Category: first look

From Cali to The Rock; a premiere: Green Ova South – ‘3 Tha Hard Way’

July 31, 2019 /
GREEN OVA SOUTH – ‘3 THA HARDWAY ‘

I just got the private link to ‘3 Tha Hard Way’ and I’m feeling blessed and inspired and not just because I got an advance link on the latest album from some of our favorite collaborators and labels Green Ova South; (Pepperboy and Squadda B. with Young God exclusively on production) I’m at my DJ (my day job…) with two more hours on the clock, on my way back from my truck to retrieve my headphones and it hits me; “Work Till I Die” starts to play. The intro track is just the motivation I needed to get through this day.

Steam the album now via bandcamp and it will drop on all streaming services ASAP!

It would really be tough to sit here and talk about “stand-out tracks” on a 9 track album of straight classics. I’ll just have to touch on em’ all. My words won’t do it justice, but maybe my excitement will! (I’ve only had the album a couple of hours and it comes out tomorrow.) It’s been 3 years since we’ve seen a full length release from these three. If you didn’t happen to catch KRWU (Kome Ryde With Us) now is your chance to get caught up!

The first track “Work Till I Die” hits you right off with an impact comparable to soundtrack vibes with horn-like synth pads and melody. It’s another epically captivating composition from Young God. The opener is a song about the everyday grind required to maintain and survive. Trading verses back and forth Squadda and Pepp come with anecdotes about going to work and affirmations of what putting all that work brings, should their goals be reached.

‘Without U’ is a cruise down memory lane of the history of the Green Ova South saga. Travel back in time with Squadda and Pepp to the beginning of their collaborations as they serenade you, the supporters, the friends, producers, crew members and everyone that’s showed love. Lil B even gets a shout! (they go way back.) This track really harks back to the KRWU record sound. When you bust out the SUB pads on the beat, it just feels like $ !

‘Str8 Off Da Block’; Bridging the Gap from the West to the South is something that comes naturally to these guys. Since Rebel Muzik Squadda and Pepperboy have always met up in person to record and produce their full length joint efforts. This time around Pepperboy made his way to Oakland and met up with Young God and Squadda to write and record the entire project in a matter of days. This song title is also a straight rip of Pepperboy’s FIRST ALBUM EVERY RECORDED from 2002! It has continued as a series over the years with the latest installment ‘Str8 Off Da Block 6’ dropping late 2016. That album also had a feature from Squadda!

‘Take It’, is a solo Pepperboy track that exposes us to some darker places and perspectives. Young God brings the vibes with a whistling melody that reminds me of “the wild west” or something you’d hear in a cowboy movie in 2019 over the chorus while the rest of the tracks’ timbre is a bit more ominous and eerie.

We could call the title track ‘3 Tha Hard Way’ a good way end a Side A, if this were an LP. It may be the most unique on the album in that the beat sounds like some classic 80’s synth pop ballad with a savory, sexy saxophone solo sample blazing through the mix.

By no means is the rest of this tape any kind of “B-side”. ‘From Tha Bottom Up’ is what I would call the most ‘hype’ track. Dope G of Green Ova pops off immediately with a round of the chorus. Young God went across the world and into some worm holes into other dimensions and universes to manifest his sonic palette for this one.

‘Step N 2 Tha Water’ was released around a month ago on a single drop with ‘Without U.’ This is what those who remember may call a “cloud-rap” banger. Slowed down vocals and that half time snare slap get you lifted with the quickness, but the funky legato bass line Young God slathers throughout this track really keeps you moving.

The arpeggiated harp on ‘This Is International’ over the sub bounce groove may take you back to some classic Squadda B and Main Attrakionz days but with a cinematic, enchanting depth.

The track ordering on this tape is perfect. It’s strong all the way through. The conclusion to this piece of art is ‘Made My Mind Up’, an uplifting message over serene melodies (steel guitar samples?). The features from Dope G and Robbie Rob fit like a glove. After several repeat listens I’ve definitely made MY mind up ; this is Album Of The Year so far!

