Thoughts From The Rap Nest
A nice surprise for Bandcamp give some props to Pen Thief Records Winter Collection 2023 in their The Best Hip-Hop on Bandcamp: January 2023 feature that dropped yesterday. Even though my track was not featured in the article, they picked some super sick ones to profile and it still feels great to be a part of something that got some really nice attention. Rap wins!
Curated by the Berlin-based Pen Thief Records, Winter Collection 2023 shines light on a subterranean array of gifted rap wordsmiths and dexterous beatmakers. The project opens with Oldenburg-residing producer Smokey131‘s “Winter Solstice (Deathcember),” a scene-setting two-part instrumental that skillfully switches from glacial mid-tempo boom-bap to an eerily distorted end section. Early on, “Horizons” features Portland, Maine MC Myles Bullen ushering in an introspective tone to the proceedings as he muses on self-doubt, mental health, and mortality. “I spend too much time thinking about what others are thinking about me/ I spend too much time thinking about what others are thinking, like/ Who am I but a mirror to the sky?/ I’ve lived too short of a life to see so many people die,” the MC raps, before ruing: “Stuck inside a metronome/ My heart is on its own beat/ Rhythm skips when it thinks about its lost homies/ That died feeling lonely/ If I would have picked up that phone call, if only…” Elsewhere, vital moments on the compilation include self-proclaimed Halifax-based “rap hooligan” Hermit Of The Woods keeping things proudly local with “Scotian Slang,” MC Homeless pining for earthly escapism on the piano-helmed “Samsara,” and Sign One invoking meteorological imagery for “True Winter.”
Big day tomorrow as it is another Bandcamp Friday! I am sure there will be a few nice surprises to be had for sure. What I am probably most excited about is the drop of the highly anticipated Noah 23 - Ikosi Tria. I have been talking with Noah 23 and Alex from El Gran E Records this week as I have been working on a feature for UGSMAG issue number 3. Their excitement about the release has got me in turn really excited. Fast Life is my jam from the album and pretty much my theme song for how I am living in 2023.
Missed Third Verse last night? Well then you missed it. Due to an ice storm in Texas, Noyz lost power and couldn't record it unfortunately. We should be back with next weeks episode, next week for you! However, the last 10 episodes of my other weekly radio show You Know Know the Rules on UMFM in Winnipeg airing every Sunday night 10:00pm -11pm CST. Episodes availible NOW!
The homie Id Obelus just sent me this really dope voice message for 10% off site wide tomorrow on Audio Recon Bandcamp for Bandcamp Friday use code DISCOUNTFACE
Record One
Noah 23 - Ikosi Tria
I have been super fortunate thanks to the homie Rove to have had this record for a few months now. Rove just texted me one day that he dropped something off for me. I figured it was a record, but I never in a million years would have guessed it was the unreleased Noah 23 album. It was certainly quite the surprise that was for sure. If you are a fan of either of my radio shows then you have been treated to songs from this album. I have always been a big Noah 23 fan over the years even though some of his stuff right before his hiatus didn’t really appeal to me, his talent always shone through. This album is the perfect blend of of all the various styles he has perfected over the years on the mic and will appeal to a wide rap audience. I had heard the Timothy Leary track produced by Rove, which is one of the best tracks on the album when it was just a beat sent to him and then hearing the finished product I knew the album was going to be super sick. Then I heard the homie Pasquale made a beat for it too and I knew it was going to be a great record. the standout jams for me are Fast Life, Toad Venom, Dying Inside, Swamp and Timothy Leary. This album has continued to get better after each listen for me.
Record Two
Height Keech - Instant Fan 5 LP pack
Make Your Own Light, Bed Of Seeds, Mind Moves The Mountain, Computer Rocker and Raw Routes make up this 5 LP purchase that I Made a couple Friday Nights ago, thanks to a hot tip from the homie Id Obelus about a Cold Rhymes Records discount code! It was a screaming deal that I couldn't pass up on and one I had almost bought previous to the discount code, so when he sent the code through I knew exactly what I was going to grab with it. My listening experience with Baltimore’s Height Keech was limited to the record with Darko The Super that I picked up from Audio Recon and a few guest verses here and there. I knew I wanted to explore Height’s catalogue more as it was full of records. This was such a treat to be able to become and instant fan of someone you wanted to be a fan of with out breaking the bank which is super rare these days especially when buying records. I suggest diving into Height Keech’s catalogue it is super dope!
