Music

Things You May Have Missed 2014 Part 15

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13 and part 14

Statik Selektah – What Goes Around

An all star cast of rappers spitting on Statik Selektah’s beautiful golden age style beats.

Buy here

Stray – Since You’ve Been Gone

DnB pioneer puts out a free mixtape of unreleased hip-hop beats. I wish he’d make more in this genre because some of the tracks on here are absolutely nuts.

Free download here

Suicideyear – Remembrance

Producer from Yung Lean’s Sad Boys crew creating some magnificent ethereal melodies.

Buy here

surrenderdorothy – itstheleastwecando

Bones drops yet another project, this time under his surrenderdorothy moniker. You can really hear the grunge influences coming through here with drudging guitar riffs and simple 808 drums.

Free download here

Termanology – Shut Up And Rap

Termanology has one of the sickest flows right now, so fast and precise, mix that with a decent collection of beats and you’re on to a winner.

Buy here

Thriftworks – Fader

Dwelling somewhere between hip-hop and electronica, Thriftworks constructs some heavy intricate beats.

Name your price download here

Upfront – Upfront and Personal

UK MC with a decent album that will have your head nodding.

Buy here

Uyama Hiroto – Freedom Of The Son

Jazzy and soulful instrumental hip-hop tape with some almost house vibes at times.

Buy here

Vince Staples – Shyne Coldchain Vol 2, Hell Can Wait

Vince Staple’s two strongest releases to date. Modern boom bap style with heavy pianos and knocking drums.

Click here to download Shyne Coldchain Vol 2 for free and buy Hell Can Wait here

Wara From The NBHD – Kidnapped

Hard as nails hip-hop.

Buy here

Wiley – Snakes & Ladders

Grime legend returns to what he does best. I expected massive buzz around this but it seems to have gone relatively unnoticed. It’s amazing to hear such a veteran coming back to what made him the legend he is, hopefully Dizzee will follow suit.

Buy here

X – The Houston Museum Of Natural Science

Seriously laid back and gritty jazz beats fit superbly with X’s mellow flow. There is something special about this, I cant put my finger on what it is but it’s a real pleasure to listen to.

Name your price download here

YF – I Am YF

Solid trap influenced mixtape with some real bangers.

Free download here

Things You May Have missed 2014 Part 14

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, and part 15.

Rome Fortune – Small VVorld

New age trap style mixtape with more complexities than just the usual bangers.

Free download here

Rozewood & Hus Kingpin– 100$ Taper

New York MCs associated with Roc Marciano drop another mixtape of gritty East Coast hip-hop.

Free download here

Saucer – Terrorism

Insane instrumental album buzzing around on the edge of footwork.

Name your price download here

SD – Truly Blessed

Debut album from SD and also my favourite Chicago drill music album. Rattling 808s and catchy choruses.

Buy here

Serengeti – Kenny Dennis III

Serengeti’s weird alter ego is back for the third time on what may be his best project to date. The gritty funk and rock beats really shine on this one and a strong narrative running through the album make it stand out.

Buy here

Shafiq Husayn – It’s Better For You

Futuristic space funk.

Buy here

Sir Michael Rocks – Banco

Former Cool Kids member utilizing some first-class instrumentals and sounding better than ever.

Buy here

Soulection – Stussy x Soulection

Beautiful collection of interesting soulful tracks.

Name your price download here

Spank Rock – The Upside

Baltimore club rap pioneer continues to innovate and make complex sounds that bang hard.

Buy here

Spooky Black – Leaving

Laid back RnB.

Free download here

Proceed to part 15

Things You May Have missed 2014 Part 13

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 14 and part 15.

OG Maco – Maco EP

Maco spits his maniacal raps over murky trap beats.

Free download here

OhBliv – LewseJoints II

OhBliv has an interesting style, similar to Knxwledge. He takes silky soul samples, loops them up in to knots and layers clattering drums behind it all, creating a fantastically unique sound.

Buy here

P Money – Originators

More bangers from the recent grime resurgence.

Buy here

Planet Asia & TzariZM – Via Satellite

Straight up soulful West Coast rap.

Buy here

Ransom – Pain and Glory The Album

New York gangster vibes.

Buy here

Rapsody – Beauty And The Beast

Rapsody further cementing herself as one of the best rappers of recent years and giving us more of that silky smooth, soulful hip-hop that we love.

Buy here

Ras G – Down 2 Earth, Vol. 2 The Standard Bap Edition

Space beats from the Stones Throw producer.

Buy here

Rasco – 7 Days EP

Solid EP from California veteran.