Follow the members of Green Ova South
Squadda B : Twitter, IG
Pepperboy : Twitter, IG
Robbie Rob : Twitter,
Dope G : Twitter, IG
Young God (televangel) : Twitter, IG

-Froze (Candy Drips co-founder) Twitter: @candydrips

April 5, 2018 /

Rap trio is back in rare form with their new single “Pre Season.” After a brief hiatus, the Birmingham group hone in on their patented flows, their strong ear for production, and their unabashed lyrics. Both aggressive and energetic, this drum-laden track (produced by Anthem Beats) is the definition of the talent of K.L.U.B. Monsta. It acts as their manifesto, a testament, an appetizer. With KENXL (one of the best directors in the Southeast) behind the lens, K.L.U.B. Monsta delivers a cryptic but prime view of how they run the city in the visual for “PRE SEASON”. Shot near some of the alleys and railways of Birmingham, KENXL captures the energy of the chase as K.L.U.B. Monsta mobs through the city unknown if they are the hunted or the hunter. “PRE SEASON” is the first visual off K.L.U.B. Monsta’s upcoming debut album When Gawd Ready. This is simply a taste of whats to come for the talented Birmingham group.

EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: CORRUPT FROM THE GET GO By MC Holocaust

September 8, 2017 /

 

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CORRUPT FROM THE GET GO by MC HOLOCAUST

The Birmingham, Alabama based MC Holocaust, one of the co-creators of Doomshop Records isn’t concerned with the hype, he makes no attempt to work with artists who have a buzz or change his sound to a popular or commercially digestible one. It’s dialed in and zoned out, ominous funk, and Candy Drips is fortunate to get an exclusive premiere of his latest, Corrupt From The Get Go.

A sound directly influenced by the evil sample drenched, 808 patterns and choice of circumstance lo-fi vocals of mid to late 90s Memphis rap that spawned the obscure subgenre Devil Shyt. Although Memphis artists coined the term first, Devil Shyt is now a community with artists from all over the globe, creating dark atmospheric street based horror stories in rap form. Now throw in Houston’s dark offerings (the Geto Boys obviously, Ganksta N.I.P, Point Blank etc), the sinister side of the West Coast scene (Brother Lynch Hung, X Raided, even Spice 1 although he never gets the props he deserves) and some will also say, early Spaceghostpurpp with his Phonk creations. No-one has a better grip on this murky melange than DOOMSHOP does right now. Holocausts’ tape is like a South Park Coalition release with most of its production handled by in house artists covering all these sonic elements and more.

The amount of timeless samples embedded on this tape are drowned out by unrecognizable rarities, a signature Shop move, in a successful strategy to distance themselves from the pack.

For instance, the intro track, Nobody Likes U Holocaust (produced by KevinTheCreep), contains a perfect Adina Howard sample. Seconds into the tape and I’m already blown away by its usage. Next, Hate You More Than Myself  begins with an uncomfortable Requiem For A Dream scene soundbite while Gangsta Walk Adolf contains Scarface and Bushwick Bill snippets, a salute to that aforementioned Houston influence and a heavy bass that sounds very similar to the one used on the Keith Murray track Dip Dip Di but slowed down, a la DJ Screw. Besides the intro it’s all paired with Holocausts laid back devious flow.

The title track continues the audio mayhem and Mothafuckas Don’t Exist (a crazy, rattling beat produced by Bonkura) contains my favorite lyrical quote (the devil, heavy metal, very skilled with a shovel / disrespectful, next level, fuck life, I ain’t special) while Gotta Plan 2 is pure on a mission mentality that has been missing in rap for years. On A Rampage Ghetto Blaster (produced by Jak3) starts like a UK bassline track before quickly spinning off into an advanced get buck state and Undaground Enemy (AKOZA edit) where ‘Caust states (OGs I sample really fuckin with me / Ima real MC / undaground enemy) maintains the momentum.

Here the tape transitions to smoother selections, like the barrel has gotten too hot and it needs a cool down. Feeble Hearted (prod. by Jake3 and KevinTheCreep) is a lil ranfla roller while Execute Me, Gospel (produced by DJ Sacred) and  Another Friday Night (produced by Tyris White) featuring Slim Guerilla also both seal in the funky flavor with soulful source material.

I excitedly compare this movement to B movie culture, for decades remaining far outside the big industry rap and Hollywood radars. Often low budget, shocking, exhilarating and well, usually problematic. And with a name like MC Holocaust, it’s not a reach. Every time I see his name I think of the 1975 film The Black Gestapo. It makes normal people uncomfortable but for those who seek out the nasties, it fits like a murder glove.

 

-CECIL BLAM DEMENTED
Twitter: @BLAMLORD

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