Tag: Indie

Album Review: Flatbush Zombies – 3001: A Laced Odyssey

by Dustin

3001

7/10

This review is late. So very late. It would have felt wrong to ignore this album, though, so here we go…

3001: A Laced Odyssey is the long-time-coming debut studio album from New York based hip-hop trio Flatbush Zombies. This debut would come nearly three years after releasing a couple of mixtapes which stirred up quite a bit of buzz and helped establish a loyal fan following. Somewhat spectacularly, 3001: A Laced Odyssey sold 28,000 units in its first week. This may not sound like a lot, but for a self-released independent record it is wonderful.

You may now be asking yourself, what did this album do to be able to sell so well? And the answer is, lots of things! Most importantly the Zombies as a group established their sound on this record. While their mixtapes were well received, they were fairly chaotic. 3001: A Laced Odyssey is an incredibly cohesive album on all fronts. As a group, the three rappers build off of each other in more of a team-like fashion than fans have seen before. Even the production meshes beautifully from track to track.

This new found tightness is no doubt a product of the artistic evolution Zombie Juice, Erick the Architect, and Meechy Darko.

Zombie Juice perhaps shows the most signs of growth as an artist on 3001: A Laced Odyssey of the three group mates. Juice, at times, has been the victim of critical panning for not being able to keep up with his group-members in terms of flow or vocal presence. Fortunately, he definitely seemed to work hard at correcting these errors on this album. There are still times where Juice feels slightly weak on a track next to Meech and Erick, but the difference is not as noticeable here as it was on the Flashbush Zombies’ mixtapes.

Every day, live it like it’s it for me,
Black on black in time with my roots this is my ghetto symphony,
Shout out to my fam and my homies, we making history,
Never had a degree, but the streets made me a sicker breed.
(Zombie Juice – The Odyssey)

Erick the Architect displayed progression as both a producer and vocalist on this album. His instrumental work was solid, and probably his most most important contribution to the project as a whole. The beats are smooth, rely less on sampling, and fit together very cohesively. It was clear that he had direction when constructing the atmosphere for 3001: A Laced Odyssey. His writing still may not be the best of the group, but Erick has strengthened his vocal delivery which was a pleasant surprise.

Streets full of wolves so my appetite grew
I was hungry for this rap shit way back in high school
(Erick the Architect – A Spike Lee Joint)

Meechy Darko did about what you would expect if you’ve listened to other Flatbush Zombies’ music. His verses are punchy, gritty, and sinister sounding. He did a good job at scaling back his ultra-gruff delivery when needed, as 3001: A Laced Odyssey is a smoother sounding album than previous Zombies material. He didn’t show as much improvement as Erik or Juice, but this isn’t necessarily an issue as he was the Flatbush Zombies member with the strongest vocal presence prior to this release.

My only mission is to burn in hell and not in prison,
That’s why I’m spitting shit that make Jesus question religion,
This fan told me her parents said I sound like the devil,
To me I sound like a poor black kid from the ghetto.
(Meechy Darko – The Odyssey)

3001: A Laced Odyssey is not without its flaws. For example, Meechy Darko’s attempt at shock humor felt a little forced occasionally. That’s not to say that he should have avoided it entirely as subtle horrorcore influence has always been present in Meech’s writing, but there was the odd moment where these lines felt out of place relative to the song. As mentioned earlier, Zombie Juice also came up short on a few tracks; however, none of his underwhelming moments really stood out as terrible.

The absolute worst part of the album is probably the multiple minutes of fan messages on the last song. Admittedly it was cool for the first listen, but after that it felt like a nuisance. It would have been better suited as a whole separate outro track rather than part of a song, entirely for skipping purposes.

These things considered, 3001: A Laced Odyssey is an all-around solid debut album. For new fans, it’s a focused listen that serves as a wonderful entry point into the Flatbush Zombies’ catalog. Those who have followed the group since their mixtape material might be surprised by the more relaxed sound, but that hopefully will not deter them from listening. There are most definitely still areas that the group could improve, but 3001: A Laced Odyssey has laid a sturdy groundwork for future albums.

