Hip-hop artists have a knack for creating brands around groups and labels. Examples include Wu-Tang, Bad Boy, Roc-A-Fella, G-Unit, and Young Money. These brands are usually built around a philosophy or lifestyle and its accompanying visual style and slang lexicon. On their new album The ONE…COHESIVE, Alabama duo G-Side illuminate the principles of their Slow Motion Soundz imprint.
According to their about page, Slow Motion Soundz is “an entertainment research and development company based out of Huntsville, Alabama.” Founders Codie G and Cory Parham avoid the word “label;” they prefer “incubator.” Slow Motion is at the forefront of Hunstville’s burgeoning hip-hop scene and ST 2 Lettaz and Yung Clova comprise SMS’ marquee group G-Side. The dominant tenet of the SMS philosophy is unity. The buzzwords repeated throughout The ONE…COHESIVE are “one” and “cohesive.” It was released on 1.1.11 at 1 AM.
Despite the spiritual wisdom, familiar underdog rap themes permeate Cohesive. Clova and 2 Lettaz fathom the countless places music will take them on “How Far” and they reject mainstream success in pursuit of riches on “No Radio.” “Came Up” chronicles the trials of the struggling artist (it also has a subtle Antoine Dodson reference: “Like the Lincoln Park rapist, I’m coming through your window.”)
Tracks are reinforced by glossy elephantine beats. G-Side’s inspirational overtures sound even more inspirational when set to shimmering production provided by Block Beattaz and A-Team. Even “Pictures,” a sex anthem, sounds like a brilliant proclamation. For the most part, the musicality on Cohesive is genuine, not self-indulgent; the violin on “Came Up” and the piano on “Y U Mad” are part of an aesthetic of elegance that’s supposed to parallel SMS’ refined approach to music.
Even though Cohesive is G-Side’s fourth album, it has the tenacity of a debut. Cohesive is 2011’s first great release, but some day, it might be the point of entry to some future legacy of the Huntsville/Slow Motion Soundz brand.
Crazy ass Amy Winehouse played her first full show since 2008 on Saturday night in Florianopolis, Brazil. Meanwhile, Salaam Remi released this alternate version of the Frank bonus track “Mr. Magic.”
You might lose sight of all the shit Trae and Yela have seen while you’re marveling at how many words they can pack into each second. They exchange violent imagery in double time with the occasional boastful stab. Trae called Yelawolf about this song right before I interviewed Yela in November. Watch behind the scenes footage from the video shoot below.
There are precious few rappers out right now who can own a track like Freddie Gibbs. The guest verses on “O.G.” struggle to match the whirlwind flow on Freddie’s, but Burn One’s murderous beat keeps them afloat. The track appears on AshleyOutrageous.com’s The Playlist Vol. 2 mixtape.
Prematurely announcing your retirement is almost a rite of passage for artists. Lupe Fiasco, Game, and Kid Cudi have all announced their retirement from music at one point, probably after a lousy day or something. On Sunday, Jazmine Sullivan wrote on Twitter, “i’m making an official announcement that i am taking a break from music. i’m trying to figure out who i am… w/out a mike, paper or pen. i promised myself when it wasn’t fun anymore i wouldn’t do it. and here i am..” But then she quickly deleted the tweets.
The good news is Salaam Remi leaked this unreleased/new song to cheer her up. Jazmine just needed to be reminded that she’s not a robot and she has one of the best producers around in her corner.
I got in touch with producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Daniel Merriweather, Duran Duran) three weeks ago to talk about his favorite beats of the year. After he thoroughly educated me (I’ve listened to “Katy on a Mission” 40+ times), Mark was nice enough to field some questions. I was surprised to find out the Grammy winning, actress dating musician is just as disillusioned with pop music and celebrity antics as us normal people.
Twitter
I have a really hard time with celebrities or famous musicians sending each other tweets across the thing when they could just get each other’s phone number. I always accuse Wale of being guilty of that. Like ‘Yo Diddy, what are we doing tonight?’ which I just think is like, ‘OK, you have his phone number, you could text him.’
Yelawolf
I would listen to [Trunk Muzik: 0-60] over the new Eminem album fucking any day of the week and I’m not comparing [Yelawolf and Eminem] because they’re white. It’s got the same rebel spirit and a lot of the same pain and passion, all that thing, but it’s got such a better– it’s light and he’s got a sense of humor about things and he has clever lines and stuff like that. Eminem’s just become this moan-y, whiny like, ‘me, me, me’ thing. It’s like, ‘dude, you’ve fucking got 50 million in the bank, what is still so horribly wrong?’ But anyway, that’s not for me to say.
The first single from Raphael Saadiq’s Stone Rollin’ is about that trifling chick named Radio. Slide this to the guy spinning classic soul records. He’ll never know the difference.
