Tag Archives: rap

Saba’s Ascension Continues @ Slim’s, San Francisco 5/3 [Event Review]

Posted by Geoff Hong - May 7, 2018

Chicago natives Saba and Joseph Chilliams came through San Francisco this past Thursday night as a stop in Saba’s Care for Me tour. The two co-founders of Pivot Gang, an independent music collective, delivered electric performances in front of an all-ages audience from all over the Bay Area. The show marked Saba’s first return to San Francisco since his Bucket List tour in early 2017. Concertgoers that had attended the 2017 show remarked upon the noticeable improvement in his stage presence and live chops.

Saba reppin for San Francisco

Early opening support for the show came from Chicago compatriot Jean Deaux (check out that wordplay), who later returned to perform the track “Photosynthesis”, a track on which she features. Joseph Chilliams, who happens to be Saba’s brother, took over soon after. Chilliams presented tracks from his debut album Henry Church, named solely for the English translation of Enrique Iglesias’ name. The rest of Chiliams’ set was similarly “tongue-in-cheek”, with plenty of references to eating “groceries”. Chilliams’ set could best be described as a celebration of self and sex. His upbeat attitude and stage presence reflected those of an artist with much to celebrate– expect to be hearing much more from this guy in the near future.

Joseph Chilliams, Pivot Gang cofounder

Donning a topically conscious Kaepernick jersey in San Francisco, Saba blessed us with a relevant display of passion and emotion, drawn from his youth in westside Chicago. The 23 year-old showed why he’s the unofficial frontman of Pivot Gang by captivating the audience with a solid hour’s worth of bars. He let on some signs of an artist that’s still really coming into his own, occasionally seeming surprised at the audience’s familiarity with his discography. Attendees responded with reckless enthusiasm for older tracks like “World in my Hands” and “Westside Bound”, while “LIFE” off of his most recent album Care for Me was undoubtedly the floor-shaking highlight of the night. After two solid album releases in Bucket List and Care for Me and resounding live performances such as Thursday night’s, you can’t help but be excited for things to come from Saba.

Don’t miss out on the chance to see Saba live. You can find the rest of his tour dates here.

[Hip Hop] Kane Grocerys – Columbine Suicide (Prod. D33J & Shlohmo)

Posted by Jordan Coburn - February 3, 2016

Kane Grocerys
Columbine Homicide (Prod. D33J & Shlohmo)

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LA-based beat collective WEDIDIT, hands down, has some of the most talented DJs and producers around right now. One of their most successful members in terms of mainstream gigs, Shlohmo, has risen to the top of the electronic game through his displays of sheer talent with what seems like anything he touches. From his beautiful EP “Bad Vibes” to his works with Jeremih, Shlohmo has a knack for producing that is unparalleled, and bringing in fellow collective member Djavan Santos, better known as D33J (who has his own impressive repertoire of quality electronic), resulted in this new hip-hop gem by Kane Grocerys, “Columbine Homicide.”

Belonging to the independent, DC-based label Goth Money Records, Kane Grocerys lays a commentary on the nature of street violence—imposed by peers and reinforced by authorities. Grocerys demonstrates himself as a critically wise and skilled rapper in this work, and that combination with the talent-ridden production of WEDIDIT makes for another leap in the direction of conscious electronic meeting conscious hip hop. This release has us wondering what else those WDI boys have up their sleeves… they’re always up to all good.

[G House] Destructo, Ty Dolla $ign, iLoveMakonnen – 4 Real

Posted by Jordan Coburn - January 25, 2016

Destructo
4 Real (Featuring Ty Dolla $ign & iLoveMakonnen)

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Destructo just keeps taking the scene by storm. Seriously, this dude throws some of the sickest parties with anything HARD touches, and rosters that are always super on point. His lineups always do a great job of meshing a number of different genres, and that’s exactly what he’s done in his latest track release, “4 Real.”

When the song first started we weren’t sure what to expect—it didn’t show any signs of being an electronic track per se, but it’s 2016 y’all. Ty Dolla $ign blesses us with his dreamy vocals and iLoveMakonnen provides the hype, and a few seconds later Destructo starts to tease us with his melodic tones, which lets us know that this will most definitely be an electronic track. This all builds into what might be one of the more unexpected drops we’ve heard in a while—a tech house wonderland filled with a sped up take on the quintessential hip hop sample (aka G House 2.0). The end product is an impressive and well-done fusion of two entirely different genres, something that we’ve seen Destructo do before and hope he continues to do as long as he’s making music.

[TMN Exclusive Interview] Chaz French talks Honesty in Hip-Hop, Inspiration and Overcoming Adversity

Posted by Ash El Gamal - November 21, 2014

’Chaz French – Intro (prod. by Super Miles)’

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Authenticity has always played a particularly important role in hip-hop music for a variety of reasons. As an art form, rapping allows for condensed, concise and detailed lyrical expression often times putting artists in a position to reveal the depths of their personality or, in some cases, fabricate one altogether. The former approach lends itself to longevity and, maybe equally importantly, to differentiation because at the end of the day if an artist is truly being them self, no one can replicate the life experiences expressed through the music–offering a genuine connection with and impact on the fans.

