Speaking of I.E. vets, Calligraphy has always been a distinctive quirky and intellectual voice in the community and I am happy to hear this OhGoshLeotus produced gem of a single recently dropped to add some flavor and rhythm to your winter nights.
I love the double meaning Notiz employs here as he figuratively journeys his way to fatherhood on the track- peep the blood vessels on this self-produced piece. Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is staff writer for JooseBoxx, a youth hip-hop and poetry tutor, and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com
A lovely, catchy and very well done song from Aye Brook and Noa James dropped on Valentine's Day that does not disappoint!
All 4 One
Hell will freeze over before the EOTR network runs out of barsy melodic boom-bap to show you- Badson does his fuckin' thang on this brief but stellar EP with Mesoamerica's sweethearts, Mad Macks and Kiddo!
A catchy, clever and super vibey single from the King Crilly!
California Neglect A new album from the So Cal exile! Dope, relatable, funky and smart! Some really personal, fun, and creative music tackling original topics like girls who won't date black guys, being sick of California and more working class reality! Full disclosure: There's a track with yours truly on here, repurposed from my Inland Imperial album with Ras Josh. Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is staff writer for JooseBoxx, a youth hip-hop and poetry tutor, and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com
As critical fans of popular music, we get annoyed when
artists who’ve covered a lot of ground don’t find new ground to cover. Noa
James does not disappoint with his latest project, the Peace of Cake EP. His embrace of his own weirdness is as charming
as it’s ever been as the Orca’s evolution continues to unfold before our very
eyes. With each album, Noa sheds a bit of the growl that marks his earlier
works. It’s a bold move, one that comes from love and confidence growing.
This and Mescal’s new Weird
Turn Pro are the most atmospherically consistent albums I’ve heard this
year, both albums emanating a chill knowing from song to song. I admire that
Noa James goes out on a limb with his own brand of posi-waves, influenced by
but on different wavelength than fellow I.E. contemporary Cam Gnarly.
Each song is a recipe for a different kind of cake with
ingredients like self-love, confidence, and other positive abstract concepts.
It doesn’t sound like any other album I’ve ever heard, the closest cousin to
such a concept in music that I’m familiar with would be found in rock albums by
bands like The Fiery Furnaces and Tool. The Cam Gnarly song on the record has a
different slower almost darker feel and shows growth and diversity from each of
them. The Faimkills collab “Better than hate cake” might be my favorite Faimie
song, undulating between experiment and familiar modern hip-hop song. The last
song on the album, “Cake Buffet” is the barsiest I.E.-est song I’ve heard from
James or anyone in a while and again- feels boom-bappy but new and experimental
at the same time.
Producers like Ca$h Only of New Culture Media Group, Aye
Brook and more contributed to this album’s trippy banquet of bangers. Kudos to
a successful artist not just sticking to their comfort zone, to pushing their
own envelope and backing up their ideals with their music. I say this because
in person for the last couple years Noa James has often talked about the ideas
he is putting to work here in the Peace
of Cake EP and the follow-through is refreshing. The ideals give him a
message of love worth sharing and the chill production and sense of music make
it all work. The artistic pay-off and uniqueness of this project has me quite
curious as to what he’ll be talking about on later projects and what stage of
butterfly metamorphosis we’ll find the Young Orca in next.
Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is a staff writer for
JooseBoxx, youth hip-hop writing instructor with CHORDS Enrichment Youth
program (chordseyp.org) and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group
the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com,
follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com.
Sau shot us the newest single from his latest album Now or Never. Paradise is produced by and features ofttimes collaborator Aye Brook. Check out the sounds after the break...
JooseBoxx.com veteran Sau, dropped of his latest single Lights. With Aye Brook doing his thing on the production this is an upbeat joint i'm sure you'll enjoy. Have a listen after the break....
