Tag: new-music

  • live laugh love

    earl is always someone i’m excited to hear from in or outside of music. he never does what you expected him to do. sonically he’s been down a path that that’s reminiscent of mos def and mf doom, where the beat might have you say, “what the fuck is this?” if you’re not familiar. but if you stay and listen closely you find more than what meets the eye. artist like earl have always had a place in hip hop. they may not reach pop music status but definitely cause a moment of, “hold up i need to check this out before i move on with my day”. by design earl doesn’t love the spotlight but understand the balance of being forward facing when the time is right to present his work to the audience of hip hop. he’ll pop up here and there with moments and hip hop will nod their head in approval or laughter and then it back to the dark alleys of hip hop where he looms making music and putting on artist like mike and mavi. artist that are great rappers and artist but also don’t fit inside what is “popular” by the mainstream, and may not want the attention of the mainstream. artist like earl can still kind of move around without causing riots unlike their counterparts like a drake or Kendrick. earl can rap at the same level when it comes to bars and rhymes but he’s not selling the flashy image or lifestyle that comes with being a rapper, he’s selling himself and his truth.
    just this weekend earl has dropped a suprise album with little to no promotion just as tyler did a few months ago. with an interview with the new York post via their popcast. 10 songs and about 25 mins out audio. i’m excited to sit with these songs as see what secrets unfold in the coming days.

  • Yo, Remember Leon Thomas?

    If you’ve been tuning into the radio show, you may have picked up on some of the songs we played from Leon Thomas. Honestly I wish I could just play you the entire album “MUTT”, Leon’s sophomore album. It was a surprise to me to know that he was actually making music when I rediscovered Leon Thomas. When I saw Leon Thomas’ face I quickly realized that he was the actor on Nickelodeon that was always carrying a guitar. I believe he had played some performances on Victorious but I hadn’t heard anything as far as a personal album ever come during that time or anything after his period on Nickelodeon. Plus that was over 10 years ago at least. Leon has gone from a child actor to a full blown artist as well as a grown man. Even if he had made an album I don’t believe that it would be as soulful as MUTT is today. Artists need time to live and understand a bit of pain and love to make an album like MUTT. 

    This morning on February 20th, 2025 Thomas’ performance at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert was released on Youtube. Showcasing what years of carrying around that guitar and life experience has culminated into.

    WOW, Treasure in the Hills if definitely going into the library for me.


    Set List

    “VIBES DON’T LIE”

    “YES IT IS”

    “MUTT”

    “Breaking Point”

    “Treasure In The Hills”

     If you like me and you hear an artist, love their music, and instantly want to know more about them, I found an interview with the Breakfast Club from a month ago where Leon Thomas sat down and spoke about his time on Broadway and Nickelodeon, his production and his history that most of us probably aren’t familiar with.

  • BNP101X: EP3 DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

    Tracklist for todays episode:

    Goldwatch – Lupe Fiasco

    Palante – Cookin Soul, Kid Frankie

    Make it Hot – Cookin Soul, Kid Frankie

    Dangerous Daringer -Sauca Walka, Conway the Machine

    CALM DOWN – Nadine El Roubi, Shepard

    Hard Times – Ludacris

    Wishin’ II – PRhyme ft. Black Thought

    Diamond Cutter – Roc Marciano ft. Black Thought

    Feel It – TOKiMONSTA

    Wanderer – Little Dragon

    Family Tree – Kenny Beats

    Super Gremlin – Kodak Black

    Pearly Gates – Mobb Deep ft. 50 Cent

    Terrorist (Alex Goose Remix) – Freddie Gibbs

    THE WILD SIDE – Ab-Soul

    STUCK (A Colors Show) – WESTSIDE BOOGIE

    The Friends N Strangers – Wale

    Die Hard – Kendrick Lamar

    Connect – Drake

    Keep it Thoro – Prodigy

    Soul Express – Stalley

    The Rotten Apple – Prodigy

    Rahbannaga – Big Ghost Ltd, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine

    Whale – Da$h, Ab- Soul, Retch

    Sam (Is Dead) – Odd Future

    Jump off the Roof – Vince Staples

    14 KI’s – Conway the Machine

    Tapatio – Curren$y, Freddie Gibbs

    Anything to Survive – Freddie Gibbs

    Heaven Can Wait – Freddie Gibbs

    Out on Bond – Vince Staples

    DIABOLIQUE – Da$h, ANKHLEJOHN

    Solo Dolo Part II – Kid Cudi ft. Kendrick Lamar

    Rusty – Tyler the Creator ft. Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt

    FAREWELL – Da$h, ANKHLEJOHN

  • My Albums of 2024

    My Albums of 2024

    I hadn’t looked up John Mayer in a while but John never disappoints, he’s always got something for me to sing along to. Something that catches me before I understand why I like the music. Imagine being in middle school and everyone’s listening to rap and your bumping John Mayer. No one was asking me for music recommendation. But from this latest album my favorite song is Wild Blue. It almost sounds like you’re underwater

    Shaboozey had a hell of a year. I first came across him in Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter but I think we all came to know him for his rendition of J-kwon’s Tipsy, putting a new flavor on an old song. I have a few songs that make my end of the year playlist but if I had one to share with you guys it would have to be Annabelle off his premier album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going

    I’m a new comer to country music, can you tell? My friends Sonia set it off with an invitation to Morgan Wallen’s Homecoming at the VOLS stadium this fall. Definitely a weekend to remember.

