Reflection, Sorry To Go...

Alright, I’ll be honest… the whole reason why I started this blog and continue to publish to it is because it is a grade for my english class. However, now that it is coming to an end I realize how much I am going to miss it. Writing to this blog is not only a way that I can keep in touch with people and share music I like with them, but it is a way that I can get a break from the world almost. When I am super into a post, I like totally forget about everything that is concerning me in life and just think about the music I am writing about. Which is another reason why writing to this blog it so cool, it helps me to expand my tastes due to what my readers want and even just learn more about different artists, and hear stuff from artists I have never even heard of. The music industry is a crazy place, there are so many people that want to be heard, so many different styles, and so much money. So how is there a place for everybody? Well at first you may think that there isn’t, which though I agree with, isn’t totally true. There is a place for everybody, weather it is Kanye West or Jay-Z, who are at the very top of the industry in money making terms, though their stuff is very mainstream and usually set up. Or if it’s Logic or Dizzy Wright, who are more in the mid range, but keep their lyrics and lessons that they bring incredibly real. Or if it is even people like me, who just write about big time artists, and maybe rap a little on their own time, knowing that they are going nowhere with it but do it just to have a good time. Even though the money isn’t there for everyone, there is a place there for everyone, you just have to know where you fit in and accept it. 

I decided to add this image because not only to I think it is really cool, but I think is shows a cool standpoint of the variety of people who make up the music industry. Think about it, weather you're the artist who is performing (Kendrick Lamar), a person in the crowd, the person taking the picture, or the person getting the picture off the internet to add to his small time blog, you are all part of the music industry. I got this picture from a Kendrick Lamar wesbsite. 

Me as a person… Reflecting on this year as a whole, for me personally (which I am only doing because it is a requirement for that pesky english class I was talking about), I would say that this has been a year for me where I have gone through the least change as a person compared to other years. I have gone through previous years, starting as one person, and ending as a completely different one. However, this year, I feel that, though I am of course different, it has been the most minor change so far. I mean, let’s compare. The year before this, I went into it a super good kid, thinking that I would never, ever, get into any of the bad rift-raft that you start to experience as an eighth grader. But two months into the year, I did. And then I got in trouble for it, multiple times. Which is obviously very sad and makes me sound kind of dumb, but you can see how easily I was influenced. This year, I went into it knowing that I would be surrounded by that type of thing, but telling myself that I would need to keep it in moderation, which I consistently have. I also have had virtually the same music tastes this whole year, and I have had more of a mellow, more athletic and academic focused lifestyle. Which was sacrificing my social life, which I had never done in the past. But it paid off, I made the varsity lacrosse team as one of two freshmen, and I have had a four point zero this whole year. I am proud of my accomplishments but know that I need to keep everything in check so I have a good balance. But before I go, I thought I should let you know that the main reason I made such a jump from inconsistent to consistent was something that one of my friends who graduated high school last year told me just before my school year started, “When you graduate from high school, it all goes away. All of the people who you tried so hard to be reputable for, all of the girls you’ve tried to impress, and all of the people you have let down. Which is why you should focus on all of the things that are going to help you in the long wrong.” 

I got this picture of "A Kid Just Trying to Fit In" from PBS. 

Saturday, April 25th. Part I

Three Saturdays ago, I went to one of the most fun concerts of my life. The concert was at The Complex in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the line up consisted of DJ Juggy, who we missed because the line to get in was so long. Mick Jenkins, who I had never heard of, but who was really entertaining, though the crowd wasn’t that turnt up. The Underachievers, who had the base up so much that you literally couldn’t distinguish any songs from each other, but the crowd was going crazy so it was still really fun. Dizzy Wright, who was my favorite by far, the crowd had mad hype, and he had some super great, fun songs which got everybody going. And finally, Flatbush Zombies, who were supposed to be the main event, and who did well, but I felt bad for them because Dizzy Wright was impossible to top. I was also bummed because we had to leave early so we didn’t get to see that much of Flatbush. But the couple songs that we did hear were super fun and buck (short for buck wild). 

I got this image of the concert's line up from The Complex's webpage. 

