TAG: Lily Allen

Mar30

Kenan Bell – Until The Future (Review)

Kenan Bell

Until The Future

Released by Sonata Cantata Records


“You never heard something like this before” goes the first line of Los Angeles-based rapper Kenan Bell’s (that’s pronounced “Ken-en,” not “Keen-en”) informs us on “Fruit and Vegetables” from his debut full-length, Until The Future. It’s quite a statement, a bit of a platitude, and, well, despite Bell and his production team’s best efforts, not entirely true. Bell has a style a little reminiscent of Cadence Weapon or Aceyalone (with whom he’s collaborated), and most apparently, Kanye West's lackadaisical flow and penchant for puns and jokes – though Bell is an overall better and smarter MC. Unfortunately, sometimes he moves from inspiration to near-plagiarism: "Chlo,” for example, opens with chords rather reminiscent of OutKast’s “ATLiens,” and has a hook that literally goes “throw your hands in the air.”

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Jan25

DJ Boo – Recycled Beats (Review)

DJ Boo

Recycled Beats

Released by Self-Released


The DJ mix is always a question of identity: Who is the DJ? And what are they trying to prove? Not that they're all so self-conscious, but the mix always asserts something. On The Block is Hot, Pt 2 Blockhead asserted his indvidualism over moody samples from Everlast and Rakim. On Bumps Controller 7 illustrated a knowing reverence for the Golden Age, smooshing De La against Nas and making both sound newly relevant. I've heard James Murphy treat a DJ mix as a sketchbook, Greg Gillis treat it as a urinal, Primo as another excuse to scratch a bunch. I've heard DJ Shadow do pretty much everything a two-armed human can do on a DJ mix. He was clearly proving something.

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Feb25

Aaron LaCrate’s Club Crack is back

Aaron LaCrate, of Milkcrate Athletics & Milkcrate Records fame, was born and bred on the streets of Baltimore, and this upbringing continues at the core of every creative endeavor he undertakes today. Starting at the young age of 10, LaCrate grew up djing parties in Baltimore clubs, lofts, and back yards, and has been running wild writing on walls and t-shirts, producing records, and documenting the Baltimore streets with his photographs. Since the days of his youth, Aaron LaCrate has been consistently original and has grown into a talented entrepreneur, garnering world-wide recognition for his trademark brand and sound, as well as his cultural influence on music and fashion, where his projects often masterfully blend the lines of both. From touring the world with Gutter Music, remixing artists as diverse as Madonna, Souljah Boy, and Young Mc …

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Jan21

STREAM: Hot Chip ‘Transmission’ (Joy Division Cover)

Half cover, half remix, not so good. I’ve been critical of Hot Chip’s quirky cover version tendencies in the past. As inventive as the group’s own music can be, their covers seem to inevitably suffer from an overdose of irony—as if someone is mimicing Hot Chips light and airy electro-pop without having actually heard the group. Nevermind that the group’s last album, Made In The Dark, showed that they have real balls.

This cover of Joy Division’s ‘Transmission,’ off the upcoming Heroes charity album (we heard Lily Allen cover The Clash ‘Straght To Hell’ just yesterday) things start off promising, with a mutant manipulation of Ian Curtis’ original vocal. But then it’s back to Hot Chip’s old tricks. Someone should sample the Curtis sample and do something cool with it.

DOWNLOAD: Hot …

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Jan20

STREAM: Lily Allen covers The Clash ‘Straght To Hell’

This cover of the Clash classic probably would have happened even if Diplo hadn’t flipped it’s guitar riff for ‘Paper Planes.’ But you can bet that not nearly as many people would have paid attention. Lily Allen puts her top on long enough assert her fun and breezy style onto the much darker original. All for the upcoming charity comp Heroes, which benefits War Child

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