Rap & Hip-Hop from the 619 to 760
I wouldn’t have expected Black Rez on a beat like this but it’s pretty dope. Most of the time when it’s just the drums, the bass, and the static-y synth noise, it’s got this really raw sound, something between tribal circles and like ’80s punk futurism or something. Also, I’m just gonna assume that you know Guilla can rap so I can get away with not saying anything more.
UPDATE II: Congrats to the two winners, Yomi and Ryan! They correctly responded with Kendrick Lamar’s previous rap name, K. Dot. Thanks to everyone who participated. Hope I still see you at the show!
UPDATE: Confirmation email has been sent out. The winners have 48 hours to claim their prizes. Otherwise, they forfeit their prize to the next contestant/s in line. Also, Black Rez replied in the comments that all the artists on the two flyers above are performing that night.
My bad for being so MIA. I’ve been suffering from a mild bout of depression which has driven me to binge on The Wire on DVD (four seasons in two weeks) uncontrollably. Though I just checked the site stats and I’m so, so grateful that people are still coming here to check up on the site periodically. It means something to me.
But before I start getting all Namond up in here, let’s get to the business at hand. Kendrick Lamar is performing at UCSD next Friday. I couldn’t tell you anything really intelligent about Kendrick right now but he is dope, one of the few rappers from the Internet that everyone likes that my Ph.D-ass actually likes too. I’ve seen two different flyers with conflicting info about the other acts on the bill (can someone clear this up?). At the least, you can count on Black Resume, Stevie Crooks, and Chuuwee (who I’ve heard good things about). Hopefully the rest of the lineup is more Piff, Brother Nature, and Ta’East and less The Dudez and Rob Grimes (Ph.D in full effect).
Here’s the deal: I have two pairs of tickets to give away. The first two people to email me Kendrick Lamar’s earlier rap moniker before going by “Kendrick Lamar” win the tickets. Mail your answers to music@sdraps.com. After replying to the confirmation email, you’ll be put on the guestlist with a +1. Anyone who can’t do a thorough Google search can buy tickets to the show at Eventbrite here.
As an aside, I should give props to Black Resume. It seems like a rare thing what they’re doing, being able to successfully throw their own shows and basically turn whatever venue they focus on (first The Epicentre, now Porter’s Pub) into a legit spot for hip-hop. And they’re bringing some dope acts like Kendrick, Devin The Dude, and Currensy. AND they still make good music themselves. So much kudos out to them for basically taking control of their careers and then helping develop a local scene in the process.
Wow, so the contest/event page has had the second most hits on this site in the past week. And yet, only one person has responded with the correct answer so far.
One last chance: First person that leaves a freaking comment in this post telling me that they want the tickets to the show, he/she gets put on the guestlist +1 for Saturday. Really simple. Free stuff: don’t miss out.
Kinda baller, this is the first time the blog’s name has been up on a flyer. Or the second, I can’t remember.
Anyway, so Black Resume is putting on this show at UCSD next Saturday. There’s slim pickings on venues open to hip-hop and Black Rez is trying to turn UCSD Porter’s Pub into a reliable one. The bill has Pac Div, XV, and Casey Veggies (you might remember him from a couple features on Odd Future shit though he’s clearly not on the same steez). To promote the show, we’re giving away two pairs of tickets on the site.
Here’s the deal: the first two people who email me the names of all four Black Resume rappers will get put on the guestlist +1. Email answers to music@sdraps.com (hint: I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned them all on the blog before).
UPDATE: Okay, so I guess people are really struggling with this. There’s still one pair of tickets left. Here’s the hint for the answer to the question. The next email I get with the correct answer wins the second pair.
Everyone else trying to check out the show can hit up Eventbrite for tickets here.
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This news segment ran on the local NBC station a couple times on Friday, which is pretty tight. The show itself was mostly filled with people trying to rub elbows with other people and trying to act really cool. But I thought the actual performances were good. And thankfully, they were auto-displaying @sounddiego tweets on-stage, which a few of us just completely took advantage of to clown hard (hopefully, I don’t get fired, hah). Anyway, I’m very much looking forward to the next SoundDiego LIVE that I get to program.
Excuse the slightest bit of self-promotion. One of the cooler things about my new gig at SoundDiego is the monthly SoundDiego LIVE shows that they put on. Every month, they put on a free show with local artists. The bloggers take turns each month organizing the lineup. The artists get free promo. Fans get a free show. SoundDiego gets to front like they’re hella cool (I kid!). It’s all fairly awesome.
This month is my first crack at helping program the lineup, which takes me back to my days at university when our student group basically wasted thousands of dollars in student tuition to put on hip-hop shows with underground artists that only like 50 other students actually came to see (insult to injury: student tuition has steadily been rising for years, exacerbating accessibility issues for students from low-income families–I am very sorry if I contributed to that trend at all). Hopefully this SoundDiego show isn’t using any public money and we can have a guilt-free party on NBC’s dime.
