Max Bell Shynes on. Detroit-bred Quelle Chris has been making music for a long time. He has Bandcamp tracks – rap, rock, and otherwise – from nearly a decade ago. He worked with Roc Marciano and Danny Brown (see Shotgun & Sleek Rifle) before you knew they were going to be two of your favorite […]

Sometimes you forget that it can be simple. It’s even easier to forget that simplicity is often the hardest thing to achieve. “Monochrome” is one of those songs that sounds deceptively easy. As though all L’ Orange and Stik Figa had to do was wake up, slice a soul sample to pieces and spit some […]

In a Summer watered down with Advance Your Tax Bracket Rap, Castle has delivered Gasface for you. If you’re looking to rock some Tom Ford,what are you even doing here? If you’re wishing to uppercut your boss, you’re in the right place. Castle has found his voice on this project by rapping his stories so relatably […]

Enter CASTLE. North Carolina-raised. Mello Music Group signed. Mission statement: I don’t give a fuck music for people who don’t give a fuck. Lest you think this is all ski-mask seriousness, his biography touts this resume of achievement: once killed the entire Marvel universe, made Chuck Norris say uncle, cut through hot knives with butter, […]

Max Bell’s destiny is reaching the keys.  Has-Lo’s debut LP In Case I Don’t Make It (below the jump) was one of the best albums of 2011. It’s a throwback that doesn’t feel derivative, overly nostalgic, or overly reverential. It’s something for modern hip-hop listeners and Philadelphians who’ve studied It Was Written and have entered the 36 […]

Catch Deen in Atlantic City, blowing nothing less than 50. I pride myself on listening to as much music as possible. If it’s on rap blog somewhere, I’ll probably listen to it. Time gets scarcer, but I think I make an honest effort to listen to as much new shit as possible while maintaining gainful […]

Open Mike Eagle and Has Lo remember seeing you purchase your Juggaknots 12″ at the Fat Beats in 1997. You gave Percee P daps and told Babu that your flow was the illest. They remember you rocking Lugz, a Jansport, and a Rawkus Records t-shirt. You used to worship Talib Kweli and now he’s doing […]

Like Ka and Roc Marciano, there’s a patient painstakingly assembled quality to Has-Lo’s music. If you listen to it only once, you might even find it a bit boring. Has’ rarely modulates his voice, opting for a cool detachment, the lucid narrative eye triumphs over the bloodied combatant. It initially seems like aloofness, but upon […]

Max Bell never slung crack rock, but he has a wicked jump shot. Behind the Scale is an album about the come-up. Since the come-up is generally a slow burn, it’s fitting that this review is four months late. So it goes: The sound of a needle on a record. It’s simple. It feels good. […]