SoundPerspective

Look Out!

Recently, I’ve been taking note of the younger generation of rappers, or the ones closer to our age bracket.

Mac Miller has experienced a lot of mainstream success the last couple of years, Casey Veggies has been stamped by plenty of West Coast and East Coast artists alike, most recently Chief Keef took us all by surprise with his viral video of ratchetness… And Moni still has her undying love for Vic Mensah.

Please allow me to introduce Joey Bada$$, who may be the best rapper under 21 outchea.

Joey Bada$$ is a 17 year old emcee hailing from Brooklyn. He attends the same public high school that bred Jean Michael Basqiaut, and despite his age, he spits like a seasoned vet.

He popped up on a tv near me via MTVJams, and a week later, I discovered (to quote my man Buck) that “this kid is a little bit amazing” or to quote my cousin “he’s a 16 year old spitting like ‘96 Hov.”

Joey Bada$$ was recently added to the next go ‘round of the Smokers Club Tour and his mixtape titled “1999” drops on June 12th.

-Ryan

Don’t Call It a Comeback

So, we’ve finally come to the end of this abrupt hiatus, and of course there is something to be said.  Honestly, it was an accident. An accident of a timely nature. The kind of accident that comes with so much fortune we call it lucky. I say that because we needed this moment.   Though it seems we may have dropped the ball before we even crossed half court, this break is best thought of as a well placed time-out. A small step back to take a few steps forward. What good is a possession without a plan to score? Or even worse, having a play but the team doesn’t know it.  I believe  a simple sign of maturity is the ability to recognize an opportunity and know what to do with it. So amidst the fast break that was our first couple of months we decided we should probably determine where exactly we wanted to go before we found ourselves without the ball and no points on the board. Essentially, that’s what these two months have been. But there is no more time to waste. Summer is here, the season is upon us. The one time of year you have no other obligation but to get better.  We’ve got to keep up so that we may one day set the pace.  We have goals to reach and so very many things to talk about in the meantime. The way I see it, there are people out there winning, but not because they’re really ballin, there’s just no competition. 

It’s 5:50 in the morning, and I’ve realized I can no longer sleep while someone else is out gettin mine. Not well at least..

-Monisade

Weekend Edition: Road Trip to Philadelphia

Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin to tell the story of the past weekend.

Turn Up!

Friday afternoon the SoundPerspective crew packed up my tiny ‘05 volkswagen beetle and embarked on an adventure to Philadelphia to meet with Phil Meyer, the mastermind behind the lifestyle brand TasteMakersNJ. I’d say the meeting with him was probably the only part of the trip that went as planned. We spit ideas, and hopefully you’ll be seeing some of the fruits of this collaboration very soon. Phil is doing a great job building his brand, be on the lookout for those guys.

On the way up we stopped to pick up the homie @Salastheboss

Slappa de bag

En route we hit up the Dom Kennedy concert in Baltimore. We missed most of it due to a much needed break for blunts and burrito bowls, but luckily we managed to catch most of our favs. Dom stuck around to sign autographs after the show (people had this man signing their iphones), but a simple dap of solidarity and a pic was enough for us. 

We spent most of our time at Temple with the wildboy @Trey_Wild “We family now”

We also went to Bryn Mawr to visit with @narKELeptic . My girl knows how to Turn Uppp!

Amidst the madness we learned a lot (a beetle is actually a 6 passenger vehicle, who knew?), did some serious bonding, and most importantly the experience was encouraging. This weekend was a reckless yet necessary power move. From baby steps to major excursions, it’s all a part of the journey. Make moves. We’re making it a habit.

Oh..Did I mention the part where we got a flat at 5 am on April Fools morning and I called my dad for help and he didn’t believe me? That’s a story for another day..

Our next adventure is already in the works.

-Monisade

What’s that from?

