This album could be the last ever release from NYC’s FreeIceCream crew, so download it while you can. “You Owe Me Five Bucks” features Kats on rhymes, Domer on beats and DJ SmutVillain on the wheels. Click below to download Kats’ “You Owe Me Five Bucks” for FREE:

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Kats “I Can Levitate” Album Review
I’ve really enjoyed following the progression of NYC’s Free Ice Cream crew over the past year. A local collective of underground emcees and beatmakers, Free Ice Cream throws Maker’s Mark sponsored barbeques in Williamsburg every weekend during the summer, featuring free food, free whiskey, and free CDs. They drop a new free album monthly, highlighted by the “Almost Fameless” series which feature a huge list of local rappers, producers and deejays. And they follow up most of the releases with concerts featuring a dope roster of artists and, yup, free whiskey. Kats’ “I Can Levitate” is the latest free album by the crew, and definitely worth checking out.

Battle raps
I don’t know what it is, but I’ve been into more battle style rapping recently – funny lyrics, shit-talking, punch lines and old school hip-hop braggadocio. Perhaps it’s an inner backlash against years of listening to overly-serious conscious rap. So when Kats started “I Can Levitate” with a three-minute-long intro verse just spitting lyrics with no chorus, I had a feeling I was going to like the rest of the album. Kats starts the record with all battle style tracks, including The Warmup, Another Level and Levitate, which feature dope beats, hard hitting lyrics and funny rhymes that demonstrate impressive lyrical skills, several of which had me laughing hysterically on multiple occasions.

Clever Wordplay
Despite the fact that I’ve grown quite fond of dude’s unique rhyme style, Kats will admit to you himself that he doesn’t have the world’s greatest rap voice. But what he lacks in voice, he makes up for in clever rhyme schemes and innovative wordplay. Tracks like Keep It Movin’, Put Your Hands Up and Outro show Kats experimenting with his rhyme style, playing with new rhyme patterns and new ways of stretching words around beats. This experimentation prevents “I Can Levitate” from being repetitious or boring, instead offering a different vibe on each and every song.

Lyrics
But as usual, my favorite part of this album was the lyrics. While Kats’ intention with “I Can Levitate” was clearly fun, party-style rhyme-punching underground hip-hop, he still managed to squeeze in a couple dope serious heartfelt songs on the album. Tracks like Lord Knows, Do You Feel Me, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and Out Of My Head range from motivational, to personal, to analytical, and demonstrate Kats’ ability to rhyme about virtually anything.

One good example is from the track Do You Feel Me, where Kats drops the following verse about the need to break out of self-destructive behavior:

I woke up in a cold sweat like oh shit/
I’m so stressed, this whole thing got me so sick/
It’s no walk in the park, it’s a slow crawl/
Everyday about the same, you know so-so/
And I wonder should I pop pills and pep up/
And walk around with a cloud from my neck up/
I guess not ‘long as the weed can do the trick/
A couple drinks, all I need is a few to sip/
And you would think I’d have my shit together better yet/
You’d think a better man would’ve already left/
His comfort zone/
But I stay stoned, stay at home/
Stay with the same old song that keeps playing on/
They say I’m wrong, I say they wouldn’t know what’s right/
Been working more than half my life to blow up overnight/
It’s overhyped, this whole chasing fame thing/
Getting your name known and success ain’t the same thing/

Another good example can be found in former HHL quotable of the week Rich Dad Poor Dad, in which Kats drops the following verse questioning the irony involved in a rich man working to support his family:

The rich dad had a power lunch that lasted too long/
Downed a couple martinis that were a little too strong/
So by the time he got home/
He was a little bit drunk/
The driver opened his door, retrieved his bag from the trunk/
And off he goes, leftovers cold in the fridge/
Wife at some social function, nanny watching the kids/
He lights a Cuban as he takes in the view/
From his balcony, finally nothing to do/
He should talk to his boy, tell him about some grown things/
How he should own things/
But then the phone rings/
Back to business, stocks moving ‘round the clock/
One has gone through the roof, another’s down a lot/
So much as stake, he takes another sip of his drink/
A deep breath, not even a minute to think/
The nanny tucks in the boy, daddy is bound to run/
Hoping one day he’ll find time to be proud of his son/

Overall
Download a copy of this album. It’s free, so you got nothing to lose! “I Can Levitate” fits ten tracks into about 30 minutes, which is great for anyone tired of all the 2-hour-long albums these days. It is quick, entertaining and fun. My favorite tracks include The Warm Up, Lord Knows, Out Of My Head, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and Put Your Hands Up. And if you’re in the NYC area, hit up some Free Ice Cream barbecues this summer. Free whiskey, son!

