| How the Sad Robot Became The Dominant Sound in Rap | February 20, 2014 |
Essay by Dan Adu-Gyamfi, art by Brad Beatson and captions by Son Raw. T-Pain’s use of Auto-Tune influenced many to follow their singing dreams even if their vocal chords refused to go along. A new rap subgenre was born: “Sad Robot Music.” The phrase was coined by site founder, Jeff Weiss, and rapper, Nocando, on […]
| Inside the Producer’s Studio: A Look At 10 of Zaytoven’s Best Beats | February 19, 2014 |
Dan Adu Gyamfi’s plug looks like Tchaikovsky. ([email protected]) Zaytoven has helped to define trap music over the last decade.He’s branded his style: “Hard club music with nice, friendly melodies.” Even if you don’t recognize his name, you’re familiar with the list of Atlanta stars whose sound he’s entirely or partially shaped: Gucci Mane, Future, Migos, […]
| Don’t Call It a Comeback: D’Angelo’s Return to Music | February 12, 2014 |
Dan Adu-Gyamfi ([email protected]) is rivaling Abe Beame for semi-anonymity. Last month, engineer Russell “The Dragon” Elevado made a YouTube account and posted three cryptic videos of him in the studio with soul music unicorn, D’Angelo. January 25 marked 14 years since his magnum opus Voodoo and fans have been anxiously anticipating a follow up ever […]
| The Federals: Cam’ron & A-Trak Connect | February 3, 2014 |
Dan Adu Gyamfi ([email protected]) owns several mink coats dyed the color of carnations. The rap music industry always starts the year slow with labels figuring out which of their artists will drop an album and who will be the December tax write-offs. In the meantime, Cam’ron and A-Trak have announced a joint EP titled Federal […]
| Future Myth: The Latest Work from the Dungeon Family Astronaut | January 30, 2014 |
Dan Adu-Gyamfi ([email protected]) is a sad cosmonaut. Since L.A. Reid’s blocked Future from releasing mixtapes, we’ll never get the double disc tape Super Future/Fire Marshall Future. Hence, the only way the ATLien can feed the streets is through hosting mixtapes for DJs. Last month, the Astronaut Kid was featured prominently on Mike Will Made It’s […]
| Unnatural Selections: A History of The Best Rap Album Grammy | January 21, 2014 |
Dan Adu-Gyamfi ([email protected]) has no Twitter for security purposes. The Grammys are the theoretically the most prestigious award a musician can win. The only problem is that everyone knows the the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences consistently fail to rightfully determine which artists make the best music — especially in rap. All genres […]