Anyway, Black Resume and Parker & The Numberman are on this month’s show, which is going down this Thursday, June 30 at House of Blues. I chose the two acts because I’ve seen both of them perform and they put on a good show. Black Rez get people dancing. P&# might be the next to kinda blow up locally. It should be a fun night. Check out the details below and, if you want to make sure you get in, sign up for the guestlist here:
SoundDiego LIVE XII
Black Resume, Republic of Letters, Parker & The Numberman
Thursday, June 30 @ 7pm-10:30pm
House of Blues
21+
Free drinks/appetizers from 7-8pm
Tickets: $FREE.99
Guillotine “Everything Is Everything” [prod. Guillotine]
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More music from the Black Resume blog. This time, it’s a solo joint from de facto group leader Guillotine. Not much to say here, just some good rapping at work. Slick turns of phrase (“But it’s a little different when the nachos stack”). Clever punchlines (“Him and all the amigos is eating Taco Bell/ Eating crunchy tacos the only time they be poppin’ shells”). In the same breath, he makes the comparison with his music (or was it his weed?) as California burritos when all these lames have is Taco Bell. Which is such a San Diego punchline when you think about the fact that like no one else in the world knows what the hell a California burrito is except for San Diegans. I’ll tell you now, I probably take more SD pride in our Mexican food than even in the Chargers or the Padres (word, I never could find a seat on the bandwagon). Anyway, this “Cali burritos” line is way more clever than any generic “San Diego charging these ho’s” line or something that I usually hear.
On a related note, Guilla also produced this song for a singer named Jorandy. And it kinda goes, the retro, feel-good vibe reminding me of Amerie’s sound. I guess I could just show this video since there is rapping in the song too. But yknow, Jorandy’s about as much of a rapper as like Ryan Leslie is. Plus his chick looks hella light-skinted and might not be Filipino. And interracial dating is of course a no-no if we follow the sage words of Lonnie Lynn (I kid! I kid!).
Black Resume “Hey Girl (My House)” [prod. Guillotine]
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Black Resume “Excuse Me”
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Black Resume “Money Is The Motive“
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Black Resume has a blog now and they’ve been dropping some songs on it for the last week or so. “Hey Girl” looks to be the first single from their new album, or at least it probably should be, if the crowd reaction to it at their shows is to be believed. Guilla continues to grow as a producer, pumping out a club-ready, funky West Coast banger with an instrumental break/keyboard solo near the end and then this mind ray-like freakout even after that (and is it just me or do I hear taiko drums in this beat?). Rapping-wise, both LC and Young T seem to have gotten better in their deliveries, especially LC. On Bar-barian Music, I felt like LC (and Young T, to a lesser extent) had this problem where sometimes he’d sound like he was trying to fit too many syllables into a bar, causing him to go off-beat for a second and deflating otherwise sharp punchlines. He sounds much more confident and natural on both “Hey Girl” and “Money Is The Motive” and his verses sound better than ever.
“Excuse Me” reminds me of how, when I first listened to Bar-Barian Music, the first song on there was called “It’s A Shame” and I immediately thought of Devin The Dude’s Just Tryin’ Ta Live album. Which I kinda remember turning out not to have any significance at all. But now that “Excuse Me” sounds like a Devin song, I am vindicated, hah! Anyways, the Devin parallel is that it’s one of those songs where just because it’s about alcohol and/or weed, people think it’s a happy song. But it runs deeper than that. Young T gets drunk at a club, talks faded nonsense to hobos on the streets, and ends up snapping at a girl at his pad. Guilla doesn’t fare too much better, worried about getting pulled over by the police, knowing that he’d be too drunk to be able to avoid jail for the night. It’s real because, in reality, getting piss drunk or faded until you lose control is always a little sad and possibly dangerous. The fact that Black Rez can address this darker side of partying rounds them out as artists.
“Money Is The Motive” has good rapping but I’m mostly mentioning it because I first heard the beat on Easy Money Gang’s Twittertape. Considering Easy Money has another mixtape called Money Is The Motive, I think this is a nod to Easy Money. More importantly, I think this means Easy Money is producing for other rappers, which I think is their forte.
Black Resume is opening for Currensy at Epicentre in Mira Mesa this Thursday night. Their show’s pretty live, one of the few local acts I’ve seen (like I’ve seen that many, hah) that I’d recommend. And I could’ve sworn they actually have a following that goes to their shows, which I really haven’t seen much of. Anyway, hit them up on Facebook for more info.
I wrote a blog post about my Top 5 SD Rap Albums of 2010 for the SD CityBeat blog (I also included a Top 5 Non-SD list). To complement that list, here’s a list of my next 5 SD Rap Albums and also a list of the Best SD Rap Songs of the year. I didn’t stress over the order too hard. For the Songs list, I limited it to one song per artist, although if the artist is featured on another artist’s song, that doesn’t count against them. And no, I don’t have the time or energy to write blurbs about each of them (I’ve already written about most of them anyway). Yes, I would love to hear you tell me how full of shit I am recommend me some good music that I missed.
I’m very excited to finally get to see Black Resume perform live. And even if you’re not a Black Resume fan, Devin The Dude is basically the best thing to ever happen to hip-hop (personally, he’s in my Top 5 Hip-Hop Artists Ever). Devin puts on a great show with The Coughee Brothers, especially in smaller venues like 4th & B (he wasn’t so great at The Smokeout Festival last year). Check it out, it’s worth the price of admission.*
*And I mean it this time, as opposed to the last couple open mics I recommended when nothing happened at all.