There are still 5 x LP bundles like this available.
Classic Material
Josh Martinez - Good Life EP
I have had a small to large parts in the facilitation of a lot of records, songs, projects and various rap things over the years. It is such a great feeling making connections and things that otherwise might not happen come to life. This has been accomplished in various ways, but the basis of all these things is my super rap fandom, my insane excitement and energy for rap and building real friendships/relationships with people built on respect and trust. I often look for natural fits and when I hear something I am pretty good at suggesting someone who I think would sound good on the track or project. My suggestion to realization record percentage I would say if it was a batting average, it would be astronomically high in the .900’s. The joy and excitement for me is the release of the finished product into the world. I get so excited for releases especially from the homies. I want them to be wildly successful so they can continue to work with that person or so they can continue to create amazing rap music.
This ep features a track called Hobo’s Lullaby which is produced by the homie Dren. I met Dren through Nolto even though Dren lived on the street behind the cresecent I lived on through the catwalk beside my house and few doors down. I remember him as kid but we didn’t have a lot of interactions back then. Dren is one of those people that can excel at what ever they want to. He has always been a really dope techinical skater I am envious of these types of people. I can gain general proficiencies at thing and often do very well at them but I am not one of those people who just kill it at whatever they do. I know so many people like this and it is insane to me, as I think about it most people I know are like this. I often feel inferior when I am kicking it with the homies as a result of my own perceptions of my own inadequacies. It is not a major deal and it doesn’t interfere with me chearing for them to kill it at whatever they are doing.
I somehow acquired a cassette of some beats that Dren made in the early 2000’s. I think he went out of his way to make me the cassette because he knew I didn’t fuck with CD’s back then. That is the type of person he is. He will just put in that type of effort like it is no big deal and keep it moving. He is also one of those people who do a lot of behind the scenes things to make releases happen with design, art, layout etc just to make sure the release looks dope when it drops. He also does these things insanely fast. Anyways enough with the Dren love (haha), I had this tape of beats and the beat that ended up being Hobo’s Lullaby really stood out to me the first time I heard it. I knew it had the potential to be a really sick rap song with the right mc on it.
A little while later when I was living in the house at 106 Clarence Avenue North, which for a two year run was packed with insane hip hop memories and graced by countless hip hop royalty. It was the place where I really met a lot of the homies for the first time and also sured up some burgeoning friendships. Lots of touring rappers crashed there during that time from Mood Ruff, Frek Sho, to Swollen Members and many many more. It was the result of many after show party’s where everyone just crashed. I had the most amazing and accommodating roommates at that time including my brother who I know reads this each week!
Josh Martinez was in town and he stayed an extra night. I think we finished watching Trailer Park Boys as it was a Sunday night and we were just talking all things rap! I was like, “my homie made a beat I think you would sound great on”. He was like, “word put it on”, so I did. He instantly was a fan. He was like, “yeah I can totally rock own that”. I was like, “sick”. I am not sure how the rest of it went. Like how Dren got the beat to Josh Martinez and the logistics of that part of it but I do know it was released on the Life EP and the rest is hip hop history! It made its way on to vinyl twice, with the first being the Life EP and then Buck Up Princess so I would say I made a good call in suggesting J-Mart rap on that beat. I gotta give a shout out to the rap chat for bringing up this track this week.
Closing Ramblings
As always, thank you for reading and for the feedback!
**legal disclaimer all records and songs were run through the RAP NEST 5000 SUPER ANALYTIC COMPTROLLER MACHINE that is certified by the I.A.A.R.R.A (International Association of Analytical Rap Recordings Analysis) in layman’s terms, it means the machine is never wrong.
Catch you next week with more thoughts from the rap nest.
Peace
-chaps