Weekend Notes: Mini GUTTAHBALL, Baltimore & Feeling Weird About Born Sinner

By Lawrence Burney in Artcles No Comments Tags: , , , , ,

The town of Old Bay and crab cakes isn’t exactly busting open with life on the daily but some things managed to materialize over the sadly, short weekend. On Friday, another GUTTAHBALL show went down, one of bite-sized proportion this time around (June is the month of Mini GUTTAHBALL as we are gearing to head people in the head with July’s party), but we managed to pack out the quirky, yet charming Club K. A gracious “when no other pose comes to mind” salute goes to J Boogz, J Lamar and Spider To The Fly for coming from Brooklyn and Chicago to rock out in Baltimore. J Boogz’ swag and constant “owwww” call had everyone feeling themselves, J Lamar kept it true with some nostalgically rich 90′s R&B mixes and Spider To The Fly from their wardrobe to their banging “very right now” electro-pop, low-fi rap had the crowd into it. A personal favorite moment from the show was our opener, Matic 808, a dude from the city who actually prodcues and raps over Baltimore Club beats! You know, it’s really about fucking time that someone took on the challenge of merging the two worlds and even better that it’s a dude from Baltimore. The closer was Abdu Ali who, per usual, was possessed and sent the crowd home all nice and sweaty from the intoxicated jumping around during his performance. Ali also got shit turnt over at local shop PedX to support our homie JP’s pop-up for his brand, Death Cult. Needless to say, the internet-rap regulars of the shop were in for a rude-awakening once his banjee-punk-rap-whatever you wanna call it bled through the speakers.

A much less exciting event from the weekend was my failed attempt to appreciate the Born Sinner leak. For whatever reason, no matter how very boring J Cole has been over the past two and a half years, (and he’s been a real snoozefest) I keep coming back like a loyal lab. I guess the pure amazement that was The Warm Up —or even Friday Night Lights—always gives me cause to be hopefull that someday I’ll be able to vicariously feel the fire that Cole released then. To no avail, I tried listening to Born Sinner in its entirety Friday evening and soon found myself staring at an iTunes library that had each song with one play. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it past track 6 with my eyes open, conscious of the surrounding world…so I guess I gotta take my computer’s word for it. With GUTTAHBALL getting under way, I couldn’t risk another snooze so I tried again Saturday and managed to get all the way through. One early criticism of the album is the energy alone; he never got angry or passionate enough to lift his monotone throughout the whole album, which in and of itself is some kind of a feat I guess. Honestly, after the album’s intro “Villuminati”, things kind of go downhill. “Forbidden Fruit” which features Kendrick had me excited while reading the track list but all K. Dot gave up was a harmonizing hook. He could have at least bodied Cole to make things interesting, or to let us know how the collaborative album with the two (which will never happen) may sound like. While, I’ll probably still listen to the album a few more times, it generally had me bummed for a few minutes this weekend. Is this what happens to all really good underground rappers? Wale made classic tapes at the drop of a penny in his mixtape days but you’ll be hard-pressed to even find a great verse from him nowadays. I was hoping Cole would be different, but after Cole World and this body of work, things seem a bit grim.

Review: Alley Boy- War Cry

By Lawrence Burney in Reviews No Comments Tags: , , , ,

In the long line of southern real-life story-tellers, like Scarface, Lil Boosie and Yo Gotti, Alley Boy follows suit. One of his trademarks is calling out rappers whose actual rapsheet doesn’t add up with the gangsta stories they chronicle on their tracks, as he did on “Your Favorite Rapper” with Pusha T and “I Want In” track where he took shots at Jeezy and T.I. On his newest mixtape, War Cry, he continues to cover all elements of the gangsta narrative and to further establish his authenticity.