How Hip-Hop Helped Me Deal with Mental Illness

by Dustin

Depressionarticle

I’d like to discuss something that I’ve only ever told the closest people in my life – I struggle with mental illness. I knew something was wrong since my early teens, but I didn’t admit it to myself (and seek formal diagnosis) until I was in my first year of university. After I saw my doctor, I let the stigma surrounding anxiety and depression rule my life. I felt ashamed, and I didn’t think anyone would understand what I was feeling. I held back from talking with people because I didn’t want to be judged negatively. I isolated myself out of fear that one of my friends or family members would find out that I wasn’t okay.

At one point I was sitting alone in my dorm drinking myself to sleep every day, I had stopped attending class, and my workout regime crawled from seven days a week to zero. I gained close to fifty pounds and was placed on academic probation. It felt like I had hit rock bottom, and it was incredibly scary. I was worried that I would end up doing something to hurt myself, and I couldn’t stomach the thought of putting my family through that sort of trauma.

I also knew that depression wasn’t something I could deal with alone, but I still wasn’t ready to ask for help.

It’s the stuff I find hard for discussion,
How the fuck do you explain your own self destruction and still remain trusted?
(El-P – Poisenville Kids No Wins)

In the meantime, I buried myself in music. During the twelve awake hours a day I was spending isolated in a twelve foot by twelve foot dorm room, I nearly always had my laptop playing some sort of music. The majority of the time I was just laying there listening doing nothing else, and it very much became my life.

Hip-hop in particular became home to me, and I started exploring and experimenting with new artists. I really started to get into music by El-P, Killer Mike, Open Mike Eagle, Blueprint, Shad, Eyedea, The Roots, Aesop Rock, and so many others that I won’t even attempt to list them off right now. For the most part, the music just served as a distraction that I happened to enjoy. I found everything from the production methods to writing styles interesting.

More importantly however, these artists were at times exploring dark paces they’ve been, and I felt like I could relate to the music. That’s when it really clicked. Holy shit, I’m not by myself in this. There are other people who are experiencing the exact same thing as me who probably also feel alone.

It took about a year to get to that point, but my perspective changed entirely.

Now if you never had a day a snow cone couldn’t fix,
You wouldn’t relate to the rogue vocoder blitz.
(Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass)

As crazy as it might sound, it really was a bit of an epiphany. The idea of opening up to those close to me didn’t seem quite as daunting. I told family members, I told some of my closer friends, and for the first time in a long time I was honest with myself about the severity of where I was mentally. As you’d expect, the people I opened up to had various reactions. A few withdrew themselves from me, but most were beautifully supportive and remain friends to this day.

Most importantly though, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I started getting professional help. Not a whole lot of it, due to financial issues, but enough that things started to turn around. I started to pick up athletics again, my grades improved dramatically (though, I ended up dropping out two years later, but not for performance reasons), and I stopped drinking every day.

For lack of better phrasing, I felt like a different person.

Make you wanna sing, clap your hands to it,
Nod your head a little bit, maybe dance to it,
And reminisce about the good times you had to it,
Not sure what I’d do if I never had music.
(Blueprint – Mind, Body and Soul)

Now, I’d be fully lying to you if I said things ended completely happily. Anxiety and depression are still things that I battle with at times. Recently I hit another low. It didn’t last nearly as long, but it was a reminder that these things can linger. The difference now is that I’ve established the support network to fall back on when things get difficult, and it’s become an invaluable personal tool for keeping myself in check. I feel like I owe reaching this point to music.

So what I really want to say is, thank you to the artists who showed that personal side and vulnerability. As much as none of them will probably read this, it helped me accept things about myself that were incredibly difficult to come to terms with. I’m in a much better mental place because of it.

