TAG: Awol One

Feb02

Premiere: Kaigen – “Gold Lining” (f/ Ceschi) (Video)

Japanese emcee Kaigen, who has earned props courtesy everyone from Chuck D to Project Blowed for his light speed flow, has a new album out featuring guest shots from Sole, Myka 9, 2Mex, Awol One and Ceschi along with production from the likes of Jel (anticon) and Thavius Beck. Kaigen uses his platform to speak on a variety of social ills and the importance of hope. Lest his message be lost in translation, Re: bloomer comes complete with transcribed lyrics. Ceschi contributes a powerful chorus and elastic, fiery verse to the Shunsuke Endo-directed clip for “Gold Lining,” which you can check out below.

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Mar23

Ceschi @ Soda Bar (Live Review)

The grimaces naturally unfurling upon the face of Ceschi as he violently plucks his acoustic guitar are the marks of an artist who feels every note of the music in his bones. Whether railing against Catholic hypocrisy (“Black And White And Red All Over”), dissecting suicide (“Bad Jokes”) or battling his own heartache (“Calluses”), the New Haven-based folk-hop musician leaves a piece of himself on the stage every night.

In addition to a busy lineup of Fake Four mainstays such as Awol One, Factor and Cars & Trains, the Soda Bar was lucky enough to catch Ceschi alongside his band Anonymous Inc. The progressive drumming of Ceschi’s younger brother David Ramos, subtle yet crucial keyboard work of Max Heath and requisite crowd-hyping from iCON the Mic King all played their part in illuminating Ceschi’s confessional catalogue. …MORE

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Feb21

Factor – 13 Stories (Review)

Factor

13 Stories

Released by Side Road Records


Collaborations with Myka9 and Awol One may have opened doors for Factor, but he remains true to his humble roots producing for oddball regional rappers around Saskatoon, Canada. He hooks up with some of these old friends on 13 Stories, his 13-track compilation comprised of emcees telling their own stories in their own styles, and held together by his smooth production. The melancholic and mellow soul that makes up the last two-thirds of the album is dominated by tracks like Nolto's tale of a tormented child evolving into a tormenting killer on the slightly uptempo “Pulling the Wings Off Angels” or the alternative stress relief of Def3's “Luck Ducks.” The front half of the album holds the hard funky grooves, like opening track “Sounds Good to Me (Hip Hop),” an organ-heavy roller-rink anthem to hip hop that features Ellay Khule, Medusa (haven't heard enough from her recently!) and Joe Dub, who absolutely kills it with his hip hop history lesson.

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Jul28

AWOL One – Owl Hours (Review)

AWOL One

Owl Hours



It's cliche for an MC to state that his newest album is his greatest to date, but sometimes it just might be true. Two years removed from the underground classic Only Death Can Kill You, Awol One returns with Owl Hours. With executive producer Xzibit, one might be concerned that the ride pimper would guide the Shape Shifter toward a more commercial sound: however, nothing could be further from the truth. The X man lets Awol One be himself, and in doing so, this LA connection has made a ...

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Jul27

Awol One: Interview

Shape-Shifting MC Parties With Xzibit On New Album 

Blurred vision, stumbled steps, and devoted drinking might sound like the equation for a typical night out on the town, but for East L.A. resident AWOL One (Anthony Martin) it turned out to be the formula for what he deems to be his best work in his 15 year career. Executively produced by the X man, Xzibit, AWOL One’s latest offering, Owl Hours, has the Shape Shifter teaming up once again with Producer/DJ Factor for a theme-focused project that offers a realistic and relatable party experience. URB caught up with AWOL to find out what happens when drunken rhymes meet drunken rhymes, Xzibit serving as Xecutive producer, and the next Shape Shifters project.

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