While many of you were out on Cinco de Mayo throwing back Coronas and partying, I was up late catching up on new music I missed while I was away on my honeymoon. Here’s five relatively new artists who have stuff out that I’m really feeling right now:
1. Mayer Hawthorne, pictured above, is a late twenties white dude out of Ann Arbor, Michigan signed to underground hip hop label Stones Throw records. Only thing is, he doesn’t rap. He makes throwback soul music. Think Amy Winehouse with a dick (minus the psychotic behavior and hardcore drug use of course). Though he’s said flat out he’s not a trained vocalist, from what I’ve heard so far he’s got a knack for songwriting and does a mean falsetto. Check out the video for his song “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”, which features his heart-shaped vinyl that the single was pressed up on. Supposedly this is the first song he ever recorded as Mayer Hawthorne. It’s super dope.
And here’s a live clip of him performing an unreleased cut “Green Eyed Love”. Piff.
Want more? I sure do. His album is coming soon, but for now go on Itunes, he’s got a couple singles out that are all pretty sweet. And watch this interview below to get know to him better, which features some more live clips too…
2. The Cool Kids, who I have written about before, have a new mixtape out with DJ Don Cannon called Gone Fishing (see cover below). I’m a big fan of these dudes. Love the raps, love the beats. They’ve got an old school style with their production, they say fly shit, and they both have ill voices that complement each other perfectly. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, they’re my favorite new rap group. The new mixtape is more of the same, so if you like what you’ve heard in the past, you’re gonna dig this.
They have an official album coming soon too called WHEN FISH RIDE BICYCLES, but for now this will hold you over. Peep the behind the scenes look at the making of the project. Oh, and the download link too. Duh.
DOWNLOAD COOL KIDS GONE FISHING
3. I’ve been wanting to do a post about Chester French for a while now, I was just waiting for the right time. I heard someone recently describe them as The Beatles meets Outkast. Pretty accurate. Well, their album LOVE THE FUTURE just dropped a couple weeks ago, which has a bunch of sick songs on it. My personal favorites from the album include “Beneath the Veil”, which is an ill song about death, “Time to Unwind”, and of course the first song I ever heard from them over a year ago on Entourage, “She Loves Everybody”. And as a prelude to it they put out a great mixtape project with Clinton Sparks called JACQUES JAMS VOL. 1: ENDURANCE.
The mixtape tells the story of their rise from Harvard University undergrads to major label rock hop stars with hilarious skits, great self produced songs, and tons of A-List special guests (peep the list on the cover above). Standout cuts include “2 Mans” and “Nerd Girl”, though there are many highlights. Even the Mad Rapper (from Biggie’s Life After Death album) makes an LOL appearance!!! Download the mixtape for free and then cop their album (video for “She Loves Everybody” is below). Do it. Now.
OFFICIAL LINK TO CHESTER FRENCH MIXTAPE
4. The Kid Daytona, a BX rapper co-signed by Cipha Sounds, has a fantastic new EP style project out called DAYTONA 500, which is built completely off Bob James “Nautilus” samples. The chops and loops are crazy on all 7 tracks (intro actually features the original record), as are the rhymes. He goes in. Get that asap. The cover and link are below…
DAYTONA 500 DOWLOAD LINK VIA DONTGETGASSED.COM
And as a little bonus, here’s a commercial that Daytona did with Cipha Sounds for a single he put out earlier this year called “Fly Shit”. I had to put this up because Ciph’s sporting a Dirty Jax Bully shirt, and that’s family…
5. Another dude I’ve been listening to recently is Nickelus F, a rapper out of Richmond, Virginia. He’s a real dude. I like his street style of rap, and the subject matter he talks about in his lyrics. Plus he picks good beats to rock over. A couple of my friends have told me he reminds them of Jay-Z in his Reasonable Doubt days. I can kind of see the comparison, mainly because of the voice and the smooth flow, but this guy has his own unique struggle to discuss, and I can feel it in his songs. There’s a lot of rappers out there that are ok, but Nickelus F stands out to me because he can put together songs and has a good ear for music, plus you can tell from his rhyme patterns and wit that he’s a smart dude. His most recent album is called HEATHEN, which has a couple songs that I’ve had on repeat for the last month. Check below for links to “Prideful” and my wife’s favorite “Woo Sah”, which contains the illest Sesame Street sample you’ve ever heard. And if you like those two, go ahead and discover the rest of his latest music the way I did, on nahright.com. He leaks songs all the time, and has a new mixtape and album coming out this month so use the link below to keep up with him and check for older material too, like the HEATHEN album and a bunch of sick freestyles from early 2009 (he’s got older stuff too that’s supposedly real fresh and I heard he murders cats in battles)….
NICKELUS F HEATHEN LP DOWNLOAD LINK
There’s alot of other music out too. The big boys are dropping all spring. The Jadakiss album has been out, and also the new Rick Ross album which I like (he’s got great production). And Eminem and Cam’ron have new releases set for this month too. But I highly suggest you check out the 5 artists above and their recent efforts. It’s time to put some more new dudes in rotation. Still not satisfied? Here’s a bonus pick for you:
*Andrew Bird “Oh No”. I don’t know much about this indie folk guy other than that he’s from Chicago and plays all the big festivals, but I heard this song on WFUV a few weeks ago and fell in love with it. This cut is off his album NOBLE BEAST. If you like The Shins like I do, you’ll most likely dig this:
Okay, so that’s what I’m into right now. Thanks for checking this post out, hope it led you to some new music that you like. More Ip’s Picks to come. Peace.
Westcheddar 