SD CityBeat ‘Great Demo Review’: Hip-Hop Reviews

This week’s issue of SD CityBeat features the 8th annual Great Demo Review. There actually happened to be a shit-ton of hip-hop or related submissions this year. I just went ahead and pasted those all below (including the five that I wrote) for your convenience. I’ll try to check out some of the other ones that I didn’t review myself eventually too.

EXTRASPECIALGOOD Demos:
INSPIRED FLIGHT
We All Want To Fly
It’s surprising that this duo was able to secure features from notable hip-hop artists like Scarub and Eligh of Living Legends and Wu-Tang Clan’s Inspectah Deck. Even more surprising is how wellcrafted the album is: As this experimental trip-hop duo seamlessly blends elements of any number of genres—reggae, Brit-pop, downtempo—they recall innovators like Thievery Corporation and Portishead. But genre-mash talk is easy. What helps glue these disparate sounds together is the strong songwriting of singer-guitarist Chavez (aka local mainstay Gabe Lehner). We All Want to Fly is not an album celebrating greatness, as the title suggests. Rather, it’s an intimate look at personal life and the ways in which we strive or struggle to “fly.” Setting these small victories and losses to such lush experimentation is just beautiful. inspiredflightmusic.com
—Quan Vu

ROOM E
Lanterns
A chill, mesmerizing blend of down-tempo hip-hop beats, off-kilter samples, ganja-clouded bass-lines and occasional touches of banjo or vibraphone, Room E’s Lanterns pulls off the paradoxical feat of being immaculately stoned and sexy. This mysterious cat conducts cinematic electro-noir scores that range from the elegant (“Banjo”) to the ominous (“Brickface”), interweaving synthetic and organic sounds into each track. The dark atmosphere is thick throughout these 14 tracks, yet it’s also a very playful set of songs, one that takes the listener on some kind of cosmic journey (preferably with some psychedelic lighting, as Room E stated on his Twitter feed). Like San Diego’s answer to Flying Lotus, or DJ Shadow’s little brother, Room E is doing his genre a great service, taking instrumental hip-hop out of the yoga studio and back into the opium den. roome.bandcamp.com
—Jeff Terich

The Rest:
AFTERSCHOOLSPECIAL
It’s All In Your Head
Rap-rock should have died with Kid Rock’s li’l hype man, but if it’s here to stay (groan) we can at least be grateful for Jaimie Block-Smith’s low, bellowing female vocals. It’s hard to upstage the “greats” like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, but there will always be androgynous teenage faux-cutters, and, therefore, there will always be people who will really enjoy this band. afterschoolspecialmusic.com
—Sammi Skolmoski

AUDIOS
The Outbreak
The day-in-the-life narratives spouted by Audios on his self-produced mixtape The Outbreak are modernday working-man’s blues. The collection is heavy on tasty samples and head-bobbing beats, but at times it pursues stylistic eclecticism to a fault. The hearty R&B and funk samples (“Candle Lit,” “A-dub”) work best, and strong guest spots by the likes of M-Double-A-L and Swamp Dog (“November”) tend to bring it back home. myspace.com/yourmotherlovesmyspace
—Shae Moseley

BC
Keys to the Suite
You can tell a lot of work was put into this full-length album. However, it still sounds like average guys trying to rap about money, girls and fame—nothing exciting here. Is it bad? No. It’s just nothing we haven’t heard before. itsallbc.com
—Neil Baffert

BIGBATE PRODUCTIONS
Demo
The synths and drums on this instrumental hip-hop demo sound prefab, and the beats are awkward, but the heaving bass lines show promise. A software upgrade and some lessons from J Dilla will go a long way toward revamping these busted-ass beats. myspace.com/bigbateproductions
—Peter Holslin

BROTHER NATURE
Niggas Nikes Newports
Brother Nature is a duo of MCs nostalgic for the supposed “Golden Age of Hip-Hop,” among other things. They take heavy sonic influence from A Tribe Called Quest’s lighthearted, jazz-influenced beats, but their rapping comes more from the school of Big Daddy Kane braggadocio. Which could be great, if not for the fact that both rappers have really weak deliveries and Drake-ish punch lines. It all comes off kinda corny. brothernature.bandcamp.com
—Quan Vu

BLOODSTONE THE STREET PREACHER AND RED ROSE
I Know
Sounding like something from a G- Funk-era Death Row Records mixtape, this husband-and-wife rap duo seems destined for YouTube cult status. Not groundbreaking by any means, but I found myself wanting to hear more than just one track. myspace.com/buprecordsent
—Seth Combs

