Apr
25

The Mental Warfare of Starlito

Evan Nabavian prefers Ibuprofen to Tylenol. Starlito is amazing. The perennially overlooked Nashville rapper has songs that make your soul itch, he can melt a Lex Luger beat better than anyone, and he made a mixtape referencing Step Brothers. And in all cases, he’s a virtuoso. Starlito always sounds like he just crawled out of… Continue reading »

Jan
28

DJ Burn One – “When There’s Smoke” Beat Tape

Like dolphins and Dick Cheney, occasionally a beat needs to breathe. Burn One understands this well — dropping an instrumental mix-tape composed of his oven-roasted country soul feasts. Slow slinking smoked-out funk that aims for some imagined house band that the Dungeon Family never knew.  If I was in college, I would demand that this… Continue reading »

Sep
27

Scotty & Burn One’s Crooked Country Funk

Scotty – Sept. 23rd from Tamarcus Brown on Vimeo. Some brand Burn One the leader of a Country Rap Renaissance consumed primarily by those who never caught UGK on the first bounce. Maybe that’s true. I suspect that people could care less who listened to what and when. People gravitate towards Burn One’s beats because… Continue reading »

May
16

Live Nation: Burn One & Warrenjae

Evan Nabavian raps under the name Cash Warring. DJ Burn One caught my attention when he reworked “Duel of the Iron Mic” and put a twenty-something Cash Money signee named Starlito on it. Three songs into Renaissance Gangster, I realized that Burn was much more than an Atlanta producer/DJ who hosted Gucci Mane and Young… Continue reading »

Mar
04

That’s the Joint

One of the architect’s of the country rap renaissance, Burn One drops a tight collection rolled up from some of his finest work over the last year and change. Exclusives from Rittz and Freddie Gibbs, deep cuts from Starlito, Jackie Chain, and Young Buck, and a behemoth from the impeccably named, Johnny Spanish. Guys like… Continue reading »

Jan
24

I Can’t Go To Sleep: Starlito & Burn One- “Renaissance Gangster”

Aaron Matthews gets seven snuffleupagus. All-Star started his rap career with a largely fruitless run at Cash Money, with a genuine hit that was never capitalized on. The Nashville rapper, rechristened Starlito has kept his buzz going with a ridiculously prolific run of mixtapes, culminating in this record: a concise collaborative album with DJ Burn… Continue reading »