Rapaholic™

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Rapaholic™ is Back!

We back again...With hot classiс discogs and new fresh albums!!!

Stay online!

Friday, August 03, 2007

Attention 2 all Rapaholics!!!
After one year of working i decided 2 have a rest...2night inshaAllah ill fly away...
After month our blog will rise again with New hot def discographies and exclusive things :)
Take care all yall...Peace!

As Salaam Aleikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu...

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Black Milk

Born and raised in Detroit on the sounds of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, Curtis Cross found out at an early age that he had a talent for hip-hop, especially with beats. He spent hours in his basement — at first with just a cheap drum machine and a home karaoke system, eventually moving up to more sophisticated MPCs and samplers — making tapes. One of these tapes got into the hands of fellow Detroiters Slum Village, who were impressed by what they heard and invited Cross to produce a track on their 2002 mixtape, Dirty District, as well as on their official full-length, Trinity (Past, Present and Future). After that, Cross, who was going as Black Milk, teamed up with producer RJ Rice, Jr. (or Young RJ) as the group B.R. Gunna, rhyming and making beats on the duo's 2004 release, Dirty District, Vol. 2. That same year, Slum Village, who were looking for production work because usual beat-makers Waajeed and Kareem Riggins were busy with other projects, hired B.R. Gunna for 11 of the 13 tracks on their Detroit Deli LP. In 2005, without a label and with his group on hiatus, Black Milk went on to release Sound of the City, which was more of a mixtape than a typical album, on his own Music House Records, and shortly after worked on SV's self-titled record. By this time, indie-rap label Fat Beats had heard Black Milk's work, which many compared to that of the late J Dilla and producer/MC Madlib; impressed, the label signed him in 2006 and issued his official solo debut, Popular Demand, in March of 2007.

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Black Milk - Sound of The City (2005)

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Black Milk - Pressure (The Official Mix CD)

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Although 2006 was a hard year for Detroit hip-hop, with the death of both Proof and J Dilla, it brought more attention to the scene than it had experienced since the rise of Eminem in 1999. Suddenly, everyone was heralding the genius of the late James Yancey, giving him shout outs and crediting him as a major inspiration. Of course, for some, these claims are actually true, and can be proven in their work. One such artist who falls into this category is Black Milk, who besides having already produced tracks for Slum Village, was also part of the duo B.R. Gunna with RJ Rice, Jr. On his first official solo debut, the Fat Beats-issued Popular Demand, Black shows off his skills both behind the boards and the mic. Comparisons to Dilla, and in some ways Madlib and even Kanye West, abound, much in part thanks to their mutual penchant for soul sample-based beats over hollow drum tracks. While Dilla's production may have been more inventive, and less dependant upon the same formula, Black Milk wins in rhymes (he even addresses the idea of producer/MCs, who "get the most criticism/Until they heard Black, now they gonna feel different," and in this case, what he says is correct). The rapper is able to adjust his flow to fit his beats accordingly, going from spitting quick 16s on "Watch Em" and "Insane" to slowing things down on tracks like "Lookatusnow" or "One Song." In true hip-hop form, Black invites a number of hometown guests to appear on Popular Demand, including Guilty Simpson, Elzhi and T3 from Slum Village, Baatin, Phat Kat, and One Be Lo from Binary Star, but he holds his own with them, isn't overshadowed by his elders' lines. He's adamant about not being placed "in a box," and so he shies away from overtly socially conscious lyrics and instead rhymes about women, hanging out with his friends, music, and of course, his own skills. "The beats is dangerous, and the rhymes is crazy, and my flow is on that new-age sh*t/So I'm like, 'Damn, how can they hate this?'/But niggas still can't relate like two kids that ain't kin," he spits in "Shut It Down." Maybe that's true; but for anyone who wants to hear the rebirth of Detroit hip-hop, there's no reason to look further than Black Milk.