Aside from the concert and more about my blog, I want to let all you guys know that this will sadly be one of my last posts. The school year is coming to and end, I have a very busy summer, not that dedicated of a fan base, and I don’t really have the best time writing these, though I do really love sharing the music I’m into with my readers, so I don’t really see a reason to keep it up. However, since this is one of my last posts, I want to go out with a boom. So this post is going to be crazy, it will be in multiple parts, and it will be totally random, unorganized, but informational, and all based off of the concert I went to. You will learn all about the musicians that were there, and even about some of their sweet music. I would first like to talk about DJ Juggy, mostly because I am much more unfamiliar and have a lot less to talk about with him than the other artists. DJ Juggy is a Latino MC/DJ out of Las Vegas, Nevada. However, shortly into his musical career, he looked to expand his fan base and launch his career by moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, not far from where I live. He says that he loves the energy and opportunity here. Juggy was worked with many well known artists, dropped multiple mix tapes, which have a variety of styles, and has obtained the nickname “Salt Lake City’s Mixtape King.” I think it is cool to see a man coming here to launch his musical career, and also to learn about how much of a popular, providing place Salt Lake is for young artists. You can read more about Juggy, his career and early life, and where to find his music, at this City Weekly article. 

I got this picture of DJ Juggy from that same City Weekly article. 

Saturday, April 25th. Part II

For the second part of this post, I would like to talk about Mick Jenkins and The Underachievers. At the concert, these two were quite entertaining, Mick Jenkins because he had some great raw music, and The Underachievers because the crowd was going crazy while they were performing. Mick Jenkins is a twenty-four year old rapper that is originally from Huntsville Alabama, though he has spent the majority of his musical career in Chicago, Illinois. Jenkins, Jayson Jenkins, has released five mix tapes: The Mickstape, in 2012, The Pursuit of HappyNess: The Story of Mickalascage, also in 2012, Trees & Truths, in 2013, The Water[s], in 2014, and Wave[s], in 2015. Like I said previously, I hadn't heard of Mick Jenkins before hearing him at the concert. But what I heard, I liked. After the concert I downloaded a couple of his songs, however, I’ve never been able to get that into it, though I do realize that he definitely has talent. If you are interested in hearing some of his stuff, I would recommend listening to the two most recent of his mix tapes. Also, here is a link to a mix of some his most popular songs on YouTube. Some songs I would recommend looking at to get a good idea of what Mick Jenkins is like are Dehydration, Jazz, and Martyrs, all on that mix. Dehydration is probably my favorite song by him. It is interesting, his style in unique and I like it, though it not my absolute favorite, due to his aggressiveness and gnarliness in the content. You can easily see this in Dehydration. Not to mention that his catch phrase is “Drink more water.” At first, I thought he was just supporting staying hydrated and not drinking alcohol. However, I later found out that he is saying that when you take the drug ecstasy, you need to drink a lot of water, or your organs will fail and you will die. This is just a small glimpse of his gnarly content. I don’t mind it, it’s just a little too much sometimes. 

I got this picture of Mick Jenkins off of Rolling Stone's website. 

The next group of artists, I am not too familiar with either. The Underachievers consist of two members, AK and Issa Gold, and are based out of Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York. The two first met through a mutual friend, and they clicked instantly, sharing many common interested. They grew up a couple blocks away, and would work on music together, as well as with members of who later became Flatbush Zombies. The two have released two mix tapes,  Indigoism and Lords of Flatbush, which came out in 2013. These are what got them most of their popularity, though I am not the biggest fan. The next year they released their first studio album, Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium. The music on this album is more flowy and lyrically advanced, however, a lot of the stuff still sounds the same as their previous two mix tapes. The only song that they have out that really stands out to me, is called Herb Shuttles. This is an awesome song to pump you up, and it is just an overall, fun, good song to jam to. This song has a lot of influences from Flatbush Zombies, but I like it a lot and would highly recommend checking it, though beware of profanity and an inappropriate music video. 

I acquired this image of AK and Gold from a wesbsite called Live2BeFree. 

Saturday, April 25th, Part III (Final Part)

To wrap up this crazy post, I am going to end with some of my favorite artists, and definitely my favorite two at the concert, Dizzy Wright and Flatbush Zombies. These artists have grown on my over time, and Dizzy Wright especially in recent times. To keep the chronological order that the concert went in adjacent with my blog, I will talk about Dizzy Wright first, even though I have already had a post with him in it. Dizzy is from Las Vegas, Nevada, and supports it to the fullest, which I think is really cool. He is a family man, has two daughters, and a wife, who spends quite a bit of time with, which I think is also very cool. Dizzy has released many mix tapes and EPs, consisting of Tha Takeover, What Hip-Hop Needs, Legendary, Soul Searchin’, Soul Searchin' (The Next Level), Free SmokeOut Conversations, The Golden Age, BrILLiant Youth EP, The First Agreement, State of Mind, and Lost In Reality (with Mark Battles). All of these I really enjoy and find a great variety of style in. My favorite song from these though is called Can’t Trust Em. This song is super hyped and is great for a pump up. Would definitely recommend listening to. Aside from his mix tapes and EPs, he has dropped one studio album, SmokeOut Conversations, and he in the process of releasing the next one, called The Growing Process right now. Three singles from it have already come out, but the actual album drops on May 26, 2015. The three singles are Train Your Mind, Floyd Money Mayweather, and I Can Tell You Needed it,  featuring Berner. I absolutely love all of these songs and can’t wait for the rest of the album. All three songs also have pretty cool music videos, so be sure to check them out. 

I got this great picture of Dizzy Wright from The Howard Theater's webpage.

The last group of the night to preform was Flatbush Zombies. This group is out of Flatbush, New York, and consists of Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and Erick "Arc" Elliott, who is also their producer. The group was formed in 2010 and has been releasing music ever since. They have two EPs out, Clockwork Indigo (which was done with the underachievers) and It's All A Matter of Perspective. They also have two mix tapes, D.R.U.G.S. and BetterOffDEAD, but are yet to drop a studio album. I am definitely a fan of Flatbush’s music, however I need to be in the right mood. Like most of their stuff is super up beat and for pump up, which I like, but I am not always in the mood for. The main songs by them that I really enjoy are Palm Trees, Mraz, Thug Waffle, and 222, in opposite order of which I like the most. My favorite song that I saw them perform at the concert was Mraz, everybody in the crowd was having a blast and I was really feeling good vibes. Thank you guys as always for checking out my blog, I really appreciate it, and if any of you feel like I should not stop doing these posts, please let me know, because you may swing my decision of stoping. Peace and love,

- Eli Levine 

I took this picture of rap group Flatbush Zombies off of The-B Side's website

Watching Movies With The Sound Off// Part One

Watching Movies With The Sound Off

I was looking through my blog earlier today and I couldn’t believe that I didn’t have a post about one of my favorite rappers, Mac Miller. Mac has been on a huge influence on me, being one of the first rappers I listened to. Being one of my early musical influences, I am a huge fan of his older music. But I am going to write about an album that he released in the June of 2013 called Watching Movies With the Sound Off. The content in this album is much different than the content in his previous music. His music in the past has been fun, joyful, and upbeat. However, this album, is incredibly sad, deep, and thoughtful. But I love it. It’s not just that I really enjoy the lyrics, beats, and flow, it’s the way I connect with it. Like there is seriously no way to explain the way I relate it, it’s really something else. 

I got this picture of the album cover from Wikipedia. Sorry the cover is pretty inappropriate. 

Watching Movies With The Sound Off
The first time hearing this album was the day after my dad and I were having this really deep conversation about the stars, life on other planets, and our theories on how we came to be. The next day, I came across a song called Aquarium on Pandora. The song literally addressed all the things we were talking about. It seemed like an unreal scenario. The impact the conversation had on me was enough, but hearing that song so closely after, got to me on crazy emotional levels. Crazy stuff like that always happens to me, like weird connections made with a random correlations of things at totally random times. And though it’s completely odd and I have no way of explaining it, I love it. It just makes me think about how crazy the world is, and though it just totally baffles me, it amazes me as well. And those are two of the main reasons why I love music so much. One, the amazing and insane stories that you hear about people traveling the rags to riches, or visa versa, road in the music industry. Two, the thought provoking lyrics that each different song contains. Sorry to get so side tracked, but I thought I would give you some of my deep insight. I’ve also been trying to mix up these posts to keep them more interesting by making them more unorganized, so definitely be sure to tell me what you think of them compared to the ones from the two earlier quarters. Back to the album, like I was saying, I relate to it in crazy ways. From the deepness of Aquarium like I already talked about, to the sad story of The Star Room, which I fear happening to me in my life. I feel Mac in this album on another level. I’ve never felt the same thing with music. And you know that “chills” feeling that I always talk about? The feeling that you get when something really reaches you, or something is so good, that it gives you goosebumps. Well almost every song on this album constantly does that to me. 

