The Very Good Agency

Yaheard? Lightheaded & Braille

Whats up everyone! So a couple weeks back I introduced you (hopefully!) to an album called The Find by Ohmega Watts. Well, this week we’re gonna take a look at an album he released with his group Lightheaded, as well as a dope album by one of his Lightheaded friends, Braille.

I discovered this music after I listened to Ohmega‘s album and taking some serious notice of some of Braille‘s rhymes. After a bit of research I was more than pleased to find they were actually part of the same group, along with another MC called Othello. Wrong Way is the second album from Lightheaded, and was released way back in 2005. Full of up-tempo b-boy jams and summertime beats; the three artists create something that has you nodding your head and reminiscing about the golden days of hip hop. Drawing influence from the likes of People Under The Stairs, Gangstarr, Jurassic 5 and Ugly Duckling (circa Journey To Anywhere), the three MC’s rhyme with conscious and positive lyrics over some seriously good Ohmega Watts production.

The album wastes no time in starting the party, the second track, “Timeless”, comes in with a funky horn loop over a cracking drum beat, before the MC’s start with the timeless (no pun intended) hip hop mantra “Clap your hands everybody, if you what it takes……”.

The MC’s feed off each other and rap collectively as well as dropping tight verses individually, this is a truly classic party track that is impossible not to love. The whole album is awesome though, its another one that you can easily listen to from start to finish. Notable standouts include the title track, “Wrong Way”, as well as the samba-influenced “In The Building”, and the chilled out groove of the “Surprise Cypher” remix.

The production on the album is easily as solid as that on The Find, track after track of head-nodding party beats and cuts, catchy hooks and feelgood melodies. Ohmega‘s skill on the boards is undeniable, and he raps just as well too. What stands out is that these guys are all very different when it comes to their rhyme styles, yet they flow together amazingly. Braille, Ohmega Watts and Othello have the ability to create dope positive hip hop with seeming ease, its certainly a chemistry that would be envied by many artists.

Lightheaded – Soul Power

For me, Braille‘s rhyme skills really came to the fore upon hearing the Lightheaded joint. He has an instantly recognisable voice and a flow that suits the feelgood party beats that I know I love. With four solo albums and two with Lightheaded, along with running his own label (www.hiphopismusic.com), Braille is obviously a very committed and hardworking artist. As a Christian, his beliefs are often expressed in his songs, although never in an in-your-face kind of way, more of a positive and uplifting kind of way. His second album, “Shades of Grey”, is a strong showing from the Portland-based MC; and again features contributions from his pal Ohmega Watts.

“It Won’t Last” kicks off the album in style with a funky acoustic guitar riff and toe-tapping beat. Braille is joined by Othello and Pigeon John, who all rhyme together on the hook. “Hip Hop Music” follows, and keeps the beat rolling with Braille coming with insightful lyrics about the stereotypes surrounding hip hip artists. Scratch master Rob Swift, of The Executioners, adds cuts to top this track off, making it one of the best on the album. Ohmega joins the party on “Statements Part 2”, where the two MC’s rhyme together about Lightheaded and an older project they did together called Return to Sender; a track that would sit comfortably on The Find or Timeless.

The album cruises through solid tracks “Keep On” and “Let Go”, before moving to “Poetry in Motion”, which features synthy piano and dope cuts and samples from Muneshine on production. The Lightheaded crew then reunite along with Sharlok Poems on “Soul Rock” in another feelgood hit. Braille finishes off with one of the albums best tracks in “Shades of Grey”. Dropping with a big orchestral build-up, Braille bursts in and delivers some of the best lyrics of the entire album. He breaks down the realities of life, particularly his, and through the use of some beautifully complex lyrics he discusses the importance of staying positive and striving to always make the most of what you’ve got in life regardless of your situation, to always make do with your shades of grey;

“Sipping on my sorrow while it’s washing it away,
trying to add color to these shades of grey,
and trying to make sense out of all this confusion,
embrace my reality and unmask illusions, holograms,
i advance on a quest with many questions,
distracted for a second but I know that I’m destined,
counting my blessing, renewed everyday,
and I know I’d never grow without these shades of grey”

These are both great hip hop albums, no question. Hip hop music made for all the right reasons appeals to me greatly. I’m sick of hearing artists who find it necessary to continuously big up the bling-bling “money-cash-ho’s” type ideology. These guys, however, never come close to that; you can really tell that the MC’s are serious and passionate about their craft. They flow with effortless finesse, delivering track-after-track of music that pays homage to the early days of hip hop, where rolling party beats and conscious lyricism were the order of the day.