Album Track Listing:

1. The Warmup
2. On Another Level
3. Levitate
4. Lord Knows feat. Rennaisance & ScholarMan
5. Do You Feel Me
6. Out Of My Head
7. Rich Dad Poor Dad
8. Keep It Movin’ feat. Domer
9. Put Your Hands Up feat. Ryan-O’Neil
10. Outro

This week’s underground hip-hop quotable is Kats’ Rich Dad Poor Dad, from his new album “I Can Levitate” – which is you should download for FREE if you haven’t already. The beat is by UK producer Jonesy, and the title is pretty much self-explanatory – as Kats drops verses about fatherhood through the eyes of a rich dad, a poor dad, and his own pops. Possibly my favorite track on the new album. Click below to listen to Kats’ Rich Dad Poor Dad:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1]
The poor dad sparks a splif on the fire escape/
Just got home, worked a double shift, he’s tired today/
The baby’s crying, it’s late/
No time to relax/
Ate his lunch on the run, never got to sit back/
And enjoy/
So his little boy plays with his toys/
In his room by himself, and he makes too much noise/
So he snaps at him, ‘Hey keep it down in there!/
You’re getting grounded if I hear another sound in there!’/
He’s exhausted, all he does is sit around in his chair/
A blank stare, lets his sorrows drown in his beer/
His feet hurt, hands swollen from manual labor/
It’s okay, one day it’ll be from handling paper/
That’s what he tells himself, but in his heart he doubts it/
Doesn’t have the heart to say it out loud/
So many dreams deferred, he prefers no sleep/
And hopes his boy can find a better way to be/

[Chorus]
Rich dad, poor dad/
Take a bud and a scotch, now switch and pour that/
A do nothing know it all/
And a dude who knows so and so/
A huge bankroll to go and blow/
You know how the story goes/
The rich dad plays the market, the poor dad says ‘Mark it’ when he bowls/
It’s all just a game though/
We complain to the refs, sure, but in the end have to play ball/

[Verse 2]
The rich dad had a power lunch that lasted too long/
Downed a couple martinis that were a little too strong/
So by the time he got home/
He was a little bit drunk/
The driver opened his door, retrieved his bag from the trunk/
And off he goes, leftovers cold in the fridge/
Wife at some social function, nanny watching the kids/
He lights a Cuban as he takes in the view/
From his balcony, finally nothing to do/
He should talk to his boy, tell him about some grown things/
How he should own things/
But then the phone rings/
Back to business, stocks moving ‘round the clock/
One has gone through the roof, another’s down a lot/
So much as stake, he takes another sip of his drink/
A deep breath, not even a minute to think/
The nanny tucks in the boy, daddy is bound to run/
Hoping one day he’ll find time to be proud of his son/

[Chorus]
Rich dad, poor dad/
Take a bud and a scotch, now switch and pour that/
A do nothing know it all/
And a dude who knows so and so/
A huge bankroll to go and blow/
You know how the story goes/
The rich dad plays the market, the poor dad says ‘Mark it’ when he bowls/
It’s all just a game though/
We complain to the refs, sure, but in the end have to play ball/

[Verse 3]
What I learned from my dad, I learned without him teaching/
Without him talking or preaching/
I was just watching, his speeches/
Had no effect on me really/
I didn’t do what he said/
I did what he did instead/
The good and the bad/
How could it be that as hard as I tried/
To be so wildly different, I ended up the same guy/
So I can try to pretend like I get to chose/
What type of dad I’ll be, but we know the truth/
Same as I had, and I had one so I’m thankful for that/
And wouldn’t trade time spent for a bank full of cash/
The ups and downs, good shit, forgettable stuff/
No cash to speak of, so I’ll settle for love/
Nobody’s perfect, mistakes were made/
But almost nothing is worth a dad being taken away/
A rich dad or a poor dad, as long as he stays/
Is what most kids need today, and need it always/

[Chorus]
Rich dad, poor dad/
Take a bud and a scotch, now switch and pour that/
A do nothing know it all/
And a dude who knows so and so/
A huge bankroll to go and blow/
You know how the story goes/
The rich dad plays the market, the poor dad says ‘Mark it’ when he bowls/
It’s all just a game though/
We complain to the refs, sure, but in the end have to play ball/

This is a nice little remix of Kats going in over Clipse’s Popular Demand. The video is a promo for Kats’ new FREE album “I Can Levitate,” and the FreeIceCream.net crew’s upcoming “Bohemian Rap CD” project, who’s first single Little High / Little Low was this week’s underground hip-hop track of the week.

