You Can Be The Change - A Short FIlm
I saw the link for this video floating around multiple of my social network feeds, and I was intrigued for two reasons. One, the message of this video is very powerful, and two, this video was made by two of my peers at UMBC. You Can Be The Change, the brainchild of Briana and Russel (who has been featured here a couple of times), is a short story on the power of words, and the effect that they can have on others. The song featured on here is called “The Come Up,” also done by Russel. This is a very well done video by these two, and I hope to see more of this from the two of them in the future.
- Dave
Mack Scott - No Escape (Feat. eMex) (Video)
I posted this Mack Scott track a few weeks ago, now here are the visuals. Shot by the talented Desean Dash, and featuring a outstanding eMex verse, the visuals complement the track very well.
Vic Mensa - Did It B4 (Johnathan Lowell Remix)
One of my favorite producers right now is Boston beatmaker Jonathan Lowell. Today, he blesses us with a remix of the Vic Mensa single Did It B4. This remix is much more chilled out than the original, and it makes the song less all over the place in comparison to the original. You can download the song via Lowell’s Soundcloud, and be on the look out for a full-length album from J. Lowell, as well as his work on Azizi Gibson’s Ghost In The Shell project.
Black Zheep DZ - ZHEEP
Baltimorean Black Zheep DZ returns once again with his latest mixtape ZHEEP. In contrast to his last project Platinum ‘93, ZHEEP has less features and more DZ, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I feel that DZ shines brightest when he is free to flow solo on a track, where you can really get a feel for how talented this guy is on the mic. With the flow of a seasoned veteran in the game, DZ shows on here his ability to make rapping seem easy, which is a talent very few have. His raps sound effortless, which if you aren’t careful, can make you miss a lot of the lyricism exhibits on these tracks. Basement Rap is definitely in full effect here.
High Class Filth - Perfect Nudes Forever
Maryland producer and member of the enigmatic Backwards Society High Class Filth dropped his latest instrumental project Perfect Nudes Forever off a few days ago, and I’ve had it on repeat for a while now. Typically I’m not a fan of instrumental projects, but Filth has once again proven my taste wrong. The beats on here vary in sound; you have some cloud rap instrumentals, some trap, and some very chill hip-hop beats. My personal favorite would have to be the hilariously named “feet pics plz” which features a great sample of Moments In Love by Art Of Noise. Filth is one of the best producers in the area, possibly on the entire east coast, and he continues to flex with this project.
Storee - Hidden Power
You may remember the behind the scenes from this video being posted a few weeks ago. Baltimore representative Storee dropped off this visual for “Hidden Power” last week, and it was very well shot. I actually liked the song more than the video (which is rare). Storee has a very strong delivery and unique lyrical ability that is vastly different than other members of his generation of Baltimore MCs. Definitely give this video a play.
Airospace - Earl Sweatshirt
Shoutout to the homie Ryan for dropping this in my inbox last night. Airospace is an MC hailing from the Washington, DC area. On this track “Earl Sweatshirt,” Airospace goes off like a motivated version of the Odd Future member the song is named after. Needless to say, I enjoyed what I heard.
eMex - The Message
Baltimore MC eMex is back again, this time with a banger of a track in “The Message. Philadelphia producer Paris Artelli laced him with an absolutely great beat and eMex flows over it perfectly. I’m still waiting on a full project from eMex, but these singles he’s dropping off will have to do.
Lord Byron - Cosby (Prod. Doughmars)
Denver native Lord Byron dropped his latest track “Cosby” yesterday. Byron has always come across to me as a heavily lyrical MC (much to my approval) and with “Cosby” he does not disappoint. Maryland producer/MC Doughmars provided a great soundtrack that complements Byron beautifully.
Butch Dawson - Irongrip (Video)
Rapper/Producer Butch Dawson, from the Baltimore collective Lost Leaders 7th Floor Villains (LL7FV) dropped off this visual for his track Irongrip today. Shot locally in Baltimore, the video is a posse cut video, featuring various members of LL7FV and CCL$ members throughout the video. Irongrip also features a guest verse from fellow Baltimore MC Palmtree Tony. Word to making in rain in Pokemon cards, very rare.