Braille also has a new album out, The IV Edition, which is well worth checking out.

You can check out more of Braille at:

www.myspace.com/braillebrizzy

www.hiphopismusic.com

and hear some of Lightheaded‘s tracks at:

www.myspace.com/lightheaded where they’ve also announced that they’re working on a new album.

That’s all for now,

Peace

…Crack

Tags: Collaborations, hip hop

Typical Cats

Despite their name, the refreshing style of poetry and jazz coming from these three emcee’s and DJ from Chicago is anything but typical. You might catch them dropping playful raps that challenge the limits of story telling, or you might catch them slumping into slow and simple jazz licks, either way all of their incredible vocal flows take you on a journey of rhyming and timing.

Made up of MCs Qwel, Qwazaar and Denizen Kane, with producer/DJ Natural, and assistance from Kid Knish, Typical Cats came together as a group on the WHPK Wednesday Night Rap Show, an independent Chicago radio station on FM 88.5 covering the South Side of Chicago.

The three emcee’s individual lyrical styles have you come away from their albums feeling like there were three solo artists battling each other, but with a unique tamed aggression. Their self titled album brought a lot of attention to some otherwise fairly underground artists. The album put on display the many flavours Typical Cats have between them, floating effortlessly from hard hitting speed rap, to lazy jazz poetry in a half a beat, telling stories with words, piano’s, and anything else they felt like.

It is as hard to describe Typical Cats as it is to find decent video footage of their performances, so the below video will at least give you an idea of their style…

Aside from Typical Cats, these emcee’s make regular noise in the Chicago and bay area freestyle scene. Denizen Kanes’ other project ‘I was born with two tongues’ see’s him spending much time in Oakland where he performs with this spoken word community. Qwel on the other hand has been involved in 16 albums since the release of their debut album ‘Typical Cats’ in 2000, working on collaboration projects with Maker, Jackson Jones, Meaty Ogre, Mike Gao, Silence, and Robust just to name a few.

You can check out more of Typical Cats at:

www.myspace.com/typicalcatscrew

check out ‘Snake Oil’ and ‘Quleoquiallisms for the relaxing simplicity:

www.myspace.com/typicalcats

Tags: Collaborations, hip hop, Jazz, Poetry

YaHeard? Foreign Exchange – Connected

Few albums have stuck me the way Foreign Exchange’s debut effort did. The only thing I knew about the project before listening, was that the two masterminds had never actually met before releasing the album. North Carolina-based MC Phonte (of Little Brother), and Netherlands-based producer Nicolay, met on the Okayplayer (www.okayplayer.com) messageboards, where Nicolay emailed beats to Phonte, who dropped verses, and then the Dutch master mixed the final product. The result, Connected, is a lush 14-track hip hop symphony of wonderfully layered beats and potent lyricism.

At the time I purchased the album I had only just been introduced to Little Brother, and without much thought, ordered the album without having listened to any of it. What I got was easily the best album of 2004 for me. Nicolay crafts beautifully intricate, soulful landscapes, of which Phonte takes complete lyrical control, along with a whole host of friends such as Justus League cohorts Median and Joe Scudda, the sultry diva YahZarah, and his Little Brother partner in crime, Big Pooh.

The album kicks off with an interesting syncopated harmony which builds with the charming voice of YahZarah, and then drops into a typical Nicolay groove with her singing “Thank you for the music, thank you for right now”; once you’ve heard this album in its entirety you’ll realise just how appropriate this is. The next track, “Von Sees”, features Von Pea shouting out to all involved in the project, and really serves as a second introduction, before seemlessly blending into Phonte‘s first verse on the next track, “Raw Life”, where he comes in spitting straight fire alongside Joe Scudda. The journey continues with the following track, “Hustle, Hustle”, a smooth organ-driven beat with a deep bassline and funky horns on the chorus.

