Inumoto - Tsukasa EP EP review
This EP was digitally released in 2009 on Tsukasa Records. Tsukasa Records is a record company from Tokyo, Japan that is focused mainly on mashup electronic music. The record label is named off of the otaku anime Lucky Star character Tsukasa Hiiragi. Inumoto has an obsession with Tsukasa Hiiragi of Lucky Star as does Tsukasa Records hence the name. Most of the artists do have an obsession based on Tsukasa. Inumoto is the brains behind Tsukasa Records along with 5 other people. Hypo77 being one of them on Tsukasa Records (柊つかさ Records) as well as Inumoto (瓊瓊元).
The album cover is the face of purple haired schoolgirl Tsukasa Hiragii, a character from the Japanese otaku anime Lucky Star which is an international sensation. Her trademark signature is her yellow ribbon bow which is also the logo for Tsukasa Records. Tsukasa is often seen in her serafuku. She is a second year student in high school. The album cover is quite abstract. Surprisingly the record label has not run into any copyright and trademark issues of the name or usage of the Lucky Star character Tsukasa Hiiragi. I don't know why. Gotta love that doujinshi culture!
The Kokode is very dub step and minimal like IDM. Think Dance Dance Revolution. It's about 5 minutes long. Possibly even longer. The Neni Gede Remix by Novotex is superb! So is the dub. Think grindcore and mashup as well as mashcore. Even though most songs by the label are 3 minutes, the remixes and dubs are quite long. Tsukasa Records strays away from J-Pop and from the Top Japan Charts.
*Serafuku means sailor outfit in Japanese which is often referred to as a school uniform in many of Japan's school whether it be private school or public school. A lot of schools in Japan use serafuku as school uniforms.
*Sailor outfit is her school uniform in the anime and manga.
4/5****
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NY Junkies - the inconsumable Tsukasa EP EP review
This EP was released on Tsukasa Records in 2011. This EP is about 8 tracks. Inumoto (瓊瓊元) did the visual graphics for the artwork on the album cover as usual. Tsukasa Hiiragi is seen in her serafuku on the album cover holding her trademark balsamic vinegar with her right hand. To me the album covers very abstract and ambient as all the others are. The mood for the EP is very ambient. Electro glitch sound bits are played over the acid sound with the IDM. This one has more of an experimental sound to it.
かくかくかくさんさんさん (TsukaTsukaTsukasasansansan) is definitely indeed a very repetitive song. Sometimes referred to as Tsuka Tsuka Tsukasa-san san san. It's about four minutes long. Similar to the Lucky Star intro and Hana Yori Dango intro.The Mirror Pray track and Tsukasa Festival are both off the hook! So was the NY Junkies Mix even though it wasn't a mashup.
*Serafuku means sailor outfit in Japanese which is often referred to as a school uniform in many of Japan's school whether it be private school or public school. A lot of schools in Japan use serafuku as school uniforms.
*Sailor outfit is her school uniform in the anime and manga.
4/5****!
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Quills - The Spirit Level album review
Feathers and Tar is quite a mellow soft rock song. I was expecting Feathers and Tar to be a hard rock/heavy metal song filled with hardcore rock with hard hitting bradaggio. I was not expecting Feathers and Tar to be a mellow soft rock song. Nevertheless, Feathers and Tar proves to be a great slow soft mellow song played on by a Folk guitar heavily used in Folk music. When you The song itself will stick to you like feathers and glue.
Lost In The Crowd is about finding yourself about where you are in society and social groups. It's also about conforming to society's standards. Lost In The Crowd is an isolated desolate song. The crickets in the background add to an eerie effect. A Baroque harpsichord that is prevalent in English Folk Opera is used in this song.
Cocaine Nights is an unusual weird quirky tune. The brooding guitar notes playing fit in perfectly with this longish tune. Cocaine Nights deals with the abusive use of cocaine along harmful chemically unbalanced drugs. In other words, Cocaine Nights deals with the topic of drug abuse. We need an acoustic song like this during this day and time because there are not enough songs out there in the masses that deal with drug abuse and can relate to the crowd masses.
