NOBODY - Soulmates It all started by 1998, when Mike Nardone came across a cassette full of instrumental hip-hop music, entirely produced by a Californian beatmaker, by then unknown. Convinced by these few tracks, the DJ shared them with […]
THE CHICHARONES - When Pigs Fly In 2005, the Chicharones had already some releases behind them. As soon as in 2003, they had recorded together a Boss Hog EP. It was mostly in concerts, though, that the complicity between Sleep – a member of the Oldominion – and Josh Martinez – from Halifax's hip-hop scene – had been forged and developed. This was obvious, when listening to the energetic, joyful and catchy When Pigs Fly.
3 MELANCHOLY GYPSYS - Grand Caravan to the Rim of the World With hindsight, we know now that there was one single criterion, to assess the quality of a Living Legends record: the level of involvement of Eligh. The Californian collective's best albums, indeed, were those where he took the most active part. It was true for his solo albums, as well as Luckyiam.PSC's great Justify the Mean$ (2002). And it was true, also, for the first and last album ever released by the 3 Melancholy Gypsys, one of the two funding trios of the Legends.
THE GROUCH, DADDY KEV & D-STYLES - Sound Advice In 2003, the casting had changed for the dream team made of Daddy Kev and D-Styles. After some fruitful collaborations with Awol One, the Los Angeles beatmaker and the DJ from the Invisibl Skratch Piklz had finally exchanged the hoarse voiced Shape Shifters MC, with another key rapper from California: The Grouch, from the Living Legends. Together, as the latter would announce it on frantic violins, they would make their best to bring something new to hip-hop.
100s - IVRY 100s, the Californian rapper, didn't release many materials in 2013. Nonetheless, he didn't lose time. After his first mixtape, Ice Cold Perm, was praised by many, he joined Fool's Gold, A-Track's label, and the best entry point to the hipster side of hip-hop. He also delivered a track, "Life of a Mack", for the 5th edition of Grand Theft Auto. Consequently, it is not too much of a surprise if he is coming back today, with a better exposure and even more critical acclaim. Actually, listening to IVRY, his new eight-track release, his music itself reached an upper dimension.
J-ZONE - Pimps don't Pay Taxes In 2001, after his two EP's, Music for tu Madre (1998) and A Bottle of Whup Ass (2000), both praised in the underground, Jay Mumford, a.k.a. the producer and rapper J-Zone, had finally released his first real album. This […]
