Jonah Bromwich » Passion of the Weiss

Mar
30

Jonah Bromwich abandoned all playacting after he starred in The Cherry Orchard. So Diplo has abandoned all playacting, huh? No more prancing around, pretending that he’s discovered something new, when what he’s actually done is tuned into some island nation’s top forty station for a couple of weeks, and then released a mix album on… Continue reading »

Mar
29

Cops Get Scared of Homeboy Sandman

Jonah Bromwich gets scared of Inner Circle. About a year ago, The Beastie Boys and Nas had a song called “Too Many Rappers.” It claimed that there weren’t enough MC’s anymore. One of the many things this told you was that the Beasties were sleeping on Homeboy Sandman. Another thing it told you, (which you… Continue reading »

Mar
20

The Ugly Beauty of Action Bronson

Jonah Bromwich‘s rap name is Neon Boudeaux. I’m in a proclaiming mood so let’s just get into it right now: Action Bronson’s Blue Chips is the best rap album of 2012 thus far. It’s not as if there’s much competition—the only real adversary I see is Q’s Habits and Contradictions but that album’s too small… Continue reading »

Mar
15

Rob Gullatte’s “Trill Hip Hop”

Jonah Bromwich invented trillwave. The song’s called “Trill Hip Hop.” The spoken introduction goes as follows: “Greetings friends and associates. This is what we like to call trill hip hop. Laid back vibe. With just a pinch of gangsterism.” The first verse fulfills that exact promise. After all, “Trill Hip Hop” is a Texas variation… Continue reading »

Mar
14

Blu and Sene Break Glass

If Jonah Bromwich plans to bank his shot in, he calls it as loud as possible. Lately, when you see the name Blu, you unfortunately expect to hear more crackle than lyrics. Dude just can’t get with any kind of decent sound quality –he just released two full albums of barely listenable music. That’s why,… Continue reading »

Mar
13

Big K.R.I.T.’s Trill-OG(Y): 4evaNaDay

Jonah Bromwich is a pause and thinker. Big K.R.I.T. has established a consistent, if predictable, template on his mixtapes. On each of his three projects to date, his particular blend of earnest quasi-conscious rap and ignorant, high-energy paeans to Southern culture has yielded a great mix of bangers, head-nodders, and pause-and-thinkers. 4Eva N A Day,… Continue reading »

Mar
06

It Takes Two and It Takes a Village: Kembe X & Alex Wiley

Jonah Bromwich called the X-Clan revival first. It takes a while for Kembe X to hit his stride both on a song by song basis and over the entirety of his first mixtape, Self Rule. The affable seventeen year old, who belongs to a loose Chicago collective known as The Village, frequently needs some time… Continue reading »

Feb
20

The Natural Traits of Ernest Gonzales

Jonah Bromwich’s most natural trait is telepathy. One of electronic music’s most enjoyable characteristics is its ability to seem alien. It can seem like the kind of advanced sound that everyone will listen to once the singularity takes over and our bodies are ½ nanobot. It’s easy to forget that the beats are crafted according… Continue reading »

Feb
17

No Church for Old Men: Joe and Reggie Watch the Throne

Jonah Bromwich only proposed once to a girl at the mall. She said “probably.” Watch the Throne has come and gone and viewpoints have vacillated wildly. But from my original, hyperbolic, disgusted reaction to the more moderate viewpoint I hold now, one opinion has not changed a bit. These beats are pretty goddamn good. Yes,… Continue reading »

Feb
16

Elle Varner’s “Conversational Lush”

Jonah Bromwich is more in favor of the alliterative phrase, “loquacious lush.” R&B singer Elle Varner has mastered a tricky combination of old-fashioned romanticism and new-school playfulness. On her recent mixtape Conversational Lush, the RCA freshman establishes a winning persona, injecting large doses of her personality into tracks that are clearly structured by someone who… Continue reading »