Watching Movies With The Sound Off// Part Two

The Songs Themselves 

The lyrical schemes, wordplay, and flow of this album are astounding. There’s no other way to describe it other than astounding. Mac uses words that I don’t even know the meaning of, and rhymes them with other words that I don’t know the meaning of, while telling an amazingly deep story that reaches me on unexplainable levels. He really killed it with this album is all I have to say. And by that I don’t only mean in my opinion, the first week out he sold 101,000 copies. Not quite J. Cole’s 371,000, but still very impressive. He released three singles before the album, S.D.S., Watching Movies, And Goosebumps (how ironic), all oh which hit 43 or above on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. And the album itself for up to number three on the Billboard 200, being praised mostly for its “ psychedelic hip hop influence and improved lyricism,” very impressive. As for the individual songs on the album, I do like all of them, however, six songs really stood out to me from me first hearing the album, and those five songs still stick out to me today. Some I’ve already mentioned, but they are Someone Like You, Watching Movies, Aquarium, Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes, REMember, and The Star Room. I am going to review each of them, similar to what I did in the Don’t Over Think post about Castro. 

 I got this picture of Mac from Billboards.com

Someone Like You  

Someone Like You is just a great song. Fun to listen to, deep lyrics, great flow and awesome background music and chorus. Part of the reason I like this song so much is because it is perfect for multiple occasions. Like it has a pretty upbeat beat, and faster lyrics, so it’s not bad for a pump up song. But it also it pretty sad and has deep ass lyrics, so it’s also perfect to listen to when you’re going to bed, thinking a lot, or even just having a bad day. I love versatile music. Speaking of versatile, Mac may be the most versatile rapper I know of. The story in this song is very interesting, and kinda hard to determine at first, but after listening to it closely a couple times, you’ll get it. But I don’t want to spoil it, so be sure to check it out and listen very closely. 

Watching Movies 

This is one of two dedicated “pump up” songs on Mac’s album (the other one being O.K., HIGHLY EXPLICIT). But though this song is faster paced and great for pump up, it is still pretty deep and depressing. I really really like the lyrics of this song, they are brutally honest, and I think the point of view of them are really interesting. A big main idea of the song is money. Mac talks about how he is so set with money that he really has nothing to worry about. He also talks about how him and his team are trying to start a “revolution.” By this they mean changing around the rap game and gaining ground to overcome all others. One really prominent verse in the song is “People worship these idols, till they come in contact with god.” This verse shows up many times in this song, and the theme of this verse shows up quite often throughout the whole album. I think his perception of god and people is very interesting, and listening to his music helps me get an idea of it, which I think is pretty cool. So definitely check out this song, pretty popular, it was one of the three singles, and it’s solid. But if you watch the music video, have caution, it’s pretty explicit! If you would rather just listen to the audio, click here.

I got this image from the music video for Watching Movies. It's Mac driving a car with a bunch of ladies. 

Watching Movies With The Sound Off// Part Three

Aquarium  

This is definitely one of my favorite songs on the album. Like I’ve already talked about, it hits me on duper deep philosophical levels. I love the stuff he addresses in this song, I love the beat, and I love the flow. It is just such solid song, I just get stoked on it every time I listen to it. Verses like “My mind it wonders to places yonder and even farther. When I’m sleep walking I’m Steven Jobs or I’m Peter Parker…” or “I always wonder what happened three thousand years ago, I like to toy with the idea that we really know. Is what I do important in the grand scheme of things? In my head these dreams are dreamt, trust me we are kings,” just get me going. Like I seriously have thoughts like these all the time, so to know I’m not the only one is just really special to me I guess. There are plenty more of these crazy deep versus further into the song so be sure to go check it out. 

I got this picture form Mac's live performance of Aquarium on SBTV. 

Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes 

An Interesting song name, huh? I honestly have no idea what it mean, and I’m pretty sure “suplexes” isn't even a word. This is one song on the album that I didn’t end up listening to until just last week actually. And when I heard it, the main thing that stood out to me was Mac’s opening verse with some crazy advance words, followed by a sick into with a man yelling “This is madness! This is an outrage! Matter of fact, this is outrageous!” The combination of these two gave me the chills, and I knew right away that this would be another stellar song on this album that I just fall in love with. After listening to the song a couple more times, and trying to break down the lyrics to understand the story, it got me nowhere; it just leaves me very confused. Though this brings liking to the song for that reason. Every lyric in the song is very random and it seems like there is no real subject to the song, other than Mac having a conversation with himself. But I like how the song leaves you with open ends that you have to think about for yourself. Another really cool thing about the song is that Jay Electronica is featured in it, I really like his verse, but it is somewhat like Mac’s; by that I mean that it is rather confusing and left with some open ends. But overall a really cool song with some crazy wordplay and cool background music, transitions, and sound effects. Would definitely recommend checking it out. 

