Wednesday, November 10, 2010

REVIEW: The Best Things in Life Are Free

"The best things in life are free" - never a truer word spoken. An this free mixtape is no exception. It really is one of the better things in life when you download a mixtape by a guy you don't know a hell of a lot about and find that you can really start to connect with his story straight away.

Fatty Phew started to make a name for himself when he released his 23 years in the making album. He became known as a guy who smash out a really fired up song and spit something a bit more slow and sombre. This latest mixtape is no different. 'Yes and No' is the stand out track for me. The creative genius on display in this tracks story telling and lyrics is really quite something. 'So The Fuck What' is more what we are used to from Fatty Phew mixing some interesting vocals and cool beat with some heavy lyrics. The best thing bout Fatty Phew is you can tell he's real. Whether you like you his stories or not it doesn't matter because you can tell they are really his stories and he means them. He lives every single line he puts out.

This mixtape download is bandwidth well spent. Lets just hope we get to hear a full album from Fatty Phew in the not to distant future.

Fatty Phew - 20up10down by Fatty Phew

CLICK HERE TO DOWN LOAD THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE

Verdict: 7/10

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

REVIEW: Let The Music Play EP

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD LET THE MUSIC PLAY EP 

"My goal when creating this EP was to create something that differs from all other Australian hip hop, something exciting and musical, not just lackluster vocals over boom bap beats, which seems to be the trend” YES! That's what this scene has been crying out for. And there have been plenty of guys who have promised it and fallen well short of the mark. Granted, we are yet to here Profecy release a full album but if Let The Music Play EP is anything to go by he talks the talk and has the skills to match.


Profecy- Remember that name. Its gonna be the next big one in the Australian hip hop scene. In the last 6 months I have downloaded a lot of free mix tapes from names I have never heard before and I'll be honest most of them end up in the recycle bin within 5 minutes. I am always amazed at some of the rubbish people are willing to put their names to. That's another story destine for another post.

Produced by talented Benno of Belgium this 20 year old from Bris Vegas has a sweet flow and some lyrics that really hold their own. 'If I Could Change' is an emotional break up track with flow and precision that reminds me of Solo MC on Horrorshow's ' The Grey Space' album. The only thing that lets the Ep down is the party track 'Oh Yeah'. It really is the same as every other party track that seems to pop up as filler on most hip hop albums these days. The lyrics are generic and the beat is a boom bap boring beat that Profecy  has claimed he wants to avoid.

Keep an eye on this lad hes got a big and bright future. I promise after you listen to  this EP it will have you wishing there was another 5 tracks. The most promising sound I have heard in some time. Absolute MUST download!



Verdict: 8/10

www.profecymusic.com

REVIEW: The Chase

The last month has seen a few EP's come out and a few mummers about a possible new Forthwrite Mixtape but the biggest release in the last month must surely be Illy's The Chase. After sampling the tracks on his official site in the 14 days leading up to the albums release Illy built up a fair bit of hype around his new album.

Its pretty widely accepted that sophomore albums are the hardest to do and tend to get hit for six when it comes to reviews. The Chase is proving no different, with opinion pretty strongly divided over whether this album is a natural progression in Illy's career or an album that sells out to the mainstream, for what its worth I sit somewhere in the middle.

Illy has put together a great selection of beats but many of his lyrics seem to lack the maturity that set him apart on his Long Story Short album. 'Cigarettes' has an interesting vibe and for me was the stand out track of the album. 'Feel something' summed up the album with a beat that was promising and different  from what we have heard in the past few years but the lyrics (which I have deducted are describing a trip) lack the punchy individuality which Illy used to make everyone stand up and take notice with his debut solo album.

This album was never going to be one for the underground kids and its not really targeted at the "graffa" scene either but its not a bad release. Sure it wont go down as the best album of the year but based on a few things I heard recently it certainly wont make the worst list either. And that's the problem with this album it lies in nothing territory, its just too Beiber for the Hilla Toppers and to Hilla Toppa for the Beibians. Worth a listen once or twice but probably wont be on your playlist in 12 months time.

Verdict: 5.5/10

Welcome

Ah, the first blog oh my new blog page. 'Another Aussie Hip Hop Blog' I hear you sigh. NO! This is not The others feed you exactly what the artist and their label want you to hear. Indeed most copy and past direct from the artist website when giving you a "review". You will find no such rubbish here. Reviews will be:
  • Hard hitting
  • Honest
  • Informative
  • Totally my opinion (unless otherwise stated)
  •  
I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much I as I enjoy aussie hip hop.
Pce