What a year it’s been. Let’s not state the obvious, but who would have expected what was going to happen back in February last year when I was writing that 2020 was off to a great start music-wise . Despite all the mess, last year turned out to be a good one in rap music with so many releases that this is why I’m only getting around to write about my top 10 bangers of 2020 now in March. So much music in fact that it’s been difficult to keep up and digest. But here are, in no particular order, the songs that I’m still bumping today and that I will probably find myself playing well into this year. Run The Jewels - Ooh LA LA (feat. Greg Nice and DJ Premier) The dynamic duo of El-P and Killer Mike released their 4th collaborative album under the group name Run The Jewels in the midst of the social unrest and protests surrounding the shooting of George Floyd. The group’s trademark style of music that is politically charged, heavily engaged and hard hitting was very timely and they actually ...

     So I’ve been picking up a lot more new music than usual lately. Some of it is music I’ve been waiting to become available physically again because hard copies are out of print, and some of it is music I picked up randomly. Most of it, if not all, are albums and compilations that date back a few years and as I wanted to write about them, I thought I’d start this new series of “Rewind<<Reviews”.      First in line is an album I bought randomly for less than €2 and what a gem of a find that is! “Philly 2 Cali” is the debut album by rap trio Tangled Thoughts. Clocking in at 19 tracks, full of Dr. Dre-sounding beats and with DPGC rappers Kurupt and Roscoe heavily featured throughout, this album has been in heavy rotation this month. Let’s jump into this.      Tangled Thoughts consist of 3 Philadelphia rappers: Young De, Casanov and Tek Nizzle. I was already familiar with De (now named Demrick) who after releasing this group album went o...

          Maybe it's the recent Halloween with its horror themes and skeletons. Or maybe it's the fact that the group recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of their 3rd and most critically/commercially successful studio album "III: Temples of Boom" (released on 31st October 1995, same day as Halloween). Recently I have found myself listening to a lot of Cypress Hill, which is bringing back a lot of great memories from my first years getting into Hip-Hop, and has inspired me to write on this blog again.      I first got into Cypress Hill while spending some time in Austria on a school exchange programme. Back then I was listening to a lot more Alternative Rock and Metal than I did Hip-Hop. My only reference was Eminem... I remember watching TV from time to time and leaving it on a channel playing back to back music videos (probably because I could not take watching any other German-speaking TV channel then). Besides a music video from some ...

Pittsburg, CA rapper A-Wax has been active since the early 2000's. He initially came up on the scene through his associations with fellow Northern California local sensations Woodie or the Mob Figaz. He would go on to release his debut album Savage Timez in 2001. His story is unlike anyone else's: a white man who ended up joining the Bloods - a notoriously violent gang mostly made of black members - he was arrested and found guilty of manslaughter, sentenced as if he was an adult despite being 16 years old. He spent 5 years in prison where he became fascinated with Hip-Hop culture and started writing songs. Upon his release from prison he met with Woodie who brought him onto the rap scene and introduced him to the Norteños while at it. He has since released over 20 solo and collaborative projects, rapping alongside the Mob Figaz (who would later become sworn enemies due to street beef), Woodie and his East Co. Co. crew, Waka Flocka Flame's Brick Squad, just to name a fe...

Where to start? I haven’t written on here for so long. Not that I disconnected from the music, far from that... I guess time got away from me, or maybe I was just lazy. Ok, 2019 was not as good a year in Rap & Hip-Hop as 2018 was. So maybe I was less inspired. New year, new decade and now I’m back. What a start of 2020 it’s been. From surprise albums to stocked 20+ song projects and new discoveries, the first 5 weeks have been one hell of a ride. So here are 5 albums you should definitely check out and why I’m getting excited for this new year of music. Eminem- Music to Be Murdered By (released on January 17) From the hints dropped by long-time collaborators here and there (50 Cent mentioning in interviews Em was back in the studio), to controversial guest verses (Dre’s and Fat Joe’s late 2019 offering featured Slim Shady dissing Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey on one song), we kind of knew something was brewing. And then boom, the critics’ most hated white rapper dropp...

One could argue that while it is not getting as much exposure as it used to in the mid- to late 90s (except for a brief return with the Hyphy movement circa 2005-2007), the Northern California rap scene is amongst the most prolific there are. It’s yielded a bunch of great talent like Too Short, E-40, Mac Dre, C-Bo, Yukmouth, San Quinn and many more. It's also built a solid reputation for the independent grind of its artists, most of them controlling their own labels and with movements of their own. The Northern California scene is also known for the many beefs between acts. Sacramento’s Mozzy and Oakland’s Philthy Rich are great examples of that. Both have released well over 20 projects each in the 10+ years they’ve been rapping, showing their dedication and hard work. They also recently engaged into a full fledged war of words with each other, exchanging a slew of diss tracks in the last couple of months. These two were frequent collaborators and there’s no denying Philthy ...

I was shocked to hear about Nipsey's murder earlier this week. The L.A. rapper had been active for nearly 15 years when he finally released his major debut "Victory Lap" last year to both critical and fan acclaim. He was the poster child for how hard work and dedication finally pay off when you don't let go and don't compromise. His message of approaching life as a marathon rather than a sprint resonated with all audiences no matter where you're from or what your upbringing was. He really was bigger than life, and like a Tupac before him, his message touched a lot of people and he was trying to do a lot of good for his community. Outside of the "Victory Lap" album, his discography is very long and you should check out his "Bullets Ain't Got No Name" and "Marathon" mixtape series. It's been just over a year since "Victory Lap" released and as I was listening to it yesterday I couldn't help but think that...