Watching Movies With The Sound Off// Part Four (Final Part)

REMember

This is arguably the most depressing song on the album. It is about one of Mac’s old friends who recently passed away. In the first verse of the song he talks about his friends death, and how it has impacted/impacting him. It’s super depressing. My favorite verse in the whole album is the ending line to the first verse in this song. “You had a girl, I kinda wish you knocked her up. So I could meet your son and talk you up.” This line gives me the gnarliest chills literally every time. I guess it just really hits me on another level talking like that, like how much he misses him. The next versus include Mac trying fathom his friend being gone, and giving advice on how to deal with stuff like this. The chorus for this song is really cool. It reminds me of an old school depressing song, and I really like those vibes. This is a perfect song to listen to in a very mellow or bummed out mood, so I wouldn’t recommend listening to it if you are in any other mood. 

I got this sweet picture from a sweet website called Fresh Grind. 

The Star Room 

This one I’ve been waiting to blog about for quite a while now. It is one of my favorite songs of all time, and easily my favorite on the album. Talk about chills, I am not kidding at all here, I get the chills throughout the duration of this song. You read right, the entire time. I guess it’s a mix of how I listened to this song quite a bit when I was going through some hard times last year, how I can relate and sympathize to what he’s saying, and the ridiculous lyrics and flow. This is just hands down an amazing song. But I do have to say that you have to be a certain kind of person and in a certain mood to listen to this song. I know plenty of people that I share musical interests with, who just HATE this song. And I can never figure out why, but I love it. It’s always that song that I put on when I’m bummed out, having a hard time, or just need something deep. I hope it can do the same for you. The music video for this song is pretty intense and explicit, so beware. If you would rather listen to just the audio, you can here. 

I got this picture form the University of Northern Iowa's webpage...?

Hope you enjoyed this rather long post about Mac. I’ve really been playing around with the layout, so I’m curious for your guys’ feedback on it. Also, be sure to hit me with any other feedback you may have, including requests. Much thanks

-Eli Levine

2014 Forest Hills Drive// Part One

2014 FHD/ G.M.O.D

This week I am stoked to bring to you two sweet new songs from J. Cole called G.M.O.D and Wet Dreams. These songs are on his new album called 2014 Forest Hills Drive (FHD), and they are two of my favorite songs right now. I have never been that big of a fan of J. Cole in the past, however, this new album and some interviews I have been watching have definitely changed my perspective on him. The interviews I’ve been watching have mostly been of my favorite rapper, as you all know, Logic. I love watching Logic’s interviews and learning more about him. One really cool interview I watched just over a week ago was Logic talking about how J. Cole has influenced his music and personality. Logic says that Cole has been with him since his beginning in the rap game, and that he has always offered helpful advice for him about what to do with his music. Logic says that his whole new album is themed after what Cole recommended. I think it’s really cool how involved and helpful Cole has been in Logic’s life, and how he would definitely not be where he is today without Cole. I love hearing cool stories like this, especially after previously thinking that Cole isn’t that nice of a guy.

I just grabbed this picture of the album cover from Wikipedia. 

2014 FHD/ G.M.O.D
Back to Coles’s new album, I do love all of the songs, but the two that have really stood out to me have been G.M.O.D and Wet Dreams. The first one that I am going to talk about is G.M.O.D, which stands for Get Off My D*ck. Though the name of this song may sound pretty vulgar and unappealing, the song draws the attention of a varying demographic. Even my mom likes the song. It might be from the really sweet beat, different from every modern day rap song I’ve listened to. Or it could be him constantly changing up the pace between fast and pissed off sounding, to mellow and deep. Whatever it is, a lot of people seem to like it, and I like it too. I use it primarily for a pre lacrosse game pump up, though just listening to it late night in my bed I always enjoy. The story in the song is actually pretty interesting and deep, which I like to hear in rap songs. It talks about his life growing up, how difficult it was, and how he made it through all the hate, and that he is proud of what he’s doing today. It’s really cool to hear the story. When he says “get off my d*ck” in the song, he is referring to the people who were never there for him when he wasn’t famous and didn’t have a lot of money, but who are here now and want some of what he has. Though this may be a harsh way of portraying the message, I like the way he gets it through and I like the lyrics in the song. I also really like the unique beat. That is probably my favorite part of the song. And make sure to listen to the whole song, because it sounds like it’s ending at almost four minutes, but there is actually one more full verse. You can listen here. This is the faster version of the song, with J. Cole actually singing. There is another version on youtube, that has a slower beat and with J.’s voice deepened for it. Some people like the slowed version better, but I definitely prefer the sped up one.

