EPM fucking D, yo'.

Cool. Listened to it again over the last few days. Such an absolute cracker of an album. And so pertinent to the society's ills thread.

BA appears on the latest Hilltop Hoods album too.

Album is called Walking Under Stars.

They've been the biggest and most successful hip hop act to come out of oz ever, but I've never been that into them, could always see the quality, but wasn't really my bag, and all the singles I ever heard were serviceable as opposed to mindblowing.

This new album though, woah. Have hammered it since friday. Reckon I've listened to it 8-9 times already. Rock solid and impressive all the way through.

yeah, that would have been the one. that was their real breakout track.

I'm no expert on their early stuff, as noted, have only ever heard bits of the odd track, and like you, never really got on with the vocals, while still hearing that they weren't shit, just not quite my thing. (Plus, I knew too many dudes who were well into the scene and they're pretty much the most universally respected group going round.)

I will say that this new one has won me over. The vocals are actually a highlight. Credit to them, you can hear the 10+ years of actually working at their craft. They do some amazing stuff with the vocal production, and overdubs, and even their rapped choruses have some really clever catchy in tune hooks. The title track's chorus is sooo clever.

I'll be revisiting older stuff on the strength of this, but would 100% recommend this last album straight up.

Been a cracking year for ozzie hip hop, tbh.

I've mentioned most of the albums in this thread, but to recap, in some sort of order:

1/2 Hilltop Hoods - Walking Under Stars and Joelistics - Blue Volume (Album before, Voyager, is also awesome.)
3 Mantra - Speaking Volumes
4 N'fa Jones - Black + White Noise



Actually a nice varied bunch.

meanwhile, international, looking back through what I've been digging this year:

Pharoahe Monch - PTSD
The Roots last one
Apollo Brown's instrumental thing.
All the Kendrick Mixtape things
Revisiting PE's Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age
Copywrite and Surok - Murderland
Common's newie is Meh.
Prodigy and Alchemist would be killer if Prodigy wasn't such an annoying, nasty prick.
Anything by Black Milk
Talib kweli prisoner of Conciousness and the rainbow one.
Sean Price Mic Tyson

I realise there's some old stuff in there.

Just checked who was doing the vox on hilltop's album. thought I recognised the singers.

used maverick sabre on a handful and Dan Sultan on another. That's freakin awesome. Dan Sultan has one of the best voices in the country.

Aesop Rock is loco...

Nice.

Facewon wrote:

I'm no expert on their early stuff, as noted, have only ever heard bits of the odd track, and like you, never really got on with the vocals, while still hearing that they weren't shit, just not quite my thing. (Plus, I knew too many dudes who were well into the scene and they're pretty much the most universally respected group going round.)

I will say that this new one has won me over. The vocals are actually a highlight. Credit to them, you can hear the 10+ years of actually working at their craft. They do some amazing stuff with the vocal production, and overdubs, and even their rapped choruses have some really clever catchy in tune hooks. The title track's chorus is sooo clever.

I'll be revisiting older stuff on the strength of this, but would 100% recommend this last album straight up.

So have since been back to listen to more.

Summation: Older stuff is alright in a hyped up straight forward hip hop sort of way. They have a track with a guest spot from P monch and another from the deep voiced dude from J5. But it's all still not really that amazing. Some of it's good, some of it is samey, some of it is just meh.

However, I stand by the last album even more. It is simply amazing. Album of the year, overall, contender.

Been back on MM2 as well. Eminem really is in another league to most MCs. Insane. have written already about all the possible reservations, but holy shit, raw rhyming ability and flows, fuck me.

On the strength of all the Oz hip hop I mentioned above, I branched out and tried a few other acts that I knew by name but not by material. The drop off in quality is precipitous.

Just bought (CASHMONIES) all of El-P's cd's. Brilliant stuff.

Watched an awesome interview with Talib Kweli and Rosa Clemente while they were in Ferguson. Will post a link later.

Awesome interview, awesome MC, awesome dude. (And some of the stuff they say talking about what they experienced from the cops is staggering.)

Wot

Company Flow?

This is awesome. Even if you don't like rap / hip hop.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_QcLOtFJOUgNxURr8B4lNtf_3e9fWZzl

Illmind's goes hard.

I was gaga for j-zone at the turn of the century. Those first two EPs were like nothing else. Dude has a unique rhythm for sure.

I got his book a couple of years ago for Christmas, is an interesting snap shot of an independent rapper's lifestyle.

moot; Tell me how awesome mourning in america is.

Also, Talib Kweli Gravitas has hit rdio.

It's typically rock fucking solid. Dude just releases quality record after quality record these days.

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2gzbm7/im_sir_mixalot_artist_producer_engineer/