He goes over betrayal and revenge in the early stages of the tape with tracks “See The Signs” which touches on his sharp street smarts giving way to sensing a friend turning to the other side. “Mama’s House”, in ways, is a continuation which leads to revenge on people who reveal themselves as turncoats or involve themselves in squabbles with Alley and his partners. On “Cocaine” his pulls in his Louis V Mob teammate Fat Trel as they both pay tribute to the drug that they kicked in doors for, sold to stop their families’ struggles and even ended a few contracts over a la Yo Gotti and Gucci Mane’s “Pure Cocaine” from a few years back. Alley and Trel’s boss Master P shows up to join them on “Bad”, one of the tape’s club bangers. Two more bangers that feature the tape’s biggest names are “For My Niggas” that features the coveted auto-tuned hook from Future and the Young Chop-produced “Stackin Up” that features Meek Mill.

War Cry’s brightest moment is the soulful, Gutta Girl-produced “No Love” where Alley and Yo Gotti share their experiences with the cut-throat nature of street life. Alley Boy says, “I’m pouring liquor, too many homies lost in the system/ Leg wound, 60 years, who’s the real victim?/Too many trust issues, the scars deep-rooted/At 14 catching bodies, the whole hood polluted.” With the exception of that track and a few introspective verses throughout, the tape doesn’t offer much that can’t be found in the thick catalog of southern street music. Alley’s biggest strength is his passionate storytelling but he doesn’t spend a lot of time putting together coherent anecdotes for the majority of War Cry.

 

Tracks Of The Week: Asaad Comes Full Circle, Abdu Ali Gets Angry & Jungle Pussy Is Swaggin On You

By Lawrence Burney in Artcles No Comments Tags: , ,

If you know anything about Asaad, you know that trying to figure out what the hell is going on with this dude makes you look as crazy as he does online these past few months. Saudi Money has been a one-man reality television show on Twitter where he’s telling us how he’s spared Pusha T’s life on a few occassions, he’s shared pictures of his fights with Grande Marshall (Yo, he bit this dude pretty fucking hard) and even how Kanye has stolen his music. Even with all that madness, Asaad’s talent can’t be ignored; He’s released a shit-load of material over the past few years where he’s gone from soulful beat-loving kinda-conscious aggressive rhymer to he more recent money-obsessed trap music. None of it is horrible but on his latest project, COLDBLUE, Saudi has put out a project that completely emcompasses who he is right now.

One track in particular, “Next Megabus”, is both the old and the new Asaad. The beat is soulfully dark, but not trap and while Asaad is talking about his favorite new thing, it hits a bit different…or maybe from watching his newest interview , I’m getting a better understanding of Saudi. Where most money rap is essentially boasting about what you have already, his content since New Black History Month II is more about the desire to get it, no matter how. Pretty much, Asaad’s having soliloquies in the form of full-length projects—but talking to yourself about wanting to get the most out of life shouldn’t be a foreign scenario for anyone listening. Anyway, the shit’s a banger. Check it:

 

Things have gotten drastically different for Abdu Ali since his first track with Schwarz, “Banjee Musick”, was released in last year’s first quarter. What was once bottled up passion and rage actively trying to find their way through a tightly shut door, is now growing into a refined madness, sharply directed at targets…even if that target is Ali himself. His newest track, “TOLD ‘EM (PIGGLY WIGZ)”, is him exploding about his frustrations and those who push him to the point of no return. SXYLK—a first time collaborator—uses banging drums, tribal flute noises and the traditional crashes of ballroom music to guide a much more polished, yet still unconquered flow from Ali. The track is from his forthcoming EP, Push + Slay. Check it:

Jungle Pussy’s catalog is a small one but even with the two tracks she’s had circulating for a minute ( “Cream Team” and “Stitches”) you can still get a grasp of what she’s giving; Both of those tracks show JP’s unwavering confidence whether it’s her talking about somebody stealing her man or “poppin’ moet on any nigga neck”. Her presence in ways, pulls you into her, sometimes forgetting what she’s spitting about. She’s following the long line of New York female emcees who go toe-to-toe with any dude in the swag department, so fittingly she opened up for Lil’ Kim earlier this week (which is fucking sick). Her latest joint, “Feeling Myself” is shit-talking at its best and the hard-hitting production from Shane Augustus amplifies it. Listen:

