Pete Freedman
A New Batch of Area Hip-Hop and Dance Tracks To Help You Get In The Weekend Spirit.
For whatever reason, it just happens this way sometimes: In the span of just a couple days, while we're off paying mind to something else, an influx of killer new videos and songs all get released at once.
This week, that happened yet again. Not terrible timing, either, as each of these new (or new-ish) cuts most definitely jams and most definitely suffices as a means to get you in the weekend spirit.
Anyway, no more build-up. Onward to the music.
OK, so this one's kind of a cheat. The song, from A.Dd+'s DiveHiFlyLo, has been around for almost a year and a half now. But the above video, co-directed by A.Dd+'s Slim Gravy and (of course) the ubiquitous Jeff Adair, is brand spankin' new thanks to a Smoking Section premiere yesterday afternoon. And the group's second video release in as many months is well worth a watch, too, even if the song — produced by X, The Misfit and one of DiveHiFlyLo's best cuts — is exclusively Slim's. Still: His partner-in-rhyme, Paris Pershun, makes a cameo in the clip. Sol, too, does a fresh side-part from Slim, as well as various recognizable entities from the Dallas hip-hop community, including Sam Lao. Unfortunately, there's no dancing Paris in this one. Oh, those were the days…
Speaking of X, The Misfit-involved cuts, here's X'Zavier again, guesting on the second single from his pal and close Brain Gang collaborator Blue, The Misfits' Child in the Wild LP. Last week, you may recall, we shared with you the first single, which notable features a guest verse from one Kendrick Lamar. X may not be Kendrick, but this song, debuted yesterday afternoon on DJBooth.net bumps all the same. Point is: Don't sleep on X's talents. Or Blue's, for that matter. Child in the Wild is sounding like it's going to be downright beastly on the whole.
Annoyed that Slim got all the shine in the aforementioned A.Dd+ post? Well, fret no more: Here's Paris, guesting on a new Tunk track produced by Los Angeles' Jay Kurzweil. Paris' opening verse is, as always on point, but the takeaway here is that the golden-throated Tunk, long bubbling up in the local scene, is finally living up to his own hype. Between this track and the also recently released “Bass Check Pt. 2”, dude's making a big statement and begging to be heard. Well, we're listening, big fella.
On the topic of worthwhile local collaborations, here's the second single from Redsean and Ill Miller's Ghost Image project. As you may recall, we premiered the twosome's debut cut, “The Way,” about a month back. Anyway, where's the collaboration I speak of? It's right before the drops that come at about a minute and two and a half minutes into the song. Yup: That's Zhora's Taylor Rea professing herself to be “the number one killa.”
OK, enough about the people you already know. Here's someone you probably don't — yet anyway. This is Terrence Spectacle of the upstart crew, The IRAS, which stands for The Independent Recording Arts Society. They're brand new to the scene, but they've got promise — enough so where, tomorrow night, you can catch Spectacle opening for Odd Future offshoot The Internet at Trees. Based off his small available sample size, Spectacle for the most part comes off as a largely unoffensive character. But his quick rhymes and wit? Those are undeniable. Definitely a newcomer to watch.
Speaking of The IRAS, here's another member of that crew worth getting to know. Brandon Ford is just 17 years old, but, like, Spectacle, he's got a clear knack for aesthetics. Unlike Spectacle, though, and, if only because of the directions of his beat and music video style selections, he certainly seems a little more dangerous, more edgy. Again, the sample size is small, but the promise is real.
We started this piece off with something of a cheat, so let's end on one: This isn't a single song, but the debut EP from the Brownwood-born but Denton-based Monster Brown, which he released last month. Like Cance the Rapper? So does Brown — and maybe a little too much. But he's got skills, for sure, and the samples he's built his beats around are pretty great. I mean, c'mon: “Saturday in the Park,” y'all. Smart stuff, especially if you're gonna name your debut after the Internet shorthand for Throwback Thursday. If nothing else, you gotta admit this: Brown's undoubtedly Instagram literate.
Blue, The Misfit cover photo by Karlo X. Ramos.