Buy here

Ratking – So It Goes

Young up and comers with some of the most brutal beats you’ll hear. A little overindulgent at times but showing a lot of promise for future releases.

Buy here

Reks – All Eyes On Reks

Reks is an unbelievable rapper but sometimes is let down by his beat selection, fortunately they’re pretty solid on here making this worthy of your time. As good as these tracks are Reks needs to get back with some more established producers so we can get more of the magic we heard on Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme and Straight, No Chaser.

Free download here

Proceed to part 14

Things You May Have Missed 2014 part 11

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 12, part 13, part 14 and part 15.

Kev Brown & Raw Poetic – Concentrated Maneauvers

Legendary producer holds down the beats for Raw Poetic to make a solid boom bap LP.

Buy here

Kode9 & Spaceape – Killing Season

Spaceape’s last release before his very untimely death. A massive loss to music. Complex electronic sounds and Spaceape’s distinctive gravelly voice.

Buy here

Kool Keith – Demolition Crash

Kool Keith brings his space age weirdness and shows he’s still got it.

Buy here

Kyle Rapps & Hefna Gwap – European Tic Tacs

Seriously psychedelic rap from two very skilled underground MCs dropping acrobatic flows that flip flop over each other. Real dope.

Free download here

Lakutis – 3 Seashells

Insane underground hip-hop.

Name your price download here

Lil Debbie – California Sweetheart part 2

Poppy trap music for the clubs. Like the female Riff Raff.

Buy here

Lil Herb – Pistol P Project

More trap bangers from the Chicago MC.

Free download here

Lofty305 – Lynn

One of the strangest albums to come out this year. Metro Zu member Lofty305 delivers an extremely lo-fi trip to another galaxy.

This album appears to have been removed from the Metro Zu Bandcamp page but you can probably find it elsewhere online.

Londy – No Offence EP

Tasty footwork with some DnB vibes in the mix.

Name your price download here

L’Orange – After The Flowers

Nice free EP following the fantastic Orchid Days, more of the same smooth jazzy vibes here.

Free download here

Proceed to part 12

Things You May Have missed 2014 Part 12

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 13, part 14 and part 15.

Lord Finesse – The SP1200 Project

Legendary producer puts together a great pack of instrumentals to get your head nodding.

Buy here

Lucki Eck$ – Body High

More superbly bleak stories of selling and taking a lot of drugs from the young Chicago native. Really interesting and intense rap.

Buy here

Mickey Factz – Love.Lust.Lost.II

Melodic rap mixtape to chill to.

Free download here

Milo – A Toothpaste Suburb

Complex lyrics and precise, poetic delivery over meandering instrumentals.

Buy here

Mishka NYC – Surf and Turf

2 compilations packed with beautiful beats to relax to.

Click here for free downloads of Surf and Turf

Motëm – Einzelganger Mixtape

Motëm is a weird guy, he has an odd delivery that almost sounds spoken word as he just talks slowly while rhyming. It’s a bit of a shock when you first hear it but he really grows on you and his beats are on another level, too futuristic.

Free download here

Mr Carmack – Drugs EP

Another superb bunch of electronic compositions from Mr Carmack.

Free download here

Mykki Blanco – Gay Dog Food

One of the first guys on the gay rap scene dropping an abrasive and intensely experimental album.

Free download here

Nocando – Jimmy the Burnout

Even more proof of how much Hellfyre Club are killing it right now. A nice range of vibes with very fresh sounding beats.

Buy here

Dj Numark and Slimkid3

Two real legends of West Coast hip-hop getting together and creating some of the best music I’ve heard from either of them in quite a long time.

Buy here

Proceed to part 13

Things You May Have Missed 2014 part 10

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14 and part 15.

Gensu Dean & Guilty Simpson – Dice Game Shaken

A selection of tracks from the phenomenal Dice Game given fresh new beats by Gensu Dean.

Buy here

Ghostface – 36 Seasons

Ghostface is definitely the most consistent of the Wu-Tang Clan but unfortunately this release got overshadowed by the crew’s A Better Tomorrow which was released around the same time. It’s a real shame because 36 Seasons is by far the superior album. Ghostface is sticking to what he does best and shows how he earned his legendary status.

Buy here

Guilty Simpson – The Simpson Tape

Dream team of Guilty and Oh No put out an EP as good as you’d expect, I’d love to hear a full LP from these two soon.

Buy here

Guts – Hip Hop After All

French producer and DJ, Guts, with an album so incredibly funky and catchy you’ll have yourself grooving around your house and thinking of summer.

Buy here

Halo – Mansa Musa

9th Wonder holds down production and Masta Killa has a number of guest verses, that alone should make you want to hear this album, the fact that Halo is a strong MC in his own right is the icing on the cake.

