[engl] DG’s debut “Fruity Cigars” is a drowsy instrumental hip-hop collaboration featuring West Bay all stars Luke Sick, Frank Marchi and Andres Wade with DJ Eons in the mastermind position. Using primarily live instrumentation and only a few samples for splash of color, Eons has crafted a wholly unique amalgamation of unsettling atmosphere and grimy beats chilled to bone with a creeping darkness that will leave you shivering with the paranoia of your future crumbling around you while the world around you get swallowed in the name of progress. ”Highly” recommended.

[engl] New album from longtime electro-rap duo DDM (Drowning Dog and Malatesta) on double vinyl (12" / 45rpm) including sticker and download code. Berlin-based, made in California rap and producer duo DROWNING DOG AND MALATESTA, in short: DDM, have been creating musical rebellion against the unequal society and, as a cultivating part of the American and European radical rap scene, giving a voice to the people who are never heard since 2005. On May 12th 2023, DDM are back with their new album „Gen Pop“. With this album, DDM again mixes intelligent lyrics with extraordinary soundscapes, which fortunately have nothing in common with the click-bait driven hip hop mainstream, neither in attitude, nor in content, nor in sound. The 14 songs (including some skits and features from south-african hip hop collective SOUNDZ OF THE SOUTH) flow between electronica, hip hop, soul, bass music, country, blues, R&B, punk, funk and more, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but always tight to the point.

[engl] The dynamic duo of Luke Sick (SACRED HOOP, ON TILT, RIME FORCE MOST ILLIN' + million more) and DJ Eons (DANK GOBLINS, SHED DWELLAZ, SPAZZ) are back with the real, the unstoppable, the undefeatable West-Bay-all-day rap album of the year! Fresh for 2020 with a genuine 90's feel. Perfect production by the inimitable DJ Eons here. Some of his finest work. Luke has been rapping his ass off lately and while this year has been a shit heap for most, this dude has managed to make it one of his most prolific and best yet. We are in awe and, more importantly, honored to be a part of the West Bay Coalition's superior musical onslaught. 300 on black vinyl housed in a 24pt reverse board jacket with insert and download card included. Artwork by Dan Lactose and Luke Sick with layout by L-Wood Media. Produced by DJ Eons. Mastered by Dan Randall. Cut by John Golden.

[engl] Hot on the heels of 2021's excellent debut, "Demolition Strictly", Luke Sick and DJ Eons packed a brand new bowl of drowsed out West Bay hip-hop. This time around though they decided to do it the OG way by making all the beats with a PT01 plugged directly into a SP-404 (all beats sequenced in the SP-404 too). Damn! and guess what? *ahem*, the result blows all expectations straight out the tunnel. GI is unstoppable. Limited to 200 pro-printed red shelled cassettes housed in a J-card sleeve inside a clear Norelco box. Recorded and mixed at The Invincible Lab and The Rooftops of Monte Vista by DJ Eons One. Mastered by Dan Randall. Art by Luke Sick, Dan Lactose and L-Wood Media.

[engl] IconAclass is a passion project from MC/producer Will Brooks. Best known as MC dälek, the front person and co-producer in experimental Hip Hop group Dälek. He has explored the left of center/ wall of noise world ala My Bloody Valentine meets Public Enemy on 8 studio albums and numerous collaborations. Their sophomore full length album Changing Culture with Revolvers features MC dälek back on production and Emcee duties, and recruits long time deadverse massive & Labteksmember, Dev-One on vocals as well. The contrast in voice and rhyme style provides the album with a brand new take on hard hitting gritty East Coast Hip Hop. As always, cuts are provided by Mixmaster Motiv. Changing Culture with Revolvers is poised to open eyes and in?ltrate eardrums. Pure hip-hop, hypnotic, heavy beats serve as more than just a backdrop. They focus a spotlight squarely on the lyrics, and iconAclass has a lot on their mind! 12 tracks with a heady blend of lyrics and grimy East Coast Boom-Bap beats skewed through the Deadverse prism.

