Review: Be[ATS]ORIGINAL Vol.2

Name: NAMELESS @_nameless
title in question: Be[ATS]ORIGINAL Vol.2
bio: artist, beat-maker, graphic designer. (check his self-designed covers for his projects here.

"There's a hero/There's a lover too/somewhere, there's a winner in you..."...the first line of "Hero", a track lives up to the epic premise in that one line. It starts the parade of exceptional music that flows through Be[ATS]ORIGINAL Vol. 2, one of four solo projects by NAMELESS, a Flint, MI native beat-maker.

Vol.2 is can be heralded the best production sans verbage a lot of people are going to hear. All tracks are thorough and strong; any lesser artist, be they rapper or singer, would be lost on any track listed on BOv2 if they neglect to come with a superior skill set. And unlike most producers of this era, not all tracks have a concise hip-hop feel. Tracks suck as "Technical Difficulties", "Ode to Lootpack", and "First in Line" have a R&B, possibly neo-soul feel to them. NAMELESS' tracks have the advantage of mass-appeal without being watered down, with the ability to span to every genre but country, something that many of his constituents lack.

My personal favorite track is "High Flyer", nice drums and synthetic riffs make this piece epic and would be a great piece for any rapper or rocker to try and tackle. He also re-masters Andre3000's well-known track "Prototype", adding depth to a lighter track with drums and background vocals, making it more solid and musically enriched; yet another song that is GREAT without any sort of main vocals at all. NAMELESS also gives listeners some piano on "I Was Dreaming", on which a floaty vocal sample helps to lend itself to the tracks name.

Be[ATS]ORIGINAL vol.2, soulful, futuristic, artistic, and hip-hop all rolled into one. Listeners will find it easy to be engulfed in NAMELESS's 27 track work, and find it even harder to stop playing.

Download!!

Review: Boogz, The AfterMath

Name: Boogz [on twitter: @boogz315]
Affiliation: the Phakshun/Audio Intelligence/Starfleet Records
Title: The Aftermath
Best Tracks: “This is what I Do”, “Fleet Gang”, “Deep Cover”
Bio: 26 year old emcee/engineer, 1/2 of the Duo Boogz & I.V. League, from Utica, NY by way of Houston, TX. Major influences are life and hip-hop, which for him are one in the same



September 13, 2008: Hurricane Ike crashes against the Texas Gulf coast. What’s left behind has been dubbed The Aftermath: a 18 track assault on all things quasi-hip-hop and pseudo-rap.

The Aftermath starts off with a intimate interlude which I admit lulled me into a false sense of complacency. When the horns came in on “Dumbout Season”, my mouth flew open. Boogz kills on a classic track, delivering venom laced punchlines amidst substance laden bars. He brings decidedly East Coast lyricism to several classics and beats we know, even The Game’s “Wouldn’t Get Far” & “Not a Stain On Me” by Big Tuck. On “Deep Cover”, Boogz gives listeners a glimpse of the talents of his affiliates before touting his skills: “me? I’m the wordsmith/Boogz make words flip/And connect like cursive letters/They should’ve learned ya better” and continues on “4,3,2,1“ with: “nice with the pen/verbally serve and slaughter/beat boogz?/you’ll have better luck burning water” afterwards an ad-lib chimes “Good Luck with that”.

He takes the tracks to chill mode with cuts like “Top Flight” and “I’m Diggin You”, which at first listen to “Diggin”, I immediately labeled it as the ‘Panty Track’; the staple track that’s written for/about/geared toward women, but the track has a vibe that doesn’t soften the strength of the rest of the music. He also boasts social awareness on the track “Little Piggy” and gives a crossection of the current state of music with a sort of ‘state of the industry’ address over the VIC song “Get Silly” entitled “That’s Silly” admonishing music listeners for supporting and aspiring to be like artists who have little substance, character, or talent and the consequences of such in a storyteller fashion. My only source of disappointment would be his choice of song to use for a sort of ‘Regional Track’ on “Fly in the Afterlife”, but his wordplay still shines through.

Boogz goes on to seal this body of work with “In Da House“ and “The Matrix”, the latter in which he outlines the plan for his takeover of the rap game. True Hip-hop heads await your arrival.

download The AfterMath

wow. my first blog. i never would have thought i would even go so far into my love of music to even start this. but i was listening to some music of a friend of a friend and it sort of pissed me off that i'm just now hearing his music.... so i said i would write a review of it.... then i thought about all of the people i know who make music and decided.... well... lets make this public thing. lets share the music, give opinions on music, and link our music. rappers, singers, beatmakers... this one is for you.