If you’re reading this and you think you’re dealing with something similar, remember that you’re not alone. I know that it’s really easy to slip into mental isolation, and there are still times where I have to really force myself to not purposely cut people out as well. I can’t stress enough how much simply opening up to someone supportive can help. Take advantage of whatever resources you have. It’s never easy, but I believe it’s worth the fight in the end.

Album Review: Open Mike Eagle & Paul White – Hella Personal Film Festival

by Dustin

HPFF

7.75/10

After kicking off the month of March by winning the incredibly prestigious Extraordinary Nobodies Artist of the Month nod, Open Mike Eagle looked to have a strong finish to the month with his brand new full length album. Having found a home for his unique brand of “art rap” on Mello Music Group, Mike set the bar high for himself with the one-two album-extended play punch of Dark Comedy and A Special Episode Of. You may be asking, “did he follow up these two projects with another exceptional album”? Well, if you had paid attention to the little score at the top you would already know that yes, yes he did.

The album is also titled Hella Personal Film Festival. So yeah, that’s a thing too.

Hella Personal Film Festival listens almost conceptually, with every track being a movie script to some aspect of Open Mike Eagle’s life. He’s always been a very relatable artist, yet this album manages to push that a little further. Though Mike keeps his absurd, witty, and sometimes sarcastic approach to analysis, it becomes obvious right from the opening track that this project will be at times more serious and introspective. There are moments on Hella Personal Film Festival that seem to put him at his most vulnerable, exposing scars and concerns to the listener.

I heard that when you in a fucked up space,
No one can hear you signal help,
I tried to set them straight,
And tell them I self medicate,
All they saw’s a glitchy video,
But then I never show my cards,
Instead I write for stealth,
Blah blah blah, I cry for help,
All this bellyaching’s just to say,
My belly’s hurting after all.
Admitting the Endorphin Addiction

At times it did feel like Mike had lost some of the vocal energy that he had in abundance on Dark Comedy, but the more somber approached fit the subject matter well. His delivery at times felt more similar to Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes than to his newer work, which was a bit surprising at first. Don’t take that to mean that he took a step backwards though, because that couldn’t be less true. Open Mike Eagle’s writing, emotional awareness, and presence on Hella Personal Film Festival has quite clearly progressed. It’s just more closely related to his older records in terms of overall sound.

The album only has two guest features, Aesop Rock and Hemlock Ernst (the rap personal of Future Islands’ Sam Herring) on “I Went Outside Today” and “Protectors of the Heat” respectively. This selective use of guests artists is fairly typical for an Open Mike Eagle album, and both managed to add something to the songs on which they were featured; however, Aesop probably had the more interesting verse of the two with his ever-so-confusing charm. Busdriver also makes a quick appearance at the end of “Dang is Invincible” where he says a grand total of nine or ten words. He’s not listed as a feature, but the voice is unmistakable.

Gotta admit it’s hard to feel good without being narcissistic,
Did the whole tour and didn’t get a parking ticket,
Looked in my heart and there wasn’t no darkness in it,
Feel awesome dude, found some wind to throw caution to!
Dang is Invincible

Production also really has to be discussed for this album as it was a collaborative effort with UK based music producer Paul White. White is perhaps most well known for his work with Danny Brown will on both XXX and Old. He has also provided production for the likes of Homeboy Sandman and Guilty Simpson. As far as the instrumentation on this album, he did a wonderful job at providing beats which compliment Open Mike Eagle’s voice. The sound is somewhat more conventional that most of Mike’s discography, but in this case that is certainly not a bad thing. There is not a single instrumental on Hella Personal Film Festival which feels out of place. They flow into each other very nicely, building a cohesive atmosphere throughout.

If you were looking for powerful booming production though, you wont find it here. It would be kind of questionable to be looking for bangers on Open Mike Eagle album in general because that’s not really his style, but hey, it was worth a mention.