 

Butch Dawson Sometimes Feels Like A God, Rapped About Bald Eagles & Is Prepping His New Project

By Lawrence Burney in Interviews No Comments Tags: , , ,

A few things are becoming evident in Baltimore with this rap scene: There are a lot of kids jockeying for position within the big pool of “I’m the shit” and people are really happy to have a few rhymers get some attention from outsiders. It’s not an uncommon thing with the culture, hype is an integral part of internet rap; guys who are the hottest of hot usually turn Gucci Mane “BURRR” within a quick year, sometimes not even that long. But if that’s a rapper from your city, you take what you can get sometimes and you’re happy that it even happened. I don’t like to be the prophet-type and say “who will be what” because the chances of that never happening is all too likely, but (guess I’m doing it anyway), these 7th Floor Villains guys who I’ve been watching for a minute now, if nothing else, put on hard for Baltimore and bring some positive attention here that doesn’t include The Wire or that awful documentary 12 O’Clock Boys.

Anyway, early last month, I hung out with one of my favorite young artists in Baltimore, 7th Floor Villains member, Butch Dawson. Butch, who also goes by Jujuan Allen, is the camp’s in-house producer and soft-spoken chill dude, turned shit-talking maniac when he performs (seriously, I saw dude freestyle—and actually freestyle—at a local show once and I was kind of worried because he was going super hard and I saw this huge vein bulging out of his neck. I thought that it either was about to pop or that he may have been on the verge of passing out from holding his breath). So yeah, we hooked up near my apartment, strolled the neighborhood until a serious storm starting brewing, then headed back to my crib where we chatted about who I think sucks in the rap game while Butch broke down some gangja. We also touched on him rapping at his 5th grade graduation and what artists encourage him to step it up.

I learned a lot about him. He’s usually the most quiet out of his crew so to hear him talk about growing up on Pennsylvania Ave. (one of Baltimore’s notorious areas, yet most rich in black culture), having to sell drugs in high school to help his mom from getting evicted to having a Korean grandmother who was basically the O.G. around his way was really rewarding. Here’s some of what we chatted about:

Did you start producing or rapping first?

Butch Dawson: I started rapping first. I started taking it serious when I was 16 but was doing since I was 7, I just didnt tell anybody. It went from something I was doing here and there to something I really enjoy. The producing came in when I started taking things seriously too. I didn’t wanna keep going on YouTube to snatch beats and I couldn’t find a real sound doing it that way so I started making my own stuff. When I first got into it I used Fruity Loops, which I still use.

What’s a sign of a song being just for you as far as sound goes? Are you trying to create a signature sound as a producer?

BD: There’s no signature sound but everything that I create just naturally forms into something. Like, as a producer you can create something just for the hell of it but from someone else’s perspective it has to labeled as something. For DZ’s Platinum 93 tape he wanted me to play a big role in the production and he had a good idea of what direction he wanted go in, where my beats were important. So, in that sense, I start to realize that maybe there is a signature sound I’m creating that people want.

Why don’t you sample Baltimore Club music in your beats?! It’s such a big part of this city’s identity. Kinda how when Wale used to rap over Go-Go beats. It wasn’t corny at all.

BD: I’m interested in it. I’ve done beats where I used the same tempo as Baltimore Club. I guess it has more to do with what I gravitated to as a kid growing up here. Club music is for the club and I’m more of a cool, chill type of guy.

What types of music do you absorb normally? Are you super-careful about what you let in?

BD: Right now I’m into really spacey music. I’m into the stars, constellations and nature so that’s what I want to translate in my music and production. If you close your eyes and listen to my music you’ll experience something; hear the wind, smell the grass, shit like that.

Is there a hierarchy within 7th Floor Villains, like an order to who releases stuff first?

BD: That’s never been discussed. We’re more about good timing.


