New Joint – Lewis Parker / T.R.A.C. / John Robinson

Lewis Parker, T.R.A.C. & John Robinson – “Tic-Tac-Toe” (KicDrumProducts.Com / 2013)

Visuals for the dope new limited vinyl-only release from the Philly-based KicDrum camp.

What’s The Scienz? – John Robinson

NY emcee John Robinson a.k.a. Lil’ Sci of Scienz Of Life speaks to TheBeeShine.Com about his personal inspirations and challenges.

New Joint – John Robinson & Kyo Itachi

John Robinson & Kyo Itachi – “Masterful” (Shinigamie Records / 2012)

Dope vibe-filled track from the NY emcee and French producer’s forthcoming collabo album “The Path Of Mystery”.

New Joint – SciFi Stu / John Robinson / Venomous 2000 / Tone Liv / Chinch 33

SciFi Stu ft. John Robinson, Venomous 2000, Tone Liv & Chinch 33 - “What You Wanna Know?” (SciFiStu.BandCamp.Com / 2012)

Quality heavyweight posse cut produced by the UK’s SciFi Stu.

New Joint – John Robinson & PVD

John Robinson & PVD – “Miles & Trane” (Brick Records / 2012)

The Scienz Of Life emcee pays homage to two jazz giants on this Pat Van Dyke-produced track from the pair’s forthcoming album.

New Joint – Sidewalk Kal / John Robinson / Invizible Handz

Sidewalk Kal, John Robinson & Invizible Handz – “Astro” (Beatvizion / 2012)

19-year-old emcee Kal teams-up with Scienz Of Life members John Robinson and Invizible Handz for this spaced-out lead single from their forthcoming collabo project “Invizible Sidewalks”.

New Joint – Cashus Flow / John Robinson

Cashus Flow ft. John Robinson – “The Right Time” (CashusFlow.BandCamp.Com / 2012)

Smooth jazzy flavours on this ST/MiC-produced track from the Virginia-based artist’s forthcoming album “Lamplighter’s Delight”.

New Joint – John Robinson & Kyo Itachi

John Robinson & Kyo Itachi – “Mystical Strings” (Shinigamie Records / 2012)

Atmospheric head-nod business off the forthcoming collabo album “The Path Of Mystery” from the Scienz Of Life emcee and French producer.

Album Review – Soundsci

Soundsci

“Formula 99″

(CrateEscapeRecords.Com)

Having received critical acclaim for their 2009 EP “Dig For Victory”, the undeniably gifted Soundsci crew return to burn once again with both a new album and some official changes to the group line-up. Joining the original team roster of producers Jonny Cuba (Dynamic Syncopation), Ollie Teeba (The Herbaliser) and Atlanta emcee Audessey (Mass Influence), Georgia-based wordsmith U-George (Hemisphere) and NY’s Oxygen (Sputnik Brown) also bring their lyrical skills to the table this time around, natural additions to what was already a talented underground collective.

Picking up where the previous EP left-off, “Formula 99″ is full of quality production and impressive wordplay. With the group building on the true-school foundations of their golden-era influences, yet seeking to innovate and not just emulate what has come before them, simply labelling “Formula 99″ as being a throwback release would not be doing justice to the creativity that has gone into this project.

Keeping the thirteen-tracks included here relatively short and to-the-point, the potency of “Formula 99″ isn’t diluted by throwaway interludes or meandering self-indulgence. Soundsci cover a lot of ground, both musically and in terms of subject matter, resulting in an album that manages to achieve the difficult balance of being succinct without appearing to be rushed or incomplete.

“Hey Hey” offers political insight over bursts of funky sax and classic James Brown wails as guest John Robinson joins the proceedings to highlight the “stealth movements” of those in the corridors of power, whilst “CandyLand” wraps up the potentially gritty topics of drug addiction and street crime into a deceptively playful and light-hearted sonic package, with Audessey utilising popular nursery rhymes and fairytale characters to tell stories of urban woe.

