We should’ve posted Sydney rapper NEOPITSO a long time ago…
There are officially infinite AUS rappers out there… wtf just found another skrrtmine lastnight. First up: South-African OG NEO PITSO (SYD). His most recent track “Money First” was dropped 7 months ago, but it’s fresh AF to me… and probs you too.
“Money” is cool. On first listen, I thought it was a solid banger-type deal. But now that I mention it, it reminds me of GAIKA (UK) bigtime. Right now Gaika and the Mixpak label are merging London’s always influential club-scene with rap in a way that has already influenced the most famous hip-hop artists on the planet.
Yeah...
“I just did a show in Melbourne/and Imma probably head to London”
This guy definitely spits some of the best bars about the Australian rap scene I’ve heard.
“We on (ft. Ab Crazy)” is real tight too. Another track where Pitso combines eclectic production, nu-ATL flows and lyrics that don’t make me cringe. Hahahaha the video is GOAT too...
If his tracks had better mastering and some cultural genius helped out with his aesthetic/marketing NEO PITSO could become a household name in AUS. But tbh, there’s something dope about experiencing an artist in their purest form…
*** EDITORS NOTE: Sorry about the lack of posts lately, we’re under the pump rn - which is dope.
Posted by CRYIN' LOTUS
UNDERATED: Boosie Badazz (USA) has like the most fire back-catalogue ever… here’s 50 great examples
Man, I only knew about this dude from “Cancer” which was a big hit earlier this year, partially because he just recovered from cancer, but mainly because it bangs… that bass, yeah it’s something. He blew up, followed things up with solid releases, collabs and mixtapes… then FADER started/resumed fucking with him.
Well, randomly found a bunch of his old tracks on SC the other night, uploaded on unofficial accounts. Swear some of them are the best songs I’ve ever heard. Organs, lo-fi sparkles, those G-funk synths, wavy flangers… and that fucking voice. It’s like Dave Chappelle mixed with Snoop Dogg or something. You gotta hear this shit.
Boosie should be known as a legend. Like Soulja-Boy, Lil-wayne legend. His slow shit is lit. There's 50 tracks up there.
So if any of you people get laid… this playlist got u covered.
Posted by CRYIN' LOTUS
PREMIERE: “Coke Hyena” - Rich Amevor, Adrenaline, Zulo Bigs & I Digress aren’t your typical alpha male rap-moguls...
On face value, this track seems like an ode to all those fearless club women who care about drugs more than your dick… but when you actually break it down lyrically, you get another story...
PREMIERE: “Coke Hyena” - Rich Amevor X Adrenaline X Zulo Bigs...
THANK GUARD PREMIERE: "COKE HYENA"On face value, this track seems like an ode to all those fearless club women who care about drugs more than your dick… but when you actually break it down lyrically, you get another story Don’t call me bro/We not fam. - RCouldn’t give a fuck no more/Couldn’t give a fuck even if I tried. - Z Zulo Bigs, Rich Amevor, Adrenaline & I Digress aren’t your typical alpha male "born rap moguls". They seem more like the funny guys in your class who always had the craziest ideas. Being that dude has it’s disadvantages, but those who overcome them are always stronger for it. I get the feeling that Zulo, Rich & co are in the process of losing their minds in the struggle, transforming into fearless creative forces … or maybe they’re just really high. Who knows. READ MORE at: thankguard.com
Posted by THANK GUARD on Thursday, April 7, 2016
Don’t call me bro/We not fam. - R
Couldn’t give a fuck no more/Couldn’t give a fuck even if I tried. - Z
Zulo Bigs, Rich Amevor, Adrenaline & I Digress aren’t your typical alpha male "born rap moguls". They seem more like the funny guys in your class who always had the craziest ideas. Being that dude has it’s disadvantages, but those who overcome them are always stronger for it. I get the feeling that Zulo, Rich & co are in the process of losing their minds in the struggle, transforming into fearless creative forces … or maybe they’re just really high. Who knows.
Their tracks are beginning to get looser, more authentic… be it through Zulo’s hilarious intro mutterings: “the cup is always tastier than the noodles” or a ridiculous sample choice by I Digress who flipped a didgeridoo as a joke recently.
What’s no joke tho, is the improvement in their musical ability. The production on “Coke Hyena” is crisp, full of filtered overdubs and boasting eccentric snare runs for days. It feels less like an “Aussie Rap Beat” and more like some PC Music/UK Grime baby, which is dope.
The raps on this track are spat with an infectious grimy exuberance. Rich Amevor starts things off very smoothly with some natural charm and rap versatility (grime isn’t even his default mode!). Adrenaline takes things up a notch with a rapid-fire flow - would be like dropping something nuclear on a dance-floor if he spat this live. Finally, Zulo Bigs brings the song to it’s natural peak… the very second he jumps in, I guarantee you’ll be smiling. Even if your parents just died in a bus shooting.
Would love to see these guys make new shit non-stop. Come up with crazy concepts, start a collective and drop everything as free downloads.
