| I Can’t Go To Sleep: Hell Razah-Heaven Razah | February 3, 2011 |
Heaven Razah, the 3rd solo offering from Sunz of Man stand-out Hell Razah, not only is the most slept-on Wu-Tang release of 2010, it also serves as a surefire A&Ring homerun for Jay Electronica’s long overdue debut on an indie budget. Ready? 1.) Get beats from 4th Disciple, Allah Mathematics, Havoc, and Ayatollah. They will […]
| I Can’t Go To Sleep: Starlito & Burn One- “Renaissance Gangster” | January 24, 2011 |
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 […]
| I Can’t Go To Sleep: Cotton Jones – “Tall Hours In The Glowstream” | January 19, 2011 |
Aaron Matthews is not pictured in this photo. Cotton Jones make music to brood and sip whiskey to. Michael Nau’s honeyed, slightly raspy croon wraps around woozy organs and guitar strums like an old scarf, working a wonderful chemistry with the sweet coo of Whitney McGraw. Tall Hours channels the druggy haze and odd chemistry […]
| I Can’t Go To Sleep: E-40 – “Revenue Retrievin’ (Night Shift)” | January 18, 2011 |
“The kind of career I’m having at this age defies logic,” says E-40 on Revenue Retrievin’ (Night Shift), but the Bay area legend’s continued relevance in a genre that places youth at a premium isn’t hard to explain. Surround yourself with talented youngsters like the Jacka and Laroo to keep you honest, rap over hyphy […]
Zilla Rocca will George the Animal Steele you and kill you. I have never been to Columbus, Ohio. When I listen to Electric Purgatory 2 from Greenhouse (Blueprint + Illogic), I imagine the streets on TRON but smoldering in industrial ash, lined with holographic brownstones, trees smacking against the power lines, grandmom’s Cadillac sliding by […]
| I Can’t Go To Sleep: Tyler, The Creator – “Bastard” | January 17, 2011 |
In his quest to perfect the art of contrarianism, Doc Zeus writes a “I Can’t Go To Sleep” entry on one of 2010’s least slept-on albums. Every society creates their own monster myths that serve to reflect the fears and prejudices harbored within its collective psyche. The Dark Ages feared the witch as a reflection […]
| I Can’t Go To Sleep: Homeboy Sandman – “The Good Sun” | January 14, 2011 |
Homeboy Sandman’s The Good Sun is for Chip Fu. It’s for Sticky Fingaz. It’s for Fatlip and to some extent, Busta Rhymes. If Homebody Sandman was from the 90’s, he’d be the charismatic funkafied live crazy rhymer in a group. The standout. The breakout star. The verse rewinder. The guy you sat through lesser characters […]
You may recognize DJ Trackstar from The Smoking Section or one of the 100 mixtapes he’s previously dropped. His most recent, Boogie Bang 25, comes highly recommended. A loaded name like Skipp Coon can create a lot of preconceptions for a budding artist, especially when combined with a Mississippi pedigree. Some dismiss immediately, while others […]
| I Can’t Go To Sleep: 5 0′ Clock Shadowboxers-“Broken Clocks EP” | January 10, 2011 |
Like a broken clock, Matt Shea is right at least twice a day. Not content with releasing one of the finest debuts of 2009, 5 O’Clock Shadowboxers followed it up last April with an arguably better EP. The brilliance of Broken Clocks is in the way it takes a panorama scope – with a greater […]
| I Can’t Go To Sleep: Von Pea’s “Pea’s Gotta Have It” | January 10, 2011 |
We’ll be highlighting overlooked albums from 2010 until we run out, or we get to Wu-Massacre — whichever comes first. Call it Little Brother syndrome. Due to hyperbolic praise from the true-school troops, Tanya Morgan are virtually ignored by those who compare Brick Squad songs to Jon Voight films about Times Square male prostitutes. It’s […]