Living from check to check, I keep checking,
Incoming call, directly reject it,
If you want to talk, suggest you leave message,
I check, check, check like every three seconds,
I’m recording right now and I’m checking between takes,
Every notification that my phone machine makes,
I put it down whenever, but it’s never a clean break,
I should get a heavy phone and pretend it’s a free weight.
Check to Check

Basically, if you are a fan of Open Mike Eagle’s previous work it’s not a stretch to say that you’ll enjoy what Hella Personal Film Festival has to offer. It might not be the best jumping off point for a new listener, as it is surprisingly more dense than an album like Dark Comedy (which is probably the easiest album in Mike’s discography to jump into in terms of lyrics and overall sound). If you’re looking for an record that takes multiple listens to fully digest, but still offers some comedic relief, then Hella Personal Film Festival may just fit your taste perfectly.

Just be sure to give it more than a single spin (you’ll want to anyway).

Artist of the Month: Open Mike Eagle

by Dustin

OME

Have you ever found yourself sitting at home wishing you had music in your library that you could really relate with? Not just emotionally, but also in terms of the small day to day things you want to tell people, but don’t because you’re afraid of boring your friends with another complaint about your kids smearing pasta into the couch? If this is something you’ve been looking for in music, look no further than the Chicago-born-Los Angeles-based Open Mike Eagle.

Also, he is Extraordinary Nobodies’ featured artist for March 2016! So, if that’s a deciding factor for you, now you know that you’ll enjoy his music.

Finding his beginnings with Project Blowed and Hellfyre Club, Open Mike Eagle now delivers his unique brand of any-man rap through Mello Music Group. His sound has evolved since he released his full length solo debut in 2010, Unapologetic Art Rap, but one thing has remained consistent: Mike is not afraid to put a musical spin on the small aspects of life that many will find themselves relating to easily. Perhaps most impressive is that he manages to take these things, which may seem banal, and turn them into entertaining music.

It’s something that seems rare for rappers to do, focusing on the small experiences that are often overlooked. At the same time, it’s refreshing and makes Open Mike Eagle seem like one of the most down to earth artists out.

G-g-get up and dance,
G-g-get up and dance,
I w-w-wipe my son’s ass,
And get shit on my hands,
Qualifiers

Putting the quirkiness aside, he is also talented at grabbing listeners through common struggles. Student debt, concern over the current social climate, and general anxieties are topics that frequently find their way into Open Mike Eagle’s music. He’s personal, but in a tasteful way.

‘Cause I was studying brine shrimp and parasites,
And learning how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit,
With thick glasses and everything,
Supposed to have big cash when I’m seventeen,
From working in research labs with acetylene torches,
And a flying Porsche with leather wings,
But looking back I wasn’t too clever,
Cause I grew up to be the smartest broke dude ever .
Rent Party Revolution

It should also be noted that his production choices are generally fantastic. You won’t find big production in Mike’s work, the beats are generally somewhat simple in nature; however, they’re weird, buzzy, and suit his sound perfectly. Though he uses a variety of producers on his projects, fans will recognize names like Oddisee and Exile in the production credits of Open Mike Eagles work.

In fact, he even gave self producing a try on Time & Materials, the collaborative effort between Mike and follow whimsical rapper Serengeti. Though he won’t be producing his next full length album, he showed promise and raw talent as a producer.

Cause people want you to join ’em in a bad dream,
Miserable motherfuckers are quick to start a tag team,
I was pretty close to tapping out, they almost had me.
Bright Green Light

His music is very much alternative, and a lot of the time he’ll switch from straight rapping to songs that feature a singing-focused delivery. Is it perfect? Nope, but he does make it work with his music very well. He’s not afraid to step outside of his comfort zone and try something different (such as creating a concept album like Time & Materials with Serengeti). His releases feel cohesive, yet they all manage to have a distinct flavor.

It’s a good flavor, but one you wouldn’t expect, like pistachio ice cream. Open Mike Eagle’s music is pistachio ice cream. You heard it here first.

