This is a one-way ticket to a bar fight. Minnesota-based MC CRASHprez unleashes with “Watch This” featuring fellow rapper Student1. Both go in on the BoatHouse production. “Lost my mind, found God in the mosh pit.” This shit will rip your home in half. If you need more from CRASHprez, check out the two minute whirlwind “FASCISTS DON’T CRY”, which was released last month.
–Ben Niespodziany
Twitter: @neonpajamas
Lucki kickstarted the summer with the 18 song project Watch My Back. With production from Clams Casino, Plu2o Nash, Grimm Doza, and more, the project was perfect for the June and July heat. Just last month, he released another heater in the form of “You Called Me” which comes produced by 16YROLD and YUNGLUNCHBOX. It’s a two minute smoke break, one I promise you desperately need.
–Ben Niespodziany
Twitter: @neonpajamas
Five new songs from the dynamic duo based out of Atlanta. This is their first properly packaged release since Strays With Rabies back in late 2015, but they’ve been doing plenty in the between time. Music videos, tours, compilations, the works. The new EP features Chicagoan Mick Jenkins on the groovy closing track as well as Spillage Village member J.I.D. on the standout track “Meditate”. You can enjoy the EP above and check out the video for “Meditate” below.
-Ben Niespodziany
Twitter: @neonpajamas
–Ben Niespodziany
Twitter: @neonpajamas
This release takes flight as soon as the beat drops on Occasional Smoker (produced by Forest Slikk) as the artist, Yung Warden Buffett applies his raspy, uptempo delivery to its opening line: (When I grow up one day gonna be a nasty fuck like Lester Green). A perfect salute to Lester aka Beetlejuice (Beet for short) who is seen on the cover and in the title, of the KING BEET ep.
Each track contains a Beetle bite as a matter of fact. In the hook on Ignoramus (produced by White Whoadie) Warden sings (‘Your situation is uglier than Beetlejuice dome’) harsh, but a whole bop nevertheless. THATS CREEP throws down a nice and nasty lurker of a production for Fuck Off With That Camera that Y.W.B attacks off top with another great opening line “Go ahead and bang my line I’ll tell you bitch I’M OUT ON BUSINESS.” The end joint, Suction featuring Lil Baby Goat (produced by DIRT MAN) is a trap beat backed, ego flashing offering that ends with guess what? A Beet soundbite. It’s a complete lace up.
The Salt Lake City resident, a member of Schemaposse, when the JGRXXN lead power crew was alive and kicking, is clearly still putting in work. Yung Warden Buffett being just one of many artistic pseudonyms (Tanqueray Romano, Lil Black Lung, Father Creak) where he explores his often dark psyche realms. And with a distinct voice that sounds like himself but also like, Mystikal and Lil Wyte were personas of a man who trades one liner jabs with himself in the world’s first M.P.D buddy (not buddy cop, no no no) film… Hold up, don’t steal the screenplay idea that I just made right now. Writing this review for Candy Drips blog is as binding as a copyright. Just kidding. Or am I? In summary, check out KING BEET by Young Warden Buffett. It’s cohesive for an EP. The tracks are short but succinct.
*Sidenote: The Schema might have dissolved but some of my favorite examples of contemporary chopping (double time rhyming) were done by Warden and another posse member, Kold Blooded. I have a short list of others but lets spare that for another time.
The Walking Miscarriage by Jak Tripper/Jakprogresso
The rap community is bombarded by its most recent fads like replicant trap beats and copycat catchphrases but deep down in its core there remains a solid resistance to the bogus consumer hive mind. A veneration for crate digging and complex rhyme schemes.
Jak Tripper aka Jak Progresso is of the latter and his self born Blak Church movement in Putnam County, NY is where he has whipped up product over the last 5 years. The Walking Miscarriage is the latest in a history of audio violence.
From the opening sample on Glum Tree (“Open the gate and let Ja(c)k into the kitchen”) it is clear that came to cook and with bars like (I’m malnourished with flies on my rib cage like third world / I once cut my arm so bad the E.R. intern nurse earled) it’s going to be served up still bleeding, chef’s choice. Cannibal savory wordplay swirling around in a murky stew of self produced, sample saturated, phencyclidine dunked beats. The second track, Parke-Davis is like a paean to (the pharmaceutical company that invented PCP) this angel dusted, demonic celebration of depraved natures.
Red City Knights opens with a Vincent Price soundbite, a dreamy beat and a verse from Lodeck. Monks hit profundo basso notes under Self Indulged where Jak offers a different street perspective (I glorify drugs, and glamorize the cult, they trappin over streets / I trip out in traps and just rap over beats). Psychonaut is a relentless barrage of.. bar rage, so much that he just goes until he quits. On Wallpaper Paste Jak spits: (I’m stoned as a witch trial / from the corner with a lemonade stand in Harlem selling piss vials) and Joel’s Tennis Shoes is book-ended by audio from a docu on serial killer Joel David Rifkin and a William S. Burroughs quip. It’s like an odyssey through lyrical dominance, addiction and dissociation.
One of the many monstrosities from within the Church that Jak built. And if he grabs your ear go and check out his previous releases on Bandcamp. I thoroughly enjoyed every track on this. It would be lazy to categorize his work as horrorcore when it clearly doesn’t abide by those boundaries. You might have seen him with his partner in rhyme, The Buttress and if you aren’t familiar with his work on the battle rap circuits, peep his lyrical homicides on Ibattle, We Go Hard TV, RBE and URLTV.
Next up from him is DARK ENERGY JUDO.
