Hip Hop Review « UGSMAG – Canada’s Independent Hip Hop Magazine

Hip Hop Review

Reviews: Hip Hop Review

Hip Hop Review

Reefill fka Gumball (Frek Sho)

Frek Sho's Gumball has resurfaced with a new name and a debut self-produced solo album.

aok-if-you-dont-buy-this-cd-the-terrorists-win

Hip Hop Review

AOK - If you don’t buy this CD the terr...

Edmonton is a strange place for hip hop. You never know what to expect when someone new steps up to bat; and you probably have no idea what to expect from AOK’s debut CD, If You Don’t Buy This CD The Terrorists Win.

Hip Hop Review

Red Ants - Omega Point

Red Ants are back with what might be their last album (for a while at least).

Hip Hop Review

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Ecid - Economy Size goDD Costume

Enter pessimist extraordinaire and poetic extremist Ecid, a Minnesotan hip hop artist who does it all

Hip Hop Review

Serengeti - Dennehy (Lights, Camera, Action!)

Serengeti is all of my favourite rappers rolled into one; I cannot think of another emcee who comes as diverse and original from album-to-album and even track-to-track.

Hip Hop Review

Once a Hue, Always a Hue

Tokyo's Hue Records have been one of the more notable new labels to arise over the past few years.

Hip Hop Review

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Jon B - Beat Diarya

Is the famous 1990's R&B singer back to resurrect Tupac for another hit single? Apparently not; this is a different Jon B altogether, one who is actually a pretty dope producer from Edmonton. There definitely is some resurrecting going on here though, as this is a remix album, but these aren’t your everyday remixes. The press release states very fittingly that this is a “rap experiment.” Jon doesn’t shy away from things such as playing with familiar pitches, turning a couple of your favourite rappers into chipmunks. You can end up first thinking he’s going to fuck up one of your favourite tracks, but by the end of the song thinking that, hey this is pretty cool. The overall sound here is distinctly lo-fi, evoking the image of a kid in his parent’s basement having fun making pause-tape remixes with cassingle accapellas and instrumentals. Along with classics from Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, and Afu-Ra…to name a few; Jon B also takes time out to showcase local Canadian talent such as Touch (The Representatives), Wordburglar, Mindbender, and more. These sprinklings of lesser known rappers, such as one of the stand-outs by Corvid Lorax, combined with Jon B’s somewhat untamed production style are what make this album really worth checking out. If you’re not hearing the original familiar beat in your head, then you’re probably listening to good remix, and more often than not that ends up being the case on Beat Diarya.

Hip Hop Review

Sean Kingston - Sean Kingston

If you're like me, Sean Kingston's first 2 singles were stuck in your head for the entire summer. Even if you don't want to admit it, I am sure at some point you caught yourself humming along and perhaps even singing along with the hook in "Beautiful Girls". If that is the case then, like me, you will be disappointed with the rest of the album. Who knew that for the most part Sean Kingston rapped about guns and gangsters? Well you would if you had bothered listening to his mixtapes or checking out his myspace page. This works out alright on a couple of tracks, such as "Colors" featuring Kardinal Offishall among others, but basically the 17 year old is taking himself waaaaayyyy too seriously and would be better off sticking with his more lighthearted and infinitely more enjoyable fluffy songs. Let's hope he's more believable as Notorious B.I.G., who he is set to play in the upcoming biopic, than he is as a gangster.

Hip Hop Review

Serengeti & Polyphonic - Dont Give Up

After hearing this album Serengeti became my favourite Chicago rapper. Dont Give Up is his team-up with producer Polyphonic (one of his label mates on Audio 8). This album is Geti's most experimental so far, both vocal and production wise. Polyphonic's beats manage to stay beautifully melodic and sound consistent despite bouncing all over between hip hop, glitchy electronica, and drum & bass. Serengeti grew a beard and is on some sad rap shit and it's awesome. Geti does quite a bit of imperfect singing on here and it's pretty impossible not to love. Dont Give Up is his best album yet, don't sleep.