[engl] The titans meet again in the second collaboration between Toronto's Wolfagram, who is steadily becoming a household name in the production game working with the likes of Falcon Outlaw, God Is War, garbageface... and Luke Sick, the most known unknown and epically prolific rapper from deep West Bay CA. A real west meets east kind of beast that rolls up and smokes neat.

[engl] One of West Bay's finest underground rappers meets beats from Toronto's most promising new producer with a little help from the homies near, far and in-between. Yegg War is a little drugged, a little thugged and criminally smooth.

[engl] After a mind-boggling seven LPs and nine EPs in six years, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you could safely ignore OBNOX’s newest full-length opus Murder Radio. You’d be wrong. Dead wrong. Coming hot on the heels of 2017’s other ‘Nox platter (Niggative Approach courtesy of 12XU), Murder Radio is another deep dive into the humid underground lair that Obnox (aka Lamont ‘Bim’ Thomas) calls home. Along with the usual stacked roster of utility players, Thomas is joined on Murder Radio by steady new drummer Steve Mehlman (of Pere Ubu) and the divebombing, corkscrewing guitar of Chuck Cieslik. Murder Radio finds Obnox pressing their foot down on the metaphorical gas pedal for another trip around the turntable. While kaleidoscopic cuts like “Movimiento” and “The Movement” are an attempt to combine curb-level justice with radical politics, “Woe Is Me” finds Thomas gifting doubters and naysayers a kiss-off to hum to themselves as he leaves them in the dust. Now that’s some devious shit. “I Hate Everything” is yet another stellar example of Thomas’ by-now patented soaring psych-rock gems while “Enter The Hater” focuses the fuzz into a punk attack. Side-closer “Bangaar” comes riding in on a classic hip-hop clip and sounds like a perfect combo of Eric B & Rakim, The Beastie Boys and Stereolab. You read that last name right. It wouldn’t be an Obnox record without an ode to the Great Green God in the Ground and Murder Radio doesn’t disappoint -- Side Two opener “Sun Doobie” will stone you until you become a believer. “Deep” is exactly that, so strap on your miner’s helmet and your finest spelunking gear -- we’re drilling straight thru to the heart of the sun. We recommend saving your shatter purchase for this section of the album. “Boy, you’re in deep…” Thomas drawls thru the smoke. Is that the bong or is the gas leaking? Whatever -- you can get high off the kind of ‘noxious fumes belched forth from sizzling stacks of Murder Radio wax. “Mogul Chokehold” comes correct with another strangely addicting brew of pummeling rhythms and endlessly phased and stacked guitar licks. If this is the new psychedelia, then maybe the streets finally have a chance. Final cut “Cheers” isn’t an ode to that place where everyone knows your name, but it is a syrup-thick groove bomb full of weapons-grade guitar-squall perfect for smashing glasses together. Fans of Puffy Areolas (a group Thomas thumped tubs for) will rejoice. The rest of you will be happy as a pig in shit. Obnox is inclusive like that.

