| Prince Reloaded | June 24, 2013 |
Max Bell wrote this in a purple velour jumpsuit. If there was no Prince, there would be no The Time, no Dam-Funk. There would be no infamous Dave Chappelle sketch. And the story of Prince skating with “multicolored spark trails” coming out of his rollerblades would not be in Quest Love’s memoir. Basically, the world would […]
| Where Have ADd+ Been? | June 19, 2013 |
Max Bell is pictured inside the gas station. For their next proper release, Slim Gravy and Paris Pershun have decided to go with another apt title, one describes both their approach to making music and their position in the rap game: DiveHiFlyLo. In other words, they know they make “hi” quality music that may “fly lo,” below […]
| Brainfeeder’s Azizi Gibson | June 5, 2013 |
Max Bell is headed overseas. Germany, Thailand, Singapore, Maryland, Los Angeles—Azizi Gibson has never not been on the move. Raised as perpetually mobile military brat, he has no real hometown. As a result, it seems he’s not bound by any particular regional sound or set of aesthetic criteria. There’s no scholarly (read: sometimes cringingly derivative) adherence […]
| The Midnight Marauding of The Outfit, TX | June 3, 2013 |
Max Bell has a pocket full of stones. There’s no shortage of posts about The Outfit, TX here on this site (see here, here, and here). Each is essentially for the same reason: the Houston, Texas trio is responsible for one of the best albums of 2012. And so, this post is really no different. It’s rare […]
| The Hindsight of Has-Lo | May 29, 2013 |
Max Bell’s destiny is reaching the keys. Has-Lo’s debut LP In Case I Don’t Make It (below the jump) was one of the best albums of 2011. It’s a throwback that doesn’t feel derivative, overly nostalgic, or overly reverential. It’s something for modern hip-hop listeners and Philadelphians who’ve studied It Was Written and have entered the 36 […]
| Droptops & Chuck Inglish Tapes | May 28, 2013 |
Max Bell majored in English. I’ve always dug the name Chuck Inglish. It sounds like the name of a man affiliated with O.E., a man who might drop some good rhymes in, well, English (On the block with a Robert Horry jersey from the Rockets/Poetic with my sonnets” – “Drops”). And, honestly, the name’s always sounded […]
| Classixx’s Valley Vacation | May 23, 2013 |
Max Bell went to high school in the valley. He never forgets. For those of you who hated the Daft Punk album, or just felt okay about it, there is Classixx—the Oak Park duo of Michael David and Tyler Blake who’ve moved from more than solid DJs/remixers to truly solid artists in their own right (see also: […]
Max Bell was a Blowedian in a past life. If Busdriver is the adenoidal vocal gymnast and Open Mike Eagle is the smooth and laid back “dark-skinned art baron,” then Nocando is the man in the middle (and the man at the helm of Hellfyre Club), with Busdriver’s seemingly inexhaustible energy and Mike’s ability to […]
| Balls Keep Bouncing: Aceyalone Leans on Slick | May 15, 2013 |
Max Bell has been known to sit on park benches. Snoop is a stoned lion who thought making an anti-gun song with wheelchair Jimmy was a sound decision. Dre continues to make headphone money (and will probably never release another album in his lifetime). Ice Cube makes more movies and TV shows than music, if you […]
| Beware of Dub Club | May 7, 2013 |
Max Bell has been known to say, “eh mon,” in mixed company. Stones Throw perennially cracks the top ten (and some years top one) lists for ‘The Best Independent Record Label.’ The same can be said for Dub Club—the Wednesday night Dub/Reggae/Dancehall show that blasts blunted and bone-soothing bass out of Los Angeles’s Echoplex—which should be in […]