COURT YARD ROOTS
Cali Code Collision
Aimless rap-reggae-rock jams topped off with clumsy, groan-inducing rhymes. “He’s got many bitches coming to his house / Running in and out / Running all around.” Seriously? At least these guys know how to put down a solid reggae groove, but that doesn’t count for much. reverbnation.com/courtyardroots
—Peter Holslin

DEZZY HOLLOW
I Am Dezzy H.
Oceanside isn’t the first place that comes to mind when picturing a burgeoning rap scene, but Dezzy Hollow is out to change that with his junior release. Referencing “bitchass ho’s,” “them haters” and working for that “extra cheese,” the CD offers standout tracks like “Bumpin’ My Shit Down the Block” and “The Creation of Cuzzy Mac.” If a Gangsta’s Paradise truly exists, like Coolio predicted so long ago, Dezzy would no doubt be the doorman.
—Enrique Limon

DEZZY HOLLOW
No Chorus
“My name is Dezzy H / Fresher than your average / I just killed these verses off and now I am a savage.” Does killing a verse make you a savage? The many “haters” that Dezzy references in his songs might disagree. Plus, why would you wanna kill a verse when your trademark is no chorus? No verse, no chorus. Look for Dezzy’s next project, “One Big Ass Bridge.”
—Dryw Keltz

GENIUS OF SOUL
A Project for the New! American Century
Despite the rather misleading name, this “project” would please anyone who loves Guru’s Jazzmatazz or the mushroom-jazz that emanated from coffeehouses in the late ’90s. It’s not completely ingenious and can get a little redundant at 12 tracks, but it’s still a solid mix of downtempo electro, jazz and hip-hop. geniusofsoul.com
—Seth Combs

ID
Raincheck
I want what iD the Poet’s smoking. In his official album statement, he explains that part of his new record was recorded in a hotel room “during the 2009 presidential conventions.” That must’ve been the year Zoidberg from Futurama ate all the super-delegates. Still, Raincheck is an impressive solo debut from the local MC and Genius of Soul frontman. Over 14 tracks, iD spins intelligent and meaningful rhymes over gratifyingly nerdy samples (Doctor Who on Track 7, FTW!), in the same vein as Aesop Rock, Slug and Sage Francis. Is that racist? OK, Saul Williams, too. idthepoet.com
—Dave Maass

IN MOTION TRIO 2
The Barefoot Race
I picked this CD out of the pile for one reason and one reason alone: The cover depicts a stoned-looking anthropomorphic banana rocking a Crips bandana and grasping a spray can in one of its long, boney hands. Push play and out oozes a surprisingly melodic orgy of jazzy, Blue Note-approved beats; it’s a clear example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover—or in this case, a plantain by its peel. myspace.com/inmotiontrio
—Enrique Limon

MARKMYWORDS
Fall From Grace EP
It’s called suspension of disbelief. Forget that you’re listening to a North County honky spitting rhymes about “Ill Street Dreams.” Or that you have to achieve grace before you can fall from it. Mark Simmers has some flow. And the guitar sample on “Wage War”—almost certainly chopped from Grand Ole Party’s “Look Out Young Son”—achieves intriguing results. There is, after all, a reason why Simmers earned some ink with his previous incarnation (Nature of the Beast). But credible rhymes and creative instrumentals can’t quite make up for all the hiphop filler that ultimately, predictably, weigh down this 13-track “EP.” myspace.com/mwnotb
—Nathan Dinsdale

MICROPHONE MIKE
Coming Up Green
This is less like hip-hop and more like ’80s-influenced dance music featuring an ironic rapper persona. With songs like “Ass Cash or Grass” and “Turn a Hoe Into a Housewife,” Microphone Mike clearly aims to parody vices typically associated with hip-hop. But after the fourth explicitly misogynistic song (out of seven total), the lines blur till you can’t tell if he’s still critiquing those vices or using his persona to get away with taking part in them. At least the dance tunes are catchy. microphonemike.com
—Quan Vu

THE NUMBERMAN
The Short Bread EP
This CD contains one six-minute track titled “Présentation de quelques uns des plus beaux morceaux de la collection.” The title partly gives it away. It’s a collection of random sounds and noises, possibly trying to resemble Girl Talk. However, near the two-minute mark it fades into a random rap. It’s just not all there. prkandthenmbrmn.bandcamp.com
—Neil Baffert

RUDY PALOS
Sound Studies Vol. 1
Head-nodding beats, chill jazz and funk samples, spaced-out synths— what more could you ask for? The super-relaxed Ten19 adds an added element of laid-backness to the laidback downtempo / hip-hop groove of “Surrounded.” Definitely looking forward to what Rudy Palos comes up with on Vol. 2. probe-4.com
—Peter Holslin