Do you ever get discouraged because you live in Baltimore? There’s a stigma  around it.

BD: Sometimes but I’ve learned to roll with the punches.

To people who are heavy on the internet, you guys are getting a good amount of attention from outside cities which is rare. Do you feel any pressure knowing that you guys could very well shape how people view Baltimore rap music? Of course we have Los (who’s relevant but weirdly not at the same time), we’ve had B Rich and now ‘Starrz (who really sucks).

BD: We’re just doing us and we have a different way of working hard. Our work ethic is different from all those guys because we’re in a different lane. We’re just having fun and hustling, which is starting to pay off.

How much do you value performance because it looks like all of you guys do a lot of shows? To me it seems like artists who perform a lot, both in studio and onstage, have a quality presence overall.

BD: Definitely. I’ve been performing in front of people since the 5th grade and it really draws people to you. They’ll say “I can’t believe you did that in front of so many people”. It creates a sort of amazement and they’ll wanna learn more about you. So to me, there’s a lot of value. We’ve all gotten better at performance and sometimes it’s not about rapping the lyrics more than it is about making people rage the fuck out.

Tell me more about that 5th grade performance.

BD: It was my graduation and I made a rap with a friend of mine about graduating and going to middle school.

Haha. You remember the words?

BD: Nah but I do remember one bar. Our mascot was an eagle so I said, “I’m goin’ to middle school and Ima be the bald eagle with hundreds of feathers.” Some shit like that (laughs). I ended the verse like that and everybody was like “AHHHHHH!!!” all gassing me up.


Describe what it feels like to perform. A lot of friends that do music tell me it feels like doing drugs or maybe even better. It seems like a powerful thing; you’re on a stage and people have to look up to you…kinda like a God type of thing.

BD: Yeah I was gonna say that! I’m a soft-spoken person and I’m just chilling usually. But when you have something you wanna say to people and you can release all your aggression on the mic, I feel like “I’m the fucking man right now.” That shit feels good.

As a writer, I’ll sometimes read someone’s work who I think is really good and it’ll make me feel like, “Damn. I’m kinda fucking wack. I’m actually not that good.” Do you remember the last album you listened to that made you feel like you needed to step your shit up?

BD: Tyler The Creator’s Wolf made me feel like, as a producer, I really need to get better. Same thing with The Alchemist for what he did on Rare Chandeliers with Action Bronson.  As a rapper, good kid, m.A.A.d city definitely made me wanna get better. The dude Wiki from RatKing is someone I’m really encouraged by. He made me feel like “Damn! I gotta go hard.”

When you’re making a song, which comes first? Lyrics or beats?

BD: I usually make the beat first. Then while I’m making the beat, I get a feel for what the subject should be or what I should write.

What’s the theme, if any, of your upcoming projects, Championships?

BD: Well we’re really viewed as the underdog city. But then we just had the Ravens win the Super Bowl and that made me feel like this is our year.We’ve been showing everyone that we work really hard—getting up early, catching the bus when we don’t want to, selling drugs; all this to get to where we wanna be.

Photography by @KeemGriffey

Follow @TheButchDawson

Review: Black Zheep DZ- ZHEEP

By Lawrence Burney in Reviews No Comments Tags: , , , , ,

If nothing at all, Black Zheep DZ does one thing very well—staying consistent. Out of his 7th Floor Villains camp, he has the most solo projects, regularly drops tracks and covers the most ground in working with other startup Baltimore rappers. His last project, Platinum ‘93, dropped last September and while it showed what he had lyrically (although still raw) it lacked a signature sound of production; drowned out beats and regularly screwed hooks gave way to A$AP comparisons, much to the Villains’ disapproval. But with his aforementioned work ethic, Zheep shows overall improvement on his newly-released project, ZHEEP.