Early last month, we came across Happy Belated, the debut EP from DMV emcee Chaz French. From start to finish, it may be one of the most honest records we’ve ever heard and, for Chaz, has really proven the perfect way to connect with, and continue to expand, his rapidly growing fan base. At only 23, he has already gone through a plethora of relatable life experiences from spending time homeless to having his first child to grappling with his inner demons and every last ounce of it is poured out in his music. Through its broad range of emotions and a pronounced duality, Happy Belated is not only meaningful but also powerful in its ability to inspire listeners to stay true to themselves, embrace their flaws and fuel success through adversity.

We had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Chaz French in-depth about a variety of topics ranging from his relationship with fellow rising star GoldLink to inspirations to religion and, just as we expected, he kept it 100% real. Read this deeply personal conversation and grab a free download of Happy Belated below.

Download: Chaz French – Happy Belated

TMN: You just came off tour with GoldLink in his supporting role for SBTRKT. How quickly did that all come together?

Chaz French: Me and GoldLink are like brothers. So, a lot of the tour shit that happened with us was organic. He’s always trying to set me up. We’ve got another record that we did on his now project that I don’t think I can speak on but we performed that record in his set. And it just escalated from there so once the SBTRKT tour happened, it was like, “Come on brother.” I did a couple dates. It was fun.

TMN: I know that you grew up on Gospel music around the house. When did you first get introduced to hip-hop?

Chaz: I always looked at music videos and stuff but really was just listening to hip-hop because that’s what everyone else was doing.

One day, I was watching MTV or BET and I saw the Kanye “All Falls Down” video and I was like “Woah, who is that?” I knew Kanye West, but that song did a lot for me. It was just so honest. That was the first artist that really got to me. Then, when I first heard Kid Cudi, I was like “Oh my god, this is so next level.” Not even the fact that you don’t know if he’s a rapper or a singer, or even just his all aesthetic. But I’m just really into honesty and it was the whole honest music thing. Those two really did it.

And of course, old Lil Wayne like Da Drought 3. Then, when I moved to Texas, I gravitated to the whole down south, chopped & screwed movement. It was just so dope to see as far as unity and their whole movement.

TMN: When did you first start writing raps?

Chaz: I was real young. I started writing raps just as a release. It started out as boredom. I was alway on punishment, I was always in trouble as a younger Chaz French. So, I would just be bored and always in my room. I did a talent show in 9th grade and the reaction was great. I was like, “I could take this, foreal.” Then, I started going through actual things—life hit me. I wasn’t always this honest rapper, this open guy. When life finally hit me, which was around 17 or 18, I feel like that’s when I grew more as a person, but I became a better artist as well. And I didn’t even know it. The bullshit I went through when I was 17,18,19, I didn’t know it was bettering me for now. Continue reading →

[TMN Premiere] Big Sean – IDFWU (CRVFTSMEN REMIX)

Posted by Jordan Grammer - October 1, 2014

IDFWU (CRVFTSMEN REMIX)
Big Sean

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It’s been a hot minute since we’ve posted anything remotely similar to this 808 trap, but this new joint by CRVFTSMEN was far too good to pass up. This Boston-based trio has been making some of the best hip-hop remixes out there for quite some time, however they flew onto everyone’s radar in a hurry with this new Big Sean cut. CRVFTSMEN make their TMN debut today with IDFWU, their latest and greatest remix that is just bursting at the seams with energy. It’s still widely debated in some circles how to properly dance to trap, but I can tell you certainly won’t care when this drops at a club as you hurdle your way to the dancefloor.

[Hip-Hop] PKeys – Not To Play With (Prod. KAYTRANADA)

Posted by Jordan Grammer - September 14, 2014

P.Keys
Not To Play With (Prod. KAYTRANADA)

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Let’s all just be honest here: everything Kaytranada touches is fire. He’s never produced a single bad beat, and rappers are always eager to go in on his latest and greatest. Take PKeys for example. He’s been building up quite the resume on Soundcloud, going in on producers ranging from CRNKN to Kanye West. He’s still got some ways to go in the rap game, however the fact that this fell into our lap should be a big milestone for him. “Not To Play With” is crisp, precise, and in-your-face, which is probably how Kaytray envisioned the results when he dropped this on his Whatever mixtape this past May. Be on the look out for big things coming from PKeys.

Hip/Hop

[Hip-Hop] Run The Jewels – Blockbuster Night Part 1

Posted by Jordan Grammer - September 14, 2014

Run The Jewels
Blockbuster Night Part 1

Soundcloud

What a year 2013 was for hip-hop. Kanye, Cole, and Mac all released chart-topping albums on the same day, while others like Drake and Jay weren’t too far behind. However, one of the most criminally slept on projects of the year was Run the Jewels. Released on Fool’s Gold Records, it still got major blog play, but El-P & Killer Mike‘s first collaborative album was unable to penetrate the mainstream cycle. Simply put, these two are a match made in hip-hop heaven. El-P provides the most in-your-face beats the rap game has seen in a minute while Killer Mike proves his pseudonym to be true as he quite figuratively kills the mic on each record. Run the Jewels 2 is due out next month, but the guys have been kind enough to share the first single off the upcoming project with us. “Blockbuster Night Part I” picks up right where the previous album left off and if this is any indication, the sequel album may be even stronger than the first.

Hip/Hop