VERYBONUS

a music blog focused on the most bonus of shit. created by NEDARB NAGROM. submit music here: [email protected]

[verybonus]

UGLYFRANK - LEFTOVA

entertainment.

- ned

[verybonus]

LORD OF THE FLY - NOT SAFE FOR WORK

My homie Lord just dropped his new album via Mishka. Been waiting on this for over a year now. Dude really came thru with the come thru.

turn this shit all the way up.

- ned

[verybonus]

FOANS - HORIZON 9

if you dont know, now you know.

-ned

[verybonus]

Open Mike Eagle - Dark Comedy Morning Show (feat. Toy Light)

Mike's new album is going to be the Cold Vein of this decade. This is the best rap song I've heard in five years.

- William

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CON SOLO - DWYA

This is the latest release from our good friend Con Solo. Everything he touches is gold. You'll fuck with this. Trust me.

- ned

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EYE$EEYOU - SPOOKY 

I just discovered this rap crew. They are fucking insane. Hailing from Milwaukee, WI. Had the chance to meet one of these dudes this past week. Just listen to this dope shit.

- ned

[verybonus]

PEPPERBOY - 3 VOLLEYS

This is my first introduction to Pepperboy who reps Green Ova South. I'm a huge fan of Main Attrakionz and the rest of Green Ova so I figured I'd check this out. It's some of the most unique rap music I've ever heard. I can't compare Pepperboy's voice or flow to anyone. His voice is like a constant sigh. Very relaxed and almost lazy. This shit bangs, tho.

- ned

[verybonus]

TUNE THE FUCK IN.

[verybonus]

CASTLE - RETURN OF THE GASFACE (THE HAS-LO PASSAGES) (REVIEW)

Castle's album, "Return of the Gasface" is excellent. Castle's style has less to do with spitting bars than with conversationally (but still fairly technically) relaying day-to-day events and observations in stealthily-clever verses. The opening track/skit, Chateau, features Has-lo introducing Castle to a circle of friends and prodding him to show off his skills. This mood carries on throughout the album; most of the beats carry the feeling of a friend-made beat playing out of a car stereo, as opposed to the bombast currently running many sectors of the hip-hop marketplace, and most of the verses feel natural; Castle could be sitting in your living room showing off some writtens for a circle of inebriated friends and strangers. This casual feel doesn't correspond to a sloppiness, though. Castle's writing and flow are more than on point, both pleasing and distinctively his. He manages to rap impressively without sounding robotic, and manages to write intelligently without sounding pretentious. It's good. You should listen to it. Special mention to "Casual Fridays." That track is too real. Peep game here. 

- William

[verybonus]

KOOL AD - WORD O.K. (REVIEW)

Kool AD releases so much music (four hours of it just last year and an hour and a quarter already this year) that it's very, very easy to stop paying attention. However, he still releases a great deal of quality material despite his pace. His latest release, Word OK, feels like the stylistic culmination of all of his work over the past eighteen months. It's more consistent than his mixtapes, not as long, and not nearly so feature-dense. It's his most well-executed solo effort yet, but it doesn't really represent forward stylistic movement on Kool AD's part. It's good. You should put it in your aural orifices. Peep game here.

- William

[verybonus]

FOANS - ASSOCIATION

Listen people, FOANS is the best electronic artist you haven't heard. He's released a new project damn near every month for basically the past year. This music is perfect to vibe to while in any environment. All of FOANS' projects are free of "skipper" songs. Play "Association" front to back, hit him on twitter @FOANSmusic and share with a friend (or two). I love FOANS and you should too. 

- ned

[verybonus]

NOCANDO - JIMMY THE BURNOUT (REVIEW)

Throughout his new album, Jimmy the Burnout, Nocan successfully balances three different sounds: the emerging "Hellfyre Club" aesthetic, Nocando's own personal style , and hyper-contemporary, 2014 rap stylings. The first of these takes the form of an high level of self-awareness, intelligence, and self-effacing comedy. The second has nearly too many components to list, but I'll try. Nocando's style contains hard-hitting and well thought-through punchlines, more than enough grit for credibility without being off-putting, mid-bar cadence switching, a flare for narrative and philandering, a sick sense of humor, and enough variation in voice to leave the feature-less album (when one disregards hooks and the hidden track) from getting monotonous (literally). Nocando's temporal awareness appears through the inclusion of quite a few beats which one may consider 'trap.' These beats are much more distinctive than most trap (with the emphasis resting on distinctive sampling). Nocan even emulates trap cadences (most notably on "Grown Man Work", a sort of trap-centered accompaniment to fellow Hellfyre members Open MIke Eagle and Busdriver's "Degrassi Picture Day), gripping the trend by its throat and forcing it into submission. Seriously. Nocando's performance on that song, in particular, outruns every trap verse I've ever encountered.

Bump this album because Hellfyre is blowing up and it's still early enough to look cool for liking it. Bump this album because you want to write essays on it and prove to your peers/professors that rap music has artistic merit. Bump this album because your next night of debauchery deserves a better soundtrack than the last.

Buy the album here.   - William

[verybonus]

Austin has one of the most booming beat scenes in the world; from sending producers to the iconic Low End Theory to lodging signees of historical indie labels like Mush (Aesop Rock, Busdriver, Clouddead, Daedelus, Jel, Nobody, Open Mike Eagle), Austin's presence in the national beat scene is undeniable. Serving as a local lynchpin for musical weirdos, Exploded Drawing events (and the affiliated Exploded Records store) have become an important gathering-place within the always-crowded Austin music scene.

Every year for SXSW Exploded Drawing releases a beat tape with contributions from a slew of local artists. It's free, and it's excellent, and you should download it. - William

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UGLYFRANK - BOBBY HILL EP

Wow. This tape really slaps. UGLYFRANK has stepped up his bars 100x on this release. Peep game ASAP, no mob.

- ned

[verybonus]

I'm a pretentious backpacker fuckboy. Castle is a phenomenal rapper who makes me swoon but who you don't have to be as pathetic as me to love. Listen to this song and watch him out-write nearly everyone else in the game while sounding real casual. - william

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VERYBONUS MIX VOL. 1

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WEBSTERX - DESPERATE YOUTH 

First off, I apologize for being so late on this post. This project has been out for a minute. I just recently met WebsterX for the first time and even more recently checked out his music. I was blown away by how such talent has flown under my radar especially since he's local and I keep a close eye on local cats. Anyways, this is his debut project. It's great. Peep game.

- ned