Having proven their abilities to dabble in social commentary, Soundsci soon launch themselves back into the business of showing and proving their superiority over the competition with braggadocious rhymes over boom-bap beats. “Ill Dialect” finds “the Strong Island deriver” Oxygen dropping a particularly impressive verse, bobbing and weaving with b-boy bravado over the track’s purposeful production, punctuated by sharp piano stabs and a superbly scratched Fat Joe vocal hook. The self-explanatory “Rhyme 4 Rhyme” featuring Canada’s Ghettosocks and former Raw Produce member Cadence also stands as one of the album’s highlights, sounding like an undiscovered gem found in a dusty pile of random late-80s rap singles with its timeless Rakim sample, rattling drums and larger-than-life boasts.

The soulful Jaisu-produced “Change” offers listeners a moment of reflection as the crew address the “cycle of life” over lush strings and a warm bassline, injecting the soothing track with life-affirming rhymes and inspiring sentiments (“I got a purpose now, This I vow, I spit to move the crowds, Like I’m pulling a plough…”).

The bongo-driven “End Game” is a relentless slice of fist-pumping Hip-Hop, with the track’s frantic breakbeats, deft cuts and dramatic breakdowns likely to leave listeners caught between wanting to pay close attention to the group’s fast-paced verses and the urge to pull out a sheet of lino to attempt a windmill.

A brilliantly executed display of Hip-Hop mastery from a passionate group of individuals who clearly love both the music and its culture, “Formula 99″ is another certified Soundsci sureshot that is guaranteed to satisfy the sonic appetites of true heads everywhere.

Fresh for 2012, you suckers!

Ryan Proctor

Ollie Teeba’s “Formula 99″ Album Megamix

Album Review – Visioneers

Visioneers

“Hipology”

(BBE)

Looking at the cover of the latest project from multi-talented London-based producer Marc Mac you’ll see a huge amount of visual references squeezed into a colourful collage. Afrika Bambaataa. Stax Records. J Dilla. Chopper bikes. Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing”. Goose jackets. And so the list continues.

According to Mac, “Hipology” is more than just the catchy title of this new Visioneers album, it’s also a “montage of elements, events, music and fashion that make up an individual’s personal interpretation of Hip-Hop culture”, all those moments throughout our personal history that make us living, breathing cultural scrapbooks each with our own stories to tell about how Hip-Hop has influenced different facets of our lives.

This release is Marc Mac’s acknowledgement of the underlying role Hip-Hop has played, not just in the days of his 80s youth, but also throughout his musical career, even when exploring other genres such as drum & bass as one-half of the award-winning 4hero duo. But that said, that doesn’t mean that “Hipology” is a straight-forward Hip-Hop album in the typical beats-and-rhymes sense. Instead, Mac uses this opportunity to craft a number of instrumentals that draw on the influences that helped Hip-Hop’s founding fathers lay the musical blueprint of the culture, from breakbeats to other sounds such as jazz and Afro-Latin funk.

Opening with the short intro “Dial In”, a flashback to early-80s NY Hip-Hop radio, the sense of nostalgia continues on the mellow walk down memory lane “Back In Time” featuring emcees Baron and TRAC. Weaving their rhymes over a soulful blend of live drums, guitars and horns, the duo reminisce on the days of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Saturday morning cartoons and having to be inside the house before it got dark, admitting how as adults now dealing with the pressures of daily life it’d be “kinda nice to have a slice of innocence again.”

The sparkling jazz funk of “Ice Cream On My Kicks” evokes thoughts of laid-back, sun-splashed days with its combination of subtle percussion and old-school keyboards, whilst the aptly-titled “Shine” features New York’s John Robinson dropping positive lyrical vibrations and pledging “loyal allegiance to this divine culture” over an organic, piano-led sonic backdrop.

Taking it back to the days when the likes of Kool Herc and Bam were digging in the crates at Bronx block parties, Mac and his crew of musicians do an impeccable job of recreating Johnny Pate’s 70s classic “Shaft In Africa (Addis)” before tackling the Incredible Bongo Band’s original b-boy anthem “Apache”, with the punchy ”Battle Dub” version staying faithful to the arrangement of the timeless original whilst adding a little extra twist here and there.

