Archive for November, 2009

“Illuminated Animals” on the loose

I caught up with 4-ize at Studio 8 where he was shooting his video for “Classic Example”, track 1 off his hot new release “Illuminated Animals” (over 1200 downloads in the first week!). Click here if you haven’t downloaded it yet.

When I finally got a chance to ask 4-ize some questions, the first logical one to come to mind was, “What species makes the best lover?” “I think llamas make the best lovers.” 4-ize answered enthusiastically. “Michael Jackson knew what he was doing… he kept a llama on the Neverland ranch. Llamas make the best lovers, for real, on my mamma.” After hearing his album, I can’t knock beastiality any more, not at all.  What ever it takes to inspire an artist to make real hip-hop at this high level of quality is cool by me.

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The Famishment of Ekundayo

Ekundayo the Mountain Liun first came to the beat studies lab in 2007 to record his verse for the first “16 bars of gold”.  He seemed exhausted from lack of calories and was anxious to get the session over with so he could go get some food. However, in one glorious take, he came to life and dropped one of the illest verses ever to grace the diaphragm of my AKG condenser microphone. Take a listen…

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He is back with another hot 16 freestyle on Vol.2 that is a reminder of what raw, stripped down, lyrical hip-hop really is.

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Rita J knows how we want it

“You want it Dirty and Grimy, underground slimy. You know where to find me, soakin’ up the rhyme, G.”  That’s how she starts her verse for “16 bars of gold” and she gives us exactly that with the release of her debut solo album, “Artist Workshop”. It was put out on an independent label called All Natural Inc. with whom she has been involved since 2002. Her smooth rhymes and street sexy flow suits the superior production that keeps the album bangin’ throughout.  If you want a “Taste of Chicago” no need to go any further.  With the help of collaborators, including Guilty Simpson, and Rashid Hadee, she delivers an essence that will please that real hip-hop lover’s musical palate with a tasty mid-west flavor.

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