2014 Forest Hills Drive// Part Two

Wet Dreams

The other song that I really enjoy on his album is called Wet Dreams. This song also has a rather vulgar name, and this name, unlike G.M.O.D, is not deceiving. The song definitely more on the R rated side of music, with very graphic sexual material and quite a bit of swearing, so be warned when listening. But besides the inappropriate parts of the song, it has an amazing story. I mean it may not sound like the deepest thing, but he talks about him losing his virginity. Now I know right away you are probably thinking, “Ew, why would I want to hear about that?” But, if you listen to the lyrics really closely you’ll realize that the song digs a lot deeper than him just losing his virginity. I also really like how he ties together the story with a stellar reoccurring chorus. But I would have to say my favorite part of this song was listening to it for the first time. I was driving around with my bro and the whole night we were bummed we didn’t have an AUX cord so we couldn’t play our music and we were stuck with the radio. And we kept hearing all of these songs that we didn’t like at all so we kept changing the station. But when when we were almost back to my house, this song came on. He already knew all of the words, but I hadn’t heard it. I picked up the chorus instantly, and fell in love with the flow. That night I went home and listened to the whole album, after thinking I’d never listen to Cole. That just goes to show that you should always give everything a chance before you jump to conclusions. Anyway, the song has a great chorus, amazing flow, and an interesting story. So I would for sure recommend checking it out, but be sure to pay close attention to the lyrics.

I got this picture of J. Cole from taking a screenshot off of the cover for the Fire Squad Instrumental. I was using the instrumental for some raps of my own. If you want to hear the original click here, it is another great song on his new album.  

Wet Dreams
Along the lines of interesting stories, you should hear the story of the album’s production… The album’s name comes from the street name on which the house where Cole grew up and first started writing in. Last year (2014), he went back to North Carolina, and re-bought the house (after losing it to foreclosure just after graduating high school), and dedicated his third studio to it. I think it’s really cool how he goes back to his roots so much with his music. Like of course rappers all talk about their life growing up, but he really sets himself apart by doing something like this. Naming his album after his house of origin, having every song on the album be about his life growing up, talking about stuff that must be super difficult to talk about… I just think that’s really cool. Some other interesting things about the album, is that though it was primarily made by Cole himself, it was released under three labels, Dreamville, Roc Nation and Columbia Records. This is not totally unusual, but hip-hop albums are typically released under one label, and the labels usually help produce the album. This album was announced three weeks before the release date, including no singles, and little promotion and marketing prior to the release on December 9th 2014. The first week after the album being dropped, it sold 371,000 copies, being considered as Gold, by the RIAA, an amazing feat for how little marketing and promotions it had. This this shows how loyal his fan base is and how sometimes rolling low-key can be better. Anyway, I really enjoy this album so be sure to check out the songs I didn’t write about, but those especially. Also, let me know what you think of me mixing up the format of the blog and if you have any requests. Thanks, as always, for reading.

Don't Over Think// Part One

Don’t Over Think

Hello all, sorry I haven’t posted in a while, at the start of new quarters I feel really unmotivated to blog. But anyway, since it is a new quarter for me, I am going to be changing up the format of mu posts a little bit. Nothing big, just going from my usual template of talking about the song in the first paragraph and the artist in the second, to more random and diverse layouts. Just a heads up. So to really start off this post I want to talk about an amazing mixtape that I have come across recently by C Dot Castro called Don’t Over Think. Castro was one of the original members of the RattPack, the other two being Logic and Big Lenbo. Castro is also part of the Visionary Music Group (VMG), which is getting to be quite successful and renown. It is actually really interesting how I learned about his new mixtape, I was in the VIP line at the Logic concert I went to on February Third (by the way, an amazing concert, easily one of the best nights of my life, so if he’s in your area, don’t be afraid to buy some tickets), and these guys in front of us starting talking about it, and then we all began to have a conversation about VMG. After the concert I went home and looked it up, and instantly fell in love with almost every song. Every single verse is just done so well and you can really tell how much work he put into it. The guys that we were talking to were saying that they met Castro at a previous concert and that he told them he spends days at a time just working on one single line. ONE SINGLE LINE, that is ridiculous, but the perfectionist in him is really paying off, producing an outstanding mixtape. I haven’t thoroughly listened to every song, but I am going to do a couple short summaries of my favorites, definitely check them out, and you can listen to the whole mixtape here. 

