Never A Dull Moment

Willie the Kid is an emcee from Michigan that has been gaining a strong following over the last few years. Known for gritty raps about street life and complex metaphors and slang, he often shines on albums and features. He has been releasing a constant stream of material and it has been received to high acclaim. I personally don’t think he is a great as the general public does, but even still, he is a solid emcee with some good songs. He released a few albums last year and put out a solid offering this year, The Living Daylights produced by Bronze Nazareth. I’d like to focus on an album he put out in 2010 though, Never a Dull Moment produced by Lee Bannon.

As I stated above, I don’t necessarily think Willie the Kid is all that special; but putting him over Lee Bannon beats sounds genius to me. I’ve listened to almost all of WTK’s projects and he has never sounded better than on Bannon’s production. Bannon provides gritty backdrops filled with his signature beat chopping style, and obscure samples. Check out some of my favorite tracks below.

 

Cop the album here

Cool World

I covered Chuuwee in this post a little while ago but he just put out his first “official” release, Cool World which is a ten track EP. His previous releases have pretty much been mixtapes so this is a step in the right direction, and he’s claiming it’s a precursor to his long overdue debut album 3rd Coastin.

In Cool World Chuuwee sticks to the formula that has made him successful; golden era raps dripping with west coast flavor. He gets beats from a variety of underground producers and lays down great, smooth lyrics on each. My favorite track is Cool Grove while Propose a Toast is a very different and imaginative song for the emcee. Chuuwee uses the concept from the 1992 movie Cool World starring Brad Pitt, that the world is filled with fake cartoons. Chuuwee proclaims he is the only genuine one in the cool world and delivers a solid album to prove it. Check some of out below and keep lookin out for this talented young rapper.

Cop the album here Chuuwee

Clear Blue Skies

Clear Blue Skies by the Juggaknots is widely considered a modern day classic to those into underground hip hop. Originally released on vinyl with 10 tracks in 1996, it was also re-released in 2003 with additional tracks.

The Juggaknots are four siblings from New York, with Breeze Brewin’ being the most notable member of the group. Clear Blue Skies cemented him as an elite lyricist with deep subject matter, clever lyrics, and rhythmic patterns that make you rewind to catch everything that was said. The album is filled with songs about racism, devilish behavior, sex, government corruption, and straight up battle raps in which the emcees decimate wannabe rappers with dope punchlines.

The Juggaknots have released more material since Clear Blue Skies but none of it can hold a candle to their original release. Breeze Brewin’ pops up every now and then on a feature or a producer compilation, but fans are always clamoring for more from the talented emcee. Hopefully he’ll bless us with a solo album or even another Juggaknots LP, but until then enjoy some of the standout tracks from their stellar debut.

Physical formats have been out of print for awhile but cop the digital version here Clear Blue Skies