I’m far away from my house, wrote this song in the hotel room,
On a day of the show, got canceled, now this room feels like Bellevue,
Jupiter’s got twelve moons and there’s life forms on a couple of them,
Give a fuck if my plans fell through, if I’m deep purple or pale blue.
Big Pretty Bridges (3 Days off in Albuquerque)

Give him a look, at the very least you can say you tried something new. Isn’t that what music is all about?

Artist of the Month: clipping.

by Dustin

clppng

At one point in the late months of 2014 someone linked me to clipping.’s release from a year earlier, midcity. One thing lead to another and… Well, I ended up binge listening to every scrap of material the hip-hop trio could offer. What I learned swiftly is that clipping. really isn’t your usual rap act even though the lyrical subject matter can seem familiar. In fact, they probably couldn’t be further from the norm.

If you’ve heard a single clipping. song in your life then you will know exactly what I mean. Let’s start with the production. That sexy, sexy production. William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes create some of the most abrasive (in all the right ways) and noisy instrumentals I’ve ever heard, yet they remain pleasing to the ears; moreover, I find their production to be incredibly atmospheric. My favorite example of this is the song Story 2. Though Daveed Diggs lyrics are rich with story-telling goodness, Hutson and Snipes’ production turn the song into a beautifully anxious and emotionally draining listening experience.

Seriously, did you just listen to that song? If you have to take a moment to let your heart rate come back down I wouldn’t blame you.

I should probably talk about Daveed Diggs now that I’ve mentioned him. Fun fact, he’s recently won a Grammy for some of his musical theatre work. Talented guy, and he’s also a pretty fantastic rapper. I would say that his greatest strength is his ability to lay thick descriptions in his writing effortlessly. As I mentioned earlier, Story 2 does showcase this, but it’s a pretty standard part of Diggs’ style. Take for instance the horrorcore flavored track from CLPPNG, Body & Blood (note: the video I’ve just linked to is most definitely not safe for work, you have been warned). He verbally paints a picture of the murderous female lead’s physical appearance and behaviors without forcing anything into the verse. It’s just lovely.

Well, as lovely as you can get when talking about a cannibalistic female serial killer, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Another thing about clipping. that I respect is their versatility within their own sound. On one hand, they’re masters of the ultra-abrasive tracks that are perhaps not so accessible. Intro is one of these songs. It’s loud, and it wants to permanently damage your eardrums to the point that you develop tinnitus (I say this with love, the sound is great). On the other hand, clipping. has put out songs like Summertime which are ridiculously smooth given the production style.

As a side, if you just listened to Summertime and don’t want to be cruising around in August with your windows down, I don’t know what to say. I know the subject matter isn’t happy, but you can still leave if you don’t agree with me. Seriously, there’s nothing more for you here because we will never agree on anything.

Just kidding I love you.

Allow me to issue a personal challenge to anyone who reads this article: listen to a clipping. project in full. I expect that the sound wont click with every single person that checks out their music, and that’s certainly okay. For those who end up enjoying the sound though (such as myself), you’ll find yourself pleasantly addicted to one of the most unique acts currently in hip-hop.

Here, listen to guns.up. Don’t even try to figure out what’s happening, just let it hit you. Just accept it.

Apu Rambles: Prof is a Pretty Decent Rapper, and I Usually Hate New Things.

by Apu

ProfPress-1-Credit-BlueG-Productions-news

I feel like fucking rambling. I need to distract myself. I would apologize in advance for making such a long post but honestly there’s nobody out there who’s going to read anything posted on this site ever in my or Dustin’s lifetime (note from Dustin: this may or may not be true, but I refuse to comment on the matter).