I got this picture by taking a screenshot of his song All Right, definitely a honorable mention
because I didn't talk about it as one of the four I picked (mixtape cover). 

Kilo

The first song that I will talk about is also the first to occur in the mixtape. This is probably my favorite song on the mixtape, but it is interesting because he actuality dropped this song with a music video (be aware that this music video is pretty violent and has some harsh content) quite before he dropped the mixtape. At the beginning of the song, you would think it would be a really mellow, deep song, but once the beat drops, the vibe totally changed to a strictly pump up, fast paced song. The best lyrics of this song are really hard to determine because of how many good ones there are, this is when it really shows how much of a perfectionist Castro is, literally every line is so solid and could easily be featured here. But since I have to choose I am going to go with when he says “Now when I say I’m the best that ain’t over confidence, motherf*cker that’s common sense.” That line just gives me the chills, so solid and clever, overall a great song. 

Check Next Post For Part Two

Don't Over Think// Part Two

Royal

The next song I really like is called Royal. This song is really different than a lot of rap you’ll hear these days, which I guess is the reason I like it so much. It is like really fast paced, but kind of has a sad and dark vibe to it. I really like the chorus, the beat is cool, and the versus are killer. If I had to choose the best lyric it would either be “I just spit a little bit of cr*ck, then I sit back and I get high of that bass.” I like these lyrics not because they are deep or clever, which they aren’t at all, but because of the great flow in which he spits them. Or it would be the chorus “Throw me the ball I'ma run with it, yeah. You have no seen nothing, I have only just begun with it yeah. I never be done with it yeah. Lately I feel I've been working too hard, It's about time I have fun with it yeah.” Deep, clever, fast. 

I got this picture from a wesbsite called ThatNewJam.
Another honorable mention for the songs on the mixtape is Curtain Call. 

Are We There Yet

This is definitely up there with Kilo when talking about my favorites on this mixtape. It is just such a good song, incredibly deep, talking about his whole story and how he made it through, while spitting versus with ridiculous speed and flow. Once again, it just goes to show how persistent Castro is. Every verse in this song is killer, for sure take a look at this song, listen to the lyrics, and think about how difficult it is to spit like that is, not to mention how difficult it is coming from what he came from (if you really want to hear a sad song about his childhood, listen to Revenge, which is also on the mixtape but I didn’t include it in my top four). The best lyrics in this are literally impossible to choose because I can’t type the entire song into this post.

The Blueprint Feat. Jon Bellion

This is the outro to the mixtape, and a really well put together song, with good vibes, good lyrics, and a great story. Just like all of the other songs, great lyricism, though what really sets this song apart is the killer beat and great chorus that Jon does. There are two parts of this song that literally gives me chills every time. The first is when he says “I’ve gone weeks with nothing to eat, but fast forward, just a couple years more, me and my team about to do a nationwide tour.” I’m not really sure why this gets to me, it might be because I’ve followed Logic so closely and watched this same thing happen to him, and I was just at his concert. The second part that always gives me the chills is “The girl that used to diss me asking me to call her now, I used to look out in the crowd and hear not a sound, *Castro*, yeah that’s what they shouting now.” Make sure to listen for those lyrics and make sure to check out the songs I left out as well! Thanks for reading as always