I grew up only really listening to the radio in the car with my parents and their, what I then referred to as, “old people stations”. I always found it funny when I’d listen to the stations playing newer music and hear derivatives of songs that I remember from my days in the back seat. When I first heard the original Gil Scott Heron song “I’ll Take Care of U” that Drake and Rihanna sampled on Drake’s album titled single ‘Take Care’ the difference in the two songs was so striking to me. It’s crazy how they thought to adapt the low monotone bluesy ballad to Rihanna’s voice on the hook of Take Care. Lots of songs use samples of some type but they’re hard to catch unless it’s as obvious as a simple distortion of an old school record. Makes me wonder what songs are sampled that I’ll never even notice. I hit up Ryan and asked him if he knew of any, he replied “I’m usually the kid that doesn’t catch it lol”. 

Our curiosity led us to do some digging. Here are a few of the most interesting samples we found that you may not have noticed. 

The Menahan Street band seems to be a fav 

Jay Z used a song called Traitor by the Menahan Street Band for ‘Roc Boys’

~Kid Cudi also sampled the band on Solo Dolo

A$AP TY Beats said he got the idea to use this SOS Band Track on ‘Peso’ from exploring his dad’s record collection.

2 Chainz sampled some Kenny G on ‘Pimps‘ 

clearly homies 

Search your favorite artist on whosampled.com to see who they’ve borrowed from, it’s the perfect place for curious listeners.

-Monisade

Have You Heard Of?: JMSN

“The Weeknd, if The Weeknd was Mike Posner’s emo little brother”

There’s been a changing of the guard in the world of male R&B over the past couple of years. Fledgling, “underground” talent like Frank Ocean and The Weeknd aim to redefine rhythm and blues with their atmospheric beat selection and dark, proactive subject matter. This new “Emo & Blues” sub genre is forcing the conventional kings of black pop to get with the times (see: Usher’s new single “Climax”). Detroit native Christian Berishaj, otherwise known as JMSN, looks to take this strain of R&B to the next level. His debut album “Priscilla,” released in January of this year, weaves brooding and penetrating songwriting with a warm, raspy voice that sounds closer to Mike Posner or vintage Justin Timberlake than the piercing falsetto of The Weeknd. Each of the 16 tracks on Priscilla are entirely self-produced, showcasing JMSN’s command of a wide range of instruments and synths that serve as the perfect soundtrack to the albums moody and drug-infused story of heartbreak JMSN’s talent is still relatively under the radar, although a show-stopping performance at SXSW this past month has put his name in the mouths of many industry pundits and music blogs. Consider this the calm before the storm; get hip soon, before you find yourself 2 months from now wondering why “JMSN” is trending on Twitter nationwide. 

Standout tracks: “Jameson,” “Alone,” “Love & Pain,” “Nunca Se Sabra”

-Buck

Wiz Khalifa DayToday: SXSW

I came across this Wiz’s latest DayToday while I was trying to do homework in the library and it was painful to watch. Unfortunately, it’s only Monday and I have to wait a few days until I can turn up and have half as trippy of a weekend (stay tuned) as these guys.

-Ryan

Better Late Than Never…

After plenty of delays, DC’s own Fat Trel released Nightmare on E Street this morning. In addition to basically the whole DMV, plenty of rappers such as Mac Miller, Joell Ortiz, and Big K.R.I.T. (who also produced the dopest song on the mixtape) all showed support for the “Fat Fool’s” latest body of work via Twitter throughout the day. Along with the production by Big K.R.I.T., there’s also some production from Lex Luger. Find you some good speakers and enjoy.

Download here.

#SPSP supports #SBSB.

A$AP Rocky: Live Love Purple

A$AP Rocky and OG Ron C have collaborated and presented us with Live Love Purple, the “chopped up not slopped up” version of LiveLoveA$AP. 

I was very excited when I heard about this tape. LiveLoveA$AP was one of the best projects of 2011, I knew the chopped version could only be cooler.

These guys are some of the trillest additions to the game in awhile. If you haven’t gotten to know A$AP mob yet peep their interview with Nardwuar: