Since 4/20's this weekend, we would be remiss if we didn't give you some great new local jams to smoke to. Nothing's better than hip-hop whilst being blitzed into another realm of consciousness. And we're representing all styles today: SP Double for the purists (though he gets a little rowdy on this one), Sole for bone-dry intellectuals, Anxious for that technical spitfire and Thomas tha Franchise for you party people. Enjoy.
See also: - Fresh local hip-hop from J.Rebelz, Dope City, LKeys and Morningstar featuring Jaz-O - Fresh Colorado hip-hop from Chris Karns (formerly DJ Vajra), Lil Bad, Pries and J Dubb - Fresh Colorado hip-hop from Young Tenner, Killa Keezy, 2MX2 and Panama Soweto
SP Double - "Colorado With Me" "Colorado With Me" employs a raucous, distorted low-end paired with a minimal drum line along with a brilliantly reworked Lil Wayne vocal sample from "Roger That" to create a sound that not only hails the country's greatest state, but one that's legitimately fun to listen to. SP Double's rhymes follow the familiar pattern of a hometown tribute in the shout outs to sports teams, landmarks and neighborhoods, a tried and true method for gaining local support because "Hey! I know that spot!" But SP Double also has moments where he really steps up and shines as a lyricist, like, "King of the town, and my crown's made of the city skyline" and "I love my city; blizzard to sunshine in one day." The Colorado MC is swagged to the max on this one, and it shows.
Sole - "People Piss Me Off" Throughout Sole's "People Piss Me Off," he stubbornly refuses to rhyme much at all, and it works completely because Sole is content to deprive his fans of anything so comforting as a rhyme as a sort of passive-aggressive way of pissing of the people that have pissed him off. Sole's anger is almost comically unfocused, and certainly, he must be pissed off at himself along with everyone else. Whatever musicality Sole deprives his song of, the minimal but striking beat provides, and the result is actually enjoyable to listen to in spite of Sole's worst intentions.
Anxious - "Get What I Came For" Future drops a Pluto album full of bangers, and now Anxious comes with "Get What I Came For." Auto-tune is making a comeback! And now it seems that people are actually starting to understand how to use it! The mechanical-smooth chorus eases you right into the vibe of the song and contrasts well with Anxious's rough-voiced rapid-fire spitting. With so many lyrics, he does drop a couple of stinkers, like, "I wasn't efficient like a Honda Civic," but the majority for the track is hot fiyah.
Thomas tha Franchise - "Live It Up" It's tempting to dismiss Thomas tha Franchise's "Live it Up" as a vacuous Pitbull clone, and there are definite similarities, particularly in the chorus. But if you listen closely, tha Franchise actually has bars. Most importantly, the song does exactly what it sets out to do (pump you up for a night of fun), it goes above and beyond with no apparent flaws.
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