Buy here

Has-Lo & Castle – Live Like You’re Dead and Return Of The Gasface

Castle has a way of flipping soul and jazz samples that make his beats sound so fresh, which added to Has-Lo’s engaging raps makes these two albums a cut above other releases of this type.

Click here to buy Live Like You’re Dead and Return Of The Gasface

Havoc – 13 Reloaded

Mobb Deep legend sticks with his signature despondent East Coast style. The new Mobb Deep album from earlier in the year was good but this is even better. It’s a shame such am influential figure is now so overlooked.

Buy here

Homeboy Sandman – Hallways

Homeboy Sandman continues to cement his position as one of my favourite rappers. With ridiculous flows and a flawless choice of beats this is up there with the best albums of this year.

Buy here

Iman Omari – ESC Vol. 2 and Vibe Tape 3

Stoned out soul samples over clattering drums.

I cant find download links for these but you can listen to ESC Vol. 2 here and Vibe Tape 3 here

Jeremiah Jae – Good Times

Not my favourite of Jeremiah Jae’s releases but still a fantastic listen. Taking things in a more soulful direction Jae puts together some dirty but soulful beats and compliments it perfectly with his laid back raps.

This mixtape was available on Datpiff but has been taken down for some reason but you can probably still find it somewhere online.

Proceed to part 11

Things You May Have Missed 2014 part 9

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14 and part 15.

Defenders Of Style & Tha Office – Defenders Of Style vs Tha Office

Two Leeds crews clashing and making boom bap style hip-hop that actually stands out from the overcrowded UK scene.

Free download here

Dels – Petals Have Fallen

Sounds like Ghostpoet but slightly less melancholy. Interesting UK hip-hop.

Buy here

Diamond District – March On Washington and Redux Edition

The trio of Oddisee, Uptown XO and yU are back, years after In The Ruff with another exceptional LP. Some of the best boom bap style beats I’ve heard in years perfectly complement the expert flows and thoughtful lyrics. A redux version of the album with remixes from a variety of big name producers was released later in the year and is as good as the original, although it is a little less cohesive.

Buy the original here and the Redux Edition here

Dizzy Wright – State Of Mind

Sturdy collection of club friendly hip-hop tracks.

Buy here

Epidemic & Tantu – The Soulution

Buttery soul beats lend themselves perfectly to Epidemic’s soothing raps.

Buy here

Fashawn & Alchemist – FASH-ionably late

Fashawn has been a solid rapper for a while now and although he’s had some good releases I’ve never been blown away by his output. This tape is different, and it’s pretty obvious why. Alchemist has been on another level recently, making some of the best beats of the year and he really brings it here. Fashawn fits with the beats perfectly too and I’d love to hear a proper album from these two.

Free download here

Foreign Beggars – Modus

UK heavyweights with an EP of smashers produced by the likes of Alix Perez and Eprom.

Buy here

Fortune – Is This Love 2

Trappy instrumental love songs.

Buy here

Freddie Joachim – Leaves

Dusty jazz sample beats.

Buy here

Freeway & Jacka – Highway Robbery

Freeway & Jacka collaborate to drop a decent mixtape.

Buy here

Proceed to part 10

Things You May Have Missed 2014 part 8

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14 and part 15.

Busdriver – Perfect Hair

The Hellfyre Club continued their strong year with another innovative album, this time from probably the most famous of the group, Busdriver. I was disappointed with the 2012 release Beaus$Eros as I felt it was a bit overindulgent but on Perfect Hair Busdriver hits the perfect balance of that bizarre style and something that is thoroughly enjoyable.

Buy here

BVA – Be Very Aware

Dope UK boom bap.

Buy here

The Cancel – Criminal

Buttery smooth and jazzy instrumentals.

Buy here

Chimping – Monkey Biznizz

Jungle and dub influenced footwork.

Name your price download here

Chris Travis – Never Forget, Silence Of Me Eternally and Go Home

Friend and collaborator of Bones releases a number of his own mixtapes with the same raw, melancholy trap style vibes.

Click here for free downloads of Never Forget, Silence Of Me Eternally and Go Home

Copywrite – Murderland

Underground rap mainstay with an enjoyable LP.

Buy here

Cormega – Mega Philosophy

I’m a huge Cormega fan so was really looking forward to this and although it’s not fantastic it’s definitely worth a listen. This album is somewhat of a throwback with relatively simple instrumentals and rhymes but Cormega’s voice is enough to make it entertaining.

Buy here

Criolo – Convoque Seu Buda

Brazilian, funk, rock, rap stuff. Wonderfully eclectic.