Statues is a smooth timid folk song. The reverb mixes within the echo background. To me, Statues was a good title for an instrumental track. If Statues was an instrumental track, it would have been a lot better. However I do think that Statues is an ideal track for an instrumental song.
The Spirit Level album is a complex masterpiece of work that truly somewhat stands out in music. Most of this album is filled with lovely melodies.
*Quills is a songwriter from Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom.
*Quills - The Spirit Level was released in 2015.
4/5****!!
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George Michael - Symphonica album review
Symphonica was the last classic masterpiece of an album from former British pop sensation George Michael of Wham! that was released on EMI in 2016. Surprisingly this is the only live album from George Michael. Most songs on this live album are cover songs however. The Symphonica live album had sold 50,000 units in a time span of a one week period debuting at #1 on the UK Album Charts on BillBoard. The fact that the string arrangements was recorded in a studio do not accommodate this live album to have a live feel. A 10 year gap between albums did not help popularize the Symphonica live album for George Michael.
New recordings You've Changed, Through, and I Remember You are new material for this George Michael live album. I Remember You was a digital download exclusively for the Symphonica album on Amazon MP3. Only two tracks were exclusively for Amazon MP3 despite not being intended to be a digital album.
Through is a new live song written by George Michael. Although Through was written in 2004, George Michael helps the song Through a fresh new pop sound with his powerful singing and vocals. So his powerful singing and vocals genuinely help Through standout powerfully. Through was a perfect original pop song for 2004 with originality. George Michael is known for his originality. The song Through is no exception or exemption to this matter.
Most music critics gave this album an average rating of 3/5*** stars. Regardless of how the Symphonica album was panned by music critics and long time hardcore George Michael fans the album was a mile to average success for a live album. Having live versions of cover songs will not always guarantee a live album will be successful as that is not always the case. George Michael could have chosen new material for his live album as sometimes new material for live albums proves to be better in results. Not much new material except for I Remember You and Through were included on the album.
4/5****.
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Lil Sin - BIYO album review
BIYO by Lil Sin (Ronnie Warner Jr.) is his most biographical album to date out of all the Lil Sin/Young Namar albums released in from his music catalog. Lil Sin gets autobiographical on this album of his. Most tracks on this album are related to the biography and life of Ronald Warner, Jr. bka Lil Sin. That is the reason why an attributed sentimental feel can be felt when listening to this album. His feelings on this album are both emotional and sentimental with a sense of pride. A sense of pride is what Lil Sin truly has. His vocals in his raps are loud and powerful.
What is different about this Lil Sin album is that the tracks are not separated into separate tracks but instead the whole album is played on one continuous track. BIYO album has 17 tracks. The duration is within 41 minutes to an hour (1 hour). BIYO is a Lil Sin solo album with no features.
Only 200 copies of the BIYO album on CD exist. This album along with his Young Namar albums were released locally in the city of San Antonio, Texas in 2006. BIYO was released on his independent label SoufField and PRC Recordings. BIYO was also released on his MySpace page back when MySpace was the popular “in thing” via Snocap when both MySpace and Snocap were still active. His entire discography was released through Snocap online along with his BLVD Records albums from the 1990s.
*[BIYO is slang for biography.]
*[Ronnie Warner Jr. is Ronald Warner, Jr. bka to you all as Lil Sin.]
5/5*****!
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SIC ILL - EPIDEMIC (demo) album review
EPIDEMIC is a similar album in the vein of the recent Jay-Z - 4:44 as Seattle, Washington rapper SIC ILL describes himself. EPIDEMIC is another new nerdcore rap album of his for August 2017. SIC ILL seems to be going in a different direction for this album. This time, however, SIC ILL's girlfriend Veronica Adaro produced the entire album and is featured on Fantastico. The EPIDEMIC album will be SIC ILL's 2nd major release from Fahrenheit Records of first Degree The DE fame and Brotha Lynch Hung fame.