Canada’s Notes To Self detail their experiences of artistic struggle on the brilliant “Oil & Water”, the last of the album’s three vocal cuts, whilst the relentlessly funky ”Jungle Green Outlines” sounds like a lost track from a classic 70s blaxploitation soundtrack album, with its guitar licks, sharp horn stabs and slick bassline conjuring up dramatic visions of car chases,  smooth-talking players and blown-out afros.

An exciting and unpredictable journey, “Hipology” finds Mac succeeding in his mission to pull together his Hip-Hop-related influences into a superbly-executed display of musicianship that mixes old-school sounds with a new-school approach.

And the beat goes on…

Ryan Proctor

Visioneers – “Shaft In Africa (Addis)” (BBE / 2011)

Tribe Vibes – Revive Da Live Big Band / Charlie Brown / Buckshot / Dres / Sadat X etc.

Footage of Revive Da Live Big Band’s A Tribe Called Quest tribute performance in NYC last month with appearances from Charlie Brown, Dinco D, Sadat X, Dres, Buckshot, John Robinson and more.

The New 90′s Mixtape Download – DJ Doo Wop

Legendary mix king DJ Doo Wop teams-up with TheSource.Com to drop this digital project which, in the spirit of his classic 90s tapes, pulls together a mix of underground freestyles and thorough bangers – download Side A and Side B then slip the headphones on and zone out with the likes of Sadat X, John Robinson, Reks, Rashad & Confidence, O.C. and more.

Brilliant Soundscapes Vol 2. Album Download – John Robinson

NY underground vet John Robinson drops the second installment of his instrumental ”Brilliant Soundscapes” series packed with hypnotic, head-nodding beats – peep it here.

Gifted Mixtape Download – John Robinson

One of Hip-Hop’s most consistent emcees John Robinson (aka Lil’ Sci of Scienz Of Life) drops this free collection of rare and unreleased tracks to give fans something to nod to over the Christmas period – download here.

Brilliant Soundscapes Vol. 1 Download – John Robinson

NYC Hip-Hop veteran John Robinson of Scienz Of Life fame drops his instrumental project “Brilliant Soundscapes Vol. 1″ – download here.

Words From Press Release:

So after many years of being under the study of Beat-Making John Robinson has finally decided to let the rest of the world hear what he creates outside of writing lyrics and working with various other producers around the world. “My beats are very personal to me, they are like therapy for whenever I am not writing. It is another outlet to express myself creatively.” says J.R. when asked why he hasn’t put his beats out there sooner.

Scienz Of Life Tribute Mix Download – DJ Lord Ron

West Coast-based Zulu Nation turntablist DJ Lord Ron drops this tribute mix of bangers from the Scienz Of Life crew – the trio gained notoriety as part of the 90s NYC underground scene thanks in part to releases on the legendary Fondle ‘Em label which effectively showcased their intergalatic positive b-boy stylings  - more recently group member Lil’ Sci a.k.a. John Robinson has released a string of well-received projects including last year’s collaboration album “International Summers” with UK producer-on-the-mic Lewis Parker.

Download Lord Ron’s mix here.

New Joint – Concept / John Robinson

Concept ft. John Robinson – “Contellations” (Definition Records / 2011)

Dope jazzy vibes taken from the New Zealand producer’s album “Impromptu Notes”.

New Joint – John Robinson / Lewis Parker / Angelz Inc

John Robinson & Lewis Parker ft. Angelz Inc – “Harlem River Drive” (Project Mooncircle / 2011)

New single from last year’s brilliant “International Summers” album.

New Joint – DJ Lord Ron / John Robinson

DJ Lord Ron ft. John Robinson – “The Touch” (String Note / 2011)

Filmed during an instore in Pasadena, CA and taken from the 2010 album “Environmental Shape Sounds Of….”.

New Joint – Lewis Parker / Sav Kills / Killa Sha / John Robinson / T.R.A.C.

Lewis Parker ft. Sav Kills, Killa Sha, John Robinson & T.R.A.C. – “Big Impact” (Dusty Vinyl / King Underground / 2011)

Epic posse cut taken from the UK producer’s newly released EP “Dangerous Adventures” – the beat on this is ridiculous!