I’ve been listening to a lot of Prof lately. Dustin introduced me to his music about 4 of 5 months ago. If I remember correctly it was because of some lyrics I was writing. I was writing (and still write) about hijinks that I encounter while inebriated and upon showing Dustin a portion of a verse, he told me I was a lot like Prof, and even that my old rap name was reminiscent of Prof’s rap name. I had no idea who he was talking about so he sent me the “Bar Breaker” video

Needless to say, I was intrigued. This shit was nearly exactly what I was writing, except it was a lot less rhymey and a lot better. The jokes were funnier, the personality shone more, and it was more fun. I think my shit’s more cynical though, so that may be it. But whatever. I liked it more than anything I was writing. I told Dustin that I like it. Of course, I’m the type who takes forever to actually listen to the album of an artist I haven’t heard of before. Dustin can attest to how long it took me to finally sit and give a listen to the Run The Jewels albums and I obviously loved them like everybody else who listens to RTJ, so I don’t know why I don’t change. But I don’t, so instead, I just looked for another song to listen to. I saw “Ghost” and saw a familiar name: Tech N9ne. I clicked on it.

I listen to it and I’m really impressed by Prof at this point. In my completely unprofessional and unimportant opinion, Prof left Tech in the dust after burying him. Tech’s verse is cool, sure, but Prof’s flow was more creative (as opposed to the very challenging but somewhat increasingly basic “let me put every syllable on the drum” flow that Tech used on this song…Tech please don’t send someone to kill me please), Prof sounded threatening at points but would say something like “I roll deep, even got my grandma here” to make you chuckle (and the shit wasn’t even pace-breaking or anything, it was totally seamless), his delivery was more engaging…I felt like I had to listen to more. I see in the related videos column a song called “Animal” and click on it. Next thing I know I’m listening to some club song that sounds like it belongs in 2005.
I was a little taken aback, because those other two songs were a lot more lyrical-miracle let-me-show-off-ish. Then here comes this weird club song that sounds like it was written in half an hour. But I as I was listening I couldn’t help but nod my head and really fucking like that harmonizing he did behind “I’m an animal, what they call me? I’m an animal” on the hook. And the video had me really entertained too. The beginning of the first verse when he puts his arm around the girl with a turkey baster in his hand, then takes some of the girl’s drink then walks away from her, was a highlight for me.

A few days later, I decided to listen to more of Prof’s music. I searched “Prof” in the Youtube search bar (because obviously that’s an important detail in this story) and click on the first new thumbnail that interests me because I’m a dumb fuck with a short attention span and the intellect of a hamster after drinking vodka from that suspension tube generally full of fluid that hamster cages have in them. It ended up being “Peep Show.”

I was immediately feeling the production. I’ve always liked dark clown rap beats. I search for them on Youtube all the time and come back disappointed because nearly every beat on Youtube fucking sucks. From the way it opened up I was really interested. Then it goes from that demented circus tent to him walking around picking his teeth with pink headphones on looking like Charlie Brown’s older brother. I had fun watching the video. By this point I came to realize that Prof is much more a guy who makes music to have some goddamn fun, unlike so many rappers nowadays who are trying to come up with a winning formula or just make contrived emotional songs that end up coming off as empty, then get pissed off when the shit doesn’t work so they go on Twitter to rant and force us as listeners to worry about their respective mental health. And I was cool with that, because I was enjoying myself listening to him.

About 3 and a half months go by after my week of listening to those 4 songs. I never really got into Prof beyond them because I had a bunch of shit happen. But about 2 or 3 weeks ago (fuck time, right? Who the fuck knows how long it’s been since 5 minutes ago? [wait…]) I decided to start listening to him again. I checked out Kaiser Von Powderhorn 2, which had “Animal” on it. It was a pretty short project, I think the Bandcamp description says all the Kaiser Von Powderhorns are EPs. I found that I really, really liked “Rules” and “Figured Out” aside from just “Animal.” “Figured Out” impressed me in particular. It was pretty clear that Prof can sing based off the songs that I had heard, but I didn’t think he could pull of an entire track the way he did that. I thought the project was cool.

