with Gemstar's flow. It's obvious from the first track that he is definitely comfortable with his own delivery. As the mixtape goes on, there seems to be recurring theme of singing hooks and bridges along with lyrical prowess on the verses.
Quite honestly, the singing is a bit much on some tracks like "Let Go" and "Call Me", but he makes up for it in some tracks like "Got No Home". It's obvious his style mixes in some singing and rapping, but for the most part he's going to want to tighten that up a bit more especially on the tracks that are a bit more dynamic in vocal ranges.
Other than that - this album is simply QUALITY! The range of music and mixture of sounds and style make this album one of the regular rotation. Some HEAT TRACKS to keep an ear out for are "Sent to Me" which has a GREAT MIX and separation of sounds. "Antidote" which features Kensta Lopez is also a great listen as well, with its "FEED YOUR MIND" lyrics. "Call Me" is a great track for the women, and while the guitar is a slight bit grunged out for this feel, it's not too heavy to still enjoy this track.
Overall this album was a keeper, and we look forward to hearing MORE of Gemstar's contribution to the Hip Hop game. Maybe a little ease off the singing tip and letting other people do that, or maybe work some more on the vocal trainings, and GEM will most definitely have a GEM of talent as his arsenal. He's already a HOT TOPIC, so DON'T SLEEP on a GREAT ARTIST!
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Thursday, January 13, 2011
Every team has their strength and the Watchmen show their lyrical abilities in this latest release, POWER.
Artist(s):Watchmen
Album Name: Power
Year of Release: 2010
Every team has their strength and the Watchmen show their lyrical abilities in this latest release, POWER. While this release is not as strong of a release as the previous, it would be best to keep in mind that this album comprises of the group's previous non-released tracks from 2006. With a sound a bit more basement than the more current quality of tracks we are used to hearing them on, it provides fans with a bit of a background on how exactly this team developed through the years.
The main thing anyone will realize when hearing this album is that the mixes and production are not very strong in respects to quality, but the lyrics are clearly ingenious. The intro of the album provides eerie pipe organ sounds with cuts of various phrases of lyrics that make it clear this crew is about their emcee game. Tracks like "Bloody Palm" with its classic WU feel, and "Final Hour" with its consistent array of metaphors and similes make it easy to see why WU MANAGEMENT would have picked them up. Again, the mixes are what really hurt this project on tracks like "Dishonor," where the hook completely out-leveled the verses.
One track that is worth mention is "Everyone of Us" that hailed some of the best lyrics with verses like, "You takin' it all in vain / I'm breakin' this ball & chain / You fakin' to stay the same / I'm rakin' against the grain." This track was a definite replay and if they revisited this track with a better mix and some updated vocals to bring that WOW factor into play, it would be a hot classic.
The title track "POWER" was a good feel, though could have used more variety in rhythms, and "Torcher Chamber" ended in the album with considerable force.
Overall, despite the mix and production needs, this was a good album to bring fans back into the previous years of Watchmen. If nothing else, it shows how far they have come since then, and makes a person wonder what they are about ready to bring with the newer releases in the near future.
