Tall Black Guy – 8 Miles To Moenart (First Word Records) 5.21.2013
Detroit‘s own Tall Black Guy (Darling Lure) is on an excellent run going back to his days appearing in the Red Bull Big Tune beat battles and getting worldwide exposure through being featured on one of Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Bubblers compilations. After a stretch of outstanding production work, placements & excellent singles all the hard work has paid off in the guise of Tall Black Guy’s debut project on First Word Records. This soulful ode to his hometown of Detroit can be appreciated by everyone from casual music fans to hardcore beat culture fanatics. 8 Miles To Moenart is available via iTunes, Amazon, Beatport, UGHH or stream and download it from First Word Records’ Bandcamp.
P-Money – Gratitude (Duck Down Records) 5.21.2013
P-Money hails from Auckland, NZ, he’s an R&B/Soul and a Hip-Hop producer who is best known for his production work on New Zealand vocalist Aaradhna’s widely acclaimed 2012 LP Treble & Reverb. P-Money relocated to New York and he’s now a part of the Duck Down Music family. His first order of business was to deliver a veritable bangathon of a producer’s album featuring heavy hitters such as M.O.P., Buckshot, Talib Kweli, Havoc, Roc Marciano, Skyzoo, Pac Div, Fashawn & Jamall Bufford. As a testament to his versatility he crafted equally great Soul/R&B tracks for the previously mentioned Aaradhna, Nicole Wray, Blaison Maven & @Peace. Gratitude can be copped on iTunes, Amazon, UGHH & Sandbox Automatic. I fear this might end up one of the most slept on but incredible projects of 2013. Let’s hope I’m proven wrong.
Ugly Heroes (Apollo Brown x Verbal Kent x Red Pill) – Ugly Heroes (Mello Music Group) 5.21/5.28.2013
Detroit’s Apollo Brown (Skilled Trade, Make Do, The Reset & Clouds) is turning into the Scottie Pippen of Mello Music Group’s roster alongside Oddisee’s Michael Jordan. Apollo Brown makes yet another masterpiece as he provides the sonic backdrop for working class/blue collar MCs Verbal Kent and Red Pill to spit bars about everyday struggles and real talk. If you loved Apollo Brown’s work on his previous classics like Brown Study (with Boog Brown), Gas Mask (as part of The Left), Daily Bread (with Hassaan Mackey), Trophies (with O.C.) or Dice Game (with Guilty Simpson) then you already know this new album is a must have and an early contender for Album Of The Year. Ugly Heroes can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon, Fat Beats, UGHH or streamed and downloaded direct from Mello Music Group’s Bandcamp. You all owe it to yourselves to own this jawn.
While You Were Sleeping will be back in another couple of weeks to enlighten you all about the best releases in underground & independent Hip-Hop/Rap during what promises to be a hectic June. Until then, this is Dart Adams saying “Don’t sleep”.
One.