The project’s intro “W8-Up” samples an exerpt from Spike Lee’s Malcolm X where Denzel Washington shouts, “ Before there was any such thing as a Republican or a Democrat, we were black…And after America has long passed from the scene, there will still be black people.” It’s hard to connect that quote with any theme of the tape, but from there the next two tracks “Autumn Nights” and “Planet Namek” follow his signature, atmospheric production choices. One of the standouts is “Catch My Drift” where Zheep touches on his frustration with Baltimore while Butch Dawson a.k.a. Jujuan Allen harmonizes “It ain’t no love where I come from, my time is done.” on the hook. There are also moments when he’s open about where he stands in his early career: “Let other niggas live fake lives ‘til the joke is up/ I’m gaining a lot but in my eyes I’m still broke as fuck,” is what he says on “Dry Ice”

At points throughout ZHEEP, DZ shows his ability to switch from his routine style to a sped-up, tightly executed one as he did on both “Off-Top” and “Sad Song”. When pit against his groupmate OG Dutch Master’s project, Art Of War, Zheep has a better understanding of what best fits his strengths; Where OG’s mixtape had a different sound for every track, (some of which were not suitable for his voice) most of the production on ZHEEP is melodic and heavy on keys, a perfect partner to his slowed, serene vocal style.

Still, one of the bigger deficiencies in DZ’s music is the lack of insight; sure we get that he likes to get at chicks, that he’s from a hard city and that there are backstabbers in the music game. Thing is, there’s no need to listen to him if that’s all that’ll be gained from his music because you can get that from any upstart rapper…or plenty that have cracked the surface already. The heavy gun-talk (which is in about every song) gets a bit tired as well. There a few instances on the project where something is learned about him as an individual. On “Naughty By Nature” he hints at a toxic relationship with a girl who only wants sex, but the story gets deflated once it becomes more clear that he wants nothing more either. His relationships with women seem to be a conflicting one though; throughout the project he makes countless references to women being  gold-diggers or wanting to take advantage of him. It would’ve been good to see him go deeper into his personal issues with situations as such. But if you hang on until the closing song “Feel The Blunt”, a song where he goes within to talk about his constant struggle trying to make it as an artist and even channels Jay-Z’s “22 Two’s” for his take on the resurgence of rap in New York: “Yeah we almost right there to where we headed/ But sheesh! Just too much New York dick lickin’!/ And I ain’t tryna challenge a nigga but they ain’t the only talented niggas.” When more of that passion, whether negative or positive, is put on wax, along with further polishing his unorthodox flow, DZ should continue to improve as he did here with ZHEEP.

GUTTAHBALL: DA COME UP Recap + Photos

By Lawrence Burney in Artcles No Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

This past Friday was the second installment of our monthly party, music show and straight up rager—GUTTAHBALL. Like the first time around (DA BAPTISM), DA COME UP was a melting pot of Baltimore’s streetwear-rocking hip hop scene, downtown art school kids scene, punk heads and queer scene. Close to 200 twenty-somethings packed into Remington’s BFF to indulge in shots of whiskey, dance music and liberating fun. At its core, the party is about giving an equal voice to all of the city’s scenes while encouraging a richer quality in nightlife and introducing people to new artists (both local and out-of-towners) who put the highest effort into becoming the best artists they can be. So appropriately, GUTTAHBALL, was started by myself (a music journalist and critic) and my friend Abdu Ali—an artist who strives for perfection and at one point played the other side of the coin as an arts journalist. We pride ourselves on our ability to judge quality product, whether it be a song, an artist’s stage presence or the overall aesthetic of a party; GUTTAHBALL is a product of our observations and dreams of where we’d like to see our hometown of Baltimore move toward.

After some twerking and drunken body swaying to DJ Baglady’s sick mixes, things kicked off at GUTTAHBALL with Animal House BK, in which the place was already spilling over. They rocked the hardest with their “NEATRNXTIME” track. Second was 7th Floor Villains member, Black Zheep DZ, who walked through the middle of the crowd as he shared the shine with his homies for a few posse cuts including his locally-popular track “3 Seasons” featuring Soduh and Al Rogers. In between sets, one of the most important aspects of the show, was the maintaining of momentum by Abdu Ali’s hosting. Ala Busy Bee, he MC’d over Baglady’s mixes with special shoutouts to the bartender, random people in the crowd and kicked some freestyles as well.

