The Flaming Lips latest LP expertly crafts sonic psychedelia, detailing pastime youth, family, drugs, and death, but in the present year, does anybody care? American Head Album Review

The Flaming Lips - American Head Review

For a band as determined to explore all of the inner space that can possibly be explored, The Flaming Lips have done it yet again, but for all the sadness they seem to drudge up from either the past or their own lingering thoughts, there doesn't seem to be much new ground to be made. 

Banditfide - Banditfide Album Review

Banditfide - Banditfide Review

Tryna Get It Entertainment presents Banditfide Sh*t, the latest LP from Pittsburgh hip-hop group, Banditfide, which stars D Tha Don, Ruzee Ru Sbz, and Queenie Moët.

The debut album is a promise of greatness and unending drive that doesn't pull any punches, and while each member has their own careers ahead of them, Banditfide Sh*t displays strength and prominence of the Pittsburgh trio as they come together.

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together & Ghosts VI: Locusts Album Reviews

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts Reviews

Just over 12 years since the debut of the instrumental, ambient, and cinematic soundscape series Ghosts I-IV, seasoned film and television composer duo, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, aka Nine Inch Nails, release their surprise twin albums Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts, to help aid an ailing world in the midst of a global pandemic crisis.

Tricknotic Debuts Make A Move EP During The Beast To Blessed Tour

Tricknotic - Make A Move Review

Rhode Island-based producer/emcee, Tricknotic releases his highly anticipated debut project titled Make A Move. The 8-track EP is now available for streaming, with a selection of tracks to be performed during The Beast To Blessed Tour (which kicked off in Brooklyn, NY last night and hits Valley Stream, NY tonight).

BeanieDon - Not The Usual Album Review and Upcoming Tour

BeanieDon - Not The Usual Review

Our other headlining act for the Beast To Blessed Tour (which kicks off TONIGHT in Brooklyn, NY!) is the multi-faceted and soulful hip-hop artist, BeanieDon!

Hailing from Stratford, Connecticut, BeanieDon is currently on tour in support of his few upcoming singles as well as his last LP, Not The Usual, which was released in May of 2019. For any listeners who are just getting to know him, it's important to understand just how deep, spiritual, and forward-thinking Beanie is. Available on all streaming platforms, Not The Usual is an example of passion and art coalesced and manifested into one singular vision.

Beyond Top Secret Interview & Last Train To Hollywood Review

Beyond Top Secret Interview and Last Train To Hollywood Review

Allll aboard!!! 

New England hip-hop group Beyond Top Secret release their latest full-length album, Last Train To Hollywood, in concert with their East and West coast headlining tour!!

Dropping March 6 and currently up for preorder, New England hip-hop group Beyond Top Secret are in their prime with their third full-length release, Last Train To Hollywood, a super mix of multi-genre beats and strong-as-steel lyrics that will put a chokehold on any haters who get in the way.

DJ Nihilist - Outer World Bounce and Dubstep Singles Galore

DJ Nihilist Singles Reviews

From our interview with DJ Nihilist, it's no question that he is going to have great things lying in wait for him. The first and most notable of those is his most recent release, Outer World Bounce! 

Outer World Bounce

B. Dvine - Times Have Changed EP Review

B. Dvine - Times Have Changed Review

As our interview with B. Dvine makes light of a lot of things going on in this Long Island producer/emcee's life, so too does his latest release, the self-produced, ever-changing, and forever-growing Times Have Changed EP.

The Professionals - The Professionals Review

The Professionals - Self Titled Review

As far as collaborations go, it was only a matter of time before the world heard of The Professionals, the new duo formulated by prolific and eclectic hip-hop producer Madlib and his brother, producer/emcee Oh No.

Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By Review

Marshall Mathers is in the unique position of reaching legendary status at a young age over 20 years ago. Since then, he has faced a tougher uphill battle to stay relevant and top himself more than any other artist today, and subsequently, receives more criticism for any release that is anything less than brilliant or extraordinary. His anger hasn't changed, and his subject matter might feel stale, but his fire wit, lyrical spit, and storytelling remain as jaw-dropping, and arguably, sharper than ever before with his second surprise album in two years, Music To Be Murdered By.

Cuban Pete - 5 Pointz EP Review

Cuban Pete - 5 Pointz Review

Cuban Pete, our resident U.K. emcee, is back with Wu affiliated producer, Falling Down, with the graffiti-themed 5 Pointz EP! 

