Rating:
  Review Date: July 24, 2008
  Website: Danny! Website
  Label: Badenov Records/1911 Music

Danny! “And I Love H.E.R.” Album Review
“Like them young boys say, let’s keep it real” (credit Eddie Murphy in Life) - the game is overly saturated. Saturated with 60% of wack emcees and producers; 20% lukewarm ones; 15% of those who are “almost there but often overlooked”; and 5% of the hottest, highly promoted the movement has to offer. After listening to Danny!’s “And I Love H.E.R.,” I’m not quite sure where he believes he fits in (not that he should box himself in). But the bottom line is that Danny!’s talent sits at the top 5%, but his name lags behind; and I believe the game is partly at fault. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: July 16, 2008
  Website: Core Rhythm Website
  Label: Spitmatix Sciences

Core Rhythm “Ronin” Album Review
Back in Japan’s feudal period, samurai warriors who lost their masters were called ronin, a word that literally means “drifting person.” Samurai became ronin upon the death of their feudal lords, or if they escaped their masters. These ronin were often shamed, discriminated against, and left without a means of survival. In earlier times they were even expected to commit “oibara seppuku” – or ritual suicide. Yet many went their own direction, continuing to live the way of the samurai. You often see a similar mind state in the world of underground hip-hop. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: July 9, 2008
  Website: Animal Farm Website
  Label: Focused Noise Productions

Animal Farm “The Unknown” Album Review
Music critics often make the mistake of basing their claims about the talent of an artist or quality of an album on the resumes of the guest performers. In doing so, they compromise the artist’s creativity and style, failing to develop a full appreciation for the unique window into life that can be found in each album. When it comes to Animal Farm, a hip-hop group from the Northwest on a meteoric rise, however, listeners should do both. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: June 17, 2008
  Website: Homeboy Sandman Website
  Label: Independent

Homeboy Sandman “Nourishment” Album Review
Everybody listening to Homeboy Sandman for the first time will agree on one thing: this guy can rap fast. In one of the tracks from the CD, React, he mocks critics who can’t keep up with him: “Yo sand, yo what’s up with all this fast shit man, slow that shit down man, can’t even understand what the fuck you saying man.” Sandman, though, you can tell, does not take his rapping speed to the limit in this album. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: June 4, 2008
  Website: Everliven Sound Website
  Label: Freedom Entertainment

Everliven Sound “Freedom” Album Review
Looking at the state of things, I made a prediction recently that many of the independent hip-hop releases to come will be early-to-mid-90s inspired, politically based albums. It’s crazy how, as soon as I made this forecast, I got an album called “Freedom” by a crew called Everliven Sound. Everliven Sound is made up of Cymarshall Law (Rawkus 50) and Skit Slam; and on this release, both deliver an up-tempo, jazz-filled Poor Righteous Teacher sound - all with a message of sovereignty within the hip-hop game and the world alike. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: May 28, 2008
  Website: Little Vic Website
  Label: Orena Records

Little Vic ”Each Dawn I Die” Album Review
In my English class I just finished reading “The Catcher in the Rye” and I can’t help but venture a parallel between Holden Caulfield and the voice behind this album, “Each Dawn I Die.” I can imagine Mr. Salinger wincing at my reference to his text (I would, too, if the man who attempted to assassinate President Reagan publicized my book), but Little Vic seems to truly epitomize the freedom of spirit and the indignant yet honest self-expression associated with Caulfield. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: May 5, 2008
  Website: Kats Website
  Label: Shit-Storm Records

Kats “Katskills” Album Review
Being a fan of what I like to refer to as “underground hip-hop” seems to be getting more difficult every day now. Originally, I started following the underground because I was tired of the fakeness and the repetition in mainstream hip-hop. Back then, the underground was a place that allowed rappers to be themselves and stray from the same tired images, styles and sounds. These days, however, that is not necessarily the case. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: April 23, 2008
  Website: Black Milk Website
  Label: Music House

Fat Ray & Black Milk “The Set Up” Album Review
Black Milk and Fat Ray’s “The Set Up” is a straight gutter, battle rap release - period. Every now and then I need a balance of my hip-hop music to include the street-inspired presentations like “The Set Up.” As of lately, I have been on some personal “rename random albums,” and this album I renamed “Punchlines & Amped Beats Vol. 1” - as there are plenty to go around. A true fan of battle raps will be in heaven with this presentation. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: April 8, 2008
  Website: Anti Citizens Website
  Label: 2012 Dynasty

Anti Citizens “Tunnel Visionaries” Album Review
When I first saw the name “Anti-Citizens,” I braced myself for another Immortal Technique experience — fiery political harangue and a long enumeration of toxic chemicals that were sure to kill me (no disrespect to Immortal Technique, he just scares the crap out of me sometimes.) What I got instead from their album, though, was stories about ordinary lives and perspectives of ordinary citizens, and none too nihilistic. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: March 24, 2008
  Website: HMD Website
  Label: PHILAsofikal Records

HMD “One Pursuit” Album Review
Before listeners plunge into HMD’s highly anticipated debut album, “One Pursuit,” they are given an unmistakable warning in the opening track: “We go get these old records … because you can’t copy these on the keyboard … we want those sounds.” Indeed this is one pursuit that HMD accomplishes triumphantly. His album showcases a stunning juxtaposition of instruments rarely rivaled by mainstream producers. (more…)