#MusicMondays - Michigan Hip-Hop 2010 Preview (Part 2)
Posted by WEKetchum | Filed under uncategorized
In week two of Urbane’s Michigan Hip Hop Preview for 2010, established stars are covered in the same way that tomorrow’s mainstays are. Whether you’ve heard their music or not, pay attention: they’ll be names to recognize by the end of the year.
1.) Eminem, Relapse 2
Eminem took a five-year break after his album Encore, so 2009 and 2010 see him rewarding fans for their patience. He used last year’s Relapse to work exclusively with Dr. Dre to exorcize demons from his years as a drug addict, but its sequel is a different story. According to this interview with friend/producer Mr. Porter, Relapse 2 will feature Eminem working in brand new conditions: sobriety, and with producers outside of Dre and Mark and Jeff Bass. Em has confirmed that Just Blaze (T.I.’s “Live Your Life,” Kanye West’s “Touch The Sky”) will likely have four or five beats on the album, and rumors are swirling about him possibly signing Slaughterhouse, a rap supergroup that includes his former rhyme partner Royce Da 5’9”. If Relapse 2 lives up to the hype, Eminem may have the most surprising album of his career.
2.) Slum Village, Villa Manifesto
Slum Village has enjoyed a career as one of the most distinguishable hip-hop acts from Detroit, but with the two of its pivotal members dying within five years of each other, they’ve persevered through their share of suffering as well. But after this year’s Villa Manifesto, the group will have virtually gone full circle: charismatic emcee Baatin returned to the group and recorded the album before dying several months ago, and Illa J, the younger brother of founding member J Dilla, also contributed to the album. Combine these nostalgic elements with beats from new collaborators like Madlib and Hi-Tek, and you have another group that’s staying rooted in the past while continuing to move forward. To get a taste of what the album may have to offer, visit the group’s MySpace page to check selected songs from to their Villa Manifesto EP, which is available for purchase at digital outlets. Download the EP’s single “Dope Man” from MichiganHipHop.com, and get an idea for the group’s storied career with their Remember The Classics mixtape.
3.) Crown Royale
Ann Arbor’s Buff1 (left) has made some noteworthy moves since moving out to Los Angeles a couple years ago, and one of those was connecting with Rhettmatic (right), an award-winning DJ/producer known for his co-founding of World Famous Beat Junkies. The duo plans to push an album this year under the name Crown Royale, and Buff1’s nimble, enunciated flow and Rhett’s engaging soundbeds make a perfect match. For a sample of their chemistry, check Buff1’s Rhettmatic-helmed It’s A 1derful Life mixtape (click here), which features two new songs from the duo, “Photographs” and “We Gotcha.”
4.) The Left, Gas Mask
Amongst the slew of young and old emcees whose projects are already anticipated, Gas Mask LP will shock hip-hop fans as one of the best albums of the year. The Left is compiled of Detroit rapper Journalist 103, producer Apollo Brown, and DJ Soko. Apollo Brown uses pounding percussion and emotive samples to anchor the songs, Journalist 103 uses vividly blunt lyrics from top to bottom, and guest appearances from some of Detroit’s most respected emcees (Paradime, Finale, Guilty Simpson and others) consistently hit their marks. The trio hasn’t dropped any singles yet, but listeners can preview the instrumentals on the group’s MySpace page.
5.) Finale (Untitled), Finale & Oddisee (Untitled)
Finale’s proper solo debut, Pipe Dream And A Promise, made rounds in many “Top Albums Of 2009” lists with the Detroit emcee’s measured flow and fiercely honest lyrics. This year, Finale plans to add to the momentum with two more projects: one of them is his next solo project. But the project that I’m most excited about is an album helmed by Washington D.C. producer Oddisee (Talib Kweli, De La Soul, Little Brother), who also enjoyed a successful 2009 with his group Diamond District’s critically-acclaimed In The Ruff LP. Oddisee announced a May 25, 2010 release for the latter project, with Finale’s next solo hitting the streets on a subsequent date.
The duo’s collaborations - “A Pipe Dream And A Promise” and “Don’t Sleep (Remix),” which also features Invincible - are on their paid projects, but there’s plenty of free material between the two of them. A clean version of the aforementioned In The Ruff is available for free download, and Oddisee has also dropped free EPs for the past three seasons - Odd Summer, Odd Autumn, and as of last week, Odd Winter - with soundbeds that reflect the weather and moods of the appropriate months. Another favorite is A Rosenberg Oddisee, which features cameos from the likes of Saigon, Buckshot and others. All of Oddisee’s free projects are available on his BandCamp page. Finale’s T.I.M.E. mixtape and A Pipe Dream And A Promise are worth every penny, but preview them for free with T.I.M.E. and Pipe Dream megamixes by DJ Most, and search “Finale” on MichiganHipHop.com for a bevy of song downloads, freestyles, and videos.
Related posts:
- #MusicMonday - Michigan Hip-Hop 2010 Preview (Part 1)
- #MusicMondays 1-4-2010: Late Christmas Edition
- #MusicMondays 12-28-09
- #MusicMondays 4-12-10 (#RapRehab Day 12)
- Urbane #MusicMondays 12-7-09