The beginning of How I'm Living has a very powerful jazzy vibe. A touch of jazz can be felt at the beginning of the track. SIC ILL experiments with jazz rap in How I'm Living. How I'm Living is upbeat within terms of similarity to upbeat jazz. The beats and percussion ensemble are what gives How I'm Living an upbeat jazz vibe. Although in this case the beats are what give How I'm Living an upbeat jazz vibe relatively speaking. The beats are not too fast. Furthermore, the beats are perfect.
SIC ILL tells us, the audience, how he's living in 2017. He is not living the glorious lifestyle of the rich and famous. No flashy cars or none of that. Or living with immaterial things. Materialism is not a priority of his. SIC ILL is just living his life and keeping it real for 2017.
Tippy has a new school rap vibe and feel for the most part. Take notice of the mumble rap for example in an instance. SIC ILL sounds very much like a mixture of Rick Ross and Rich Homie Quan on Tippy. For the most part, SIC ILL sounds like Rick Ross on this track.
SIC ILL's girlfriend (Veronica Adaro) was featured on Fantastico in the intro and chorus not to mention hooks. Not only is Veronica featured on Fantastico, she produced Fantastico! She put in a lot of hard work and effort into producing Fantastico in terms of production. Having her work featured on this album was a wonderful idea. Fantastico was great.
Zeus welcomes us with a heavy hitting barrage of percussion with a dark sound. Zeus is something very similar to what you would hear from Esham. The beats are fire as SIC ILL himself put it. Overall Zeus has a dark underground sound quite similar to underground rap.
Did I leave your mind? is a Michael Jackson inspired rap song by SIC ILL hence the Michael Jackson sample used all over the place in this song. SIC ILL wonders if he did leave your mind when he was gone. The song has a touch of pop flair and old school soul. The beats are fire!
Heardugot is offbeat humor with a touch of nerdcore rap. Some of the instrumentation is offbeat and off key. Heardugot is the weakest track off the EPIDEMIC album.
Sun welcomes us with a refreshing piano solo for an opening. The piano solo was a brilliant way to open the track Sun. Sun has a fresh new sound in song formation. Overall the fresh beats help give off a fresh new sound for Sun. Overall the beats are fire!
Jacuzzi is another jazz rap track with a jazzy vibe similar to How I'm Living at the very beginning of the EPIDEMIC album. However Jacuzzi is not upbeat as How I'm Living was. Upright bass playing gives Jacuzzi a slow mellow feel and vibe. Some of the instrumentation is offbeat. However the beats are upbeat which ironic since a slow jazz sample is used for Jacuzzi.
Bass is hard and heavy hitting leaving an everlasting impact in your ears on Naked Mole Rat. The bass will leave a long everlasting impact inside your ears. Naked Mole Rat is about how love is a battlefield.
*[SIC ILL is known for his Sonic The Hedgehog parody raps featured on WorldStarHipHop and YouTube with the music video Labyrinth Zone Act 1 with nearly 140,000 real views!!]
*[Fahrenheit Records label head is First Degree The DE from Brotha Lynch Hung - Loaded fame.]
5/5*****!!
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L-Dog - My Struggle album review
San Antonio rapper L-Dog gets intuitive and very deep on this album as he deals with the problems with the struggle in his life. His life is not without struggle. He vents out his frustration about life on this album of his. His hustle is his struggle. The My Struggle album from 2001 is mirrors similarities to his 2003 album Da World Iz Yourz album. (2001 was a good year even though the music industry wad going to a digital download market.) Anyway, the producers on this album are L-Dog, donron, and Big Boi. donron is the main producer. L-Dog and donron are OGs from SA. L-Dog is a rapper from San Antonio, Texas who has been in the game since 2000.