[Photo cred: Micah Green]
DJ Burn One is a living legend. A producer and engineer who is seemingly glued behind the boards, he remains one of the most prolific and influential beatmakers residing in Atlanta. Having worked with artists like A$AP Rocky, Freddie Gibbs, Starlito, and others, Burn One is also a member of the Five Points Bakery, where he cooks up music with Go! Ricky Go!, Walt Live, and plenty of other artists coming and going from the studio. On top of solo work and production work, the three members are also part of the band iNDEEDFACE, featured later in the article. Like I said: prolific. Check out the interview below as I spoke with the talented musician about industry insight, multitasking, the importance of experimentation, and his heavily slept-on yoga album.
Candy Drips: How has this summer been treating you?
DJ Burn One: Pretty good, man. I signed a kid a few years back named Pi’erre Bourne. I met him at this iStandard event where they have folks come and play beats for me and I give ’em a critique. He did 6 records on Playboi Carti’s album, including “Magnolia” which just went platinum. As far as the rest of the crew, we’ve been heavy into making our own samples from scratch for the past few years. Supplying music to some of our favorite producers. We got a gang of stuff on deck but one thing that has come out recently was Ugly God’s album The Booty Tape. We did two samples on there: “Fuck Ugly God” and “Bitch”.
All In project:
CD: You’ve been making music nonstop for quite some time. What keeps you going?
DJ: My partners Go! Ricky Go! and Walt Live always keep me motivated. Watching them work along with our conversations about whatever we’ve learned recently is a constant source of inspiration. We’re always scouring the net for information. We constantly send each other links on everything from the latest plugins, mix tutorials, interviews and anything else we can learn from. We share a special curiosity for anything that can make our lives or music better. Knowing that there’s always something else out there that can improve what you’re doing keeps us searching and inspired.
CD: If the music industry has taught you one things, it’s ______________________.
DJ: Get your paperwork straight before you go all out on someone. There’s so many acts that I had a big hand in getting off the ground but I never saw the fruits of my labor because they just moved on. When I met Pi’erre I knew he was talented but needed some work. I’d never signed a producer before him and making sure we got our paperwork straight up front saved me from potential headaches I had in the past. Some folks will use you up in the industry, feel they got what they needed from you and keep it moving. Past missteps helped me get this situation right.
Canape:
CD: Is it hard to split time between passion projects and making beats for other artists/vocalists?
DJ: Balancing is always difficult. We put out a yoga album called Thousand Fold two years ago and it essentially got ignored. But that doesn’t matter to me because the music touches my soul. I feel when you’re creating art it shouldn’t be strictly for commercial gain. If that comes then great but I enjoy doing the thing that warms my spirit more than anything else. A girl I practiced yoga with during the time that we were making it actually told me today how much it meant to her. That’s priceless. So I bounce back and forth but I’m really figuring all of this out as I go. Being open to changing my game plan has always been key.
CD: What’s the rest of the year looking like for you?
DJ: Hopefully a bunch of these samples we’ve been sending finally get released. We dropped Ricky’s sophomore album PLAID a few months back so we’re still getting people hip to that. I’ve been developing a new female singer named Anna Valena for the past 3 years and we’re close to being ready to roll her music out. I played her music for someone and they told me it sounds like kush and anguish. That’s probably right [laughs]. I honestly had been off just making beats just to make beats for a minute but I got my swag back and the new beats are sounding amazing. I feel like we’ve finally distilled all of our best qualities into our greatest production thus far. So I’m really excited to see who ends up getting on them.
Tapas:
CD: You’ve done everything from yoga instrumentals to concept beat tapes. Do these form organically or do you approach a beat with a certain vision in mind?
DJ: It’s always a mood. It depends on how we’re feeling and where we’re at at the time. Most rappers are a few years back musically so for awhile it was like beating a dead horse trying to give our musical stuff to guys who just wanted the trap bell. Luckily it seems there are a few catching up and even becoming forward thinking. Everything we do is organic so once we talk about an idea we just knock it out and give it to the world.
CD: Outside of your circle of musicians, what have you been listening to as of late?
DJ: Washed Out’s new record is beautiful, it does something to me. Kali Uchis is pretty fire. There’s a dope new crop of female artists coming up that I dig. On the rap side, not too much has moved me recently. Birds in the Trap was the last album that I consistently jammed. Tay k47’s “The Race” is probably the best song out right now.
CD: How has the Atlanta scene changed in the last year?
DJ: It’s constantly evolving. I think it’s becoming more open. There had always been an undercurrent of different types of music with trap being our main export of course. Now we got kids like 6lack and JID and others who are pushing the game forward. It’s a beautiful time to be here.
CD: Do you have any advice for producers working on their craft?
DJ: Stay learning! Never think you got it all figured out. Learn from the past and figure out how to distill that into what you’re doing. You don’t have to rip off Organized Noize but listen to it and understand what made that music have the impact that it did. I see a lot of kids using a couple stock sounds and wonder why they aren’t popping. It’s because they aren’t experimenting. I feel most of what we do is pure experimentation. We stumble on incredible ideas all the time just by trying shit. Be open to other genres of music and don’t be afraid to collaborate.
CD: Any final thoughts / words of wisdom?
DJ: Be a good person. I see so many people with talent but no awareness or they just want to use people to get to the next step up the ladder. That will only get you so far. I’ve been able to make a living off music since I was 16 because I understood that I needed to bring value to situations before I deserved anything. Be honest and be kind. It’s rare these days.
Fader Burn One playlist:
check out this episode of MASS APPEAL’s “rhythm roulette” featuring DJ BURN ONE and The 5 Points Bakery
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