That was nothing compared to when I listened to Liability though. It was way more than just an album that’s full of songs meant to elicit a chuckle or two. It definitely looked that way on the first half of the album. “Galore,” “King,” “Standout,” and “Far Out” are all just fun rap songs, and even though they were all very enjoyable I was afraid this would run thin by the end of the album. But when “I Had Sex In The 90’s” came on, I appreciated when he decided to sing throughout the track for the most part. It changed the feel of the album a bit and showed that Prof didn’t have just one thing to offer through the entire thing.

Then fucking “Motel.”

Fucking hell.

This little fucking white guy just made a blues song with this shit. And it is good. Really fucking good. His singing blew my mind…I wouldn’t say it’s because it’s so amazing, but more because I was NOT expecting it. Don’t get me wrong, the singing is pretty fucking great. Better than the singing that comes out of guys like Yelawolf, who is praised for the country element he’s adding to his music. Mainly because with Yelawolf you can tell the vocals are touched the fuck up more than – wait no I’m not going to make a pedophilia joke. Prof proved that his vocals aren’t touched at all on Sway In The Morning. That shit’s all real. It’s awesome.

He continued the singing on “Love Like Mine” which is definitely something I’m playing when I fuck. Same with “Mob” and “Apeshit” actually. Those songs get me fucking hype. Play the shit at the gym. Guaranteed to make you look like Terry Crews Euro Training. Waka’s verse is fire too, I never thought I’d hear him rap like that.

So yeah. Liability is a fucking great album. I haven’t been excited about an album like this in a long time. After this I checked King Gampo, which was entertaining too. Not on the same level as Liability though, which I was actually relieved for because it means that Prof focused on getting better as time went on. I want to see that still happening. I really, really enjoyed “Gampo,” “Peep Show” as you already know, and “Need Your Love” which sounds like Prof’s remake of “I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight” by Cutting Crew (a song I like). But what really caught my attention on this album was “Karma.” I swear, Prof’s singing is fucking great. The way he layers his vocals on this song is great. I haven’t really listened to Prof’s other projects in full but I have heard a few songs off Camp Gampo, which are different than what he started doing around the time of Kaiser Von Powderhorn 2. It actually sounded more on the level of what I’m writing now, which makes me hope I can improve the way Prof did. He started singing a lot more, which I think really helped him come into his own. It allowed him to use his voice differently which helped give it a completely new dimension of charisma.

For the longest time, I thought that rappers/singers didn’t get any better than Krizz Kaliko. I mean, the motherfucker is probably why I enjoy Tech’s music as much as I do. I pay attention to even his background vocals and ad-libs on Tech’s music. Listen to the very last hook of Tech’s “Paint A Dark Picture.” Pay attention to Krizz singing out the last words of each line of the hook. Tell me that shit doesn’t give you chills. And that’s just fucking background vocals. Who the fuck else could do what the fuck he did on “Withdrawals”? “Little Pills”? “Bipolar”?

Then I find this Prof asshole. I go from thinking Krizz is the only one who would put “Dancing With Myself,” “Kali Baby,” “Can’t Be The Only One,” “Wannabe,” and “Unstable” on the same album and make it sound like they all fucking belong together to hearingLiability which pulls off “Bar Breaker,” “Ghost,” “Motel,” and “Mob.” I don’t even know if I could classify Prof as a rapper/singer because he screams hip hop in his overall demeanor and personality in the music, as opposed to Krizz who is a lot more ambiguous in the genre he does. And the thing is, I don’t think I can really compare the two as far as who I like more. Prof generally makes a lot more fun, ignorant music and seems to do the “I choose to be happy” thing; ignoring his pain and burying it beneath smiles, jokes, and alcohol. Krizz makes fun music as well, but he connects with me mainly when he wears his heart on his sleeve and bears it all. Krizz is a better rapper and singer technically, but Prof oozes character 100% of the time, and it’s much stronger character than most rappers besides guys like Em, Luda, Busta, or Red (and occasionally he exceeds the character that they show). So I don’t know. What I do know is I just had something really fucking shitty happen, and I’m probably gonna need to listen to both Prof and Krizz for the foreseeable future.