Posts in category

Droppin’ Knowledge


Brooklyn rap duo 11Roots recently released their self-titled, debut album, and it’s a compact, spiritually-rooted record, with no wasted space. The songs are lyrically conscious and dense, and powerfully address many of the ills facing the United States today, both directly and more obliquely. Brown_Buddha handles the production, and Ur Maa does most of the …

0 1

In 2018, Brooklyn spitter Rome Streetz released one of the best collections of hip hop that year, Street Pharmacy. The album is filled with hard-hitting street stories, told with precision and skill, a cautionary tale that expressed some hard truths and offered some hard-won wisdom. Streetz is a skillful raconteur, but the album also featured …

0 1

Uncommon Nasa, the legendary East Coast emcee, producer and overall sound whiz, likes to talk. He can talk and talk and talk, but like many other unique New York City characters, he can also tell a story. His talking generally serves a purpose, it’s not merely idle chit chat. It’s possible that in the morning, …

0 3

Philadelphia duo Sound Photographers have shared their debut single, “Shade,” which is now available on all streaming services. The group, which consists of Hoozmo and Indy James, plan to release one single per month, for a year, followed by the release of their first album. According to Sound Photographers, “Fundamentally, the song is about hope. …

0 0

And we back… Prolific Toronto producer and beat maker Astro Mega just released his new album on Sunday Dinner Records, Channel 10. It’s a collection of songs inspired by funk, R & B, Hong Kong action movies, easy listening music, jazz, and smooth jazz. Samples are thrown into a steaming cauldron, where they are chopped, …

0 2

The artists discuss their new album and share it with Backseat Mafia. Virginia rapper Hernon and Toronto-based producer Frowns met the way many artists meet each other today, on social media. After exchanging some direct messages on Instagram, they began to collaborate on a project together, their new album, Masterplan. While the process of creating …

0 13

Unfortunately, Public Enemy is not in full effect on its latest album, an exercise in righteous nostalgia, not righteous anger. This week, Public Enemy releases its latest long player, What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?. It is the iconic rap group’s fifteenth studio album, and marks a return to Def Jam Recordings. …

0 0

The Maryland based musician describes his sound as “Black psychedelic beat music.” And we back… Maryland-based producer, musician and beat maker Saharas Greenery released his new album this week, Science of the Formless Self, an expansive, yet meditative collection of instrumental hip hop, on Sunday Dinner Records. The album imagines vast soundscapes that invite the …

0 9

The California producer Sir Veterano shares a new video for the song “Cocaine Rap,” drawn from his latest collection, The Gathering. The album was released in July on Fresh Yard Records and “Cocaine Rap” is the second single from the long player. In the video and song, Murs has a few things he wants to …

0 0

And we back… Bei Ru, the Los Angeles based musician, beat maker and budding vocalist, has been making interesting and compelling music since the early oughts. In 2010, he raided his parents collection of Armenian pop music and released his first full-length, Little Armenia (L.A.), a funky amalgam of hip hop beats and Middle Eastern …

0 6