Next up was Brooklyn’s Jungle Pussy who, in a pink Nike sports-bra and spraypainted cap that read “Shayna” (her birth name), thanked Baltimore for fucking with her and went into full crowd-control mode; Everyone bounced around to her gritty lyrics and unshakable stage presence but things kicked up a notch when she performed her cyber hit “Cream Team” (check the Vine above). From there (which was about 1:30 a.m. or so) GUTTAHBALL was hyped. Last up was Phoebe Jean who, for sure, captured some hearts at the end of the night with her badgirl rockstar image and hypnotizing love songs. The night ended with cuts from Project Pat, Chief Keef, R. Kelly, Mary J and Lady played by myself a.k.a. DR3DY MURPH33 (the DJ named I was given by Jungle Pussy’s homie and artist, Dai Burger).

Much love to everyone who came out! :)

 

GUTTAHBALL: DA COME UP photos by Keem Griffey and Abdu Ali: 

Jungle Pussy

 

Black Zheep DZ

 

RISK (Animal House BK)

Phoebe Jean

Baglady

Review: Mykki Blanco- Betty Rubble: The Initiation

By Lawrence Burney in Reviews No Comments Tags: , , , ,

It’s been a year since Mykki Blanco’s first video, “Join My Militia (Nas Gave Me A Perm”, dropped. Since then, he’s been on both North American and Europeans tours, covered Village Voice and has arguably been the only artist to shake the “queer rap” tag. For XXL‘s “The Come Up” last month he previewed his newly-released EP, Betty Rubble: The Initiation: “With The Initiation I’ve taken more risks by going deeper within. It makes for a really cohesive project. I rap so much stronger on it because I’ve been rapping for months now and doing shows every night.” In comparison to the menacing theme of Cosmic Angel: Illuminati Prince/ss, he, for sure, got more risky this time around

“Let me dominate on every hating motherfucker watchin’/Let me dominate on every basic bitch that try to stop me,” is what he spits in the Matrixxman-produced “Feeling Special”, one of a couple tracks on The Initiation that carries on the signature sound that he’s established thus far. “Bugged Out”, a druggy tune that’ll have your head spinning under club strobe lights, carries on tradition too as it finds Blanco at his shit-talking apex where he rags on male groupies and haters.  “Angggry Byrdz” is the project’s intro and one of the more uptempo cuts; Here he assures “the people they want something new/No fear y’all, I gotchu” and “My blueprints pressed, I’m leaving landmarks.”—two claims that he’s proven in his short career.

Where things veer off Mykki’s path of sound are with two songs in particular: “The Initiation” and “Ace Bougie Chick”. The project’s title track (which would’ve fared better as an intro) is the most intriguing and cryptic. Sinden—a regular producer for Blanco—blends a barrage of video game-like synths, snares, pounding drums and alarm-like noises as Mykki spits an all-Latin incantation. Among other creepy chants he repeats “invictus” and “confidemus” which translate to invincible and believe. “Ace Bougie Chick” is the project’s most entertaining. While it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the tracks it serves as a nostalgic summery rewind to poppy 90’s R&B as he talks about hanging with his girls and a small fling.

Where The Initiation differentiates from Cosmic Angel is in its flow. The latter made for a more cohesive full-length project. Mykki has hinted at wanting to get away from universal club bangers and he took a swing at that with the EP; it’s evident that he’s trying new things. “Vienna”—the outro where he talks for four-plus minutes—feels redundant halfway through and “Ace Bougie Chick” seems misplaced on the project. Still, Blanco’s strength is in that he sounds like no one in rap and if nothing else, his presentation is more innovative than most.