The verse “Holla! Holla! I need change 4 a dolla” is what makes the song Change 4 a Dolla a memorable song that sticks in your mind for a lifetime. It’s one of those songs that will stick inside your head for an eternity. Change 4 a Dolla mainly deals with poverty. Poverty can be considered a struggle of life. L-Dog raps about how he is loosing composure and sanity because of the cycle of poverty he is caught up in.
The verses below are what make the song Change 4 a Dolla a memorable song that sticks inside your mind for a lifetime for all eternity.
Holla!
Holla!
I need change 4 a dolla
L-Dog vents out his frustration about life on My Struggle. L-Dog gets intuitive and deep on My Struggle. There are many issues and variables that lead to the struggle in his life. Such as poverty, drugs, abuse, violence, drama, murder, death, and all other related elements in this game we call life.
He Had It Comen had a powerful angry negative mood found in thug rap. He Had It Comen is similar to thug rap and gangsta rap. L-Dog tells us “Don’t believe the hype!” on this track. The track itself comes with such aggression due to its negative mood.
Make Me Feel Good is one of them sex songs that will make you feel good some type of way in a sexual manner. L-Dog just wants a woman beside him so she can make L-Dog feel good. He wants to feel good. No matter what some type of way. Make Me Feel Good is quite similar to Sexual Healin’. L-Dog experiments with sexual raps (sex rap) on Make Me Feel Good.
Up and Down deals with life’s struggles. L-Dog gets deep and intuitive on Our Future. Thangs Ain’t The Same deals with changes in life. Grooven 2 Dis is a dance song.
This album definitely went under the radar! It's a shame it did. Get this album if you haven't! L-Dog has material that everyone can relate to.
4/5****!!
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L-Dog - The Sad Truth album review
San Antonio rapper L-Dog gets intuitive and very deep on this album about dealing with the sad realities and sad truth of life. The album has a mood of sadness. He deals with the problems in the form of rap music. The presence and lyrical delivery on this album are outstanding.
The Sad Truth is the first album from San Antonio rapper L-Dog. In fact, The Sad Truth is the debut album from L-Dog that was released on his independent label Do-Moe Records in the year 2000 that came out in CD format as all his other albums did.
The producers on this album are L-Dog and donron. donron is the main producer. donron produced a majority of the album as he did with all the other L-Dog albums as donor (donron210) is and was the in-house producer for Do-Moe Records. donron is an OG from San Antonio. L-Dog is a rapper from San Antonio, Texas who has been in the game since 2000 and is & was an OG.
Domestic Situations deals with domestic violence. There is a violent theme present here hence the track title and elements of violence. Details do get graphic, gruesome, and gory in nature. References to murder are made. He also deals with the struggle in his life. His life is not without struggle. He vents out his frustration about violence in his life. Overall Domestic Situations with violence. The suspense and drama get very deep.
L-Dog and producer donron experiment with the chopped and screwed sub-genre in rap music popularized by DJ Screw and DJ Michael “5000” Watts on Slow Motion. Slow Motion is a screwed track. All screw heads will enjoy this track. Slow Motion stands out from the rest of The Sad Truth album.
L-Dog takes us down memory as he reminisces about his past on Remanissen. donron is the one singing the hook.: “where did all the love go?” His voice however has a low tone as the situation appears that L-Dog is taking a smoke break through Remanissen track. Both L-Dog and donron wonder where did all the love go on Remanissen. Remanissen samples Black Reign - Jus' A Grain Of Tha Same Cocaine. Notice the sad piano playing in the chorus.
Da Suspence has a theme of suspense. The mood is foreboding. The suspense and drama get very deep very quickly on Da Suspence hence the theme of suspense. Overall such suspense is very rigid. An element of violence and drama are added to the mix of Da Suspence.
Take notice of the high treble setting that is used on Don’t Stop. Don’t Stop stands out from the rest of The Sad Truth album by using high treble. The high treble echoing through the chorus. It don’t stop because L-Dog is trying to get to the top.