+ Bonus CD

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Little Brother (9th Wonder, Big Pooh, Phonte)

Part of the new-millennium resurgence of alternative rap, Little Brother's inspirations were atypical for Southern hip-hop: classic Native Tongues outfits like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, as well as more recent torch-bearers like the Roots and Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli). MCs Phonte (born Phonte Coleman) and Big Pooh (born Thomas Jones) swapped rhymes with an easy chemistry, but the group's real focal point was DJ/producer 9th Wonder (born Pat Douthit), an old-school sampling technician who quickly established himself as a worthy heir to production wizards like DJ Premier and Pete Rock. Little Brother formed at North Carolina Central University, located in Durham. All three members had known each other since 1998, when they performed in a local hip-hop outfit called the Organization; after its dissolution in 2000, they spearheaded a 12-member crew dubbed the Justus League. The trio worked together off and on in varying combinations, until they officially teamed up as Little Brother in August 2001, adopting the name as a humble nod to their influences. Their first recording together was "Speed," a playful, down-to-earth look at the pressures of holding a day job while trying to make it in the music business; it set the tone for much of their early material. Over the next few months, they developed enough of a repertoire to start performing live around the area, and quickly earned a following. When the group made its music available for download on the Internet, a substantial buzz built far outside of North Carolina, and it eventually earned them a deal with the Oakland-based ABB Records in 2002. In early 2003, Little Brother released its full-length debut, The Listening, which won widespread critical praise that focused especially on 9th Wonder's production. The buzz helped him earn a raft of high-profile outside gigs, including tracks on a pair of multi-platinum releases: The Black Album by Jay-Z and Destiny Fulfilled by Destiny's Child. Little Brother leapt to a major label (along with ABB) in 2005 for The Minstrel Show. In January 2007, as the group was finishing up their next release, Getback, it was announced that Little Brother had left Atlantic and that 9th Wonder had amicably left Little Brother.

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Little Brother - The Listening (Feb 25, 2003: ABB)

In Little Brother's music, the North Carolina group makes a specific point to highlight the more refined aspects of mid-'90s hip-hop. Basing its 2002 sound upon the foundation previously established by the likes of Pete Rock, A Tribe Called Quest, Jay Dee, and Black Star, Little Brother makes somewhat of a political statement by applying such standards to this modern age. The Listening does an exceptional job of proving that soulful meditations have indeed retained their traditional relevancy within the contemporary realms of rap. 9th Wonder's production leads the charge with distinct drum kicks pacing larger-than-life melodic samples, which are often enhanced with sultry female voice-overs. Meanwhile, Phonte and Big Pooh dig even deeper within the hip-hop vaults as they draw upon classic routines by the likes of Rakim, Slick Rick, and Audio 2 for their lyrical inspiration. Whether engaged in storytelling, braggadocio, or simple reassurance, the rhyming duo complements 9th Wonder's varying shades of mood music with a consistent degree of skill and sincerity. The album both starts and finishes strongly, with "For You," "Speed," "Nighttime Maneuvers," and the title track serving as its most stellar moments. Despite its unavoidably derivative orientation, The Listening is a finely crafted musical document, composed by artists who want nothing more than to provide even just a glimpse of hip-hop purity within an ever-expanding maze of cultural deterioration.

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Little Brother - The Minstrel Show (Sep 13, 2005: Atlantic)

Few groups earn a major-label contract based on their producer's merits, but when Little Brother jumped to Atlantic for their second full album, The Minstrel Show, any cynic looking for a good reason would point to the increased profile of trackmaster 9th Wonder (Jay-Z, Destiny's Child). But it wasn't just 9th Wonder that made Little Brother's first album one of the best underground rap debuts of the new millennium; rappers Phonte and Big Pooh matched a smooth Southern drawl with up-North smarts. Like their influences in the Native Tongues family, the trio cast a clever eye over music and culture, sniffing out hypocrisy and greed, then dismissing them with sparkling satires. The Minstrel Show presents more of the same, expanding the palette to a host of hot topics: R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" series, which gets skewered by the spot-on "Cheatin"; exploitative urban TV stations (the album's main concept); and even the need for brand-name clothes ("5th and Fashion"). And any fans who feared that 9th Wonder's success would lead to a diluted or overly polished record have nothing to worry about; awash in '70s soul and mellow, slapping beats, his productions make the message tracks carry just as well as the humorous material.

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Little Brother - Separate But Equal (Jul 31, 2006: Heat Distribution)