Meraki has a beautiful debut EP here with Baeraki. The Milwaukee raised artist is much more than music, though. She’s a woman among boys. You’ll hear it in the music and hear it from her mouth. She preaches a lot of outspoken truth on this thing we call the Internet, in contrast to many of her peers who tend to get caught up in social traps.
Meraki is brilliant in da stu. She definitely has her own thing going, but also mixes some of that Soulection sound with some of the trap sounds of The Mil. This Baeraki joint is butter. Keep a close eye on this artist. She’s one that we should all be listening to.
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”
This might just be the soundtrack to your next kickback (November 10, 2015). The Cream City Uni-Fi Records collective winds back time on #RapLords, hitting their new school Milwaukee flows on the old school boom bap beats. The exception is “Ugly” – a muhfucking smacker. Dana Coppafeel and Speak Easy are a mean tag team.
“Uni-Fi Records My team chasing paper, call us gang green Standing ova, they should thank me HNIC’s how they rank me”
Von Alexander dropped V O N today (November 19), and it’s every bit as grimy as we wanted. Von used to go by Vonny Del Fresco but this artist has always had a way of bringing the sun down into the basement. Coming from the North Side of Milwaukee, life has been a real struggle for this young black male. This brilliant lyricist is finally getting some shine for his well polished records, though.
An emcee, a writer, a voice and a leader, Von wants people to look past physical appearances to see the more authentic parts of people. The artist has a bigger idea in mind than just rap. He lives in madness but knows that there is a better way.
The Cream City rapper is influenced by A Tribe Called Quest, N.E.R.D, Nas, Future, Toro y Moi and Bon Iver. Don’t expect the average, expect Von Alexander. He knows his sound too. “Dylan Graham was someone that hit me up. And I hit up DMND on my own,” he says. For “the most unplanned project [he’s] ever done,” this sounds pretty damn good. Especially since he just dropped another massive “Memoirs” album just a few months back.
Here’s a visual from last year:
His and my favorite record on V O N is “N O R T H”:
“I can’t even wear Jordans, these shoes are the reason that niggas are killing It’s fucked up when your hero ain’t really your hero, you look at him different Cause niggas die just wear your name, niggas die just to play your game Niggas die just to get that fame, jumpman, jumpman, jumpman My whole life, I’ve been on to something My whole life, man they made assumptions”