Bounce is a bonus track that was produced by L-Dog and donron. Although it was donor that mainly produced Bounce. L-Dog has an eccentric tone in his trembling vocals on the Bounce track. Lyrics are in such sync with his high tone. Clearly Bounce is a duo cut.
There are differences between the 2 versions of The Sad Truth albums. The between The Sad Truth and Da Sad Truth is the artwork and graphic design. Now both editions were designed by Geto Grafix. The L-Dog – Da Sad Truth album has the catalogue label ending in 00002. The L Dog – Da Sad Truth album has two lions on the front cover and the L-Dog – Da Sad Truth album’s front cover does not. Front cover for the L-Dog – Da Sad Truth album has L-Dog standing in yellow sportswear behind a white backdrop. L-Dog – The Sad Truth album has the catalogue label ending in 09356. There is a difference in artwork for the 2 versions of The Sad Truth albums.
This album (The Sad Truth), My Struggle, Da World Iz Yourz, and Street Therapy are his realest albums to date. Don’t get me wrong. The Sad Truth is his realest album to date. In fact, The Sad Truth and My Struggle are his realist albums to date. The Sad Truth album mirrors similarities his 2001 album My Struggle. This album definitely went under the radar! It's a shame it did. Get this album if you haven't! L-Dog has material that everyone can relate to.
5/5*****!!
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Rah Digga - Dirty Harriet Sampler album review
Tight is a track that is a crossover of genres. Rah Digga proves that she can improve herself in her lyrical skills here. Rah Digga proves to display a wide seamless array of colorful metaphors in a loop on Tight. Richard Evans co-wrote the track Tight with Rah Digga. This version of Tight is “Tight (Full Length Version)”.
Straight Spittin is a Rah Digga lyrical rap freestyle. Lyrical rap meets freestyle rap on Straight Spittin. However this version is only a minute long snippet. She holds a no holds barred attitude on Straight Spittin.
The Interview With Angie Martinez is included on the Dirty Harriet Sampler. Angie Martinez does a good job at being a professional interviewer, DJ, and radio host on this album sampler as she has been on many other album samplers she has hosted and co-hosted over the years. Her interviewing skills are phenomenal as she keeps a professional attitude. Angie Martinez keeps a professional attitude during the interview. She doesn’t hold back or hesitate to ask any questions. There are no sudden pauses in her voice during this interview. Interview With Angie Martinez lasts a duration time of 13 minutes and 38 seconds being 13:38.
*PRCD 1382-2 is the catalog code for Rah Digga - Dirty Harriet Sampler.
*Angie Martinez hosted this album sampler.
5/5*****!
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Rah Digga - Everything is a Story album review
Her sophomore album Everything Is A Story was to be released on the J Records label in 2004, but was that album was not released as an official release due to the fact that many tracks from the album were somehow leaked onto the internet. The album that had leaked onto the internet had 23 tracks of unreleased material. 2010 is when Rah Digga released her own version of her Everything Is A Story album on the Raw Koncept label from Virginia in the US. The album leak was why Everything Is A Story never saw an official release.
Party & Bull**** is the best song off the Everything is a Story album! It’s one of those club records with a catchy beat. Just Blaze produced Party & Bull**** where that deadly female MC is spitting fire. Rah Digga fans can agree that Party & Bull**** is the best song on the album. Overall, Party & Bull**** is a decent club track from the jiggy movement during the 1997-2001 era.
Street People is a track that has a more urban feel rather than a hip hop edge. Street People features wack rapper Young Zee and Joe Budden. Street People is a decent club track. The Way We Are is a decent track.
Rah Digga makes a remarkable comeback with I'm Coming Back. She holds a no holds barred attitude on I'm Coming Back. The deadly female MC is spitting fire here! I'm Coming Back is where things start to transcend and pick up in terms of quality. Beats match the quality production. It’s not the same crap the rappers were spitting before.
4/5****
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