Atlanta’s Gilles recently put together a promotional release in anticipation of Successfully Lost. “Epitome of Arrogance” has proven to be one of my favorite singles of 2010. This guy is fucking good. Is it too early to demand an Gilles/Jay West/Grip Plyaz/SMKA project?
L Dash raps as if he was birthed as the result of an unholy orgy involving TI, Curren$y, Guru and a whole lot of drugs. His syrupy, monotone flow allows him to drop whip-smart punchlines with what sounds like casual smugness. Imagine if the aforementioned TI drank and shit ton of lean and read up on Renoir and Jacques Louis David. Production varies from video game sampling trap-hop bombast via SMKA and SickVisionz to simply rapping over somewhat obvious classics like “Incarcerated Scarfaces”. Rather than play the cheap nostalgia card here, L Dash uses references to forgone eras to paint a picture of a world that we have regretfully let pass us by. This shit is good.
I’m gonna hate for a sec. It’s a beautiful fall day outside, and I’m stuck at work and I really don’t want to be here, and these guys make a song about taking a day off to smoke and watch cartoons? This is a serious ‘salt in the wound’ kind of situation. Do you people even know how much of that blueberry shit I still got left in the jar? Do you realize I barely even cracked the new It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia dvd yet? Shit, I could be grilling my lunch in the sun right now, instead I’m at a desk under florescent beams. And you just throw it in my face like that? Screw you guys, NOT COOL.
Jokes aside, this song is pretty sweet. Love that psych/proggy intro.
DOWNLOAD: The Canz – Ferris Bueller (Personal Day) ft El Prez, Aleon Craft
Imagine if “COOL†had a movie…It would probably be starring that dude from the Dos Equis commercials. But we digress. Let’s paint the picture: You pull up to an extravagant not-so humble abode. There are only a few cars in the driveway and it appears that a young lady has dropped her wallet, perhaps, while hastily making her way through the entrance.
Notice the sign on the door:
“Stumble into the palace. In efforts to keep the place tidy, we ask that you remove all articles of clothing previously worn outdoors…We’re afraid that includes undergarments too. Sorry, it’s our after-hours policy. Ladies, kindly decide our breakfast menu for the following morning…Thanks.
- – Managementâ€
Now, imagine the soundtrack.
You should remember Gilles from “Alien” on the first SMKA compilation. Here, he links back up with 808 Blake for some fantastic end of summer yacht rap featuring some of the finest laid-back, clever braggadocio you have heard in a long time. This is the first leak from Gilles’ Successfully Lost, about which you will be kept in the loop
I have a bunch of songs on my hard drive that I want to post… some brand new, some vaguely newish, some just new to me. I don’t feel like making individual posts for each, so here goes one big megapost combining them all. They are in not arranged in any particular order, and I don’t remember where some of them come from so advanced apologies if the origin isn’t credited correctly. The picture has nothing to do with anything, that’s just an awesome dog.
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First… Outkast’s (Andre’s) ‘Spread’ Chopped & Screwed by OFWGKTA associate Mike G. A nice experiment, the lowered vocals work really well and so do the vaguely dusty instruments in the end. Found it on Mike G’s now defunct http://100sounds.blogspot.com/
DOWNLOAD: Outkast – Spread (chopped & screwed by Mike G)
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Some old(ish) GMane. This man needs to put out more new music ASAP, I’m fiending over here.
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Main Attrakionz + Clams Casino = good shit. I like the way Clams takes one of the mellowest love songs ever and turns it into something a little twitchy and jumpy and not really too romantic, but then Main Attrakionz still use it for something resembling a love song (kinda/maybe/possibly their version of I Used To Love H.E.R.?)
DOWNLOAD: Main Attrakionz – My Only Love Song
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I’m not familiar with HAM, he does well on this weed song though. Burn One’s production is always worth checking for. Via Twitter/BLVDST
DOWNLOAD: HAM – Look of bud (prod by DJ Burn One)
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Aleon continues a winning streak of collaborations with SMKA, the Stargazing Soundtrack had moments of sheer brilliance (the end of Yoga Flame for example) . This song is from DJBooth’s Freestyle Series.
DOWNLOAD: Aleon Craft – More than expected (prod by SMKA)
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Last but not least, something new from Danny Brown. I think this is going to be on the upcoming Hawaiian Snow mixtape, which is definitely a collaboration with Tony Yayo and possibly features Lil B. I’m dying to hear that.
DOWNLOAD: Danny Brown – Cyclops
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IF YOU’RE LAZY BUT LIKE ALL THE SONGS IN THIS POST, I PUT THEM ALL INTO ONE ZIPFILE HERE.
Based on the early leaks and the two Prologue Eps I’m expecting some quality Blacklight Poster Rap. So far Aleon and SMKA have managed to stay away from the fruitier aspects of that particular subgenre, hopefully that’s the case here as well.
DOWNLOAD (via DJBooth): Aleon Craft – The Stargazing Soundtrack
The back cover with a full tracklist is below.
Aleon Craft – “Strange” (prod. SMKA) from SMKA on Vimeo.
The song itself came out a few days ago, and now here come the kaleidoscopic visuals. I’m really impressed with SMKA and A.Leon for pulling this off, attempts at appropriating classic rock for rap purposes often end up disastrous but this works well.
Classic CRT shit right here. The Solar-Hop Chronicles is going to be epic considering the roll that SMKA & Craft have been on this year. People need to start paying attention.
“It’s no secret there is something unique about the south. The climate, culture and history have created a completely different world unlike anything else on earth. So much so that traveling southerners are often asked, “What is it like there?†“A Different World,†featuring Nappy Roots and produced by SMKA, is our response to that question.†– SMKA
SMKA jam some Doors here and Craft knocks it off the hinges (wow that is terrible…).
Fresh new Craft & SMKA from the forthcoming Stargazing Soundtrack mixtape with Mick Boogie leading up to The Solar-Hop Chronicles, which should be the best Atlanta album since… Big Boi’s. How anyone is still sleeping on these guys is beyond comprehension.
