Showing posts with label detroit. Show all posts

New album from Detroit Hip-hop crew Clear Soul Forces just dropped today. Saw them in London last night, they might be a little raw and unrefined in places but their skills are undeniable and what they might lack in polish, they make up for 10 fold in unbounded energy, passion, character and general youthful exuberance. Been a fan for a little while now and any Hip-hop head should find something refreshing in their music.

Here's a couple of our favourites from the new release but you can buy a copy here or stream the whole think over at Okay Player.

It's always a gamble going to see electronic music artists, even more so than rappers (I've walked out of the last 4 Hip-hop shows due to poor quality, Young Fathers excluded as they were awesome and their music goes beyond the traditional boundaries... way beyond), for every FlyLo or Daedelus there's... well let's not name names, everyone's allowed their off days and don't want to start calling people out, though you'd have probably caught a few if you follow me on Twitter.

With that in mind I just caught some of Shigeto's show at Start The Bus and thankfully he's the right side of engaging. It's not just the beautifully produced music, or the fact he jumps on the drums and jams along, both these help, but the main factor I've noticed that makes for a watchable show along that ilk, is simply the energy that the artists give out. Even though the gremlins reared their ugly heads, causing a few technical difficulties, Shigeto glowed positivity, a lot of grumbling diva-esque artists could certainly take note.

I think the first tune we played of his was this sublime remix for Sufjan Stevens, though there have been a number of releases of note, mostly on the Ghostly label, who have just dropped the first 2 singles from his 3rd long player for them, 'No Better Time Than Now' which is due out in August. I haven't even given them enough time to comment, but his show tonight has pushed me to give them a proper airing. So let's have a listen together shall we.

We also have to mention the incredible artwork from Michael Cina! Props to Ghostly International for always having incredible covers.

Just came across this album / (un)mixed tape from ex Slum Village spitter Elzhi. It's a compilation of 'unreleased' material, usually meaning, shit that was too poor to be included on any album and should be buried. However for the most part this is all of a quality good enough for the shops and although it largely passes us by here and joins the rather high pile of good but ultimately forgettable Hip-hop we keep in the corner of our collective consciousness, there are actually a few stand out cuts that have had us clicking the rewind key, particularly these Jake One and DJ Spinna produced tracks.

Download / Listen: Elzhi - The Leftovers Unmixedtape

Download: Elzhi - Glow (prod. Jake One) / alt link

Download: Elzhi - Colors Remix (Prod. DJ Spinna) / alt link