Perhaps the albums best track, “Let’s Move”, is up next. An amazingly layered mellow blend of multiple vocals and euphoric brass and string sections. This is easily an album highlight, guest Big Pooh and  Phonte express the woes of the independent musician, with Phonte delivering one of his finest lines: “My rhymes never dramatise, I applied for the job of rap nigga, but I was overqualified”. The appropriately titled “Nic’s Groove”, is up next. A smooth mid-tempo harmony and booming bassline, with Phonte and Big Pooh again trading verses, Pooh coming with one of the most creative rhymes I’ve ever heard: “Mental precipitation, without the weather reports, to forecast of predict my thoughts”.

Foreign Exchange featuring YahZarah – Sincere

The albums flow is infectious, with tracks blending into and complimenting each other, raising and lowering the tempo in just the right places. “Sincere”, “Be Alright” and “Brave New World” keep the vibe of the album rolling along nicely, and the final track “All That You Are” finishes things as strongly as possible; you won’t want the journey to end. I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to this, but I seriously consider it one of the most amazing hip hop albums i’ve ever heard. Even as I sit here now listening to it I’m looking forward to the next time I get to hear it. And it’s been out for nearly 4 years!

Despite the distance between the two artists during the production of this album, the final product gives you the feeling that they’ve been making music together for years. Connected will take you on a laid back ride through hip hop, electronic groove and soul, and have you nodding your head the whole way. Nicolay‘s beats are simply beautiful, elaborate and enchanting; you need to listen to this by yourself the first time to fully appreciate them. Phonte and family all do their bit throughout the album, but the man himself really shines, consistently ripping his verses to pieces with his silky flow and creative rhymes. And although at the time it probably seemed like a nice little side project, the critical acclaim this album has received has resulted in Nicolay and Phonte teaming up again for Leave it all behind, to be released later this year. Now that is good news to me.

That’s YaHeard? for the week, keep an eye out in coming weeks for an interview with Ohmega Watts collaborator and Lightheaded member, Braille.

Peace

You can check out more of Foreign Exchange at:

www.theforeignexchangemusic.com

…..Crack

Tags: Collaborations, hip hop

Ya Heard? The Mighty Underdogs

Welcome back y’all to the second installment of Ya Heard? This week we’re going to take a look at a new release that may have slipped under the hip hop radar for you: The Prelude EP from The MIghty Underdogs, a new supergroup consisting of Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Lateef the Truthspeaker (Latyrx), and Headnodic (bassist/producer Crown City Rockers).

The Prelude EP is a six-song taste of things to come from these guys, and if its anything to go by, their full album (entitled “Dropping Science Fiction”, slated for release in October) will be straight heat. The EP is full of talented features also, with appearances from underground king MF Doom, DJ Shadow, Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets and The Dino 5) and Raashan Ahmad (Crown City Rockers).

The chemistry between these three artists is noticable from the first track, “UFC” aka “United Flow Champions”, which features characteristic scratching and samples from DJ Shadow. The banging Hednodic beat and Gab’s tight flow sets the scene for the rest of the album. The EP then blasts into “Gunfight”, where MF Doom emerges from the wilderness to add his trademark style to the infectious Wild West-themed track, which incorporates a catchy guitar loop and a spooky, slow whistling trill (think tumbleweeds and western showdowns). Check out the video for this track below.

Gift of Gab is really on point on this EP, bringing back memories of the “Melodica” and “Blazing Arrow” days, no more obvious than on”Get out of my life” and “Status Symbol”. “Love Life” is a nice slow headnodding beat, featuring a solid showing from Ladybug Mecca.

The EP finishes off in style with “Bring Me Back”; a shout to the old skool, and a true Bay Area beat. In my mind, certainly the best track. Hednodic’s production skills are something to take real notice of, as is the ridiculous verse dropped by Raashan Ahmad. The track just has this funky party vibe that makes you want to listen to it all day.

The new album, “Droppin Science Fiction” (out October 14th), will surely be an anticiated release after this small taster. A full tracklisting, which features additional album guests such as Lyircs Born, Juliam and Damian Marley, Mr Lif and Chali 2na, can be found on the Def Jux website where you can also pre-order and listen to short clips of each track.

Tags: Collaborations, hip hop

Giant Panda – Electric Laser

Tags: Collaborations, hip hop, Old School