Cinco pressed his Dancing With My Demons EP yesterday (January 25, 2016). The Jon Bellion-enthusiast has a poppier sound than the rest of the Milwaukee scene, although the “Gotham” joint kinda goes. Check back soon for my thoughts on the self-proclaimed “recording artist, producer, and all-around entertainer.”
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Ar Wesley took the gloves off. He’s been going with a “Midwest Coastin” style for a while. These stories are for the kids, though. The Rebel Nxtion artist, who was a part of the “Youth Rule Benefit Concert” in November, speaks a truth that we can all learn from on the Time Is Millmatic EP.
The rapper-singer hits a few different flows on “Here iGO”. He works seamlessly with Mike Regal too, coming with a spit-in-ya-face energy at first, and then switching it up to a Bone Thugs type bridge over the mechanical instrumental. Von bodied his verse too.
Ar Wesley slows it down on the haunting Hakeem Paragon-production, saying “What you thought, that I wouldn’t have nothing to say, cause I don’t PMS on Twitter like a bitch every day?” Damnnnnn
The emcee features Reggie Bonds on the final record – a “Knock The Hustle” remix they’re calling “No Happy Endings”. Both emcees have been cooking up quality music but this record really ties together their purpose – to improve the lives of those in their community. A middle finger to anyone that doesn’t support that.
Reggie:
“Drowning in shame, watching tears get lost in the rain
Seeing dad beating my mother, filled my heart with this rage
It’s deep, with this pen, I draw back and shoot the world with this anger
Niggas keep saying, ‘bro you gotta just take it’
What would you do?
When momma is piss poor but still laughing
Or your niece is sex educated but failed Spanish”
Ar:
“I gave you dope for the pain, now I present the cure
Plus 30 keys more, if ya down with that
A role model wouldn’t even come around with that
And I got the nerve to try to serve it out to the youth
Right now it’s only a point, I’ll take you down to the root
Every boss take a loss, I’ll show ya how to recoup
The only difference is I’m cooking all my crack in the booth”
Someone king the man!! Mike Regal is focused and now branching out to different sides of Hip Hop – INTUITIONS. The producer-emcee has had that Jazz and Jack Flow coursing through his veins for a minute – and that’s definitely his bread n butter – but after hearing the Fort Minor-esque “Traveler”, Jon Bellion-influenced “Gotham”, and now this uptempo I N T U I T I O N S tape he dropped yesterday (December 25), I’m convinced the multi can finesse his way into the industry.
1. “Rumor Has It”
Wobbly and ominous, like one just hit the lick and is now crossing the lake to the safe house. At 1:36, you pull up at the dock, walk inside and unload the bag on the counter. When the beat comes back in at 1:56, you celebrate with bottles and voluptuous women.
2. “Sail Boat”
Regal comes in with the “Ironside” sample at :08 – the one that Southside so much loves and enjoys. As the intro talks about the art of sampling, it should be clear that the artist looks to mix the old and the new. “Alota times you can just hear like a ‘hey’, or sum like that, and want to use it, you know?” Simple, yet that idea is one element of Hip Hop that builds a timeless community.
3. “HighWay”
Interstate music. I’m on cruise control in my own lane, so stay in yours type shit.
4. “F E E L”
The sample at the top says: “If I’m not diggin it, it ain’t shit”. Then the beat drops into some real jiggy shit. This uptempo record surprised me but I could definitely see people Summertime cooling or Salsa dancing to it.
5. “s o u l”
If I had to pick a favorite, this is it. This joint reminds me of a DJ Pain 1 cut, only more soulful and less grimy. Just beautiful. I picture the artist on signing day, with his ride-or-die right beside him. She stayed with him, through the thick and the thin, and now they both know it was all worth it.
Thank you for the Christmas present Mike Regal. And by the way, when I say multi, I’m just shortening multi-talented to invent a name for artists working on more than one craft. That deserves attention. I fucking hate it when writers try n box me into one thing – to low key slight me or for whatever the reason – so I made up a word to show love to other skilled artisans in the same boat.
Hakeem Paragon on the art.
A young but highly intelligent and driven emcee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s Sean Smart is looking to reintroduce himself to the world after his days with Higher Education (November 25, 2015). He put a lot of work into the indie label but out on his own he has complete control over his sound.
Sean Smart “fell in love with the culture” at a young age, he tells me. The rapper grew up on Queen and Bob Marley but his friends were into Hip Hop. His Milwaukee public schooling wound up teaching him much more than the three Rs. Sean picked up on Hip Hop from his classmates and remembers grabbing Jay-Z’s Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life on cassette in 3rd grade.
Now, the more Logic side of the rapper is coming out as he works on a more widely appealing sound for his self-titled mixtape. Sean’s days of rapping over experimental Boom Bap have come to a close. It’s time for the dictionary to get read.
Sean looks to make a good impression with his debut solo project. “No real message or underlying story, just raw tracks that make people bob their heads and get a feel for my abilities”, he says. “This is just the warm up for what is about to come”.
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