    Since that weekend, we’ve been exchanging country song and I sent her a live performance of Paralyzed by Kevin Smiley on On The Radar’s Instagram. Someone commented saying that this was “crazy out country” which I found hilarious but interesting enough to go check him out on Spotify and listen to the rest of the singles he had on his profile. I’m glad a few months later he released his first album, Hurts Worse. Still have Broke as My Heart playing weekly.

    Vince Staples has been one of my favorite artist in the last few years. He always delivers on thought provoking music that makes me reflect on what the fuck I’m doing in my life. You know what Vince is so special to me I’ll share my favorite song by him off the first project I ever heard from him. Producer by the late great Mac Miller, Stolen Youth, has a gem that always makes me stop what I’m doing and rap.

    Just in case you wanna rap along too: https://genius.com/Vince-staples-and-larry-fisherman-stuck-in-my-ways-lyrics

    Knxwledge and Anderson .Paak did it again with another NxWorries Album to follow up the cult classic of Yes Lawd. You know that the beats are funky and Anderson .Paak has a way with words that damn near hypnotizing. It’s hard to pick my favorite on this one because there’s no skips on here for me but Distractions is one of them songs that you wish was longer

    I know I’m late to the party on MIKE but I’m usually late to everything when it comes to music. To be honest I haven’t even listened to Kendrick’s GNX album. But MIKE caught me with this snippet of No Curse Lifted (rivers of love) I heard of instagram earlier this year. It’s GTA Vice City type dance sample that makes you wanna two step and Big MIKE gets down

    Anthony Santos has been playing in my parent’s homes since I was a hair on my father’s nut suck. This year I finally decided to listen to his album Enamorado and it’s definitely a get up and move album. Get up and get something done. It’s Rum, Romance and Nylon Guitar strings at it’s finest. My favorite’s Esa Me La Doy Yo

    I’m not really a Beyoncé fan, I think this might be the first album I’ve heard from her in it’s entirety and I loved it. I don’t really have anything say. Beyoncé just delivered on the years of hype I’ve been hearing about her. My top two are Blackbird and Bodyguard and I’m definitely going to take a deep dive into her discography this year.

    Sir’s Chasing Summer album has been awaiting a sequel and for years it seem fans have been waiting on him to drop another album or project, something to supply the demand. And I believe Heavy fulfilled that, the vibe is a bit different because Sir himself has taken a new path of health and wellness. But understanding that you give an artist room to show us what he now has to say with this new perspective. I believe Poetry In Motion shows that the best. It’s a blend of the old with the new.

  • The Alchemist & Friends: Camp FLOG GNAW 2024

    The Alchemist & Friends: Camp FLOG GNAW 2024

    Watching Al with his son by his side, jumping up and down and dancing, is some beautiful shit . In “Rap Music” where vulnerability can be seen as a weakness in a façade of gangster, Al leads by example as a father, as a beat maker and as a producer pushing the underground sound to the forefront and into the commercial space. A testament to being proud of the work and the art he creates. Creating a canvas for artist to dance over. The Alchemist & Friends brand is personified here with special guest: Evidence, Domo Genesis, Action Bronson, Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, Navy Blue (aka Sage), Vince Staples and Boldy James. Showing that it’s more than just making music but a brotherhood.

    00:00 – intro

    01:24 – mobb deep / the realest

    01:47 – alc & mobb deep / it’s a craze

    02:26 – kendrick lamar / meet the grahams

    03:16 – prodigy / keep it thoro

    04:07 – freddie gibbs / god is perfect

    05:05 – westside gunn & conway / ray mysterio

    05:59 – westside gunn /$500 ounces

    06:31 – larry june / 89 earthquake EVIDENCE

    07:41 – throw it all away

    10:34 – dilated peoples / worst comes to worst (inst) DOMO GENESIS

    10:59 – f*ck everybody else

    12:50 – action bronson / big league chew (inst) ACTION BRONSON

    13:19 – terry

    16:14 – mac miller red dot music EARL SWEATSHIRT

    18:20 – e. coli

    21:00 – sentry (mike comes out)

    23:16 – nobles (navy blue comes out)

    25:07 – the caliphate (vince staples comes out) BOLDY JAMES

    28:44 – hot water tank

    30:40 – turpentine

    31:52 – steel wool

    33:44 – alchemist / hold you down

    35:24 – diamond dallasShow less

    My personal favorite performance would have Boldy James, his breathe control is second to none. Sounding no different, if not better, than what you get on DSP. Favorite moment, hearing Mac Miller’s verse on Red Dot Music. Long Live Mac