Lecrae & Zaytoven : Let The Trap Say Amen
Today Lecrae releases Let The Trap Say Amen, a special joint project with renowned producer Zaytoven.
Born out of a mutual respect for each other’s work and joined by common faith, the two Atlanta legends came together for a release aimed at bridging understanding and building community, especially in those underserved neighborhoods across America often dubbed “The Trap.”
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Find Let The Trap Say Amen here at iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Tidal and Google Play.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS USING #TRAPSAYAMEN
NEW BREED : NINE
New Breed —consisting of brother and sister duo Rosario "Macho" Ortega and Elsie Vanclief— shocked the world with their brilliant premiere album, Stop The Music, belting out such trademark hits as the Latin salute, "My People" and the club banger, "Verse of The City" Defying odds, New Breed now drops a second set, Nine, that raises the bar even higher.
These Boston natives emerged on the scene over a fifteen years ago and have remarkably exhaled another collection of incredible music. Bucking that disappointing artistic trend of releasing weak second projects which pale in comparison to debut records.
Cut after cut bears infectious grooves, relevant lyrics, and scorching hot production that will have hip hop fans craving for more.
Nine embraces all of the qualities of New Breed's first outing, and offers a more in-depth approach to dealing with current issues. It is a also a concept album, the title representing the nine fruits of the Spirit as stated in scripture. New Breed flow candidly on the topics of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, meekness, faith, goodness, and self control.
Alert312 “The Upside Eternal”
“Eternal”. Seamlessly weave ship hop instrumentals with live instrumentation and sampled records with string quartets, The Upside Eternal is the duo’s most confident and mature work to date, all while keeping the ethnic and percussive core that has branded their music since the beginning.
There are few groups that really capture the original artistry of hip-hop better than Alert312. The Chicago based duo are vets in CHH and have made some beautiful music throughout their career. Their tenure with Humble Beast was highly productive. Alert was able to create some visually stunning and beautifully artistic hip-hop unlike anything else in CHH. Now that their time with Humble Beast has come to an end, it is fair to question what to expect from Alert312 with there new record The Upside Eternal.
If you are a fan of Alert312, there is no need to worry, because their unique style of making music hasn’t changed a bit since setting off on their own venture. The analogue style Alert has used all throughout their career was on a near perfect display on The Upside Eternal. The analogue style I’m referring to is what the group calls their style of music. It essentially means that they are personally responsible for the sounds you hear on the record. It is a very hands on approach that isn’t something you hear a lot of artists doing. With this creative process of making music and Moral One’s talent and history on the drums, it’s no surprise that The Upside Eternal is heavy on drums. Read More Here
Alert312 “The Upside Eternal” tracklist
1. Local
2. The Wild
3. Gargoyles (feat. MRENC)
4. Kingdoms Falling (feat. Taelor Gray)
5. Flood Ash
6. The Darkest Night
7. Cloud City (feat. Jay Cabassa)
8. Haunt Me Home (feat. Catalina Bellizzi)
9. The Upside Eternal
10. Everyone Eats
11. No Holds Tongue (feat. DJ Efechto & Propaganda)
12. Color Grade Agape
13. Dwell All Day
14. Eternal
Stream: Alert312 “The Upside Eternal”
What are your favorite tracks from Alert312 “The Upside Eternal”?
Sevin Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Funk Paddle ft. SevinDuce
3. Refine Me Feat. Jered Sanders
4. Beam Me Up
5. Savage ft. Datin, Gemstones, and K. Allico
6. Ovadose
7. Radar
8. Stronger
9. Wounds of a Friend Feat. Marcel Jackson
10. Sin
11. If You With Me ft. Zaydok
12. Neva Seen (Interlude)
13. Motherland
14. Tho I Walk Feat. Bazooka
15. Wisdom ft. Illuminate
16. Rather Die Than Deny
Braille Native Lungs
In 2008, hip hop artist Braille got a chance to put out his fourth album, The IV Edition, to a wider audience through Syntax Records. It gained him a bigger fanbase as he went back into the independent music realm after its release. In 2009, he teamed up with a producer named Symbolyc One for a collaboration called Cloud Nineteen, and a year later, Braille released his solo album Weapon Aid. For his seventh studio album, this time through the Humble Beast imprint, Braille teamed up with several Portland-based DJs, producers and emcees for a free album called Native Lungs.
My first experience with Braille was with The IV Edition, which was a pretty solid effort, but didn't really hook me too much. His succeeding albums gave me a lot more respect for his artistry. Listening to Native Lungs, I'm not so sure he's not one of my top emcees at the moment. This release is top notch hip hop that turns Braille into a force to be reckoned with. The beats are out of this world, with excellent production work from a slew of producers - DJ Official (who frequently tours with Reach Records artists), Evidence from Dilated Peoples, Symbolyc One (who produced big singles for Kanye West and Beyonce since the release of Cloud Nineteen), as well as Humble Beast artists Odd Thomas, Xperiment, Theory Hazit and Braille himself. Not to mention several other guys that I'm not entirely familiar with, but whose work is noticeably brilliant on their respective tracks. Some beats have the west coast vibe, like the opening track, "Native Lungs." Then there's "We Will Remember," which has a bit of a darker beat; "Storm Trooper" is almost like Run DMC meets Braille (an old school beat courtesy of Theory Hazit); then Xperiment throws a weird beat into the mix for "48 Prisons." It's pretty diverse as far as hip hop goes, but even with the big mix of talent spread out all over the album, Native Lungs is still a cohesive album.
One of my favorite beats from Native Lungs (possibly my favorite) comes from DJ Official on "Spell Check." It's hard to explain what I love about it; it's almost like a transformed 8-bit track turned into a semi-gangster track. And then Braille comes in and just works it so well. If you're not sure about getting this album, "Spell Check" may be the one to check out. "Nightmare Walking" is produced by Trox, who gives it a sound similar to Braille's "Raise the Dead" from The IV Edition, albeit with a more refined sound (plus, it's not nearly as creepy as "Raise the Dead"). For the closing track, "Finally Arrive," DJ Cassidy brings a slower beat that sounds both west coast style as well as thoughtful and reminiscent. Other than the percussion side of the beat, it's composed of beautiful piano and some strings. Braille did an excellent job assembling the crew of producers to make Native Lungs an album full of exceptional beats.
While Braille was responsible for some production (namely the song track "We Will Remember"), his main role was providing nearly all the raps. "Death In Me" features guest vocals from Theory Hazit and Odd Thomas, and Braille's daughter Gabby makes a couple short (and cute) appearances, but the rest of the vocals come from Braille. Native Lungs is easily his best work to date. Not that his past albums weren't good, but each time he puts out a new album, he seems to have gotten better, and there's no exception this time around. He flows smoother and, at times, raps harder than he ever has. Like I said before, he worked the beat of "Spell Check" excellently, and verses he provides in "Feel It," "Storm Trooper," "48 Prisons" and "DeepRest" are nothing short of terrific. Not only has his vocal work improved once again, but his lyrics are the most personal in these songs than previous songs.
- Native Lungs (3:13)
- Feel It (3:01)
- Death In Me (3:38)
- We Will Remember (3:51)
- The Hardway (4:05)
- Rhymes On Everything (3:39)
- The New Raw (3:00)
- Nightmare Walking (3:49)
- Too Many Tomorrows (3:26)
- Step It Up (4:25)
- 48 Prisons (3:11)
- DeepRest (3:52)
- Finally Arrive (4:08)
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