-Eli Levine

Bang Bang- Marty Grimes & G-eazy

Bang Bang

This is going to be my last blog post of quarter to and I decided that it should go out with a bang, literally. That’s why this week I have picked a super sick song by Marty Grimes featuring G-eazy called Bang Bang. This is one of my favorite songs at the moment, and it is pretty fresh, dropping earlier in the 2014 year. However, the first time I heard it was about a month ago and I fell in love with it instantly, especially G-eazy’s part. This song just has all the perfect components: a great beat, sick hook, and some tight versus from some of the rappers around. On my last post I talked about how important I think it is that rappers have clever or flowy lyrics when the beat drops that sound good when the beat drops. That’s another reason why I like this song so much, it does a great job doing that and the beat just gets me pumped up. Also, in past posts, I’ve talked about when a song gives you chills, there is something really special about it, and G-eazy’s part in this songs gives me chills almost every time. It is also a unique song for him because I haven’t heard many songs that he is featured in, he raps much faster than usual, and he doesn’t even mention something about girls or drugs at all. Though it’s much different than the usual, I really like it. As for Marty Grimes, his parts are pretty sick and go along with the beat well, though it’s kinda hard to distinguish what he is saying at times. As for the best lyrics I definitely have to go with when G-eazy says, “Every time I rap now I make it stack, and every time you rap now y’all take a nap.” Or when he says “Now this sh*t BANG, this sh*t BANG.” Though the latter isn’t very clever the ‘bang’ comes from the hook of the song and it sounds really cool when incorporated  with G-eazy rapping. Though there are plenty of Marty Grimes’ parts and almost every part from G-eazy’s verse that I could have included, I though those were the best.The explitness in this song is more on the moderate side rather than mild, but still not too bad. Including lots of swear words, but nothing too bad on the drug or sexual reference side. However, since there is no official music video for this song, I provided a video of them on tour, which does involve some pretty heavy explicitness involving drug and sexual exposure. 

I got this picture of G-eazy and Marty on stage from a website called The Crowd Album

Some more about Marty Grimes and Young Gerald

Since I have a couple of posts about G-eazy I am going to focus on Marty for this portion. However, if you are looking for some more info on G-eazy, check out my Lady Killers II post. And since Marty is a very new rapper in the industry and I have just recently started listening to him, I don’t know much about him and neither does the internet (something new). But I do know that he has been on tour with G-eazy recently an he is bound to blow up soon, so stay tuned. Also, drop comments for suggestions, feedback, or anything really. And with the quarter almost at its end, it’s likely that I won’t be blogging for a while so to contact me, email me in the gadget above. 

-Eli Levine

I got this image of Marty Grimes from a website called The Arena 

Young Jedi- Logic Featuring Dizzy Wright

Young Jedi

About a week ago I downloaded about sixty new Logic songs onto my phone, and while I was in California this weekend for a lacrosse tournament I put them on shuffle, and one really stood out. It’s called Young Jedi, it’s a tight pump up song by Logic, featuring Dizzy Wright. This song not only is a sick pump up song, but a good mellow song as well, especially during Dizzy Wright’s part. Though this song isn’t very traditional, by that I mean that it doesn’t have a hook or chorus, it still has some sick flow and clever lines. It also has a sick beat and it always drops at a perfect time in relation with the lyrics, which I think is very important. I also think that that is an important trait in an artist. If you aren’t able deliver clever and flowy lyrics during a part with no background music or when the beat drops, then it takes away from the overall ill rating of the song. It’s almost like a turnoff… This is one of the reasons why I like Logic so much. Anyway, for the best lyrics of this song I choose the opening part of the song. It’s just so sick, starting off with some background rapping and then Logic coming in saying “Back again like I never left, Young Sinatra that’s till the death. We turnt up till we go deaf, rep Rattpack till my last breath.” perfectly timed to when the beat drops. The beginning gives me chills and gets me pumped up every time. The explicitness in this song is pretty mellow, it has a couple swear words, some small, indirect drug and sexual reference, but nothing too bad at all. Sadly, there’s no music video for this song, but the audio video has a cool background image, as do many other of his songs without a music video have. 

I got this sick image of Logic and Dizzy Wright performing together from a wesbsite called str8outdaden

Some More About The Artists

Since I have done plenty of songs by Logic, my favorite rapper, already, I am going to focus more on Dizzy Wright. However, if you want to learn more about Logic and the Rattpack, check out my second blog post World Wide, or go to this link, where you can learn all about his new album and its creation. La’Reonte Wright, better known as Dizzy Wright, is a twenty four year old rapper from Flint, Michigan. Wright has spent most of his life rapping, considering that he started when he was eight. Throughout high school we would open concerts and finally signed with a rapper named Hopsin on Hopsin's independent record label Funk Volume. He later went on to release his debut album SmokeOut Conversations, followed by The First Agreement. After that, The Golden Age a mix tape, and State of Mind, an EP that reached number fifty-four on the Billboard 200. Dizzy Wright has never been one of my favorite rappers, due to his dark influences from Hopsin, though recently I have been listening to more of his music and it is definitely growing on me. For my blog, as always, thanks for reading and let me know about any suggestions or anything like that. Also, let me know what you think of the new colors and layout I have been playing around with. 

-Eli Levine

I got this image by taking a screenshot from the music video of The Flavor by Dizzy Wright.