5/29/17

Pozy One - "Train to Heaven" / "One of Those Days"

Pozy is not the best rapper on Long Island, but he's definitely one of the most consistently creative and courageous. The kid is constantly pushing the envelope, and it's one he stuffed and sealed by his own damn self, which is something you have to respect. Here are two new visuals from the Pozy One, with an assist from Rob-O on the first.

Siege Spitfire - "Practice"

"Not cocky, a little bit, little inconsiderate / I could read minds, they illiterate / I don't got time to remind my illegitimate children when I rhyme that I'm killing it."

If this is "Practice" for Sage Spitfire, then you can imagine what game time is like.

As you can tell from the cover art, "Practice" comes from The Kindling EP, which I believe dropped back in 2012 or so. For something more current, check out 2015's Triangle Overnight EP.

5/16/17

LongIslandRap.Comp Volume 3



"You really was going off the sound of the record. Straight skills. Once it started getting more publicized and hip-hop started being more of a money-making thing, then you get these corporate ideas where you wanna put what it looks like to sell what it sounds like..."
-Daniel Dumile

Download LongIslandRap.Comp Volume 3 via Dropbox or MediaFire. Support the artists.

Prodigy - "Don't Be A Follower" from Black and White - The Soundtrack released on Loud Records; Kasper Dangers - "Hell's Winter" from It's Raining Outside; Theravada - "Bombs In Manhattan" unreleased; DJ Pr!nce - "KRK" from Chop Fui; Big Breakfast - "Sade Joint" from SPORTS PLUS; Josh Alias - "Bass Drop Til I Say Stop" unreleased; Oscar O'Malley - "Vitality Stone" from Orange Starburst Baboon an da First Offense Vol. 1; Eternal Intellect - "Power Up" unreleased; Mido - "Melancholy High" unreleased; QS - "Omw in 5" unreleased; Quis Christ - "Free Sons" from upcoming album; Uncle John - "Mary Poppins Wasn't My Babysitter" from Guns, Drugs & Love; Monsta Island Czars (Megalon, Egyptian Queen, King Cesar, Spiega, Loch Ness, Kong) - "DIE (Organik Poisons Remix)" unreleased; Eric B. & Rakim - "In The Ghetto (Drums Mix) from In The Ghetto VLS released on MCA Records; James Bomb - "Trapped Music" released on The SpitSlam Record Label Group; June - "2k17"/"What's Good" unreleased; Marlo DeMore - "Mangos" ft. Buddy Lofton (prod. by BMC Beats) unreleased; Versive - "Endless" from The Demonstration EP; BONUS CUT: AZOMALI & DJ Surrup - "Burmese Ruby (Slowed & Throwed Mix)" from LongIslandRap.Comp V2.SL0W.

Special thanks to all the artists who submitted songs for this compilation.

5/9/17

Uncle John - Lyrical Assassin 2

"I does what I does, I do what I do, aint nothing more / I changed my name from Sky Walker 'cause I went with the force / Now I'm Uncle John..." And with that, the artist formerly known as Sky Walker stakes out new territory with a familial name, a renewed focus and the re-energized bars to go along with it. Lyrical Assassin 2 may be the titular follow up to the last Sky Walker tape, but it's also one of six projects that he's dropped since changing his name last year. A recent signee to Cashius Green's Promisd Land Records, Uncle John has already churned out a mixtape (this one) and an EP (Belly of the Beast) for the label and is now working on an album, so look out for that as well.

5/8/17

TDK Presents Gas Drawls: The Birth of DOOM

Listening to Black Bastards and Operation Doomsday back to back, the contrast in sounds and moods is so stark, it's almost hard to believe they're born of the same mind. Almost. I've found that the more you listen to Daniel Dumile's late Zev Love X recordings and early MF DOOM tracks, the more similarities you uncover. Tragedy turned Love to DOOM, no doubt, but in retrospect, certain lines from either persona seem to indicate that the transition between the two was more seamless than history would have us believe. British DJ Tape Deck King (TDK) shows just how fluid the transformation really is in a musical sense, by compiling a mix of late-Love and early-Doom recordings, including some very dope demos and 12" versions of songs that later ended up on Operation Doomsday. For greater context, listen while reading the pieces linked below.

"International God of Mystery: An M.F.'n Look Back With M.F. Doom" by Noah Callahan-Bever
ego trip #12, 1998
"The Mask of Doom" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The New Yorker, September 21, 2009
"MF Doom: My Adventures Shooting the Supervillain..." by Adam Bhala Lough
The Daily Swarm, October 31, 2012
"KMD's Black Bastards and the Birth of MF Doom" by Brian Coleman
Check the Technique Volume 2, 2014

5/7/17

Subscribe to Long Island Rap News

The first issue of Long Island Rap News has been sent. Signed up yet?

The inaugural edition includes links to download LongIslandRap.Comp V1 and V2, a call for V3 submissions, 10 Soundcloud highlights from the past week or so, and listings for a few upcoming shows.

If you didn't get the newsletter, check it out here. If you like what you see and want to get future issues, subscribe here. It's free and ad-less.

5/1/17

jFire - "RECOGNIZE"

Jaylyn "jFire" Jackson moved with his family from Bowling Green, Kentucky, to East Meadow in February 2016. Specifically, he resides in an area called Mitchel Manor, which he says is "specified for members of the military," like his mom. He also says, "I try to really have meaning with my music, and I hope my listeners get a special feeling when listening to it." My feeling is that the kid is nice with his, and this song he sent us, "RECOGNIZE," is aptly titled, because that's what one ought to do after listening.

Look for the Fire and Ice EP by jFire and producer YearLong, currently in the works.