Southern California emcee Anterluz emailed me a while back, and I never got around to posting his stuff. Let me make up for it now, and get you acquainted with two recent tracks.
“I Ain’t Know” has a classic West Coast sound to it, with woozy synthesizers, rolling bass and what sounds like the drums from “More Bounce”. Ant rips the ominous, psychedelic beat on “We Get It Done” with a steady, forceful flow. “We Get It Done” sounds like it could be an Alchemist production, and I mean that in the best possible way. This kid’s got a lot of promise and great production behind him, I advise to you to get familiar. Ant’s album Fight For The Crown drops this summer.
…as shown by his floormats. You know we love to jump on anything hip hop + hockey related. Continue watching to see Young Buck talk about his cars & bikes. Be sure to note Young Buck rocking the motorcyle helmet, proving Young Buck has the sickest non-traditional hat game in hip hop.
In a slight departure from your usual Metal Lungies fare, here’s a feature article on producer Marco Polo.
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Marco Polo records most of his music in Studio A, a room in his apartment where the ceiling is unfinished and the walls peel where they aren’t covered by J Dilla and Masta Ace posters. Across the hall is Studio B, a makeshift recording booth soundproofed by foam padding on the door.
“There are certain things in my setup that could be a little cleaner,” lamented Polo, but he added “Sometimes you don’t want your shit to sound clean. You don’t want it to sound like a Britney Spears record, you want it to sound like hip-hop.”
Light-haired and pale, Polo is tall and skinny with a shaved head and a protruding stubbled chin. Despite the growing pop influence in hip-hop today, the Canadian producer insists on making music for an audience that wishes it was still 1994.
Polo has reprised the classic one-rapper one-producer formula with Coney Island’s Torae for Double Barrel, an album reminiscent of the genre’s glory days.
But major labels have long since abandoned backing aspiring artists who make traditional hip-hop. Instead, Polo has gone the less glamorous independent route with both Double Barrel and his first album Port Authority. Polo records and produces from his meager home studio in Brooklyn with no regrets.
Funky West Coast shit! Kurupt has the Streetlight album with Terrace Martin coming out this Summer and BlaQKout with DJ Quik coming June 9. Collaborations ahoy!
What’s this? Danny Brown and Johnson & Jonson? A Danny Johnson album? Apparently, Detroit rapper Danny Brown is doing an entire album with Blu and Mainframe who comprise the duo Johnson & Jonson. Last year’s Johnson & Jonson album was amazing and Danny Brown has shown that he’s a beast on the mic. “Can’t Find My Mind” is interesting, but it remains to be seen if this peculiar combination can put together a great album. Color me excited.
Take a trip back to the early 90s with Blaq Poet and Nore as they keep it grimy over a traditional DJ Premier beat. This song makes me wanna watch Aladdin and play one of those old Ninja Turtles games. What up, Premo!
“Hold Up” is the B-side to the 12” for Double Barrel’s title track. When I told Marco this sample sounded familiar, he grabbed me by my ankles and hurled me out the window of his fifth floor apartment. Check back later today for an in-depth feature on everyone’s favorite Italian-Canadian chain smoker.
Watch the excellent Double Barrel Training videos after the jump, the first of which has Torae and Marco assuming the roles of Little Mac and Doc Louis. Oh yeah, the new Punch-Out!! is supposed to be sick.
Co$$ is currently working on an album for Tres Records. Here are two non-album cuts produced by Fonetik that I should have posted a week ago. Co$$ further demonstrates his excellent ear for beats. “Elevation” and “Life” have a psychedelic air to them which is rare in hip-hop.