Brooklyn underground emcee Kats is back with his first solo effort in 18 months – and the latest FREE album from NYC’s own FreeIceCream crew. “I Can Levitate” picks up where Kats left off with the crew’s Almost Fameless mixtape series, and contains a lethal combination of rhyme play, battle raps and punchlines mixed with some personal stories and themes. Despite being a short 10 tracks and barely 25 minutes long, “I Can Levitate” features some of my favorite rappers of the local underground hip-hop scene, including Domer, Ryan-O’Neil, ScholarMan and Renaissance. Click the link below to listen download Kats’ “I Can Levitate” EP for FREE:

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The FreeIceCream.net crew is back with a new FREE mixtape – the fourth installment to the Almost Fameless series. “Almost Fameless Volume 4″ is a collaboration between Brooklyn-based emcees Kats and Domer, and hosted by DJ SmutVillain. The album features some of my favorite artists from the NYC and regional underground, including illspokinn, Ryan O’Neil, Bisco Smith, Jake Lefco, Folklore, Renaissance and the Metermaids. Click the link below to download for FREE:

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This is the second leak from Kats and Domer’s next FREE mixtape “Almost Fameless Vol. 4,” which will feature some of the best of the NYC underground, including illspokinn, Ryan O’Neil, Bisco Smith, Jake Lefco, Folklore, Renaissance and the Metermaids. Moanin’ features Bisco Smith and Renaissance. “Almost Fameless Vol. 4″ is scheduled for late September release. Click below to listen to Moanin’:

[See post to listen to audio]

And click here to download preview mixtapes.

This track is the first leak from Kats & Domer’s next FREE mixtape “Almost Fameless Vol. 4,” which features some of the best of the NYC underground, including illspokinn, Ryan O’Neil, Bisc 1, Jake Lefco, Folklore, Renaissance and the Metermaids. Push Come To Shove is one of the few tracks that will feature just Kats & Domer. “Almost Fameless Vol. 4″ will be available for FREE download soon! Click below to listen to Push Come To Shove:

[See post to listen to audio]

And click here to download Kats & Domer’s other FREE mixtapes.

This is a brand new video for Run Amok, one of my favorite tracks from the FreeIceCream.net crew, which gives all their music away for FREE download here. Run Amok features underground NYC emcees Kats, Domer and iLLspoKinN.

This week’s underground hip-hop track of the week is Kats and Domer’s Never, off their mixtape “Almost Fameless Volume 3,” which you can download for FREE here. I basically like this track because of the dope beat by UK producer Miss Tofelees, and because of the two tight verses dropped by the emcees. Click below to listen to the track:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1 – Kats]
From the jump never been a chump/
Never been punked/
But I’ve been jumped by punks/
And once was enough/
Now I always hit first ‘til my fist hurts/
‘Til your lips burst and your friends disperse/
Then it gets worse/
Rather overreact and go on attack/
Then end up on my back, fuck that/
Never I never mind/
What I think ‘cause I never lie/
Sever ties when I drink and I testify/
To the truth I observe through the reddest eyes/
Get it right I put it all on the line/
Took it in stride/
Come inside the world’s crookedest mind/
What you got in your heart? Part of Brooklyn in mine/
The smartest minds don’t learn just by looking behind/
But looking ahead instead of pressing rewind/
I picture the future all to my perception of time/
I’m burning the candle at both ends flying/
Turning back and forth the hands of time/
Smiling, finding my own piece of mind/
Co-signed by the most fly/
I’ma do a Jay, hope you don’t mind/

[Chorus]
Never been fraud/
Overly dependent on applause/
Never been a rebel with no cause/
Always on my own two, strong two/
Always been a fan of doing exactly what I want to/
Never been afraid to make my own way/
Never got it right, but it’s okay/

[Verse 2 – Domer]
I’ve never been the type to do one thing at a time/
Never had the patience or the presence of mind/
I never slack, never lack on the grind or the rhymes/
Never wack, never that, never behind the times/
Never take a day off and never take it easy/
Never make soft beats, never been cheesy/
Never had to question if I was meant to do this/
Never had an old track iller than my new shit/
Never regret and never repent but never the less/
I’ve never been cursed and never been blessed/
Never depressed or upset, never settle for less/
I’m that never lose dude that you never bet against/
Never had a friend that I didn’t really trust/
‘Cause I never let those fools get close enough/
I never act tough, never made a claim that I couldn’t back up/
Never lightweight made like a Mack truck/
That’s us – you’d never imagine/
But fuck anyone who said it’s never gonna happen/
Never had a chance, it was never concerned/
I never had a dimebag that never got burned/
Never made a mistake without a few lessons learned/
So never say never man, that’s my word/

[Chorus]
Never been fraud/
Overly dependent on applause/
Never been a rebel with no cause/
Always on my own two, strong two/
Always been a fan of doing exactly what I want to/
Never been afraid to make my own way/
Never got it right, but it’s okay/