 

Watch: Abdu Ali’s PUSH + SLAY

By Lawrence Burney in Features No Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Abdu Ali’s artistic development is one that has been documented from day one on True Laurels. But just in case people haven’t gotten hip to what he’s had in the works, he’s starting a short docu-series called PUSH + SLAY. Its first installment is a collection of interviews we’ve done with him, performance footage and casual footage of him kicking it with friends. There’s also a visual component of his song “Mary” included as well. Watch PUSH + SLAY below:

Stream & Download Black Zheep DZ’s “Zheep”

By Lawrence Burney in Downloads No Comments Tags: , , , ,

Though he’s been making his blog rounds with frequent songs, of both his own singles and features, Black Zheep DZ hasn’t had a full project since last September’s Platinum ’93. Today he drops his third release, Zheep, which features production from his in-house beat-maker, Butch Dawson, local producer 713 and EyeZaya. Some of the lead tracks have been circulating for a while like “3 Seasons” with Al Rogers & Soduh and his collaboration with Raider Clan member, Denzel Curry, “4.1.0.” Stream Zheep below and catch DZ at GUTTAHBALL: DA COME UP tomorrow night.

Download Zheep HERE .

 

Meet The Performers From This Month’s GUTTAHBALL Party

By Lawrence Burney in Features No Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

This Friday, May 24th, is the second installment of the True Laurels x Abdu Ali monthly GUTTAHBALL party. Last month’s introduction went great and featured Cities Aviv, Abdu Ali and OG Dutch Master, with sounds by Schwarz. This month, things are turned up just a notch, with one additional act and a gumbo of sounds. Meet Phoebe Jean and The Air Force, Jungle Pussy, Animal House BK and special guest 7th Floor Villains’ member, Black Zheep DZ:

Phoebe Jean & The Air Force

Phoebe Jean is a Baltimore native. Her music ranges from passion-driven love songs, to club-ready tracks to nostalgic soul cuts. Her talents led her to landing a deal with Paris-based electronic music-loving Lentonia Records, through whom she tours France frequently. She’s been featured in Baltimore’s City Paper, VICE and French magazine, Brain, among other pubs. Overall, her music is fucking beautiful and you’ll love it.

Twitter: @MissPHOEBEJEAN

Jungle Pussy

Jungle Pussy is a gritty, yet elegant female emcee from East New York, Brooklyn. Her give-no-fucks attitude and aggressive delivery is reminiscent of a Remy Ma with a much more fashion-forward, flamboyant presentation. Catch her with downtown-scene kids in NYC and on chic publications like Interview and V-Files. Her stand out track is “Stitches”—a combative warning to anyone trying to get with her guy.

Twitter: @JUNGLEPUSSY

 Animal House BK

Brooklyn-based Animal House is a band with multiple personalities. That’s no slight to them but their sounds covers multitudes. AKAAAP is the mastermind of the situation—he’s the band’s producer and to see him mix live is a show in and of itself. RISK handles the guitar and emcees along with DREADFACE. Their sound ranges from post-punk, to rap, to electronic.

Twitter: @ANIMALHOUSEBK

Black Zheep DZ

Baltimore’s Black Zheep DZ is one of the major players in arguably the city’s most promising rap collective, The 7th Floor Villains. Unlike OG Dutch Master’s congested, ever-changing flow, DZ chooses more atmospheric production to support his slowed-down, hard hitting delivery. He’s played a number of show in the underground New York circuit over the past few months, plays local shows regularly and is set to release his second project, Zheep, this week.

Twitter: @BlackZheepDZ

DJ Baglady

Baglady is a L.A.-bred, Baltimore-based DJ with a wide range of sounds in his mixes. His sets alone can keep a party going for hours. If you’re into grime artists like Tempa T, Baltimore Club, hardstyle or reggae, he’s got you covered. Warning, though: If you have something important to do, Baglady’s Soundcloud can be really dangerous—you’ll probably choose rocking out around your crib instead.

Twitter: @djbaglady

RSVP for GUTTAHBALL: DA COME UP HERE.

 

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