PARKER & THE NUMBERMAN
The Lorna Doone DVD
Touted on their MySpace page as “Acousmatic / Tape music / Minimalist / Rap,” this hip-hop group provides us with a full multimedia experience on this DVD. A collection of grainy concert footage, news clips and handheld videos interspersed with a sexy handful of samples, hooks and spoken word, this wasn’t so much a demo as it was a documentary—and one that raised more questions than it answered. Consider our interest piqued! myspace.com/parkerthenumberman
—Justin Roberts

REAL J. WALLACE
The Laundry Room
The slightly better rapper from Brother Nature hops on top of instrumentals from some of his favorite songs, a common move heard on rap mixtapes. As the majority of these songs come from underground sensation Blu, it’s mostly a jazzy, sample-based affair with a familiar mix of braggadocio, nostalgia, introspection and vague revolution. But, as with Brother Nature, the rapping needs more work, both in a technical sense and a creative one. myspace.com/realjwallace
—Quan Vu

CAESAR SANCHEZ
Iced Tea and Hennessy
The rhymes on Iced Tea and Hennessy are so cliché that I have trouble believing that Ceasar Sanchez is actually the self-consciously extravagant gangster he raps about. (However, I’m pretty sure he does, in fact, smoke a ton of weed: One of the two CD-Rs he dropped off at the office was blank.) Whatever the case, there’s some seriously infectious hooks on this debut mixtape, including a number of old-school funk breaks and a vocal part lifted from the La Roux hit “In for the Kill.” bigboom.bandcamp.com
—Peter Holslin

SANDMAN
Pleasure N Pain
Wannabe players deliver off-brand rhymes covering cliché rap topics (hustling, drinking Patron, smoking “kush,” etc.) over generic beats and synths. With the exception of a couple bright moments, this two-disc set makes for a wholly forgettable two hours. flipsydeproductions.com
—Peter Holslin

S.P.A.M. (HOLIQ & MANNYFESTO)
Less Is More
It’s pretty tragic how good this should be and how unlistenable it really is from just one flaw. This EP has solid, sample-based, soulful beats. The two MCs cover familiar territory in creative ways, speaking about the power of music on the mystical “Spam the Travelling Band” or flexing semi-socio-political braggadocio on “Ill Legal Aliens.” Unfortunately, Mannyfesto’s flow is awkward, stilted and off-beat to the point of being cringe-inducing. spam.bandcamp.com
—Quan Vu

THAIMEX
Brand New Starts
Bringing his past spoken-word skills into a recording booth and mixing them with some ambient—nearly tribal—beats, Thaimex is actually a great rapper. After a while, the beats in the background start to get a little nerve-wracking, but his voice and flow manages to pick it back up. If this guy gets some new music, he could go somewhere. myspace.com/thaimexproductions
—Neil Baffert

TIMZ
Future History
I’m not exactly a fan of inspirational rave-rap, but this EP from Timz, an MC of Iraqi descent, is full of surprises. The infectious synth hook of “Die for Never” had me pumping my fist, the “Give Peace a Chance” sampling on “Do Something” is actually pretty badass, and I get the impression that the chilling stories in “Refugee” are very real. I actually feel pretty inspired by this one. timzonline.com
—Peter Holslin

TODO MUNDO
Organic Fire
Gnarly flamenco guitar riffs? Check. Colombian freestyle rap? It’s in here, too. Giving “world beat” a coolness enema and fusing a bevy of Latin and Afro-Caribbean influences, Todo Mundo dazzles with a soulful and sexy, hip-shaking style all their own (with enough saline solution to spare). todomundomusic.com
—Enrique Limón

ZANY-ZANE
Street Album
Zany-Zane has much to be, um, zany about. Having survived seven years of homelessness, a prescription-drug addiction and a 26-month stint in prison, the self-described “Da Gully Wonda” has produced an excellent hip-hop album that’s a raw and raunchy, dirt-poor alternative to blinged-out gangster rap. Street Album is synthesizer-driven and often spacey, with dark and depraved lyrics that flow like piss down a storm drain. It’s driven by mental illness, but Zany-Zane isn’t a Wesley Willis-style novelty, nor is Street Album his cheesy salvation. myspace.com/zanyzane619
—Dave Maass

Reading be fun though:

• Hip-Hop in CityBeat’s Great Demo Review 2012
• Great Demo Review @ SD CityBeat
• Submit Music to CityBeat’s Great Demo Review 2012
• CityBeat: “Out Of Touch.” On Hip-Hop and the SDMA’s