Buy here

D-Sisive – The Great Mr. Nobody One

Alt rap done right.

Buy here

Dday One – Dialogue With Life

Stormy instrumentals with a DJ Shadow vibe.

Buy here

Proceed to part 9

Things You May Have Missed 2014 Part 7

Music

We continue with my round up of all the great, under appreciated releases of 2014. I hope you enjoy reading and have found some new music that you love. Check up with the site going forward for more articles like this.

Here is a Youtube playlist with all the available tracks from the article on it.

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14 and part 15.

The 1978ers – People Of Today

Infectious golden age vibes that really hit the spot.

Buy here

Amp Live – Headphone Concerto

Eclectic album with some intriguing ideas and epic soundscapes.

Buy here

Apollo Brown & Rass Kass – Blasphemy

Apollo Brown continues dropping real stomping soul beats for legendary MCs to do their thing on.

Buy here

Bambu – Party Worker

Some crazy flows from the Filipino MC with beats that fit perfectly.

Buy here

Black Milk – If There’s A Hell Below

Black Milk has become pretty prolific recently, and that means happy hip-hop fans. His latest release is probably his most ambitious to date, taking things in a very jazz influenced direction with some intricate arrangements and low bass lines. Fantastic stuff.

Buy here

Bones – Garbage, Skinny and Rotten

Bones has been steadily releasing mixtape after mixtape for the last couple of years and although I wasn’t a fan of his early tapes his music has really been coming on leaps and bounds in 2014. Bones makes moody, dark hip-hop that almost has a 90s grunge vibe to it. I’m expecting good things in this guy’s future.

Click here to download Garbage, Skinny and Rotten.

Bop Alloy – Winter Breaks

MC Substantial and producer Marcus D collaborate to drop a funky little winter EP.

Name your price download here

BoxedLDN – Boxed Vol. 2

Collection of new age grime instrumentals.

Free download here

Bronze Nazereth – Thought For Food Vol. 3

Wu-Tang affiliate, producer and MC drops another installment of his Thought For Food series, packed with Wu type soul beats and killer raps.

Buy here

Bugseed – Magnetics

More soothing beats from the Japanese beat maker.

Buy here

Proceed to part 8

Things You May Have Missed 2014 Part 6

Music

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 and part 5.

Ray West and OC – Rays Cafe

Underground legend OC and beat maker Ray West team up for a lovely little jazzy release.

Buy it here

Sango and Waldo – Until Then

Sango lays down some insanely futuristic beats while Waldo holds his own on the mic.

Buy it here

Sendai – A Smaller Divide

Brutal left field instrumentals with enough groove to keep things interesting.

Buy it here

Sisyphus – Sisyphus

Serengeti, Son Lux and Surfjan Stevens team up for a bizarre trip to planet electro.

Buy it here

Skyzoo and Torae – Barrel Brothers

Two of New York’s finest and underrated MCs. Both of these guys really no how to go in on a track and prove it on this album.

Buy it here

Slakah The Beatchild – Soul Movement Vol. 2

A wonderful mix of velvety soul tracks and bumping instrumentals to get your head nodding.

Buy it here

Squadda B – 10th Grade Dropout and Side A-Side B (June)

Weird and extremely Lo Fi beats with slurred raps. Not for everyone but if you like Lil B you’ll probably like this guy.

Free downloads here and here

Step Brothers – Lord Steppington

Alchemist and Evidence combine for one of my favourite albums of the year. Alchemist is undoubtedly one of today’s best producers and he really brings something fresh on here, making some incredibly complex beats that suit Evidence’s precision raps perfectly.

Buy it here

Wen – Signals

Murky grime instrumentals with subtle complexities.

Buy it here

Willie the Kid and Bronze Nazareth – The Living Daylights

MC Willie The Kid and Bronze Nazareth create a cinematic sound scape ,similar to what Ghostface was releasing in the 90s.

Buy it here

Yukmouth – GAS [Grow and Sale]

West Coast Gangsta that really bumps.

Buy it here

Zara McFarlane – If You Knew Her

Deep Jazz compositions accompanied by Zara McFarlane’s bewitching vocals.

Buy it here

ZelooperZ – HELP

The Bruiser Brigade members have now all dropped fantastic mixtapes, making up for the somewhat lacklustre ‘Old’, and it has me extremely excited for their collaborative album. ZelooperZ is one of the stranger guys in the bunch and shines on this tape with frantic instrumentals and maniacal raps. This really isn’t for everyone as ZelooperZ seems to be going out of his way to be as offensive as he can in every way possible but the energy here is off the charts.

Free download here

Proceed to part 7