Anyone out there getting laughed at for trying to make dope shit just know, that laughter is your friend. It’s the only thing separating the future Kanye’s from the boring football guys who think they run the world.
Posted by JAMES RUKLIS
You could split BROCKHAMPTON’s album into 2 or 3 EP’s in different genres and The FADER would post them all…
BROCKHAMPTON (USA) are like an ironic rap “boy-band” that very much feel like the ODD FUTURE of 2016. They might not induce as many riots as Tyler and co did back in the day, but they make up for this with an amazing high-concept approach to songwriting and… radio-quality production that somehow oozes character.
The OF comparison comes mainly because, on first listen to ALL-AMERICAN TRASH, you get the feeling that one tight-knit crew was responsible for creating every part of it. The jizz-jazz guitars, loony sub bass and nostalgic backing vocals featured throughout all feel somehow related as a result.
What I respect so much about BROCKHAMPTON is their “band approach” to writing rap-music. You’ve got: “CONTACTS” - an acoustic R&B ballad, “BEN CARSON” - an OFWGKTA fan’s dream, “POISON” - like a Black Keys diss track, “HOME” - a Jai Paul/Homeshake-core banger - and every possible combination of the above ALL on the SAME release.
That sounds like a Rolling Stone’s album son. Way better than the typical: “Turnt beat #1”, “Turnt beat #2”, “Spacey beat”, “Some voice message about bricks”, “Outro”…
If I managed these dudes, I’d get the hardest over: “BREAKFAST” - the #1 iconic BROCKHAMPTON song, then, “PALACE” - sort of like a Blood Orange song if Dev had a bit more gusto, but with the perfect internet-hit structure - ending in a massive beautiful reverb-y choir thing that I think is always thrown in for those of you who don’t hate the world...
“You could split ALL-AMERICAN TRASH into 2 or 3 EP’s in different genres and The FADER would post them all.” - THANK GUARD … there I just made you a #pressquote for the posters… You’re welcome.
Will this album one day be remembered as the pinnacle in Brockhampton’s golden era? Who knows… Download it free HERE.
Posted by JAMES RUKLIS
WHAT’S WITH ALL THE ZZZ’s? #2 - ZelooperZ: how one dope-ass rapper could redefine pop music forever...
According to a great Medium article, the 3:30s pop song-structure our grandparents grew up with could be changing very soon to… get this: a 60s “sonic” that is always accompanied by another form of content (video, merch or edible snack). Here is an early example:
Rap music is going to change structurally VERY soon. The endless stream of audio-visual “sonics” predicted by MEDIUM would probably fit today’s hip-hop world like a Gucci glove, but prog-rap poster-boy ZelooperZ (USA) and his talented crew of producers are proposing a structural fork in the road…
ZelooperZ’ magnum opus, “Plateau”, is the most coherent expression of his mutinous rap-vision (which is ironic given how chaotic it might sound on first listen). Instead of making songs shorter, make them longer. Instead of giving people what they’re used to (a chorus), give them what they didn’t know they needed - a contrasting ‘section’ that is both completely disorienting and wholly engulfing.
String these crazy-ass fragments together so that they create an ever-rising tension and you’ve got yourself a Zelooperz-style progressive-rap masterpiece.
What is a “progressive” song? In a nutshell, it’s anything with numerous different segments that don’t follow traditional genre rules. Progressive music is a conscious effort to innovate through the variation of: compositional structure, rhythm & lyrical content. This idea has thrived in basically every genre: rock, jazz, blues, classical, but not in hip-hop (yet). In 2016, producers like Oneohtrix Point Never are keeping the prog-flame alive. His latest album brilliantly leans away from experimental ambience and towards progressive electro.
On face value, “prog-rap” sounds like a terrible idea. Hip-hop is built on structural simplicity… in most great rap songs you’ll probably find that: the same sample-loop, vocal style and repetitive refrain will cycle through the verse/hook format for about 3 minutes. This takes away the bullshit and places all the weight on the vocalist’s shoulders. That’s why rap is about solo artists - one person expressing him (or her) self through music.
The problem is tho… before you even listen to most contemporary trap songs you pretty much know how the next 3 or so minutes will unfold. Predictable intro, a chorus that bores you after the first play and after all that, there’s really only a few minutes of verse left to captivate you. Yeah… it makes me cry too. Shut-up. Now imagine if listening to a rap song actually meant being taken on a 16-minute journey to a place where ANYTHING is possible, even a chorus… even 5 different choruses. HOLY TYGA DICKS!!!
Sure, ZelooperZ doesn’t always take things THAT far… but his new album Bothic will DEFINITELY keep you guessing. On tracks like “Scale” even his flow subverts expectation. Where other rappers might allow the beat to dictate how they spit, ZelooperZ will stop and start his flows in between the beat, crafting unhinged but simultaneously on-point noise-rap. Great album. THANK GUARD for ZelooperZ.
Just realised that this article is WAY too long and has NO structure… remind you of anything?
Posted by JAMES RUKLIS & SRAWAN V