[engl] Just when you thought that the density of his discography couldn’t possibly accrue any more weight, Ever/Never Records drops the latest Obnox magnum opus on your dome like a two-ton wrecking ball. A sprawling double LP, Savage Raygun distills everything Obnox excels at into a potent potable and even adds some new spirits to the concoction. As always, Obnox (aka Lamont Thomas) supplies a heavy brew smoky with an intense flavor and bright with a zest you can’t forget. Obnox’s fourth full-length for Ever/Never, Savage Raygun is twenty songs thick, and each one is primed for maximum damage. This double-shot is a veritable Whitman’s Sampler of multiple methods to slay the discerning listener. Soulful cuts such as “Supernatural” and “Blessed Black Soldier” are like ‘90s R&B turned on its head and spun til it can’t tell down from up. “How To Build A Bum” is a hip-hop slammer, a golden age throwback, a basketball jersey that gives you confidence when you sport it. “Return Fire” utilizes scratchy funk to approximate the aftermath to a shoot-out, blazing towards the state line. “Misery” continues with the ‘70s vibe, sounding like the lull between disco bangers. “Hawkwindian Summer” is more than yet another award-winning pun by Thomas as it cruises by like a Ford Escort blasting psych rock from in-the-red and shredded speakers. “She (Was About That Life)” adds a vintage sheen to Obnox’s trademark lo-fi scorch and throws an extra dollop of swing on top. “Cut Me A Switch” is another hip-hop cut that dumps a mess of noise in Run DMC’s lap and updates both genres for circa now’s paranoid style. “Party Starter” lives up to its title, coming correct with a case of malt liquor and strafing suckas left and right like EPMD. On “Scenicide,” Thomas channels his rage with electric eels-level guitar damage and still manages to float a lovely melody on the chorus -- Kids, try this at home!

[engl] The people say they want the truth. Let’s take them at their word: The People want the Truth. Lamont ‘Bim’ Thomas is the god(damn/’s honest) Truth. We all know the truth isn’t always pretty, and rarely is it fun -- but Thomas makes it sound like the best party you’ve ever been to which you’ve ever been invited. And make no mistake -- everyone is invited. Obnox is soul music for the bruised and battered; feel-good tunes for the righteously pissed-off masses; and a sonic salve for the neglected and ignored.

[engl] Much of modern hip hop has its roots in the adventurous recordings made at Westbound in the early to mid-70s. “Super Breaks” pays homage to some of their greatest sampled tracks. Available on CD and 2LP formats. It’s one of those “Why didn’t we do this before”-type compilations. “Super Breaks” has been a successful series for nearly 20 years and Ace’s relationship with Detroit’s Westbound Records goes back even further. Add the fact that on a per-record-released basis Westbound is probably the most sampled label ever, then we’ve probably missed a trick. But with Westbound celebrating its 50th anniversary, maybe there couldn’t be a better time than now after all. Meet Westbound’s irrepressible owner Armen Boladian today and you can still sense the deal-making businessman who had made his way in the difficult world of independent record distribution before going on to open his own label. It was that streak of independence that created such a distinctive label – one that could score a string of hits, yet also provide a home for the resolutely un-commercial ravings of George Clinton’s Funkadelic project. It is of course Funkadelic who provided the impetus for Westbound recordings to become so sampled in the hip hop world, and we feature three prime moments on the compilation: ‘I Wanna Know If It’s Good To You?’,‘You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks’ and the drum-laden ‘I’ll Bet You’, as well as the Magictones’ cover of the group’s ‘Good Old Music’, which George Clinton produced. The other key creator of sample-able records was Junie Morrison, first in the Ohio Players and then with his solo recordings. His ‘Suzie Thundertussy’ was recently sampled by Kanye West, whilst his keyboard line in ‘Funky Worm’ has been used time and time again. The drums from Fuzzy Haskins’ ‘The Fuz And Da Boog’ have also been sampled multiple times. The Detroit Emeralds’ hits proved fertile ground when ‘Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)’ and ‘You’re Gettin’ A Little Too Smart’ were used by De La Soul and their producer Prince Paul on their seminal album “3 Feet High And Rising” Listening to this compilation, what really strikes you is the variety of tracks that have been sampled: from the funky jazz of Caesar Frazier whose ‘Funk It Down’ was sampled by Gang Starr on ‘Next Girl To Ex-Girl’ to the sweet soul of the Fantastic Four’s ‘Mixed Up Moods And Attitudes’. Perhaps most aptly of all was when DJs picked up on the Fantastic Four’s ‘Disco Pool Blues’ and sampled it on house records and mixes – the song is all about club jocks searching for the perfect sound.