Jordan Pedersen is workinonit I don’t envy the instrumentalist. Us writers get all these words to establish a setting, tell a story. But he without words has to tell a story through sound and mood alone. It’s gotta be hard. That’s probably why most producers stick with the same milieu: Blaxploitation, dusty grooves, teased afros […]

Blunts of that brown, cups of that loud. Tried and true mathematics. The Dallas boys continue their streak, aided by one of Atlanta’s best producers and herbal remedy roller. Co-opting that Do or Do “Po Pimp” flow and applied it to some curb-hitting funk. Fine with me. See also Max Bell’s previous write-up of this […]

I first heard Scotty thanks to DJ Burn One and their project “Summer Dreams.” Filled with Burn’s trademark country rap beats, Scotty expressed himself clearly and elegantly. He covers ground that you’d expect him to cover, but also focuses on finding positivity and hope. He has a laid back flow that you ride with. His […]

DJ Burn One’s country rap emerges out of a cloud of smoke vapors to warm the soul. His blues and funk-inspired sound adds an emotive dimension to Southern rap, one reminiscent of the classic UGK and Dungeon Family records. At 26, the Atlanta beat-smith makes the rest of us look like severe underachievers. Burn One […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]