New Joint – Serge Severe / Jon Belz

Serge Severe ft. Jon Belz – “Rare Flow” (SergeSevere.Blogspot.Com / 2012)

Taken from the Portland emcee’s Terminill-produced EP “Service Without A Smile”.

Album Review – Fangtshida

Fangtshida

“Fangtshida”

(FangtshidaMusic.BandCamp.Com)

A six-man collective consisting of members from both Chicago and Portland, Oregon, Fangtshida’s self-titled debut album definitely has its roots in true-school boom-bap but the crew are able to put their own twist on the familiar with plenty of personality both musically and lyrically.

Produced entirely by beatsmith G_Force, who recently gained blog notoriety through his work with Planet Asia, “Fangtshida” finds remaining group members N.VS (emcee), Cody DeCamry (emcee / producer), Sam Trump (vocalist / trumpeter), Dain (emcee / producer) and Rio (emcee / vocalist) rhyming, singing and playing their way through ten tracks of quality Hip-Hop.

The crisp “Stadium Status” features the crew showing off their verbal dexterity over jazzy pianos and live flutes, with N.VS putting wack emcees on blast, claiming “Spittin’ a verse like makin’ a child, Givin’ birth, So in essence I be sonnin’ their style” as the group pass the mic to one another, giving the track the feel of a seamless, polished rhyme cypher.

The sparse, moody “Steer Clear” features more aggressive lyrical barbs woven around a strong backdrop of head-nodding beats, sampled soulful wails and triumphant horns, whilst the hazy “OJ” paints a day-in-the-life picture of weed-induced mackin’ over G_Force’s “plutonia inhuman space music”.

Obviously not wanting to be easily pigeon-holed, midway through the album the crew throw out “Hold Me Down”, a soothing ode to finding the right woman that’s built around passionate vocals, smooth harmonies, wah-wah guitars and stirring strings. It’s somewhat ironic that, given the current uninspired state of most modern R&B, one of the most soulful tracks to be heard in sometime is to be found here on a Hip-Hop project.

The organic musicianship and tight verses of the pounding “Face Value” could easily draw comparisons to the live-band-real-rap sound of The Roots, whilst the upbeat, carefree sonic vibe of the BE.water-assisted ”Doughboy” provides an interesting contrast to the crew’s observational rhymes about corner-huggin’ drug-pushers.

An entertaining release that definitely possesses its own unique character, with “Fangtshida” this multi-talented Chicago / Portland collective have taken a large step towards carving out their own niche in today’s vast rap universe.

Ryan Proctor

New Joint – Luck-One & Dekk / Dizz

Luck-One & Dekk ft. Dizz – “Black Seed” (LuckOne.BandCamp.Com / 2012)

Effective mix of contemporary R&B vibes and ferocious rhymes from the Oregon duo’s latest project “Beautiful Music Part 2″.

New Joint – N.VS / Cody DeCamary

N.VS ft. Cody DeCamary – “Paper Masks” (Get Live / 2012)

Taken from the Portland, Oregon emcee’s forthcoming “Focus” EP.

Air Time – Serge Severe

Portland, Oregon emcee Serge Severe performs his single “Rare Flow” on KZME 107.1′s “Welcome To The Neighborhood” show with DJ Klyph.

New Joint – Serge Severe & Terminill / Jon Belz

Serge Severe & Terminill ft. Jon Belz – “Rare Flow” (SergeSevere.BlogSpot.Com / 2012)

Taken from the Portland, Oregon emcee’s forthcoming EP “Service Without A Smile”.

New Joint – TOPE

TOPE – “Come True” (Amigo / Amiga Recordings / 2012)

Mark Steez-produced track from the Portland, Oregon emcee’s new album “Until The Next Time We Meet”.

New Joint – Cool Nutz / Mikey Vegas

Cool Nutz ft. Mikey Vegas – “Superman” (CoolNutz.Net / 2012)

Lawz Spoken-produced track from the Portland, Oregon artist’s recent album “The Cook Up”.

New Joint – Serge Severe / Terminill

Serge Severe & Terminill ft. DJ Wels - “Monstrosity” (SergeSevere.Blogspot.Com / 2012)

Taken from the Portland emcee’s forthcoming Terminill-producer EP “Service Without A Smile”.

 

New Joint – Fatal Lucciauno / I AM

Fatal Lucciauno ft. I AM - “Dr. Love” (Sportn Life Records / 2012)

Producer MTK lifts a large chunk from one of my favourite joints from 80s soul group Starpoint for this mellow single from Seattle emcee Fatal’s recent album “Respect”.

New Joint – Serge Severe / Th3ory Hazit / Illmaculate

Serge Severe ft. Th3ory Hazit & Illmaculate – “Combinations Like This – Th3ory Hazit Remix” (SergeSevere.BlogSpot.Com / 2012)

The original version of this track can be found on the Portland, Oregon emcee’s 2011 album “Back On My Rhymes”.

New Joint – Serge Severe

Serge Severe – “Say What You Really Feel” (SergeSevere.BandCamp.Com / 2012)

The Portland, Oregon emcee goes in over a horn-blasting Panama Red-produced track.

The Message EP Download – Fatal Lucciauno / Jake One

Talented producer Jake One teams-up with Seattle-based emcee Fatal Lucciauno for this free EP release to prep listeners for the rapper’s forthcoming sophomore album “Respect” – download here.

New Joint – Iame

Iame – “It’s Not Always Pretty” (Taxidermy Records / 2011)

Taken from the Oregon-based Sandpeople / Oldominion emcee’s new album “Lame”.

New Joint – Cool Nutz

Cool Nutz – “Family Bond” (RapHater.Com / 2011)

Taken from the Portland, Oregon emcee’s forthcoming album “The Cook Up”.

New Joint – Luck-One

Luck-One – “Breakthrough” (Focused Noise / 2011)

Taken from the Portland, Oregon emcee’s forthcoming mixtape project “King Of The North West”.