Droppin’ Knowledge
Droppin’ Knowledge: Despite Life’s Ups & Downs, Virginia MC Chuck Dolo Is Doing “Aight”
Late last year, the rap artist Chuck Dolo released his first official music, the single “Late Nights,” and the EP Amnesia. Both are atmospheric slices of hip hop, with trauma and recovery as their abiding themes, the music cathartic and clear-eyed, with a story teller’s attention to the small details of every day life. Dolo’s …
Droppin’ Knowledge: For Niagara Falls Rapper Jamal Gasol, All The World Is Piff
It started like this… It was 2008, or 2009. The rap artist Jamal Gasol has a brother, and his brother had a ring tone. It wasn’t exactly a ring tone, it was more like a voice. A disembodied voice. An annoying voice, on an annoying ringtone. “All the dude would say at the beginning was …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Jay Cinema & WilfMerson Know “What You Need Ain’t What You Want!” – Album Review & Interview
A trans-Atlantic collaboration between the Harlem-based rapper and London producer WilfMerson yields an album of depth and beauty. The Internet and the portability of sound files can open up the world for anyone who wants to find like-minded artists across the globe with which to collaborate. Social media allows musicians to find each other on …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Jiyu Purp Creates Spiritual, Life Affirming Hip Hop on His Album Earth is Ours – Interview & Review
Last month, Dallas, Texas based hip hop artist Jiyu Purp released his first long player, Earth is Ours, an album suffused with spirituality and positivity, but one that hits hard, too. The rapper was born in Texarkana, Texas, a small city that abuts the border of Texas and Arkansas, and shares a metropolitan area with …
Droppin’ Knowledge: A 10 Song Hopeful Playlist For A Time That Strains Hope
If you’re feeling a deficit of hope lately, don’t fret. You are not alone, Hope is an intrinsic human attribute that allows us to appreciate the idea that it is often darkest just before the dawn. Mental health experts advise that hope is a powerful, inspiring feeling that is necessary and vital, particularly if you …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Behind The Boards With Birmingham’s Grimy Sound Architect Hobgoblin
And we back… From the gritty depths of the UK’s second city, Birmingham, arose an anti-villain who plumbs the muck for hardscrabble sounds, many of which are now instantly recognizable with the underground cognoscenti. This sound architect’s name is Hobgoblin, and today he joins Behind The Boards. Teacher by day, music anti-villain by night, Hobgoblin …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Listening To Music During a Pandemic – 10 Hip Hop Songs To Help You Carry On
By October, music had failed me. In the beginning of the pandemic, music from my youth carried me through the ups and downs of navigating life during a global health crisis. The music I returned to again and again was a strange mix of songs that I associated with specific periods in my life: Motown, …
Droppin’ Knowledge: London Born Rap Legend MF DOOM Dead at 49
MF DOOM, the London born rap artist who grew up in the United States, has died at 49. The musician’s wife, Jasmine Dumile, announced his death on Instagram, at the close of last year. Although the rapper’s death was announced on New Year’s Eve, the Instagram post revealed that DOOM had passed away on October …
Droppin’ Knowledge: Behind The Boards With Willie Green
Paul “Willie Green” Womack is a producer, musician and sound engineer who has worked with a wide variety of artists, including Wiz Khalifa, The Roots, Open Mike Eagle, billy woods, Murs and Milo. He has also worked with a disparate group of artists outside of hip hop, such as Donnie McClurkin, Corina Corina and Barrie …
Droppin’ Knowledge: The Songs of New York City Beatmaker Radicule Are Undiscovered Gems Of Hip Hop
With music proliferating at an explosive rate, it’s often difficult to wade through the morass and discover new artists, or artists who have been toiling away at their craft for years, unable to rise above the noise. The ability to create rudimentary sounds or beats with inexpensive software means that the stream-waves are crowded with …