Headphones & Backpacks

2009 was a huge year for the Minnesota-based indie rap label with many releases finishing in my personal top records of that year. Last year the label had a handful of interesting releases, but 2011 is definitely gearing up to be the year of the Rhymesayer.

The first RSE release will be the Columbus emcee, Blueprint. “So Alive” is the third video/single released from the up-coming album, Adventures in Counter Culture. “So Alive” along with his other singles “Keep Bouncing” and “Radio-Inactive” are increasingly building hype around his album which will examine American Popular Culture.

The second RSE release of 2011 is also probably the most anticipated one – Atmosphere’s first longplay in almost exactly 3 years, The Family Sign. The album is expected to continue the live instrumentation from guitarist Nate Collis and Key-man Erick Anderson, which were very prominent on last year’s double EP release as well as the group’s 2008 LP. On this track Slug tells a story about taking a loved one for granted. Another great concept for the music video features a dog being neglected by its family until it runs away, then the video concludes with a “Missing Dog” poster.

Grieves had a pretty big 2010: signing with RSE, Re-released his excellent 2008 album 88 Keys & Counting, and releasing a great EP on the RSE. 2011 is to be an even bigger year for the Seattle-based rapper, as he plans on releasing his first LP on Rhymesayers, Together/Apart. His rockstar looks and complex lyricism filled with vivid imagery reminiscent of a young Slug, will once again be complimented by Budo’s guitar licks, piano loops and horns. Together/Apart is expected to see a June release.

Other Rhymesayers who are expecting to see a 2011 release include: Evidence’s long awaited RSE debut Cats & Dogs
Freeway is also expected to see another release following his collaboration LP with Jake-One
The Seattle beatsmith, Jake-One is expected to release his follow up to his 2008 double-disc, White Van Music .

It was November 2009 when Macklemore & Ryan Lewis first performed on KEXP, a radio station in their home town of Seattle. Up until that point, I had heard Macklemore on a great CunninLynguists track and a song called “Otherside.” The track sampled the Red Hot Chili Peppers song of the same name. After watching their performance of the song on KEXP, I instantly became a believer.

This performance of “My Oh My,” a tribute to Seattle Mariners’ legendary play-by-play man, Dave Niehaus, gives me flashbacks of his “Otherside” performance nearly a year and a half earlier. This is the type of track that has an extremely specific topic, but his brilliant songwriting ability and passion he has for the subject is so powerful, you don’t even have to be a baseball fan to feel this track.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have embarked on their first national tour, and judging by their Twitter and Facebook updates, it seems to be going very well. I wish them all the best, and I cannot wait for March 29 to see them perform with Blueprint in Ann Arbor.

Here’s a little bonus video:

Macklemore interviewing his alter-ego, Sir Ravin Bowie, best known for his classic song “And We Danced,” which always fills the dance floors of Troup and Reed house parties.

Grieves and Budo are currently putting the final touches on their debut on indie powerhouse, Rhymesayers Ent. This is the first single off of that project, which is titled Together/Apart. While there has been no official release date for their album, it is expected to see a Summer release.

“Pack it Up” features live instrumentation including a smooth guitar and horns, which has been Budo’s forte with his recent productions. Grieves’ lyrics revolve around trying to get a girl to like him. It’s a pretty simple love song, but Grieves carries the track with his charming lyricism: “I got a pretty good feeling that we could make a perfect couple / ‘Cause I’m a pretty decent listener and love to cuddle.”

Grieves & Budo are about to hit the road starting in April to tour with Atmosphere, Blueprint, Sab the Artist, and DJ Abilities for The Family Tour.

This single along with his Confessions of Mr. Modest EP released last year, makes Grieves’ up-coming album one of the most anticipated Indie Rap albums of 2011.

Atmosphere – Just For Show by rhymesayers

Here’s the first single off of Atmosphere’s The Family Sign, which is the group’s first album in 3 years. The Nate Collis guitar-driven track features Slug airing out his grievances with a love gone awry. The album, due in less than 2 months now, is supposed to be the group’s most personal and mature effort to date, with tracks about love, family, and death.

Tracklisting:

01 My Key
02 The Last to Say
03 Became
04 Just For Show
05 She’s Enough
06 Bad Bad Daddy
07 Millenium Dodo
08 Who I’ll Never Be
09 I Don’t Need Brighter Days
10 Ain’t Nobody
11. Your Name Here
12. If You Can Save Me Now
13. Something So
14. My Notes

Ohio emcee, Stalley released his latest mixtape project last week titled, Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music). The bearded emcee made a lot of buzz in 2010 appearing on tracks with Curren$y and Ski Beatz. With his aggressive flow and distinctive voice over Columbus beatsmith Rashad’s production, makes Intelligent Trunk Music one of the best mixtapes released in the last few years.

Stand out tracks include an ode to the late/great Pimp C on “Monkey Ish,” “Tell Montez I Love Her,” “Hard,” and several others. This mixtape is full of bass heavy, hard-hitting beats and Stalley’s sharp word play. A lot of the mixtape’s lyrical content revolves around bass and autmobiles, which are popular in mainstream hip hop, but Stalley is able to rap about these things with the type of lyricism and creativity that is rarely heard on the radio.

Stalley has a bright future ahead of him. He is Ohio’s BEST up-and-coming emcee (sorry Cudi, Chip, MGK, and others) because he has mainstream tendencies mixed with a unique voice and style that gives me flashbacks of early 2000s Freeway (or maybe it’s because of the beard).

Below s the music video for his first single off the mixtape, “Slapp.”

Click Here To Download or Stream Mixtape