As we've come to know Cuban Pete from our interview last year, his passions include graffiti art, since he is also a visual artist with his company C75 Live. It's no wonder that 5 Pointz (named after the now torn down New York mural space) would feature 5 specifically designed tracks tailored and named after 5 different legends in the world of graffiti art.

Nary Da Producer - The Chill Out Volume I Review

Following our at-length interview with Pittsburgh hip-hop beat maker Nary Da Producer, there's a lot to unpack. Whether it's his most recent productions, such as Cuban Pete's single Nothin's Gonna Stop Me, or his fulfillment of a childhood dream in producing four cuts for a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate, on Solomon Child's 2019 album Wu-Tang BBQ, Nary is hitting the bars of his MPC hard, and now, swerving in just in time for the holidaze is Nary Da Producer's first in a themed series of beat tapes, The Chill Out Volume I!

DJ Shadow - Our Pathetic Age Review

Just over a month from the end of a decade, there's been more change in the Internet age than ever before. As the rise in social media, influencers, and connectivity continues to grow, so too do the anxieties, concerns, and questions that our artificial and intelligent world continues to pose. There's a lot to be concerned over, but there's still room for hope. If there was ever an album to sum up what's happened to us globally in the past ten years, then it is DJ Shadow's latest full-length album, Our Pathetic Age, an affecting and universal double LP that features genre-bending electronica, hip-hop, and heart.

Bill Laswell - Smoke + Glass & Realm of Spells Review

Bill Laswell - Smoke + Glass and Realm Of Spells Review

Having significant involvement in the creation and release in over 100 albums since the early 80s, the breadth of musical discography that bassist, producer, and record label owner, Bill Laswell has accumulated is enough to overwhelm the senses and make your head spin. Still, Laswell, an undeniable influence in the genres of world, jazz, and dub, does it again with dual collaborative releases in 2019, Smoke + Glass (with Alex Haas), and Realm of Spells (with Jah Wobble).

Thomas Coppola - Cold Cuts Review

Showing that he will not let up or get Dusty (released in May), Thomas Coppola's latest album, Cold Cuts, is a supremely firey lesson in lyrics and beats, as Thomas shines yet again with each and every one of these hip-hop cuts.

Jenny Hval - The Practice Of Love Review

Ever since Jenny Hval's critical and commercial breakthrough, Apocalypse, Girl in 2015, I was hooked to her music. Through the years I had grown to love the style of music from European countries such as Iceland's post-rock band Sigur Rós or Sweden's electronic duo, The Knife and later Fever Ray, but when I found Jenny Hval's music, I felt like I had found my favorite version of this kind of European singer-songwriter, since she contains the fabulous avant-garde sensibilities of Icelandic artist  Björk (who I was never much a fan of), while maintaining the elegant synth-pop style of an artist such as Fever Ray. As she blended the two seamlessly, she grew into her own, and I was already late to the party as Apocalypse, Girl was already her 4th album as Jenny and 6th overall! She continued in 2016 with her atmospheric, concept album, Blood Bitch (a masterwork in my opinion which will be covered in my Masterpiece series at a later date), a meditative EP in 2018 called The Long Sleep, and now her latest album in 2019, The Practice of Love.

Masterpiece Crate 3: Tool - Fear Inoculum

Tool - Fear Inoculum Analysis and Review

It is rare that I pass down perfect scores on albums, but when I do, it is entirely earned by the artists through pure ingenuity, vision, cohesion between members, and production value. Tool is one of those bands, and 2019’s Fear Inoculum is one of those albums. This review also serves as my masterpiece series entry number 50, as it fits chronologically after my 49th listed album that I still have to write about, and at the same time shifts my sequential writing order significantly since I have only written a couple of articles in this series thus far (my next article will be about the Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral). My masterpiece crate series will occasionally grow beyond the big 5 0 and my original 49 album collage in my introductory article, but for all intents and purposes, this needs to be done to keep up with the release dates of current albums which give rise to this rare occasion.

Various Artists - The Music Of Red Dead Redemption II: (Original Score) Review

Just as video game developer Rockstar promised, the original score to their engrossing cowboy western game, Red Dead Redemption II released August 9th, and just as their pedigree for cinematic and Oscar-worthy storytelling captured the hearts and minds of fans across the world, so too does their original score for the game itself.

Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind Review

A long heavy metal career keeps careening forward, despite the loss of longtime members on Slipknot's 6th studio album We Are Not Your Kind. Having lost their third original member of the 9 since the inception, Slipknot hasn't found a reason to end their reign on the heavy metal genre, and instead, sound as strong as they ever have, despite hitting some of the same notes of their previous releases.

Cuban Pete - The Standout Review

The Standout is the latest mixtape release from C75 Live, hosted by Krumb Snatcha and featuring UK emcee Cuban Pete throughout its sprawling 16 tracks. As if independent hip-hop wasn’t raw enough, true fans and hip-hop heads may rejoice: this release has everything, with multiple servings of professionally rolled hip-hop joints combined with a multitude of vocal talents to make Cuban Pete's The Standout a decorated and glistening collaborative effort.

The album's opener is a sharp cutting signal to all the freeriders in the industry who are trying to be something they're not to sit down and take notes, as Cuban Pete and company school the wannabes to a lurid, hard-hitting B. Dvine beat. It's a tough and head-banging opening to an album full of surprises. The album doesn't let listeners off easy either, as Altered Beasts contains a spinning and scratching frenzy that kick-starts the Cuban Pete led militant track. The beat is seductive, like most the production featured throughout, and it has a cool demeanor and flow by Cuban as well as Bobby Fuego and Chief Rocka. Supa Cypha is the first of several stacked posse tracks and speaks volumes as multiple accomplished emcees pass the baton without ever dropping it. It's a seamless track that is tough on weak minds and packs on the aggressiveness. As the track fades, Krumb Snatcha takes a moment to shout out Cuban Pete before None of Y'all Better, a mixtape track by B. Dvine, and a previous entry in Dvine's Process of Illumination mixtape released in February. Its dark fantasy vibe embedded in the beat with Dvine's, Odd Thomas's, and Cuban Pete's verses set to remind wannabe rappers that they can't match their pedigree.

Project Wars is the next track, an epic 8 minute cut with 20 emcees, including but not limited to Solomon Childs, Karnage, Menace OBEZ, Ju Muny, Dasunofsam, and Young Dirty Bastard, and it flexes its muscle over the assaulting beat. Respect Mine breaks the chain of tracks that have defined The Standout mixtape thus far with an old-school feel-good vibe while City Pulse takes a transportive, almost Cannibal Ox-like turn with a funky siren-fueled swagger and smoothes out the rough cuts of The Standout's previous onslaught. Iron Winds pulls up and let's loose in this one, which leads right into a B. Dvine remix track by DJ Modesty, Dominate Breakloops, as he produces and cuts on it. It's the same team of rappers from None of Y'all Better, and the three prove their solid chemistry here. Whatever makes another funky beat altercation to listeners' ear drums and Jokers Wild gets dangerous with chilling Heath Ledger Joker samples. Ju Muny takes over with the old-school banging Heart Pain, giving a horrorcore, Gravediggaz-like vibe. Cuban Pete and Mavz also bring the heat.

Feelin So Good cuts in with yet another hip-hop stylistic choice, rocking a smooth R&B hook, and Turned On Me focusing on the hard feelings and truths that come out of betrayal. Workin' puts an asterisk on the grind that Cuban Pete's been putting in, as The Standout and C75 Live are living examples of his hard work and dedication up until this point. Tower Rich, another track released on The Process of Illumination under the alternate name Doing Me, opens with B. Dvine's verse, with CB and Cuban Pete dropping supporting lines about staying in their own lane and finding success within their own channels. The mixtape ends with the Mavz produced beat for Ju Muny's Immortal Kombat, featuring a final 11 emcee lineup. All rappers get a precious number of bars to kill the beat, and their energy is full of fire and gives The Standout a prestigious climax.

Cuban Pete's latest mixtape is a star-studded and polished example of what hip-hop can do, both musically and lyrically. It's a mixtape that is worth the repeated playthroughs and gives listeners all kinds of melodies and verses to chew on. Its cast of guests and producers elevate The Standout to a high level of hip-hop stardom, and The Standout does exactly what it's named to do.

The Standout is now available on C75 Live's Bandcamp. C75 Live is another great place to get the latest news and media for everything Cuban Pete related!

The Standout - 9.5/10

Recommended Tracks: Altered Beats, Whatever, Turned On Me

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