By Imran Khan Speak No Evil is Rapper-Poet Azeem’s first full-length album since his Broken Puppets project with the Ancient Astronauts in 2017 (his poetry album, 2018’s Vision-Teller, notwithstanding). His latest effort reunites him with producer Fanatik, who helmed the MC/Poet’s debut Garage Opera in 2000. Known for his conspiracy-probing and mystic verse, the Bay Area-by-way-of-Brooklyn native (now based in Singapore) has produced a body of work that has explored a vast range of styles. His most notable works, 2001’s …
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Music
Working the independent circuit for more than ten years now, BlackLiq has been making slow but steady strides in carving his niche of hip-hop. 2021 has proven a fortuitous year for the rapper, finally rewarding him with a signing to underground hip-hop label Strange Famous (home of alt-rapper Buck 65) and a feature on a new single by eminent hip-hop duo Atmosphere. BlackLiq’s latest album, Time is the Price, a joint project with producer Mopes, pushes his lo-fi hip-hop into …
Since it’s officially only been a month since Uncommon Records reissued my 2008 record humancloud abandonment, I’m geeked to announce that the humancloud 7″ got distribution from hhv.de. It’s the biggest and most recognized source for hip-hop vinyl. Having my 7″ and other Uncommon Records releases on hhv.de is a huge deal. Since shipping product over seas is expensive, it’s especially appreciated that international hip-hop heads and record collectors still supported. We were already getting preorders for the humancloud 7″ …
Released at the tail-end of 2018, there is much to revisit on Ritual Mystik, Zion I’s album of deep-soul bangers. Unfairly aligned with the West Coast’s hyphy movement, Zion I, in fact, has practiced a far more poised discipline in his work. Sourcing from material like the I Ching and philosophies like Sufism and Taoism, the LA-based rapper has explored his fair share of life’s more arcane matters in his proliferating rhymes. Best-known for his work with producer AmpLive for …
On his latest effort, Seattle native Porter Ray turns up a deeper, darker sensuality of emotional violence. Emerging from the tutelage of Ishmael Butler (Digable Planets, Shabazz Palaces), Porter Ray secured his own niche in the ever-evolving folds of hip-hop. His smoky, opium-shrouded brand of hip-hop finds an unusual, though comfortable, counterpoint between softly sensual grooves and a bitter evincing of a hard-lived life. Ray’s 2017 Sub Pop debut, Watercolor (following his true debut, 2016’s Nightfall, on indie label Intratecque) …
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